From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The Case Western Reserve University football team saw 23 of its members selected to the 2015 All-University Athletic Association Teams, as announced by the conference on Tuesday morning.
Earning All-Association First Team honors on offense were senior tight end Ethan Albers, sophomore quarterback Rob Cuda, sophomore guard Ryan DeMarinis, senior wide receiver Bryan Erb, and senior fullback Adam Hochman, while sophomore safety Cody Calhoun, junior cornerback Nick Kwon, senior inside linebacker Gavin Sandidge, senior defensive lineman Dayton Snyder and senior outside linebacker Scott Suren earned defensive first team acclaim. In addition, Calhoun also earned First Team honors as a kick returner, and freshman punt returner Justin Phan was named the First Team punt returner.
It was the second career All-UAA honor for Albers, who was named to the second team last season. He played in all 10 games and finished the year with 29 receptions for 576 yards and five touchdowns, all career-best marks. He averaged 19.86 yards per reception during the season, the 32nd-best mark among all NCAA Division III players.
In his first year as the Spartans' starting quarterback, Cuda threw for 28 touchdowns (12th in DIII), while also tallying 21.6 points responsible for per game (11th in DIII), and 334.6 total yards of offense per game (ninth in DIII). Cuda completed 59.9% of his passes during the season for 2,631 total yards, while throwing just five interceptions and rushing for an additional 715 yards and eight touchdowns, both team-best marks.
DeMarinis earned his first All-UAA selection after starting all 10 games at guard for the Spartans' offensive line during the season.
Erb set a program record with 13 TD receptions, catching 65 passes for 856 total yards.
Hochman earned his second-straight nod to the All-UAA First Team, finishing the year with four TDs and 297 yards on the ground.
Calhoun was named to the All-UAA second team last year, and returned to record 48 tackles and notch a pair of interceptions in 2015. He also was 24th among Division III players with 26.3 yards per kick return this year.
Kwon led all Spartan players with four interceptions and 11 total passes defended, while adding 48 tackles during the campaign. He was named to the All-UAA Second Team in 2014.
Sandidge led all Spartan players with 60 tackles over his nine games played, including a pair for a loss. The senior linebacker also forced a fumble, intercepted a pass, and had two pass breakups during the campaign. It is Sandidge's third-straight season with an All-UAA First Team selection.
Snyder finished the campaign with 46 tackles, including 4.5 sacks and 8.5 for a loss, to earn his first All-UAA First Team selection after being named to the All-UAA Second Team each of the previous two years.
Suren also earned All-UAA Second Team honors each of the previous two years before being named to the First Team this year. He ended the campaign with 42 tackles, two sacks and an interception.
Second Team All-UAA selections for the Spartans included sophomore running back Anthony Canganelli, senior offensive lineman Tyler Hamilton, senior defensive lineman Nate Nachazel, senior outside linebacker KJ Pederson, senior inside linebacker Aaron Weisberg, sophomore punter Jacob Burke and sophomore kicker Ben Carniol.
Canganelli rushed for 449 yards and six TDs in 2015, while Hamilton started all 10 games at offensive tackle. Nachazel had six sacks, two forced fumbles and 32 total tackles during the year. Pederson notched 47 tackles in 2015, while Weisberg had 47 tackles, two sacks and three interceptions. Burke averaged 40.4 yards per punt, including four punts inside the 20-yard line, and Carniol registered an .818 field goal percentage (sixth in DIII) and 0.90 field goals per game (25th in DIII).
In addition, sophomore center Gage Blair, junior offensive lineman Dante Capicchioni, junior offensive lineman Nate Lewis, senior safety Jordan Esteban and senior defensive lineman Justin Williams each received an honorable mention to the All-UAA squads.
The Spartans finished the 2015 season with a 7-3 overall record, including a 1-2 mark in UAA games.