FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 21, 2014

Winners to be honored at Northeast-10 yearend banquet

SOUTH EASTON, Mass. – The Northeast-10 Conference office is pleased and excited to announce the three finalists for its annual Man and Woman of the Year Awards, which will be presented to the respective winners at the league’s yearend banquet on Monday, June 2 in Burlington, Vt.

The three finalists for the 2014 Northeast-10 Man of the Year Award are Assumption College’s Michael Bates (football), Le Moyne College’s Patrick Wiese (baseball) and The College of Saint Rose’s Dominykas Milka (basketball).

The Woman of the Year finalists are Adelphi University’s Devan Crimi (lacrosse), Bentley University’s Lauren Battista (basketball) and Stonehill College’s Devin Ingersoll (field hockey).

Bates, a team captain for the Greyhounds football team last season, has a 3.50 GPA as an Accounting major and was named the 2014 Rev. Armand Desautels Award winner, given annually to Assumption’s Premier Senior Student-Athlete. A former Northeast-10 Sport Excellence Winner and three-time Academic All-Conference honoree, he has been a Northeast-10 All-Conference selection the past three seasons as well, including a 2013 First Team choice at defensive back. The Holden, Mass. native totaled 96 tackles, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and three interceptions last fall.

Off the field, Bates initiated the program’s involvement with Team IMPACT, as the Greyhounds welcomed a young boy named Yan into its football family over two years ago. Bates has also volunteered his time at the Chaffins Recreation Association in his hometown and has served as a lead mentor in the Mentors in Violence Program. 

“My determination to always find time to help out those in need has taught me the values of perseverance and self-sacrifice,” says Bates. “I have learned how to overcome challenges and I treasure my countless friendships on my team, in the class, or even the one with the little six-year-old boy [Yan] battling tumors. I have always taken the initiative to be the best I can be in this world and to get the most out of it. It is the way my parents raised me and I am forever grateful.”

Wiese, a 2013 Northeast-10 All-Conference First Team selection after hitting .333 with 39 runs and 27 stolen bases as a junior, carries a 3.49 GPA as a Communications major. The Fayetteville, N.Y. native and two-year team captain has also served on the Le Moyne Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) during his four years with the Dolphins.

Wiese, who was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma cancer last summer at age 21, is the founder of the Patrick Wiese Organization, which has raised over $25,000 for cancer research and to help support cancer patients and their families.

“As a result of my diagnosis, I have not only walked a path few young people take, but I have established the foundation to support children and their families with similar diagnoses,” says Wiese. “Being able to continue my education, and completing my senior year mostly from a hospital bed, has inspired me to offer financial, emotional and academic support to other students in an attempt to maintain 'normalcy' and the mental competitiveness necessary to beat their disease. I have had the opportunity and the responsibility to set an example of living my life in service of others.”

Milka, who is from Ridgewood, N.Y. and is a Lithuania native, is an Accounting major with a 3.65 GPA at Saint Rose. On the court, the Golden Knights big man has averaged 19.1 points and 12.0 rebounds combined the past two years, earning Northeast-10 First Team honors both seasons. He was also spotlighted in a 'I am the Northeast-10' video segment this past March.

In the classroom, Milka is a two-time Capital One Academic All-America honoree, and has also amassed a number of achievements in the community. He has volunteered his time with Charity Wheelchair Basketball games, patient visits to Roosevelt Island Hospital and the Albany Country Regional Food Bank, among others.

“I was a boy in a small town in Lithuania that loved basketball, and by being a hard-working athlete I got to live an immigrant’s dream in America,” says Milka. “Over four years at Saint Rose, I became aware that if you really want to be a good leader, you have to always give back to the community. My service experiences have given me a chance to realize that you cannot take anything in life for granted. I believe you have to appreciate all of your blessings because not everyone has what you may have.”

Among the Woman of the Year finalists, Crimi is a two-time NCAA Division II national champion with the Panthers and has a 3.69 GPA as a Business Management major, with a specialization in marketing. On the field, the team captain has garnered Northeast-10 First Team laurels each of the last three seasons and was named the 2014 Northeast-10 Player of the Year.

The West Islip, N.Y. native totaled 248 goals and 132 assists for 380 points in her four years with the Panthers, and also earned Capital One Academic All-District recognition in 2013 and 2014. In the community, Crimi has been involved with Cans for Cancer, PAL clinics and numerous lacrosse camps.

“While all have been important aspects of my life, I used to think academics, athletics and community service were not interrelated,” says Crimi. “I studied during the day, strived to be the best on the field during the afternoon, then scurried off to lacrosse clinics at night to help spread knowledge of the game to youth leagues. But recently I realized by combining all three, I found a career path I was destined to follow, as in the last few months I have started my own company that will help aid me in spreading the knowledge of lacrosse to youths across the country. It is a true result of the leadership I have learned from my community, lacrosse team, and education that Adelphi University had to offer me.”

A two-year team captain for Bentley, Battista was named the 2014 Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association (WBCA) Player of the Year en route to leading the Falcons to the NCAA Division II national championship and a perfect 35-0 record this past winter. The North Easton, Mass. native has a stellar 3.95 GPA as a Marketing & Liberal Studies major and has received Capital One Academic All-America honors for three straight years. In the community, Battista has volunteered her time with Team IMPACT, Habitat for Humanity and SAAC.

A two-time Northeast-10 Player of the Year (2012, 2014), Battista helped Bentley advance to the Elite Eight as a freshman, the Final Four as a sophomore and the regional title game as a junior before this season’s national title run. The Falcons went 124-11 (.919) over her four years, as she averaged 15.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and shot 54.3 percent for her career. Bentley also won the Northeast-10 Championship all four seasons Battista donned the uniform, as she was also named the championship's Most Outstanding Player all four years – a feat that had never been done before in conference history.

“Since my team’s national championship victory, I have been approached by aspiring athletes, fellow students, faculty, alumni, and other fans who have showered me with praise and admiration for being a positive role model and ambassador for women’s college athletics. My roles as a scholar and as an athlete have defined critical components of my character, but my experience giving back to others has had the biggest influence on the person I am today. Through my work with Team IMPACT, I have been able to foster a relationship with a young girl battling leukemia and her family. Her optimism and strength inspire me daily. The experience has taught me to be grateful for everything I have been blessed with in life and that no challenge is too big to overcome.”

Ingersoll, a team captain, has a 3.84 GPA as an Environmental Science major at Stonehill. She was a Northeast-10 First Team selection and an NFHCA All-America Second Team choice each of the last two years, having totaled 17 goals and 12 assists for 46 points over that span for the Skyhawks.

A two-time Capital One Academic All-District selection, the Londonderry, N.H. native was Stonehill’s top Environmental Science major among 2014 graduating seniors and was a 2014 Vice President Student Life Award recipient. Her efforts off the field have included serving as a founding member and Co-President of Food Truth, a Green Executive Council member and a Stonehill Reunion Student Aid worker.

“As I enter the next chapter of my life I reflect on the experiences that have made me the well-rounded, confident woman I am today,” says Ingersoll. “Early on in my college career, I became a frequent volunteer at the Farm at Stonehill, an organic farm that donates all produce grown. Volunteering fueled my passion for creating a sustainable food system at Stonehill and beyond. But in realizing it is not enough to end hunger and food injustices effectively, our organization gathered support from students and staff for the administration to sign a commitment to sustainably source 20% of our food purchases by 2020. As the 22nd institution nationwide to do so, the campaign exceeded my expectations and showed me how passion and perseverance can change the community for the better.”

The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,000 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes. 

– #NE10 –