BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian College junior defensive back Nick Zambelli has been selected to the 2017 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Football Team for NCAA Division III schools in District IV for a second straight fall.
To be eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.30 grade-point average, be a sophomore, junior or senior and be a starter or significant reserve. District IV in NCAA Division III is made up of schools from Pennsylvania. Moravian has had 46 Greyhounds named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans®.
By making the All-District First Team, Zambelli is now forwarded onto the national ballot to try for CoSIDA Academic All-America® accolades, which will be announced on December 13. There are a total of 15 student-athletes from the Centennial Conference on Academic All-District Teams.
Zambelli is majoring in Economics and Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics at Moravian, and he has a 4.00 GPA. This fall, Zambelli finished third on the squad with 70 tackles including 44 solo stops, one tackle for loss and one sack as he earned a spot on the Centennial All-Conference Second Team. He also had six passes defended including three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. Zambelli was selected as the Greyhounds' Most Valuable Player in the season finale at rival Muhlenberg College after a career-high 13 tackles and an interception on the goal line. Zambelli, who finished his third season as a starter at Moravian, has contributed 164 tackles with 106 solo stops, seven interceptions, 17 passes defended, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, one tackle for loss and one sack in 31 career games.
"Nick exemplifies the term student-athlete." commented Head Football Coach Jeff Pukszyn. "He pushes himself to be the best in everything he does, and that has been obvious in the classroom as well as the field. He sets a high bar for himself as a student athlete and that shows through by his work ethic and leadership."
To view all of the CoSIDA Academic All-District teams, visit http://www.cosida.com/news/2017/11/16/academic-all-america-announcing-2017-cosida-academic-all-district-football-and-volleyball-teams.aspx.
