SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 27, 2026) – After an outstanding week in the pool, on the court, and on the ice, Western New England's Caitlin Guntly (women's swimming), Avery Mickens (men's basketball), and Brooklyn Godisak (women's ice hockey) have been named Golden Bear Athletes of the Week.

Guntly helped WNE women's swimming come away with a big victory in the pool over Westfield State University last Saturday afternoon. Guntly put together two of her best events of the season, picking up personal bests in the two events. The graduate student started the afternoon by helping the team take first overall in the 200-yard medley relay event, finishing with a time of 1:58.09, racing her 50 yards in 29.84 seconds. Guntly followed up that race with a first-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly event, swimming in 1:03.68, beating the second-place finisher from Westfield State by just under six full seconds. The time for the Chicopee, Massachusetts native broke her previous best time by over four seconds in the race. In the 100-yard freestyle race, Guntly edged out a first-place finish with a time of 58.32, winning the race by .09 seconds, while dropping a full second off her previous best to come away with a first-place finish. Guntly finished off the day with another first-place finish, taking the top spot in the 50-yard butterfly event with a time of 28.57 to finish the day with four finishes in the top spot, helping the Golden Bears secure the victory in the race overall. 

Mickens put on a show despite the losing effort for WNE men's basketball on the road against top-ranked Trinity College (Conn.) in a midweek non-conference contest. Mickens dropped 25 points on the nation's top team, shooting 8/15 from the floor and 5/11 from the outside. Mickens came up with four rebounds, three steals, and an assist for Western New England. The Newington, Connecticut native then picked up 11 points, scoring in double digits for the third straight game overall in a win over Roger Williams University in Conference of New England play over the weekend. Mickens dropped in two triples in the game while picking up a rebound and an assist for the Blue and Gold in a thrilling buzzer-beating victory. 

In her collegiate debut between the pipes for the Western New England women's ice hockey team, Brooklyn Godisak came away with a 33-save shutout to help the Golden Bears defeat Salve Regina University by a final score of 2-0. Godisak made double-digit saves in the first two periods (13 & 11), while making nine saves in the final 20 minutes to preserve the victory for the Blue and Gold, helping WNE improve to 11-6-0 on the season, winners of their last four games overall. 

WNE women's swimming is back in action in their biggest event of the season, the Little East Conference Championships, beginning on Friday, February 13. WNE men's basketball returns to the court on Wednesday, January 28, at 7:30 PM, looking for revenge against the University of Hartford in CNE play. WNE women's ice hockey is set for a home-and-home series against Curry College, beginning with a road contest on Friday, January 30 at 7:00 PM and a home game set for Saturday, January 31 at 7:30 PM.