South Easton, Mass. - Bentley College men's swimming standout Brian Castagna and women's volleyball standout Andrea Beauvais of American International College have been named the 2003-2004 Northeast-10 Conference Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year, respectively as selected by the Northeast-10 Faculty Athletic Representatives. The announcement was made by Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner David R. Brunk.

"I congratulate Andrea Beauvais and Brian Castagna on their achievements," Brunk said. "The Northeast-10 Conference takes pride in its strength academically and our winners epitomize the well-rounded student-athletes on our campuses who successfully integrate athletics and academics."

Castagna and Beauvais are the first student-athletes to earn the award from their respective institutions since the scholar-athlete award began in 1999-2000.

Castagna, a native of Doylestown, Penn. who majored in Computer Information Systems, posted a 3.84 grade point average while completing an outstanding career for the Falcons swimming program.

Castagna, a co-captain and the team MVP of the 2003-04 Bentley men's swim team, finished his career as the school record-holder in seven events, including the 50 yard backstroke (25.17 seconds) and all three butterfly events (24.22 in the 50, 53.37 in the 100 and 2:05.33 in the 200).

At the 2004 New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association Championships, Castagna was a gold medallist in the 50 back, 400 free relay and 200 medley relay, and was the recipient of the Bob Muir Award as the male swimmer with the most career points in the meet. He also was second in three relays, and third in the 100 butterfly. He was a one-time Northeast-10 Conference Athlete of the Week and at the Northeast-10 championships, Castagna finished second in 100 backstroke.

Castagna was recently awarded a $7,500 postgraduate scholarship by the NCAA, one of 58 awarded to student-athletes competing in winter sports. He was one of just three male athletes from Division II to be so honored.

Castagna was also the 2004 recipient of the prestigious Edward J. Powers Scholar Athlete Award, presented annually by the Bentley athletic department to the senior student-athlete who best combines athletic success with excellence in the classroom.

Castagna has earned a number of other national and regional academic honors including being a three-time Verizon Academic All-America District Team member, was a member of the Bentley College President's List each semester, was a member of the Beta Sigma Gamma Honor Society and was a four-time Falcon Club Scholar Athlete.

Outside the pool and the classroom, Castagna was involved in numerous community service projects during his four years at Bentley, including coordinating several blood drives, Special Olympics swimming, and was an ESL tutor as part of Bentley's Service Learning Program.

Beauvais, a native of Dearborn, Heights, Mich., who majored in Psychology with a minor in Business Management, posted a perfect 4.00 grade point average, while serving as a standout with the Yellow Jackets volleyball program.

On the courts, Beauvais helped lead the Yellow Jackets to a 22-9 overall record this past fall and a trip to the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. AIC opened the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Saint Anselm College before falling to Merrimack College 3-1 in the tournament semifinals.

The senior led the team with 466 kills and 589 digs. Her dig total eclipses the previous school record of 487 set by Robyn Trumbower during the 1999 season. She also registered a .322 hitting percentage, while adding 46 service aces and 46 assists. Her dig average of 4.87 per game placed her 24th in the country at the Division II level.

Beauvais joined the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) 30-dig club three times this season and also earned a spot on the 30-kill club in a match against Bryant. She finished amongst the top five in the Northeast-10 Conference final season statistics placing second in digs (589) and digs per game (4.87), third in kills (466), and fifth in kills per game (3.85) and hitting percentage (.322).

In her brief two-year career with the Yellow Jackets, she played in 61 matches covering 229 games. She totaled 741 kills and 910 digs, while hitting .254 from the floor. During her final season she notched career-highs in games played, kills, attempts, service aces, digs, solo blocks and block assists.

Beauvais's efforts led to conference honors this past season including earning First Team Northeast-10 All Conference, was a two-time conference Player of the Week, a nine-time weekly honor selection. Beauvais was also a two-time Peter Meltzer Team Most Valuable Player and team captain.

In the classroom, Beauvais racked up equally impressive honors. She was a CoSIDA Academic All District First Team member and Academic Second Team All American, a two-time gold-level member of the Northeast-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll, and an ECAC Merit Scholar.

Beauvais was two-year AIC Dean's List member, earned the Alumni Merit Award for Academic Achievement, the 2004 Psychology Outstanding Senior Award and the 2004 Psychology Researcher of the Year. Beauvais was also a member of the Psi Chi Honor Society, Alpha Chi Honor Society, All-American Collegiate Scholar, was listed among the Who's Who Among American College/University Students, and will attend the University of Missouri on scholarship for the next four years and earn her Master's and Doctorate in Psychology.

Outside the courts and classroom, Beauvais also made time to serve as a research assistant at the Western Massachusetts Correctional Alcohol Center and was a researcher at Ludlow Prison and was involved with numerous leadership projects.

The Northeast-10 is one of the largest and is the most diverse NCAA Division II playing conference in the nation. With 15 members, it sponsors 23 championship sports including baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's cross country, women's cross country, football, field hockey, men's golf, men's ice hockey, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's indoor track and field, women's indoor track and field, men's outdoor track and field, women's outdoor track and field, men's tennis, women's tennis, softball, women's volleyball, men's swimming and diving, and women's swimming and diving

Members of the Northeast-10 include American International College, Assumption College, Bentley College, Bryant University, Franklin Pierce College, Le Moyne College, The University of Massachusetts Lowell, Merrimack College, Pace University, Saint Anselm College, Saint Michael's College, The College of Saint Rose, Southern Connecticut State University, Southern New Hampshire University, and Stonehill College.

Northeast-10 Scholar Athlete Award Winners – All Time

2003-04 Brian Castagna, Bentley & Andrea Beauvais, American International

2002-03 Sean Kenney, Assumption & Patricia Cronin, Merrimack

2001-02 Robert Montgomery, UMass Lowell & Heather Schlesinger, Assumption

2000-01 Jason Eddy, Bryant & Stacy Mattioli, Assumption

1999-2000 John Monahan, Stonehill & Seanna Poelaert, Saint Michael's