RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Felician University freshman Nicole Aumack (Brick, N.J./Brick Township) has been named the 2016-17 East Coast Conference (ECC) Women's Bowling Rookie of the Year. Also, Felician junior Jessica Zalewsi (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat) was elected to the All-ECC Second Team.
The conference's all-league teams and award winners were voted upon by its nine head coaches, and were announced Friday night at its annual awards banquet in Keene, N.H. Felician is an associate member of the ECC only for the sport of women's bowling.
The complete set of 2016-17 All-ECC Women's Bowling Teams and special award winners can be viewed at http://eccsports.org/sports/wbowl/2016-17/releases/032417_wbowl_allconf.
Aumack, a 5-foot-5 right-hander, is Felician's second consecutive ECC Rookie of the Year after teammate Kaitlyn Buck (Farmingdale, N.J./Howell) shared last year's award. Aumack led the Golden Falcons with a traditional game average of 177.9, and owns an 18,.88 Baker frame average. She shared "anchor" duties with Zalewski over the course of the season. Aumack qualified for two regular-season all-tournament teams.
"Nicole has really stepped up as a freshman and helped us push to where we are today," said third-year Felician head coach Andrew Toriello. "Along with being a great team player, she showed right away that she deserved to be in the starting line-up."
Zalewski, a 5-foot-4 righty, is the first all-conference selection in the three-year history of Felician women's bowling. She has a 175.0 traditional average and a 17.94 Baker frame average, and has struck on 33.4 percent of first shots this season.
"Jessica has had a key role on this team since its inception," Toriello said. "She has proven countless times throughout the season that this award should go to her."
Felician went 4-0 on Day 1 of the ECC Championship tournament on Friday to push its won-lost record to 56-39 on the season. The Golden Falcons are the No. 4 seed for today's double-elimination round.
Felician has now had six student-athletes earn all-conference honors this academic year.
Felician University, the Franciscan University of New Jersey, is a liberal arts, coeducational Catholic university founded in 1942 and sponsored by the Felician Sisters. True to its mission, Felician University welcomes a diverse student population and embraces its educational needs. With campuses in Lodi and Rutherford, New Jersey, Felician University currently enrolls more than 2,100 students and offers more than 55 undergraduate and graduate programs, in the classroom and online, in the arts and sciences, business and management sciences, health sciences and teacher education. Felician University also sponsors 14 varsity intercollegiate sports that compete at the NCAA Division II level.
