Northeast Conference Release

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- Two LIU Brooklyn seniors were recognized by the Northeast Conference on Wednesday, earning 2014 NEC Fall Scholar-Athlete awards. Women's volleyball player Annika Foit and men's soccer standout Brice Merwine were chosen as the top scholar-athletes in the conference in their respective sports.

Foit, who also won the award in 2013, finished her star-studded career as one of the NEC's all-time greats. The first student-athlete in league history to earn three NEC Player of the Year honors, Foit helped guide the Blackbirds to yet another undefeated conference season and finished her four years with an incredible 65-3 mark (.956) against NEC schools. She paced the league in kills (4.16) and points (4.68) per set in the regular season as the Blackbirds claimed their fourth consecutive NEC regular season championship. 

Foit recorded 18 double-doubles, five 20+ kill matches and was named NEC Player of the Week on four different occasions. The four-time All-NEC first team honoree and 2011 NEC Rookie of the Year, she concluded her career ranked second on LIU Brooklyn's all-time kills list (1,747), fourth in aces (151) and sixth in digs (1,149). At season's end Foit was tabbed a Capital One/CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American a year after earning second team accolades. She maintains a 3.94 grade point average majoring in biology and is a four-time member of the NEC Academic and Commissioner's Honor Roll.

Merwine earned co-scholar-athlete honors with Saint Francis U.'s Pablo Medina. The senior led the Blackbirds to their first NEC Tournament appearance in 10 years, ranking second in the conference and ninth in the nation with 12 goals on the year.  An All-NEC first team and NEC All-Tournament selection, Merwine also ranked second in the league in both goals (0.71) and points (1.41) per game. 

The two-time NEC Player of the Week scored three-game winners in 2014, and posted four multi-goal games to help LIU to a 4-3 record in conference play.  For his efforts on the field and in the classroom, Merwine was named to the Capital One Academic All-America second team.  As part of his academic study, the Carlisle, PA native participated in the 2013 Summer Undergraduate Research Institute in Experimental Mathematics at Michigan State University's Lyman Briggs College.  He was one of only 15 college students chosen to take part in the prestigious event.  Merwine is a Mathematics major who carries a 3.93 grade point average.

Along with the scholar-athletes, the NEC announced its fall Academic Honor Roll, consisting of 649 student-athletes with a 3.20 or better grade-point average. The 649 honorees represent an 11.7 percent increase from the 2013 fall season. There were also 140 student-athletes named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll, recognizing those superior student-athletes with a 3.75 or better grade point average.

The Blackbirds had 42 total athletes named to the 2014 NEC Fall Academic Honor Roll, including 16 from the women's soccer team, 13 from the men's soccer team, 10 from the volleyball team and three from the women's cross country team. Six Blackbirds were also named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll, including Merwine, Matt Mummert and Keaton Sprague of the men's soccer team, Foit and Adriana Vinas Joy of the volleyball team, and Asia Suarez of the women's soccer team.

For a complete list of those recognized, click here.