TROY, N.Y. – The Union College football team had 11 players recognized for their successes on the gridiron this season with spots on the All-Liberty League Teams, the conference office announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Senior
Ethan VanderBrink was Union's lone first-team selection as a member of the defensive line. Union had seven spots taken on the second team: seniors
Cole DaSilva (linebacker),
Nate Sullivan (defensive back and long snapper),
James Gillespie (defensive back) and
Robbie Tolbert (wide receiver), junior
Nick Olivola (offensive line), and sophomore
Hayden Hall (punter).
The Garnet Chargers also had four players named honorable mention this season, with senior running back
Michael Fiore, senior defensive back
Emmanuel Green, junior defensive lineman
Charles Johnson and junior quarterback
Patch Flanagan earning recognition as well.
VanderBrink moves up from the second team in 2023 to the first team in 2024 after an excellent senior season at defensive end. He led all Liberty League players with 7.5 sacks on the season while also tying for ninth in the conference with 71 total tackles and sixth in tackles for loss (12). He finished his four-year career with 156 tackles, 32 tackles for loss and 15 sacks in 38 career games.
DaSilva is named to the second team for the second year in a row after a huge season in the middle of the Union defensive unit. The senior racked up 121 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and two sacks in 10 games, giving him 32 more tackles than anyone else in the conference with an average of 12.1 tackles per game. He finished the year fourth in Division III in tackles and 20th in solo tackles (5.7/gm) with a total that ranks fourth on the school single-season list. His 269 total tackles are tied for sixth on the school career list as well.
Sullivan earns his third All-Conference recognition in four seasons, earning second-team honors both for his work in the defensive backfield and on special teams. He set a new career high with 54 tackles and recorded one interception and three passes defended as a senior, giving him 147 tackles and seven picks over his four-year career. He was joined at the safety position by Gillespie, who made a career-high 71 tackles and added two interceptions and four passes defended as a senior, increasing his totals to six picks and 123 tackles for his career.
Fiore picked up his second career All-Conference honor after rushing for 423 yards and two touchdowns as a senior. His 2,265 career rushing yards are 11th-most in program history and his 28 career rushing touchdowns are seventh-most ever by a Union runner. Olivola also is recognized for a second straight season after earning honorable mention as a sophomore, making the move from center to right tackle in his third season and starting all 10 games for the Garnet Chargers.
Hall and Tolbert were both honored for the first time in their careers. Hall averaged 41.5 yards per punt in his first year with the team, the highest average for a Union player in 60 years and the 10th-best average in Division III this season. Tolbert hauled in a career-best 41 catches for 440 yards and five touchdowns as a senior, moving him into eighth place in career receptions (114) and 10th in career touchdown catches (15) at Union.
Flanagan, Green and Johnson all received their first career All-League honors this season as well. Flanagan led the Liberty League with 1,898 passing yards and 15 touchdowns in his first season as a full-time starter, averaging 189.8 yards per game through the air and also rushing for a team-best 48.1 yards per game. Green made a career-high 31 tackles and added his first collegiate interception in his final season, while Johnson chipped in 57 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and four sacks in his first season as a full-time starter on the defensive line.
