May 8, 2006

Amherst, Mass. - Softball's KJ Kelley, Men's Lacrosse's Jack Reid, and Football's Shannon James were named the UMass Athletes of the Year. Soccer's Amy Maffucci and Track and Field's Jon Korhonen were honored with UMass' Academic Award. Track & Field's Elisabeth Budd and Football's L.A. Love received the award as UMass' Most Inspirational Athlete. In addition, all of the senior athletes were honored and were presented with rings at a banquet at the Campus Center Auditorium on Monday night.

Kelley ranks first all-time at UMass in career home runs with 40. She has 147 career runs batted in, which is second, just one behind the record, and she still has the A-10 Tournament and probably the NCAA's to go. Her 14 homers last year ranks as the best single season mark both at UMass and in the A-10. UMass has had 15 two-home run games in its history, Kelley has five of them. She is number one all-time in walks, number three in slugging percentage and number four in extra base hits. She is a three-time All A-10 performer, as well as All-Tournament performer. Last season, her first at catcher after moving from third base, she was a First Team All-American.

Reid is one of 25 national finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is awarded to the nation's top lacrosse player. He is also a candidate for the Schmeisser Award, for the nation's top defenseman. Last season he was a second team All-American and has been named All-ECAC twice - with a third honor probably coming from the ECAC and a first team All-America selection coming as well. He has been the most dominating player on defense in the nation according to many lacrosse experts. He has shut down the oppositions top scorer all season. A four-year starter, he has led his team to the NCAA Tournament now for the third time in four years.

James was a consensus First Team All-American, being named by Associated Press, Walter Camp, Sports Xchange, the Sports Network, The Sporting News, and 1-AA.org. He was First Team A-10 both as a junior and a senior, and was named Defensive Player of the Year as a junior. James would start all 47 games during his UMass career and leaves UMass as the career leader in interceptions - with 20...he would return the record setting 19th for a touchdown...He ranks seventh in total tackles with 341 and fourth in solo tackles at UMass with 253. He has been signed by the Baltimore Ravens.

Maffucci has a 3.938 grade point average in Political Science. She was UMass' delegate to the Naval Academy's Foreign Affairs conference this April. Other academic awards included receiving the UMass Alumni Association's Senior Leadership Award, as well as the David C. Knapp Political Science Scholarship, the Junior Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, several honor societies - including Pi Sigma Alpha for Political Science, Phi Kappa Phi, and Golden Key. She has been Academic All-Atlantic 10 and on the Dean's List every semester and has had the highest GPA on her team in four of the last six semesters. On the soccer field, she played in 67 games and started 60 of them. She was the team's top defender, helping lower the team's goals against average every year from freshman to senior season.

Korhonen returned to UMass for a fifth year to complete his remaining eligibility in cross country and indoor track...but would miss most of the cross country season due to mononucleosis. A communications major with a 3.952 grade point average, he has been recognized for his academic achievements been named the Indoor Track & Field Student Athlete of the Year by the A-10 and was named to ESPN the Magazine's Academic All-America Team. Outside of running, Korhonen has been active on campus, serving three years as the drum major for the award winning UMass Marching Band and has also worked in the admissions office giving campus tours to prospective students. He completed his senior season breaking a 25-year old school record of the mile.

Budd competed and excelled despite two tragic losses in the last 16 months. In September of 2004, she lost her mother to a brain aneurism...then this past January, her 18-year old borther also passed away suddenly. In her time at UMass, the history & psychology double major has twice been named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference in her sport of track & field. Budd is the top 500 meter dash and 400 meter hurdler on the team having won the hurdles at the A-10 Championships in Charlotte this past weekend. She has been on the A-10's academic honor roll and has been an Academic All-America nominee. She also has been active in community service events working with 5-12 year old children and hopes to put her education to use helping underperforming school systems as a consultant after she works on her master's in educational psychology.

Love became the first person in his family to go to college and would graduate in three years...he would then go on to go for his master's in sport management. He has been part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the NCAA Steering Committee. He's also helped out with the UMass Marketing Department, been a resident assistant for Housing Services and worked as a program coordinator and tutor at Amherst High School, and been a member of Athletes in Action. On the football field, Love played both linebacker and defensive end, racking up over 100 career tackles. His most memorable game came against Maine as a junior, when he made nine tackles and blocked the Black Bears' extra point in overtime, giving UMass the win. He's interned for the New York Jets and is currently working in Kansas City for CAA - a company that represents athletes. In 2007, he'll become a certified contract advisor and plans to enter law school.