89 Cardinals Named Academic All-NESCAC

Brian KattenMarch 17, 201517min
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At left, Brenna Diggins '17 and Jess Cherenza '15 were named academic all-NESCAC during the winter, 2014-15 season. Eighty-nine students earned this distinction. 
At left, Brenna Diggins ’17 and Jess Cherenza ’15 were named academic all-NESCAC during the winter 2014-15 season. Eighty-nine Wesleyan students earned this distinction.

When the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) announced the names this month of 939 athletes among its conference member schools who earned the distinction of academic all-NESCAC during the winter 2014-15 season, Wesleyan celebrated its largest pool ever in winter with 89 student-athletes. These student-athletes, sophomores and above, meet the criteria of being significant contributors to their teams while achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.35 or higher.

The student-athletes play in the following winter sports: men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s squash, men’s and women’s indoor track and wrestling.

Some highlights from this season’s group of honorees include:

Jordan Schildhaus ’15
Jordan Schildhaus ’15
  • Women’s ice hockey standout Jordan Schildhaus ’15, who received academic all-NESCAC laurels in each of her three eligible seasons. She led the Cardinals in scoring during 2014-15 with 23 scoring points and was named first-team all-NESCAC. She was a second-team all-NESCAC pick in both 2013-14 and 2012-13 after being named NESCAC Rookie of the Year in 2011-12.
  • Five athletes who had the pleasure of competing in NCAA Championship events, including:
    • Wrestler Ryan Sblendorio ’15, who placed third at 174 pounds during the Northeast Regional Championships to earn a spot at the NCAA Division III Championships where he went 1-2, winning one match with a first-period pin.
    • Ellie Martin ’16, who qualified for the NCAA Division III Women’s Indoor Track Championships in the 400-meter race and placed ninth nationally, a mere .03 seconds shy of All-America status as a top-eight finisher.
    • Three members of the men’s basketball team–Tim Gallivan ’15, Chris Tugman ’15 and Harry Rafferty ’17—as Wesleyan won the NESCAC men’s basketball tournament title with wins over Bates, Trinity and Amherst to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships. The Cardinals lost their opening-round contest to Skidmore.
Ryan Sblendorio ’15
Ryan Sblendorio ’15

Since sophomores became eligible for the award during the 2010-11 year, Wesleyan’s previous record for academic all-NESCAC distinctions was 87 individuals in the 2012-13 season. The best results overall came in spring 2013, when 94 student-athletes were recognized.

For the complete list of all winter academic all-NESCAC selections, click here or see below:

Wesleyan
Name Sport Yr. Hometown
Joie Akerson Women’s Indoor Track and Field So. Denver, Colo.
James Albrecht Men’s Ice Hockey Sr. Commerce Township, Mich.
Luca Ameri Men’s Indoor Track and Field Sr. Sea Cliff, N.Y.
Rachel Aronow Women’s Ice Hockey So. West Hartford, Conn.
Eric Arsenault Men’s Indoor Track and Field So. Branford, Conn.
Mike Baratz Wrestling Sr. Moreland Hills, Ohio
Aidan Bardos Women’s Indoor Track and Field So. Lyme, N.H.
Lottie Barton Women’s Ice Hockey Jr. Kenai, Alaska
Liz Baumgartner Women’s Swimming and Diving Sr. Cheshire, Conn.
Liza Bayless Women’s Squash Jr. Denver, Colo.
Evan Bieder Men’s Indoor Track and Field Sr. Southport, Conn.
Jason Brandner Men’s Squash Jr. Tenafly, N.J.
Caitlin Bray Women’s Ice Hockey Sr. Lincoln, R.I.
Alexa Burzinski Women’s Swimming and Diving Sr. Cedar Grove, N.J.
Zach Carfi Men’s Swimming and Diving So. Park City, Utah
Madzie Carroll Women’s Ice Hockey So. New Canaan, Conn.
Jess Cherenza Women’s Basketball Sr. Westerly, R.I.
Erin Cohn Women’s Swimming and Diving Sr. South Windsor, Conn.
Keith Conway Men’s Indoor Track and Field Jr. Newburyport, Mass.
Laura Corcoran Women’s Ice Hockey Jr. Oakville, Ontario
Nathan Courville Men’s Swimming and Diving So. Framingham, Mass.
Natasha Cucullo Women’s Swimming and Diving Sr. South Salem, N.Y.
Samantha Curran Women’s Ice Hockey So. Scituate, Mass.
Nolan Daley Men’s Ice Hockey Jr. Exeter, N.H.
Mike DeLalio Men’s Squash Sr. South Glastonbury, Conn.
Brenna Diggins Women’s Basketball So. Norwell, Mass.
Amanda Distler Women’s Swimming and Diving Sr. Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.
Bridget Doherty Women’s Squash Jr. New York, N.Y.
Leyna Donaldson Women’s Indoor Track and Field Sr. Middletown, Conn.
Will Dudek Men’s Indoor Track and Field So. Montclair, N.J.
Terence Durkin Men’s Ice Hockey Jr. Scituate, Mass.
Caroline Elmendorf Women’s Indoor Track and Field So. Bethesda, Md.
Annie Ferreira Women’s Squash So. West Hartford, Conn.
Lilah Fones Women’s Ice Hockey Sr. Easton, Conn.
Idara Foster Women’s Indoor Track and Field Sr. Norwalk, Conn.
Lauren Gaj Women’s Basketball So. Pawtucket, R.I.
Tim Gallivan Men’s Basketball Sr. East Walpole, Mass.
Andrew Gartley Men’s Swimming and Diving So. Wellesley Hills, Mass.
James Hamilton Wrestling Jr. Lincoln, Mass.
Noah Hamlish Men’s Swimming and Diving Jr. Chicago, Ill.
Chris Hart Men’s Squash So. Darien, Conn.
Miller Hartsoe Women’s Basketball Sr, Glen Gardner, N.J.
Mackey Hemphill Women’s Ice Hockey Sr. Gill, Mass.
Rachel Hirsch Women’s Swimming and Diving Sr. Lake Worth, Fla.
Keonmin Hwang Wrestling Jr. San Diego, Calif.
Cara Jankowski Women’s Ice Hockey Sr. Elkins, N.H.
Hannah Jellinek Women’s Ice Hockey Sr. Newton, Mass.
Orelia Jonathan Women’s Indoor Track and Field Sr. Williamstown, Mass.
Alex Kamisher Men’s Squash So. Norwalk, Conn.
Kiley Kennedy Women’s Indoor Track and Field Jr. Branford, Conn.
James Kline Men’s Ice Hockey So. Pittsburgh, Pa.
Joseph Koshokow Wrestling So. Scarsdale, N.Y.
Simon Levin Wrestling Jr. Short Hills, N.J.
Grant Lounsbury Men’s Squash So. Lutherville, Md.
Melissa Luning Women’s Indoor Track and Field Sr. East Northport, N.Y.
Lawrence Ma Men’s Swimming and Diving Jr. Piedmont, Calif.
Ellie Martin Women’s Indoor Track and Field Jr. Weston, Conn.
Annie Maxwell Women’s Squash Sr. Philadelphia, Pa.
Mackenzie McPike Women’s Ice Hockey Sr. Barrington, Ill.
Claire Miller Women’s Squash Sr. Seattle, Wash.
Cole Morrissette Men’s Ice Hockey So. Bristol, R.I.
Lauren Nelson Women’s Squash Sr. Baltimore, Md.
Matthew Pelton Wrestling So. Wayne, Pa.
Harry Rafferty Men’s Basketball So. Dubuque, Iowa
Wyatt Rees Men’s Ice Hockey So. Los Angeles, Calif.
Juli Riggs Women’s Indoor Track and Field So. Lambertville, N.J.
Zach Roach Men’s Squash So. Middletown, Del.
Jake Rosenbloom Men’s Swimming and Diving Sr. Chappaqua, N.Y.
Connor Ryan Men’s Ice Hockey Sr. Greenwood, Minn.
Ellery Sarosi Women’s Ice Hockey So. Ann Arbor, Mich.
Ryan Sblendorio Wrestling Sr. Mahwah, N.J.
Molly Schassberger Women’s Indoor Track and Field So. Smithfield, Maine
Jordan Schildhaus Women’s Ice Hockey Sr. Woodbury, N.Y.
Hailey Sholty Women’s Ice Hockey So. Malibu, Calif.
Chris Siracusa Wrestling Jr. Sayville, N.Y.
Angela Slevin Women’s Swimming and Diving Sr. Arlington, Va.
Abigail Smith Women’s Squash So. London, England
Martha Smith Women’s Swimming and Diving So. Middletown, N.J.
Daniel Sneed Men’s Squash Sr. Philadelphia, Pa.
David Sneed Men’s Squash So. Philadelphia, Pa.
Dawson Sprigings Men’s Ice Hockey So. Toronto, Ontario
Jaren Taenaka Men’s Ice Hockey Jr. Rosemead, Calif.
Greg Tavarez Men’s Indoor Track and Field Jr. West New York, N.J.
Chris Tugman Men’s Basketball Sr. Toronto, Ontario
Rachel Unger Women’s Indoor Track and Field Sr. Winchester, Mass.
Daniel Weiss Men’s Ice Hockey So. Potomac, Md.
Rebecca Winkler Women’s Indoor Track and Field Jr. Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
Erik Yan Men’s Swimming and Diving Sr. Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Eliana Zimmerman Women’s Indoor Track and Field So. Northampton, Mass.