E8 Athletes of the Week: October 6
Empire 8 athletes continued to perform at a high level as the season moved into its second month of competition. Those earning weekly honors for the week fo Sept. 29 - Oct. 5 include...
Football Offensive Player – Salisbury University
John Dunbar, Junior, QB – Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Borough
John Dunbar led the Sea Gulls to an overtime upset of No. 6 St. John Fisher on Saturday, 37-34. Dunbar completed 10-of-14 passes for 149 yards and carried the ball a career-high 30 times for a career-best 136 yards and two touchdowns, including a 3-yard run on third-and-goal, with 18 seconds remaining that sent the game to overtime. On the game-trying drive, he completed the two passes he attempted, for 40 combined yards to keep the drive moving.
Football Defensive Player – Buffalo State
Shaq Frederick, Junior, LB – Brooklyn, NJ/Holy Cross
Shaq Frederick led the Bengals with 16 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and a half sack in the 31-14 victory at Frostburg on Saturday. Frederick and the Bengals allowed just 288 total yards and only 117 in the air, and shut the Bobcats out in the second half.
Football Special Teams Player – Ithaca
Trevon Perez-Tucker, Freshman – Schenectady, NY/Schalmont
Trevon Perez-Tucker contributed on both sides of special teams play in the 27-10 win over Utica. He blocked a punt in the third quarter that Ithaca returned for a touchdown to establish a commanding lead. Perez-Tucker had three kickoff returns for 55 yards and a punt return for 14 yards. He also had a tackle on kickoff coverage and another on punt coverage.
Field Hockey Offensive Player – Utica
Hannah Mackey, Senior, Forward – Locke, NY/Moravia
Hannah Mackey, who entered the weekend leading the nation in goals per game, added four more goals and three assists in a 2-0 week for the Pioneers. She netted two goals in the Pioneers 5-1 win over Empire 8 opponent Nazareth College on the road Saturday. She also chipped in with two goals and three assists in the Pioneers' 8-2 win over visiting Hamilton College on Wednesday night.
Field Hockey Defensive Player – Elmira
Mikayla Rebusmen, Sophomore, Goalie – Hannacroix, NY/Coxsackie-Athens
Mikayla Rebusmen came in for relief duty against Ithaca College on Oct. 4. She entered the game with Elmira trailing 2-0 and would hold the Bombers scoreless for the entire second half as she made 10 saves. For Rebusmen, her 10-save effort marked the fourth time this season she has logged 10 or more saves in a game
Men’s Cross Country Runner – Ithaca
Sawyer Hitchcock, Junior – Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern
Junior Sawyer Hitchcock headed Ithaca's squad with a personal best time of 25:16, placing him 12th overall out of 341 runners at the Paul Short Collegiate Invitational. Hitchcock also reached a new personal record with this time, ranking him ninth in Ithaca's all-time 8,000 meter record book.
Women’s Cross Country Runner – Stevens
Amy Regan, Junior – Green Brook, NJ/Watchung Hills
Junior Amy Regan bested the field of 360 runners throughout all three NCAA Divisions at the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh University on Saturday. Regan ran a time of 20:42 and beat the next closest competitor by nearly one minute on the 6K Brown course. Of the top 10 runners, Regan was the only DIII student-athlete, and the next closest DIII runner placed 12th in 21:59. Her pace time for the course was 5:33, which was 13 seconds faster than the runner-up. It is also a 33-second personal best for the Green Brook, N.J. native and one minute faster than her time from a year ago.
Men’s Golf Athlete – St. John Fisher
Chris Blyth, Senior – Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon
Chris Blyth was the overall medalist of the ECAC Division III Mid-Atlantic Championship as he carded a 142 (71-71) this past weekend. The Cardinals, ranked 12th nationally, shot a two-day total of 581 (292-289), good for a 38-stroke victory over runner-up New York University. It marked the ninth consecutive season the Cardinals have won the Championship.
Women’s Golf Player – Ithaca
Kimberley Wong, Sophomore – Hong Kong/German-Swiss International School
Kimberley Wong scored back-to-back rounds in the 70s and finished tied for third overall at the Williams Fall Invitational. Wong opened with a 79 on Saturday, then improved three strokes with a 76 on Sunday. Her total of 155 was just seven strokes behind the tournament medalist from the host school, and three strokes behind second-place Sharon Li of Ithaca. Wong's 76 tied for the third-best score on Sunday.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player – Ithaca
Sean Forward, Sophomore, Forward – Dover, MA/Dover-Sherborn
Sophomore Sean Forward helped the Bombers to an undefeated record last week, as Ithaca went 1-0-1. Forward scored against Hobart in the Bombers' 2-2 tie, and netted the game-winning tally against Elmira in a 3-1 win this past Saturday.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player – Elmira
Jordan Dougherty, Junior, Goalie – Reading, PA/Muhlenberg
Jordan Dougherty made 17 saves in two games against Alfred State and Ithaca College. His nine save effort against Alfred State helped solidify a 1-1 double overtime tie. The only goal scored on him in that game came as an own goal.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player – Stevens
Raba Nassif, Sophomore, Forward – Northvale, NJ/Northern Valley Old Tappan
Sophomore Raba Nassif notched three goals with an assist in a 2-0 week for Stevens. In a 6-1 win over Eastern on September 30, Nassif played a part in three goals scored by the Ducks in 11 minutes. She first assisted on one and then scored the next two. On October 4, she tallied the game-winner in a 1-0 E8 win over nationally ranked No. 20 Ithaca.
Women’s’ Soccer Defensive – Hartwick
Alley Maurer, Freshman, Goalie – Jackson, NJ/Old Bridge
Alley Maurer did not allow a goal in 135 minutes in two wins for the Hawks. She registered a career-best eight saves against Houghton in a 1-0 victory on Saturday. She then played the first half against Wells in a 5-0 win on Sunday.
Women’s Tennis Player – Alfred
Rachel Cook, Junior – Youngstown, OH/Laurel Springs
Rachel Cook went unbeaten in second singles and teamed with junior Emma Jackson to go unbeaten in first doubles in a 4-0 week for the Saxons. The four victories included two over E8 opponents, Fisher and Utica, which clinched the Saxons' a berth in the Empire 8 Conference championship tournament, Alfred's first since the conference went to a four-team format. The Saxons also had non-league wins over Fredonia and Oswego.
Women’s Volleyball Player – Nazareth
Maria Allocco, Senior, MB – Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills Ballston Lake
Maria Allocco led the Golden Flyers to three more Empire 8 Conference victories last week as she improved upon her Division III-leading hitting percentage by hitting .543 (61-11-92) in wins over St. John Fisher, Elmira and Hartwick. In a five-set win over St. John Fisher last Wednesday, she posted a career-best 24 kills for a .542 percentage. She added 16 kills in four sets against Elmira and 21 in a four-set win over Hartwick.
Women’s Volleyball Rookie – Ithaca
Kayla Gromen, Freshman, Setter – Lancaster, PA/Hempfield
Kayla Gromen accumulated 104 assists over three matches for Ithaca and also had 16 digs in a 3-0 week for the Bombers that saw them maintain a perfect record in Empire 8 play. Gromen moved from defensive specialist to setter recently for the Bombers.