Complete Release
Commissioner's Honor Roll
Academic Honor Roll
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - An elite collection of student-athletes were honored today by the Northeast Conference (NEC) as 2018 Spring Scholar-Athlete award winners, presented by Certified Financial Services. Women's tennis junior Malin Leysen was named the NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women's tennis, while 77 LIU spring student athletes earned NEC Academic Honor Roll, and 23 athletes were named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Leysen earns the first yearly academic honor of her career, and becomes the first LIU student athlete to earn the award since 2015.
All scholar-athlete award winners have compiled a minimum of 60 semester hours at their institution, maintained a minimum cumulative grade-point-average of 3.20 and participated with distinction as a member of a varsity team.
Along with the scholar-athletes, the NEC also announced its Spring Academic Honor Roll, consisting of 1,111 student-athletes with a 3.20 or better grade-point average. There were also 293 student-athletes named to the spring Commissioner's Honor Roll, recognizing those superior student-athletes with a 3.75 or better grade point average.
Over the course of the 2017-18 academic year, a league record 2,476 NEC student-athletes landed a spot on the Academic Honor Roll, a 12.6 percent increase from a year ago. That figure also represents over 60 percent of the NEC's competitors. Likewise, a record 720 student-athletes were named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll, a 21.6 percent jump from 2016-17.
LIU Brooklyn junior Malin Leysen was the recipient of the women's tennis scholar-athlete of the year award. Leysen earned a spot on the All-NEC first team for the second straight year as the Blackbirds repeated as NEC Tournament champion. She also landed on the All-NEC second team in doubles along with partner Jennifer Gogova. Leysen compiled an 18-8 slate in singles, won all six of her conference matches and posted an 8-3 mark at the #4 spot. She is now a combined 33-11 overall and 14-0 against league rivals over the last two years. Leysen, who has earned a spot on the NEC Academic and Commissioner's Honor Roll in each of her three years at LIU, maintains a 3.92 grade point average. The Leuven, Belgium native is a Sociology-Anthropology major.
LIU Brooklyn had 23 athletes named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll, led by the women's lacrosse team, with a season-high six athletes: Amanda Masullo, Bianca Santucci, Elise Person, Sam Kidd, and Taylor O'Connor. Softball was next, with five athletes honored (Amanda Domingo, Emily Collins, Haley Irvis, Katie Hinkle and Patricia Griffin), while women's tennis had the highest percentage, with four of the team's seven athletes being recognized (Sasha Bollweg, Jessica Brzozowska, Ana Leonte and Malin Leysen). Men's golf had three selections (George Helsby, Victor Aronsson and Manuel Sosa), while women's outdoor track & field and baseball each had two (Eugenie Hue and Stephanie Esogenwune, and Cory Hart and Frank Cerillo), while men's outdoor track & field was represented by Beresford Sweeney.
The Blackbirds had 77 athletes represented on the Academic Honor Roll. The NEC-championship winning baseball team led the way with 21 honorees, while women's lacrosse had 14, and softball added 11. Men's track & field had eight athletes honored, while women's tennis, women's track & field and men's golf had six apiece. Women's golf added five honorees to round out the group.
Overall this season, LIU had 178 athletes earned academic honors from the Northeast Conference.
2018 Northeast Conference Spring Scholar-Athletes, Presented by Certified Financial Services
Sport Name School Cl GPA Major
Baseball Nick Mascelli Wagner Sr 3.72 Finance
Men's Golf Brandon Mihalo Saint Francis U Sr 3.95 Accounting
Women's Golf Abigail Hood Sacred Heart Sr 3.98 Sociology & Education
Men's Lacrosse Chris Blewitt Saint Joseph's Sr 3.90 Finance & Economics
Zach Bryant Robert Morris Sr 3.90 Biology
Women's Lacrosse Dana Davis Robert Morris Sr 3.92 Nursing
Softball Emily Orosco Sacred Heart Jr 3.98 Biology
Men's Tennis Charlton Boyd Wagner Sr 3.98 Government & Politics
Matt Kuhar Bryant R-Jr 3.70 Finance
Women's Tennis Malin Leysen LIU Brooklyn Jr 3.92 Sociology/Anthropology
Men's Outdoor Track & Field Bryce England Saint Francis U Sr 3.97 Biology & Spanish
Women's Outdoor Track & Field Mae Thompson Fairleigh Dickinson Sr 3.95 Humanities
About The Northeast Conference
Now wrapping up its 37th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league's official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.