Westwood, Mass.- The NEWMAC has announced its Athlete of the Week honorees for the week ending 9/1/24.  The full list of honorees can be found below.
 
Men’s Cross Country
 
Runner of the Week- Avi Bissoondial (GS), WPI
 
Graduate student Avi Bissoondial (Millbury, Mass.) highlighted a WPI shutout with a course record time at the season-opening Wellesley Invitational on Friday evening.  The graduate student scooted around the 5K course in a time of 15:42 as the Engineers claimed the top 10 spots in the 66-person field on the site of the NEWMAC Championships late next month.  His record-setting time was 17 seconds quicker that former teammate David Reynolds previous standard (15:59.7) set back in 2021.
 
Women’s Cross Country
 
Runner of the Week- Ruby Krasnow (Sr.), Clark University
 
Senior Ruby Krasnow (Huntsville, Ala.) clocked a season-best time of 18:26.1, which was over seven seconds faster than the runner-up, to win the Wellesley Invitational on Friday.
 
Field Hockey
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Caroline DiGiovanni (Jr., F), Babson College
 
Junior Caroline DiGiovanni (Harwich, Mass.) produced her first career hat trick to help No. 3 Babson open the season with a 4-2 win over Endicott on Friday afternoon. She opened the scoring early in the second quarter, notched her second goal just over two minutes into the third and tallied again 1:10 into the fourth period to help the Beavers regain a two-goal advantage. 
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Loren Root (Jr., GK), Clark University
 
Junior Loren Root (Sherborn, Mass.) led the way with eight saves in the Cougars 2-0 shutout win over Worcester State on Saturday. The junior recorded six saves in the first half and stopped two shots in the second half en route to the shutout. 
 
Men’s Soccer
 
Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week- James Donaldson (GS, M), Babson College
 
Graduate student James Donaldson (Kirkland, Quebec) scored a pair of goals just 73 seconds apart to help Babson defeat No. 12 Montclair State, 2-1, in its home opener on Sunday afternoon. He opened the scoring at the 58:50 mark with a header and completed his brace in the 61st minute. 
 
Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week- Aidan Doyle (Jr., M), Wheaton College
 
Junior Aidan Doyle (Kingston, Mass.) netted the first two goals of his collegiate career to lead Wheaton to a 2-1 victory over No. 12 Montclair State University on August 30.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Aidan Hallinan (Gr., D), MIT
 
Graduate student Aidan Hallinan (Carlsbad, Calif.) anchored an MIT defense that allowed just one goal on a penalty kick and allowed only two shots on goal in a 2-0 week for the Engineers. Additionally, Hallinan chipped in on offense, tallying three goals and an assist. He recorded his first goal of the season in the Engineers' 4-1 win over Curry and followed with a career day against Southern Maine, in which he scored a career high two goals and grabbed an assist for a career best five points.
 
Women’s Soccer
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Rosie Turbett (Fy., F), Springfield College
 
First-year Rosie Turbett (Wallingford, Conn.) had an impressive collegiate debut on Friday evening at Anna Maria as she posted a hat trick in the 5-0 win for the Pride. Turbett's hat trick came in the second half in the span of 4:24, which is the 14th fastest hat trick in Division III women's soccer history.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Schuyler Pettibone (So., D), Mount Holyoke College  
 
Sophomore Schuyler Pettibone (Raleigh, N.C.) sent a free kick from midfield to assist on a game-winning header by junior midfielder Anna Kennedy (Glendale, Wis.) to give Mount Holyoke a 1-0 shutout win at Eastern Connecticut State on Saturday.
 
Women’s Volleyball
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Taylor Gwynne (GS, S), Smith College
 
Graduate student Taylor Gwynne (Chapel Hill, N.C.), a transfer from Oberlin College, totaled over 100 assists and over ten kills in her first four games with Smith. In the team's first match against Alfred State, she had a near triple double with 8 kills, 10 digs, and 36 assists. A former NCAC Player of the Year, Gwynne has helped the Pioneers to their best start since the 2013 season, going 4-0.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Kyra Staples (So., L), Mount Holyoke College
 
Sophomore Kyra Staples (Chatham, Ill.) averaged a league-high 7.00 digs per set as Mount Holyoke opened the season with 3-0 victories over Eastern Connecticut State and St. Joseph (Conn.) on Saturday. Staples also received 26 serves without an error and averaged 1.00 aces per set.
 
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.