HADLEY, Mass. -- Bates football juniors Ryan Rozich, Michael Spencer, and Ryan Lynskey each received All-NESCAC honors at their respective positions, as announced Wednesday by the New England Small College Athletic Conference.

Rozich (Cromwell, Conn.) was named first team All-NESCAC at linebacker. The team captain is now a two-time All-NESCAC selection, having been named to the second team a year ago. Rozich's 109 total tackles ranked first in the NESCAC and his 12.1 tackles per game is good for sixth in all of NCAA Division III. Rozich also tied for the team lead with 5.5 tackles for loss. Besides tackling, Rozich did a little bit of everything for Bates. He picked off a pass and blocked a kick at Trinity, recovered a fumble in wins over Amherst and Tufts, sacked the quarterback against Colby, and broke up a pass against Wesleyan and Hamilton. 

Spencer (Mansfield, Texas) was named first team All-NESCAC at safety. This is the first All-NESCAC honor of Spencer's career. He recorded 50 total tackles and finished tied for second in the NESCAC with nine pass break-ups on the season. Spencer tallied a season-high 12 tackles against Trinity and picked off a pass against Wesleyan.

Lynskey (Cranford, N.J.) is a second team All-NESCAC selection at running back despite suffering an injury during the Williams game on Oct. 18. The team captain only played in five full games this season, but made a big impact. Lynskey finished with 564 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.

All three players had perhaps their best games against Tufts, helping Bates defeat the Jumbos 35-28 on Oct. 11. Rozich, Spencer, and Lynskey were each named to the D3football.com Team of the Week after the victory. 

Lynskey was also named the NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week and won the Gold Helmet Award from the New England Football Writers for the best performance by a football player in NCAA Division II or III in New England that week. He rushed for 221 yards and a career-high four touchdowns as Bates scored twice in the fourth quarter to rally for the win. He ran the ball a career-high 32 times in the contest, averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Lynskey's 24-yard touchdown run up the gut with 58 seconds left in regulation proved to be the game-winner for the Bobcats. 

Despite being known for his play at linebacker, Rozich was named the NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week after the win over Tufts. When senior long snapper Domenic Virelli (Melrose Park, Ill.) went down with an injury against the Jumbos, Rozich stepped in. He hadn't handled long snapping since high school but Rozich didn't allow the Bobcats to miss a beat, handling the duties on three punts and one PAT. Crucially, he was able to recover a muffed punt deep in Tufts territory late in the fourth quarter, setting up a Bates touchdown.

Spencer tallied six total tackles against Tufts, including five solo stops. He broke up a season-high three passes in the win.

This marks the first time since 2003 that Bates football has had two players named first team All-NESCAC on defense.