FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2016
NE-10 Recognizes 62 Winter Student-Athletes
MANSFIELD, Mass. – The Northeast-10 Conference announced its Academic All-Conference teams along with Sport Excellence Award winners for the 2015-16 winter season on Wednesday.
For a full list of honorees, please see below.
In total, 62 winter student-athletes from all 15 NE-10 institutions were recognized with NE-10 Academic All-Conference honors. Additionally, one Sport Excellence Award winner was chosen from each of the following seven winter sports: men’s and women’s basketball, men’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, as well as men’s and women’s swimming and diving.
Bentley led the way with 11 academic all-conference choices and was the only institution to have two Sport Excellence Award winners. Southern Connecticut was next with seven honorees, including five from its women’s indoor track & field team, while Assumption and Le Moyne each had six student-athletes represented.
Bentley’s Keegan Hyland repeated as a Sport Excellence Award winner, taking the honor for the sport of men’s basketball for the second straight year. Hyland, a graduate student going for his MBA with a concentration in finance, has himself a 3.92 GPA and landed academic all-conference laurels for the third in his career. A two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and second team all-conference performer this season, Hyland was fourth in the NE-10 with 20.4 points per game on 50.5 percent shooting while also grabbing 7.2 rebounds per game for the NE-10 Northeast Division Champions.
American International’s Brianna Bishop garnered the sport excellence honor in women’s basketball this year. Bishop posted a GPA of 3.90 while majoring in physical therapy as a senior. She was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team this year and was a first team all-conference selection after guiding the Yellow Jackets to the NE-10 Southwest Division title. Bishop finished her career at AIC near the top of the program’s all-time list for three-point field goals made and three-point percentage. She averaged 13.9 points per game and was second in the country with a 93.3 percent free-throw percentage in 2015-16 and led the Yellow Jackets to one of its best seasons in program history.
The NE-10 Sport Excellence Award winner from the sport of ice hockey was Danny Divis of Saint Michael’s. A junior with a 3.80 GPA as a business and english major, Divis has been named to the academic all-conference team for the second time and is a five-time NE-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection. On the ice, he led all NE-10 defensemen with 12 assists on the year while chipping in two goals in 24 games for the Purple Knights, earning a spot on the All-Conference First Team.
Franklin Pierce’s Jon Holmes collected the Men’s Indoor Track & Field Sport Excellence Award. Holmes, a junior majoring in graphic communications/ marketing, posted a 3.82 GPA while representing the Ravens at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships this year. At this year’s NE-10 Championships, he was a part of the Ravens’ conference-title winning 4x800-meter and distance medley relay teams. Holmes earned a spot on the USTFCCCA National All-Academic Team while collecting All-East Region honors in both the 5000 meters and the distance medley relay.
Merrimack’s Carly Muscaro earned the sport excellence honor in women’s indoor track & field this year. Muscaro, a junior criminal justice major with a 3.84 GPA, was one of the league’s two national champions at this year’s NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Muscaro recently became Merrimack’s first-ever indoor track & field student-athlete to claim a national title, winning the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.34. She was named the NE-10 Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and USTFCCCA East Region Track Athlete of the Year as well.
The Sport Excellence Award winner for the sport of men’s swimming and diving was Le Moyne’s Timothy Buff. A junior swimmer, Buff boasts a 3.951 GPA while majoring in business finance and marketing. At the NE-10 Championships, he posted the second-fastest time in his career and the program’s history in both the 400-yard IM and 1650-yard freestyle while helping the Dolphins’ 800-yard freestyle relay team set a new school record. Buff earns the sport excellence accolade for the second straight year.
Bentley’s Nicola Mancini was named the Women’s Swimming and Diving Sport Excellence Award winner. Mancini posted a 3.54 GPA as a marketing major while earning All-America status this season. She was tabbed as the NE-10 Women’s Diver of the Year for the third time in her career this past season. At the NE-10 Championships, she earned Women’s Diving Most Valuable Athlete after winning the one- and three-meter diving events. Mancini then placed sixth in the three-meter dive to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.
To be eligible for selection to the Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference Teams, a student-athlete must have met or exceeded the following minimum requirements: 1) participated in at least half of the team's competitions and been either a starter or significant contributor; 2) achieved a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale); and 3) completed at least one academic year at his/her current institution.
Winter 2015-16 Academic All-Conference
Men's Basketball (5)
Anthony Libroia, Adelphi
Keegan Hyland, Bentley *^#
Tyler McFarland, Bentley
Tyler Sayre, Saint Rose ^
Pierce Cumpstone, Stonehill
Women's Basketball (8)
Sierra Clark, Adelphi
Brianna Bishop, American International *
Kelly Conley, Assumption *
Kara Charette, Franklin Pierce *
Briana Bradford, New Haven
Lauren Hebert, New Haven
Makenzie Burud, Saint Michael’s *
Erin Doherty, Southern New Hampshire
Ice Hockey (6)
Ryan Gomez, Assumption *
Stephen Picard, Assumption
Jonathan Haun, Franklin Pierce
Brendon Kerrigan, Saint Anselm
Danny Divis, Saint Michael’s *
Jim Gabrione, Southern New Hampshire *^
Men's Indoor Track & Field (10)
Sean Grady, Adelphi
Mitchell Byrne, American International
Erik Alatalo, Bentley
Tim Bolick, Bentley
Sean Nee, Bentley
Jon Holmes, Franklin Pierce *
Jordan Rippe, New Haven
Luke Velez, Southern Connecticut
Jason Dimmick, Stonehill
Mark Hamalian, Stonehill
Women's Indoor Track & Field (13)
Emily Hagarty, Adelphi
Dana Bramble, American International
Rachel Avard, Assumption *
Gwen Sawyer, Assumption
Carly Muscaro, Merrimack *
Riley Knebes, New Haven
Adriana Carrasco, Southern Connecticut
Kiara Kallaway, Southern Connecticut
Kathryn Heacox, Southern Connecticut
Crystle Hill, Southern Connecticut *
Sarah Vaughan, Southern Connecticut *^
Aisha McAdams, Stonehill
Trisha Pierson, Stonehill *^#
Men's Swimming and Diving (10)
Colton Bridge, Bentley ^
Kevin Diefenbach, Bentley
Owen Karl, Bentley ^
Timothy Buff, Le Moyne *#
Ronald Lowe, Le Moyne *
Andrew Raiola, Le Moyne
Daniel Tarbrake, Le Moyne *
Brian Sosa, Pace
Ryan Butler, Saint Michael’s
Elie McRae, Saint Rose *
Women's Swimming and Diving (10)
Victoria Weber, Assumption
Nicola Mancini, Bentley
Kaitlin McGahie, Bentley
Anne Warren, Bentley
Alyssa Baker, Le Moyne
Tara O'Donnell, Le Moyne *
Madison Kiefer, Pace
Julie Shea, Saint Michael’s
Shannon Walsh, Saint Rose
Katherine Krajcik, Southern Connecticut *
* - 2014-15 Academic All-Conference
^ - 2013-14 Academic All-Conference
Sport Excellence Award winners in bold italics
# - Former Sport Excellence Award winner
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST-10
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 6,500 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 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.