Third Consecutive GNAC Weekly Awards for Kelley, Thompson
WINTHROP, Mass. – Two members of the Pride have been recognized by the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) for the third consecutive week, as graduate student Ashleigh Kelley (Stoneham, Mass.) has been named GNAC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week and first-year player Kiana Thompson (Boynton Beach, Fla.) has received GNAC Women's Tennis Rookie of the Week accolades, announced Monday afternoon, Sept. 19, by the league office.
Competing against runners from Division I, II, and III programs at Saturday's UMass Dartmouth Invitational, Kelley finished 17th overall, eighth among student-athletes from Division III teams, with a five-kilometer time of 18:37.3, the fastest ever by a Regis participant at the event. She averaged under six minutes per mile (5:59.6) as she ended up just over three seconds off the five-kilometer program record she established last year.
Thompson maintained her perfect record in both singles and doubles as the Pride defeated both Salem State and Albertus Magnus on the road last week. She teamed with Samantha Gevry at number one doubles for an 8-0 win against Salem State and an 8-5 victory over Albertus Magnus. In the number one singles position, Thompson defeated Samantha Tenney of Salem State (6-1, 6-0) and Mariah Mandulak of Albertus Magnus (6-1, 6-2) to help Regis post 9-0 decisions in both contests.
Kelley and the Regis cross country team will have a week off from competition before participating in the Keene State College Invitational Saturday, Oct. 1, starting at 10 a.m. Thompson and the Pride women's tennis team head to Brighton, Mass., to face Simmons in a key conference match Wednesday, Sept. 21, beginning at 4 p.m. before hosting Eastern Nazarene as part of Regis Fest Saturday, Sept. 24, at 12 p.m.
Regis College sponsors 20 intercollegiate sports within NCAA Division III as part of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.