Neiweem has had other accomplishments as well. She was named as a member of the UCAA All-Academic team for her high grade point average and significant contributions to the team. During last year’s season, she played a large part in helping her team win the conference title and go on to the NCAA tournament. This year, she was voted captain by her teammates and has continued to lead the team, which has earned the second seed in the UCAA tournament.

Neiweem plays point guard and described her role in that position as having “to control the game and its tempo while being an extension of the coach out on the court.”

Neiweem has been an athlete since the third grade, when she first began to compete on the basketball court. From there she continued on to play for East Hampton High School in Connecticut. During her senior year in high school, former Rensselaer Head Coach Kim Rybczyk recruited her to play for the Red Hawks. The combination of a good basketball program and strong academics led Neiweem to select RPI as her college of choice—after spending an overnight on campus with other players, she said, “I immediately felt like I fit in well with the team.

“It didn’t matter that Rensselaer’s basketball program was Division III, mainly I liked the coach and the team members.”

Starting as a freshman here, the basketball team helped Holly adjust to the rigors of college life. She had an immediate group of friends with similar interests who watched out for her. The team became her “extended family” and she presently lives with several other players.

“Socially, my experience at Rensselaer was awesome because I always had fifteen people to go out with every weekend,” said Neiweem.

When Holly was voted captain, she felt like she could do a good job because she had three years of playing experience at RPI. “I knew the ropes and I felt that I could help the younger players along.”

She held captain’s practices during the pre-season months along with co-captain Jo Alexander. Together the team lifted weights, did sprints, and played inter-squad games without the supervision of the coaching staff—NCAA rules prevent Division III winter sports from holding formal practices before October 15. The Red Hawks showed that early preparation pays off as they began the season strong and improved throughout the season.

Neiweem has quite a superstitious side when it comes to her basketball games. Her behaviors, “especially if we’re on a roll, must be very routine or else the winning streak could be broken,” she explained. She always drinks a vanilla shake before each game and last year during their 13-game winning streak, she wore a black and white sock for every game. If the team lost, then she moved the special sock to the other foot. Even during this season, she has kept the black and white sock ritual as a part of her routine. “I’m definitely the most superstitious person on the team,” she says. Perhaps the superstitions have paid off for Neiweem, who has become such an accomplished athlete throughout her basketball career.

When Neiweem graduates in May with a management degree, she will leave Rensselaer with possible plans for graduate studies or a college basketball assistant coaching position, a position she feels well qualified for because “I know the game well, have been playing for a long time with great coaches, and can relate to other players very well.” Additionally, she plans to continue playing basketball, but not in an organized fashion.