FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2015
MANSFIELD, Mass. – The Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference teams and Sport Excellence Award winners for the 2014-15 winter season have been released, it was announced by the league office on Friday.
In total, 66 student-athletes were named to the Academic All-Conference teams, with the most coming from women’s track & field (15). Bentley, Saint Michael’s, Saint Rose and Southern Connecticut had the most with seven each. Stonehill was next with six, while Assumption and Le Moyne both had five apiece.
One student-athlete from each of the seven winter sports was awarded the Sport Excellence Award. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have completed at least two consecutive semesters of enrollment at their current institution, two total years of athletic eligibility and maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of a 3.30.
Assumption and Stonehill were the only two institutions to have multiple Sport Excellence Award winners. Brennen Shaw (ice hockey) and Elise Prayson (women’s swimming & diving) were the Greyhounds to collect the accolade. Track & field student-athletes Bryan Wilcox and Trisha Pierson earned the award on behalf of the Skyhawks.
Adelphi’s Kelly Mannix earns the Sport Excellence accolade for women’s basketball. Majoring in management, Mannix has a 3.96 GPA currently and made it on the Academic All-Conference team for the third year in a row. She has been selected to the NE-10 Commisioner’s Honor Roll all four years and was a Capital One Academic All-American.
An NE-10 First Team All-Conference selection on the court, Mannix was fifth in the conference in scoring at 16.6 points and steals at 2.0 per game, while adding 8.6 rebounds, guiding the Panthers to a Northeast-10 Championship. She also shot 46.5 percent from three-point territory on the season, good for fourth in the country.
Bentley’s Keegan Hyland is this year’s men’s basketball Sport Excellence Award winner. The senior finance major boasts a 3.93 GPA and lands on the Academic All-Conference team for the second consecutive season. Hyland was a Capital One First Team Academic All-American this season and made the President’s List during all five of his semesters.
Hyland was fifth in the NE-10 this season, averaging 19 points per game while adding 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals. He was a third team all-conference selection and led the Falcons in assists per game (3.6) and three-point field goals (66).
Stonehill’s Trisha Pierson (pictured) garnered Sport Excellence honors for the sport of women’s indoor track & field. Pierson, an accounting major, currently has an impressive 3.99 GPA and has earned Commissioner’s Honor Roll accolades all five semesters thus far.
The junior field athlete is a two-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-East Region performer in the discus throw. Pierson set a program record in the shot put and earned USTFCCCA All-East Region honors with her throw of 41 feet, 3.25 inches at the season-opening UMass Boston Invitational.
Assumption’s Brennen Shaw (pictured) was chosen as the men’s ice hockey winner of the Sport Excellence accolade for the second year in a row. This is the third straight time that Shaw (3.95 GPA) has been named to the Academic All-Conference team. In 2014, the business major was also an at-large selection for the Capital One Third Team Academic All-America.
Shaw was the team captain for Assumption this season, posting 12 points on seven goals and five assists, along with one game-winning goal, while appearing in all 24 games for the Hounds. He had three power-play goals and was +6 for the season.
Timothy Buff of Le Moyne collected the Sport Excellence honor for the sport of men’s swimming and diving. Buff, a sophomore, has a 3.917 GPA and is majoring in business finance and marketing. He has spent all three of his semesters on the dean’s list.
Buff registered three top-three finishes at the Northeast-10 Championships, including a third-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke in a school-record time of 2:06.84, which eclipsed a six-year old record. He also recorded a team-best 17 wins over Le Moyne's eight dual meets.
Assumption’s Elise Prayson is the recipient of the Sport Excellence Award for women’s swimming and diving. The senior currently has a GPA of 3.88 and is majoring in biotechnology. She has been named to the Academic All-Conference team for the third straight year.
Prayson was the team captain of the league champion Greyhounds this past season. She was a member of the NE-10 Championship relay teams in both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, while also competing in the 200 breaststroke, 50 freestyle and 100 breastroke.
Bryan Wilcox of Stonehill earned Sport Excellence honors for the sport of men’s indoor track & field. This is the third time Wilcox has collected the award, most recently earning the accolade during the fall season as a member of the Skyhawks’ cross country team. The accounting major has a 3.71 GPA and was a Capital One Academic All-American in 2014 and a Capital One Academic All-District first teamer in 2013.
Wilcox earned All-New England honors this past season, finishing eighth in the 5000-meter run. He also collected USTFCCCA All-East Region accolades with a fourth-place finish in the 5k at the NE-10 Championships. Wilcox was an NE-10 champion during the 2014 outdoor season as well.
For a complete list of the Academic All-Conference selections, which are chosen by a committee vote of Faculty Athletic Representatives (FARs) and other athletic administrators, please see below.
To be eligible for selection to the Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference Teams, a student-athlete must have met or exceeded the following minimum requirements: 1) participated in at least half of the team's competitions and been either a starter or significant contributor; 2) achieved a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale); and 3) completed at least one academic year at his/her current institution.
Men’s Basketball (6)
Keegan Hyland, Bentley*
Ryen Vilmont, Franklin Pierce
Chris Dorgler, Saint Rose
Tylon Smith, So. Connecticut^*
Luke Houston, So. Connecticut
Phillip Tripodakis, So. New Hampshire
Women’s Basketball (9)
Kelly Mannix, Adelphi^*
Brianna Bishop, American Int’l
Krista Ferrentino, American Int’l*
Kelly Conley, Assumption
Kara Charette, Franklin Pierce
Alex Marple, Le Moyne*
Chloe Rothman, Merrimack
Margo Hackett, Pace^
Makenzie Burud, Saint Michael’s
Ice Hockey (6)
Ryan Gomez, Assumption
Brennen Shaw, Assumption^*
Danny Divis, Saint Michael’s
Eric Robinson, Saint Michael’s^*
Jim Gabrione, So. New Hampshire*
Jay Sylvia, So. New Hampshire
Men’s Indoor Track & Field (10)
Austin Drescher, Adelphi
Michael Biwott, American Int’l
Christian Connolly, Bentley
Nik Haas, Bentley
Jon Holmes, Franklin Pierce
Evan Vadenais, Merrimack
Devin Rose, New Haven*
Dean Bhatt, So. Connecticut
Nick Kirkpatrick, Stonehill*
Bryan Wilcox, Stonehill
Women’s Indoor Track & Field (15)
Alexandra Stasiuk, American Int’l^*
Rachel Avard, Assumption
Tara Dooley, Bentley
Carly Muscaro, Merrimack
Danielle Sorrentino, New Haven
Ada Udaya, New Haven^*
Ivy Watts, New Haven^
Kristen Harrington, Saint Rose*
Crystle Hill, So. Connecticut
Sarah Hill, So. Connecticut
Sarah Vaughan, So. Connecticut*
Maria Curit, Stonehill
Trisha Pierson, Stonehill*
Erin Rielly, Stonehill^
Sarah Wilson, Stonehill*
Men’s Swimming & Diving (10)
Michael Mayer, Adelphi^*
Liam Bartlett, Bentley
Timothy Buff, Le Moyne
Ronald Lowe, Le Moyne
Daniel Tarbrake, Le Moyne
Nathan Paluso, Saint Michael’s^*
Cam Thirkell, Saint Michael’s
David Genender, Saint Rose*
Eric Howard, Saint Rose
Elic McRae, Saint Rose
Women’s Swimming & Diving (10)
Danielle Dreiss, Adelphi
Elise Prayson, Assumption^*
Kaitlin McGahie, Bentley
Paige Wilde, Bentley
Tara O'Donnell, Le Moyne
Lindsay McNall, Saint Michael’s
Steph Nadow, Saint Michael’s^*
Kiersten Beckford, Saint Rose*
Megan Planz, Saint Rose
Katherine Krajcik, So. Connecticut
^ 2012-13 Winter Academic All-Conference
* 2013-14 Winter Academic All-Conference
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST-10
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 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 6,500 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE-10 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 Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
