BOSTON, Mass. - The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) has announced its weekly award winners and Mount Holyoke College student-athlete Ruvimbo Mushavi has been selected. She was named Defensive Performer of the Week after helping the 16th-ranked Lyons to a 2-0 record last week.

Mushavi, a sophomore out of Harare, Zimbabwe, garnered her first weekly honor of the season after helping the Lyons hold their opponents to just six shots on goal, two tallies and four penalty corners in two contests. In a 5-0 win at Westfield State, the Lyons defense surrendered no goals or shots on goal, while allowing just one penalty corner.

MHC's d-core then allowed just two goals, six shots on goal and three penalty corners in a key 6-2 victory over Wheaton in the regular season finale.

Mushavi, who has started all 17 games, has helped anchor a defensive unit that ranks 10th in all of Division III in goals against average (0.98) and penalty corners per game (12.76). Additionally, the Lyons are 10th in the nation in assists per game (2.65) and winning percentage (.882), while ranking 14th in save percentage (.830) and 16th in points per game (10.06).

Amongst the NEWMAC leaders, the Lyons are first in save percentage and penalty corners (217) and second in both goals against average and goals against (17).

Last season, Mushavi helped Mount Holyoke to a 18-3 record. A starter in all 21 games, she boasted a NEWMAC and team-best 11 defensive saves, while adding two shots. She was a two-time conference Defensive Performer of the Week selection and an ECAC Defensive Player of the Week honoree as well. 

Mount Holyoke (15-2; 7-1) returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Wellesley College to compete in the Semifinals of the NEWMAC Tournament. The second-seeded Lyons will face off at 2pm against third-seeded MIT, which defeated WPI in the quarterfinals by a 1-0 margin.

This will be the second straight season the Lyons and the Engineers have met in the NEWMAC Semifinals. During the 2013 season, MHC posted a 2-1 victory to advance to the Championship game.