March 26, 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 golf, men's and women's lacrosse, softball and men's and women's tennis for the period ending March 25, 2012.

Tom Ditro (Philadelphia, Pa.) has been selected as theNEAC West Baseball Student-Athlete of the Week after an impressive offensive output for the Penn State Abington Nittany Lions.  The freshman shortstop led Abington to a 5-2 record, going 11-for-27 at the plate with four doubles, 10 RBI, six runs scored and five stolen bases while posting a .407 batting average, a .448 on base percentage and a .556 slugging percentage.  Ditro drove in two runs and scored another in a 14-3 win over Philadelphia Biblical Tuesday, scored a run in a 4-0 win over Rutgers-Camden Wednesday, and went 5-for-7 with three doubles, four runs scored, seven RBI and four stolen bases in a doubleheader sweep of Valley Forge Thursday.   Ditro then closed the week with a clutch single that drove in the winning run during the 4-3 victory over Richard Stockton on Sunday.  Ditro, who also posted a perfect fielding percentage with 18 putouts, 15 assists and no errors, currently leads the NEAC in RBI with 27.

Bill Parave (Merchantville, N.J.) has been named the NEAC West Baseball Pitching Student-Athlete of the Week after a sensational outing on the mound for the Penn State Abington Nittany Lions.  The junior right hander threw a complete-game two hitter against Rutgers-Camden Wednesday, striking out three batters and not allowing a run in the 4-0 victory.  Parave carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning before giving up two singles in the inning.  He also got it done at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, three RBI and one run scored in the victory.

 

 

Andrew Pierson (Washington Township, N.J.) has been chosen as the NEAC Men's Golf Student-Athlete of the Week for his outstanding performance for the Rutgers University-Camden Scarlet Raptors.  Pierson, a senior, was the overall medalist at the Richard Stockton Triangular this past Friday, shooting a 78 (par 71) to take first place out of 21 competitors. Rutgers Camden finished the event in second place out of four teams with a score of 341.

 

 

TJ Shaw (Tully, N.Y.) and Gino Marcello (Rochester, N.Y.) have both been selected as the NEAC Men's Lacrosse Co-Offensive Student-Athletes of the Week for their near identical performances that helped lead both of their respective teams to dramatic victories.  Shaw, a senior, led the Cazenovia College Wildcats to a thrilling 12-11 victory over conference rival Hilbert College Thursday, totaling six points on four goals and two assists, with none being bigger than his eventual game-winning goal that came with just over four minutes left to play in the fourth quarter. Shaw also racked up three groundballs and won nine out of 12 face-offs in the victory.

 

Marcello, a senior attacker for the Keuka College Storm, led his squad to victory behind six points of his own with four goals and two assists in a 10-8 win over Alfred University Wednesday.  Three of Marcello?s goals came in the second half and helped Keuka rally from a 6-4 deficit to tie the game at 7 all, while his final assist came midway through the fourth quarter and helped the Storm go up 10-7 en route to the two-goal victory.  Marcello also scooped up two groundballs on the day.

 

 

Veronica Metz (Morrisville, N.Y.) has been chosen as the NAC West Women's Lacrosse Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week after helping the SUNY Institute of Technology Wildcats earn their first-ever program victories.  In a 2-1 week for the Wildcats, Metz tallied eight goals on nine shots on goal while also registering five draw controls and one groundball.  The junior netted five goals on five shots on goal in a 15-8 conference victory over Wilson College Friday that was also the first win in program history, and she then went on to score three more goals in a thrilling 10-9 double-overtime conference victory over Lancaster Bible College Friday.  Metz currently leads SUNYIT in both goals (11) and points (11).

 

Shelby Wood (Duanesburg, N.Y.) has been named the NAC West Women's Lacrosse Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week for her tenacious play for the Morrisville State College Mustangs.  The freshman caused 10 turnovers and scooped up 14 groundballs in two contests for Morrisville, despite the team?s 0-2 record during that period.  After collecting three groundballs and one caused turnover in a 16-11 setback to Oswego State Saturday, Wood would go on to rack up a career-best 11 groundballs and cause nine turnovers in a 17-10 loss to Potsdam State Sunday.  Wood also got it done offensively, netting seven goals and dishing out two assists on the week.  She currently leads the Mustangs in scoring with 18 goals and five assists (23 points), as well as ground balls (30), draw controls (26) and caused turnovers (21).

 

Paige Stone (Madison, N.Y.) has been named the NEAC Softball Student-Athlete of the Week after a tremendous opening week for the Wells College Express.  The junior helped the Express open the year 4-0, going 6-for-13 at the plate with two doubles, two home runs, six RBI and a stolen base while posting a .462 batting average, a .500 on base percentage and an incredible 1.077 slugging percentage.  In a sweep over Green Mountain College on Wednesday, Stone finished with two doubles and three runs scored on two hits, and followed that up by going 4-for-7 with two home runs, six RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base in a sweep over Johnson State College Thursday, with the second home run being a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning of game two that gave Wells a 6-2 victory.  Stone was also perfect in the field on the week, posting 14 putouts, two assists and no errors.

 

Leigh Roche (Hanover, Pa.) has been selected as the NEAC Softball Pitching Student-Athlete of the Week after her near perfect outing on the mound for the Wilson College Phoenix.  The junior came one batter shy of throwing a perfect game during a 21-0 five-inning victory over Valley Forge Wednesday, as she struck out 15 of the 16 batters she faced, with the only blemish on the day being a single in the fourth inning.  Roche currently leads the NEAC with 38 strikeouts on the season thus far.

 

 

Jordan Domsky (Willow Grove, Pa.) has been named the NAC West Men's Tennis Student-Athlete of the Week after a tremendous start to the season for the Penn State Abington Nittany Lions.  The junior has helped Abington to a 3-1 record to open spring competition, winning three matches from the No. 2 singles spot and going 2-2 in four doubles matches.  Domsky won both his singles (6-0, 6-0) and doubles (8-0) match in an 8-1 victory over Rosemont College back on Wednesday, March 14, and did the same in a 9-0 win over Bryn Athyn this past Thursday with a 6-0, 6-2 singles victory and an 8-1 doubles win.  He closed the week with a thrilling three-set singles victory (7-5, 4-6, 7-6) during a 6-3 win over Arcadia University Friday.

 

Kimberly Ochester (Philadelphia, Pa.) has been selected as the NEAC West Women's Tennis Student-Athlete of the Week for both her play for the Penn State Abington Nittany Lions and for the sportsmanship she displayed in victory.  The senior helped lead Abington to an 8-0 victory over Bryn Athyn College this past Tuesday by winning her singles match 6-0, 6-1 and her doubles match 8-0.  Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, she displayed an excellent example of sportsmanship during the match, as she went out of her way to help many of the Bryn Athyn?s developing players from the first-year program by offering them some simple tips on game etiquette and offering words of encouragement throughout the match.  Because of this, many of the Bryn Athyn student-athletes left with more confidence in themselves and a passion to continue learning the game despite dropping the match.  

 

 

The Rest of the Week's Highlights: Cazenovia College senior Adam Wiley (Marathon, N.Y.)  batted .400 (4-for-10) with a home run and five RBI during a 2-1 week for the Wildcats ... Gallaudet University sophomore William Bissell (Brewer, Maine) had five of his six hits go for extra bases and compiled three RBI and five runs scored during a 3-2 week for the Bison ... Lancaster Bible College junior Frank Difilippo (Lititz, Pa.) had a .538 batting average (7-for-13) with five RBI and three runs scored in three games for the Chargers ... Gallaudet University senior Ryan Hastings (Cherry Valley, Mass.) pitched a complete game against Valley Forge Christian College last Saturday, allowing three runs (two earned) off eight hits while striking out six batters in the 9-3 victory ... Penn State Berks senior Kevin Heilman (Easton, Pa.) pitched a complete-game four hitter and had two Ks in a 10-1 victory over Susquehanna Saturday ... Hilbert College sophomore Doug Takac (Orchard Park, N.Y.) registered five goals and an assist in two contests for the Hawks ... Penn State Abington sophomore Kieran Ragan (Philadelphia, Pa.) tallied three goals and four groundballs in a 21-5 setback to Thiel College Saturday ... Medaille College junior Joey Ruderman (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) netted a career-high six goals on seven shot attempts and also dished out an assist in a 21-13 conference victory over Lancaster Bible Saturday ... Junior Whitney Heise (Danville, Pa.) had seven goals for Lancaster Bible College in that same contest and finished the week with 14 goals in three games ... Wilson College senior Jami DeVanie (Boiling Springs, Pa.) scored eight goals in a season-opening 20-9 victory over Trinity University Tuesday ... Cazenovia College senior Christy Foster (Canton, N.Y.) scored a season-high six goals in a 19-3 win over Green Mountain Wednesday ... Wilson College freshman Faith Ricker (Hagerstown, Md.) went 5-for-6 at the plate with five RBI and four runs scored to help the Phoenix sweep Valley Forge Wednesday ... Penn State Abington senior Mariellen Medernach (Philadelphia, Pa.) went 10-for-21 at the plate with a home run, 10 RBI and six runs scored in six games for the Nittany Lions ... SUNY Cobleskill freshman Kelsey Dezalia (Slingerlands, NY) went 3-for-6 with a home run, a double, three runs batted in and five runs scored during the Fighting Tigers' doubleheader sweep of Green Mountain College on Thursday, while freshman pitcher Brianne Gray (Hornell, N.Y.) picked up both victories on the mound as both a starter and a reliever, tossing a total of seven strikeouts ... Wells College junior Lorelei Meier (Caledonia, N.Y.) went 2-0 on the mound for the Express, pitching two complete games and giving up no earned runs while tallying 21 total strikeouts ... College of Saint Elizabeth junior Miwako Nishioka (Osaka, Japan) won both her singles (6-4, 6-2) and doubles (8-5) match in a hard-fought 4-5 loss to CCNY Wednesday. 

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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.