Westwood, Mass.- The NEWMAC has announced its Athlete of the Week honorees for the week ending 10/15/23.  The full list of honorees can be found below.
 
Men's Cross Country
 
Runner of the Week- Anthony Rodriguez (Sr.), Babson College
 
Senior Anthony Rodriguez (Prairie View, Ill.) broke his own program record on the way to earning a third-place finish at the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday at Harkness Park. The top New England finisher in the field, Rodriguez finished the 8k course in a time of 24:22 to break his previous mark by seven seconds in a field that included 199 runners and nine nationally ranked teams. 
 
Women's Cross Country
 
Runner of the Week- Claire Semerod (So.), U.S. Coast Guard Academy
 
Sophomore Claire Semerod (Centennial, Colo.) posted CGA's 4th fastest 6K performance in school history running 21:33 to place 10th overall at the Conn. College Invite at Harkness Park this weekend.
 
 
Field Hockey
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Julia Decker (So., F), Salve Regina University 
 
Sophomore Julia Decker (Newton, New Jersey) started the week with a hattrick against Dean, and then scored two goals and assisted on the third in a 3-0 shutout of Mount Holyoke on Saturday, October 14. She finished the week with 11 points.
 
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Bryn Protheroe (Jr., GK), Salve Regina University 
 
Junior Bryn Protheroe (Glastonbury, Conn.) made 11 saves and was a huge contributor to the team's NEWMAC shutout over Mount Holyoke on Saturday. She also added a save in a shutout of Dean earlier in the week.
 
Football
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Ceaser Gonzalaz, (Sr., FB), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
 
Senior Ceaser Gonzalez (Norco, Calif.) rushed for a game-high 132 yards and found the end zone three times in the Mariners' 28-14 home NEWMAC win over MIT on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Kings Point. The senior continues to rank among the NEWMAC and national leaders in rushing, touchdowns and scoring, as his 669 rushing yards are most in the league and 21st in the nation, his 11 touchdowns are first in the league and 12th in the nation and his 68 points (11.3 points per game) are first in the league and 11th in the nation.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Teddy Brunger (Sr., LB), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
 
Senior Teddy Brunger (Indialantic, Fla.) led Merchant Marine with nine tackles, including seven solo stops, in the Mariners' 28-14 home NEWMAC win over MIT on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Kings Point. The senior recorded a huge tackle for a loss of five yards early in the third quarter that helped lead to a three-and-out for the Engineers, which USMMA later turned into a touchdown on the ensuing drive that made the score 28-7 late in the third. He was also credited with a quarterback hurry late in the second quarter, which led to an interception that the Mariners wound up turning into what stood as the game-winning touchdown on the ensuing drive.
 
Special Teams Athlete of the Week- George Ethan Ferrey (Jr., P), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
 
Junior George Ethan Ferrey (Bethlehem, Pa.) was called on for two punts while Merchant Marine was keeping MIT at bay in the second half of their 28-14 home win over the Engineers and the junior averaged 54.0 yards, including a career-long of an incredible 67 yards late in the fourth quarter. He also had a 41-yard punt earlier in the game, in the third quarter.
 
Men's Soccer
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Thomas Pelino (Fr., M), Emerson College
 
Freshman Thomas Pelino (San Jose, Calif.) led the Lions to a 1-0-1 record this week, notching 2 goals and 1 assist, including a goal against MIT in a 2-2 draw. Pelino also found the back of the net and added an assist in the Lions 4-1 victory over Framingham State.
 
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Michael O'Gara (So., GK), Wheaton College
 
Sophomore Michael O'Gara (Ardmore, Pa.) stopped six of seven shots for an .857 save percentage in a 1-0 loss to No. 8 Babson College on October 14 in Babson Park, Mass. The second-year goalie has not allowed more than one goal in 11 games this season and has recorded six shutouts.
 
Women's Soccer
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Ashley English (Jr., M), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 
Junior Ashley English (Sheboygan, Wis.) scored two goals and added an assist as the MIT women's soccer collected two more NEWMAC wins during the week to improve to 7-0 in conference play while extending their winning streak to seven. English scored the first goal in the Engineers' 3-1 win over Coast Guard and added a goal and an assist in MIT's 3-0 victory over Salve Regina. For the year, English has three goals and two assists this season for eight points this season.  
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Schuyler Pettibone (Fr., D), Mount Holyoke College  
 
Freshman Schuyler Pettibone (Raleigh, N.C.) scored her first collegiate goal and it stood as the game-winner as Mount Holyoke defeated Wheaton for the first time in 29 contests on Saturday. Pettibone was also responsible for a team save in Mount Holyoke's 3-1 loss to Springfield on Wednesday.
 
Women's Volleyball
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Julianna Flack (Sr., S), Wheaton College
 
Senior Julianna Flack (Saint Petersburg, Fla.) averaged 9.14 assists per set in 14 sets over three matches for the Lyons, posting three double-doubles, and adding 0.86 aces per frame, 2.43 digs and 0.64 blocks. The setter began the week with 38 assists and fired 10 aces for the second-highest total in a match in school history- and the second most in NCAA Division III this season. Flack also added four digs and a block assist in four sets vs. Mount Holyoke College on October 10. She capped the week with a pair of matches on October 14. Flack set for 48 assists in five sets and added an ace, four total blocks and 15 digs for a double-double in a 3-2 in over Smith College. The senior set for 42 assists in five frames in addition to three kills, an ace, eight digs and a block solo vs. Johnson & Wales University.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Ally Townsend (Gr., L), Springfield College
 
Graduate student Ally Townsend (Hummelstown, Pa.) continued to shine on the defensive side of the ball as Springfield picked up three more wins this week, including a pair of NEWMAC victories, to improve to 19-1.  Winners of their last 15 matches, Springfield swept Coast Guard and Amherst before besting Mount Holyoke on the weekend.  Townsend had 61 digs on the week, averaging just over six per set, to go along with eight assists and four aces, highlighted by a season-best 25 digs versus MHC, while also reaching the 1,000-career dig milestone at Amherst. 
 
About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.