Philadelphia, Pa. – (6/13/2017) – Adding to an already impressive resumé of athletic and academic accolades received at the conclusion of the 2017 season, Chestnut Hill College senior Thomas McDermott (Ridley, Pa.) was named today, Tuesday, June 13, to the 2017 Philadelphia Inquirer Men's Lacrosse Academic All-Area Team. The Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Teams are selected annually by the sports information offices of 30 collegiate institutions from the Philadelphia metropolitan area known as Philly-SIDA. In order to be nominated, student-athletes are required to maintain a 3.20 grade point average (GPA) or better while competing in their sport of choice.
 
Gwynedd-Mercy University senior goalkeeper Marc Bushong (Sewell, N.J.) was named the Philadelphia Inquirer Men's Lacrosse Academic All-Area Performer of the Year. He and McDermott were joined on the team by Widener University senior Scott Allison (Chester Springs, Pa.), St. Joseph's University juniors Chris Blewitt (Lincoln Park, N.J.) and Austin Smith (Olney, Md.), Cabrini College sophomore Timmy Brooks (Villanova, Pa.), Villanova University juniors Christian Cuccinello (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) and Devin McNamara (Lutherville, Md.), Haverford College sophomore Ben Frost (Pewaukee, Wis.) and senior P.J. Jackson (Montclair, N.J.), University of Pennsylvania's junior Connor Keating (Gladwyne, Pa.) and senior Kevin Gayhardt (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), and Swarthmore College junior Cam Marsh (Upper Arlington, Ohio).
 
McDermott, who was named the East Coast Conference (ECC) Men's Lacrosse 2017 Goalkeeper of the Year and an All-ECC First Team selection before garnering a United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA)/Nike Division II All-American Team honor, was also recently named the ECC 2016-2017 Men's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete and a (USILA)/Nike Division II Scholar All-American. As exceptional in the classroom as he was on the field, McDermott is a seven-time member of the Chestnut Hill College Athletics Academic Honor Roll (Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017), a six-time member of the Chestnut Hill College Dean's List (Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017), and a two-time member of the ECC Commissioner Honor Roll (2014-2015, 2015-2016). He was a member of the Chestnut Hill College's chapter of Sigma Beta Delta (2016-2017, Business Honor Society) and the College's Business Club (2016-2017). McDermott is also an Accountant Assistant Intern with O'Connell & Company, as well as a Tax Accounting Intern for Deloitte & Touch.

McDermott was one of five All-ECC honorees from Chestnut Hill College in 2017 as the Scarlet and Gold net minder finished the regular season with an 8-4 overall record and ranked third in the nation for saves (138), eighth for save percentage (.603), and 24^th in saves-per-game (11.5). He was a four-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week (5/10, 3/27, 3/14, 2/28) and recorded nine games of 10 saves or more, including a career-high 19 saves in the Griffins' 7-6 overtime triumph at #16 LIU Post on March 11. There, McDermott also recorded the Griffins' first keeper goal in program history with a long distance missile at 11:01 (5-3 LIU) of the third quarter. McDermott ranks among Chestnut Hill College's top-10 all-time for wins (2^nd, 16), goals-against-average (GAA) (5^th, 9.92), save percentage (6^th, .537), and saves (2^nd, 380).
 
The 2017 Philadelphia Inquirer Men's Lacrosse Academic All-Area Team is provided below;
 
2017 Philadelphia Inquirer Men's Lacrosse Academic All-Area Team
 

Student-Athlete	School	Class	Major	Hometown
Scott Allison	Widener Univ.	Sr.	Sociology	Chester Springs, Pa.
Chris Blewit	St. Joseph's Univ.	Jr.	Finance	Lincoln Park, N.J.
Timmy Brooks	Cabrini College	So.	Business Administration	Villanova, Pa.
Marc Bushong	Gwynedd-Mercy Univ.	Sr.	Radiologic Technology	Sewell, N.J.
Christian Cuccinello	Villanova Univ.	Jr.	Economics	Mountain Lakes, N.J.
Ben Frost	Haverford College	So.	Chemistry	Pewaukee, Wis.
Kevin Gayhardt	Univ. of Pennsylvania	Sr.	Political Science	Bryn Mawr, Pa.
P.J. Jackson	Haverford College	Sr.	Economics	Montclair, N.J.
Connor Keating	Univ. of Pennsylvania	Jr.	History	Gladwyne, Pa.
Cam Marsh	Swarthmore College	Jr.	Economics	Upper Arlington, Ohio
Thomas McDermott	Chestnut Hill College	Sr.	Accounting	Ridley, Pa.
Devin McNamara	Villanova University	Jr.	Finance	Lutherville, Md.
Austin Smith	St. Joseph's University	Jr.	Business	Olney, Md.
Performer of the Year: Marc Bushong, Gwynedd-Mercy University