Scranton Athletes Earn NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships
SCRANTON, Pa. - Two University of Scranton spring sport student-athletes were rewarded for their efforts in the classroom today.
Seniors Carl Caceres (Teaneck, N.J./Bergen Catholic) of the men's tennis team and Chris Stallone (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) of the baseball team were awarded postgraduate scholarships by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). They become the 14th and 15th student-athletes in University of Scranton history to receive this distinguished award.
Both excelled in the classroom and in their respective sport.
Caceres recently graduated with a double major in philosophy and theology and religious studies with a minor in communication and a concentration in Catholic Studies. He maintained a 3.93 grade point average on a 4.0 scale throughout his academic career.
On the tennis court, he was a four-year letterman who finished his career with a 57-21 record (.731) in singles and 46-28 mark (.621) in doubles. Caceres earned numerous accolades throughout his athletic career, landing first team all-Landmark Conference honors three times for his play in singles (2008, 2009, 2010) and second team this past season. He was also named the conference's rookie of the year in 2008 and was twice named second team for his play in doubles (2008, 2010). A two-time first-team District II all-Academic selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), he played a major role in leading the Royals of head coach Keith Hetsko to a four-year record of 44-24 (.647), including berths in the championship match of the Landmark Conference tournament the past two seasons.
On Saturday, May 14, Caceres was also selected as the co-recipient of the Father Fitzpatrick Award for community service at the university's annual Senior Student-Athlete Banquet. He worked in the Office of University Ministries, served as a peer tutor for the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, and was a Retreat Leader and Resident Staff Advisor and Resident Assistant for the university's Office of Residence Life.
Carl is the son of Raul and Kathleen Caceres of Columbus Drive in Teaneck.
Stallone owns the distinction of having the highest grade point average of all student-athletes in the senior class. He maintained a 3.95 grade point average while earning his degree in finance. His efforts in the classroom earned him a number of accolades, including first-team Academic all-American by CoSIDA in each of the last two seasons and third-team honors in 2009 along with receiving the Carlesimo Award for academic and athletic excellence at the university's Senior Student-Athlete Banquet.
Stallone's success in the classroom carried over to the baseball diamond.
A four-year starter, he finished his career with a .401 batting average, a .490 slugging percentage, and a .466 on-base percentage. Among his 202 hits were 26 doubles, five triples and three home runs. He also hit safely in 110 of 137 career games and had 62 multi-hit games. In 2009 Stallone set the Royals' single-season record for most hits (65) and most runs scored (59). Stallone was named first-team all-Landmark Conference in each of the past three seasons and was a second-team all-South all-star pick in Scranton's previous affiliation with the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) in 2009. He led the Royals of head coach Mike Bartoletti to a four-year record of 84-76-1 (.525), including berths in the championship bracket of the Landmark Conference tournament in 2008 and 2011.
Chris is the son of John and Carolyn Stallone of Faye Street in South Plainfield.
Story provided by Scranton Sports Information
