E8 Athletes of the Week: December 8
Indoor track and field opened its season over the weekend, giving us six sports in regular season action. Those earning weekly honors for the week of December 1-7, 2014 included...
Men’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Stevens
Ravi Sun, Junior – Arkadelphia, Ark./Arkadelphia
Junior Ravi Sun led Stevens to a second-place finish at the 2014 ECAC Championships in East Meadow, N.Y. Sun clocked an NCAA B-cut with a win in the 200-yard backstroke (1:47.74), also setting a new ECAC Championship meet-record. He did the same exact thing in the 100-yard backstroke, touching at 49.64, and the veteran standout won the 200-yard individual medley with a tie of 1:53.37. Sun added a second in the 400-yard individual medley (4:03.93), pocketing his third B-cut of the meet and earning a total of 124 individual points. Sun also had a huge hand in relays as his 200-yard medley squad took second with a 1:31.71, as did the 800-yard freestyle relay team thanks to a 6:55.82. The 400-medley relay that Sun was also on also placed second, clocking a 3:21.61. Both medley relays carded NCAA B-cuts as well.
Women’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Stevens
Brittany Geyer, Senior – Brunswick, OH/Walsh Jesuit
Senior Brittany Geyer helped Stevens to finish second at the ECAC's in East Meadow, N.Y. this past weekend. Geyer helped the Ducks to second-place finishes in the 200-medley relay (1:48.36), the 800-free relay (7:49.36) and the 400-medley relay (3:56.01). Individually, the former NCAA National Champion won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:29.03, and did the same in the 100-breaststroke, touching at 1:04.16. Geyer was second in the 400-yard individual medley (4:35.61) and 12th in the 500-yard freestyle (5:20.91), tallying 104.0 points as an individual at the meet. Geyer also turned in NCAA B-cuts in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke and the 400-IM.
Men’s Basketball Player – St. John Fisher
Keegan Ryan, Sophomore, Forward – Beekmantown, NY/Plattsburgh
Keegan Ryan averaged 16.7 points and 7.7 rebounds as St. John Fisher went 2-1 at the annual Wendy's College Classic. He also shot 63.0 percent (19-for-30) from the field and was named to the all-tournament team. He had 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 70-45 win against RIT, 16 points and 10 rebounds in a 63-55 loss to Geneseo and 17 points and three rebounds in a 61-56 win to top-seeded Rochester.
Men’s Basketball Rookie – Hartwick
Jake Sinicki, Freshman, F – Endicott, NY/Maine Endwell
Jake Sinicki scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds on Tuesday to help the Hartwick Hawks to a 72-61 victory over local-rival SUNY Oneonta. He connected on 5-of-7 (.714) shots from the floor in the game. Sinicki hit a three-pointer, dished out three assists, blocked two shots, and added a steal in the victory. This season, Sinicki is shooting 69% from the field, 50% from three-point range and 86% from the foul line.
Women’s Basketball Player – St. John Fisher
Portia Velasco, Senior, Guard – Vallejo, CA/Carondelet
Portia Velasco totaled 62 points (20.7 points per game) and 14 steals (4.7/game) over the three Wendy’s College Classic games to lead Fisher to a 2-1 week. Velasco was selected to the all-tournament team as she shot 50 percent from the field, 67.6 percent from the arc and 93.3 percent from the foul line. She started the week with 15 points and a career-high seven steals in a 63-47 win over William Smith on Tuesday. Velasco led Fisher with a season-high 27 points, while dishing out five assists and tallying two steals in a loss to Rochester on Thursday and closed out the week on Saturday with a 78-72 win over Geneseo as she led all scorers with 20 points and a game-high five steals.
Women’s Basketball Rookie – Ithaca
Jordan Beers, Freshman, Guard – Franklin, NY/Franklin
Freshman Jordan Beers helped Ithaca to a 2-0 week as she averaged 14 points. She raised her seasonal scoring average from 4.7 to 8.4 in the two games. Beers tallied a career-high 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting (3-of-7 from three-point range) at Cortland (64-61 W) on Tuesday, and then scored 12 points on 5-for-7 (2-for-3 from 3) in a 63-57 win at St. Lawrence on Saturday.
Men’s Indoor Track Athlete – Utica
Corey Zlatniski, Junior – Mattituck, NY/Mattituck
Junior Corey Zlatniski won the 1-mile race Saturday at the Early Season Invite at Brockport setting a new Utica indoor school record with a time of 4:29.01. Zlatniski also placed second overall in the men’s 1000 meter run after posting a time of 2:39.38.
Men’s Indoor Field Athlete – Alfred
Jeffrey Nunez, Sophomore – Wurtsboro, NY/Ellenville
Jeffrey Nunez won the weight throw at the College at Brockport Early Season Invitational meet on Saturday. His winning throw of 15.45 meters broke a 19-year-old school record. His toss was the ninth-best in the nation this opening weekend.
Women’s Indoor Track Athlete – Alfred
Miasia Hillman, Senior – Buffalo, NY/Hutch Tech
Miasia Hillman won the 60-meter dash at the College at Brockport Early Season Invitational. Her time of 7.82 seconds was 1/100th of a second off her school record and was the second-fastest 60-meter time in the nation this opening weekend. Hillman placed second in the 300-meter dash, with her time of 42.70 seconds setting a new AU school record.
Women’s Indoor Field Athlete – Utica
Sarah Wiatr, Junior – Poland, NY/West Canada Valley
Junior Sarah Wiatr placed first Saturday at Brockport in the triple jump with a leap of 11.53 meters. Wiatr also placed sixth overall in the women's long jump with a leap of 4.87 meters.