Westwood, Mass.- The NEWMAC has announced its Athlete of the Week honorees for the week ending 9/22/24.  The full list of honorees can be found below.
 
Men's Cross Country
 
Runner of the Week- Anthony Rodriguez (GS), Babson College
 
Graduate student Anthony Rodriguez (Prairie View, Ill.) finished 12th overall, second among Division III runners and first among NEWMAC competitors, at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday. He posted a time of 25:19 on the 8K Bob Dowd Course in his season debut to finish behind only Jake Velazquez of Keene State as the Beavers placed second among Division III squads. Rodriguez's time also ranks 15th on the program's all-time list. 
 
Women's Cross Country
 
Runner of the Week- Ella Whinney (Jr.), Wellesley College
 
Junior Ella Whinney (Madison, Wis.) helped lead the Blue against top New England competition at Wesleyan's Cardinal Invitational this past Saturday. Whinney finished 13th out of 128 runners with a time of 22:19.15, within four seconds of a 6k PR.
 
Field Hockey
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Sophie Papamechail (So., M./F), WPI
 
Sophomore Sophie Papamechail (Danvers, Mass.) totaled seven points by registering three goals and tallying an assist to help the Engineers post a 2-0 record last week.  She began the week shifting from back to midfield and netted a goal a 4-0 blanking of Worcester State on Wednesday.  On Saturday she provided her versatility by playing both midfield and forward by delivering a pair of goals and doling out an assist in WPI's 6-0 NEWMAC-opening shutout at Mount Holyoke
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Abby Miller (Jr., D), Wheaton College
 
Junior Abby Miller (Andover, Mass.) recorded three defensive saves in two games for Wheaton. The junior became just the seventh player in NCAA Division III to register three or more defensive saves in a game this season when she made three stops against Endicott College for the Lyons on September 17.
 
Football
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Nate Casaburi (Jr., WR), SUNY Maritime
 
Junior Nate Casaburi (Sayville, N.Y.) tied the Maritime single-game program record with three receiving touchdowns in a 32-27 victory over Anna Maria. He had a 54-yard catch and run for the Privateers' first TD on the opening play of the second quarter, and added a nine-yard scoring strike that gave Maritime the lead on the Privateers' next drive. The junior made his third touchdown reception, a 13-yard play, midway through the third quarter, as Maritime extended its advantage to 26-7. Casaburi finished with 11 catches for 136 yards. His 11 receptions were third-most for a single game in program history.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Dominic Hess (So., DB), MIT
 
Sophomore Dominic Hess (Damascus, Md.) finished with seven tackles and an interception as the MIT football team forced four turnovers and held visiting Alfred State College to 154 yards of total offense in a 20-0 shutout victory on Saturday. Hess had six solo tackles and the interception was the first of his career.
 
Special Teams Athlete of the Week- Madux McGrath (So., P), Norwich University  
 
Sophomore Madux McGrath (Amherst, N.H.)averaged 39 yards per punt with a long of 56, with one that landed inside the 20. 
 
Men's Soccer
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Aki Freeman (Jr., F), U.S. Coast Guard Academy
 
Junior Aki Freeman (San Diego, Calif.) had a hand in both Coast Guard goals in the Bears' lone match of the week, as he assisted on the first goal, and then scored the game-winning goal, in a 2-1 win over conference foe, MIT.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Diego Marin (Jr., GK), Clark University
 
Junior Diego Marin (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) recorded a pair of shutouts this week and registered 14 saves across two games as Clark went 1-0-1 this week. The junior opened the week with eight saves in a 2-0 non-conference win over Eastern Connecticut. In Saturday's 0-0 NEWMAC opening draw against Wheaton, Marin stopped six shots. 
 
Women's Soccer
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Olivia Chow-Gillette (So., M/F), Wellesley College  
 
Sophomore Olivia Chow-Gillette (Dallas, Texas) recorded both goals in Wellesley's 2-0 victory against Plymouth State last Wednesday. The sophomore recorded the game-winner only three minutes into play before converting again a minute into the second half.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Maya Thomas (So., D), Wheaton College  
 
Sophomore Maya Thomas (Goffstown, N.H.) helped the Lyons post a 0.50 goals against average in two games. The sophomore raced back to the front of the goalmouth in the 17th minute of the first half and was able to deny a point-blank shot of the unattended net to keep Wheaton's shutout intact against Union College on September 18. Thomas also helped limit host Babson College to just one goal in a 1-1 tie on September 21.
 
Women's Volleyball
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Julia Tolstova (Fy., OH), MIT
 
First year Julia Tolstova (Redlands, Calif.) totaled 41 kills, 15 digs, and two blocks in a 3-0 week for No. 8 MIT. She led all players with 13 kills and added five digs and an ace in a 25-18, 25-16, 18-25, 25-18 win against UC Santa Cruz. Tolstova recorded a match-high 15 kills while hitting .333 and posting four digs in a 25-20, 25-19, 15-25, 25-17 win over No. 2 Johns Hopkins. She closed out the NYU Showdown by tallying a match-high 13 kills along with six digs and a block in a 25-21, 25-22, 25-10 victory against No. 11 NYU.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Caroline Davis (Gr., L/DS), Emerson College
 
Graduate student Caroline Davis (Orlando, Fla.) racked up 103 digs in a four-match week as Emerson went 2-2. Davis averaged 7.4 digs-per-set to go with six service aces. She set a career-high with 41 digs in a five-set loss at Colby.
 
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.