16 Tartans Earn All-UAA Football Honors
(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team had 16 players honored when the All-University Athletic Association (UAA) Football Team was announced Tuesday, November 26 by the league coaches. Of the 16 selected, nine Tartans are making a repeat appearance on the All-UAA team with six marking the third time they were honored.
The offensive side of the ball saw four first-team selections in senior quarterback Rob Kalkstein (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway), senior wide receiver Tim Kikta (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair), senior guard Jacob Krause (Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) and junior wide out Tim Swanson (Millburn, N.J.). Joining the four offensive players on the first team are senior defensive lineman Ryan Jok (Novi, Mich.), senior inside linebacker Eric Rolfes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Madeira) and sophomore cornerback Vince Demarchi (Chesterland, Ohio/West Geauga) on the defensive side.
Of the first-team honorees, Krause is making his fourth straight appearance on the association team and first on the top squad. It marks Kalkstein's, Jok's and Rolfes' third honor with the signal caller repeating as a first-team member. Jok returned to the top team after earning second team recognition last season and Rolfes is making his first appearance on the top team. Kikta is repeating on the first team for his second selection while Swanson found a spot on first team after being name honorable mention a year ago. This marks Demarchi's first All-UAA honor.
Kalkstein turned in a career-best performance in the final game of the season against Case Western Reserve while breaking the school's career passing mark in his final collegiate game. He passed for a career-high 327 yards (the third 300-yard game of his career and second in 2013) while completing a career-best 22 passes on a career-high 39 attempts. The four-year starter also tossed three touchdowns and on his second one became the school's all-time passer. He passed Richie Squires' (1968-71) mark of 5,377 yards and finished his career with 5,519 yards passing. Kalkstein ended the season first in the UAA in pass yards (1,607) and total offense per game (174.9) for the second straight season.
Kikta and Swanson both finished the year with 26 receptions and three touchdown receptions each. Swanson totaled 548 yards receiving, 201 coming in the three UAA contests, and turned in two 100-yard games with a season-best 118 yards coming against Case. The junior led the UAA in receiving yards while ranking second in yards per game with a 55.4 average. Kikta was sixth in the association with 385 yards and recorded a season-best 102 yards receiving at Westminster.
Krause headed an offensive line that put together a balanced attack for the second straight season. The Tartans average 340.1 yards per game with 197.3 yards coming by way of the passing game and 142.8 on the ground. On three occasions in 2013, the Tartans compiled 400 yards or more of total offense while accomplishing the feat 12 times in the past four years. Senior offensive guard Nathan Cheek (Lancaster, Ohio), a second team honoree also played a factor in the success after overcoming a preseason injury. Fellow senior tackle Alexander Copeland (Bowie, Md./Dematha Catholic) was selected as an honorable mention honoree. It marked Cheek's fourth appearance on the All-UAA team and second for Copeland. Cheek garnered first team accolades his first three seasons while Copeland was a second-team member a year ago. Also contributing to the blocking upfront was senior tight end Bryce Pardoe (Muncy, Pa./East Lycoming) who was a second-team member for the second straight season. Pardoe totaled eight receptions this season with half of them going for scores. In the three UAA contests, the senior had five receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns.
Sophomore running back Troy Witt (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) rounds out the Tartans eight offensive selections with an appearance on the second team. Witt led the team and was second in the UAA with 431 rushing yards. He was also the team's third leading receiver with 24 catches for 238 yards. The second year back totaled four touchdowns, three rushing and one receiving. Witt recorded a career day in the Tartans' 26-7 win over Allegheny when he rushed for 102 yards and two scores.
On the defensive side of the ball, there were six Tartans honored with Jok, Rolfes and Demarchi leading the defense as first-team honorees. Jok ended the season with 43 total tackles while 28 of them came in UAA play. He recorded a career-high 12 tackles this season against University of Chicago. Jok totaled 5.0 tackles for a loss of 19 yards and forced one fumble. Rolfes was tied for the team lead with 76 tackles and totaled 4.5 tackles for a loss of 15 yards. The senior recorded his second career sack in 2013 and also recorded his first interception. Rolfes ended his career ranked 18th all the school's all-time tackles list with 172 career tackles. Demarchi was sixth on the team with 43 tackles while recording two interceptions, both in UAA play. The sophomore totaled nine pass breakups to total 11 passes defended which tied him for tops in the UAA. Seven of the passes defended came in association play.
Joining Jok, Rolfes and Demarchi on the All-UAA team is sophomore safety Malcolm Guya (Whitehall Pa.) and junior linebacker Alexander D'Angelo (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/St. Edward, who received second-team honors while senior safety Jack Butler (Kennesaw, Ga./North Cobb) and senior inside linebacker Akwasi Brefo (Lawrenceville, Ga./Central Gwinette) were named honorable mention. This marks Bulter's third showing on the All-UAA squad after earning second-team honors the past two seasons. For Brefo, he was an honorable mention member last season.
Guya ended the season with 45 tackles, 26 solo. In the Tartans setback to UAA Champion Washington University, Guya recorded a career-high 11 tackles while forcing a crucial fumble late in the fourth quarter and recorded two passes defended. D'Angelo was fourth on the team with 49 tackles, 31 going for solo stops. The junior led the team with two forced fumbles. Butler led the team with three interceptions and ended the season ranked third on the team with 57 tackles. The senior also totaled 11 passes defended which tied him for tops in the UAA with Demarchi. Butler ended his career with 177 total tackles ranking 16th in school history. Brefo was tied for the team lead in tackles with Butler, as the inside backer totaled 76 stops, including four for a loss of 16 yards. He finished his career with 201 total tackles ranking eighth on the career list.
Punter Tucker Smith (Fairhaven, N.J./Rumson-Fairhaven) was the lone special team Tartan to make the team. The senior was honored as a second-team selection. Smith led the UAA with an average of 39.1 yards per punt while placing 10 inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He tied his career-best kick this season with a 63-yard boot at Division I Mercer University.