Ludemann co-defensive player of year to headline 11 Seahawks with football postseason honors

WESTWOOD, Mass. – The NEWMAC has released its football postseason awards, as announced by the conference on Thursday afternoon. The awards are determined by the conference's eight coaches following the conclusion of regular season play.

Fullback Arsen Shtefan (West Hartford, Conn.) of Springfield College was voted NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Year, while his teammate Quinn Sweeney (Hanson, Mass.) and Salve Regina University's Zachary Ludemann (Howell, N.J.) share Defensive Athlete of the Year honors. U.S. Coast Guard Academy's Harrison Hensley (Riverview, Fla.) was voted Rookie of the Year. SUNY Maritime's Luke Caliendo (North Babylon, N.Y.) earned Special Teams Player of the Year. The Springfield coaching staff was selected as Coaching Staff of the Year by their peers.

Salve Regina's Jake Stack (Campbell Hall, N.Y.) is the first team quarterback selection, while Shtefan is featured at the fullback position. MIT nabs tight end and running back slots in Ethan Ardolino (Fair Haven, N.J.) and Brady Klein (Washington, Ill.), respectively. Springfield's Blane Hart (East Lyme, Conn.) lands the second running back spot. Trevor Chase (Eliot, Maine) of Norwich University, Broock Desta (San Diego, Calif.) of Coast Guard and Talsen Smith (Roseville, Calif.) of U.S. Merchant Marine Academy are the wide receiver selections. Six offensive linemen made their way onto the first team, Sanjay Long (Newark, Del.) of MIT, Luke Maruca (North Haven, Conn.) of Salve Regina, TJ Dipasquale (Wallingford, Conn.) and Thomas Evans (Hooksett, N.H.) from Springfield, Jacob Vecchio (Southington, Conn.) of Coast Guard and Nathan Mars (Scarborough, Maine) from U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Defensively, Lucky Deignan (Indianapolis, Ind.) of MIT, Avery Arno (Belmont, Mass.) of Salve Regina, Joe Maurer (Wilbraham, Mass.) of Springfield and Aidan Griffin (Queens, N.Y.) from SUNY Maritime made the team as defensive backs. Ludemann headlines the linebacker selections, and is joined by three Springfield honorees, DJ Brown (Wading River, N.Y.), Billy Carr (Plantsville, Conn.) and Aiden Lewin (Orlando, Fla.). Sweeney headlines the defensive lineman slot, and is joined by Salve's Pasqualy DeStefano (Smithtown, N.Y.), Jack Temple (Rockville Center, N.Y.) of USMMA and Zach Newberg (Barrington, R.I.) from WPI.  The first team kicker selection is Christian Hutra (Holmes, N.Y.) of Springfield, while punting accolades go to MIT's Nico Bulhof (Bryan, Texas). Keith Sutton (Blackstone, Mass.) of Salve Regina is garners first team accolades as a return specialist. Caliendo, who saw action as a return specialist, kicker and wide receiver, lands on the first team in an athlete slot, as does Jacob Silvester (Lancaster, Mass.) of Springfield.

Coast Guard's Joey Armentrout (Oceanside, Calif.) is the second team quarterback pick, while USMMA's Ceaser Gonzalez (Norco, Calif.) secures the fullback position. WPI nabs the tight end slot with Douglas Cain (Jefferson, Mass.). Hensley is featured at the second team running back slot and is joined by SUNY Maritime's Devin Cline (Miller Place, N.Y.). Marcelino La Bella (Windsor, Conn.) of Salve Regina, Nate Casaburi (Sayville, N.Y.) of SUNY Maritime and Jay Mezzo (Naugatuck, Conn.) of WPI are the wide receiver selections. Five offensive linemen made their way onto the first team, Winston Churchill (Windsor, Conn.) of Norwich, Jason Azzolino (Saddle Brook, N.J.) of Salve Regina, Kevin Walter (Rockaway, N.Y.) from SUNY Maritime, Jacob Berault (Slidell, La.) of USMMA and Billy Tyrrell (Oxford, Mass.) from WPI. Defensively, Jack Zingaro (Newtown, Conn.) of Salve Regina, Colby Richardson (East Hartford, Conn.) of Springfield, Dru Stephens (New Orleans, La.) from SUNY Maritime and Gavin Chieff (Bernardsville, N.J.) of WPI made the team as defensive backs. Second team linebacker selections include Chase Williams (Missoula, Mont.) of MIT, Simon Taraska (Willowick, Ohio) of Norwich, CJ Minchin (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.) from Salve, Will McKay (Tewksbury, Mass.) from Springfield and Jimmy Espinal (Salem, Mass.) of WPI. In the defensive lineman slot is Stephen Schulze (Finksburg, Md.) from MIT, Jesse Lagrosa (Hillsdale, N.J.) from Salve, Joe Burke (Sussex, N.J.) of Springfield, William Wolf (Front Royal, Va.) of Coast Guard and Mohamed Barry (South Windsor, Conn.) from WPI. The second team kicker selection is Brennan Holt (Rochester, Mich.) of Coast Guard, while punting accolades go to Merchant Marine's George Ethan Ferry (Bethlehem, Pa.). Brady Barcello (Weston, Conn.) of Springfield garners second team accolades as a return specialist. Merchant Marine Academy's Gervy Alota (San Diego, Calif.) wraps up the selections in the second team athlete slot.

Co-Defensive Player of the Year – Zachary Ludemann (Sr., LB), Salve Regina University

Ludemann was the catalyst of a Seahawk defense that led the league in points allowed at 10.3 per game. He leads the conference in solo tackles with 53 and total tackles with 93, averaging a league-leading 9.3 tackles per game. Ludemann is also second in the conference in tackles for loss with 11 for 30 yards. He tacked on three sacks, an interception, and a safety.

2023 NEWMAC Football All-Conference
 

 
About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, United States Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and United States Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.