Posted: Jan 20, 2016

Elms Heads NECC in Academic All-Conference Selections

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Elms College placed 34 student-athletes on the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Academic All-Conference honor roll, announced by the conference office Wednesday. A total of 187 student-athletes have been named to the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Academic All-Conference team for the 2015 fall semester. To be eligible for the NECC Academic All-Conference, a student-athlete must post a minimum grade point average of 3.40 on a scale of 4.00 and must be a sophomore or higher in class standings. Student-athletes who competed in Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's Golf, Field Hockey, Men's and Women's Soccer, Women's Tennis and Women's Volleyball were eligible for fall NECC academic honors.

For back-to-back semesters, the Blazers finished atop the NECC in Academic All-Conference selections with a total of 32 student-athletes earning accolades for their efforts in the classroom. Women's Soccer led the way with 10 students-athletes taking home honors, including seniorsAlexa Rinaudo (Bellmore, N.Y.) and Michelle Rossignol (Manchester, Conn.); juniors Rachel Mick (Granby, Mass.), Meeghan O'Connor (Fall River, Mass.) and Kathleen Tuechler(Farmingdale, N.Y.); and sophomore Jackie Soucia (Belchertown, Mass.), Silvana Tellerico(Southington, Conn.), Madison Jung (Stafford Springs, Conn.), Lexi Vieira (Warren, R.I.) andBrie Voight (Springfield, Mass.).

Men's Soccer tallied seven representatives on the Academic All-Conference list in seniors Roger Conklin (Chicopee, Mass.), Patrick Goonan (Chicopee, Mass.), Connor O'Grady (Somers, Conn.), and Richard Vanasse (Somers, Conn.); junior Scott Labrie (Southampton, Mass.); and sophomores C.J. Dabkowski (Bristol, Conn.) and Justin Kassouf (Milford, Conn.). Field Hockey notched six Academic All-Conference selections in seniors Samantha Alvino (Holtsville, N.Y.),Colleen Carbonneau (Manchester, N.H.), and Haleigh Varieur (Winchendon, Mass.); juniorsStephanie Esposito (Orange, Conn.) and Marie Lafortune (Southwick, Mass.); and sophomoreJulia Skoczylas (Ludlow, Mass.).

Five members of the Women's Volleyball team were named Academic All-Conference with seniorsShannon Bolton (Shelton, Conn.) and Alex Mack (Wilbraham, Mass.), junior Carolyn Campbell (Millers Falls, Mass.), and sophomores Lindsey McNiff (Kingston, Mass.). Women's Cross Country had four players take home honors in seniors Jacqueline Quetti (Pittsfield, Mass.), and Raisa Dirienzo; and sophomores Caitlin Hoschtetler (South Hadley, Mass.), Sarah Kaczenski (Northfield, Mass.), and Sarah Tatgenhorst (Winterport, Maine). Senior Adam Kuzdzal (Chicopee, Mass.) claims the honor for Men's Cross Country, while senior Brian Benson(Agawam, Mass.) represented the Men's Golf team.