ANNVILLE, Pa. (Conference News) – The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) announces its eight nominees for the 2022 Division III Commissioner’s Association (DIIICA) Student Athlete of the Year award. There are two women and two men nominated from both the MAC Commonwealth and MAC Freedom with representation from Alvernia, Messiah, Stevens and York.

In its inaugural year, the DIIICA Student Athlete of the Year Award honors men and women student-athletes who have exhausted their athletic eligibility (graduating seniors or graduate students that have not been nominated in previous years are the only eligible student-athletes). These student-athletes exhibit excellence both in the classroom and on the track, field, court and mat while also serving their local communities.

A conference may elect to submit up to two nominations for each award if at least one nomination is an international student/ethnic minority. The DIIICA regional selection committees will honor their selections based on the 10 predetermined NCAA regions. The MAC Freedom nominees are placed in Region IV and the MAC Commonwealth nominees are placed in Region V.

The Regional winners will be announced the week of July 25. Those individuals will be forwarded to the committee to be considered for the DIIICA Men and Women Student Athlete of the Year to be announced on August 15. 

The MAC Commonwealth and MAC Freedom nominees were selected by the MAC Awards Committee. The committee reviewed the MAC Senior Scholar-Athletes from the previous three years that competed in the 2021-22 season. The eight nominees are listed below. 
 

• Yupha Muzyka, Alvernia (MAC Commonwealth)
• Esther Seeland, Messiah (MAC Commonwealth)
• Gina Dello Russo (MAC Freedom)
• Elizabeth Chu, Stevens (MAC Freedom)
• Luke Groothoff, Messiah (MAC Commonwealth)
• Ryan Kennedy, York (MAC Commonwealth) 
• Brett Kaliner, Stevens (MAC Freedom) 
• Marc Feliu, Stevens (MAC Freedom)

MAC Commonwealth Women
Muzyka, a business management and accounting major, is a four-year member of Alvernia’s women’s golf team. She is a four-time MAC honor Roll recipient, and two-time Academic All-MAC honoree and was named a MAC Senior Scholar Athlete for the 2020-21 season. Muzyka also has two All-MAC First Team honors and two top-five finishes at MAC Commonwealth Championships. Full accolades can be read here. 

Seeland, a biomedical engineering graduate, is one of the most decorated athletes in MAC and Messiah history. While playing for Messiah’s women’s soccer team and running on both the indoor and outdoor track & field teams, Seeland became a six-time national champion; one soccer title and five individual indoor and outdoor track titles. She is a five-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, three for track & field and two for soccer, and the 2019 Elite 90 Award recipient for women’s soccer. Full accolades can be read here. 

MAC Freedom Women
Dello Russo was a six-year member of the Stevens women’s track & field team. She posted a 3.94 GPA earning her undergraduate degree in engineering management, and went on to complete a master's degree in mechanical engineering earning a 4.00. Dello Russo is now pursuing a doctorate in socio-technical systems. She is a five-time CoSIDA Academic All-District, three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, a two-time Spring Academic All-MAC honoree, a three-time MAC Spring Sports Honor Roll recipient and a 2020-21 MAC Senior Scholar Athlete. On the track, Dello Russo is a 14-time all-American in three events and a 2021 National Champion in the 400-meter dash. Full accolades can be read here. 

Chu, a chemical biology major and market minor, was a four-year member of the Stevens women’s volleyball team. She is a two-time recipient of the MAC Defensive Player of the Year award after leading the conference recording 500-plus digs in the 2019 and 2021 seasons. Chu capped her career with an American Volleyball Coaches’ Association Division III All-America Third Team honor. Full accolades can be read here.

MAC Commonwealth Men
Groothoff, a four-year member of the Messiah men’s soccer team, graduated in May with an undergraduate degree in biomedical art and design with a 3.95 GPA. During his time as a Falcon, he was a three-time All-MAC Commonwealth selection, with two first team honors and a United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American in 2018. Groothoff is a four-time MAC Fall Sports Honor Roll recipient, a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and was named a 2021 MAC Senior Scholar Athlete. Full accolades can be read here. 

Kennedy, secondary education social studies major, was a five-year member of the York men’s lacrosse team. In the 2022 season, he led the MAC Commonwealth in caused turnovers per game with 2.96 (68 total) and ranked seventh in ground balls per game with 4.74 (109 total). Kennedy is a two-time USILA All-American, a USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American and was the 2022 MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year. After completing his master’s in education in May with a 3.90 GPA, Kennedy was a 2022 Spring Academic All-MAC honoree and a 2022 MAC Senior Scholar Athlete. Full accolades can be read here. 

MAC Freedom Men
Kaliner was a five-year member of the Stevens wrestling team while earning his undergraduate degree in business & technology and now pursuing a Master of Science in Financial Analytics. He became Stevens’ first two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American as well as the program’s first national champion in wrestling. Kaliner was recognized by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) as a five-time Scholar All-American and he was named a 2021 MAC Wrestling Senior Scholar Athlete. Full accolades can be read here. 

Feliu, music & technology major, was a four-year member of the Stevens men’s tennis team. While at Stevens, he was a two-time champion at No. 1 doubles at the MAC Individual Championship, the 2019 No. 1 singles champion at the MAC Individual Championships and contributed to Stevens’ two consecutive MAC Freedom titles in 2021 and 2021. Feliu received Scholar-Athlete honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) all four years and a three-time MAC Spring Sports Academic Honor Roll recipient. Full accolades can be read here.