July 17, 2012

For Immediate Release

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July 17, 2012

South Easton, Mass. – A total of 10 female student-athletes representing Northeast-10 Conference member institutions have been nominated for the 22nd annual NCAA Woman of the Year Award, it was announced last week.

In all, 429 individuals from NCAA Divisions I, II, and III were nominated for the award, which honors graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.

The nominees from the Northeast-10 include Lauren Bell (softball) of Pace University; Elyssa Boris (softball) of the University of Massachusetts Lowell; Amanda Burden (women’s swimming & diving) of Southern Connecticut State University; Sarah Calgreen (softball) of American International College; Christina Cuffari (women’s soccer) of The College of Saint Rose; Erica Devito (women’s lacrosse) of Adelphi University; Kathryn Nelson (field hockey) of Stonehill College; Katherine O’Donnell (women’s swimming & diving) of Le Moyne College; Amanda Panaro (women’s soccer) of Franklin Pierce University; and Ariel Teixeira (women’s soccer) of Southern New Hampshire University.

A selection committee will choose the top 10 candidates from each division, and those 30 candidates will be honored before the list is narrowed down to nine in September (the top three from each division).

The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will then vote among the finalists to determine the 2012 Woman of the Year, which will be announced on October 14 at a ceremony in Indianapolis.

For a complete list of this year's NCAA Woman of the Year nominees, please click here.

Bell hit .333 for the Setters this past spring and finished her career at Pace with 20 home runs and 118 RBI.

Boris was named a Capital One Academic All-American after helping lead UMass Lowell to the 2012 NCAA Tournament. She hit .391 with eight home runs and 44 RBI, while also compiling a 20-9 record with a 3.12 ERA in 195.1 innings.

Burden competed in both the one- and three-meter diving competitions at the 2012 NCAA Championship and was also named the Women’s Diver of the Meet at this year’s Northeast-10 Championship.

Calgreen hit .280 with three home runs and 19 RBI for the Yellow Jackets and started all 44 games this past season.

Cuffari was named the Northeast-10 Woman of the Year last month at the conference’s year-end banquet after helping lead the Golden Knights to the women’s soccer national title last December.

Devito led the Northeast-10 this past season in points (103) on 63 goals and 39 assists as the Panthers advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Nelson led the Skyhawks in goals (12), assists (7) and points (31) this past season as a senior and became the third player in program history to surpass 100 career points.

O’Donnell earned 10 All-America honors in her career at Le Moyne and owns five individual school records. She competed in four events at this year’s NCAA Division II Championships in Mansfield, Texas.

In 2010, the Ravens’ Panaro led the Northeast-10 in goals scored (20) and she finished her career 14th in program history with 32 goals.

Teixeira finished her Penmen career seventh in program history with 25 assists, including 12 this past fall.

The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,000 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.

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