GREENVILLE, Pa. (Nov. 29) -- Thiel College senior defensive end Chris Lorber (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/Benedictine) and senior linebacker Michael Stimac (East Brady/Karns City) were selected as first-team members of the 2007 ESPN The Magazine All-America Football Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). This is the first time in history that Thiel had two student-athletes from the same team recognized as Academic All-American selections.
Both Lorber and Stimac advanced to the national ballot for Academic All-American honors after they were named 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II College Division First Team selections. District II includes all non-NCAA Division I colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
CoSIDA selects Academic All-America teams in 12 programs: football, women's volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's track & field/cross country, women's track & field/cross country, men's at-large and women's at-large. A first team, second team and third team are selected in both the University (Division I and I-AA) and College (Division II, III and NAIA) Divisions. Football consists of just first and second teams.
A three-year starter, Lorber finished the season with 64 total tackles, 17.0 tackles for loss and 11 sack. He finished his career with 169 total tackles, 43.5 tackles for loss and 26 sacks. His 26 sacks rank him second on the Tomcat career list while his 43.5 tackles for loss moves him into third on the all-time list. Lorber has been named to the all-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) teams on three occasions, earning first team honors as both a junior and senior. Lorber carries a 3.8 grade-point average as a business administration major. He has been named to the Dean's List on three occasions and to the PAC Academic Honor Roll once.
A two-year starter, Stimac picked up his second-straight all-PAC honorable mention selection after finishing the season with 81 total tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception. In the classroom Stimac maintains a 4.0 grade-point average as an English major. He has earned Dean's List recognition in each of his six semesters, and if he maintains Dean’s List status throughout his final two semesters he will be eligible for the Dean’s Key, which is a gold key awarded to those who make the Dean’s List during all eight semesters. He currently serves as the vice president of the Alpha Iota Kappa chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, an international English honor society which has served the English discipline for 75 years, and is also a member of Kappa Delta Pi, an international honorary society in education which encourages high professional, intellectual, and personal standards and recognizes outstanding contributions to education. He has also been recognized as a Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Academic Honor Roll recipient on three occasions.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.