FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Five Different Institutions Represented.
MANSFIELD, Mass. – The Northeast-10 Conference recognized 10 outstanding student-athletes from the spring season as Sport Excellence Award winners on Wednesday morning, honoring their remarkable athletic and academic achievements.
Among the 131 student-athletes named to the NE10 Academic All-Conference teams last week, the Sport Excellence Award is given to one top individual from each of the league's seven spring sports, in addition to women's tennis, men's golf and women's golf. Five different institutions were represented in the announcement, with Adelphi leading the way with four honorees.
One of the Conference's most prestigious awards, the Sport Excellence Award was highlighted by Pace's Mitchell McCabe (baseball) - the NE10 Man of the Year - and Kayla Conway (women's lacrosse) - the NE10 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Adelphi's Lindsey Hibbs (softball) was the D2CCA Ron Lenz Pitcher of the Year, while Adelphi's Marko Jovanovic (men's tennis) was named a Vern Cox Co-Player of the Year.
For Southern New Hampshire, Ashley Corcoran (women's outdoor track & field) was the NE10 Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and Magdalena Hubickova (women's tennis) earned Vern Cox Player of the Year honors. Le Moyne's Tyler Birdd was named the NE10 Men's Golf Player of the Year. Other Sport Excellence recipients were Adelphi's Joseph Duchnowski (men's lacrosse) and Ilaria Ponziani (women's golf), as well as Southern Connecticut's Nathaniel Llanos (men's outdoor track & field).
Birdd, Corcoran and Duchnowski are all multi-time Sport Excellence Award winners. It is the fifth honor for Corcoran, who has two in indoor track & field, one in cross country and two in outdoor track & field. It is the second-straight honor for Birdd and Duchnowski, who both earned Sport Excellence recognition in the 2021-22 season.
To be eligible for Academic All-Conference and Sport Excellence honors, a student-athlete must have started at least half or played in two-thirds of all contests while making significant contributions and maintaining a 3.3 grade-point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale.
For more information on each Sport Excellence honoree, please see below.
BASEBALL
Name: Mitchell McCabe
School: Pace
GPA: 3.9 (Undergraduate) /3.88 (Graduate)
Major: Marketing and Analytics
Notes: NE10 Man of the Year in 2022-23...ABCA/Rawlings All-East Region First Team...NE10 Baseball All-Championship Team...Led Pace to its first-ever NE10 Baseball Championship title...NE10 All-Conference Second Team...Co-captain of Pace baseball...Second on team with a .340 batting average during the 2023 season...2022 D2CCA All-Region First Team...Two-time NE10 Academic All-Conference and three-time NE10 All-Conference during Pace career.
SOFTBALL
Name: Lindsey Hibbs
School: Adelphi
GPA: 3.882
Major: Sport Management
Notes: D2CCA Ron Lenz National Pitcher of the Year...NE10 Pitcher of the Year and Softball Championship's Most Outstanding Player...NFCA and D2CCA First Team All-American...CSC Division II Softball Academic All-American of the Year...2023 Adelphi Female Athlete of the Year...Two-time NFCA National Pitcher of the Week...Led Adelphi to its second-straight NE10 Softball Championship title in 2023...Recorded a 28-5 record in the circle with a 0.67 ERA...Set the Adelphi all-time single season wins and strikeouts (397) records...Broke the NE10's single-season strikeout record...Pitched four perfect games and tallied over 20 strikeouts in two games...NFCA Second Team All-American in 2022...NE10 First Team All-Conference in 2022...Two-time NE10 Academic All-Conference.
MEN'S LACROSSE
Name: Joseph Duchnowski
School: Adelphi
GPA: 3.688 (Undergraduate) /3.690 (Graduate)
Major: Management
Notes: USILA Second Team All-American...NE10 First Team All-Conference...Adelphi Male Athlete of the Year in 2022-23...Helped Adelphi to a 14-0 start during the 2023 season...His 40 goals and 23 assists during the season ranked in the top 10 among all NE10 players...USILA First Team All-American and NE10 Player of the Year in 2022...USILA Honorable Mention All-American in 2021...Two-time NE10 Academic All-Conference and two-time NE10 Sport Excellence Award winner.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Name: Kayla Conway
School: Pace
GPA: 3.85 (Undergraduate) /3.83 (Graduate)
Major: Public Accounting
Notes: NE10 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2022-23...Helped lead Pace to its first-ever NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse National Championship...NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player...IWLCA First Team All-American...NE10 Co-Midfielder of the Year and First Team All-Conference...Finished third on the team in goals with 66, while adding 19 assists for a total of 85 points...Led the team with a .555 shooting percentage...Scored three goals and won eight draw controls in the NCAA Championship game against West Chester...IWLCA Second Team All-American in 2022...Three-time NE10 First Team All-Conference...2019 NE10 Rookie of the Year.
MEN'S TENNIS
Name: Marko Jovanovic
School: Adelphi
GPA: 3.986
Major: Accounting
Notes: NE10 Vern Cox Co-Player of the Year in 2022-23...CSC First Team Academic All-American...NE10 First Team All-Conference at No. 1 singles...NE10 Second Team All-Conference at No. 3 doubles...Helped lead Adelphi to its first-ever NE10 regular season championship in men's tennis...NE10 All-Conference Third Team and All-Rookie Team in 2021-22...ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2021-22.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Name: Magdalena Hubickova
School: Southern New Hampshire
GPA: 3.65
Major: Communications
Notes: ITA East Region Doubles Champion...NE10 Vern Cox Player of the Year...NE10 First Team All-Conference at No. 1 singles...NE10 Second Team All-Conference at No. 1 doubles...Tallied a 15-7 record in singles, including 12-6 at the top flight and 8-1 in NE10 play...Record of 15-9 in doubles, including 8-6 at No. 1 and 8-1 in the NE10...NE10 Vern Cox Player of the Year in 2021...NE10 Rookie of the Year in 2019...Three-time NE10 Academic All-Conference.
MEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Name: Nathaniel Llanos
School: Southern Connecticut
GPA: 3.398
Major: Physical Education
Notes: 2023 NE10 Outdoor Pole Vault Champion...Second-place finish in the 2023 NEICCCA Pole Vault...Hit career-best 5.05m at the 2023 NE10 Championship to win his second-straight championship and qualify for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships, where he finished 13th...2022-23 NEICCCA Indoor Pole Vault Champion...2022 NE10 Indoor Pole Vault Champion...Second place at 2022 NE10 Outdoor Pole Vault...Two-time NE10 Academic All-Conference.
WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Name: Ashley Corcoran
School: Southern New Hampshire
GPA: 3.81 (Undergraduate) /4.0 (Graduate)
Major: MBA
Notes: USTFCCCA First Team All-American in 3000m steeplechase...USTFCCCA All-Region in 3000m steeplechase, 1500m and 5000m...NE10 Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2023...Most Valuable Athlete and Most Outstanding Track Athlete at the 2023 NE10 Outdoor Track & Field Championship...NCAA qualifier in the 3000m steeplechase, where she finished seventh (10:37.75)...Captured NE10 Championships in the 1500m, 3000m steeplechase and 5000m...USTFCCCA Second Team All-American in 2022...NE10 Track Athlete of the Year in 2022...Three-time NE10 Academic All-Conference and two-time NE10 Sport Excellence Award winner in outdoor track.
MEN'S GOLF
Name: Tyler Birdd
School: Le Moyne
GPA: 3.851
Major: Biochemistry
Notes: NE10 Player of the Year in 2022-23...NE10 First Team All-Conference...2022 NE10 Men's Golf Championship individual medalist...GCAA/PING All-Region...Registered a career-best scoring average of 74.2 over a program-record 31 rounds in 12 events...Placed first at the NE10 Championship with a career-best score of two-under par (214) and finished third at the NCAA Atlantic/East Regional with an even-par (216) to qualify for the NCAA Championships...NE10 Second Team All-Conference in 2021 and 2022...Two-time NE10 Academic All-Conference and two-time NE10 Sport Excellence Award winner.
WOMEN'S GOLF
Name: Ilaria Ponziani
School: Adelphi
GPA: 3.755
Major: Psychology
Notes: Adelphi's top scorer in all but one tournament during the 2022-23 season...Finished as the program's first individual scoring champion at the 2022 NE10 Women's Golf Championship...Career-best round of 69 at the NE10 Championship...Five top-10 finishes in the fall...CSC Academic All-District...Two-time NE10 Academic All-Conference...D2ADA Academic Achievement Award in 2021-22.
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 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, 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.
