SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. Seton Hall senior women’s basketball standout Monique Blake (Union, N.J.) earned Female Athlete of the Year accolades while junior Greg Gomes (Somerset, N.J.) of the men’s cross country and track and field teams earned Male Athlete of the Year honors at the annual Student Athlete Advisory Council banquet, held Monday evening on the Seton Hall University campus. Seton Hall also honored seniors Sam Kenward (Worcestershire, England.) of the golf team and Jen Michewicz (Pottstown, Pa.) of the women’s soccer team with awards as Scholar Athletes of the Year.
Blake, a team captain, led the Pirates in rebounding, blocks and steals, while guiding the team to its best season in 12 years. She posted 11 double-doubles and ranked sixth in the BIG EAST in rebounding and seventh in blocks. Blake was a BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll member as well as an All-Tournament Team selection at the Christmas City Classic and the Aeropostale Seton Hall Basketball Classic. She closes out her career at Seton Hall ranked third all-time in blocked shots, fourth in rebounding and 14th in scoring.
Gomes dominated the track for the second consecutive year, successfully defending his crown as the BIG EAST Indoor 500-Meter champion and repeating at IC4A champion and Metropolitan champion in the same event. Showing his versatility, he won the 800-meter race at the Akron Invitational and placed second at the Greater Boston Invitational in the 400-meter dash. He has already qualified for the outdoor BIG EAST Championships in the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles, and Saturday, qualified for the NCAA Regionals in the 400-meter dash.
The Male and Female Scholar Athlete Awards are presented annually to the member of the senior class with the highest grade-point average. Michewicz, a secondary education major with a 4.0 grade point average who will graduate Summa Cum Laude, was a First Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American as a senior. She is a two-time CoSIDA District 2 All-Academic First Team selection as well as a four-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star. Kenward has been a Dean’s List student in every semester at Seton Hall after transferring from New Mexico Junior College. A 2006-07 BIG EAST Academic All-Star, he boasts a 3.571 GPA as an English major and will graduate Cum Laude.
In addition to the Athlete of the Year and Scholar Athlete of the Year awards, Seton Hall also recognized its male and female Athletes of the Year for each class at the banquet.
Jessica Pompei (Fairview Park, Ohio) of the volleyball team garnered Senior Female Athlete of the Year recognition A co-captain and the career digs leader, she also set the single season digs record with 415 this year. She led the Pirates in digs 13 times and was twice named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
Teddy Niziolek (Clifton, N.J.) of the men’s soccer team was named Senior Male Athlete of the Year. A Second Team All-BIG EAST selection and First Team All-Northeast Region pick, he set career-highs with five goals, four assists and 14 points this season. Niziolek scored two game-winning goals and was selected 41
st overall by the Columbus Crew in the 2007 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft.
The Junior Female Athlete of the Year Award went to Ela Mukosiej (Bilystok, Poland) of the women’s basketball team. Named All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention in her first year at Seton Hall, Mukosiej was selected to the conference’s honor roll three straight weeks down the stretch.. The team leader in scoring, she had a streak of nine straight games where she scored in double-figures, including four games of at least 20 points. She led the team in scoring nine times and set a career-high with 24 points in a victory over Villanova.
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Baseball’s Dan Merklinger (West Orange, N.J.) earned Junior Male Athlete of the Year honors. Named BIG EAST,, NJCBA AND Gotham Pitcher of the Week earlier this month, he ranks fourth in the conference with 60 strikeouts in only 53 and a third innings. A BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll seelection, he leads the teams in wins and has topped 10 strikeouts in a game three times. Merklinger set a career-high with 12 strikeouts against Georgetown.
Softball’s Kealan Waldron (Oak Park, Ill.) and volleyball’s Tricia Meyers (Cincinnati, Ohio) were honored as Co-Sophomore Female Athletes of the Year. Named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll earlier this month, Waldron leads the Pirates in batting average and homeruns and has started in 41 of 42 games this season. Her 12-game hitting streak tied the second longest in school history. Meyers, a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection, led the Pirates in kills, hitting percentage and blocks this season. A three time BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll pick, she ranked fifth in the conference in hitting percentage and eighth in kills.
Baseball’s Greg Miller (Shamong, N.J.) and swimmer Angelo D’Errico (Syosset, N.Y.) were named the Co-Sophomore Male Athletes of the Year. Miller, selected for the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll in late February, leads the team in several offensive categories including batting average, hits, runs, doubles and triples. He also leads the team with 17 multi-hit games. On the mound, Miller sports a 1.50 ERA, having allowed only four runs in 24 innings this season. D’Errico tallied 10 individual first place finished and set school records in the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke. He was part of a record breaking 400-meter medley relay team, as well as the highest overall finisher of any Pirate at the BIG EAST Championship with a fourth place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke.
Volleyball’s Alexandra Matters (North Tonowanda, N.Y.) earned the Freshman Female Athlete of the Year Award. In her first season as a Pirate she set the rookie dig record with 359 the third highest total overall in Seton Hall history. Matters recorded 17 double-doubles on the year while ranking second on the team in kills and leading in service aces and total attacks.
Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.) of the men’s basketball team picked up the Freshman Male Athlete of the Year Award. A unanimous BIG EAST All-Rookie Team selection, he led all conference freshmen with 16.5 points per game while also leading the Pirates in assists and free throw percentage. An All-Met First Team Pick and Rookie of the Year, Harvey started all 29 games and scored in double-figures in 27. He was a three-time BIG EAST Rookie of the Week.
2006-07 SETON HALL STUDENT ATHLETE ADVISORY COUNCIL AWARD WINNERS
FEMALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Jen Michewicz, Soccer (Pottstown, Pa.)
MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Sam Kenward, Golf (Worcestershire, England)
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Monique Blake, Women’s Basketball (Union, N.J.)
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Greg Gomes, Cross Country/Track & Field (Somerset. N.J.)
SENIOR FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Jessica Pompei, Volleyball (Fairview Park, Ohio)
SENIOR MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Teddy Niziolek, Soccer (Clifton, N.J.)
JUNIOR FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Ela Mukosiej, Basketball (Bilystok, Poland)
JUNIOR MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Dan Merklinger, Baseball (West Orange, N.J.)
SOPHOMORE CO-FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR: Tricia Meyers, Volleyball (Cincinnati, Ohio), Kealan Waldron, Softball (Oak Park, Ill.)
SOPHOMORE MALE CO-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR: Angelo D’Errico, Swimming (Syosset, N.Y.), Greg Miller, Baseball (Shamong, N.J.)
FRESHMAN FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Alexandra Matters, Volleyball, (North Tonowanda, N.Y.)
FRESHMAN MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Eugene Harvey, Basketball (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
