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South Easton, Mass. – The Northeast-10 Conference has announced its inaugural Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award recipients for the 2009 fall athletic season in the sports of men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball.

Seven student-athletes, who excelled both on the field of play and in the classroom during the 2009 fall athletic season, have been recognized. The seven athletes include UMass Lowell men’s cross country athlete Angus MacDonald (Methuen, Mass.), women’s cross country runner Laura Brustolon (Mysic, Conn.) from Southern Connecticut State University and Bentley University field hockey goalkeeper Alyssa Sliney (Brewster, Mass.). Also being honored is Bentley football player Jared Kawadler (Sharon, Mass.), Merrimack College soccer player Robbie Sabadoz (Ottowa, Ont.), Franklin Pierce University women’s soccer standout Angelika Johansson (Falkenberg, Sweden) and University of New Haven volleyball player Sara Malmlov (Lindesberg, Sweden).

MacDonald, a junior mathematics major with a 3.41 gpa, helped lead the UMass Lowell men’s cross country team to the NCAA Division II Championships this past fall. MacDonald recorded a number of top-ten finishes including a third place showing at the NCAA Division II East Regional. He also finished fifth overall at the Northeast-10 Championship and was the eighth runner to cross the finish line at the New England Championships. MacDonald concluded the year with a 26th place showing at NCAA’s to earn All-American honors. In addition, MacDonald earned NE-10 Academic All-Conference honors for the first time in his career.

Brustolon, a biology major with a 3.86 gpa, excelled during her senior campaign as she won the Northeast-10 Championship and earned NE-10 Athlete of the Year honors. She also earned All-East region honors after finishing third at the NCAA Division II East Region Championships and was an All-New England performer after placing fourth overall at the New England Championships. Brustolon also competed at the NCAA Division II Championships as she narrowly missed out on All-America honors. She was also a NE-10 Academic All-Conference selection.

Sliney, a three-time NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year, posted a 1.43 goals against average (GAA) and a .739 save percentage while leading Bentley to a 16-5 record and a Northeast-10 Championship. The Falcons also went on to receive a NCAA tournament berth. Sliney finished her career with a 1.04 GAA, 33 shutouts and a 65-23 record. She is a four-time NFHCA Division II All-America selection as well as a four-time All-Northeast-10 honoree. Sliney, a computer information systems major with a 3.74 gpa, was named to the NE-10 Academic All-Conference team three times in her career.

Kawadler, a corporate finance and accounting major with a 3.87 gpa, played and started nine games at center for Bentley who went on to be Northeast-10 tri-champs this past fall. He helped the Falcons average 371.3 yards, 23.6 points and 20.4 first downs per game. Kawadler was also named to ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District team for the second straight season. He also earned Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference honors.

Sabadoz, a business major with a 3.85 gpa, has put together quite the resume in only his second year of collegiate action. The sophomore earned Northeast-10 Player of the Year accolades this past fall after leading Merrimack to the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Championship. Sabadoz scored a program record 19 goals this season and finished fifth in Division II in goals per game (1.12) and points per game (2.35). He was also named to the ESPN the Magazine All-District Second Team this past fall and earned NE-10 Academic All Conference honors for the first time in his career.

Johansson, a mathematics major with a 3.98 gpa, started all 24 matches this season for Franklin Pierce as she recorded her second-straight 20-goal season and assisted on three others for 43 points. She ranked among the national and conference leaders in both categories this year. Johansson earned All-Northeast-10 First team honors along with NSCAA All-America accolades this season. The junior forward also received ESPN the Magazine All-District first team honors and was later named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Second Team. She was also named to the NE-10 Academic All-Conference team for the second straight season.

Malmlov, an English major with a 3.92 gpa, was named the Northeast-10 Player of the Year after leading New Haven to its second-straight Northeast-10 regular season title and a trip to the NCAA Division II East Regional. Malmlov led the conference with 436 kills (3.86 per set) and points with 507. She also recorded a .275 hitting percentage, 41 aces and had the team’s second most digs total with 340. Malmlov was also named the Daktronics East Region Player of the Year and was selected to the All-East Region First Team. In addition, she was named to the NE-10 Academic All-Conference team for the first time.

The Northeast-10 Academic Excellence awards are chosen by a vote of a committee of athletic administrators and Faculty Athletic Representatives (FAR). The Northeast-10 will honor one student-athlete per conference-sponsored sport each year. There will be a total of 23 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award winners during the course of the academic year. The conference will announce the winter sport winners later this spring and will announce the spring sport winners in June.

To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence award the student-athlete must have completed at least two consecutive semesters of full-time enrollment at their current institution and at least two years of athletic eligibility at any institution. In addition, the student-athlete must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of a 3.30.

With 16 member institutions the Northeast-10 shares the distinction of being the largest Division II conference in the country along with the PSAC and WVIAC. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

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Northeast-10 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award

Angus MacDonald - UMass Lowell - Men's Cross Country
Laura Brustolon - So. Connecticut - Women's Cross Country
Alyssa Sliney - Bentley - Field Hockey
Jared Kawadler - Bentley - Football
Robbie Sabadoz - Merrimack - Men's Soccer
Angelika Johansson - Franklin Pierce - Women's Soccer
Sara Malmlov - New Haven - Volleyball