GNAC Announces 2023 Hall of Fame Induction Class

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Inductees to be enshrined on August 10
at Boston's Hilton Garden Inn Logan Airport

WINTHROP, Mass. – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference is pleased to announce 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. 

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 inductees will include:
ALBERTUS MAGNUS: Stephen Zapata, Men's Soccer '13
EMERSON: Michael Huddleston, Men's Tennis '06
EMMANUEL: Chris Curtis, Men's Lacrosse '16
JOHNSON & WALES: Quarry Greenaway, Men's Basketball '16
LASELL: Bridget Lynch, Women's Soccer '15
NORWICH: Aliah Curry, Women's Basketball '15
RIVIER: Craig Kolek, Men's/Women's Volleyball head coach
SAINT JOSEPH (CONN.): Kaneen Gomez-Hixson '17
SAINT JOSEPH'S (MAINE): Emily Leverone, Softball '12
SUFFOLK: 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, 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 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 selection.

Lasell's Lynch had about as impressive a GNAC career one could have, with the Dover, N.H. native graduating leaving the Lasers 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. 

At Norwich, Curry accumulated a GNAC- and NU-record 2,267 career points for the Cadets, averaging 21.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. A two-time All-GNAC First Team member as well as two-time All-GNAC Second Team selection, the Windsor, Mass. native registered 33 points and nine rebounds in the 2014 GNAC Quarterfinals against top-seeded Emmanuel en route to a memorable 84-78 overtime road victory as the No. 8 seed. She also notched 28 points and nine more caroms against JWU in the GNAC Semifinals that same week to advance to the GNAC title game. 

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-time GNAC Women's Coach of the Year. On the men's side, Kolek has led Riv 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. He has totaled more than 1,000 career wins across both Rivier volleyball programs. 

USJ's Gomez-Hixson was the GNAC Women's Cross Country Championship back-to-back individual winner in both 2015 and 2016 for the Blue Jays. That feat made her just the third-ever student-athlete to claim two or more GNAC women's cross country titles, as she also captured GNAC Runner of the Year honors both years as a junior and senior. The Hall of Famer also had a fifth-place finish in 2014 as a sophomore and a 15th-place finish in 2013 as a first-year. Gomez-Hixson is now an Assistant Professor in the USJ School of Interdisciplinary Health and Science, as she is dedicated to providing sports nutrition services to athletes that would otherwise not have access to these services through her work with the USJ Athlete Nutrition Advising Program. 

Leverone marks SJC's first-ever GNAC Hall of Famer, as she was a career .470 hitter with 37 home runs, 66 doubles, 211 RBI, and an .829 slugging percentag in 172 career games. The Hampton, N.H. native helped lead the Monks two a pair of GNAC titles and NCAA Tournament appearances, with SJC winning a pair of NCAA Regional contests in 2011 during her junior year. A three-time All-GNAC First Teamer, she also netted one NFCA All-Regional selection. 

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 named GNAC Player of the Year three times, was the 2005 GNAC Rookie of the Year, and led the nation in slugging (1.073) in 2008 as a junior. Ferreira also garnered All-America honors twice from the National Fasetpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). 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), JWU's Annemarie Proto (women's volleyball), and USJ's Stacy Manfredi (women's basketball) were enshrined. 

In 2019, the inductees included Ray Askew of Albertus Magnus College men's basketball; Iman (Davis) Barbosa of Emmanuel College women's basketball; Lamonte Thomas of Johnson & Wales University (RI) men's basketball; Jose Guitian of Lasell College men's basketball; Josh McElroy of Norwich University men's soccer; Aaron Dufoe of Rivier University men's soccer & men's basketball; Michael Maguire of Suffolk University baseball; and Jackie (Shedlock) Kapusta of Western New England University softball.  

SEE BELOW VIDEO FOR THE 2019 GNAC HALL OF FAME CEREMONY:

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 3,500 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –