Marlborough, Mass. – The NEWMAC has released its women’s basketball postseason awards, as announced by the conference on Wednesday morning. The awards are determined by the conference’s twelve coaches following the conclusion of regular-season play.

Senior Bri Frongillo (Hopedale, Mass.) of Emerson College was voted NEWMAC Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year. Smith College’s Hannah Martin (North Andover, Mass.) was voted Defensive Player of the Year. Ruth Lanouette (Devon, Pa.) from MIT claimed Rookie of the Year honors. The Smith College and Clark University coaching staffs share Coaching Staff of the Year honors.

Frongillo headlines the first team selections. Martin was also selected onto the first team along with teammate Virginia Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn.). Babson College’s Emily Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) was selected, as was Clark’s Cyriah Coleman (Los Angeles, Calif.). Salve Regina University’s Sofia Neary (Wayne, N.J.), Springfield College’s Natalie Lucas (Madison, Conn.), and U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s Dorothy Stotts (Edina, Minn.) round out the first team selections.

Lanouette is featured on the second team, along with teammate Mary Lobon (Valencia, Spain). Clark’s Atiya Watson (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Smith’s Felicia Fongemie (Ashford, Conn.) join the team, along with Amanda Leary (Westbury, N.Y.) from Springfield. Wellesley College’s Trinity Barrow (Evans, Ga.) and Ava Shane (Plano, Texas) were also selected. WPI’s Ava Giansiracusa (Wethersfield, Conn.) closes out the all-conference honorees.  

Athlete of the Year- Bri Frongillo (Sr., G), Emerson College

Frongillo sits third in the conference in overall scoring at 19.0 points per game, which improves to 19.5 in conference play. She leads conference play with 5.1 assists per game (3.8 overall). She also leads the league in free throw percentage at 90 percent, is second in the league in field goal percentage at 42 percent, and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage at 40 percent. This season, she became Emerson's all-time leader in points and assists in just three seasons of play.  

Defensive Player of the Year – Hannah Martin (Jr., G), Smith College

Martin is the catalyst to Smith's overall success, helping the program to an 11-0 conference record and their sixth-straight NEWMAC Championship. Martin is tasked with guarding the opponent’s top threat every game and averages 1.5 steals per game. Martin is a master at controlling the tempo of the game and leads conference play with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio, and is third in league play with 3.5 assists per game. Martin also averages 11.5 points per game.

Rookie of the Year- Ruth Lanouette (Fy., G), MIT

In her rookie campaign, Lanouette was a consistent scoring and defensive threat for the Engineers. She was MIT’s leading scorer and ranks sixth in the league, tops amongst rookies, with 14.0 points per game in NEWMAC play. She is second in the conference in steals per game, with 2.2 in league play and 2.5 overall.

Co-Coaching Staff of the Year – Clark University

Clark, led by head coach Bridgette Reyes, went 19-9 overall and 8-3 in conference to land the third seed in the NEWMAC Championship tournament. Their eight conference wins are the most since the 2013-14 season. The Cougars reached the NEWMAC Championship game for the first time since 2005. The Clark staff includes Reyes and assistants Hannah Howard and Haley Wilder.

Co-Coaching Staff of the Year – Smith College

Smith, led by head coach Lynn Hersey, went undefeated in conference play for the second straight year, earning the top seed in the NEWMAC Championship, and going on to win their sixth-straight NEWMAC title- the first basketball program in the NEWMAC to achieve that feat. Going 27-1 overall, the Bears are currently ranked 18^th in NCAA NPI and No. 4 in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division III Coaches’ Poll. Along with Hersey, the staff includes assistants Jen MacAuley, Kat Puda, and Ally Yamada.

2026 NEWMAC Women’s Basketball All-Conference

Team	Name	Institution
First Team All-Conference	Emily Flynn	Babson College
First Team All-Conference	Cyriah Coleman	Clark University
First Team All-Conference	Bri Frongillo	Emerson College
First Team All-Conference	Sofia Neary	Salve Regina University
First Team All-Conference	Virginia Johnson	Smith College
First Team All-Conference	Hannah Martin	Smith College
First Team All-Conference	Natalie Lucas	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Dorothy Stotts	U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Second Team All-Conference	Atiya Watson	Clark University
Second Team All-Conference	Ruth Lanouette	MIT
Second Team All-Conference	Mary Lobon	MIT
Second Team All-Conference	Felicia Fongemie	Smith College
Second Team All-Conference	Amanda Leary	Springfield College
Second Team All-Conference	Trinity Barrow	Wellesley College
Second Team All-Conference	Ava Shane	Wellesley College
Second Team All-Conference	Ava Giansiracusa	WPI

 
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.