Wellesley's Aguirre, You Mak Earn NEWMAC Honors; Kroll Named Coach of the Year
WESTWOOD, Mass. -- The New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) announced the 2019-2020 Women's Basketball Postseason Awards on Wednesday and Wellesley College Head Coach Jennifer Kroll has been named the conference's 2019-20 Coach of the Year. In addition, senior Kendall You Mak (San Francisco, Calif.) has been named the NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Year and senior Caitlin Aguirre (El Paso, Texas) has been named to the All-Conference First Team.
Jennifer Kroll | Head Coach | 2019-20 NEWMAC Coach of the Year
Now in her 11th season at the helm of the Blue basketball program, Kroll earns NEWMAC Coach of the Year honors for the first time in her career after leading the Blue to a second consecutive NEWMAC postseason appearance. Wellesley went from an 8-15 record in 2018-19 to a 14-9 mark in 2019-20, winning six conference games to secure the fifth-seed in the NEWMAC postseason. The Blue were tops in the NEWMAC in team defense and sixth in the NCAA in scoring defensive, limiting opponents to just 48.7 points per game on the year. Kroll is the second coach in Wellesley history to earn NEWMAC Coach of the Year honors, joining Kathy Hagerstrom, who earned the award in both 1998-99 and 1999-00.
Kendall You Mak | SR | San Francisco, Calif. | NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Year
The catalyst for Wellesley's NEWMAC-leading team defense, You Mak's high-energy defensive play helped the 5'3" guard average a career-high 3.1 rebounds per game and collect 1.5 steals per game in 2019-20. You Mak averaged 2.8 steals per 40 minutes in 14 games during the season and 2.0 steals per game in ten NEWMAC contests, ranking them in the top-ten in the conference in steals. A veteran of 80 career games in Wellesley Blue, You Mak, a two-time NEWMAC Women's Soccer All-Conference performer and a seven-time NEWMAC Academic All-Conference qualifier in soccer, basketball, and lacrosse is the first Wellesley player to ever win NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Caitlin Aguirre | SR | El Paso, Texas | NEWMAC First Team All-Conference
A two-time NEWMAC All-Conference Second Team honoree and the 2016-17 NEWMAC Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year, Aguirre caps one of the most decorated careers in Wellesley basketball history with her first career NEWMAC All-Conference First Team honor. Aguirre finished 12th in the NEWMAC in points per game (11.8), sixth in assists (3.2), second in steals (2.4), and ranked in the top-five in assist to turnover ratio (1.5) will playing over 33 minutes per game, a mark that also ranked in the top-five in the conference. Aguirre scored her 1,000th career point in a 59-35 win over Coast Guard on January 22 and finished her career with 1,103 points, ranking her fifth all-time in program history.
For a complete list of NEWMAC Women's Basketball Postseason Awards, please see below.
2019-20 NEWMAC Women's Basketball Postseason Awards and All-Conference Performers
Athlete of the Year: Alex Goslin, Springfield College
Defensive Player of the Year: Kendall You Mak, Wellesley College
Co-Rookie of the Year: Megan Bauman, Babson College
Co-Rookie of the Year: Sam Hourihan, Springfield College
Coach of the Year: Jennifer Kroll, Wellesley College
First Team All-Conference
Alex Goslin, Springfield College
Christina Antonakakis, MIT
Katelyn Pickunka, Smith College
Emily Bonifacic, Babson College
Sam Hourihan, Springfield College
Caitlin Aguirre, Wellesley College
Second Team All-Conference
Jocelyn Luizzi, MIT
Megan Bauman, Babson College
Dashelle Gleissner, Smith College
Katherine Tamulionis, Babson College
Sam Boyle, Emerson College
Hannah Favaloro, Clark University
The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference consists of 11 highly selective institutions committed to academic excellence: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.