CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. — ECAC Hockey has announced three finalists for the 2023 Mandi Schwartz Scholar-Athlete of the Year award: Kate Reilly (Quinnipiac), Emma Seitz (Yale), and Sammy Smigliani (Colgate).
The Mandi Schwartz Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to an ECAC Hockey female athlete in honor of the late Mandi Schwartz, a Yale women’s ice hockey alum who passed away in April 2011, and is awarded to the ECAC Hockey student-athlete who most embodies Mandi Schwartz’s excellence and leadership on the ice, in the classroom, and in the community.
The winner of the 2023 Mandi Schwartz Scholar-Athlete of the Year award will be announced during the 2023 ECAC Hockey Women’s Awards Show on Thursday, March 2.
Kate Reilly (Sr., Quinnipiac)
Defender Kate Reilly has been as outstanding off the ice as she has been on it, making an indelible mark not only on the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team, but also alongside her peers in the classroom and the community in Hamden.
In 2022, Reilly graduated summa cum laude from Quinnipiac’s College of Arts and Sciences with her bachelor’s degree in biology, completing her program coursework in three years and maintaining a 3.98 grade point average while also being named to the Quinnipiac Dean’s list in each of her six semesters as an undergraduate student. Since completing her bachelor’s degree, Reilly has maintained a 4.0 cumulative grade point average during her pursuit of a Master of Science in Molecular Cell Biology.
Outside of the classroom, Reilly has also been integral in transforming Quinnipiac Athletics’ community involvement through her role as president of Q-munity Service Coordinators (QCoor), empowering her fellow athletes to join her in engaging with Bobcat Nation and the surrounding community. During Reilly’s tenure with QCoor, the university’s athletic programs have garnered national recognition and acclaim.
Since joining the Bobcats as a first year in 2019-20, Reilly has earned a spot on the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team (2020) and played an integral role on the Bobcats blue line during a season that saw the team win their first ever game in the national postseason (2021-22 vs. Syracuse in the Columbus Regional).
Emma Seitz (Sr., Yale)
Senior blue liner Emma Seitz has not only been a part of a history-making Yale women’s hockey program, but played an integral role in the team’s transformation into a national contender. As outstanding as she is on the ice, she also deserves recognition for her efforts in the classroom and in the community.
In her fourth year pursuing her bachelor’s degree in economics, Seitz has demonstrated what head coach Mark Bolding describes as “outstanding academic aptitude and drive,” and maintained a 3.70 cumulative grade point average through seven semesters. During the 2021-22 academic year, Seitz was a part of the student organizing committee for Yale’s International Indonesia Forum Conference, and was awarded a grant to study in Indonesia by the Yale Council on Southeast Asia Studies during the summer of 2022.
Seitz’s devotion to serving others in the community is demonstrated by her plethora of leadership roles and commitments, including serving as co-director of the No Closed Doors initiative, a volunteer-run agency committed to working with un- and underemployed New Haven residents to write resumes, apply for jobs, and more. Seitz has also been Yale women’s hockey’s team representative on the Yale Women’s Athletics Council, worked with AmeriCorps VISTA on food distribution and neighborhood revitalization initiatives, and mentored area high school students interested in pursuing careers in finance and economics through Females for Finance.
On the ice, Seitz has long anchored the Bulldogs’ blue line. Since her first season in 2018-19, a year that saw the Bulldogs finish ninth in the ECAC and fail to qualify for the league postseason, Seitz has contributed to a culture of honesty and accountability and been a leader in the locker room — all the way to the program’s first Frozen Four appearance (2022) and first ECAC Hockey regular season championship (2023). Honored as the 2022 ECAC Hockey Defender of the Year, Seitz has also garnered league and national acclaim for her talent, speed, and work ethic.
Sammy Smigliani (Sr., Colgate)
Forward Sammy Smigliani has built a reputation as a reliable competitor on the ice, but also as a passionate and committed community member off of it, making a lasting impact not only at the Class of 1965 Arena, but also as a part of Raider Nation and the greater Hamilton community.
As a senior pursuing her bachelor’s degree in economics with minors in writing and rhetoric and environmental studies, Smigliani has boasted a 3.97 cumulative grade point average and has been named to the Raider Academic Honor Roll with Distinction five times. Smigliani has also been recognized nationally, earning AHCA/Krampade Academic All-Star honors three times (2020, 2021, 2022) since the start of her academic career at Colgate.
Throughout her tenure as a Raider, Smigliani has been involved with her peers academically, as a mentor in Colgate’s economics department’s female mentorship program and as a youth mentor for the Rising Raiders program. She has been active in the local community as well, giving back to Hamilton elementary schools as if they were her own, volunteering with back-to-school welcome committees, reading to kindergarteners, and buddying up with students during recesses. Smigliani has also used her years of on-ice experience to volunteer with an inclusive learn-to-skate program for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities in an effort to grow the game of hockey and make it more accessible for aspiring skaters.
Despite numerous setbacks, including concussions and extensive rehabilitation, Smigliani has excelled on the ice as a member of the Colgate women’s hockey team. She has played a crucial role in the program’s success at the league and national levels, including scoring two goals en route to Colgate’s first ECAC Hockey Championship in 2021, after which she was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
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