It is often thought that one can be either a student or an athlete, and that one cannot be both. It's called the "dumb jock" theory. However, at Tufts, an institution that prides itself on rigorous academics, this questionable theory typically does not hold true. On Wednesday, ten student-athletes were recognized for their performances in competition and in the classroom when they were named to the NESCAC All-Academic Team.
The team is comprised of five men and five women from each school in the NESCAC who have been major contributors to their teams' success while also maintaining a GPA of 3.35 or better. On the men's side, the award winners include senior swimmers Nic Anderson and Chris Panagos, junior runner J.R. Cruz, senior runner Darren Fabbri, and senior hockey player Natan Obed. The women's team consists of senior runners Leslie Crofton and Sarah Deeb, senior swimmer Nancy Leahy, senior squash player Lani Radford, and senior basketball player Shira Fishman.
"It feels great," Fabbri said. "It's kind of nice to be recognized for working my butt off as an athlete and as a student. It's a lot of work."
As student athletes, this group has been able to find a delicate balance between studying and practicing for success in both arenas.
"I think that being on the team helps me organize my time and reduce stress," Fabbri said. "Being on a team and having practice every day, you know how much time you have to get work done at night and in between classes. It helps with managing time."
Anderson, who is majoring in psychology, was tri-captain of the men's swimming and diving team, and recently finished fourth in the 100-meter butterfly (52.36) at the NESCAC Championships on Feb. 24. Panagos, an electrical engineering major, placed sixth in the 50 backstroke (25.68) at the same meet.
Cruz, who is double majoring in biopsychology and classics, recently picked up a sixth-place finish in the 5,000 (14.57.74) at the All-New England Championship meet, while Fabbri, who is a double major in electrical and biomedical engineering, was the leading point scorer in the 400 during the indoor track season.
"I think maybe a good race feels better than doing well academically," Fabbri said. "Doing well in school, you just go to your class and do your work and you will do well if you put in the effort. With races, you only get out of it what you put into it. You have to work so hard in athletics, and when you put so much effort in and when you see improvement, that feels great."
A double major in English and American studies, Obed was the hockey team's third leading scorer, with 15 goals and 27 assists, and helped guide the squad to a ECAC Northeast Division regular season title. In the final game of the season, Obed tallied his 100th career point.
Crofton, an English major, had one of the best seasons of any Jumbo athlete - winning the New England Division III Championship in the 5,000 (17:45.80) and qualifying for Nationals both in the 1,500 and with the distance medley relay team. Her teammate Deeb, a biopsychology major, also had an outstanding season of her own, finishing third in the 800 at the All-New Englands. She was also a national qualifier in the 400 and as a member of the distance medley team.
Leahy majors in international relations, was a consistent scorer in the 100 butterfly, and was also tri-captain of the swimming team.
Radford, an art history major, alternated between the eight and nine spots for the women's squash team, playing a key role in the team's 10-8 record.
Fishman, the floor general for the women's basketball team, ranked second in the NESCAC with 3.0 steals per game and third with 4.4 assists. She is majoring in mechanical engineering.
According to Fabbri, becoming a student athlete is now increasingly more difficult, and could become a thing of the past, not because of lack of time, but rather because of Tufts' scheduling.
"As an upperclassmen, a lot of the classes that we need to take are graduate-level classes," Fabbri said. "The school has been scheduling them later and later in the day because they want students from other schools and fields to be able to come. It is screwing up everyone's practice time. I think that should be brought to light. Making [classes] scheduled in the afternoon makes it hard for teams to schedule practice in the afternoon. Some schools like Williams have holes in their schedule where they don't have class so they can have practices. It's hard to have practices and class not conflict."
