Marlborough, Mass.- The NEWMAC has announced its Athlete of the Week honorees for the week ending 4/19/26, presented by SKYBOKX 109 Bar & Grill in Natick, Massachusetts. The full list of honorees can be found below.
 
Baseball
 
Pitcher of the Week- Jason Finkelstein (Jr., P), Babson College
 
Junior Jason Finkelstein (Walpole, Mass.) made two appearances, going 1-0 with one save, a 1.13 ERA, and five strikeouts while holding opposing hitters to a .077 average in 8.0 innings pitched last week. He needed just nine pitches to retire the side for his first career save in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over No. 22 Tufts, and then gave up just one run on two hits while striking out five in Saturday’s 11-1 eight-inning victory over Emerson. 
 
Athlete of the Week- Jack Zawacki (Sr., OF), WPI
 
Senior Jack Zawacki (Pittsford, N.Y.) paced the WPI offense during a 3-1 week, batting .632 (10-for-19) with 10 runs scored, 12 RBI, three doubles, two home runs, and two walks. The junior delivered his biggest performance in the 18-12 win over Roger Williams, going 3-for-5 with seven RBI, two doubles, and a three-run homer while scoring four times.
Zawacki stayed hot in the weekend series against Clark, going a combined 5-for-10 with four runs scored and three RBI across the doubleheader. He opened the week with a two-run homer against New England College and recorded at least one hit in all four games.
 
Men’s Lacrosse
 
Offensive Player of the Week – Joey Allen (Gr., A), Babson College
 
Graduate student Joey Allen (Philadelphia, Pa.) produced four goals and six assists for 10 points over two games for No. 5/7 Babson. He scored twice and added one assist in Tuesday’s 17-8 loss to No. 1/1 Tufts and followed it up with two goals and a season-high five assists for seven points in Friday’s 18-5 victory at Clark. Allen did all of his damage over the first quarter and a half as he had a hand in seven of the Beavers’ first 10 goals. 
 
Defensive Player of the Week – Andrew Almquist (So., GK), Babson College
 
Sophomore Andrew Almquist (Wakefield, Mass.) made two starts, posting a 12.17 goals against average and a .604 save percentage while stopping 32 shots and scooping up three ground balls in just over 103 minutes of action. The sophomore goalkeeper made 19 saves, which was just two shy of his career high, in Tuesday’s 17-8 loss to No. 1/1 Tufts. Almquist followed it up by stopping 13 of 17 shots over the first three quarters as the Beavers cruised past Clark, 18-5.
 
Women’s Lacrosse
 
Offensive Player of the Week – Jessica Chamberlin (Jr., A), Wheaton College
 
Junior Jessica Chamberlin (Bow, N.H.) tallied 11 points on eight goals and three assists to go with seven ground balls, a caused turnover, and a draw control. The attacker was incredibly efficient, scoring eight times on just 10 shots. She began the week with a pair of goals on three shots and added an assist and a ground ball at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on April 15. Chamberlin capped the week with six goals on seven shots to go with two assists, caused a turnover, a draw control, and a career-high six ground balls at Johnson & Wales University on April 17.
 
Defensive Player of the Week- Mary Flynn Kayajan (So., GK), Salve Regina University
 
Sophomore Mary Flynn Kayajan (Hyannis, Mass.) totaled 22 saves in a 1-1 week. In the loss to Babson, Kayajan made 10 saves, and in the 13-6 victory over Clark, she posted 12. She also picked up two ground balls on the week.
 
Rowing
 
Boat of the Week- Smith College Varsity 8
 
The Smith College Varsity 8 placed third in the Grand Final of the New York State Championships on Saturday. The Bears posted the fastest Division III crew time of 7:18.874, only behind DI boats Colgate and Marist. The Varsity 8 won their morning heat, posting the second fastest time of the morning, only 0.4 seconds behind Marist.  
 
Softball
 
Pitcher of the Week- Abby Merchant (Fy., P), WPI
 
First year Abby Merchant (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) anchored the WPI pitching staff during a 5-1 week, going 4-0 with a 0.43 ERA across 16.1 innings while striking out 11. The rookie opened the week by combining for 4.1 scoreless innings in a sweep of Hartford before delivering her best outing in the nightcap against Eastern Connecticut, allowing just one run over seven innings with six strikeouts in a 7-1 victory.

Merchant capped the week with a five-inning shutout against Salve Regina, scattering four hits in a 10-0 win. She allowed just one earned run over her four appearances and helped WPI secure sweeps over Hartford and Salve Regina while splitting with Eastern Connecticut.
 
Athlete of the Week- Emma Nagy (Sr., 1B), WPI
 
Senior Emma Nagy (Monroe, Wash.) powered the WPI offense during a 5-1 week, batting .588 (10-for-17) with six runs scored, 12 RBI, three doubles, and two home runs. The first baseman delivered one of her best performances of the season in the split with Eastern Connecticut, going 2-for-2 with four RBI, a double, and a home run in the nightcap after adding an RBI double in the opener.

Nagy stayed hot against Salve Regina, going a combined 4-for-5 with five RBI and another home run in the doubleheader sweep. She also opened the week with multi-hit efforts in both games against Hartford, helping the Engineers score 46 runs over the six-game stretch.
 
Men’s Tennis
 
Singles Player of the Week – Edward Wang (So.), Babson College
 
Sophomore Edward Wang (Burr Ridge, Ill.) went 2-0 to help the Beavers finish off the regular season with a pair of wins over nationally-ranked foes. He defeated Adam Sun of No. 26 MIT 6-2, 6-4 at number two singles in Tuesday’s 5-2 victory and then rallied for a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) triumph over Daniel Shemesh at number one as the Beavers came from behind to beat No. 19 Brandeis 5-2 on Thursday. 
 
Doubles Team of the Week – Filippo Nocchi (Jr.) and Connor Leung (So.), Emerson College  
 
Filippo Nocchi (Pontedera, Italy) and Connor Leung (Mercer Island, Wash.) won both of their matches at No. 1 doubles over two matches as the Lions clinched a spot in the NEWMAC Tournament for the first time in program history. Nocchi and Leung posted a 6-4 win over Wheaton's No. 1 doubles tandem of Jaime Galligo and Landon Wyshner to aid in clinching the doubles point in Emerson's postseason clinching 6-1 win that marked its first win over the Lyons in program history. Capped the week with a 6-2 win over Clark's No. 1 doubles team of Edward Shepherd-Johnson and Graham Russo. 
 
Women’s Tennis
 
Singles Player of the Week – Saina Deshpande (Jr.), MIT
 
Junior Saina Deshpande (Pune, India) clinched both matches from the No. 1 singles position. Last Tuesday in a 7-0 win against Salve Regina, she recorded a 6-0, 6-1 victory. Deshpande then generated a 6-2, 6-1 result on Saturday in a 7-0 decision versus No. 52 Smith. 
 
Doubles Team of the Week – Alaina Kolli (Sr.) & Artemis Pados (Fy.), MIT
 
Seniors Alaina Kolli (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Artemis Pados (Delray Beach, Fla.) posted a pair of 7-0 victories for No. 8 MIT in the No. 1 doubles position. Last Tuesday against Salve Regina, the duo posted the first win of the match with a 6-0 decision. They followed this up by capturing the doubles point courtesy of another 6-0 victory, which came against No. 52 Smith on Saturday. 
 
Men’s Track & Field
 
Field Athlete of the Week- Skyler Mott (Gr.), Babson College
 
Graduate student Skyler Mott (Mills Neck, N.Y.) finished first in the high jump for the third consecutive meet, clearing 6-feet, 9-inches at MIT’s Sean Collier Invitational on Saturday. Mott, who owns the sixth-best mark in Division III this season at 6-feet, 9.75-inches, cleared 6-9 on his first try on Saturday. 
 
Relay Team of the Week- 4 X 100, Wheaton College
 
First year Tyler Lamonde (Swansea, Mass.), sophomore Aidan Greenleaf (Topsham, Maine), first year David Kadiri (Dracut, Mass.), and junior Kevin Smith (Norfolk, Mass.) combined to post a time of 42.53 to place second in the 4X100-meter relay at the Sean Collier Invitational on April 18.
 
Track Athlete of the Week- Owen Sondag (So.), MIT
 
Sophomore Owen Sondag (Fargo, N.D.) earned a thrilling 5000m victory on Friday evening as MIT hosted the Sean Collier Invitational. He made a late move to overtake first place and win the event with a new PR of 14:23.69. Sontag's time is now best in the region in the 5K and has put him on the NCAA bubble at 25th nationally. 

Women’s Track & Field
 
Field Athlete of the Week- Hailey Surace (Sr.), MIT
 
Senior Hailey Surace (Snohomish, Wash.) won the pole vault at MIT's own Sean Collier Invitational on Saturday, posting the top mark in the region this season by clearing 3.92m (12'10.25"). Surace now ranks inside the top ten nationally in the event, while MIT holds three of the top 20 marks in Division III in the pole vault.
 
Relay Team of the Week- 4 X 400, MIT
 
MIT's all-senior 4 x 400m relay of Maddy Hon (Manhasset, N.Y.), Erin Hovendon (Laurel Park, N.C.), Krystal Montgomery (San Jose, Calif.), Shreya Kalyan (Troy, Mich.) finished in 3:53.02 on the Engineers' home track at the Sean Collier Invitational to post the second-best time in the region and the 28th fastest time in the nation this season. 
 
Track Athlete of the Week- Kate Sanderson (Sr.), MIT
 
Senior Kate Sanderson (West Hartford, Conn.) claimed the 10,000m title on Friday night as MIT hosted the Sean Collier Invitational. Sanderson finished in 34:58.73, posting the seventh-best time in Division III this season and the top time in the region this season. 

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.