Here are the athletes of the year for our area colleges:

Yale



Cramm

Taylor Cramm, volleyball


Cramm helped lead the Bulldogs to three Ivy League titles during her outstanding career and was the recipient of the 2012 Nellie Pratt Elliot Award, the most prestigious athletic award given to a senior female at Yale. As captain this season she paced Yale to 18 wins and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Brian O’Neill, hockey

 

O'Neill



O’Neill, who led the Blue to 89 wins, including 14 in the postseason, was a 2011-12 second-team CCM All-America pick by the American Hockey Coaches Association after leading the team with 21 goals and 46 points as the team captain. The political science major and speedy forward was named first-team All-ECAC and Ivy League Player of the Year after ranking among the top 10 players in Division I for points and goals per game. He was also named ECAC Player of the Month for January and February last winter.

 

 

New Haven

Ryan Osiecki, football

Resurrecting the program, UNH football coach Peter Rossomando could have only dreamed the Chargers would become a factor in the Division II national scene as quickly as they have and Osiecki is one of the biggest reasons. An honorable mention All-American he set the UNH single-season record for passing yards and passing touchdowns. He became New Haven’s all-time leader in career passing yards, passing touchdowns and pass completions and has his best game when it meant the most, throwing for 433 yards and five touchdowns against Kutztown in the second round of NCAA playoffs.



Ashley Ferrandiz, lacrosse

Ferrandiz holds basically every UNH lacrosse record after her remarkable four years at the school. The Chargers became one of the nation’s best squads, a fixture in the national polls. For the past season Ferrandiz was second on the team with 89 total points off 43 goals and a single-season record 46 assists. She graduates as a rare four-time All-Conference honoree.

Quinnipiac

Heather Schwartzburg, softball
Schwartzburg had lofty goals when she came to Quinnipiac and reached them all. She ranks first all-time in career wins, innings pitched and strikeouts. As a junior she was named the Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Year selection. She led Quinnipiac to the NEC championship game this season.

Connor Jones, hockey

Alongside his twin brother Kellen Jones, Connor was tabbed the 2011-12 Co-Most Valuable Player for the men’s hockey team this year. In a stellar sophomore campaign he became Quinnipiac’s first 40-point scorer since Bryan Leitch accomplished the feat (2009). The Bobcats lost to Colgate in the ECAC quarterfinals but Connor had a goal and an assist in the second game of the best-of-three series.

Albertus Magnus
Ray Askew, basketball

Askew was one of the top DIII players in the nation. He became the all-time leader in points scored and rebounds and wrecked the Great Northeast Athletic Conference in the process. Askew helped the No. 20 Falcons to a 28-2 mark, perfect in the conference and to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Howard

Jamal Howard, soccer

Howard became the first-ever All-American in the school’s history as he was named to the NSCAA All-America Third Team. The GNAC Offensive Player of the Year helped put AMC on the map leading the team to a 17-4-1 mark with 22 goals and six assists.

Sam Farley, soccer

The Falcons enjoyed the best season in program history finishing with 12 wins. Farley, a junior, finished the year with three points on one goal and one assist as she started in 18 of 19 games played. She was also one of the most dominant defenders in the league this past season.

SCSU

Yoni Feldman, soccer

SCSU selects Scholar-Athetes of the year and Feldman won the award and also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors. He played 15 games for the Owls, starting in 11 and finished the year with one assist. The midfielder is from Ramat Gan, Israel and is a two-time All-Conference and a two-time All-ECAC selection.

Amanda Burden, diving

The Orange senior is a national Academic All-America nominee who is a three-time CoSIDA winner. Burden is a psychology major with a 3.76 GPA and will graduate as arguably the most decorated diver in school history. She finished her career as a four-time All-American, a four-time Northeast-10 Conference Diver of the Year and a three-time winner of the Most Outstanding Performer award at the league championships.