Cioffredi and Ryalls named to NEWMAC Academic All-Conference team

November 10, 2005

NORTON, MA- Twelve Wheaton College student-athletes were named to the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Academic All-Conference team for the fall of 2005. From the NEWMAC's 10 member schools, 203 student-athletes received this honor. Student-athletes receiving the award must maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or better upon completion of the 2005 spring semester, attain at least a sophomore year standing and be a competing member of a varsity team for the entire season.

A trio of honorees represented each the women's cross country and women's volleyball squads, the most among Wheaton's fall teams.

From the women's cross country team, senior Kendra Leith (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) notched her third consecutive honor, while junior Jennifer Ziello (Litchfield, CT/Litchfield) corralled an award for the second straight season. Sophomore Abbe Bosk (Narberth, PA/Springside) earned the honor in her first season on the squad. The trio helped Wheaton finish second at the NEWMAC Championship last month. Leith, the team's captain, has also twice earned a NEWMAC All-Conference selection and was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I team last year.

In women's volleyball, senior Carilyn Tately (Walpole, MA/Walpole) and juniors Ashley Emerson (Ashford, CT/E.O. Smith) and Alexis Liesman (Winchester, CA/West Valley) helped the Lyons to a 12-21 mark this season, as well as a sixth-place finish in the NEWMAC. Emerson and Tately, the Lyons' captains this season, were also named to the all-academic team last fall. Tately was second on the team with 394 digs, and Emerson was second in hitting and blocks, as well as fourth in kills. Liesman became just the fourth Lyon to record 1,000 assists in a season.

Three Wheaton teams each had a pair of athletes earn academic all-conference accolades, as the field hockey, women's soccer and women's tennis squads were all represented.

Senior Leigh-Anne Cioffredi (Lebanon, NH/Lebanon) and sophomore Lyndsie Ryalls (Branford, CT/Branford) of the field hockey squad earned honors after helping the Lyons to an 8-12 record and a tie for fifth in the NEWMAC's regular season standings. Cioffredi claimed a spot on the all-academic team for the third consecutive season and is also a three-time member of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Academic team. Ryalls was selected for the NEWMAC All-Conference and NFHCA National Academic teams as a freshman. Cioffredi started all 20 games in the backfield while contributing four assists, and Ryalls led the Lyons with 10 goals and 22 points.

On the women's soccer team, senior Emily Lipsky (Whitestone, NY/Sacred Heart Academy) and sophomore Katelyn Brack (Lake Oswego, OR/Oregon Episcopal School) received accolades. The duo helped the 16-4-2 Lyons win their seventh consecutive NEWMAC regular season title, advance to their seventh straight conference championship game and qualify for their sixth successive NCAA Tournament. The academic honor is the third in a row for Lipsky, who has not allowed a goal in six games while tending the Wheaton net, and the first for Brack, who has tallied two goals and three assists.

Rounding out Wheaton's honorees are women's tennis sophomores Briana Jackson (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) and Maya Milic-Strkalj (Philadelphia, PA/Friends' Central School). The Lyons completed their fall season with a 7-6 overall mark and drew the fourth seed in the NEWMAC Tournament. Jackson recorded a 9-6 singles mark, while Milic-Strkalj posted a 4-2 record.

Fall sports sponsored by the NEWMAC include men's and women's cross country, field hockey, men's and women's soccer, women's tennis and women's volleyball.

The NEWMAC consists of ten highly selective institutions committed to academic excellence: Babson College, Clark University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Springfield College, United States Coast Guard Academy, Wellesley College, Wheaton College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/15/07.
Questions about this page? Use our query form.

News Headlines

[an error occurred while processing this directive]