Portland Maine News

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is pleased to announce eight former student-athletes for its 2023 GNAC Hall of Fame Induction Class, with the ceremonial event scheduled for Thursday, August 10 at the Hilton Garden Inn Logan Airport in Boston.

Former Saint Joseph's College softball slugger Emily Leverone '12 (Hampton, N.H.) is one of the eight former standouts who will be enshrined into the GNAC Hall of Fame this August and is the first St. Joe's athlete to be earn the tremendous honor.

Inducted into the Saint Joseph's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017, Leverone was a career .470 hitter with 37 home runs, 66 doubles, 211 RBI, and an .829 slugging percentage in 172 career games. The outfielder helped lead the Monks to a pair of GNAC titles and NCAA Tournament appearances, with SJC winning a pair of NCAA Regional contests in 2011 during her junior year.

Leverone earned over 30 accolades during her career, including four First Team All-GNAC honors, three ECAC All-New England awards, a pair of NEISCA All-Region honors, and 2009 NFCA All-New England acclaim. She capped her career as the owner of 19 team records and remains as the Monks' all-time leader in runs (168), hits (258), doubles (66), home runs (37), RBI (211), slugging (.829), OPS (1.340), extra-base hits (113), and total bases (455).

Upon graduation in 2012, the Physical Education major held the GNAC career records for games, at bats, runs, hits, doubles, RBI, and total bases and was tied atop the conference's all-time home runs list.

Leverone also owns the SJC single-season marks for home runs (11), RBI (60), batting (.549), slugging (.920), on-base percentage (.581), OPS (1.501), extra-base hits (33), and total bases (126) and helped guide the Monks to a 129-43 (.750) overall record, including an 83-18 (.822) mark in conference play, during her career.

The GNAC office plans to have a number of different delegations on hand, including GNAC Presidents, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) members, Faculty Athletic Representatives (FAR), Senior Woman Administrators (SWA), GNAC administrators and coaches, as well as longtime GNAC vendors and supporters.

The August 10 event will include a buffet dinner prior to the programming for the eight inductees:

ALBERTUS MAGNUS: Stephen Zapata, Men's Soccer '13EMMANUEL: Chris Curtis, Men's Lacrosse '16JOHNSON & WALES: Quarry Greenaway, Men's Basketball '16LASELL: Bridget Lynch, Women's Soccer '14RIVIER: Craig Kolek, Men's/Women's Volleyball head coachUNIVERSITY OF SAINT JOSEPH: Stacy Manfredi, Women's Basketball '98SAINT JOSEPH'S COLLEGE: Emily Leverone, Softball '12SUFFOLK: Jess Ferreira, Softball '09

Zapata was inducted to the Albertus Magnus Athletics Hall of Fame back in 2018 after registering 31 goals and 52 assists for 114 career points from 2009-12. A three-time All-GNAC First Team selection, the Hamden, Conn. native led all of Division III in assists (23) as a junior in 2011. As a senior, Zapata led Albertus to its second-ever GNAC men's soccer championship, en route to the NCAA Tournament.

EC's Curtis graduated from the Saints with 138 goals and 57 assists for 195 career points, helping lead the program to three GNAC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. Not only was he a three-time GNAC All-First Team selection, but Curtis was also twice voted as the GNAC Offensive Player of the Year. Following his senior season, the midfielder from Ashland, Mass. was tabbed as a USILA All-America Honorable Mention selection.

Greenaway goes down as one the most decorated student-athletes in JWU history, registering 2,304 career points, averaging 20.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals across his four-year career. A native of Westchester, N.Y., the 6-3 guard was the 2016 GNAC Player of the Year as a senior, and that winter led the Wildcats to the GNAC Championship and the NCAA Division III Sweet 16. He also led the nation in scoring that season at 25.8 points per game, and for his career was a three-time All-GNAC First Team choice.

The Lasers' Lynch had about an impressive a GNAC career as one could have, with the Dover, N.H. native graduating from Lasell as the conference's all-time leader with 223 points on 98 goals and 27 assists in 86 games. She helped lead the Lasers to the GNAC Championship and NCAA Tournament all four years of her collegiate career and was voted GNAC Offensive Player of the Year three times – her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. Lynch was also named the 2014 GNAC Tournament MVP as well as a 2014 CoSIDA Academic All-America choice as a senior.

Coach Kolek receives the GNAC induction amidst his Rivier tenure as one of the most decorated Division III volleyball coaches of all-time. Kolek surpassed the 400/400 mark five years ago, which reached a milestone that no other collegiate head coach has accomplished – winning 400+ games each at the helm of both a women's and men's program. Having stepped aside as the Raiders women's head coach beginning in 2022, Kolek is a six-time GNAC Women's Volleyball champion and five-rime GNAC Women's Coach of the Year. On the men's side, Kolek has led Rivier to nine GNAC titles while receiving six GNAC Men's Coach of the Year accolades and has also appeared in one D3 Final Four and three D3 Elite Eights.

From USJ, Manfredi totaled 1,806 points (17.9 PPG) for her career as the Blue Jays' all-time program leader. As a senior, she averaged 24.6 points per game en route to GNAC Player of the Year honors, while the Blue Jays won their only GNAC Women's Basketball Championship in team history. Also twice named an All-GNAC Second Team selection, she was the only player at any NCAA level to have two 50-point games in 1997-98 (54 & 50). Manfredi played under longtime USJ coach and administrator Bill Cardarelli.

Ferreira was yet another GNAC softball standout, hitting .471 over her Rams career with 37 home runs, 45 doubles, 26 triples, and a .902 slugging percentage. She also contributed in the circle for Suffolk, posting a 3.60 ERA in 44 games with 34 complete games and 260 strikeouts in 283.2 career innings. She was voted an All-GNAC First Teamer all four years, was twice named GNAC Player of the Year, was the 2005 GNAC Rookie of the Year, and led the nation in slugging (1.073) in 2008 as a junior. On campus, she was also Suffolk's SAAC President and was a one-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree.

The inaugural 2010 class included: Emerson College's Rob Hennigan (men's basketball), Emmanuel's Andy Yosinoff (women's basketball head coach), JWU's Milton Johnson (men's soccer), Pine Manor College's Sara Pray (women's soccer, softball), University of Saint Joseph's (Conn.) Noel Kusek (women's volleyball), Simmons University's Krista Dacek (women's soccer), Southern Vermont's Dan Dix (men's cross country), Suffolk's Katie Norton (softball), as well as the 2000 Emmanuel women's basketball team and the 2000 Suffolk University baseball program. In 2012, Emerson's Ellen Boss (soccer, basketball, softball) and JWU's Annemarie Proto (women's volleyball) were enshrined.

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