WINTHROP, Mass. - Regis College landed one student-athlete among the weekly award recipients in each of the three sports offered as the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced the complete list of weekly award winners Monday, Feb. 19.
Junior forward Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) earned GNAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week honors after he averaged a double-double for Regis with 20.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game and got it done defensively, averaging 1.5 steals and blocks apiece. Rau put up 21 points on 9-for-17 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds while swatting away three shots in a victory over Colby-Sawyer last Wednesday, Feb. 14. On Saturday, Feb. 17, the junior collected 20 points on 8-for-13 field goal shooting and 12 rebounds with two steals in a hard-fought victory over Johnson & Wales.
Graduate student Haley Lightbody (Reading, Mass.), in her first season of collegiate basketball after a stellar track and field career at Stonehill College, put together a solid performance in the final week of the GNAC regular season, averaging 9.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per contest to earn GNAC Women's Basketball Rookie of the Week honors. She also contributed 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game to fill out her well-rounded week. She scored seven points to go along with 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block against Colby-Sawyer on Wednesday, Feb. 14. She followed that up with her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points, 12 boards, and five assists in a winning effort against Johnson & Wales.
First-year opposite hitter Andrew Matzouranis (North Andover, Mass.) contributed to a 1-1 week for Regis with 2.50 kills per set and a .344 hitting percentage, earning GNAC Men's Volleyball Rookie of the Week honors in the process. He had six kills in a GNAC sweep of Emerson on Thursday, Feb. 15, before putting down nine attacks against Emmanuel on Saturday, Feb. 17. The Pride rookie also had three blocks this week, all against the Lions.
Regis College saw its men's basketball and women's basketball teams win first round games of their respective GNAC Basketball Tournament Monday afternoon. In quarterfinal games Tuesday, Feb. 20, the Pride women will travel to face University of Saint Joseph in a 5 p.m. tipoff, while the men will head to Albertus Magnus College for a 7:30 p.m. game against the Falcons. The men's volleyball team returns to action Friday, Feb. 23, for home matches against Fisher College at 4 p.m. and AIC at 7 p.m.