CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Men's soccer and volleyball player Zachary Almeida-Beers was named Lesley's 2011 Male Athlete of the Year, and women's soccer and softball's all-star Alyson Durben won Women's Athlete of the Year at Monday night's Lesley Athletics Banquet at the Episcopal Divinity School.

Winning Male Rookie of the Year Awards was cross country's Kyle Casiglio, who was named New England Collegiate Conference Runner of the Year and NECC Rookie of the Year. Softball's Jennifer Dorval, currently batting .592 with a 13-2 record as a pitcher, was named Women's Rookie of the Year.

Cross country runner Brian Axelrod won the John Micelin "55 Alive" Award, named after the late Lesley student-athlete. The award is dedicated to a senior student-athlete who embodies "qualities paramount to John’s legacy; care for his teammates, sportsmanship, and respect for everyone in the Lesley University community."

Almeida-Beers received his honor after being named NECC Goalkeeper of the Year on the soccer field and standing out as the Lynx leading hitter and net presence on the volleyball court. Despite losing the end of her season to a broken leg, Durben was named to soccer's All-NECC First Team and has recovered to again become one of the league's leading softball players, batting .432 as her team's clean-up hitter and center fielder.

All of Lesley's 12 NCAA Division III teams distributed most valuable player awards and most improved player awards. All award recipients are listed below:

Men’s Soccer-                                                         Softball-

MVP- Tyler Reeves                                                    MVP- Alyson Durben

Most Improved- Nick Mattox                                     Most Improved- Jenna Fralick

Women’s Soccer-                                                   Women’s Tennis-

MVP- Jamie Coyne                                                    MVP- Hagar Memlies

Most Improved- Katherine Bradley                           Most Improved- Nicole Smith

Men’s Cross-Country-                                             Men’s Tennis-

MVP- Kyle Casiglio                                                    MVP- Nick Mattox

Most Improved- Cory Poissant                                 Most Improved- Tyler Reeves 

Women’s Cross-Country-                                       Baseball-

MVP- Noa Kupfer                                                      MVP- Jeff Gonzalez

Most Improved- Danielle Kelly                                  Most Improved- Pat Grondin

Women’s Volleyball-

MVP- Amanda McCracken

Most Improved- Maria Nazzaro

Men’s Basketball-

MVP- John Sanchez

Most Improved- Thorton Paul

Women’s Basketball-

MVP- Kaitlyn Wechsler

Most Improved- Cassidy Freed

Men’s Volleyball-

MVP- Zachary Almeida-Beers

Most Improved- Beau Morimando

Male Rookie of the Year- Kyle Casiglio

Female Athlete of the Year- Alyson Durben

Male Athlete of the Year- Zachary Almeida-Beers

John Micelin Award- Brian Axelrod