FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Award Winners Announced on Monday, June 7, on NE10 NOW.
MANSFIELD, Mass. – Of the 14 institutional nominees for both the Northeast-10 Conference Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, the lists have been narrowed down to three finalists each, as announced by the league office on Wednesday.
Finalists for the NE10 Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year awards this year represent four different schools and six different sports. The announcement of award recipients will be made the night of Monday, June 7, on NE10 NOW – the conference's digital streaming platform.
Eligibility requirements for nomination are that a student-athlete must be in their final year of athletic eligibility, graduating with a degree in May (unless in a master's program), must be enrolled in a full-time course load and must have a minimum final cumulative grade point average of 3.30. A committee made up of faculty members and athletic administrators conducts voting for the awards.
Each of the league's 14 member institutions nominated at least one student-athlete for each award and the 28 total nominations were released last week.
For information on our finalists, please see below.
NE10 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Finalists
Ellis Yoder, Bentley
Sport: Men's Golf
Undergraduate Major: Computer Information Systems
Undergraduate GPA: 3.968
Graduate Program: Digital Innovation
Yoder has excelled in the classroom as a four-year athlete in the Bentley men's golf program. He is a two-time winner of the NE10 Elite 24 Award, two-time Academic All-Conference, a multi-time D2ADA Academic Achievement Award winner and a CoSIDA Academic All-American Third Team selection.
On the course, Yoder is a two-time captain for Bentley. He was an All-Conference selection in 2019-20 and helped Bentley qualify for the NCAA Regionals in both 2019 and 2021.
Willem van Biezen, SNHU
Sport: Men's Tennis
Undergraduate Major: International Business
Undergraduate GPA: 3.744
Graduate Program: MBA
Graduate GPA: 3.714
van Biezen has been a standout in the classroom and on the court for SNHU men's tennis, as the 2020 ITA All-American and East Region Senior Player of the Year has enjoyed an outstanding academic career in college. He is a perennial member of SNHU's President's List and Dean's List, as well as the NE10 Academic Honor Roll.
He is a four-time NE10 First Team All-Conference selection at both singles and doubles and was the ITA East Region singles champion in 2019. van Biezen also helped lead the Penmen to the 2019 NE10 Men's Tennis title.
Derek Ivey, Stonehill
Sport: Football
Undergraduate Major: Economics
Undergraduate GPA: 3.94
Ivey has been outstanding in the classroom during his time with Stonehill football, most recently earning the NE10 Elite 24 Award and being named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy. He is a CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team selection, a D2ADA Academic Achievement Award winner and a member of the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society.
Ivey was the starting right tackle for a high-powered Stonehill offense in 2019, which averaged a league-best 415.8 yards of offense per game. He started in all 10 games for the Skyhawks in the same year that he was named NE10 Academic All-Conference.
NE10 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Finalists
Alyssa Muller, Adelphi
Sport: Softball
Undergraduate Major: Psychology
Undergraduate GPA: 3.979
Muller has been as good in the classroom as she has been pitching in the circle at Adelphi, earning a D2ADA Academic Achievement Award and being named CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2019-20. She is a two-time NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete and a remarkable three-time recipient of the NE10 Elite 24 Award.
Athletically, Muller was recently named the NE10's Southwest Division Pitcher of the Year and is now a two-time NE10 First Team All-Conference selection. Additionally, she was an NFCA/D2CCA Second Team All-Region player and ECAC Pitcher of the Year in 2019.
Hélène Servais, SNHU
Sport: Field Hockey
Undergraduate Major: International Business
Undergraduate GPA: 3.921
Graduate Program: MBA
Graduate GPA: 4.0
Servais has been a top-notch student-athlete at SNHU, earning NFHCA honors as a Scholar of Distinction in 2020. She is a four-time member of the NFHCA National Academic Squad, a D2ADA Academic Achievement Award winner and a CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large Team selection.
She also made a big impact on the field, earning NFHCA All-America First Team honors in 2019. Servais also is an NE10 First Team All-Conference pick, as well as the NE10 Rookie of the Year in 2017. She is also responsible for bringing Hope Happens Here (HHH), a mental health awareness campaign, to the SNHU campus.
Sophia Poveda, Stonehill
Undergraduate Major: Political Science and International Studies
Undergraduate GPA: 3.71
Poveda has made the most of her time at Stonehill by giving back to her local community. She served for three years as a volleyball counselor at the Ace's Girls Program, which encourages female empowerment for local youth. She also is a two-time Team IMPACT contributor through Stonehill's volleyball program. Poveda has donated her time to Heights Crossing Rehabilitation Center, Trinity Catholic Academy and My Brother's Keeper, among others.
She is a two-time team captain for the Skyhawks. Poveda has contributed to her campus as a teaching assistant, tutor and peer mentor. Additionally, she worked at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as a summer associate in 2019 – the same year she was named NE10 First Team All-Conference as a junior.
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 15 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 student-athletes compete in conference championships, making the NE10 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 NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
