FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2013
Additional Info Provided by Athletics Communications Staffs
Nine student-athletes from five schools earn distinction
SOUTH EASTON, Mass. – The Northeast-10
Conference is pleased to announce its nine Scholar-Athlete Sport
Excellence Award winners for the 2013 spring athletic season in the
sports of baseball, golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse,
softball, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and
women’s outdoor track & field.
The student-athletes garnering recognition are Merrimack
College’s Joe Mantoni (baseball);
Bentley University’s Matt Michel
(golf); Le Moyne College’s Josh
Klepfer (men’s lacrosse, pictured); Stonehill
College’s Kayla Green
(women’s lacrosse); Adelphi University’s
Emily Dorko (softball),
Adelphi’s Andreas Hammar
(men’s tennis); Adelphi’s Maria
Toft (women’s tennis); Bentley’s
John Drago (men’s outdoor track
& field); and Bentley’s Amy
Varsell (women’s outdoor track &
field).
All nine have also received Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference
honors, while five participated in NCAA Championship play this past
spring. In addition, Michel, Klepfer and Varsell are collecting
Sport Excellence honors from the conference in their respective
sports for the second straight year.
The conference’s Sport Excellence Awards recognize
student-athletes that have excelled both on the field of play and
in the classroom. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have
completed at least two consecutive semesters of full-time
enrollment at their current institution, two total years of
athletic eligibility, and maintain a minimum cumulative grade point
average of a 3.30.
Mantoni, drafted in the 18th round of last month’s MLB
First-Year Player Draft by the Cincinnati Reds, had 36 RBI this
past season along with eight saves and 1.61 ERA on the mound for
Merrimack, which advanced to the Northeast-10 Championship contest
before missing out on at at-large bid to the NCAA East Regional. A
2013 Northeast-10 Second Team pick, Mantoni carried a 3.87 GPA as
an Economics major and was lauded as a Capital One Academic
All-America Third Team selection. He was also named
Merrimack’s 2013 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Michel, a two-time Capital Once Academic All-America selection,
led the Falcons with a 75.8 stroke average this past year and was
Bentley’s top golfer at the NCAA Regional. A Corporate
Finance & Accounting major with a 3.88 GPA, Michel received the
2013 Powers Award as Bentley's outstanding senior scholar-athlete
and was also the recipient of NEIGA Guy Tedesco Award. The team
captain is also a two-time PING All-East Region choice.
Klepfer, a defender for the 2013 NCAA Division II Men’s
Lacrosse National Champions, is an Accounting major with a 3.94
GPA, which is the highest among the nine Sport Excellence winners.
This past season for the Dolphins, he started all 20 games and
caused a team-leading 21 turnovers and also amassed a career-high
31 ground balls. He helped anchor a defense that allowed a
nation-best 5.55 goals per game.
Green earned Capital One Academic All-America At-Large Third Team
honors this year after compiling a 3.72 GPA as a Communication
major. On the field, she was an IWLCA All-America Second Team
selection after totaling 64 goals and 25 assists for Stonehill,
which advanced to the first round of the NCAA Championship.
Dorko, a two-sport student-athlete (softball and volleyball)
during her career at Adelphi, hit .495 this past season with 57
runs scored and 21 stolen bases. For her accomplishments on the
diamond, she was a Northeast-10 and NFCA All-America First Team
selection. In the classroom, she had a 3.59 GPA as a Marketing
major. She was also on hand at the Northeast-10 annual yearend
banquet, where she spoke on behalf of her school and fellow
student-athletes when Adelphi was presented with the prestigious
2013 Northeast-10 Presidents’ Cup. She also was a blogger for the conference office each of the
last two years.
Hammar, who was named the 2012 Vern Cox Northeast-10 Men’s
Tennis Player of the Year, was a Capital One Academic All-America
At-Large selection this past year. A Norrtälje, Sweden native,
Hammar has a 3.84 GPA as a Marketing major while playing No. 1
singles for the Panthers.
Toft, a 2013 Northeast-10 Second Team selection at No. 1 singles
for Adelphi, is a Business Management major with a 3.77 GPA. She
was also named to the Northeast-10 All-Championship Team three
times in her four-year career, including this past year.
Drago, a Corporate Finance & Accounting major with a 3.81
GPA, has garnered Capital One Academic All-America honors each of
the last two years. He is the only runner in Bentley program
history to post marks under four minutes in the 1500, 10 minutes in
the two-mile and 15 minutes in the 5,000. Drago, who also majored
in Liberal Studies, finished fifth in the 5,000 at the 2013
Northeast-10 Championship.
Varsell, a two-time Capital One Academic All-America First Team
selection, is a Corporate Finance & Accounting major with a
3.84 GPA. She earned All-America status for the fifth time in her
career with a seventh-place finish in the 1,500 meters during the
NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Pueblo, Colo. She
also placed second in both the 800 and 1,500 during the
Northeast-10 Championships.
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 16 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. 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.
2013
Northeast-10 Spring Scholar-Athlete Sport
Excellence
Baseball – Joe Mantoni, Merrimack
Golf – Matt Michel, Bentley
Men’s Lacrosse - Josh Klepfer, Le Moyne
Women’s Lacrosse – Kayla Green, Stonehill
Softball – Emily Dorko, Adelphi
Men’s Tennis - Andreas Hammar, Adelphi
Women’s Tennis – Maria Toft, Adelphi
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field – John Drago,
Bentley
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field – Amy Varsell,
Bentley
– #NE10 –
