Iglesias, Harris and Grygorcewicz Earn NECC Top Awards
ATTLEBORO, Mass. - The Mitchell College Mariners (16-9) took
top honors as they finished tied for first place in the NECC at
14-2. The Mariners' junior guard Jennifer Iglesias
(Waterbury, Conn.), a business administration major, was named the
2009 NECC Women's Basketball Player of the Year.
In conference play, Iglesias averaged 17.7 points per game, 3.3
rebounds per game, six assists per game and 1.6 steals per game.
She led the conference in steals (96) and assist/turnover ratio
(1.7). Iglesias finished sixth in scoring, ninth in field goals
percentage (.418), fourth in free throw percentage (.710), eighth
in three-point field goal percentage (.340) and third in
three-point field goals made (2.3).
Fellow Mariner freshman center Destiney Harris
(Bristol, Conn.) nabbed the 2009 NECC Women's Basketball Rookie of
the Year for her first season of collegiate play. Harris, a sport
management major, topped all freshman players in rebounding at 9.0
boards per game. In conference play, she was eighth in scoring
(13.4 ppg), tenth in steals (2.3 spg), seventh in blocked shots
(0.7 bpg), fourth in field goal percentage (.489) and eighth in
free-throw percentage (.642).
Iglesias and Harris were joined by their head coach Cas
Grygorcewicz f or top conference honors.
Grygorcewicz was named the 2009 NECC Women's
Basketball Coach of the Year. He led the Mariners to a 16-9 overall
record and 14-2 in conference play this season earning Mitchell the
top seed in the 2009 NECC Women's Basketball Tournament. Mitchell
posted the best overall winning percentage at .640 for their
2008-‘09 campaign. The Mariners have continued a ten
game winning streak heading into the semifinals of the
tournament.
The Eagles of Daniel Webster (16-10), led by second year head
coach Heather Jacobs, were honored as the 2009
NECC Team Sportsmanship Award recipients. The Eagles finished 10-6
in conference play and earned the #4 seed in the 2009 New England
Collegiate Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.
Voting for the All-NECC team and each of the major awards was
conducted among all NECC women's basketball head coaches.
Joining Iglesias on All-NECC First Team in the forward positions
were Elms junior Amanda Brogna (Oxford, Mass.),
Bay Path junior Jessica Hunt (Madison, Conn.),
Lesley junior Hailee Lowe (Hamilton, Mass.) and
Becker senior Beth Pion (Enfield, Conn.).
Second team honors went out to Harris along with Southern Vermont
freshman Joa Claircius (Clermont, Fla.), Becker
senior Rachel Pinak (Cheektowaga, N.Y.), Elms
senior Paige Schneider (Windsor, Conn.) and Lesley
Sophomore Kaitlyn Wechsler (Merrick, N.Y.).
Five players received honorable mention honors including Wheelock
junior Sarah Brown (Plainville, Conn.), Lesley
senior Lani Cabral-Pini (Wilmington, Mass.),
Daniel Webster junior Nicole Conley (Hinesburg,
Vt.), Newbury junior Katelyn Mark (Quincy, Mass.)
and Elms freshman Carolyn Talmadge (Wilbraham,
Mass.).
2009 NEW ENGLAND COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE WOMEN'S
BASKETBALL
2009 NECC WOMENS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Jennifer Iglesias, Mitchell, Junior, Guard (Waterbury,
Conn.)
2009 NECC WOMENS BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
Destiney Harris, Mitchell, Freshman, Center, (Bristol,
Conn.)
2009 NECC WOMENS BASKETBALL COACH OF THE
YEAR: Cas Grygorcewicz, Mitchell
College
2009 NECC WOMENS BASKETBALL TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD:
Daniel Webster College
2009 ALL-NECC WOMENS BASKETBALL FIRST TEAM
Amanda Brogna, Elms, Junior, Forward (Oxford, Mass.)
Jessica Hunt, Bay Path, Junior, Forward (Madison, Conn.)
Jennifer Iglesias, Mitchell, Junior, Guard (Waterbury, Conn.)
Hailee Lowe, Lesley, Junior, Forward (Hamilton, Mass.)
Beth Pion, Becker, Senior, Center (Enfield, Conn.)
2009 ALL-NECC WOMENS BASKETBALL SECOND TEAM
Joa Claircius, Southern Vermont, Freshman, Guard
(Clermont, Fla.)
Destiney Harris, Mitchell, Freshman, Center, (Bristol, Conn.)
Rachel Pinak, Becker, Senior, Forward (Cheektowaga, N.Y.)
Paige Schneider, Elms, Senior, Forward (Windsor, Conn.)
Kaitlyn Wechsler, Lesley, Sophomore, Forward (Merrick, N.Y.)
2009 ALL-NECC WOMENS BASKETBALL HONORABLE
MENTION
Sarah Brown, Wheelock, Junior, Guard (Plainville, Conn.)
Lani Cabral-Pini, Lesley, Senior, Guard (Wilmington, Mass.)
Nicole Conley, Daniel Webster, Junior, Guard (Hinesburg, Vt.)
Katelyn Mark, Newbury, Junior, Guard (Quincy, Mass.)
Carolyn Talmadge, Elms, Freshman, Guard (Wilbraham, Mass.)