Each week during the academic year, the NE10 honors
Athletes of the Week for all of its 24 sponsored sports while they are in season. Faces in the Crowd shines a spotlight on outstanding on-field performances that didn't earn Athlete of the Week recognition, while also highlighting academic or community efforts from student-athletes across the league.
Below are this week's
NE10 Faces in the Crowd.
EVAN LEVINE
School: Bentley
Sport: Men's Soccer
Position: Forward
Class: Graduate Student
Hometown: Boca Raton, Fla.
Levine is in his second year as a captain on the men's soccer team. He's pursuing his MBA after earning his undergrad degree in finance in May of 2023. Last season he was named 2nd team All-Conference and to the NE10 Academic All-Conference team. He's Bentley's active leader in goals and points and opened 2024 with a goal in the season's first minute.
JALEN FISHER
School: New Haven
Sport: Football
Position: Defensive Back
Class: Graduate Student
Hometown: Pasadena, Calif.
Fisher continued a hot start to the young season with a pair of interceptions to lead the Chargers defense in a 47-17 win over Pace on Friday night. The first of those INT's came on the opening drive of the game and he returned that pick 15 yards to set up a scoring drive for his offense. His second interception came late in the fourth quarter to put the game in the books. In addition to his two INT, he also collected six tackles and a pass breakup.
JENNA McCRUDDEN
School: Pace
Sport: Field Hockey
Position: Forward
Class: Graduate
Hometown: Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
McCrudden scored a hat trick (and all three Pace goals) in a 3-2 overtime win at Frostberg State this weekend. She scored again against Slippery Rock on Monday morning. The Kent State transfer is in her first season in the NE10.
JON HOSNEY
School: Saint Anselm
Sport: Football
Position: Defensive Back
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Killingworth, Conn.
In addition to his two interceptions on Saturday against Bentley, Hosney tallied four tackles and broke up a pass. The interceptions came at critical junctures, halting Bentley drives either in the red zone or endzone.
HOLLYN FRANO
School: Saint Anselm
Sport: Women's Volleyball
Position: Outside Hitter
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Cave Creek, Ariz.
Frano finished the weekend with 65 kills across four matches, 3.82 per set. The sophomore hit .246 and added 10 service aces and 22 digs for the Hawks. Frano posted 19 kill in back-to-back contests on Saturday against Pitt.-Johnstown and Queens. The second year leads the NE10 in kills, service aces, and points through two weeks of action.
KESINEE PRUKMATHAKUL
School: Franklin Pierce
Sport: Women's Golf
Class: Senior
Hometown: Bongkok, Thailand
Prukmathakul won the West Chester University Battlefield Classic as an individual and with the team. She finished with a 145 (+1) which was an eight shot lead compared to her teammate who finished second.
MADISON APICELLA
School: Adelphi
Sport: Women's Soccer
Position: Midfield
Class: Junior
Hometown: Holbrook, N.Y.
The 2022 NE10 Player of the Year, Apicella's 2023 was struck short to injury. The Panther is back this fall and assisted in Carly Issing's first goal of the season, then scored a goal of her own less than one minute later in AU's 5-0 win over Daemen.
NICOLA VAN VURREN
School: St. Thomas Aquinas
Sport: Field Hockey
Position: Midfield
Class: Senior
Hometown: Pretoria, South Africa
Van Vuuren tallied a pair of goals, including the double overtime game-winner in STAC's thrilling 2-1 upset victory over No. 10 Millersville University.
RILEY DiGILIO
School: St. Anselm
Sport: Women's Soccer
Position: Forward
Class: Senior
Hometown: Danvers, Mass.
DiGilio has scored three goals in three games to start her senior campaign. The captain has already matched her goal total from a season ago (18 games).
RISAKO UMEKUNI
School: New Haven
Sport: Women's Tennis
Class: Senior
Hometown: Saitama, Japan
Umekuni won the ITA East Region women’s singles title for New Haven this past week in Flushing, N.Y., one of three Chargers to win regional titles – including her teammates Valentinna Ferrarini and Karim Carreras who won the doubles title. Umekuni went 6-0 in singles matches at the ITA Championship and won the final against her own teammate, Carreras, who retired due to injury after the first set. She also advanced to the Round of 16 on the doubles side. Overall for the week, she was 7-0 in singles and 2-1 in doubles after a pair of victories over Molloy last week.
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 11 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
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