Moon Township, Pa. - Senior Kiel Matisz (Stoney Creek, Ontario / Saltfleet) of Robert Morris University was honored by the Northeast Conference Wednesday for his performance on the field and in the classroom, as he was selected the 2012 NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the sport of men's lacrosse.

To be eligible for the NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in a sport, a student-athlete must have earned a minimum of 60 semester hours, maintained a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.20 and participated with distinction as a member of a varsity team.

Owning a double major in both economics and marketing, Matisz compiled a 3.75 grade point average over the course of his academic career at RMU.

It marks the second consecutive season Matisz claims the NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, as he was also bestowed the accolade in 2011. He is one of five student-athletes in school history to be named the NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year on multiple occasions, joining former track & field standouts Jim Baughman (1999, 2000) and Jeff Witmyer (2007, 2008), former volleyball player Amanda Graham (2009, 2010) and former softball player Annie Dubovec (2010, 2011).

Named both the 2012 NEC Player of the Year and the 2012 NEC Offensive Player of the Year, those two honors were just the tip of the iceberg for Matisz this spring. He took home the program's highest honor in school history by earning a spot on the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-America Third Team and was also a semifinalist for the Tewaaraton Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top player.

In 2012, Matisz, a midfielder, established a new single-season school record for points (64) thanks to 40 goals and 24 assists, ranking sixth nationally in points per game (4.27) for the nation's most prolific scoring offense. A three-time All-NEC First Team selection, Matisz finished his career second all-time at Robert Morris in points (166) and assists (72) and fourth in goals (94).

Thanks to his performance both on the field and in the classroom, Matisz was named to the 2012 Capital One District II Academic All-America Team as an at-large selection and became the first student-athlete in school history to be named one of 10 national finalists for the 2012 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for men's lacrosse.

In addition to the honor for Matisz, a total of 122 student-athletes from Robert Morris covering nine spring sports, including 45 male student-athletes, were named to the 2012 NEC Spring Academic Honor Roll. To be eligible for the honor roll, student-athletes must have posted a cumulative GPA of 3.20 and be an active member of an officially recognized varsity team. Freshmen are eligible for the honor roll.

Of RMU's 122 student-athletes to be named to the 2012 NEC Spring Academic Honor Roll, 42 earned spots on the NEC Spring Commissioner's Honor Roll. To garner the honor, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.75, and freshmen are eligible for the honor roll.

To view the entire list of Robert Morris student-athletes that competed in a spring sport named to either the 2012 NEC Spring Academic Honor Roll or the 2012 NEC Spring Commissioner's Honor Roll, please click on the respective links associated with this article.