Athletes of the Week: Oct. 26-Nov. 1
Student-athlete performances continue to show quality as the Cross Country championships are now in the books and the regular seasons for field hockey, soccer and volleyball wrap up. Those earning honors for the week of Oct. 26-Nov. 1 include:
Football Offensive Player – Hartwick
John Garcia, Senior, QB – Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley
John Garcia led Hartwick to a 41-30 win over Buffalo State as he threw 18 completions for 373 yards and four touchdowns. Garcia connected on an 18-yard TD pass to close the second half, and give Hartwick a 17-10 lead. He was cool under pressure as he had a 65-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, and two pases in the fourth of 24 yards and 32 yards.
Football Defensive Player – Alfred
A.J. Licata, Sophomore, LB – Lakeview, NY/Frontier
A.J. Licata had 16 tackles (eight solo), including two for loss and a sack, and intercepted a pass in the Saxons' 35-13 win at Brockport. Licata spearheaded a defense that held Brockport tailback Dan Andrews (156 yard per game coming in) to 56 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Football Special Teams Player – Hartwick
Korey Jubie, Senior, Kicker – Kingston, NY/Kingston
Korey Jubie scored 11 points in the 41-30 win over Buffalo State on Saturday. He drilled two field goals (23, 23) and added five extra points in the Hawks’s first E8 win of the season.
Field Hockey Offensive Player – Washington & Jefferson
Amanda Steffey, Junior, Forward – Irwin, PA/Penn-Trafford
Amanda Steffey totaled nine points last week in two games, finishing with three goals and three assists as the Presidents ran their winning streak to seven games. On Wednesday night against Oberlin, Steffey played a role in four of W&J's six goals with two goals and two assists on six shots. In Saturday's 6-0 win over Houghton, she added a goal and an assist to secure the Presidents’ the fourth seed in the E8 conference tournament.
Field Hockey Defensive Player – Ithaca
Caitlin O’Brien, Senior, Back – Carver, MA/Carver
Senior Caitlin O'Brien scored two goals off penalty corners in a 1-1 week for Ithaca. In a 3-2 OT loss at Geneseo, O'Brien sent the game into extra time with just four minutes left in the contest. She then notched a goal on Senior Day in a 5-0 win over Brockport.
Men’s Cross Country Runner – Ithaca
Sawyer Hitchcock, Senior – Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern
Sawyer Hitchcock was the first runner to cross the finish line at the Empire 8 Championships out of 95 competitors. Hitchcock posted a time of 25:08.6 to repeat as the meet's individual champion. He bested his time by nearly a minute from a year ago (26:00.1) and was 21 seconds faster than the runner-up
Women’s Cross Country Runner – Ithaca
Taryn Cordani, Sophomore – Douglas, MA/Douglas
Taryn Cordani led Ithaca College to its 13th straight Empire 8 women’s cross country championship. She clocked a time of 17:51.2 to become Ithaca's first individual champion since 2011. She finished 41 seconds ahead of the next runner and bested the field of 95 athletes.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player – Stevens
Colin Phillips, Senior, Midfield – Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley
Senior Colin Phillips scored four goals, including a hat-trick against Nazarath on Saturday to lead the Ducks to a win in their regular season finale. The hat-trick was the second of the season for Phillips.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player – Ithaca
Zach Jacobsen, Junior, Goalie – Frederick, MD/Frederick
Zach Jacobsen earned his fifth shutout of the season on Saturday as the Ithaca College men's soccer team clinched the top overall seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Championship after defeating Alfred, 1-0. Jacobsen was credited with seven saves including one in the game's final minutes to preserve the win.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player – Stevens
Raba Nassif, Junior, Forward – Northvale, NJ/Northern Valley Old Tappan
Raba Nassif tallied five of the six Duck goals in a 1-1 week. She scored the lone goal on seven shots as the Ducks fell to Western Connecticut 3-1. On Saturday against Hartwick, Nassif scored four goals and tallied the 100th point of her career to lead the Ducks to a 5-2 victory.
Women’s’ Soccer Defensive Player – Ithaca
Beth Coppolecchia, Senior, Goalie – Katonah, NY/Somers
Beth Coppolecchia started twice in goal last week for the nationally-ranked Ithaca College women's soccer team, helping extend the Bombers' unbeaten streak to 10 games. Coppolecchia picked up two more wins in goal running her season record to 12-3-2 with wins over No. 17 Misericordia and Utica. Coppolecchia, who played 161 minutes in goal last week, combined to make 12 saves.
Women’s Volleyball Player – Houghton
Hattie Burgher, Senior, OH – Selkirk, NY/Loudonville Christian
In Houghton’s 4-1 week, Hattie Burgher turned up a big performance. She put down 60 kills (3.33 kills per set) and totaled 62 digs (3.44 digs per set). Burgher hit an average of .323 on the week, hitting a .35 or above in all but one of the five matches. In two of the five games she posted double doubles with 11 kills and 12 digs against Canton and 16 kills, 13 digs verse Utica. She also served four aces and put up four blocks on the week.
Women’s Volleyball Rookie – Nazareth
Kelsey Milligan, Freshman, MB – Pavillion, NY/Pavillion
Kelsey Milligan helped Nazareth to a 2-1 week. She registered 32 kills for the weekend (2.46 per set), including notching a career-high 14 (.464 attack percentage) against Montclair State on Friday night. She also led the team with five blocks.
Women’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Ithaca
Lake Duffy, Junior – Pen Argyl, PA/Pen Argyl
Lake Duffy was the top finisher three times for the Ithaca College women's swimming and diving on Saturday as the Bombers dueled RPI. Duffy finished as the top performer in the 50-yard (25.51) and 100-yard freestyles (54.68) before teaming up for a first place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay of 3:42.64 with an anchor leg split of 54.20.
Men’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Stevens
Ravi Sun, Senior – Arkadelphia, Ark/Arkadelphia
Sun grabbed four first place finishes in the Ducks dual-meet win over Rowan University Saturday. Sun recorded victories in the 100-yard backstroke (51.20) and 200-yard backstroke (1:52.83), while also being the lead swimmer in the victorious 200-yard IM relay. In the 200-yard IM, Sun took first with a time of 1:57.35. Sun was also part of the winning 200 Medley Relay that clocked a time of 1:33.32.