EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University junior Chris Bach is a recipient of the PSAC Winter Top Ten Award for his dedication and achievement as a student-athlete on the Warriors' men's basketball team.
The Top Ten Awards, selected by the PSAC's sports information directors, recognize five female and five male student-athletes who distinguish themselves in the classroom as well as in the arena of competition.
Bach (Levittown/Harry S Truman), a Sport Management major with a 3.81 grade-point average, was ESU's team captain and was selected to the All-PSAC East second team last season. He led the Warriors with 15.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game against conference competition, and helped his team reach the PSAC tournament for the third straight year for the first time since 1990-92.
He averaged 11.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game and shot 56.2 percent from the field for the season. Bach registered six 20-point games and six 10-rebound games during his junior year while starting all 28 games and leading ESU to an 18-10 record.
Bach was the only PSAC men's basketball student-athlete named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II team, which represents all Division II and III institutions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia.
He has received local and regional coverage for his academic journey after returning to college following 10 years away from school. He played basketball as a freshman at Philadelphia University in 1996-97 and returned to school at ESU in summer 2006. Since then, he has been a Dean's List student and was nominated for the Comeback Award from the V Foundation.
To be a candidate for the Top Ten Awards, a student-athlete must have achieved a minimum of a 3.25 cumulative grade point average and must be a starter or key reserve with legitimate athletic credentials.
At the end of the academic year, the league announces the Scholar-Athlete Awards, which recognize student-athletes on all PSAC squads with 3.25 cumulative GPAs or better. Top Ten Award winners are eligible for the league's Pete Nevins Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, given to one male and one female candidate at the end of the academic year.
2007-08 PSAC Winter Top 10 List
Men
Chris Bach, ESU, basketball
Chris Cummings, Mansfield, indoor track & field
Matt Fittery, Lock Haven, wrestling
Pawel Glowiak, IUP, swimming
Dave Sanford, Mansfield, indoor track & field
Women
Lauren Beckley, Shippensburg, basketball
Ashley Grimm, Clarion, basketball
Amber Hackenberg, Bloomsburg, indoor track & field
Jennifer Hansen, Slippery Rock, indoor track & field
Teagan Riggs, Clarion, diving
