Albany, NY — The State University of New York named more than 25 student-athletes this spring for their academic and athletic achievement hailing from Division III SUNY institutions across the state with Hawks Onalee Batcheller and softball sophomore Jackie Rometo earning the SUNY Scholar Athlete Award for women's tennis and softball, respectively.  
 
The award was officially announced June 23 by Chancellor John B. King Jr. The Spring SUNY Scholar Athlete Award recognizes student-athletes from SUNY colleges and universities sponsoring intercollegiate athletics at four and two-year levels who were nominated and voted upon by representatives of their respective institutions. Nominations include cumulative grade point average, current and career statistics, along with athletic and academic honors.

Batcheller came off a season where she led SUNY New Paltz to its eighth SUNYAC Championship title after going a perfect 7-0 in SUNYAC play at singles and 7-0 at doubles with four different partners throughout the year. She was named First Team Singles and Second Team Doubles for her performance, while also helping the Hawks to a second-round bid into the NCAA Tournament.
"Onalee is a role model student athlete," said SUNY New Paltz coach Rob Bruley. "One of the strongest work ethic athletes I've ever had on our tennis program. She is the first to practice and the last to leave. Her work in the classroom is outstanding and I'm so pleased to announce that Onalee is coming back to New Paltz to study for her master's in business and will be captaining our team for the second year. Congratulations on this well-deserved award. It couldn't have gone to a more deserving athlete."
 
Batcheller was last year's SUNYAC Scholar Athlete of the Year, which is given annually by the conference office to an individual in each respective sport who has shown both academic and athletic excellence. The Business Management major earned herself a spot on the Hawks Academic Honor Roll for the fourth straight semester and the SUNYAC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll for the fourth consecutive year. She returns to the program in 2023-24 as she pursues her master's degree in business administration. 
 
Rometo continued piling onto an already impressive resume in just her second season with SUNY New Paltz. She was recently named the 2023 SUNYAC Softball Scholar Athlete of the Year after leading the Hawks to their best season to date. She also became just the second player in program history to be named SUNYAC Player of the Year and also garnered her first NFCA All-Region honors of her career after pacing the Hawks in virtually every statistical hitting category.
  Also excelling in the classroom, Rometo earned a spot on the SUNYAC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll for the second straight year and for the fourth consecutive semester was named to the Hawks Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes that earn a 3.40 GPA or higher in each semester, along with landing on the Dean's list. She enters her third year with the Hawks en route to graduating early with an undergraduate degree in Communication's Disorders.  

"She amazes me all the time with how she carries herself in all aspects of her life," said SUNY New Paltz softball coach Krysti Maronski following Rometo's SUNYAC Scholar Athlete of the Award announcement. "Managing her time so well and on top of it all, being such a humble, selfless human."
 
Batcheller and Rometo were selected among nominees from 18 other NCAA Division III/USCAA Category schools including Alfred State, Brockport, Buffalo State, Canton, Cobleskill, Cortland, Delhi, Farmingdale, Fredonia, Geneseo, Maritime, Morrisville, Old Westbury, Oneonta, Oswego, Plattsburgh, Potsdam and SUNY Poly.
 
View the full list of Division III spring SUNY Scholar Athlete Award winners below:

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NCAA Division III/United States Collegiate Athletic Association

Baseball - Matt Bruno, Cortland
https://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sports/baseball/roster/mat-bruno/13161
Bruno is pursuing his graduate degree in physical education leadership after earing an undergraduate degree in physical education. He maintains a 3.81 in his graduate program and had an overall GPA of 3.45 in undergrad and was just recently named the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Baseball Scholar Athlete of the Year. Bruno was an ABCA First Team All-Region outfielder and a Second Team All- SUNYAC in 2023. He batted .367 with nine homers, 13 doubles, 49 RBI, 48 runs, 20 walks and 12 steals. Bruno became Cortland's career leader with 25 homers.
 
Women's Equestrian - Courtney Palmer, SUNY Cobleskill
https://fightingtigers.cobleskill.edu/sports/womens-equestrian-hunt-seat/roster/courtney-palmer/5030
Palmer is the co-captain of the Hunt Seat Equestrian team which placed second overall to win Reserve Champion team honors in Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Zone 2 Region 3 competition for the 2022-23 season. She was also the co-recipient of the SUNY Cobleskill Scholar-Athlete award this season. Palmer qualified for the IHSA Zone 2 Region III Region 3 Zone individual championships. She is a senior animal science major with a 4.0 overall GPA.
 
Men's Golf - Adam Szlamczynski, SUNY Canton
https://rooathletics.com/sports/mens-golf/roster/adam-szlamczynski/6204
Szlamczynski recorded eight top five finishes across 14 events during the 2022-23 academic year. He finished in the top eight of every tournament he competed in except one. The junior captain carries a 3.98 cumulative GPA in SUNY Canton's Homeland Security program. Szlamczynski was named North Atlantic Conference (NAC) first team All-Conference after finishing in a tie for fourth place at the conference championship shooting 7-over par over the two-day tournament. Behind his performance the Roos posted their best-ever finish at the conference championship finishing in second place of out the 11-team field. He also won the Canton-Cobleskill dual match in the spring, tied for first at the SUNY Poly Invitation in October and tied for second at the Keuka College Spring Invitational.

Women's Golf - Amanda Gaffney, Cortland
https://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sports/womens-golf/roster/amanda-gaffney/12673
Gaffney was the Northeast Women's Golf Conference (NWGC) Golfer of the Year after winning the league tournament crown in April. Her winning score of 153 included a career-best 75 on the opening day. Gaffney finished third place at the St. Lawrence Invitational (86-78-164). She tied for third at the NWGC Fall Classic (83) and posted rounds of 86 and 90 at the NCAA Division III Championship. Gaffney is working on her graduate degree in childhood education after completing her undergraduate degree in community health. She holds a 4.0 overall GPA and finished with a 3.56 in undergrad.
 
Men's Lacrosse - Trevor Bollinger, Geneseo
https://geneseoknights.com/sports/mens-lacrosse/roster/trevor-bollinger/5893
Bollinger has a 4.0 cumulative GPA with a double major in chemistry and sociology. He was named USILA Honorable Mention All-American, selected to the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) All-Tournament Team, named the SUNYAC Elite 20 Award Winner, earned CSC Academic All-District honors, an Academic All-American and was a First-Team All-SUNYAC selection. He posted a team-high 35 caused turnovers, and was second in ground balls with 68, only trailing the faceoff specialist.
 
Women's Lacrosse - Meg Seeley, Geneseo
https://geneseoknights.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/meg-seeley/5881
Seeley helped lead the Knights to the program's first-ever SUNYAC title, and was named a First-Team All-State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) member as a defender. Seeley was also named All-Region and a USA Lacrosse Magazine Third-Team All-American. She was second on the team in caused turnovers and ground balls.
 
Men's Tennis - Mark Baker, Farmingdale State College
https://www.farmingdalesports.com/sports/mten/2022-23/bios/baker_mark?view=bio
Baker was named the Skyline Conference Player of the Year for the third time, selected First Team All-Conference for the fourth time and was the Most Outstanding Player of the Skyline Championship for the second time. He posted school records of 14 singles victories and 15 doubles victories on the campaign -- all in top-flight competition. Baker won the last 14 singles decisions and 15 doubles decisions of the season. He finished the season as the program's record holder in total singles wins, singles win/loss percentage, doubles wins and doubles win/loss percentage, and won all his singles matches in Skyline play during his career. Baker has earned a spot on the Dean's List five times at Farmingdale State College. Baker holds a 3.32 overall GPA as an economics major.
 
Women's Tennis - Onalee Batcheller, New Paltz
https://nphawks.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/onalee-batcheller/15978
Batcheller was named to the All-State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) First-Team Singles and Second-Team Doubles. She had a 4.0 GPA this past semester for a cumulative GPA of 3.81. This season she was twice named SUNYAC Player of the Week, once for her singles play and once for her doubles play. Batcheller posted a 7-0 SUNYAC regular season singles record and with four different partners was also 7-0 in conference doubles competition.
 
Men's Outdoor Track and Field – Jean-Andre Sassine, Cortland
https://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sports/track-and-field/roster/jean-andre-sassine/12955
Sassine earned All-Niagara Region in the triple jump both outdoors and indoors. He was All-AARTFC (4th place) in triple jump. He was also named the SUNY Scholar Athlete of the Year for men's indoor.
 
Women's Outdoor Track and Field – Rachel Hirschkind, Geneseo
https://geneseoknights.com/sports/womens-track-and-field/roster/rachel-hirschkind/5746
Hirschkind earned All-American status for the Knights at the NCAA Championship with a fifth-place finish in the Steeplechase. At the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championships, she set a new meet record in the steeplechase with a time of 10:41.21. Hirschkind is a senior chemistry major with a 3.51 overall GPA.
 
Softball – Jackie Rometo, New Paltz
https://nphawks.com/sports/softball/roster/jackie-rometo/16194
Rometo was the 2023 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Softball Player of the Year and was named to the NFCA All-Region second team and the SUNYAC All-Tournament team. She holds a 3.94 overall GPA as a communications disorders major. Rometo led her team in batting average (.416), at-bats (154), runs (45), hits (64), doubles (14), triples (4), RBI (38), total bases (89), slugging percentage (.578) and stolen bases (20) with 12 walks and just six strikeouts. She's also one of the top outfielders in the conference with a .983 fielding percentage. Rometo and the Hawks finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the conference for the first time ever and ended the 2023 season with a 31-13 overall record.

Learn more about the SUNY Scholar Athlete Award by clicking here.

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