VIDEOS: FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR | MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR | FEMALE SENIOR SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR | MALE SENIOR SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR | FEMALE UNSUNG HERO AWARD | MALE UNSUNG HERO AWARD | FEMALE PENMEN PRIDE AWARD | MALE PENMEN PRIDE AWARD | JIM ATHERTON AWARD
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Annemartine Christis ('S-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands) and graduate student Liam Evans (Rock Hill, N.Y.) received female and male Athlete of the Year honors, respectively, to highlight nine major awards that were handed out over the course of the past week by the Southern New Hampshire University Department of Athletics & Recreation.
The Athlete of the Year award, which was unveiled Friday, is given to a student-athlete whose outstanding play brought about both regional and national recognition for that player and for Southern New Hampshire University.
Christis led the field hockey team to a 16-4 record, including 12-1 in the NE10, as it earned its second NCAA postseason berth. The two-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 2, Oct. 16) and four-time NE10 Player of the Week (Sept. 23, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 14) started all 20 contests and amassed 74 points on 30 goals and 14 assists to lead the nation in goals, points, goals per game (1.50) and points per game (3.70), and rank second in assists per contests (0.70). Christis received an array of postseason honors, including NFHCA All-America First Team, NFHCA East Regional Player of the Year, NE10 Player of the Year and NE10 All-Conference First Team. Christis, who was pursuing her Master's degree in business administration and turned in a 3.89 grade-point average (GPA), also collected NE10 Sport Excellence and NE10 Academic All-Conference Team accolades.
Evans helped lead men's soccer to a 14-2-3 mark, including a 7-0-2 record in league play, as the squad captured both the NE10 regular-season and tournament championships. The only member of the team to start all 19 matches for the Penmen, the five-time NE10 Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 23, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 21, Nov. 11) anchored a back line that ranked second in the NE10 in goals allowed (16), goals-against average (0.83) and shutouts (9). Evans was a Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) All-America Second Team, United Soccer Coaches East All-Region First Team, D2CCA East All-Region First Team, NE10 Defensive Player of the Year and NE10 First Team honoree.
The Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, passed down Thursday, is given to a student-athlete, who has attained excellence in the classroom and on the playing field. The winner must be a starter or an important reserve and must have completed at least one academic year at Southern New Hampshire University.
The female Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year went to field hockey's Emma Peeters (Wageningen, Netherlands), who is a sociology major with a 3.9 GPA. Peeters started all 20 contests, playing all 1239:33 in net for the Penmen. The goalkeeper went 16-4 with 10 shutouts, a 0.92 goals-against average (GAA) and .843 save percentage, as she stopped 102 of the 121 shots she faced. Peeters led the nation in save percentage, while ranking third and pacing the NE10 in GAA. She placed second in the league in shutouts. Peeters took home NFHCA All-America First Team, NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year, NE10 All-Conference First Team, NFHCA National Scholar Athlete, NFHCA Scholar of Distinction, NFHCA National Academic Squad and NE10 Academic All-Conference honors.
Men's soccer senior Preston Neal (Windham, N.H.) was the male Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A graphic design and media arts major with a 3.98 GPA, Neal was a United Soccer Coaches Division II All-America Third Team, United Soccers Coaches East All-Region First Team, Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) East All-Region First Team, NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year, NE10 All-Conference First Team, College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Team Member of the Year, CSC Academic All-America First Team, CSC Academic All-District, NE10 Sport Excellence Award and NE10 Academic All-Conference honoree. Neal started 17 of the 18 matches he played in, finishing 13-1-3 with eight shutouts. The two-time NE10 Goalkeeper of the Week (Oct. 7, Oct. 14) stopped 59 of the 72 shots he faced over 1564:31 for a 0.75 GAA and .819 save percentage. He ranked second in the league in GAA, save percentage and shutouts. He was 10th, 11th and 13th, nationally, in those respective categories.
The Unsung Hero Award was announced Wednesday and goes to a senior student-athlete, who made major contributions to the success of the team with a relentless work-ethic and pride in team success.
The female Unsung Hero Award winner was women's soccer graduate student Mikayla Thompson (Milford, N.H.). Thompson started all 18 matches on a back line that led the NE10 by only allowing 10 goals and posting a 0.55 goal-against average, while ranking second with 11 shutouts, as the team finished 10-2-6 and earned an NCAA tournament berth. Despite missing out on end-of-the-year accolades, Thompson did land a spot on the NE10 Academic All-Conference Team, as the biology major is the owner of a 3.99 grade-point average.
Men's basketball senior Brenden Choate (Nashua, N.H.) received the male Unsung Hero Award, as he helped the Penmen to 21-9 record, their second straight NE10 title and an invitation to the NCAA tournament. Choate played in 29 of 30 games this season, chipping in 3.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest, while shooting 47 percent from the field. He earned more significant minutes down the stretch, as injuries provided him an opportunity that he took full advantage of. The walk-on notched the first three double-digit scoring games of his career over the final seven games of the regular season, as he helped the Penmen to make a playoff push that saw them earn the No. 2 seed in the NE10 postseason. During the stretch, Choate averaged 7.3 points per game on 54 percent shooting, including a career-best 20-point outburst and a win over the top team in the league in the second-to-last game of the regular season.
The Penmen Pride Award, released Tuesday, is presented to a senior student-athlete, who represents what it means to be an SNHU student-athlete, displaying excellence in all phases of the student-athlete experience.
Women's volleyball's Ella Koelb (Auburn, N.H.) captured the female Penmen Pride Award, as she played in 63 sets over 20 matches this season, dishing a team-high 414 assists, serving up 23 aces and collecting 116 digs. Aside from volleyball, Koelb was heavily involved in the athletic department, as she served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), helped lead the campus chapter of The Hidden Opponent – a non-profit aimed at shattering the mental health stigma within athletics – and also worked in the athletic communications office. Koelb also got it done in the classroom with a 3.77 grade-point average.
The Male Penmen Pride Award winner was men's basketball senior Derrick Grant Jr. (Plainfield, N.J.). Despite missing 10 games this season due to an injury, Grant still managed to be an impactful member of the Penmen lineup, as he helped the team become the first repeat NE10 Champions in 17 years. Grant started 15 games, as he posted 7.5 points on 44 percent shooting, and grabbed 4.7 rebounds per contest. Grant also added a new element to his game this year, knocking down nearly 50 percent of his 3-point attempts. Off the court, Grant worked in the athletic department as a member of the field ops crew and was also involved with SNHU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
On Monday, Jake Myers was selected as the winner of the 13th annual Jim Atherton Award, which was created in memory of Jim Atherton '13, a student worker in the athletic department for two years, who passed away following a battle with Ewing's sarcoma in March 2013. The award is given annually to an outstanding student worker in the SNHU athletic department. Myers was a four-year member of the operations staff and is also a member of the club men's ice hockey team. Myers, who served mainly as a statistician at games the previous three years, interned in each semester in 2024-25 and wrote for snhupenmen.com, learned in the production area and became an impressive play-by-play announcer and color analyst, as he added to his experience with the Penmen.
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