Marlborough, Mass.- The NEWMAC has announced its Athlete of the Week honorees for the week ending 11/2/25, presented by SKYBOKX 109.  The full list of honorees can be found below.
 
Field Hockey
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Caroline DiGiovanni (Sr., F), Babson College  
 
Senior Caroline DiGiovanni (Harwich, Mass.) erupted for six goals and 12 points over the final two games of the regular season as No. 3 Babson extended its winning streak to 14 with a pair of victories. The senior forward scored a career-high four goals to help the Beavers pull away for a 5-2 win at the University of New England on Tuesday and followed it up with two more markers in Saturday’s 5-0 triumph over Wheaton to extend her scoring streak to six games. 
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Clare Moore (Fy., D), Springfield College
 
First-year Clare Moore (New Preston, Conn.) anchored the Springfield defense to two shutouts this week to close the regular season at 12-6 and 6-3 in NEWMAC play, marking the most overall wins and most NEWMAC wins for the Pride since 2018. Moore's defense helped Springfield allow just nine total shots on goal - including just three in the regular season finale against Clark on Saturday.
 
Football
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Harrison Hensley (Jr., RB), U.S. Coast Guard Academy
 
Junior Harrison Hensley (Riverview, Fla.) fueled the Bears’ offense in a thrilling 36–31 road win over Salve Regina, piling up 168 rushing yards and a touchdown while adding 18 receiving yards. Hensley’s highlight moment came in the fourth quarter, when he made an acrobatic fourth-down touchdown catch to give Coast Guard the lead for good.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Dominic Hess (Jr., DB), MIT
 
Junior Dominic Hess (Damascus, Md.) continued his remarkable run of play in MIT's 19-7 victory over WPI on Saturday, recording his fifth interception and second pick-six in the past three games. The junior defensive back added five tackles and a pass break-up in the game, but the big play came in the second quarter when Hess ended a WPI drive deep in MIT territory, picking off WPI quarterback Jack Schuck at the seven-yard line and returning the ball 93 yards to the end zone for a touchdown.
 
Special Teams Athlete of the Week- Tyler Paladino, (Sr., DB), Springfield College
 
Senior Tyler Paladino (Cross River, N.Y.) returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown, extending Springfield's lead to 27-6 early in the third quarter against Norwich on Saturday. Paladino's efforts guided Springfield to a 48-6 win over the Cadets, as the Pride remained unbeaten in conference play following its fifth consecutive victory.
 
Men’s Soccer
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Aidan Doyle (Sr., M), Wheaton College
 
Senior Aidan Doyle (Kingston, Mass.) tallied five points with a goal and three assists in two games for the Lyons. The midfielder assisted on the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win at Babson College on October 28. Doyle capped the week with a goal and two assists in Wheaton's 5-0 victory over visiting Springfield College on November 1.
 
Women’s Soccer
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Mia Forti (Sr, F), U.S. Coast Guard Academy
 
Senior Mia Forti (Madison, Conn.) erupted for her first career hat trick to lead the Bears to a pivotal 3–1 victory over Smith with postseason hopes on the line. Forti’s three-goal performance marks the first hat trick by a Coast Guard women’s soccer player in more than six years and helped them clinch a playoff berth.


Defensive Athlete of the Week- Patricia Bandrup (Sr., GK), Wheaton College   
 
Senior Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) allowed just one goal and made 14 saves in two matches to post a 0.50 goals against mark and a .933 save percentage for the week. The keeper denied all four shots she faced to record her fifth shutout of the season in a 1-0 win at United States Coast Guard Academy on October 29. Bandrup capped the week by making 10 saves for her fourth double-digit save effort in a 2-1 victory at Salve Regina University on November 1.
 
Men’s Swimming & Diving
 
Diver of the Week – Christian Butler (Jr.), Springfield College
 
Junior Christian Butler (North Haven, Conn.) began his junior season on Saturday by sweeping both boards against No. 7 nationally-ranked MIT. Butler recorded a first-place score of 285.15 on the 3-meter board and a first-place mark of 273.01 on the 1-meter board, accounting for 18 of Springfield's 91 points scored in the dual with the Engineers.
 
Relay of the Week – 200 Free Relay, Wheaton College
 
Wheaton's 200-yard freestyle relay squad placed first over Bentley University with a time of 1:25.65 on October 24. Senior Brian Hixson (Scituate, Mass.) was followed by senior Gavin Cullinan (Cumming, GA), first-year Marcus Tran (Milton, Mass,), and senior Will Larson (Iowa City, Iowa). The same quartet also defeated Bridgewater State University the following weekend with a time of 1:26.05.
 
Swimmer of the Week – Lucas Brown (Fy.), WPI
 
First-year Lucas Brown (Viera, Fla.) continued his outstanding start to his collegiate career with six individual wins and a runner-up finish over WPI’s opening two weekends of competition, leading the Engineers to a 3-2 start and multiple program milestones.In the season opener at Ithaca, Brown powered WPI to its first victory over the Bombers in three years, sweeping the 1000 freestyle (9:54.59) and 200 butterfly (1:57.52), and adding a second-place finish in the 500 freestyle (4:50.72). He followed with a perfect performance at the Halloween home tri-meet versus Babson, Coast Guard, and Brandeis, going 3-for-3 individually. Brown bested the field in the 1000 freestyle (10:04.30) by over ten seconds, completed the distance sweep in the 500 freestyle (4:52.84) by more than six seconds, and clinched a tight win in the 200 IM (1:58.38). Across the two meets, Brown totaled six individual event wins, sweeping both 1000s.
 
Women’s Swimming & Diving
 
Diver of the Week- Katherine Welsh (Sr.), Smith College
 
Senior Katherine Welsh (Saint Paul, Minn.) delivered another strong performance for the Smith College swimming and diving team at the WPI Quad this past Saturday. Welsh swept both boards against four opponents: Brandeis, Babson, WPI, and Coast Guard. She earned two more Zone scores on the 1-meter (281.85) and 3-meter (277.70), qualifying her for automatic entry into NCAA Regionals.
 
Relay of the Week – 200 Yard Medley, U.S. Coast Guard Academy
 
The 200-yard relay team of Sam Halvorson (Chesapeake, Va.), Rebecca Hurst (Guilderland, NJ), Madelyn Paxton (Mechanicsburg, Va.), and Julia Thomas (Chandler, Ariz.) took first in the 200 Medley. Their winning time of 1:50.35 was just 0.5 seconds faster than the second-place team from Babson College. 
 
Swimmer of the Week – Tuana Turhan (So.), Babson College  
 
Sophomore Tuana Turhan (Lake Forest, Ill.) came in first four times and added three individual finishes while swimming five different events over Babson’s first three meets. She won both the 100 butterfly (1:00.86) and the 200 butterfly (2:16.49) to open the season at Roger Williams on October 18. Turhan also won both the 100 fly (58.65) and 200 fly (2:10.91) with season-best times and placed second in the 200 IM (2:14.52) in a five-team meet at WPI on Friday, and wrapped up the weekend by finishing as the runner-up in both the 50 free (26.30) and 100 breaststroke (1:11.63) on Saturday against Clark. 
 
Volleyball
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Claire Underwood (Sr., MH), MIT
 
Senior Claire Underwood (Yorba Linda, Calif.) averaged 3.00 kills per set on a .487 hitting percentage and 11 blocks in a 2-0 week for MIT. She produced nine kills, a .533 hitting performance, and four blocks in a 25-21, 25-17, 25-15 victory at Wellesley on Tuesday night. Underwood followed this up with 12 kills, a .458 hitting effort, and seven blocks in a 25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 25-19 win at Endicott on Thursday. 
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Daphne Gavros (Sr., L), MIT
 
Senior Daphne Gavros (Bel Tiburon, Calif.) averaged 5.86 digs per set. She led all players with 20 digs in a 25-21, 25-17, 25-15 victory at Wellesley on Tuesday night. Gavros followed this up with a match-high 21 digs and added five assists in a 25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 25-19 win at Endicott on Thursday. 
 
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 eight Associate Members: Brandeis University (Women's Lacrosse, 2026-2027), New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 20 sports.