Hancock, Lupinetti named Salisbury University Scholar Athletes of 2010-11

SALISBURY, Md. – Salisbury University prides itself on both athletic prowess and academic success, and this philosophy couldn’t be showcased any more significantly than in the two Sea Gull senior student-athletes selected each year for the Salisbury University Scholar Athlete of the Year award. This year, the top honors go to seniors David Lupinetti and Kandice Hancock.

Kandice Hancock has been a member of the Salisbury University field hockey team for all four years of her highly successful collegiate career. Her presence on the field earned her first team All-American honors in 2010. Additionally, Hancock was named the Division III South Region Player of the Year and an ECAC Mid Atlantic All-Star in her senior season. She was a first team All-Region selection in 2008, an honor she took home again in 2010. For her conference play, the midfielder earned first team All-CAC honors three times in her career (2007, ’08, ’10). She was named CAC Player of the Year in 2008 and the conference’s Rookie of the Year in 2007. Perhaps more telling than her stellar on-field performance was her performance in the classroom; the exercise science major (3.73 GPA) has been on the Dean’s List and received the Athletic Academic Achievement Award every year since 2008. Hancock was a member of two honor societies on campus: Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi. Off campus, Hancock shared her passion for field hockey with the local community. She participated in youth field hockey clinics in Wicomico County for four years and was director and head clinician for Somerset County’s youth field hockey program in 2009 and 2010.

David Lupinetti has been a four-year member of the Salisbury University’s men’s tennis team. During his time at Salisbury, Lupinetti received All-CAC honors in singles and doubles play three times (2009, ’10, ’11) and was a captain for the Sea Gulls in his senior season. He was named CAC Rookie of the Year in 2008. Lupinetti finished his career with a 45-25 record in singles and a 41-15 record in doubles. Academically, the finance major (3.5 GPA) earned academic All-American honors and was on the Dean’s List for three straight years (2008, ’09, ’10). He was awarded CAC All-Academic honors in 2010. Lupinetti was the vice president of the Financial Management Association at Salisbury from 2010-2011. When he was not on the court or in the classroom, Lupinetti was a finance tutor, attended SGA forums and volunteered at Sea Gull Century and “I Love Salisbury”, a community clean-up event.