Empire 8 Athletes of The Week: April 22, 2013
Baseball Player of the Week – Utica
Thomas Dinnen, Sophomore, Catcher – Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas
Thomas Dinnen batted .600 in six games last week for the Pioneers. He had nine hits in 15 at-bats, three doubles, three runs scored and three RBI. He also caught four runners stealing. On April 19, Dinnen went 4-for-6 with two runs scored, one double and two RBI in the first doubleheader against Houghton. He backed that up with a 5-for-7 performance including two doubles the following day in the second doubleheader with the Highlanders.
Baseball Pitcher of the Week – Houghton
Kevin Cassar, Sophomore – Mississauga, ONT Canada/Briar Cliff University
Kevin Cassar went the distance striking out nine batter and walking none in seven innings of work in a 7-4 over Utica as the Highlanders completed the series 4-0 over the Pioneers.
Softball Player of the Week – Utica
Chelsea Monroe, Junior – Watertown, NY/General Brown
Junior Chelsea Monroe of the Utica College softball team had a .474 average (9-of-19) to help Utica go 5-1 last week including sweeps over Ithaca and Stevens. With the wins Utica clinched its first ever Empire 8 Conference regular season title and will host the conference tournament for the first time in program history. Monroe hit three home runs, including two grand slams and racked up 11 RBI. On Saturday, she had grand slams in back-to-back wins over then E8 leader Ithaca College. She followed that up with a three-run shot in Utica’s 10-2 win over Stevens. On the week she scored six runs and drew five walks for an on-base-percentage of .583 and a slugging percentage of 1.000.
Softball Pitcher of the Week – St. John Fisher
Sarah Stefanon, Senior - Perry, NY/Perry
Sarah Stefanon picked up six wins in an 8-0 week for the Cardinals. She allowed just one earned run in 41 innings pitched, surrendering 15 hits and striking out 66 batters. On Monday, she finished with 10 strikeouts and the 11-0 win against Keuka. She was dominant in the circle for Fisher on Wednesday with a career-high 16 strikeouts against Brockport in a 2-1 extra inning win which she followed up with 10 strikeouts in a 3-0 win in game two against the Golden Eagles. Stefanon also recorded double-digit strikeouts (12) in game one against Alfred for a 1-0 win and added seven more in the game two. She completed the week on April 21 as she retired eight Nazareth batters in five inning of work.
Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Week – Nazareth
Troy Haefele, Freshman, Attack – Greene, ME/St. Dominic Regional
Troy Haefele helped Nazareth to a pair of key conference wins last week. He had three goals, three assists in a 12-10 win over Alfred and then matched a career-best with four goals in Saturday's 17-8 win over sixth-ranked Stevens.
Men’s Lacrosse Goalie of the Week – Elmira
Dave Bucchino, Senior – Cedar Grove, NJ
Bucchino had a remarkable week in net for Elmira as he finished with 40 saves in seven quarters of action this week. The senior made a career high 27 saves Saturday against Utica recording an impressive .643 save percentage. The 27 stops rank as tied for the ninth most of any goalie in the nation in a single game this season. On Wednesday against No. 6 Stevens Bucchino stopped 13 shots to finish with a .556 save percentage for the week. So far this season Bucchino has ranked himself among the best goalies in the nation. As of games played through April 14th he sits at 24th in the country with 13.56 saves per contest. That ranking will surely increase once the most recent statistics are released as he averaged 20 saves per game this week.
Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week - Ithaca
Tracy Rivas, Senior, Attack – East Meadow, NY/East Meadow
Tracy Rivas netted a team-high 13 goals in a 3-0 week for the Bombers en route to snapping Ithaca's 31-year-old career-goals school record with 171. The former record of 170 career goals was held since 1982 – a record set over the course of 52 games. Rivas has played in 66 games and tallied 234 points to rank second in overall points. Rivas had three goals and two assists in a 14-6 non-conference win at William Smith Tuesday, before adding four scores in an 18-4 win against Elmira Friday and six goals and one assist in a 22-3 victory over Alfred Saturday. The pair of conference victories helped the Bombers claim the top seed in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament, while improving their win streak to six.
Women’s Lacrosse Goalie of the Week – St. John Fisher
Nicole Hart, Freshman – Syracuse, NY/West Genesee
Nicole Hart started both of the Cardinals’ games this week, earning the win in each. She has three starts in her career and has a perfect 3-0 record. Hart stopped eight shots on Friday, a 17-9 victory over Stevens and made five stops in the first half of the 20-3 win against Hartwick on April 20. Hart posted a 54.2 save percentage in 90 minutes of play. With the two wins on the weekend Fisher locked up the No. 2 seed for the Empire 8 Conference Championship.
Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week – Utica
Andrew Hoover, Sophomore – Baldwinsville, NY/CW Baker
Sophomore Andrew Hoover was named Track Athlete of the Meet at the Empire 8 Championships after winning the 400-meter hurdles and placing fourth in the 110-meter hurdles. Hoover clocked a 57.91 in the 400 hurdles beating our 17 competitors and finished with a time of 15.90 in the 110 hurdles. As a team Utica scored the most points ever and picked up its best finish in program history at the E8 Outdoor Championships, coming in second place.
Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week – Nazareth
Brandon Vuolo, Freshman – East Islip, NY/East Islip
Brandon Vuolo totaled 14 points and was named the Field Athlete of the Meet at the Empire 8 Championship. Vuolo took first in the discus with a mark of 118 feet, 4 1/2 inches (36.08 meters), and he was fourth in the shot put with a mark of 39 feet, 11 1/2 inches (12.18 meters). He added a tenth-place finish in the hammer throw with a toss of 110 feet, 9 1/4 inches (33.76 meters).
Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week – Nazareth
Hannah Brackley, Sophomore – Horseheads, NY/Elmira Notre Dame
Nazareth sophomore Hannah Brackley was named Track Athlete of the Meet at the Empire 8 Outdoor Championships as she won the 200-meter and 400-meter dash events with times of 25.44 and 58.70, respectively. Both times set new school and stadium records. She was also member of Nazareth’s first place 4x400 meter relay team that finished in 4:05.89 and the second place 4.x100 meter relay (49.65).
Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week – Nazareth
Taylor Pierson, Freshman – Wellsburg, NY/Southside
Taylor Pierson was named the Field Athlete of the Meet at the E8 Championships after winning the long jump with a mark of 18 feet, 5 1/4 inches (5.62 meters). She also placed fifth in the 100 meter (12.96), sixth in the 200-meter (26.24) and was part of the second place 4x100 meter relay (49.65).
Men’s Golf Athlete of the Week – St. John Fisher
Corey Haas, Freshman – Cuba, NY/Cuba-Rushford
Corey Haas freshman shot the lowest round on Sunday (71) and finished the Empire 8 tournament with a 305 (82-75-77-71). Haas finished second out of 54 golfers and earned Rookie of the Year honors. St. John Fisher won the E8 Championship for the eighth time in the last nine years and finished with a four-day total of 1,212, 63-strokes ahead of runner-up Scranton.
Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week – Stevens
Shota Tasaki, Senior – Greenwich, CT/Greenwich
Shota Tasaki won five of his six matches this week, dropping only a three-set battle at third singles against No. 9 Middlebury College. The senior teamed with freshman Ben Foran to pick up the Ducks' only complete-match win vs. Middlebury at second doubles and notched two key victories at third singles and second doubles vs. Northeast No. 12 Vassar College. He also swept both matches against Utica College, 8-0 at third singles and 8-0 with a new partner at third doubles.