October 7, 2010 HAMDEN, Conn. - Quinnipiac University women's soccer junior forward Furtuna Velaj (Stamford, Conn.) and men's cross country sophomore Mike Levene (Redding, Conn.) have been named Quinnipiac Athletes of the Month for September. Velaj has been recognized three times before as Quinnipiac's top female athlete in her rookie season.

Velaj made a big impact for the Bobcats this past month leading the team in points (11) and goals (5). The junior also has tallied one assist on the season. Within the Northeast Conference, Velaj is ranked in the top five of several categories, including second in shots per game (4.57) and fourth in goals per game (0.71). Velaj compiled her fourth career hat-trick in the team's first win of the season against Dartmouth, 3-1. Velaj was named adidas/NEC Co-Player of the Week on Sept. 20, after her performance in the non-conference contest against Dartmouth. The stand-out has been recognized in the Connecticut Post as well as a recent feature on ESPN.com this past week.

Levine also had a successful month, as he's paced the Bobcats in two of their three meets in September. Levine led the Bobcats at the Blue Devil Invitational, where he placed 20^th overall in 27:18. Levine was Quinnipiac's top finisher at their home invitational on Sept. 18 with a time of 27:16, good for a fifth place finish. At the Seawolves Invitational, Levine finished second for Quinnipiac with a time of 21:46:17. In the Bobcats' most recent outing at the Paul Short Run on Oct. 1, Levine was again the team's top finisher. With a time of 26:15 he finished in 37^th place overall out of 357 runners.

Also nominated for the monthly award were field hockey's Kim Cunniff (Walpole, Mass.), women's cross country's Becca White (Natick, Mass.), volleyball's Kayla Lawlor (Richmond, Ind.), and men's soccer Matt Rothbart (Cheshire, Conn.).