Montclair, NJ – A pair of All-Americans, football's MAURO ALTAMURA and women's lacrosse defender LEANNE MCCLOSKEY were named Male and Female Outstanding Athletes of the Year, respectively as the Red Hawk Department of Athletics announced their awards for the 2018-19 academic year.

Altamura, who anchored one of Division III's best defenses last season, was named the Sam Mills Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year. He is the first football competitor to earn the award since C.J Conway in 2014 and the sixth overall. McCloskey took home the Carol Blazejowski Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year honor marking the second time in the last four years that women's lacrosse claimed the top women's award.

RAFAEL TERCI, who led men's soccer to the NJAC Championship and Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament in 2018 was named Senior Male Athlete of the Year with All-American field hockey player VICTORIA ROSSI and NJAC Diver of the Year GRACE NIELSEN sharing the Senior Female Athlete of the Year honor. Goalkeeper NICOLE ANDRIANI, a Third-Team All-American, was selected as the Junior Female Athlete of the Year following a season in which helped the Red Hawks to their third NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. All-NJAC football return specialist KASON CAMPBELL was named as the Junior Male Athlete of the Year.

Softball shortstop Amber Powers garnered Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year accolades while football quarterback JA'QUILL BURCH, an All-NJAC selection, was tabbed as the John A. Greco Male Athlete of the Year. Soccer's MICHAEL KNAPP and volleyball's CARLY WATERMAN were chosen as the Gerald "Bennie" Benson Freshman Athletes of the Year. Knapp and Waterman each collected NJAC Rookie of the Year honors in their respective sports during the 2018-19 year.

Basketball's Domonique Wirsing was selected as the James J. Poet Sportsmanship Award recipient. That honor was announced during MSU's National Student-Athlete Day celebration in April along with several academic awards. Swimming junior CHRISTINA CUSMANO and soccer's KEVIN SIMEK were tabbed as the Scholar-Athletes of the Year.

The department also handed out its Team Academic Achievement Awards to the male and female teams with the highest team cumulative grade-point averages. Men's Lacrosse captured its second consecutive award while women's soccer earned the honor for the fifth time overall and second in the last three years.