Riverdale, N.Y. — Maike Bertens of volleyball and Joe Brennan of men's swimming and diving have been named honorable mention for MAAC Student-Athletes of the Year. Brennan represents Manhattan on the men's side while Bertens gets the nod on the women's side for the Jaspers.
This past season, Brennan captured the first individual title in program history by winning the Men's 100 Breaststroke at the MAAC Championships. During that triumph, Brennan set the school record with a time of 54.29.
Overall, Brennan holds the school records in the 200 Breaststroke, 100 Breaststroke and 50 Breaststroke. He has been named Team MVP in each of three years at Manhattan, and is the program's top academic performer having compiled a 4.0 GPA in four consecutive semesters. Brennan's success in the pool also earned him MAAC Student Athlete of the Year for Jan. 2023 and Jan. 2024.
"Joe is a remarkable ambassador for Manhattan swimming and diving and I couldn't be more proud of his success," said Manhattan swimming and diving coach Brian Hansbury. "We look forward to having him serve as one of our leaders once again next season."
Brennan is a proud member of the Chi Alpha Sigma, known as the National College Athlete Honor Society, and the Pen and Swords Honor Society, which recognizes 20 students in a grade for their success and leadership in both curricular and extracurricular activities.
A student in the Accounting with Accelerated MBA program, Brennan has a cumulative 3.84 GPA and was named to the O'Malley School of Business Dean's List in each of his semesters on campus so far.
Rising senior Maike Bertens turned in a spectacular 2023 campaign which led to her being named to the All-MAAC Second Team. Bertens led Manhattan in kills (291) and was third in digs (173). She recorded back-to-back 30 point games versus Marist and Siena, which included a season-high 28 kills in the win over the Saints.
"We are so proud of Maike for receiving honorable mention," Manhattan volleyball head coach Mauro Miletic said. "She is a hard-working leader both on and off the court, and her contributions to our team and the school this past season were tremendous. She will be someone to look out for this upcoming season."
Bertens' other notable achievements include being named to the MAAC All-Academic Team, the 2023 College Sports Communicators Volleyball Academic All-District Team, and being honored as Female Player of the Year at the annual Jaspys awards.
Bertens holds a cumulative 3.96 GPA while majoring in communications.
Iona University's Michael Faughnan and Rider University's Teagan Schein-Becker were named MAAC Student-Athletes of the Year as announced by the conference early Wednesday morning.
