DANBURY, Conn. – Seniors Cole DaSilva and Ethan VanderBrink of the Union College football team added one more honor to their stellar senior seasons, earning spots on the All-ECAC first team, the Eastern College Athletic Conference announced on Thursday.
 
DaSilva adds his first All-ECAC honor to his D3football.com All-Region and All-Liberty League nods 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, an average of 12.1 tackles per game. He finished the year fourth in Division III in tackles per game and 20th in solo tackles per game (5.7/gm) with a total that ranks fourth on the school single-season list and the most by a Union player since 2009. He ended the season with three straight games of 15 tackles or more, including a career-high 17 against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that ranks sixth on the school single-game list. His 269 career tackles are tied for sixth all-time at the school as well.

VanderBrink picks up his first All-ECAC selection after earning Union's only All-Liberty League first-team honor. The senior had an excellent season at defensive end, leading all Liberty League players and ranking in the top-50 of Division III 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 also added a team-best five quarterback hurries and tied for 21st in Division III with two blocked kicks. His best game of the year came at St. Lawrence University, recording three sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss as part of an eight-tackle afternoon. He finished his four-year career with 156 tackles, 32 tackles for loss and 15 sacks in 38 career games.

The two selections are Union's 22nd and 23rd All-ECAC selections since the conference combined all regions into one team in 2018, and their nods mark Union's sixth straight season with at least one All-ECAC honoree, including five years with at least two.