Marlborough, Mass.- The NEWMAC has announced its Athlete of the Week honorees for the week ending 3/22/26, presented by SKYBOKX 109 Bar & Grill in Natick, Massachusetts. The full list of honorees can be found below.
 
Baseball
 
Pitcher of the Week- Nolan Romanowski (So., P), Salve Regina University
 
Sophomore Nolan Romanowski (Wynantskill, N.Y.) improved to 4-0 on the season with a complete-game effort in the final Florida game for the No. 4-ranked Seahawks. He struck out four Royals and lowered his season earned run average to 1.67.
 
Athlete of the Week- Michael Lepere (Sr., OF), Springfield College
 
Senior Michael Lepere (Beacon, N.Y.) hit a blistering .588 (10-for-17) with a 1.000 slugging percentage, as he blasted two home runs and drove in six runs for the Pride in Florida this week. He also scored six runs and stole a base as Springfield produced its best 13-game start to a season (9-4) since 2018.
 
Men’s Lacrosse
 
Offensive Player of the Week – Emmett Edwards (Sr., A), Wheaton College
 
Senior Emmett Edwards (Sunderland, Vt.) netted four or more goals in two contests to give him 10 goals and an assist for the week in addition to six ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. Edwards was credited with game-winners in both matches for Wheaton. The senior was incredibly efficient with six goals on eight shots in addition to an assist, four ground balls, and a caused turnover in the Lyons' 12-6 win over Eastern Connecticut State University on March 17. His sixth score of the day was also the 100th of his career. The Vermont native capped the week with four goals, two ground balls, and a caused turnover in Wheaton's 10-2 victory over visiting Emerson College on March 21. 
 
Defensive Player of the Week – Evan Borchert (Jr., GK), Wheaton College
 
Junior Evan Borchert (Littleton, Colo.) was outstanding with a minuscule 3.59 goals against average fueled by a gaudy .731% save mark. The junior allowed six or fewer markers in both matches for the Lyons in 116:58 minutes of action. Borchert began the week by turning back eight of 14 shots in a 12-6 win over Eastern Connecticut State University on March 17 and picked up a ground ball. The Colorado native capped the week by stopping 11 of 12 shots in 56:58 of action in a 10-2 victory over visiting Emerson College on March 21.
 
Face Off Specialist of the Week – Beau Burns (Gr. FOM), Babson College  
 
Graduate student Beau Burns (Washington, D.C.) put together one of the best games in program history, winning 20-of-21 face-offs and picking up 15 ground balls as No. 6/6 Babson remained unbeaten with a 21-6 win over Springfield on Saturday. He was a perfect 12-of-12 in the first half and won his first 14 face-offs of the game while finishing with double-digit ground balls for the fourth time in the last five games. 
 
Women’s Lacrosse
 
Offensive Player of the Week – Jessica Chamberlin (Sr., A), Wheaton College
 
Senior Jessica Chamberlin (Bow, N.H.) tallied 13 points, including 11 goals on just 13 shots for a remarkable 84.6% shooting percentage. She also added two assists to go with a ground ball and a pair of draw controls. The attacker was extremely consistent, with at least five goals in both games, and began the week with five goals, two assists, a ground ball, and a caused turnover in the Lyons' 15-10 win at Emmanuel College. Chamberlin capped the week with six goals in seven shots and won a draw control in Wheaton's 14-10 road win against Salve Regina University.
 
Defensive Player of the Week- Pauline Vien (Jr., GK), MIT
 
Junior Pauline Vien (Brookline, Mass.) totaled 28 saves, a .583 save percentage, a 10.00 goals-against average, four groundballs, and two caused turnovers in a 2-0 week for MIT. She collected 14 saves, including one with 22 seconds remaining, and two groundballs in a 10-9 victory over No. 18 University of Chicago on Tuesday. Vien followed this up with another 14-save performance and added two groundballs and two caused turnovers in a 13-11 win at Springfield on Saturday. 
 
Men’s Tennis
 
Singles Player of the Week – Sebastian Mendoza (So.), Babson College
 
Sophomore Sebastian Mendoza (Weston, Fla.) went 2-1 at number three singles and 2-2 overall last week in California. He beat Artem Manov of Whitman 6-0, 6-2 at number three and fell to Dominik Kaminski of Colorado College at number one in Babson’s sweep on Wednesday before securing the clinching point in the Beavers’ 4-3 upset of No. 2 Chicago in the opening round of the Stag-Hen Invitational on Friday, rallying past Alexander Ekstrand for a 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 victory. 
 
Doubles Team of the Week – Alexander Merson (Sr.) & Maxim Zlobinsky (Fy.), Babson College  
 
Babson’s number one doubles pairing of Alexander Merson (Palisades Park, N.J.) and Maxim Zlobinsky (Greenvale, N.Y.) went 4-1 during the team’s trip to California. They cruised past Alexander Stage and Niklas Nordahl Jensen of Whitman 6-3 and Lennart Lehmiz and Samuel Dilworth of Colorado College 6-3 on Wednesday before scoring their biggest win of the year by defeating Jack Wong and Robert Zhang 6-1 to help the Beavers upset No. 2 Chicago in the opening round of the Stag-Hen Invitational on Friday. Merson and Zlobinsky edged Alex Ganchev of and Sacha Maes of Tufts 7-5 in the semifinals of the tournament before falling to Bowdoin’s top pairing in their final match of the weekend. 
 
Women’s Tennis
 
Singles Player of the Week – Sandra Sikharulidze (Fy.), Babson College
 
First year Sandra Sikharulidze (Kyiv, Ukraine) had a terrific week in South Carolina, going 3-0 at number two singles with a pair of victories over nationally-ranked opponents. She began the week with a 6-4, 6-4 win over 17th-ranked Eleanor Archer of No. 2 Washington University, followed it up with a 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 triumph over Agnes Guggenheim of No. 4 Wesleyan and then rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over 30th-ranked Lia Melvin of No. 13 Johns Hopkins for her fifth consecutive win. 
 
Doubles Team of the Week – Matia Cristiani (Sr.) & Sandra Sikharulidze (Fy.), Babson College
 
Senior Matia Cristiani (San Salvador, El Salvador) and Sandra Sikharulidze (Kyiv, Ukraine) extended their winning streak to eight by sweeping three matches at number one doubles as the Beavers faced three of the top programs in the country. They were 6-2 winners over the seventh-ranked pairing of Elanor Archer and Caitlin Bui of No. 2 Washington University, beat Leila Epstein and Lucinda Gatsiounins of No. 4 Wesleyan in a tiebreaker 7-6, and capped the week by defeating Lia Melvin and Sophia Kim of No. 13 Johns Hopkins for the second time this spring, 6-3. 
 
Softball
 
Pitcher of the Week- Sarah Wicker (Jr., P), Wellesley College   
 
Junior Sarah Wicker (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) was in top form at THE Spring Games this past week. The junior threw 20.1 innings with 26 strikeouts, a 1.38 ERA, and a .64 WHIP. Wicker threw a one-hit shutout of Wesleyan, striking out eight over seven frames with only one hit and one walk surrendered. She followed that performance with 6.1 innings without a run in a win over SUNY Brockport, tying a career-best with a dozen punchouts.
 
Athlete of the Week- Amelia DeRosa (Sr., P/3B), Springfield College
 
Senior Amelia DeRosa (Miller Place, N.Y.) had an outstanding week in Florida for the Springfield College softball team. In five games, DeRosa batted .650 (13-for-20) to go along with two runs, a double, and seven RBI. She produced a walk-off hit in a 7-6 victory over Geneseo, a game-winning two-run double in the sixth to defeat No. 13 UW-Oshkosh, and then picked up three hits in an 8-3 win over Keene State to wrap up the trip. Over the course of the week, DeRosa registered her 200th career hit, becoming the fifth in program history to reach this milestone, and is one of only six active Division III softball student-athletes with 200 or more hits.

DeRosa also was stellar in the circle, picking up three wins (3-0), including a complete game shutout over William Paterson and surrendering just two unearned runs to No. 13 UW-Oshkosh, defeating the highest-ranked team that Springfield has beaten since 2022. DeRosa struck out 11 batters in 22 total innings to complete the Pride’s overall record in Florida to 5-2.

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.