Springfield, Mass. – September 26, 2026 – Springfield College senior Mike Mendicino (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) and junior Ian Wernik (Plymouth, Mass.) both received New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) weekly awards for the fifth week of the 2026 season. Mendicino was named Defensive Athlete of the Week for the second consecutive week, while Wernick was named Special Teams Athlete of the Week.
 
For the second week in a row, Mendicino was the difference maker in Springfield's win over Salve Regina, 36-23. With just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter and both teams even at 10, Salve Regina was on the brink of scoring when Mendicino intercepted a pass at the goal-line and returned it for a 100-yard touchdown to give Springfield the lead. At the start of the fourth quarter, Mendicino intercepted another pass and ran it into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown to extend the lead, 24-17. He also added seven tackles in the win and leads the conference with four interceptions. This is his second NEWMAC weekly honor of the year.
 
Wernik was also a large part of Springfield's win over Salve Regina on Saturday afternoon. The kicker put the Pride on the board with a 40-yard field goal and at the end of the game, added a 30-yard field goal for some cushion for Springfield. He was 2-for-2 in field goals and 4-for-4 on extra point attempts. This marks Wernik's first weekly award of the season and the fourth time he has been named NEWMAC Special Teams Athlete of the Week in his career (9/30/24, 10/28/24, 9/15/25). He is the second consecutive Springfield student-athlete to earn the award, following Nick Gonzalez (Parsippany, N.J.), who won the honor last week.
 
Springfield (4-1, 2-0 NEWMAC) will take their bye week before returning to conference play at home against WPI on Saturday, October 17th.
 
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