Tom Pangia named 2009 Rookie of the Year

Post-Season Football Awards Piling Up

The latest in a series of postseason awards for the Gallaudet football team went to freshman linebacker Tom Pangia, who was named 2009 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Northeast Region Rookie of the Year. Pangia, who hails from Hammonton, N.J., and was a participant in the New Signers Program, is one of four players from the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) on the 2009 ECAC Division III Northeast Region All-Star team. He is the only freshman to earn a spot on the all-star team.

This is Pangia’s second Rookie of the Year honor, because he shared the ECFC’s award and was named to the all-conference first-team defense.

This year, the linebacker was tied for the most tackles by a freshman in the ECFC with 66. He finished the year ranked ninth for tackles for loss (0.70 per game) for 15 yards. In November, he made four tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss of three yards in a thrilling 16-13 victory over SUNY Maritime to give the Bison a 6-4 record for the season. The winning record against a varsity schedule is the first in program history since 1930. Prior to that, Pangia made a team-high eight tackles against Anna Maria on Halloween when the Bison won, 56-7.

Other accolades for Gallaudet include a rating as the top defense in the ECFC. For more on the football team, go to the squad’s home page.

Pangia, who plans to major in math, becomes the first Bison to earn ECAC All-Star honors since the program returned to NCAA Division III status in 2007.