Somerset, NJ – The Northeast Conference (NEC) has named Amanda Lucia (Easthampton, MA/Easthampton) of the Wagner women’s swimming and diving team the 2015-16 NEC Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
The honor recognizes individual excellence in both the academic and athletic settings as well as leadership and involvement in the community. This marks the fourth consecutive year that a Wagner athlete has earned Student-Athlete of the Year (Phil Faccone, Football, 2014-15; Meredith Ketchmark, 2013-14; Swimming; Steve Cioicci, Football, 2012-13).
“Congratulations to Amanda and Max on their 2015-16 NEC Student-Athlete of Year Award! Their academic, athletic and community service resumes are incredibly impressive and so deserving of this prestigious recognition,” said Noreen Morris, NEC Commissioner. “In addition to celebrating these two bright stars, I must also congratulate the 18 other finalists who were nominated for this award. As a member of the voting committee, I can tell you that I agonized over having to choose just one male and female winner. The NEC is well represented by tremendously talented student-athletes who excel in the classroom, on the athletic stage and in their communities.”
Lucia, no stranger to athletic, academic and community awards, graduated in May with cum laude honors after posting a 3.55-grade point average as a nursing major. She was a four-year member of the NEC Academic Honor Roll, the 2014-15 NEC Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and concluded her time at Wagner compiling a perfect 4.0 in her final semester as an undergraduate. During her time at Wagner, Lucia was an active member of Sigma Theta Tau, the Honor Society of Nursing.
“This prestigious award is a culmination of Amanda’s dedication to Wagner athletics, our team, and the NEC community over the past four years,” said fifth-year women’s swimming head coach Colin Shannahan. “She’s one of the hardest workers in the pool and the classroom, but it’s her compassion and nurturing spirit that truly set her apart as a nursing student and a member of the Wagner Athletics family. I am so proud of her accomplishments, and I’m lucky to have been able to watch her grow here at Wagner.”
Her success in the pool was difficult to match, as this past year Lucia won a pair of events at the NEC Swimming & Diving Championships, touching first in the 200 Butterfly and 400 IM while taking second place in the 100 Fly. Lucia currently holds in the NEC record in the 400 IM and 200 IM. Lucia ended her four-year stint as a seven-time NEC individual gold medalist and garnered the NEC Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet in her freshman season. The Easthampton product completed a four-peat, claiming first place in the 400 IM at NEC Swimming & Diving Championships during her time as a Seahawk.
Lucia also qualified and swam at the AT&T US Winter National Championships her junior and senior seasons and produced a qualifying NCAA B-cut times her junior campaign in the 200 Fly.
She was also a member of the Wagner’s swimming and diving teams that has won three straight NEC Team Sportsmanship awards.
Lucia’s successes and elite performances in the pool as well as in the classroom continue into the community where she has stood out as an exemplary figure and leader including a four-year stint as a member of the Wagner Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
In her senior season, Lucia co-founded, along with teammate Erin Malone (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) the local chapter of “Love Your Melon,” which is an organization that raises awareness about Children’s Cancer and looks to provide children who are fighting cancer with comfortable and warm hats. Her efforts positively impacted the Cohen Children’s Medical Center as well as local families battling cancer.
Lucia also assisted the CHAD foundation, volunteering as a student nurse providing EKGs to local high school student-athletes from low-income areas in the New York City Area.
Lucia served as a three-year volunteer at the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Run and the Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Fundraiser hosted by the Wagner Women’s swimming and diving team.
She also positively impacted the community by taking part in Wagner Cares, a Hurricane Sandy relief effort at Midland Beach in Staten Island.
“Amanda has been a magnificent student-athlete at Wagner throughout her four years, has helped our swim program reach tremendous heights, and is richly deserving of this honor,” said Wagner Athletic Director Walt Hameline. “We wish her great success in the future and know that she will continue to be a tremendous ambassador for Wagner and Seahawk athletics.”
Northeast Conference Student-Athlete of the Year Award Winners
2015-16 Max Vogt, Bryant (male, tennis)
Amanda Lucia, Wagner (female, swimming)
2014-15 Phil Faccone, Wagner (male, football)
Nicole Sleith, Robert Morris (female, softball)
2013-14 Meredith Ketchmark, Wagner (swimming)
2012-13 Steve Cioicci, Wagner (football)
2011-12 Julia Prantl, Fairleigh Dickinson (tennis)
2010-11 Katherine Bossardet, CCSU (cross country, track and field)
2009-10 Kundayi Mawema, Bryant (field hockey)
2008-09 Alexandra Tomlinson, Wagner (swimming)
2007-08 Tiffany Hahn, Monmouth (track and field)
2006-07 Erika Jacobs, Saint Francis U (cross country, track and field)
2005-06 Joy Gallagher, Wagner (basketball, softball)
2004-05 Beth Swink, Saint Francis U (basketball)
2003-04 Naomi Campano, Mount St. Mary’s (lacrosse)
2002-03 Sabrina Mariani, CCSU (soccer)
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 35th year, the Northeast Conference is a 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.
Swimming news courtesy of Wagner Swimming & Diving.