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Pangia named 2009 ECAC Division III Northeast Region Rookie of the Year

CAPE COD, Mass. - The postseason awards continue to pour in for the Gallaudet University football team as freshman linebacker Tom Pangia (Hammonton, N.J.) was named the 2009 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Northeast Region Rookie of the Year. Pangia is one of four players from the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) on the 2009 ECAC Division III Northeast Region All-Star team. He is the lone freshman to earn a spot on the all-star team.

This is Pangia's second Rookie of the Year honor as he shared the ECFC's award and was named to the all-conference first team defense. The freshman linebacker was tied for the most tackles by a freshman in the ECFC with 66. He finished the year ranked ninth for tackles for loss (0.70 per game) for 15 yards. In the month of November he made four tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss of three yards in a thrilling 16-13 victory over SUNY Maritime to give GU a 6-4 record for the season. The winning record against a varsity schedule is the first in program history since 1930. The game before Pangia made a team-high eight tackles against Anna Maria on Halloween as the Bison won 56-7. GU was rated as the top defense in the ECFC.

Pangia becomes the first Bison to earn ECAC All-Star honors since the program returned to NCAA Division III status in 2007.

The three other players from the ECFC to make the ECAC Northeast Region All-Star include Mount Ida running back Johrone Bunch and Norwich defensive players Reza Afsarmanesh and Donovan Brown.

The ECAC will honor the players and rookies of the year in each division and region in February at the annual ECAC Football Awards Banquet presented by FieldTurf, an event held in the Pegasus Restaurant at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J.

About the ECAC
The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is the nation's largest athletic conference and only multi-divisional conference, with approximately 300 member institutions and over 122,000 student-athletes ranging across 16 states from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois.  Established in 1938 with 58 charter members, the ECAC has since emerged as the nationwide leader in service.  The ECAC honors more than 2,000 student-athletes during the academic year through its all-star and player of the week programs. Each week, the conference has recognized 14 football players of the week, including offensive and defensive, in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, and Division III (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest Regions).

To view other ECAC football all-star teams, the football news archive, or results from ECAC Football bowl games, please visit the ECAC's website at www.ecacsports.com/sports/fall/fball/index.