(Posted April 6, 2010)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Four Juniata College winter student-athletes have been named to the Landmark Conference 2009-10 Winter All-Academic Team, which was announced Tuesday, including a pair of repeat selections to the All-Academic squad.

Men's basketball senior Jeff Berkey (Stoystown, Pa./Shanksville-Stoneycreek), men's track and field senior TJ Breya (McClure, Pa./East Juniata), women's basketball senior Kelly Rotan (Atco, N.J./Hammonton), and women's track and field senior Laura Rupprecht (Jefferson, Md./Brunswick) were among the 32 student-athletes from across the eight Landmark Conference institutions named to the team.

Berkey and Rupprecht both received their second selection to a Landmark All-Academic Team.

Berkey earned All-Landmark Conference honors for the second time this season, and led the team in scoring as a two-time captain. He completed his career with 894 career points, and ranks fifth among Juniata's career three-point field goal leaders with 158. The business management major was an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District choice and is a member of the Juniata and Business Honor Societies. A seven-time Dean's List student and three-time Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll selection, Berkey was previously named to the All-Academic Team for Winter 2008-09.

Rupprecht has excelled as a member of the Juniata track & field and cross country teams. She has been an All-Conference performer in cross country, indoor and outdoor track, most recently by finishing second in the mile at the Landmark Indoor Championships. She has earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for the 2009 cross country season, and was three times named to the Landmark's Academic Honor Roll. A biology major, Rupprecht is the President of the Landmark Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and is Class Secretary for the Juniata College Class of 2010. Rupprecht also serves as a student representative to the Juniata Board of Trustees' budget committee, and has interned in the Laboratory of Protein Dynamics and Signaling at the National Cancer Institute. She previously earned Landmark Conference All-Academic Team recognition in Spring 2009.

Rotan averaged eight points and seven rebounds as a captain this season for the Juniata women's basketball team. She scored 590 points and grabbed 465 rebounds during her career and helped Juniata earn Landmark postseason berths three times. Rotan is a member of Juniata's SAAC, and a student liaison to the college's Academic Judicial Board. A three-time Academic Honor Roll choice as a sports management major, she is a member of the Business Honor Society and is active as a youth basketball coach. She currently serves as a marketing intern in the Penn State University athletics department, and organized all activities and promotions for Juniata women's basketball's breast cancer awareness game.

Breya claimed All-Conference honors at the Landmark Indoor Track & Field Championships. The senior won both the 55-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles at the Landmark meet, setting a new Juniata record in the 400-hurdles win. Twice named to the Landmark's Academic Honor Roll, Breya has earned Dean's List honors each semester and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity. The politics and French major studied abroad in France, where he worked with agencies affiliated with the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, and assisted in the facilitation of President Barack Obama's town hall meeting at the 2009 NATO Summit.

Two male and two female student-athletes from each of the eight Landmark Conference institutions are selected for the All-Academic Team, which honors student-athletes who have excelled athletically and academically. Nominees for the Winter All-Academic Team could compete in any of the Landmark's winter sports, and must have at least sophomore academic standing with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00.

The 2009-10 Landmark Conference Winter All-Academic Team contains 18 seniors, nine juniors, and five sophomores.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.