Westwood, Mass.- The NEWMAC has announced its Athlete of the Week honorees for the week ending 1/7/24. The full list of honorees can be found below.
Men's Basketball
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Bruce Saintilus, (Jr., F), Clark University
Junior
Bruce Saintilus (Plainville, Mass.) averaged 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game as Clark recorded a pair of NEWMAC victories last week. The junior opened the week with a team-leading 15 points on 5-6 shooting, while adding five assists and four rebounds as the Cougars came away with a 66-52 win over Babson. In Saturday's 76-64 victory against Coast Guard, Saintilus scored 26 points after going 9-13 from the floor, pulled down eight rebounds, dished out five assists, and recorded four steals.
Defensive Athlete of the Week- John Adams (Sr., F), WPI
Senior
John Adams (Douglas, Mass.) helped keep WPI undefeated in NEWMAC play with a pair of defensive-minded conference victories this past week. The senior forward was a monster on the glass in the wins, leading all players with 15 boards (13 defensive) in a 73-54 road win at Coast Guard on Wednesday and 11 rebounds (9 defensive) in a 68-43 triumph over Emerson on Saturday. Adams chipped in with a pair of steals in both contests, a block versus Coast Guard and averaged 9 points in the two wins. As a team, the Engineers allowed just 48.5 points in the two games and lowered their average points allowed per game to 56.2 ppg, good for fourth in Division III and fifth overall out of over 1,000 schools in all levels of NCAA basketball.
Women's Basketball
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Jessie Ruffner (Sr., G), Smith College
Senior
Jessie Ruffner (Rocklin, Calif.) averaged a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds per game to along with 3.5 assists per game to give No. 15 Smith (10-2) wins over MIT and Springfield this past week. Against the Engineers, Ruffner finished with 17 points, 12 boards and three assists and followed that with a 29-point, eight rebound performance at Springfield where she hit the game-tying buzzer beater to send the game into overtime. With 46 points this week, she moved up to ninth on Smith's all-time scoring list.
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Rachel Vinton (GS., G), Springfield College
Graduate student
Rachel Vinton (Holden, Mass.) had an impressive two outings for the Pride and averaged 17.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 3.0 steals per game. In being named the MVP of the Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic, she tallied 11 assists, eight points, six boards, and three steals in a win over Roger Williams on Monday before turning in the best game of her career in a double overtime setback to nationally-ranked Smith where she posted 27 points, 14 rebounds (12 defensive), three steals and two blocks.
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.