MARCY, N.Y. – SUNYIT Men’s and Women’s Basketball seniors Derek Rowe (Mexico, N.Y. / Mexico) and Lyndsey Brognano (Rome, N.Y. / Rome Free Academy) have been selected as the Northwestern Mutual Athletes of the Month for the month of February.

Rowe, who will graduate this year with a double-major in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, represented SUNYIT as the team’s only senior. Exhibiting exceptional leadership and teamwork skills, Rowe served the Wildcats as a rare two-year team captain and helped guide SUNYIT to a season in which the team nearly doubled its win total of a year ago.

Statistically, Rowe was second on the team in rebounds while being one of the team’s most highly rated players in terms of Player Efficiency Rating, a statistical representation of a player’s overall value to his team. His biggest game of the year came in a crucial late-season home game against conference rival Keuka. The 6-5 forward scored 9 points while pulling down a team best 12 rebounds, and even added 4 blocks in the 74-71 win on February 9^th.

In her four years at SUNYIT Lyndsey Brognano has always played well in February – the last month of the women’s basketball season, and a time when the games matter most. This year during February Brognano was honored as SUNYIT’s all-time leading scorer, and was selected to the NEAC All-Conference First Team for a second-straight year.

Brognano, who averaged a career-high 20.2 points per game in the 2012-13 season, was even better in February, posting an average of 22.2 points per game that included a season-high 33 points in a February 17^th win on the road at Wilson College.

The two athletes will be honored along with other month’s winners from SUNYIT and Utica Colleges at a spring banquet. The date and time of the banquet are to be announced.