Westwood, Mass.- The NEWMAC has announced its Athlete of the Week honorees for the week ending 11/12/23. The full list of honorees can be found below.
Men's Basketball
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Brendan McNamara, (So., FB), Emerson College
Sophomore Brendan McNamara (Arlington, Mass.) opened the 2023-24 campaign scoring 39 points against Colby College, leading the Lions to their first victory of the season. McNamara added four assists in the win. He followed up that performance by dropping in 23 points the next day against Colby-Sawyer. The sophomore shot 86% from behind the arc, and 59% from the floor. On the week, he averaged 31.0 points, with five assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Defensive Athlete of the Week- John Adams (Sr.,F), WPI
Senior John Adams (Douglas, Mass.) posted his 24th career double-double with a 16-point and 15-rebound night while WPI outscored the hosting Lancers over the last 11 minutes of the opening half, 28-10, en route to a 77-65 win at Worcester State. Adams then added nine rebounds, just one board shy of a double-double, and a pair of steals against in a 77-62 win over No. 7 Williams. The senior forward posted 10 boards in a contest versus Saint Joseph's (ME) helping WPI to the 69-49 win for its fifth Ted Coghlin Tournament Championship on Sunday evening establishing a 3-0 start for the Crimson and Gray.
Women's Basketball
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Christina Antonakakis, (GS., G), MIT
Graduate student Christina Antonakakis (Holmdel, N.J.) averaged 19.67 points (46 percent from the floor, 53 percent from behind the arc, and 90 percent from the charity stripe) and five assists. She poured in a game-high 28 points to go along with six assists and four rebounds in a 73-55 victory over Emmanuel last Wednesday. Antonakakis posted nine points and two assists in an 88-55 loss at No. 2 NYU on Friday, but bounced back with a game-high 22 points and seven assists in a 70-58 victory over WashU.
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Jacqueline Faulise (Sr., G), Clark University
Senior Jacqueline Faulise (North Kingstown, R.I.) was named the MVP of the Worcester City Tournament this weekend helping Clark secure wins over Worcester State and WPI. The senior pulled down 7.0 boards and averaged 2.0 steals per game in a pair of victories. She added 15.5 points and 3.5 assists, going 12-13 from the free throw line across the two games. The guard opened the week with a 16 point and eight rebound effort in a 72-64 win over Worcester State. In the championship against WPI, Faulise scored 15 points, pulled down six rebounds, and dished out four assists in a 67-49 victory against the Engineers.
Football
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Jake Stack, (Jr., QB), Salve Regina University
Junior Jake Stack (Campbell Hall, N.Y.) threw for 333 yards, while completing 24 of 33 passes. He had three touchdown strikes including a long of 68 to senior Andre Sullivan. Salve Regina (8-2, 6-1 NEWMAC) completed its regular season with a 38-0 win at Norwich University at Sabine Field. Of the Seahawks' 26 rushing attempts, Stack carried the ball a team-high seven times with Stack netting 19 yards.
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Joseph Franco, (Sr., CB), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
Senior Joseph Franco (Staten Island, N.Y.) recorded a pair of second-half interceptions in the Mariners' 39-27 road victory at Coast Guard on Saturday in the Secretaries' Cup on ESPN+. His first pick was on the Bears' first drive of the third quarter, which he returned 48 yards into Coast Guard territory to set up Merchant Marine's fourth TD of the day. The senior's second interception came in the final minute of the fourth when the Bears were trying to rally and sealed the victory for the Mariners.
Special Teams Athlete of the Week- Nick Peterson (Fr., LB), Springfield College
Freshman Nick Peterson (Kingston, Mass.) made quite the impact on special teams on Saturday in Springfield's 51-6 victory over Maritime. The first year made three of his four tackles on the day on Springfield's kickoff team and blocked a punt, which marked Springfield's fourth blocked punt of the season which is the third-most in Division III this year.
Men's Swimming & Diving
Diver of the Week- Christian Butler (Fr.), Springfield College
Freshman Christian Butler (North Haven, Conn.) finished first on both boards with a 1-meter score of 258.00 and a 3-meter mark of 254.15.
Relay Team of the Week- 400 Freestyle Relay, Wheaton College
Wheaton closed its meet with visiting United States Coast Guard Academy with a relay win in the 400-yard freestyle. Sophomore Gavin Cullinan (Cummings, Ga.) led off, before, sophomore Will Larson (Iowa City, Iowa), junior Sean Hill (Ellsworth, Maine) swam the second and third legs respectively. Sophomore Brian Hixson (Scituate, Mass.) swam the final 100 yards to combine on a time of 3:10.65 for the win.
Swimmer of the Week – Jonathan Chan (Jr.), Springfield College
Junior Jonathan Chan (Hong Kong, China) had an outstanding meet in the pool as he won all three of his individual events and claimed second with the 400-free relay squad to cap the day in a double dual split with Keene State and Wheaton. Chan touched the wall first in the 200-free (1:46.74), the 200-fly (1:58.50) and the 200-IM (1:59.97) before teaming up for a time of 3:11.06 in the 400-free relay.
Women's Swimming & Diving
Diver of the Week- Maddy Sewell, (Sr.), Mount Holyoke College
Senior Maddy Sewell (Scottsdale, Ariz.) shined in Saturday's dual meet win against Westfield State, her first competition of the season, qualifying for NCAA Regionals with outstanding scores in both 1-meter (266.00 points) and 3-meter (265.70) diving.
Relay Team of the Week- 200 Medley Relay, Wheaton College
The Lyons opened their meet with a win vs. visiting United States Coast Guard Academy in the 200-yard medley relay behind junior Reese Hartmann's (Grand Rapids, Mich.), lead backstroke, followed by senior Meghan Dickinson (North Kingstown, R.I.) in the breaststroke, junior Alexa DiCenso (Methuen, Mass.) in the butterfly and senior Amelia Butler (New York, N.Y.) in the freestyle anchor to combine on a time of 1:49.68.
Swimmer of the Week – Kay Shen (Jr.), Springfield College
Junior Kay Shen (Hong Kong, China) powered the Pride's efforts with three individual first place finishes in a double dual split with Keene State and Wheaton. Shen claimed wins in the 200-free (1:59.09), 50-free (24.33) and the 100-free (53.17) and then teamed up for a second place finish in the 400-free relay (3:39.47).
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.