Manu Ghigliotti Named Co-Offensive Player of the Year as Nine Hawks Earn Postseason Atlantic 10 Honors

In addition, a total of nine Hawks earned All-Conference recognition, with Katy Benton, Sol Borensztein, Kate Crist, and Lily Santi joining Ghigliotti on the All-Conference First Team, Hailey Bitters being chosen for the Second Team, Erika Culp and Annabel Lindemulder being tabbed for the All-Rookie Team, and Bitters, Crist, and Celeste Smits earning All-Academic honors.

Ghigliotti, who previously earned Offensive Player of the Year accolades in 2021, is just the second student-athlete to earn multiple Offensive Player of the Year awards since the league began honoring both an Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year in 2000. Hawk legend Anna Willocks '19 won three in a row from 2015 to 2017.

A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ghigliotti shared Player of the Year honors with Mora Marrero of VCU after leading the league in assists and points with eight and 30, respectively. She also led the Hawks with 11 goals during the regular season. Ghigliotti was named the Offensive Player of the Week twice, including after a program record-tying four-goal performance against Yale on September 3.

Benton earned the fourth First Team honor of her career after starting every game for the Hawks for the fifth consecutive season. The Worcester, Pennsylvania, product ranked second on the team and tied for third in the league in assists while serving as a linchpin of the Hawk midfield.

Hailing from Pilar, Argentina, Borensztein finished the regular season third on the team in assists and fifth in points; she then carried her strong play into the postseason, adding a goal and an assist in Thursday's semifinal win over La Salle. She earned Offensive Player of the Week laurels on October 23 after being featured at #3 on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays the previous weekend.

Crist has started every game as a key leader of the league's stingiest defense. The Limerick, Pa., product did not receive a disciplinary card all season and chipped in with the first two goals of her career and an assist as well. After scoring in a shutout win at Richmond, Crist was named A-10 Defensive Player of the Week on October 16.

The 2022 Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year, Santi continued her strong form in 2023, finishing the regular season second on the team and tied for fourth in the conference in goals; she also ranks second on the team in points while placing sixth in the conference. A two-time Offensive Player of the Week selection, the Oceanport, New Jersey, native scored a goal in the semifinal win on Thursday.

Bitters ranked third on the team in points and tied for third in goals scored in her second season with the Hawks. Hailing from Delmar, Maryland, Bitters tied for ninth in the league in points while ranking in the top 17 in the league in goals and assists; she was also tabbed as the league's Offensive Player of the Week on September 18.

Culp tied for third on the squad in goals and ranked fourth in points in her first year at SJU. The Wyomissing, Pa., native tied for second in the league in goals scored and ranked seventh in total points during conference play while tying for 10^th in goals scored across all games. She earned Rookie of the Week honors on October 30.

Coming to Hawk Hill from Zwolle, Netherlands, Lindemulder has started every game in the defensive backfield in her first collegiate season. She tallied three goals and added an assist for seven points while playing at the center back position.

Smits tied for second on the team and tied for third in the conference in assists and ended the regular season sixth on the squad in total points. The native of Capelle aan den Ijssel, Netherlands, tallied a pair of game-winning goals on the season.

The 15^th-ranked Hawks will play in their league-record eighth consecutive Atlantic 10 title game when they meet 20^th-ranked UMass at noon on Saturday.

This new article originally appeared on sjuhawks.com.