COLLEGE SPOTLIGHT

TEAMS OF THE WEEK

Fairfield and Sacred Heart women’s volley

ball: Both programs punched tickets to the NCAA tournament by winning the MAAC and Northeast Conference titles, marking the first time that both will play in the NCAAs in the same year. Manuela Nicolini had 39 assists, 14 digs and 10 blocks in the MAAC title match against Quinnipiac to earn MAAC Most Valuable Player honors. Sarah Ciszek had 37 assists and 12 digs in Sacred Heart’s win over Central Connecticut in the NEC final to earn tournament MVP honors. It was a weekend to remember for Connecticut college volleyball with Hartford (America East) and Bridgeport (ECC) also advancing to conference championship matches.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

David Mollenthiel, Post

men’s soccer: Mollenthiel, a sophomore from Danbury, made eight saves as the Eagles upset Adelphi 10. Post advances to Thursday’s NCAA Division II quarterfinal against Franklin Pierce.

HOMETOWN FOCUS

Marissa Baker, Middle

bury field hockey: The senior from Darien scored the game’s only goal as Middlebury defeated Franklin & Marshall on Sunday to win the program’s third consecutive NCAA Division III national title. Baker finished with eight goals and led the Panthers with eight assists. Fairfield’s Grace Murphy and Darien’s Grace Aronsohn are also part of the second program to win three straight Division III field hockey titles.

BY THE NUMBERS

3: Number of times five Connecticut colleges played in NCAA volleyball tournament, a feat accomplished in 2012 and 2018 and will happen this year as Wesleyan already competed in Division III event, Bridgeport and New Haven earned Division II atlarge bids while Fairfield and Sacred Heart secured automatic spots in Division I field.

3: 20point games by Marina Petruzzi in Wesleyan women’s basketball team’s 50 start.

4: Saves by Central Connecticut’s Amanda McQuillan in 10 overtime loss to West Virginia in second round of NCAA Division II women’s soccer tournament.

4: Players from Connecticut on teams in Division I men’s soccer quarterfinals. Avon’s Riley Strassner has appeared in 18 games for Georgetown while Stamford’s Jared Juleau, New Milford’s Payton Blynn and Norwalk’s Niko Petridis are on the St. John’s roster.

6: Players from Connecticut colleges to earn National Field Hockey Coaches Association Mideast Region first team honors. UConn’s Svea Boker, Sophie Hamilton and Cheyenne Sprecher, Yale’s Bridget Condie, Fairfield’s Kelly Buckley and Luzi Persiehl were honored.

6: Points in last five games and Quinnipiac men’s hockey defenseman Karlis Cukste. The Bobcats host No. 10 UMass on Friday.

6: Consecutive wins by Trinity College women’s basketball team, all by at least 10 points.

8: Players from Connecticut colleges selected to play in Sunday’s New England Intercollegiate Soccer League AllStar Game at Brandeis. Eastern Connecticut’s Jackson Toomey, Justin Jensen and Griffin Luczek will be joined by WestConn’s Spencer Ranno on NEISL Red squad. Trinity’s Mike Burns will be joined on the NEISL Blue team by the Conn College trio of Matt Butera, Anthony Aquadro and Freddy Stokes.

13: Offensive rebounds in four games as Sacred Heart’s E.J. Anosike was named the Northeast Conference’s Player of the Week after averaging 15.5 points and 10.3 rebounds in a 31 week for the Pioneers.

13.2: Rebounds per game for Quinnipiac men’s basketball senior Kevin Marfo, the best mark in Division I.

25: Points by University of Bridgeport freshman guard Gracen Kerr of Ansonia against Division I Sacred Heart.