FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NE10 Banquet is on Sunday, June 4.
MANSFIELD, Mass. – Of the 26 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 Tuesday afternoon.
Finalists for the NE10 Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year awards this year represent five different schools and seven different sports. The announcement of award recipients will be made the night of Sunday, June 4, as part of the NE10 Banquet hosted by Pace University.
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 13 member institutions nominated at least one student-athlete for each award and the list of 26 nominees was released on May 16.
For information on our finalists, please see below.
NE10 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Finalists
Ronnie Silva, Adelphi
Sport: Men's Basketball
Undergraduate Major: Sport Management
Undergraduate GPA: 3.7
Graduate Program: Sport Management
Graduate GPA: 4.0
Silva is a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and a three-time winner of the D2ADA Academic Achievement Award, while his outstanding academic work also led him to a pair of NE10 Sport Excellence Award honors. He is a three-time selection to First Team All-Conference and was a D2CCA All-East Region First Team player in 2021-22. Silva finished his career as the leading scorer in the history of the Adelphi's men's basketball program (2,048 points) and is just one of two players to ever hit the 2,000-point mark in school history.
Riley Fenoff, Franklin Pierce
Sport: Cross Country/Track & Field
Undergraduate Major: Psychology
Undergraduate GPA: 4.0
Graduate Program: MBA (Leadership)
Graduate GPA: 4.0
Fenoff is a five-year captain of the Franklin Pierce cross country and track & field programs and is a four-time winner of the NE10 Elite 24 Award for outstanding achievement in the classroom. He is a two-time All-Conference honoree, as well as a multi-time CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree. Fenoff is a six-time selection to the NE10 Academic All-Conference team in cross country and track & field.
Mitchell McCabe, Pace
Sport: Baseball
Undergraduate Major: Business Management
Undergraduate GPA: 3.9
Graduate Major: Marketing Analytics
Graduate GPA: 3.84
McCabe had a remarkable spring season at Pace - collecting the NE10's Elite 24 Award for his outstanding academic work while leading the baseball program to its first-ever NE10 Championship title - as he completed his graduate work with a near-perfect 4.0 GPA. He was a multi-year team captain for the Setters and is a three-time All-Conference selection, as well as a two-time selection to the NE10 Academic All-Conference team. He is also a top-three finalist for the NE10 Man of the Year award.
NE10 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Finalists
Naomi Eckert Rivera, American International
Sport: Volleyball
Undergraduate Major: Exercise Science
Undergraduate GPA: 3.96
Eckert Rivera is a two-time NE10 Setter of the Year, proving to be a critical piece for the American International volleyball program that has won each of the past two NE10 Championship titles. She is a three-time selection to the All-Conference First Team, a two-time All-Region selection and a two-time AVCA All-America Honorable Mention. Eckert Rivera has excelled in the classroom as well, earning two selections to the NE10 Academic All-Conference team as an Exercise Science major.
Kayla Conway, Pace
Sport: Women's Lacrosse
Undergraduate Major: Public Accounting
Undergraduate GPA: 3.83
Graduate Program: MBA
Graduate GPA: 3.89
Conway helped Pace reached the top of the mountain this season, as the Setters won their first-ever NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship with a dominant performance against West Chester. Conway was named an NE10 Co-Midfielder of the Year in another remarkable season, which saw her earn First Team All-Conference honors for the third time in her career. She has earned All-Region and All-America honors during her time at Pace, as well as being named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll (2021, 2022) and CoSIDA Academic All-District team (2022). She is a two-time NE10 Academic All-Conference team selection, as of May, 2023.
Olivia Strelevitz, Southern Connecticut
Sport: Swimming & Diving
Undergraduate Major: English
Undergraduate GPA: 3.903
Strelevitz has been a two-year captain for the SCSU women's swimming & diving program, which has won the NE10 Championship in each of the past three years. She is a two-time selection to the NE10 Academic All-Conference team and was named the NE10 Sport Excellence Award winner for women's swimming & diving this past season. Strelevitz is a four-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) on campus and served as vice president in her senior year. She is also a top-three finalist for the NE10 Woman of the Year award.
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 13 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.
