Ivansheck Named NEWMAC Coach of Year; Fornaro, Sutherland Named All-Conference

Megan Fornaro and Torie Sutherland

Posted: Mar 03, 2015

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Coast Guard Academy juniors Meghan Fornaro and Torie Sutherland have been named to the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) All-conference team while head coach Alex Ivansheck was named Coach of the Year in voting by the conference's 11 head coaches.

Fornaro, who was named to the first team, earns All-conference honors for the first time in her career. She led the Bears and was third in the NEWMAC with 16.6 points per game. Her 449 points were the seventh most in a single-season.

She also led the team shooting 48 percent from the floor and had a team-high 90 assists and 62 steals. Fornaro was also second on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game. Her 62 steals were fifth best in a single-season while the 90 assists rank sixth all-time in a season at the Academy.

Fornaro is already in the top ten all-time at the Academy in four major statistical categories. She is eighth all-time in both assists (219) and steals (157) and ninth in points (963) and 3-pointers (107).

Sutherland, who earns second team honors for the second straight season, was second on the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game and led the team and was fifth in the NEWMAC with 8.6 rebounds per game. She had five double-doubles on the season.

She has 839 career points, 545 rebounds and 130 assists entering her senior season.

Ivansheck in her third season, has led the Bears to three straight trips to the NEWMAC tournament after back-to-back 1-17 conference records before she took over. This season, Coast Guard won 19 games for the second straight season finishing 19-8 overall and 12-4 in conference play. The Bears won a school-record 12 straight games and advanced to the NEWMAC tournament semifinals for the first time since the 2007-'08 season.

She becomes the first Coast Guard women's basketball coach to earn NEWMAC Coach of the Year honors.

NEWMAC Athlete of the Year:

Abbie Brickley, Wheaton

NEWMAC Rookie of the Year:

Samantha Alakai, Smith

NEWMAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player:

Linnett Graber, Babson

NEWMAC Coach of the Year:

Alex Ivansheck, Coast Guard

NEWMAC Sportsmanship Award:

MIT

First Team All-Conference

Giovanna Pickering, Babson