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Somerset, NJ -- A pair of student-athletes from Saint Francis U, along with one apiece from Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Robert Morris and Sacred Heart comprise the 2013-14 Northeast Conference (NEC) Winter Scholar-Athlete award winners.  This exceptional group of student-athletes features an All-American, a two-time Academic All-American, an honoree with a perfect 4.0 grade point average and a trio of repeat award winners.

All scholar-athlete award winners must have earned a minimum of 60 semester hours at their institution, maintained a minimum cumulative grade-point-average of 3.20 and participated with distinction as a member of a varsity team.

Along with the scholar-athletes, the NEC announced its winter Academic Honor Roll, consisting of 424 student-athletes with a 3.20 or better grade-point average.  There were also 121 student-athletes named to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll, recognizing those superior student-athletes with a 3.75 or better grade point average.

Sacred Heart junior guard Phil Gaetano (Wallingford, CT/Sheehan (Choate Rosemary)) made it back-to-back scholar-athlete awards in men’s basketball.  One of the premier distributors in DI, Gaetano ranked 10th in the nation in assists with 6.3 per game.  It marked the second straight year he finished in the NCAA top-10 and lifted his career total to 545 assists, which ranks him 10th in NEC history heading into his senior season.  Gaetano posted four games of 10+ assists finished fifth in the NEC with a 2.23 assist-to-turnover ratio.  He also averaged 6.5 ppg and ended the year second on the Pioneers with 43 three-pointers.  The Wallingford, CT native has compiled a 3.77 grade point average at Sacred Heart majoring in business.


Saint Francis University senior forward Alli Williams (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) not only repeated as the women’s basketball scholar-athlete, but also earned her second consecutive second Capital One Academic All-American honor this past February.  Williams, a three-time All-NEC honoree who was a first teamer for the second straight year, led the NEC and ranked fifth nationally in scoring with 25.4 ppg.  She averaged a double-double for the second straight season, as her 10.4 rpg was the second-best mark in the conference.  Williams also led the NEC with 3.0 spg and finished second on the circuit with 16 double-doubles.  Her 47 points in the Red Flash’s NEC quarterfinal win over Sacred Heart tied for the tournament single-game record.  The Altoona, PA native also became just the 11th player in NCAA history to finish her career with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 300 steals.  She is one of just three players in SFU history to reach the 2,000-point mark, and her 2,170 points and 1,157 rebounds ranks her second and third, respectively, in NEC annals.  Following the season, Williams was invited to the WNBA ProHoops Combine at the NCAA Women’s Final Four.  Pursuing a double major of Occupational Therapy and Psychology, Williams maintains at 3.86 grade point average.


Fairleigh Dickinson junior Liat Vizenfeld (Holon, Israel/Campus Kiryat Sharet) claimed the women’s bowling scholar-athlete award.  It was a banner year for Vizenfeld, who was named NEC Bowler of the Year and a first team NTCA All-American after leading the Knights to their 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years and a top-five NTCA national ranking throughout the regular season.  The seven-time NEC Bowler of the Week posted a league-high 21.99 frame average during NEC matches and a team-best 208.43 game average over the course of the regular season.  She struck on 53.39 percent of her attempts and posted an .879 filled frames percentage.  Vizenfeld, who was also tabbed a second team NTCA All-American as a sophomore, is a Psychology major with a 3.83 grade point average.


Robert Morris senior Steve Mitchell (Pittsburgh, PA/Pittsburgh Central Catholic) took home scholar-athlete accolades in men’s indoor track and field.  Mitchell won the shot put title at the 2014 NEC Indoor Track & Field Championships in Landover, MD with a 16.71 meter throw and also finished a close second in the weight throw for the second straight year with a 17.77 meter toss.  A two-time NEC Field Athlete of the Week, Mitchell surpassed the IC4A qualifying standard in the shot put in four different meets and posted four of the top-nine longest throws in school history during the 2013-14 campaign.  He also hit the IC4A standard in the weight throw on four occasions and owns five of the top-ten marks in program history.  Mitchell, a local product out of Pittsburgh, carries a 3.67 grade point average as a Competitive Intelligence Systems major.


LIU Brooklyn junior Katrina Anderson (Auckland, New Zealand/Howick College) was the recipient of the women’s indoor track and field scholar-athlete award.  Anderson earned gold medal honors in the 800 meters at the 2014 NEC Indoor Track and Field Championships to help lead the Blackbirds to a runner-up finish at the event.  She won the 800 in dominating fashion, outdistancing the field by more than two seconds with an ECAC qualifying time of 2:13.79.  Anderson was also a member of LIU’s first place 4x400 meter relay team and took third in the 400 meters.  Earlier in the year, the Auckland, New Zealand product established a new school record in the 800 meters, clocking in at 2:09.96 at the Terrier Invitational in Boston.  A two-time member of the NEC Academic Honor Roll and a Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society inductee, Anderson has compiled a 3.90 grade point average during her time at LIU.  She majors in Biology.


With a perfect marraiage of athletic and academic success, Saint Francis U senior Elise Löfgren (Molnlycke, Sweden/Hulebacks) earned scholar-athlete honors in women’s swimming and diving for the second year in a row.  Löfgren won a pair of events at the 2014 NEC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships at MIT, including a first place finish in the 100 breaststroke for the fourth straight year with a time of 1:02.69.  She won the race by nearly two seconds and came within .23 seconds of breaking the meet record in the event.  Löfgren eclipsed her own NEC record in the 200 breaststroke, winning the race in 2:16.32.  She also took second in the 200 IM and swam on the Red Flash’s runner-up 400 medley relay team.  In pursuit of her second straight Capital One Academic All-America selection (at-large honorees to be announced later this month), Löfgren maintains a perfect 4.0 grade point average as a Chemistry major.


2013-14 Northeast Conference Winter Scholar-Athletes


About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 33rd year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Google+, all @NECsports.