SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 23, 2026) – Ten members of the Western New England women's wrestling team have been named NCAA women's Scholar All-Americans, which recognizes outstanding academic achievement by individual student-athletes across the nation. Of the ten honored this season, seven take honors for the second time in their careers, and three for the third time overall. 

Ariel Casella picks up honors for the second time in her career as a Scholar All-American. Casella picked up five wins on the mat for the Golden Bears this season, including a win in her first match of the season at the Princeton Open. Casella saw four of her five wins this season come via fall and also added a technical fall victory to end the season at the Will Abele Invitational. 

WNE's Maia DeLaCruz is honored for the first time in her career, studying health sciences at Western New England. The Albany, New York, native competed in 14 matches this season for the Golden Bears, coming away with six victories, including three at the Princeton Open to begin the season. 

First-year Rylee Donohue, an exploratory arts & science major at WNE, picks up Scholar All-American status. Donohue had a successful opening season with the Golden Bears, competing in 21 matches and coming away with 14 wins. Donohue's season was highlighted with a fifth-place finish at The New Standard
Invitational at York College of Pennsylvania earlier in the year. Donohue also knocked off Sacred Heart University's Gabrielle Heffez on a fall to conclude the season. 

Junior Linda Holeman earns distinctions for the third time in her career, coming off another successful campaign that saw the Preston, Connecticut, native reach the NCAA National Championships for the third season in a row. Holeman finished off the 2025-26 season with a 26-6 record, taking second place at the NCAA Regional Championships to advance to the national stage. Holeman also took first place at the Will Abele Invitational and The New Standard Invitational this season. 

Rebecca Kilday also takes honors as a Scholar All-American for the third time in her career. Kilday wrestled in ten matches this season for the Golden Bears, winning half. The West Greenwich, Rhode Island, native came away with a victory over Sacred Heart University to end the season on February 8, taking down Adriana Haskin on a fall in just 40 seconds. 

Sophomore Riley Lerner takes honors for the first time in her career. Lerner competed in ten matches for Western New England this season, which saw the Mays Landing, New Jersey, native pick up six wins, including a pair at home, with wins over Norwich University and the University of Bridgeport. Half of Lerner's wins this season came via fall. 

Mikayla Maloy picks up Scholar All-American distinctions for the third time in her career as a junior. Maloy wrestled to a 10-8 record this season, which saw the Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania, native come away with a fifth-place finish to start the season at the Princeton Open. Maloy also won a pair of matches at The New Standard Invitational and two more at the Will Abele Invitational. 

Transfer student Jazmene Molina picked up 21 wins in her first season as a member of the Western New England women's wrestling team and earned Scholar All-American honors for the second time in her career, after last year's honor while at Utica University. Molina, one of eight Golden Bears to reach the NCAA National Championships this season, took second place in the NCAA Regional Championships to advance to the national stage. Molina also took first place at The New Standard Invitational and wrestled to a 3-1 record at the 2026 NWCA National Duals. 

Samantha Rabkin earns Scholar All-American honors for the second straight season. The Sharon, Massachusetts, native wrestled in 22 matches for the Blue and Gold on the year, coming away with 12 victories. Rabkin ripped off six wins in a row in the early stages of the season in dual action and saw her 2025-26 season come to an end with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Regional Championships. 

Tanya Teneva also takes honors as a Scholar All-American for the second time in her career. Teneva had a dominant second season on the mat for Western New England, advancing to the NCAA National Championships for the second consecutive season. Teneva earned 26 wins, tied for the second-most on the team, wrestling in 34 matches overall this season. Teneva opened the year with 16 wins in 18 matches, sweeping the East Stroudsburg University duals, coming away with seven wins at the event, including three over ranked teams, over No. 14 East Stroudsburg University, No. 17 Lock Haven University, and No. 22 Elmira College.
Teneva took second place at the NCAA Regional event to qualify for the national stage. 

The Western New England women's wrestling team finished the NCAA National Championships in 26^th place out of 46 teams, sending eight wrestlers to the national stage, with four Golden Bears picking up wins at the event. WNE recorded a 9-6 record on the year in dual action, picking up a pair of wins over nationally ranked teams.