Merrimack senior TJ Corliss (Haverhill, MA/Accounting) claimed scholar-athlete honors in men’s cross country. The Haverhill, MA native posted an eighth place finish at the NEC Cross Country Championship in October, completing the 8K course in 26:16.90 to earn All-Conference honors for the second time in his career. He finished ninth at the 2019 event. A three-time member of the NEC Academic & Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Corliss majors in Business Administration and carries a 3.90 GPA.

After returning for her fifth year, Central Connecticut senior cross country harrier Angie Rafter (Danielson, CT/Killingly) pulled off the historic feat of becoming the first four-time NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in any sport. She capped a Hall of Fame worthy Blue Devil career by capturing her third NEC individual crown this past October to join Wagner’s Tara Maguire (1987, 1988 & 1990) as the only 3x winners in race history. From 2018 to 2021, Rafter placed first, first, second and first again at the conference championship event, respectively, and helped lead the Blue Devils to NEC championships on each occasion. This past season, she was named the USTFCCCA NCAA DI Women National Athlete of the Week on October 25, and captured individual titles at the IC4A/ECAC Championships, Ted Owen Invitational, CCSU Mini Meet and Marist Invitational. The Danielson, CT product also placed 40th out of 252 harriers at the NCAA Northeast Region Cross Country Championship in November. A graduate student intern for the Wellness Room for Student-Athletes, Rafter is pursuing her Master’s degree in Psychology after completing her undergraduate studies in English. She compiled a 3.96 GPA as an undergraduate and currently maintains a 3.95 GPA in her graduate courses. Rafter has been named to both the NEC Academic and Commissioner’s Honor Roll in each of her five years.

Fairfield senior midfielder Malen Iglesias (Buenos Aires, Argentina) followed in the footsteps of teammate Danielle Profita as NEC scholar-athlete award winners in field hockey. Iglesias secured the conference’s top individual honor, collecting NEC Player of the Year accolades along with the third All-NEC first team nod of her career. Iglesias paced the Stags with 11 goals and 24 points, and finished in the NEC top-10 in each category. Her five game-winners ranked second on the circuit. Fairfield won the NEC title for the second time in her career, and the Buenos Aires native tallied two of the team’s three goals in the Stags’ NCAA Tournament overtime setback against nationally-ranked Delaware, including the game-tying score with just four seconds remaining in regulation. Iglesias was subsequently named to the NFHCA All-Mideast Region first team and the All-ECAC team. Over her four years with the program, Iglesias accumulated 19 goals and 12 assists for 50 career points. She has appeared on the NEC Academic and Commissioner’s Honor Roll in each of the last three years. Iglesias sports a 3.88 grade point average as a Management major.

Duquesne graduate student offensive lineman Jake Dixon (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) gave the Dukes a third straight NEC football scholar-athlete award recipient, joining teammate Spencer DeMedal, who won it in 2019 and 2020-21. He appeared in a school record 50 games in a career that included first team All-NEC honors in both 2020-21 and this past season. In 15 career games at left tackle, Dixon helped the Dukes to an 11-4 record, blocking for 10 individual 100-yard rushing performances and four 300-yard passing games. Following the end of his collegiate playing career, he was named the Lineman MVP of the FCS National Bowl this past December in Daytona Beach, FL. As accomplished off the field as he was on it, Dixon twice earned CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American (2020, 2021) honors and was a finalist for the 2021 Stats Perform FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award. Dixon, a local product out of Pittsburgh, is a five-time member of the NEC Academic & Commissioner’s Honor Roll. He recorded a 3.96 grade point average as an Accounting major, and is currently a 4.0 student as he pursues his graduate degree in Leadership.

.LIU senior goalkeeper Demetri Skoumbakis (Chania, Greece/Nea Kydonia) copped NEC men’s scholar-athlete plaudits one year after teammate Fridtjof Andberg was honored with the same award. Skoumbakis was tabbed the NEC Goalkeeper of the Year after a spectacular campaign that saw him post a league-low 1.00 GAA over 20 starts. He racked up an NEC-best seven shutouts and posted a .777 save percentage. Skoumbakis came up big when the Sharks needed him most in the NEC Tournament, making the title clinching PK save that propelled LIU to its fifth conference crown. Four days later he made five saves as the Sharks pulled off a 1-0 upset of Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Skoumbakis, a native of Chania, Greece, has registered a near perfect 3.99 GPA over his time at LIU while majoring in Mathematics. He made a third consecutive appearance on both the NEC Academic & Commissioner’s Honor Roll lists.

Now a three-time NEC scholar athlete of the year in women’s soccer, CCSU graduate student defender Erica Bardes (Montvale, NJ/Pascack Hills) closed out a star-studded career this past fall. When Bardes was voted the NEC Defensive Player of the Year last November, she added to a rich legacy of Blue Devil defenders who have combined to win the award eight straight times. She also collected her fourth consecutive first team All-NEC honor, and helped guide CCSU to four straight NEC titles and NCAA appearances. Bardes went on to earn further recognition with her selection to the NEWISA All-New England first team and United Soccer Coaches All-North Region third team. She anchored a defense that led the NEC in goals against average (1.05) and shutouts (9), and conceded just five goals in 10 NEC matches. Bardes also provided offensive punch from the backline with a goal and five assists. The Montvale, NJ product and History major set a CCSU record by playing in 86 career matches. She earned CoSIDA Academic All-District team status this fall, and is a five-time selection to the NEC Academic and Commissioner’s Honor Roll. After graduating with a 3.96 GPA, she currently maintains a 3.90 graduate GPA while pursuing a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics.

LIU graduate student Jovana Stekovic (Gornji Milanovac, Serbia/Gimnazija Takovski Ustanak) took home women’s volleyball scholar-athlete honors a year after teammate Anastasia Scott did the same. The outside hitter from Serbia repeated as a first team All-NEC selection for the Sharks, who finished third in the conference and reached the NEC Tournament semifinals. Stekovic ranked third in the league in kills, posting 3.97 per set, and also recorded 2.69 digs per set. A two-time NEC Player of the Week, she tied for the most kills in a NEC match this season with 26 and posted three of the top four kills totals in the conference. Stekovic was tabbed to the NEC Academic Honor Roll five straight years and was a four-time member of the NEC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. She graduated with a 3.87 GPA and a degree in Sports Management. Stekovic is now pursuing her Master’s in Exercise Science and has recorded a 3.96 GPA in the graduate program.