- Apply
- Visit
- Request Info
- Give
Published on May 02, 2023
Fifth-year senior Anna Barry of Andover became Eastern’s second two-sport All-American this past fall when she was voted as an American Volleyball Coaches’ Association (AVCA) Division III All-America honorable mention choice for 2022, becoming the first among Eastern’s four All-America honorees to repeat the honor. The six-foot forward on the women’s basketball team was also named to the WBCA All-America honorable mention team last year and is a contender to repeat the honor in 2022-23. The only other two-sport All-American at Eastern was Andrea Costa ’88 in volleyball and softball.
Barry also became the first Little East Conference (LEC) women’s basketball player in 17 years to be named Player-of-the-Year as many as three times when she received the honor as a fifth-year senior in 2022-23. She was also named Defensive Player-of-the-Year, the first three-time recipient of the award, which was instituted in 2008-09 and won by Eastern’s Jessica Moriarty ’11 in each of the first two years.
Barry becomes Eastern’s third multiple-winner of the LEC Player-of-the-Year Award, following Eastern Hall of Famers Ashley McFetridge (2007-08 and 2008-09) and Allison Coleman (2000-04), the only four-time recipient of the award in LEC women’s basketball history.
In the fall, Barry was named LEC Offensive Player-of-the-Year for the third time in volleyball. Her attack percentage led the LEC for the second straight year. In addition to repeating All-America honorable mention honors, Barry was voted to the All-Region team and to the New England Women’s Volleyball Association (NEWVA) teams for the third straight year (excluding the 2020 COVID season).
Senior Collin Wiltshire was named the Little East Conference Men’s Track and Field Athlete-of-the-Year on Feb. 24. A native of Ledyard, Wiltshire repeated as indoor triple jump champion at the LEC Championships Feb. 18, becoming the first Eastern athlete to repeat that honor. Wiltshire is ranked in the top 10 nationally in the triple jump and qualified for the national championship.
Eastern Connecticut State University has won the Little East Conference’s (LEC) Presidents’ Cup for overall academic supremacy the past three years and the Commissioner’s Cup for athletic excellence for the past five. Based upon the early re-turns in 2022–23 through fall competition, the Warriors hold the early edge to extend both streaks. In the fall, Eastern featured 62 All-Academic qualifiers — five more than its nearest competitor in the nine-team conference — and also garnered a conference-leading 6.71 rating in eight fall sports sponsored by the conference. Those results go toward the Commissioner’s Cup calculations re-leased following the spring season.
In all, 62 of 97 (63.9%) of Eastern’s fall athletes who had attained sophomore status qualified by amassing cumulative GPAs of 3.30 or better through the spring. None of Eastern’s seven fall programs had less than half of its athletes qualify, with many of the programs well above the threshold. Nine of 11 (81.8%) eligible volleyball players qualified, as did 17 of 21 (81%) eligible members of the women’s soccer team and five of seven (71.4%) eligible members of the women’s cross-country program.
In the early running for the Commissioner’s Cup, Eastern’s conference-leading rating of 6.71 is followed by two other programs with a 5.00 or better: Plymouth State University (5.86) and the University of Massachusetts Boston (5.75). All but one of Eastern’s seven fall programs finished in the upper half of the conference’s standings or championship. Men’s golf won the LEC title in the two-day championship tournament for the second straight year, with women’s cross-country finishing second and men’s cross-country third in the one-day championship meet. Men’s soccer shared second place in the final standings and women’s volleyball tied for fourth.
Junior Ashton Lewis of Fairfield repeated as the Little East Conference (LEC) Player-of-the-Year, an honor bestowed upon the winner of the LEC Men’s Golf Championship, finishing the two-day event in October with a score of 145, which made him the repeat medalist in leading the Warriors to their second straight LEC title. Lewis carded a one-under par 71 on the opening day of the championship, held at Ellington Ridge Country Club, before shooting a 74 on the second day. He was undefeated on the course leading up to the LEC Championship, having earned medalist honors in each of Eastern’s five tournaments.
In addition, first-year Eastern head coach Marc Senia was voted the 2022 LEC Coach-of-the-Year by his peers after guiding the Warriors to their second straight LEC championship. By winning the LEC title, Eastern qualified automatically for its first NCAA Division III tournament in May.
Sophomore Maya Brody of East Granby became the third Eastern swimmer to win as many as three individual events in one championship when she captured the 50m and 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly at the 21st LEC Championships held Feb. 16-19 at the Boston Sports Institute in Wellesley, MA. Brody, who missed the first half of the season recovering from injuries, repeated as the 50m butterfly champion when she broke her own record from last year’s championship with a time of 26.56.
In the second annual men’s championship, sophomore Connor Rego of Winsted became the first Eastern male to win an event when he claimed the 100m butterfly and followed that up two days later by winning the 200m butterfly. The men’s program, now in its fourth year, broke 15 individual and relay records at the meet. The Warriors finished third in both the women’s and men’s competition.
Eastern athletes are riding in style to their away games with a newly wrapped bus supplied by DATTCO. The graphics include several athletes along with our 10 National Championships honor. See us on the road — give us a wave. Or better yet, follow behind and cheer us on!