Mariner highlights

• The Mitchell College men's basketball team continues to pile up the weekly conference honors. Junior Parris Hill was named the New England Collegiate Conference Player of the Week for the third time. Hill averaged 21.5 points and a team-high 18.5 rebounds in two wins last week, including the program's first ever victory over Connecticut College. He had a school-record 24 rebounds - the fourth most in a Division III game this season - against Southern Vermont.

In NECC games, he ranks first in blocks, second in scoring and third in rebounding. Mitchell (16-6, 11-3) plays at Elms College (13-11, 11-4) on Wednesday in a showdown between the top two teams in the conference. The Mariners can clinch their first NECC title with a win. They won the first meeting 94-86 on Jan. 16.

• Caycee Williams earned her third NECC Rookie of the Week honor for women's basketball after leading the Mariners to two wins last week. She averaged 12 points and a team-best 14.5 rebounds against Newbury College and Southern Vermont. Williams is averaging 10.3 points and 9.7 rebounds for the second-place Mariners (15-8, 15-2), who've already qualified for the NECC tournament. They play their regular-season finale at league-leading Regis College (20-4, 17-0) on Wednesday. Regis won the first meeting 72-44 on Feb. 6 in New London.

• The men's lacrosse team will attempt to repeat at NECC champions this spring. The Mariners were picked as the favorite in the preseason coaches' poll, receiving all four first-place votes. Regis was selected second. Mitchell returns seven starters, including conference Player of the Year Demetre Lyras and top rookie Maxx Crowley. Lyras was the NCAA statistical champion in face-off percentage.

Tracking the Bears

• The Coast Guard Academy softball team was picked to finish fourth in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference preseason softball poll. The Bears, who won three straight conference titles from 2010-2012, received one first-place vote. Babson is the preseason favorite, followed by Springfield and Wheaton.

• The baseball team was selected to finish sixth in the NEWMAC preseason poll. Wheaton, winner of four straight conference tournament titles, was selected as the top team, receiving seven of eight votes. Second-place MIT had the other vote.

Camels in the spotlight

• The Connecticut College women's basketball has qualified for the New England Small College Athletic Conference Championship tournament for the second time in three years. The Camels (14-10, 6-4) placed fifth to earn a quarterfinal trip to fourth-seeded Trinity College at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Bantams (15-8, 7-3) set a program record for league wins. The Camels lost the regular season meeting, 58-48, on Feb. 8 at Trinity.

In other news, freshman guard Liz Malman was selected as the NESCAC Player of the Week after leading the Camels to wins over No. 15 Williams and Hamilton. She averaged 15.5 points.

• Senior Matt Vadas, the men's basketball program's all-time leading scorer, averaged 26.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in his final three games for the Camels (9-14). Vadas averaged 20.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in his final season.

• A strong finish helped the men's hockey team qualify for the NESCAC tournament for the first time since 2009. The Camels (8-12-2, 7-8-1), who are riding a five-game winning streak, complete the regular season by hosting Bowdoin (13-7-2, 8-7-1) on Friday and Colby (10-9-3, 7-8-1) on Saturday.

• The women's hockey team finishes the regular season by visiting Williams (11-8-3, 8-3-3) for a two-game series this weekend. The Camels (9-10-3, 3-8-3) have clinched a conference tournament berth.

• Senior Sam Gill will lead the men's swimming team in the NESCAC Championship this weekend at Bowdoin. The Camels were third last year. Gill is the reigning champion in the 100 backstroke and also will compete for the 50 freestyle title.

Around the region

• UConn senior Shabazz Napier was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the fourth time this season. Napier scored a career-high 34 points - the most by any player in an AAC game - in Saturday's overtime win over Memphis. The Huskies climbed three spots in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, landing at No. 21.

• St. Michael's College senior Alexa Long of Waterford had 16 points and six rebounds in an 84-52 loss to No. 1 Bentley College on Saturday. She moved into 13th place on the women's basketball all-time rebounding list with 580.

• St. Joseph freshman Rachel Mauthe of East Lyme set a school record while finishing 10th in the 1,000-yard freestyle last weekend at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association Championships at Rhode Island. She finished in 11 minutes, 39.19 seconds, breaking the old mark of 11:41.67.

• Western New England University junior Avery Clark of Mystic was inducted into the 2014 class of Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society recognizing excellence in the classroom, athletics, citizenship and leadership. Clark plays soccer and softball.

• Waterford's Casey Chabot, a Plymouth State University sophomore, was recently named the women's soccer team's defensive player of the year. An outside and center back, she started 16 of 17 games and anchored a defense that had three shutouts.

• Senior Dana Tricarico of East Lyme capped off her impressive Division I swimming career by helping Siena College to fifth place at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference swimming and diving championships. She qualified for the conference finals in the 50 and 100 freestyle, posting a personal best of 24.58 seconds in the 50 freestyle, and competed on the fourth place 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay.

She earned conference all-academic honors for the third straight year. She also was inducted into Siena's 4.0 club for a perfect grade point average.

• Junior Shannen Barnard and sophomore Rebecca Stewart of Niantic helped Eastern Connecticut State University equal its fourth-highest finish at the 35th Annual New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Division Association Division II-III Championships. The Warriors placed fifth overall. Barnard earned All-NEISDA honors in three events after placing third in the 50 backstroke, fourth in the 100 butterfly and seventh in the 50 breaststroke. She also competed on the school record-setting 400 medley relay team that finished third. Stewart placed second in the 1,000 and third in the 1,650 freestyle events.

- Gavin Keefe