For Immediate Release
July 13, 2011
South Easton, Mass. – The Northeast-10 Conference has announced its Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award recipients for the 2011 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 and field.
Nine student-athletes, who excelled both on the field of play and in the classroom during the 2011 spring season, have been recognized by the Northeast-10 conference office, and were named Sport Excellence Award winners. The athletes include four conference players of the year in their respective sports, including a five-time national champion, and another who was a member of Adelphi University's national title in women's lacrosse.
Eight of the conference's member institutions had an athlete recognized, with the University of Massachusetts Lowell the only school with two winners.
Adelphi's Kristin Jones is a member of the women's lacrosse team that recently won its third consecutive national title. She majored in history with a 3.885 grade point average, and was an NCAA Division II Elite 88 Award winner. Jones was also named the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II Scholar-Athlete of the Year. On the field, she started every game for the Panthers, helping lead them to a perfect 20-0 record. A defensive stalwart, Jones forced 20 turnovers and scooped up 41 ground balls.
Derek Ingui, a member of the baseball team at Franklin Pierce University, has a 3.81 GPA, and majored in Biology. The All-Conference designated hitter was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team, and was also named to the NE-10's Academic All-Conference Team. Ingui led the league with a .387 batting average and was second in slugging percentage (.634) and fourth in on-base percentage (.454). He was a consensus All Region First Team selection, and was a semifinalist for the College Baseball Lineup's Tino Martinez Award honoring the country's top player.
Le Moyne College's Jack Venditti was the Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award Recipient for men's lacrosse. Venditti, who was previously awarded the conference's Male Scholar Athlete of the Year Award, has a 3.713 GPA and majored in finance. The senior attackman was the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year, as he helped lead the Dolphins to the regular-season title registering 26 goals and nine assists. Venditti was named the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Attackman of the Year, and was also a First Team USILA selection.
UMass Lowell's Elyssa Boris was the award recipient for softball. The NE-10 Player of the Year, Boris had an outstanding season on the mound and at the plate for the River Hawks. Offensively, she was among the conference's leaders in virtually every category. Boris was second in home runs (13), second in slugging percentage (.736), tied for second in runs batted in (51), tied for third in hits (66), and fifth in batting average (.405). On the mound, Boris was 21-14 with a 2.66 earned run average. The junior is majoring in exercise physiology, and currently has a 3.34 GPA.
Fellow River Hawk, Angus MacDonald is a member of the outdoor track and field team. The distance specialist was the New England champion in the 5,000 meter run and was also an All American in the event as he finished eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship Meet. MacDonald majored in math and graduated with a 3.48 GPA. He was named to the Academic All-Conference Team and was an NE-10 First Team Selection.
Merrimack College's Petar Golijanin is a sophomore member of the tennis team with a 3.79 GPA in biochemistry. Golijanin helped lead the Warriors to a share of the NE-10 regular season title, as he was 16-3 in singles, and 16-8 in doubles competition. The sophomore, a second team selection a year ago, was a first teamer this year, and was also named to the Northeast-10's Academic All-Conference Team.
The University of New Haven's Shannon Gagne was a unanimous selection to be named for this distinguished honor. One of the most decorated student-athletes in the conference's history, Gagne is currently working on her graduate degree after completing her undergraduate work majoring in criminal justice with a 3.93 GPA. During the spring season, Gagne won two national championships, giving her a total of five that she won during the year. Among her many accolades won, Gagne was named the NE-10 Woman of the Year and the Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Kent St. Charles is a senior member of the golf team at Pace University that finished his career with a 3.74 GPA in marketing. On the course, St. Charles finished in the top five in three events, including tying for first-place at the Northeast-10 Championships. He was chosen to play in the NCAA East Region Championships, and was named to the 2011 Academic All-Conference Team.
Southern New Hampshire University's three-time women's tennis Conference Player of the Year Amber Chandronnait finished her collegiate career with a 3.896 GPA in business administration. She helped lead the Penmen to the regular season and conference championship title, compiling an overall mark of 25-2 playing number one singles. Chandronnait finished the season as the 22nd-ranked player in Division II and was named to the conference's Academic All-Conference Team.
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 winter sport winners later this spring and 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.
The Northeast-10 is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that are 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 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.
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