SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 9, 2026) – Western New England men's wrestling's Nicholas Baccala and WNE women's basketball's Perry Blasetti have earned Golden Bear Athlete of the Week honors after leading both their teams to an undefeated week, with plenty of success on their respective playing surfaces. 

On the mat, Nicholas Baccala helped the Golden Bears go 3-0 this past weekend at the Southern Maine Quads, seeing WNE pick up wins over USM, Trinity College, and Plymouth State University. Baccala wrestled up a weight class this past weekend and still put together three wins. The WNE junior earned his first win of the afternoon over Trinity's Tucker Vician, coming up with a 5-2 decision in the match, helping Western New England earn a 26-13 win. The Johnston, Rhode Island native, then beat Southern Maine's Josiah Miller on a technical fall, not allowing a point in the match, winning 15-0 in 3:20. To finish off the afternoon, Baccala earned his second technical fall of the day, defeating Plymouth State's Sam Cowette, 16-1 to cap off his 3-0 day in the 184 lb. weight class.

On the court, Perry Blasetti opened the weekend by leading the Golden Bears to a 70-61 win over Curry College, scoring 20 points on 6/11 shooting, going 7/10 from the free throw line. Blasetti also picked up four rebounds, two assists, and two steals for the Blue and Gold. The Golden Bears outscored Curry 27-14 in the fourth quarter to come up with the victory. Blasetti celebrated Senior Day with her first career double-double in a dominant win over Gordon College. Blasetti scored 14 points, shooting 6/10 from the floor, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing out two assists, a block, and a pair of steals to cap off the weekend. Blasetti is averaging over ten points per game and just short of seven rebounds per game with four games remaining on the regular-season schedule. 

Both Baccala and Blasetti will stay busy this week with their respective teams as WNE men's wrestling hosts WPI on Alumni Appreciation Night on Friday, February 13, at 6:00 PM, and also heads to the NEWA Futures Tournament on Sunday, February 15. Western New England women's basketball hosts Roger Williams University on Wednesday, February 11, at 5:30 PM in a CNE showdown before heading on the road to Wentworth Institute of Technology on Saturday, February 14, at 12:00 PM.