Northeast-10 Announces Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award Recipients

Posted: Apr 27, 2010

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South Easton, Mass. – The Northeast-10 Conference has announced its inaugural Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award recipients for the 2009-2010 winter athletic season in the sports of men’s & women’s basketball, men’s ice hockey, men’s & women’s swimming & diving and men’s & women’s indoor track & field.

Seven student-athletes, who excelled both on the field of play and in the classroom during the 2009-2010 winter athletic season, have been recognized. The seven athletes include Stonehill College men’s basketball player A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J.), Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball player Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) and men’s ice hockey player Dave Vorozilchak (Clark Summit, Pa.) from Saint Michael's College. Also being honored is men’s swimming athlete Miguel Nesrala (Santo Domingo, D.R.) and women’s diver Amanda Burden (Orange, Conn.) from Southern Connecticut State University. Furthermore, UMass Lowell’s men’s indoor track & field athlete Angus MacDonald (Methuen, Mass.) and women’s indoor track & field athlete Jacqui Barrett (Woburn, Mass.) were also honored.

Rudowitz, a senior business management major with a 3.37 gpa, helped lead Stonehill to the Northeast-10 Regular Season Championship as the Skyhawks advanced to the NCAA Tournament as the number one seed in the East Regional. Rudowitz finished his senior season averaging 14.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while recording 44 blocked shots. He was named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team for the second time in his career as well as being selected to the Daktronics All-East Region First team. Rudowitz also earned ESPN The Magazine District I Academic All-American first team honors. He also was named to this year’s NE-10 Academic All-Conference team.

Leedham, a three-time Northeast-10 Player of the Year, finished her senior season as the top player in Division II as she earned her second National Player of the Year honors from the WBCA. Leedham became the all-time scoring leader in Division II as she finished her career with 3,050 points. She led the nation in scoring (26.9 ppg), while ranking second in steals (4.2 spg) this year. The four-time All-Northeast-10 selection helped lead Franklin Pierce to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the third straight season. Leedham, a sports & recreation management major with a 3.38 gpa, was also selected named to the ESPN The Magazine District I Academic All-American second team. She was also selected to the NE-10 Academic All-Conference team this year.

Vorozilchak, a senior engineering major with a 3.70 gpa, finished his senior season ranked fourth amongst defensemen with 19 points, and third with 15 assists. During his career he compiled 10 goals, 35 assists for 45 points. Vorozilchak is a three-time Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipient and has made the Dean’s List all seven semesters at Saint Michael’s. He was also selected to the 2010 Northeast-10 Men’s Ice Hockey Academic All-Conference team.

Nesrala earned All-American honors in four events at this year’s NCAA Swimming & Diving Championship. The sophomore swimmer was honored in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle and the 800-yard freestyle relay. Nesrala was also part of seven top finishes at the Northeast-10 Championships, winning three events and being part of four relays. A business major, Nesrala has a 3.50 gpa and was named to the NE-10 Men’s Swimming & Diving Academic All-Conference team this year.

Burden, a psychology major with a gpa of 3.60, earned All-America honors in the one-meter diving event at this year’s NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. She won the one-meter and three-meter diving events at this year’s Northeast-10 Championships and in the process was named the championship’s Most Outstanding Diver for the second straight season. She also was named the NE-10 Diver of the Year for the second straight season. Burden is a two-time Northeast-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection and was also named to the NE-10 Academic All-Conference team.

MacDonald, a mathematics major with a 3.41 gpa, is a two-time All-American in his career as he placed eighth at this year’s NCAA Championship in the mile (4:15.04) and eighth in the distance medley relay. He also earned All-New England honors in two events and was part of the winning distance medley relay team. MacDonald was the runner-up in the 3,000-meter run. He also earned the NE-10 Scholar Athlete Sport Excellence award as a member of the men’s cross country team.

Barrett, a senior english major with a gpa of 3.56, was named the NCAA Division II East Region Field Athlete of the Year during the indoor track & field season. She earned All-American status as she was the runner-up at the NCAA Championships in the shot put event. Barrett placed second with a personal-best throw of 49’ 4.25”. She placed second at the New England Championships in the same event and was the NE-10 champion with a toss of 47’ 7.25”. Barrett is a two-time Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference selection (2009 & 2010).

The Northeast-10 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence awards are chosen by a vote of a committee of athletic administrators and Faculty Athletic Representatives (FAR). The Northeast-10 will honor one student-athlete per conference-sponsored sport each year. There will be a total of 23 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award winners during the course of the academic year. The conference will announce the spring sport winners in June.

To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence award the student-athlete must have completed at least two consecutive semesters of full-time enrollment at their current institution and at least two years of athletic eligibility at any institution. In addition, the student-athlete must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of a 3.30.

With 16 member institutions the Northeast-10 shares the distinction of being the largest Division II conference in the country along with the PSAC and WVIAC. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

-NE-10-

Northeast-10 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award

Men's Basketball: A.J. Rudowitz - Stonehill
Women's Basketball: Johannah Leedham – Franklin Pierce

Men's Ice Hockey: Dave Vorozilchak – Saint Michael’s

Men's Swimming & Diving: Miguel Nesrala – So. Connecticut

Women's Swimming & Diving: Amanda Burden – So. Connecticut

Men's Indoor Track & Field: Angus MacDonald – UMass Lowell

Women's Indoor Track & Field: Jacqui Barrett – UMass Lowell