March 19, 2012

GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has announced its Student-Athlete of the Week selections in the sports of baseball, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse and softball for the period ending March 18, 2012.

William Bissell (Brewer, Maine) has been named the NEAC West Baseball Student-Athlete of the Week after a dominant performance at the plate for the Gallaudet University Bison.  Bisell, a D3baseball.com Preseason All-American, led the Bison to a 4-1 record this past week, registered a .556 batting average by going 10-for-18 at the plate while recording eight runs scored, five RBI, two triples, a home run and three stolen bases.  The sophomore had a slugging percentage of .944 and an on-base percentage of .571 while recording at least one hit in all five contests to increase his current hitting streak to nine games. On the field, Bissell tallied 10 putouts and posted a .909 fielding percentage while manning the outfield.

Marcus Smith (Baltimore, Md.) was selected as the NEAC West Baseball Pitching Student-Athlete of the Week after his work on the mound for the Gallaudet University Bison.  In his lone start of the week, Smith struck out five batters while allowing two runs on four hits in seven innings pitched to lead the Bison to an 11-5 victory over Drew in a nine-inning contest this past Thursday.  The win was part of a six-game spring break trip for Gallaudet dating back to March 10, where the Bison finished a perfect 6-0 and Smith went 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 14 strikeouts.     

 

 

Andrew Stein (Oswego, N.Y.) has been selected as the NEAC Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week after his sensational performance for the Morrisville State College Mustangs.  The senior midfielder scored five goals on eight shots and dished out two assists to lead the Mustangs to a 16-10 victory over Alfred University Saturday.  Stein also scooped up two groundballs in the victory, which was the team’s only contest of the week. 

 

 

Christopher Galluzzo (New London, N.H.) has been chosen as the NEAC Men’s Lacrosse Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week for his efforts in goal for the Wells College Express.  The freshman goalie made 11 saves in the Express’ 7-6 victory over Mt. St. Vincent College Saturday in Wells’ only contest on the week.  With Wells down 5-1 heading into the third quarter, Galluzo would allow just one goal in the second half while coming up with four crucial saves to help the Express pull off the come-from-behind victory.  Galluzo also added two groundballs and one caused turnover on the day.  The win marked the second straight victory for Galluzzo.

 

Shelby Wood (Duanesburg, N.Y.) has been named the NAC West Women’s Lacrosse Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week for her strong play for the Morrisville State College Mustangs.  Wood posted11 points on nine goals and two assists while also registering 11 groundballs and eight draw controls to help lead the Mustangs to a 1-1 week, which included their first win of the season.  Wood opened the week with a team-best six points on five goals and one assist in addition to a team-high six groundballs and four draw controls in a hard-fought 17-15 loss to Westfield Friday, and followed that up with team highs of four goals and five groundballs to go along with an assist and four draw controls in a thrilling 15-14 victory over Alfred University Saturday. Wood currently leads the Mustangs in scoring with 11 goals and four assists this season.

 

Barbara Beresova (Point Pleasant, N.J.) has been selected as the NAC West Women’s Lacrosse Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week for her solid effort in goal for the College of Saint Elizabeth Screaming Eagles.  The junior goalkeeper made seven saves while causing a turnover and collecting a groundball to lead the Eagles to an 11-7 victory over Rosemont College Thursday in the team’s lone contest of the week.  Berseova now has 18 saves through two contests so far this season. 

 

 

Sam Kidd (Philadelphia, Pa.) has been named the NEAC Softball Student-Athlete of the Week after a quality start to the season for the Penn State Abington Nittany Lions.  Kidd helped the Nittany Lions to a 2-2 record in their opening week of play, going 6-for-11 at the plate with five RBI, two runs scored and a double while posting a .545 batting average, a .636 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage.  The sophomore had at least one hit in all four contests and did not strike out once while at the plate, and also was strong in the field, tallying 20 putouts and one assist for a .955 fielding percentage.  Kidd opened the season going 3-for-6 while driving in five runs and scoring another in a doubleheader sweep over Rosemont Wednesday before finishing 3-for-5 with one run scored in two losses to Wesley College Saturday. 

 

Catherine Eber (South Amboy, N.J.) has been chosen as the NEAC Softball Pitching Student-Athlete of the Week after a handful of strong outings on the mound that helped the College of Saint Elizabeth Screaming Eagles to a 3-1 week.  The junior pitcher started all four contests for Saint Elizabeth last week, recording two wins and giving up a total of 11 runs (eight earned) on 14 hits while striking out eight batters and posting a 3.43 ERA.  Eber opened the week with a pair of starts against Rosemont during a doubleheader on Monday, pitching a complete game and striking out three batters while allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits a 5-2 win in game one before leaving the Eagles with a 3-1 lead after two innings of work and one strikeout to start game two, which they would go on to win 10-2.   Eber closed the week with another pair of back-to-back starts, this time against Lehman College on Thursday, where she would rebound from a rough game-one outing with a complete-game five hitter in game two, posting four strikeouts in the 12-2 victory.  

 

The Rest of the Week’s Highlights: Penn State Abington junior Mike Kerns (Warminster, Pa.) had nine hits in six games for the Nittany Lions, with none bigger than the solo home run he smashed against SUNY Canton in the bottom of the seventh inning yesterday that sent the game to extra innings, where Abington would win 7-6 in the eighth … Penn State Harrisburg freshman John Cataldo (Pine Grove, Pa.) batted .529 (9-for-17) and drove in seven runs in six Nittany Lion contests … Penn State Berks junior Nick Vitelli (Hatboro, Pa.) batted .500 (6-for-12) in three games for the Nittany Lions … Wells College senior Jonathan Mulcahey (Fulton, N.Y.) scored three straight second-half goals to pull the Express within 5-4 and begin the team’s rally in their 7-6 come-from-behind victory over Mt. St. Vincent College Saturday … SUNY Cobleskill junior Pete Gonzalez (West Islip, N.Y.) registered eight points on three goals and five assists in two games for the Fighting Tigers … Morrisville State College sophomore defender Mike Kellogg (Pawling, N.Y.) scooped up three groundballs and caused three turnovers to help the Mustangs defeat Alfred University 16-10 Saturday … Keuka College sophomore Maggie Bonafede (Churchville, N.Y.) tallied a career-high eight points on three goals and five assists to lead the Storm to a 18-1 season-opening victory over SUNY Canton Wednesday … College of Saint Elizabeth junior Meghan Murray (Knowlton, N.J.) scored six goals and added an assist in the Screaming Eagles’ 11-7 victory over Rosemont Thursday … College of Saint Elizabeth senior Patricia Yagecic (Villas, N.J.) went 5-for-15 with five RBI and a home run during a 3-1 week for the Screaming Eagles … Penn State Harrisburg freshman Gabby Wolfe (New Milford, Pa.) got it done both at the plate and on the mound for the Nittany Lions, batting .400 (6-for-15) with three RBI and three doubles through four games and also winning her first career start with a seven strike out, five-hit complete-game performance during a 7-3 victory over Penn College Saturday.

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The North Eastern Athletic Conference has thirteen NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Cazenovia College, College of St. Elizabeth, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania State University - Abington, Pennsylvania State University - Berks, Pennsylvania State University -Harrisburg, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Institute of Technology, SUNY Morrisville State College, Wells College, and Wilson College.  Associate members are: Hilbert College (M Lacrosse), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse) and Rutgers University - Camden (M Golf). 

Beginning with the 2010 season, the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) in the sports of baseball, women’s lacrosse, and men’s and women’s tennis.  The NEAC will compete as associate members of the NAC in women’s lacrosse and men’s tennis, while the NAC will compete as associate members of the NEAC in baseball and women’s tennis.  Members from each conference will be divided into an East and West Division for each sport, with each division holding a championship and the two divisional champions then facing off to determine the conference champion. The conference winner for each sport will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.  For baseball and women’s lacrosse, this partnership will end following the 2012 season.

A complete sport-by-sport breakdown of the NEAC/NAC partnership is as follows:

Baseball: NAC members Castleton, Colby-Sawyer, Husson, Lyndon State, Maine-Farmington, New England College and Thomas will play in the NEAC as associate members in the East Division.  The West Division will consist of NEAC members Cazenovia, Gallaudet, Keuka, Lancaster Bible, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg and SUNY Institute of Technology.  A three-game series between the two divisional winners will be used to determine the conference champion.

Women's Lacrosse: NEAC members Cazenovia, College of St. Elizabeth, Keuka, Lancaster Bible, Medaille, Penn State Abington, SUNY Institute of Technology, SUNY Morrisville, Wells and Wilson will play as associate members of the NAC in a West Division.  The East Division will consist of NAC members Castleton, Colby-Sawyer, Green Mountain, Husson, Maine-Farmington, New England College and Thomas.

Men's Tennis: NEAC members Keuka, Lancaster Bible, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks and Penn State Harrisburg will play as associate members of the NAC in a West Division.  The East Division will consist of NAC members Castleton, Colby-Sawyer, Green Mountain, Johnson State, Lyndon State and Thomas.

Women's Tennis: NAC members Castleton, Colby-Sawyer, Johnson State, Lyndon State and Thomas will play in the NEAC as associate members in the East Division.  The West Division will consist of NEAC members College of St. Elizabeth, Keuka, Lancaster Bible, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg and Wells.