Westwood, Mass. – The NEWMAC has released its women's basketball postseason awards, as announced by the conference on Thursday morning. The awards are determined by the conference's twelve coaches following the conclusion of regular season play.
Senior Jessie Ruffner (Rocklin, Calif.) of Smith College was voted NEWMAC Athlete of the Year, while teammate Hannah Martin (North Andover, Mass.) earned Rookie of the Year honors. Springfield College's Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) was voted Defensive Player of the Year. The Springfield College coaching staff was selected as Coaching Staff of the Year by their peers.

Ruffner and Czeremcha headline the first team selections and are joined by their respective teammates Ally Yamada (Seal Beach, Calif.) from Smith, and Rachel Vinton (Holden, Mass.) from Springfield. MIT's Christina Antonakakis (Holmdel, N.J.) and Emerson College's Bri Frongillo (Hopedale, Mass.) round out the first team selections.

MIT leads the second team selections with two, as Angie Choi (Cypress, Calif.) and Kamsi Nwogu (Algonquin, Ill.) were selected. Babson College's Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) and U.S. Coast Guard Academy's Kira Wood (Seattle, Wash.) each earned second team honors. Briana Neary (Wayne, N.J.) represents Salve Regina University on the second team, while Smith's Sofia Rosa (Sudbury, Mass.) closes out the all-conference honorees.  

Athlete of the Year- Jessie Ruffner (Sr., F), Smith College

Jessie Ruffner has impacted 14^th-ranked Smith in critical ways, helping the Pioneers to a share of the NEWMAC regular season title and their fourth straight conference championship. Ruffner led the NEWMAC in assist to turnover ratio at 2.6 and was second in the league in assists with 4.8 per game. She averages 13.3 points per game behind her league-leading 60% field goal percentage. She averages 9.1 rebounds per game and is second in the league with 8.2 defensive boards a game. She's collected 9 double-doubles and reached the 1,000-point club this season.

Defensive Player of the Year – Angela Czeremcha (Jr., F), Springfield College

Angela Czeremcha put together a tremendous junior campaign, leading the Pride to a share of the regular-season conference title and the top seed in the conference tournament.  She leads the league with 11.8 rebounds per game and is ranked 18^th in Division III.  She's compiled 16 blocked shots, and 45 steals. Czeremcha averages 13.4 points per game and leads the league in double-doubles with 15, also putting her 18^th nationally.

Rookie of the Year- Hannah Martin (Fy., G), Smith College

Hannah Martin started at the critical position of point guard for Smith and helped lead the Pioneers to a 26-3 record and a No. 14 national ranking. Martin's production has been impressive on both sides of the basketball, highlighted by being ranked 2nd in the NEWMAC in assist to turnover ratio at 2.3. Her 35 turnovers were the fewest in the league. Martin also ranks 10th in assists with 2.9 per game. She averaged 9.2 points per game and 4.00 rebounds per game.

Coaching Staff of the Year – Springfield College

In her 33rd season at the helm of the Pride, head coach Naomi Graves led Springfield to a 22-5 overall and 10-1 league record this season. The Pride secured a share of the NEWMAC regular season title, their first since 2014-15, and the top seed in the NEWMAC tournament. Springfield also earned its second-ever at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The Pride staff includes Graves and assistant Bob Accorsi, and graduate assistants Alexis Castro, Katelyn McCann, and Elizabeth Thompson.

2023-2024 NEWMAC Women's Basketball  All-Conference
 

2023-24 First Team All-Conference	Bri Frongillo	Emerson
2023-24 First Team All-Conference	Christina Antonakakis	MIT
2023-24 First Team All-Conference	Jessie Ruffner	Smith College
2023-24 First Team All-Conference	Ally Yamada	Smith College
2023-24 First Team All-Conference	Angela Czeremcha	Springfield College
2023-24 First Team All-Conference	Rachel Vinton	Springfield College
2023-34 Second Team All-Conference	Katelyn Mollica	Babson College
2023-34 Second Team All-Conference	Angie Choi	MIT
2023-34 Second Team All-Conference	Kamsi Nwogu	MIT
2023-34 Second Team All-Conference	Briana Neary	Salve Regina University
2023-34 Second Team All-Conference	Sofia Rosa	Smith College
2023-34 Second Team All-Conference	Kira Wood	U.S. Coast Guard Academy

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.