Nov. 7, 2011

Seniors Hannah Merullo (Wakefield, Mass.) and Maddy Bissaillon (Merrimac, Mass.) were named to the Capital One Academic All-District 1 Teams, voted upon and announced Friday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Merullo, who has maintained a 3.92 grade point average in criminal justice, was named to the All-Academic First Team while Bissaillon, an exercise physiology major with a 3.54, was cited to the Second Team.

Merullo and the other First Team recipients are eligible for Capital One Academic All-America honors, to be announced later this month.

The Capital One Academic All-America program honors student-athletes - sophomores and older - who have maintained at least a 3.30 cumulative average and have played in at least 50 percent of the team's 2011 matches.

Merullo and Bissaillon have been integral players in UMass Lowell's success this season. The River Hawks (11-5-2, 10-3-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference), who placed third in the NE-10, earned the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament East Regional and will face No. 5 Dowling (13-5-2) Friday (1:00) at the host/No. 1 seed University of Bridgeport.

Merullo, who was named to the NE-10 All-Conference Second Team last week, has led a back line which has compiled eight shutouts and maintained a 0.75 goals against average, both of which rank fourth in the NE-10.

Merullo has also added a bit of offense this season with two goals - five minutes apart - in UMass Lowell's pivotal 3-1 victory over Southern Connecticut.

Bissaillon, who made her second appearance on the NE-10 All-Conference First Team, has been among the unsung players in the squad. With two goals and six assists, she ranks seventh among NE-10 assist leaders and notched goals in wins at Southern New Hampshire (2-0) and Saint Michael's (2-0).

Merullo and Bissaillon were among 14 NE-10 players cited to the Capital One All-Academic Teams.