Altenor, Niemczyk Named November HHC Athletes of the Month

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) Department of Athletics has announced the Hartford HealthCare Athletes of the Month for November, the third full month of the 2025-26 season. These student-athletes excelled during a highly competitive slate of contests, standing out with their individual performances. The award is presented to one male and one female student-athlete across all sports at the conclusion of each calendar month on behalf of USJ Athletics and Hartford HealthCare.

Lence Altenor (Men's Basketball) - The senior guard from Everett, Mass., guided the men's basketball team to a 3-3 record in November, averaging 19.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. Altenor opened the season with a strong 24-point, six-rebound and three-assist performance in a road win at Worcester State (11/8). He followed with an 11-point, three-rebound and five-assist effort against UMass Dartmouth (11/9), before erupting for a career-high 37 points in a victory at Clark (11/12). Altenor reached a major milestone on Nov. 16, becoming the seventh player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points after a 22-point outing against SUNY Cortland. He rounded out his stellar month with 19 points, two rebounds, and four assists in a road loss at Babson (11/30). The honor marks Altenor's third Hartford HealthCare Athlete of the Month award in his career.

Alina Niemczyk (Women's Swimming & Diving) - Niemczyk, a sophomore from Vernon, Conn., continued her impressive 2025-26 campaign with strong performances across two meets for the Blue Jays in November. She opened the month by winning the 400-meter IM during a double-dual meet against Roger Williams University and the University of Bridgeport (11/8). Niemczyk also contributed to fifth-place finishes in both the 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relays before closing out the meet with a fifth-place showing in the 200-meter butterfly, clocking a time of 2:59.28. She concluded her month at the Friday Night Sprints, hosted by Central Connecticut State University (11/14), where she placed second in the 100-yard freestyle, fourth in the 100-yard breastroke, and helped lead the Blue Jays to third-place finishes in both the 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay. The honor marks the second Hartford HealthCare Athlete of the Month award in her career.

About Hartford HealthCare 
With more than 41,000 colleagues, Hartford HealthCare's unified culture enhances access, affordability, equity and excellence. Its care-delivery system — with nearly 500 locations serving 185 towns and cities — includes two tertiary-level teaching hospitals, an acute-care community teaching hospital, an acute-care hospital and trauma center, three community hospitals, a behavioral health network, a multispecialty physician group, a clinical care organization, a regional home care system, an array of senior care services, a mobile neighborhood health program and a comprehensive physical therapy and rehabilitation network.

On average, Hartford HealthCare touches more than 23,000 lives every single day. The unique, system-wide Institute Model offers a unified high standard of care in crucial specialties at hospital and ambulatory sites across Connecticut offering unparalleled expertise at the most affordable cost. The institutes include: Ayer Neuroscience, Behavioral Health, Cancer, Digestive Health, Heart and Vascular, Orthopedics and Tallwood Urology & Kidney.

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