Balestrieri, 71 Bulldogs honored by NEC

Men's tennis star Cristian Balestrieri repeats as NEC Scholar-Athlete award winner among 71 named to Academic Honor Roll

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University men’s tennis star and 2011 graduate Cristian Balestrieri (Mar Del Plata, Argentina) repeats as a Northeast Conference Spring Scholar-Athlete, headlining 71 NEC Academic Honor Roll selections to bring the 2010-11 total to 172.

The 71 spring honorees also include 12 qualifiers for the NEC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, distinguishing student-athletes with a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or above.

The Northeast Conference awards the honor of Scholar-Athlete to one individual in each sport, and to earn the award, nominees must have earned a minimum of 60 credit hours, maintain a minimum GPA of 3.20 and participate with distinction as a member of a varsity team. In 2010-11 and throughout his esteemed career, Balestrieri has done all that and more.

Though ineligible for the NEC Tournament until the completion of the Division I transition in 2012-13, the Bryant men’s tennis program captured the conference regular-season title with an undefeated 6-0 record and went 14-6 overall in an impressive 2010-11 campaign. That success was due in great part to the play of senior leader Balestrieri, who takes home his second-straight NEC Scholar-Athlete award. After posting a 5-1 singles mark against NEC competition, Balestrieri was named to the All-NEC First Team at No. 2 singles and boasted a 17-8 overall mark on the year, including a 10-3 record in second-flight play. Also earning singles victories over notable regional rivals from Stony Brook, Villanova and Boston University, Balestrieri added 10 more wins in doubles action, four of which came within the conference. The senior finished his stellar career with a 54-38 record in his four years in a Bulldog uniform.

Off the court, Balestrieri was named Vice President of the Beta Gamma Business Honor Society, served as a member of the Bryant Student Senate and was an ICC Jim Thorpe Award recipient as presented by the school’s Multicultural Center. He was also named Bryant’s 2011 Male Athlete of the Year and was voted by SAAC as the winner of the annual Omar Shareef Spirit Award. He graduated in May with a 3.80 GPA and a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Balestrieri is one of the Bulldogs’ 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll honorees, and is one of four men’s tennis players to make the cut. He is joined by teammates Connor Crowley (London, Ontario), Andres Orobitg (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) and Robert-Paul Weese (Aurora, Ontario). A trio of women’s tennis players in NEC Player of the Year Claudia Hidalgo (Guayaquil, Ecuador), junior Martha Chapman (Orange, Conn.) and Bryant Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Morganne Downing (Cherry Hills Village, Colo.) also made the grade. Track and field saw two men – Bryant Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Scott Twardowski (Rehoboth, Mass.) and sophomore Colin Gannon (Litchfield, Conn. / Litchfield) – join women’s qualifier Eimear Black (Glengormley, Ireland) on the list, while baseball sophomore Timothy Bessette (Waterbury, Conn.) and softball freshman Taylor Bell (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) rounded out Bryant’s top spring scholar-athletes. The 12 spring honorees bring the 2010-11 NEC Commissioner’s Honor Roll total to 30.

The NEC Academic Honor Roll consists of student-athletes who have maintained a GPA of 3.20 or above, with 874 spring athletes throughout the conference making the grade this spring. Over the course of the 2010-11 academic year, a record 2,293 student-athletes landed a spot on the Academic Honor Roll league-wide, representing more than half of the NEC’s total competitors.

Men’s track and field leads the way for Bryant’s 71 Spring Academic Honor Roll selections, placing 13 on the list, while men’s tennis is right behind with 10. Men’s lacrosse, softball and women’s tennis all boast nine honorees, while women’s track and field placed seven on the roll call. Six women’s lacrosse players made the grade in 2011, while four from both baseball and golf earned the distinction.

2011 Northeast Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field (13)
Michael Arons (West Hartford, Conn. / William H. Hall)
Nathaniel Askew (Westborough, Mass. / Westborough)
Christopher Brida (Southampton, Mass. / Hampshire Regional)
Ryan Busby (Derry, N.H. / Pinkerton Academy)
Patrick Decker (Colchester, Conn. / Bacon Academy)
Jeffrey Dorosh (Naugatuck, Conn. / Naugatuck)
Andrew Fitzgerald (New Hartford, Conn. / Northwestern Regional)
Colin Gannon* (Litchfield, Conn. / Litchfield)
David Hurley (Ashaway, R.I. / Chariho Regional)
Amos Kalindaga (Geneva, Switzerland / Redley College (Can.))
Ben Polichronopoulos (Berwick, Maine / Marshwood)
Nicholas Todman (Danbury, Conn. / Danbury)
Scott Twardowski* (Rehoboth, Mass. / La Salle Academy)

Men’s Tennis (10)
Ernesto Arguello (Managua, Nicaragua / American Nicaraguan School)
Cristian Balestrieri* (Mar Del Plata, Argentina / Mar Del Plata Day School)
Daniel Cournoyer (Jefferson, Mass. / Wachusett Regional)
Connor Crowley* (London, Ontario / Mother Teresa Catholic)
Nicholai Hill (Ottawa, Ontario / Lisgar Collegiate Institute)
Vidith Huot (Providence, R.I. / Classical)
Elias McQuade (Manchester, N.H. / Manchester Central)
Andres Orobitg* (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico / Colegio Marista)
Theo Sztabholz (Paris, France / Lycee Hoche)
Robert-Paul Weese* (Aurora, Ontario / Country Day School)

Women’s Tennis (9)
Martha Chapman* (Orange, Conn. / Amity Regional)
Valeria Couto Cuervo (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico / Academia Maria Reina)
Morganne Downing* (Cherry Hills Village, Colo. / Cherry Creek)
Katharine Francazio (Cranston, R.I. / La Salle Academy)
Claudia Hidalgo* (Guayaquil, Ecuador / Unidad Educativa Delta)
Katherine McCabe (Barrington, R.I. / La Salle Academy)
Irma Rodriguez Lockwood (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico / Academia Maria Reina)
Stephanie Smyers (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny Senior)
May Vickers (Montrose, Colo. / Montrose)

Men’s Lacrosse (9)
Kyle Crowley (Scituate, Mass. / Scituate)
Nikolas Dutra (Danville, Calif. / Monte Vista)
Travis Harrington (Vestal, N.Y. / Vestal)
Jameson Love (Darien, Conn. / Darien)
Matthew MacGrotty (New Westminster, British Columbia / Taft School)
Rob Maiorano (Easton, Conn. / Fairfield Prep)
Alec Rosenbruch (Nashua, N.H. / Nashua South)
Nils Thompson (Alberta, Canada / The Hill Academy)
Harrison Tull (Annapolis, Md. / Annapolis Area Christian)

Softball (9)
Taylor Bell* (Yorktown Heights, N.Y. / Lakeland)
Laura Bowen (Hudson, Mass. / Hudson)
Kristen Carter (Branchville, N.J. / Pope John XXIII Regional)
Kendall Corder (Carmichael, Calif. / Del Campo)
Christina Eringis (Tewksbury, Mass. / Central Catholic)
Samantha Houseal (Mount Joy, Pa. / Donegal)
Jennifer Jacob (Deer Park, N.Y. / St. Anthony’s)
Aubrey Mable (Aurora, Colo. / Eaglecrest)
Kate Murray (Fitchburg, Mass. / Fitchburg)

Women's Outdoor Track & Field (7)
Eimear Black* (Glengormley, Ireland / Dominican College Fortwilliam)
Joanna Chanaj (Peabody, Mass. / Peabody Veterans Memorial)
Lauren Ganim (Trumbull, Conn. / Trumbull)
Amy Hutchinson (Exeter, R.I. / Exeter-West Greenwich)
Sherika Nicholas (East Patchogue, N.Y. / Bellport)
Allison Pavao (Swansea, Mass. / Coyle Cassidy)
Megan Robertson (Sewell, N.J. / Washington Township)

Women’s Lacrosse (6)
Emily Bogan (Swansea, Mass. / Providence Country Day)
Meaghan Delaney (Centerville, Mass. / Barnstable)
Mary Green (Merrick, N.Y. / Calhoun)
Olivia McCarthy (Sea Girt, N.J. / Manasquan)
Nicole Rettinger (Dix Hills, N.Y. / Half Hollow Hills West)
Brianna Watt (Babylon, N.Y. / Babylon)

Baseball (4)
Timothy Bassette* (Waterbury, Conn. / Holy Cross HS)
Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass. / Algonquin Regional)
Jamie Skagerlind (Holden, Mass. / Wachusett)
Zachary Trenteseaux (Narragansett, R.I. / Lincoln)

Golf (4)
Alex Daley (Hudson, Mass. / Hudson)
Andrew Germain (Rutland, Mass. / Worcester Academy)
Kyle Hoffman (Pawtucket, R.I. / Bishop Feehan)
Greg Najarian (Rumford, R.I. / Bishop Feehan)

* 2011 NEC Spring Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipient