Pangia honored by President Hurwitz for Rookie of the Year awards

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Freshman linebacker Tom Pangia (Hammonton, N.J.) has had a busy week as the Gallaudet University football standout has been honored twice for the multiple Rookie of the Year awards he has earned for his terrific play on the gridiron last season. Gallaudet President Alan Hurwitz presented Pangia with his Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) Rookie of the Year award on Wednesday afternoon in a nice ceremony held in the President's office and attended by Provost Stephen Weiner, Director of Athletics Michael Weinstock and football coach Chuck Goldstein.

"It is really important to recognize the achievements of our student-athletes on and off the field. Research has shown that student-athletes perform as well if not better then the rest of the student population," said Hurwitz. "Student-athletes need to balance their time and balance their schedule and studies. By meeting those commitments and being involved with athletics allows our student-athletes to build their leadership skills that will help them in the future."

Provost Weiner added his admiration for Gallaudet student-athletes and the great heights Bison athletics has reached in the past year.

"I consider last season one of the best seasons and one of the best years for Gallaudet," said Weiner. "We have great student-athletes. They are showing they can win the games and win the game of life."

Pangia, Goldstein and John Davis the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator traveled to East Rutherford, N.J., last Thursday night for the annual Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) football banquet held at the Pegasus Restaurant at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Pangia accepted his 2009 ECAC Division III Northeast Region Rookie of the Year award at the banquet, which was attended by Division I, II and III football programs that are members of the ECAC and had been selected for various awards.

"This is quite an honor. When I first arrived here at Gallaudet I didn't think I would earn all of these awards," said Pangia. "Last season was a great experience for me and my teammates. We worked hard, we had great coaching and it paid off. We hope we can improve next year. I want to lead our team and help them win a championship."

Pangia 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.

"There are not many places where your President and Provost are so involved with athletics and want to go out of their way to recognize our student-athletes. We thank President Hurwitz and Provost Weiner for their time today to congratulate Tom and our football program for what we were able to achieve last year," said Goldstein.