Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra wrestling team has been selected one of the National Wrestling Coaches Association's 2011 Division I All-Academic Top 30 teams and Steve Bonanno and Lou Ruggirello have been named to the 2011 NWCA All-Academic Team, the organization announced.  

For teams to be eligible for consideration, the team GPA is comprised of 12 student athletes, including the 10 wrestlers that were the entries in the NCAA tournament conference qualifier. If teams had less than 10 entries for their respective qualifier, they may fill those spots with wrestlers that competed in at least one varsity dual during the season.

Ten of the eleven Division I Conferences are represented in the Top 30. The Pride placed 15^th on the NWCA All-Academic Top 30 list with a 3.079 team grade point average. The Harvard Crimson led this year's Top 30 with a 3.51 GPA.  This is the second consecutive year that the Crimson has taken home top honors. Rounding out the top 10 were Columbia, South Dakota State, Old Dominion, Princeton, Chattanooga, Nebraska, Utah Valley and Cornell.

The Individual All-Academic Team also has qualifying standards by GPA and season record/accomplishment. Ninety-three wrestlers were honored including 84 who competed at the 2011 NCAA Division I Championships in Philadelphia last March. The 93 athletes include three NCAA Champions, five NCAA Runner-Ups, 28 All-Americans and 84 NCAA Qualifiers.

Bonanno, a native of Wantagh, New York, qualified for the NCAA Division I Championships in 2011 for the second time in his career. The three-time Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner's Academic Award recipient and three-time Hofstra Athletics Academic Honor Roll member recorded a 24-13 overall record including a 12-5 mark in dual matches in 2010-11. Bonanno placed second at the CAA Championships in early March to qualify for the NCAA Championships as he did as a true freshman in 2008-09. He captured the 125-pound title at the New York State Collegiate Championships in January and placed eighth at the prestigious Cliff Keen-Las Vegas Invitational last December. Bonanno was ranked 15^th in the final InterMat poll, 17^th in the final RPI and 23^rd in the final NCAA Coaches Panel.

Ruggirello, who won his second Colonial Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in April after receiving the honor in 2009, earned his third NWCA All-Academic Team honor after being selected in 2008 and 2009. The 2011 CoSIDA-Capital One Academic All-District 1 first team selection is both a four-time CAA champion and NCAA qualifier at 133 pounds. He earned his first All-America award this year by placing seventh at the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia in March. A senior majoring in finance, the Walden, New York native is a four-time CAA Commissioner's Academic Award recipient and a five-year member of the Hofstra Athletics Academic Honor Roll.

Ruggirello posted a 32-5 overall record in 2010-11 including a 17-1 mark in dual matches with 13 wins by fall. In his Pride career, Ruggirello finished second on the Hofstra all-time career victory list with a 131-26 record including a 72-7 mark in dual matches.

"Being able to recognize our coaches and their teams for the accomplishments that they have made academically is always a high point at the end of the season for our staff. All of the athletes that have made this year's team are setting themselves up for success once they leave college, they are becoming leaders of the future," said Mike Moyer, NWCA Executive Director.

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