Suffolk University Basketball Players Zito, Small Earn Spots On Respective CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine College Division Basketball Academic All-District Squads

Suffolk Sophomore Lone GNAC Representative On Women’s Side, Ram Junior One Of Three Conference Players Tabbed On Men’s Team

Boston, Mass.--  Two Suffolk University basketball standouts have been honored for their work in the classroom after being voted to their respective ESPN The Magazine College Division Academic All-District teams as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Sophomore forward Stephanie Zito (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) earned third team Academic All-District accolades on the women’s side for the Rams, as she holds a 3.96 cumulative grade point average as an English major at Suffolk.  The lone Great Northeast Athletic Conference representative on the district squad, Zito was a third-team all-league performer as a freshman and has picked up right where she left off last season for Head Coach Ed Leyden’s crew, as she leads the team in scoring at 11.2 ppg and in three-point field goals with 23 treys to date.  Zito, who earned the No. 1 Freshman Award for Academics as the top first year student in the entire University last year, has helped lead Suffolk to an overall mark of 14-6 to date, including an 8-2 slate in Great Northeast play that featured the Rams’ first-ever victory over defending conference champion Emmanuel last weekend.

On the men’s side, junior Brian Small (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) was named to the second team Academic All-District squad for his efforts, as he holds a 3.96 cumulative grade point average as a Finance major at Suffolk.  Small ranks third on the Rams’ scoring list this season at 13.4 ppg and leads Head Coach Adam Nelson’s squad on the boards at 7.3 rpg, and the Dean’s List student is closing in on becoming the 24th member of Suffolk’s 1,000 Point Club.  Small was one of three Great Northeast representatives on this year’s Academic All-District team, joining Emerson College’s Ben Chase (first team) and Will Dawkins, who joined him as a second team pick.

“Suffolk student-athletes always strive to be very successful both on the court and in the classroom, and I congratulate both Stephanie and Brian on this richly deserved honor,” Suffolk Director of Athletics James E. Nelson says of Zito’s and Small’s selection.  “Their hard work in both endeavors has led to this recognition, and to be part of this prestigious program is something to be very proud of.”

The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) selects ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America teams in 12 programs:  football, women’s volleyball, men’s & women’s soccer, men’s & women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s & women’s track & field/cross country as well as both men’s & women’s at-large programs.  ESPN The Magazine is in its fourth year as the title corporate sponsor of the program, which honors over 1,600 student-athletes each year at both the University (Division I) and College (Divisions II & III, as well as NAIA institutions) Divisions.

For more information on the CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program, log-on to www.cosida.com.