NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - A pair of Niagara senior student-athletes earned additional academic praise from the ESPN The Magazine-CoSIDA Academic All-America Team, as women's tennis player Vanja Lakic (Waterloo, Ont.) and men's hockey forward Vince Rocco (Woodbridge, Ont.) were both named to the At-Large Second Team.

Both seniors were recently honored at the NU Athletics Student-Athlete Banquet with the Scholar-Athlete Award, given to the top graduating senior student-athlete. Both students also received conference all-academic honors all three years that they were eligible.

Lakic helped the Purple Eagle women's tennis team earn the regular season MAAC title while posting an undefeated singles conference record as a senior. As a junior, Lakic was 6-1 in MAAC singles action. She graduated in May with a 3.91 grade-point average in finance.

Rocco graduated earlier this month with a degree in business and a 4.14 GPA. He earned 2009 CHA Student-Athlete of the Year while claiming First-Team All-CHA honors for the second-straight season. The forward was the 11th NU skater to join the 100-point club on Jan. 3, 2009, with a goal against Sacred Heart. He finished his illustrious career with 120 points, which ranks ninth all-time at NU.

To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution. From there, current College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) members vote on the student-athletes.