LOWELL, Mass. – 12 River Hawks were honored as UMass Lowell's most outstanding athletes at the annual Rowdys award show on Wednesday night at the Comley-Lane Auditorium, as the athletic department celebrated achievements both on and off the playing field.
Junior shortstop Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) of the softball team and senior distance runner Paul Hogan (Burlington, Mass.) of the men's cross country/track & field team were named the winners of the Lester H. Cushing awards for the second consecutive season.
Cashman currently leads the nation with a .521 batting average and a .633 on-base percentage. She is also seventh in the country with a .915 slugging percentage. Her 37 walks are good for a new all-time, single-season program record. Overall, the shortstop paces the team so far in 2019 with 41 runs, 14 doubles, and a career-best 60 hits and 10 home runs. Cashman, who has been named America East Player of the Week three times this season, also leads the league in five offensive categories.
Hogan was named the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Men's Track Athlete of the Year and also the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Cross Country Athlete of the Year. Hogan was named the Most Outstanding Male Track Performer and honored as the recipient of the Coaches' Award at the America East Indoor Championships after winning the 5,000 and 3,000-meters. During the Cross Country season Hogan won the individual title at the 2018 America East Cross Country Championships. His team, UMass Lowell, won the team championships by a single point. Hogan followed that up by winning the NCAA Northeast Region Cross Country Individual Championship.
Senior thrower Jenny Lee (Woburn, Mass.) of the women's track and field team and senior goalie Grant Lardieri (Ada, Mich.) of the men's lacrosse took home to Laurie A. Mann and David J. Boutin awards, respectively, presented to the top student-athletes who encompasses academic and athletic excellence, as well as leadership and service.
Lee has performed at a high level as an athlete, a student and as a person. Lee had an outstanding indoor season throwing for more than 45-feet in the shot put on a consistent basis. She finished second in the shot put at the America East Indoor Championships with a personal best toss of 47-feet, 0.25-inches. UMass Lowell finished second as a team, their best ever finish. As the River Hawks prepare for the Outdoor Championships, Lee is ranked fourth on the shot put performance list. Her coach describes Lee as "a hard worker and a team leader." Lee is majoring in Modern Languages and has a 3.936 GPA and a 4.0 GPA in her major. She is minoring in Education. Lee has been a Dean's List regular throughout her college career. She is a three-time America East All-Academic Team Selection. Lee studied abroad, in France, during the summer of 2018. She was a Difference Makers Finalist (Team Personalized Learning). She is a member of various honor societies including Omicron Delta Kappa, Psi Chi Psychology, Pi Delta Phi French. She completed a service learning project through the University, in the Spring of 2018, teaching French at a private K-8 school in Lowell. She is a member of SAAC.
Lardieri started 12 of 14 games for the River Hawks this season, coming into the season as Hunter Braun's backup. He has posted a 4-8 record with a 11.90 GAA and .511 save percentage. In conference play, he ranked first among AE goalie with 14.1 saves per contest. Had 10+ saves in seven games this year, which included a career-high 22 saves in the 8-4 win against Vermont on March 30
th. Lardieri is the Vice President of SAAC and owns a 3.99 GPA as a chemistry major. He was named to the America East All-Academic Team for the second time in his River Hawk career. Lardieri has been in the dean's list all seven semesters at UMass Lowell and has a 4.0 GPA in six of seven semesters on campus. He is also a two-time captain and is part of the Team IMPACT leadership team. Also volunteers his time at a local soup kitchen.
Pitcher Joshua Becker (Burlington, Mass.) from baseball and midfielder Emily Nelson (Peabody, Mass.) from women's soccer and took home male and female rookie of the year honors after their impressive first seasons with the River Hawks.
Nelson ranked second on the team in goals and points, scoring three goals in 15 minutes en route to a 3-1 win at Binghamton. She already ranks third all-time at UMass Lowell in Division I with seven career goals and fourth in points with 16. Nelson was named to the America East All-Rookie Team and America East Rookie of the Week.
As a walk-on freshman, Becker has been the mainstay of the back end of the River Hawks' bullpen. His 3.89 ERA in 18 appearances ranks atop the pitching staff, as well as his 55 strikeouts. In 44.0 innings pitched, the right-handed pitcher has surrendered only 20 walks and leads UMass Lowell with four saves. After striking out eight batters at North Carolina, Becker was named the America East Rookie of the Week on March 5.
Graduate student and guard Bri Rudolph (Lynn, Mass.) and redshirt junior guard Christian Lutete (Silver Spring, Md.) from the women's and men's basketball teams earned the Breakout Athlete Award.
Following a career that lost two season due to injury, Rudolph shined on the court in 2018-19 for the River Hawks. The graduate student appeared in and started all 29 games, leading the lineup with 13.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, along with 56 steals. The America East All-Conference Third Team honoree recorded six 20-point scoring efforts and reached double-figures in 22 games. She led the team in scoring 17 times and became the first player in program history to record 20 or more points in consecutive games.
Lutete led the River Hawks in several categories, including points (18.7), rebounds (7.6) and shooting percentage (53.4) in his first year with the team. In addition to earning America East All-Conference Second Team and All-Academic Team honors, the guard also became the program's first ever Division I NABC All-District First Team selection. He ranked second in the America East for both points and field goal percentage, and finished first in the league with an average of 6.3 defensive rebounds. Lutete totaled 10 double-doubles on the year, also a conference-best mark, with 14, 20-point scoring games.
Senior defender Emily Bellino (Lake Grove, N.Y.) from the River Hawk women's lacrosse team and senior defenseman Avni Berisha (Lake Ariel, Pa.) from the hockey team were named the recipients of the Unsung Hero Award.
Bellino served as a student-coach in practice and game days, assisting the defensive coaches with scouting and strategy. She was a three-year SAAC member and served as Team Impact Ambassador for America East, in addition to being the Team IMPACT Fellow and member of the SAAC Team IMPACT E-board. "Emily has suffered two ACL injuries during her time here at UML and she has continued to be a positive and consistent contributor to our team, regardless of her ability to play on the field," said Head Coach
Carissa Medeiros. "She has been an invaluable asset to our younger defenders and has developed into a great leader during her time on the sidelines."
Berisha played in 34 of 37 contests in his senior season, after playing in only 21 games in his previous three season. He notched four of his six career points in his final season. Avni through his words and actions has been a team first player throughout his UMass Lowell career. He has shown tremendous patience and focus despite a variety of outside distractions. His patience, focus and perseverance have paid off as Berisha after seeing little ice time his first two seasons has become an integral part of the UMass Lowell defense, on a team that dresses as many as four freshmen defenseman on most nights this season that mentoring and leadership has played a large role. He was one of the team leaders in blocked shots. Head Coach
Norm Bazin describes Berisha simply as "a winner."
The women's cross country (3.53 GPA) and men's hockey teams (3.57) earned the Bob Griffin Academic Awards, posting the highest team grade point averages over the course of the academic year.
Senior pitcher Kaysee Talsik (Shelton, Conn.) of the softball team won Female Moment of the Year for her perfect game on April 27th at Stony Brook, while the men's cross country team earned the Male Moment of the Year winning the 2018 America East Cross Country Championship, which they hosted at Mine Falls Park in Nashua, N.H.
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