Athletes of the Week: Sept. 28-Oct. 4
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. 28 - Oct. 4 include...
Football Offensive Player - Utica
Teddy VanGalen, Junior, QB – Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa
Teddy VanGalen completed 18 of 30 attempts for 254 yards and two touchdowns defeating nationally ranked Ithaca 30-27 in overtime. VanGalen threw the game-winning touchdown in overtime. He has thrown over 250 yards in all five games this season.
Football Defensive Player - Hartwick
Nick Sorrenti, Junior, LB – Endwell, NY/Maine-Endwell
Nick Sorrenti led the Hawks with 14 tackles, including 3.5 for loss and two sacks in Hartwick’s overtime game against nationally ranked Cortland.
Football Special Teams Player - Alfred
Trevor Monk, Sophomore, PK – Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Trevor Monk kicked two field goals (30, 37) and converted all four point-after attempts in Alfred's 34-19 victory over visiting Morrisville.
Field Hockey Offensive Player - Elmira
Alli Gilbert, Senior, Forward – Machias, NY/Pioneer
Alli Gilbert extended her point streak to seven games, as she finished with five points on two goals and one assist in a 2-0 week for Elmira. She scored the game-winning goal and assisted on another in EC's 2-1 win on the road against Keystone College. In another road game on Saturday, Gilbert scored her second game-winner of the week early in the first half against Oswego State.
Field Hockey Defensive Player - Hartwick
Shannon Carter, Junior, Goalie – Falls Church, VA/J.E.B Stuart
Shannon Carter posted back-to-back double-digit saves in a 1-1 week for Hartwick. Carter recorded a season high 15 saves against Vassar on Wednesday and followed up with 14 saves in a 3-1 win against Stevens on Saturday. Carter and the Hawks faced 44 corners throughout the two games, including 18 against the Ducks.
Men's Cross Country Runner - Ithaca
Sawyer Hitchcock, Senior – Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern
For the third straight meet, senior Sawyer Hitchcock paced the Bombers with a seventh place finish out of 534 runners at the Mike Woods Invitational hosted by SUNY Geneseo in a time of 25:20.3.
Women's Cross Country Runner - Stevens
Mary Visca, Freshman – Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland
Mary Visca led the Ducks to a ninth place team finish by finishing 11th with a time of 22:12 at the 2015 Mike Woods Invitational. Her time was one minute faster than her previous personal best.
Men's Golf Athlete -Moravian
Evan Dickinson, Senior – Carlisle, PA/Boiling Spring
Evan Dickinson finished second of the 62 golfers in the field at the Messiah College Falcon Classic last Monday with a one-under par round of 70, the first under-par round by a Moravian golfer since Dickinson fired a 69 in a tri-match with DeSales University and Cabrini College on April 23, 2013. Dickinson's round on Monday featured five birdies and 10 pars on a course he is familiar with growing up in Carlisle. Moravian fired a 295 to win the tournament by 12 strokes. The Greyhounds shot under 300 as a team for the first time since the Lebanon Valley College Fall Invitational on September 22, 2008, and Moravian defeated rival Muhlenberg College by 12 strokes on Monday as the Mules were second of the 12 teams in the tournament with a 307.
Women's Golf Athlete - Ithaca
Indiana Jones, Sophomore – Alton Bay, NH/Prospect Mountain
Sophomore Indiana Jones tied for seventh place with a two-day score of 163 as the Ithaca College women's golf team placed eighth at the annual Middlebury Invitational, Saturday and Sunday on the Ralph Myhre Golf Course in Middlebury, Vt. Jones rebounded from an opening-round 85 to shoot a 78, trimming seven shots off of her scorecard. Jones and the Bombers carded a two-day team score of 722 (368-354) to place eighth in the 12-team field. Jones and her Ithaca teammates shaved 14 strokes off of Saturday's opening round and missed out on seventh place by one stroke.
Men's Soccer Offensive Player - Elmira
Aidan Gray, Freshman, Midfielder – Forestville, Australia/Killarney
Aiden Gray helped Elmira extend its unbeaten streak to five games, as the Soaring Eagles posted back-to-back road wins against Marywood University and Utica College. He entered the week with not a single point to his name but ended the week with six points on three goals. He scored his first collegiate goal against Marywood, one that tied the game at 2-2 in the second half. Against Utica, he scored a pair of goals for the Soaring Eagles in the 56th and 85th minutes. His two goals against Utica helped Elmira win their first road game against the Pioneers since 2009.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player – Alfred
Chris Gutierrez, Sophomore, Goalie – Holbrook, NY/Sachem East
Chris Gutierrez earned his fourth shutout of the season as the Saxons topped Empire 8 foe, Nazareth College on Saturday on the road. Nazareth fired off 13 shots on Saturday, making it the second most shots that Gutierrez has faced this season. Out of those shots, nine were on target and Gutierrez stopped all of them for a season and career-high in saves.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player – Stevens
Raba Nassif, Junior, Forward – Northvale, NJ/Northern Valley Old Tappan
Raba Nassif led the Ducks with eight points in a 2-0 week. In a 4-0 win over Drew Wednesday, Nassif tallied an assist on seven shots. Against Elmira Saturday, she tallied three goals and an assist on six shots. Nassif scored her three goals in 1:51, good enough for fifth best in Division III history.
Women’s’ Soccer Defensive – Nazareth
Allison Dobles, Junior, Goalie – Rochester, NY/Spencerport
Allison Dobles helped Nazareth to a 2-0 week including making a career-high 16 saves in a 1-0 double overtime victory over the University of Rochester. She then played the first half against Utica to help Nazareth earn the shutout.
Women’s Tennis Player – Ithaca
Haley Kusak, Junior – Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland
Haley Kusak won a singles and doubles match for Ithaca during a 4-0 week that included three Empire 8 wins. Kusak won at first singles and first doubles in 9-0 sweeps of Houghton, Alfred, Hartwick and Cortland as the Bombers remained perfect on the year, going to 9-0 (8-0 E8 play).
Women’s Volleyball Player – Stevens
Mary Tobin, Junior, OH – Boothwyn, PA/Archmere Academy
In a 3-0 week, Mary Tobin recorded 33 kills, six service aces and 32 digs. Against Utica Friday night, she recorded her 1000th career kill while hitting .429 to help lead the Ducks to a straight set conference win. In Saturday's 3-0 win over Western Connecticut, Tobin tied a season high with three service aces to go along with 11 kills and 15 digs.
Women’s Volleyball Rookie – Elmira
Taylor Kaznowski, Freshman, Setter – Hamburg, NY/Frontier
Taylor Kaznowski registered a pair of double-doubles and set a pair of career-bests in a five-match week for the Soaring Eagles. In 17 sets played, she logged a team-leading 118 assists to go along with 40 digs and eight service aces. She produced a pair of double-doubles, both of which included 30-assist performances, against MCLA and SUNY Delhi. Her 33 assists against MCLA is a new career high and the fifth time she has gone for 30 or more. Kaznowski's six service aces against SUNY Delhi ties a career-best.