E8 Athletes of the Week: Sept. 15
Weather tried to ruin the weekend, but the E8's student-athletes didn't let it phase them, as evidenced by their performances. Those earning weekly honors include...
Football Offensive Player – Alfred
Tyler Johnson, Sophomore, Quarterback – East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa
Tyler Johnson ran for 166 yards and threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns in the Saxons' 34-31 comeback victory at RPI. His second TD toss, an 82-yard bomb to wideout Brendan Buisch 1:45 into the fourth, proved to be the winning points as the Saxons rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit. His 51-yard run midway through the third quarter set up Willie McFadden's 17-yard TD run that drew AU to within four points (31-27).
Football Defensive Player – Utica
Irvens Eristil, Sophomore, Cornerback – Monroe, NY/Monroe Woodbury
Irvens Eristil recovered a Union fumble and returned it 17 yards for his first collegiate touchdown with 12:06 to go in the fourth quarter to help the Pioneers complete the comeback victory on Saturday. The score was tied at 16-16 before Eristil scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. Eristil also dashed any hopes of a Union comeback when he sealed the victory with his first career interception with 40 seconds remaining in the contest. He also added three tackles and a pass break up for the Pioneers' secondary.
Football Special Teams Player – The College at Brockport
Tyler Perna, Sophomore, Kicker – West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West
Tyler Perna connected on a 19-yard field goal with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to lift The College at Brockport to a 17-14 victory over Cortland. He then made a game-saving tackle on the ensuing kickoff.
Field Hockey Offensive Player – Washington and Jefferson College
Allison Morrissey, Junior, Forward – Chalfont, PA/Mount St. Joseph
Allison Morrissey totaled seven points during a 2-0 week for Washington and Jefferson. She assisted on three of W&J’s first four goals Wednesday during a 5-1 win over Frostburg State. She then tallied two goals in the President’s 4-1 Empire 8 opening win over Elmira.
Field Hockey Defensive Player – St. John Fisher College
Danielle Famolaro, Junior, Goalie – Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy
Danielle Famolaro made 17 saves this past week in games against Stevens and RPI. She registered 10 saves in a 5-3 victory over Stevens, that snapped the Duck’s 20-game Empire 8 regular season win streak dating back to 2011. On Sunday she posted seven saves in a 2-1 win over RPI, including three key saves in the final seven minutes.
Men’s Cross Country Runner – Ithaca
Sawyer Hitchcock, Junior – Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern
Sawyer Hitchcock led Ithaca's squad on Saturday at the Saratoga Invitational with a time of 19:07 on the 6K course. He ranked 11th overall of 221 runners.
Women’s Cross Country Runner – Alfred
Mary Baughman, Sophomore – Henrietta, NY/Rush-Henrietta
Sophomore Mary Baughman paced the William Smith Invitational on the 6K course. She finished first out of 89 runners with a time of 24:09 to best the next closest runner by 31 seconds.
Men’s Golf Athlete – Scranton
Erik Meyer, Senior – Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights
Erik Meyer shot a season-low round and 1-under-par 70 to lead the Royals to victories over Marywood University, 297-306, and Wilkes University, 297-362, on Thursday. Just 48 hours earlier he shot an 81 on the same course in a quad meet with Marywood, Misericordia, and Elizabethtown. His round of 70 included five birdies and an eagle.
Women’s Golf Player – Ithaca
Sharon Li, Senior – Happy Valley, Hong Kong/Hong Kong International
Sharon Li was the individual tournament champion at the Empire 8 Championships for the third-straight year. After an opening-round 76, Li followed that up with a second-round 75 and won the tournament by eight shots over the second-place finisher.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player – Elmira
Donte Donegal, Freshman, Forward – East Hampton, NY/East Hampton
Donte Donegal had a coming out party against Hilbert College on Saturday as he recorded his first career hat trick. His three-goal game helped the men's soccer team erase a 3-0 first-half deficit and earn a 3-3 double overtime tie with Hilbert. Donegal's hat-trick is the first three-goal game an EC player has recorded in two years.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player – Stevens
Mike Renna, Sophomore, Goalie – Basking Ridge, NJ/Gill St. Bernards
Mike Renna made eight saves and allowed one goal in a 1-1 week for Stevens. On Wednesday against TCNJ, Renna saved two shots to get his first career shutout in a 2-0 win. He then stopped six shots against Muhlenberg on Saturday.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player – Nazareth
Christine Belding, Graduate Student, Midfield – Rochester, NY/Gates Chili
Christine Belding led Nazareth to a pair of non-conference wins over the weekend with one goal and two assists against St. Lawrence and Clarkson. She contributed a pair of assists in a 3-1 win over St. Lawrence Friday, then scored the first goal of the game in a 3-1 win over Clarkson on Saturday.
Women’s’ Soccer Defensive – Elmira
Gabe Carmona, Freshman, Goalie – Sylmar, CA/Chaminade College Prep
Gabe Carmona faced 26 shots and made 24 saves over the weekend against the Liberty League's Clarkson University and St. Lawrence University. Her 11 saves against Clarkson preserved a 1-0 shutout victory for Elmira. The following day, Carmona made 13 stops against St. Lawrence, giving the rookie keeper 48 saves on the season.
Women’s Tennis Player – Ithaca
Haley Kusak, Sophomore – Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland
Haley Kusak led the top of the lineup for Ithaca in two conference dual-match victories during the week. In a mid-week match at Elmira, Kusak won 6-3, 6-3 at first singles and 8-5 at first doubles. On Saturday at Nazareth, Kusak was a 6-0, 6-0 winner at first singles and an 8-0 winner at first doubles.
Women’s Volleyball Player – Nazareth
Madi Wickens, Sophomore, Setter – Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy
Madi Wickens amassed 143 assists (10.2 per set) as Nazareth won all four of its matches at the Union Invitational. She had 20 assists and three aces in a three-set sweep of Skidmore and then totaled 55 assists, one ace and nine digs in a four-set win over Cortland. She followed with 26 assists, four aces and 11 digs in four sets against Oneonta and 42 assists and eight digs in four sets against Union.
Women’s Volleyball Rookie – Stevens
Brianna Evans, Freshman, Outside Hitter – Spokane, WA/Mead
Brianna Evans totaled 20 kills, 13 digs and three aces in a pair of sweeps for Stevens. Evans hit .500 in the Ducks' E8 opener against Hartwick with six kills on 10 attempts. She then scored of 14 kills (.480 %) and three aces to go along with 12 digs against Kean. Thirteen of her 14 kills came in the final two sets.