Six SUNYAC student-athletes are being honored with the SUNY Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards for combining academic achievement with success in the arena of athletic competition during the 2024 spring season.
The SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards recognizes student-athletes from SUNY colleges and universities sponsoring intercollegiate athletics at the four- and two-year levels who were nominated and voted upon by representatives of their respective institutions. Nominating information included cumulative grade point average (must be a 3.30 or higher), current and career statistics, and athletic and academic honors.
More than 14,000 student-athletes compete at SUNY institutions representing 53 different colleges and universities at the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division III/USCAA and NJCAA levels and are eligible for the awards. Twenty-seven student-athletes were honored across Division I, Division III/USCAA and the NJCAA.
Baseball – Tommy Kreider, New Paltz
Kreider was an ABCA All-American (second team), ABCA All-Region III (first team), All-SUNYAC (first team) and the SUNYAC Tournament MVP in 2024. He led the team in every offensive category except RBI batting in the two-spot in the lineup. The Hawks won their first-ever SUNYAC championship title this season and advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament. Kreider is a junior accounting major maintaining a 3.77 overall GPA. He is on high honor roll and a Chi Alpha Sigma inductee.
Men's Lacrosse – Trevor Bollinger, Geneseo
Recently, Bollinger was honored with the 2024 SUNYAC Dr. Sam Molnar award and was named the SUNYAC Men's Lacrosse Scholar Athlete of the Year. This award is nominated and voted on by the member institutions and is presented annually to a senior athlete with the best combination of academic and athletic ability with a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.30. Bollinger was the 2024 SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Year and a USILA Honorable Mention All-American. He helped lead a solid defensive unit for the Knights that held opponents to less than 10 goals per game. The Ithaca, N.Y. native led the team in caused turnovers with 30, and posted 50 ground balls. Bollinger helped lead Geneseo to back-to-back conference titles with a 20-10 win over Potsdam in the SUNYAC championship game, and was named to the All-Tournament team for his efforts. Bollinger graduated with a dual major in chemistry and sociology. He maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his academic career at Geneseo.
Women's Lacrosse – Amanda Squillini, Cortland
Squillini was a 2024 USA Lacrosse Third Team All-America Defender and an IWLCA Second Team All-Empire Region. This season she started all 20 games and was tied for first on the team with 26 caused turnovers and was second with 43 ground balls. Squillini helped lead a defense that allowed less than nine goals per game. In 95 career games, 94 as a starter, she ranks sixth in school history with 95 caused turnovers and also has 153 ground balls and 44 draw controls. Squillini maintained a 3.44 undergraduate GPA majoring in teaching students with disabilities and a 4.0 graduate GPA in physical education. She was recently named the 2024 SUNYAC Women's Lacrosse Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Women's Tennis – Isabel van der Veen, New Paltz
Van der Veen earned SUNYAC First-Team Singles and Doubles honors and was named to the All-Tournament Team in 2024. She was 4-0 in conference singles play playing at third singles and went 6-0 in doubles play at second doubles. She earned high honor roll and is a Chi Alpha Sigma National Society inductee. She is a junior business analytics major with a cumulative GPA of 3.81.
Men's Outdoor Track and Field – Isiah Brunache, Cortland
In 2024, Brunache qualified for the NCAA Division III outdoor track and field championship in the discus (18th place) and shot put (20th place). He was All-Niagara Region in the discus, shot put and hammer throw and All-AARTFC in the discus (4th place) and shot put (5th place). Brunache was the 2024 SUNYAC Championship Meet Most Valuable Performer after he scored 22 points at the meet with second place in shot put and hammer throw and third place in discus. He was also recently named the SUNYAC Men's Outdoor Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year. Brunache is a sophomore exercise science major maintaining a 3.98 overall GPA at Cortland.
Women's Outdoor Track and Field – Isabella Fabrizio, Oneonta
In 2024, senior Fabrizio was an outdoor NCAA Division III All-American Second Team athlete in the shot put. She placed 13th at the NCAA Division III championship meet with a program record of 13.76 meters. Fabrizio was the SUNYAC outdoor shot put champion at 13.67 meters. She was All-AARTFC and USTFCCCA All-Region in the shot put. Fabrizio placed in the top five in eight meets and won the shot put at the Cortland Red Dragon Open. Fabrizio graduated with a 3.76 overall GPA in exercise science and was named the SUNYAC Women's Outdoor Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the year and was a Chi Alpha Sigma National Honors Society inductee.
