Posted: Mar 10, 2016
HADLEY, Mass. – A total of 967 student-athletes have been named to the 2016 NESCAC Winter All-Academic Team by the conference office today. To be honored, an individual must have reached sophomore academic standing and be a varsity letter winner with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.35. A transfer student must have completed one year of study at the institution.

COMPLETE LIST OF 2016 NESCAC WINTER ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM

Of the 967 student-athletes named to the team, 295 were honored for the second time in their career, while 193 were recognized for the third time. In addition, 70 members of the group garnered both All-Academic and All-Conference accolades this winter, led by 18 student-athletes from Williams and 11 from Connecticut College. A total of 46 individuals were named to both the All-Sportsmanship and All-Academic Teams by the conference.

Five individuals were selected to all three squads. That elite group included senior Torey Lee (Beverly, Mass.) of Bowdoin (women’s squash), senior Emma Rotner (Durham, N.H.) of Connecticut College (women’s swimming and diving), sophomore James Evans (Maidstone, England) of Trinity (men’s squash), junior Amanda Gottschalk (Lake Forest, Ill.) of Tufts (women’s swimming and diving) and senior Nicole Feshbach (Santa Barbara, Calif.) of Williams (women’s squash).

The 2016 Winter All-Academic Team includes three NESCAC Players of the Year, a NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, a NESCAC Diver of the Year, a NESCAC Four Year High Point Swimmer and a NESCAC Four Year High Point Diver.

Trinity senior Kanzy El Defrawy (Cairo, Egypt) was selected as the NESCAC Women’s Squash Player of the Year for an precedented fourth year, while earning All-Academic Team honors for the second time. This season, she finished the year with a 16-1 record as she helped lead the Bantams to a third-place finish in the College Squash Association (CSA) National Team Championship. El Defrawy also took first place in the Ramsay “A” Division at the CSA National Women’s Singles Championships after posting three straight runner-up finishes.

Senior women’s diver Carly Feinman (Chappaqua, N.Y.) of Wesleyan was named the NESCAC Four Year High Point Women’s Diver. Last year, the two-time All-Academic selection turned in her best combined finish at the conference championships after finishing sixth in 1-meter diving and seventh on the 3-meter board.

Bowdoin’s Kate Kerrigan (Wellesley Hills, Mass.) was named NESCAC Women’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year this season after being named the Co-Defensive Player of the Year last season. The sophomore, who earns all-academic recognition for the first time, is tied for first among conference players with 62 steals, leads the league in three-point shooting (44.3 percent) and is third in assists (103).

Zander Masucci (Far Hills, N.J.) of Williams was named the NESCAC Men’s Ice Hockey Player of the Year, while making the All-Academic Team for the third time in his career. The senior defenseman helped the Ephs earn the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC Men’s Ice Hockey Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time in program history. He anchors a defense that has allowed a league-low 1.68 goals per game, while also being the top point scorer among the league’s defenseman with 18 points on seven goals and 11 assists. 

Williams junior women’s diver Ariana Ross (New Canaan, Conn.), a two-time All-Academic honoree, was recognized as the NESCAC Women’s Diver of the Year. Ross successfully defended her 1-meter and 3-meter diving championships from a year ago this season at Middlebury.

Men’s swimmer Jake Tamposi (Hernando, Fla.) of Williams was named the NESCAC Four Year High Point Men’s Swimmer, while earning All-Academic Team recognition for the third time in his career. Tamposi was a four-time NESCAC champion in the 50-yard breaststroke and a three-time conference champion in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Sophomore forward Maddie Winslow (Manchester, Vt.) of Middlebury garnered NESCAC Women’s Ice Hockey Player of the Year recognition after helping lead the Panthers to the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC Women’s Ice Hockey Championship for the sixth straight year and their eighth overall NESCAC title. Winslow leads all league players in points (40) and assists (23) for NCAA Tournament-bound Middlebury. She also set new NESCAC championship records for points (9) and assists (5) throughout the tournament.

Founded in 1971, the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) consists of 11 liberal arts colleges and has consistently reflected its commitment to the values of athletics and academic achievement. The member colleges of the conference are Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Trinity College, Tufts University, Wesleyan University, and Williams College.