PISCATAWAY, N.J. (July 29, 2012) – The Rutgers men’s lacrosse team was represented by 23 student-athletes on the BIG EAST All-Academic Team, the conference announced Friday. Head coach Brian Brecht’s squad tied for a school-best total of players with the Scarlet Knight women’s rowing team. A total of 243 Rutgers student-athletes were recognized by the league.

The group featured six outgoing seniors for the Scarlet Knights: Michael Diehl (Flemington, N.J.), Jacob Fradkin (Owings Mills, Md.), Jonathan Lefferts (Moorestown, N.J.), Will Mangan (Maplewood, N.J.), Zach Zenda (Monmouth Jct., N.J.) and Nick Zerrillo (Brewerton, N.Y.).

Nominations for the All-Academic Team are submitted by each of the BIG EAST’s 16 member institutions. To be eligible for the honor, a nominee must have competed in a BIG EAST-sponsored sport, earned a varsity letter, attained a minimum grade-point average of 3.00 for the preceding academic year, and completed a minimum of two consecutive semesters or three consecutive quarters of academic work, with a total of 18 semester or 27 quarter credits, not including remedial courses.

The nominations are reviewed and approved by the BIG EAST Academic Affairs Committee. Overall, Rutgers upped its numbers by 26 student-athletes.

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