CHICAGO – Four Roosevelt student-athletes were named to the at-large Academic All-District team sponsored by College Sports Communicators, the organization announced Tuesday.

All four honorees come from the Lakers' men's volleyball program, giving Roosevelt 32 total Academic All-District honorees this season. Michele Bascape and Miguel Mendez Palencia earned this distinction for the second consecutive year while Lachlan Diamond and Andrea Di Paola are first-time honorees. 

Bascape battled through some minor injuries to lead the team with 512 assists and averaged more than 8.3 assists per set this season. The senior from Rho, Italy had nine matches with at least 30 assists, including a program-record 58 against Wisconsin Stevens Point in April.

Mendez Palencia, a senior from Maracay, Venezuela, had 114 digs and a 94.4 percent reception percentage this season on 321 attempts.

Diamond was again a force at the net for the Lakers with 35 blocks, averaging more than 0.5 blocks per set played this season. The senior from Melborne, Australia also added 47 kills and seven aces to help with the Roosevelt attack as well.

Di Paola was the Lakers' nominee for IVA Player of the Year, and led the team with 207 kills and 2.88 kills per set. The senior from Catania, Italy also led the Lakers with 121 digs and finished with a healthy 27 blocks.

The Academic All-America program is the longest running and premier award for athletic and academic success across championship college sports in all three NCAA divisions, the NAIA, two-year colleges and Canadian institutions. It was established in 1952 and the honorees are nominated by CSC members then All-American honors are voted on by the membership as well.

In order to be named to the Academic All-District teams, a student-athlete must not hold at least a 3.5 grade point average. In men's volleyball, a player must either appear in 90 percent of a team's sets or start 2/3 of a team's matches. The list of all-district honorees is then vetted by the CSC committee, who send out a ballot for All-American honors to the membership.