E8 Athletes of the Week: April 20
Baseball Player – Stevens
Nick Sieber, Junior, Infield – Shrewsbury, MA/St. John’s Shrewsbury
Nick Sieber helped lead the Ducks to a 5-1 record in six games this week. Against Arcadia, he went 2-for-3 with two RBI's and two stolen bases in a walk-off loss. In a win over RPI he went 3-for-4 with and RBI hit. During a three-game series in Houghton, he collected seven hits with six runs scored, five stolen bases and four RBI's in leading Stevens to a three game sweep. Finally, he collected another RBI in a 3-1 win over Rutgers-Camden. He is currently riding an eight game hitting streak.
Baseball Pitcher – Ithaca
Benji Parkes, Junior – Lansing, NY/Lansing
Junior Benji Parkes went 1-0 last week in two appearances with a 2.79 ERA. Parkes threw 9.2 innings and struck out 12 hitters and allowed only five hits. He tossed seven shutout innings in an 11-0 win over Utica with six strikeouts on Sunday, and fanned six more in a relief appearance against Rochester three days earlier. The lefty held hitters to a .156 average.
Softball Player – Alfred
Liz Thompson, Sophomore, Third Base – Horseheads, NY/Horseheads
Liz Thompson hit three solo homeruns to tie an AU single-game record as the Saxons topped host Stevens, 7-2, to salvage a split of an E8 doubleheader. For eight games on the week, in which AU went 7-1, Thompson hit .567 (17-for-30) with seven homeruns, 17 runs scored and 17 RBIs. In four Empire 8 road games (sweep of Elmira; split with Stevens), Thompson hit .625 (10-for-16) with five homeruns,11 RBIs and nine runs. Her triple in the first game against Elmira was her sixth of the year, which set a new school record, and eighth of her career, which tied a school record.
Softball Pitcher – St. John Fisher
Lindsey Thayer, Freshman – Winthrop, NY/St. Lawrence
Lindsey Thayer continued her dominance on the hill going 6-2 on the week. She pitched 56.2 innings, surrendering just four earned runs for a .49 ERA for the week while striking out 66. She shut out SUNY Cortland, the top-ranked team in the region, throwing all seven innings, allowing just two hits and striking out 11. On Sunday, she won two key conference games against Utica surrendering a combined two earned runs.
Men’s Lacrosse Player – Houghton
Paul Chapman, Sophomore, Attack – Kemptville, ONT/North Greenville District
Paul Chapman led the Highlanders tallying up ten goals, two assists, and four ground balls. Chapman averages 3.42 goals per game, which is the best in the Empire 8. He scored nine goals in the game against Alfred State, which broke the school record for goals in a game and the school record for goals in a single season.
Men’s Lacrosse Goalie – Utica
Andrew DiOrio, Senior – Greenlawn, NY/CW Post
Utica’s Andrew DiOrio stopped a career-high 23 shots in the Pioneers’ 8-4 loss to Stevens on Wednesday. He also picked up three ground balls and caused one turnover. He added ten saves and picked up four ground balls in the Pioneers’ 9-6 victory over Elmira on Saturday. Over the course of two games he posted a goals against average of 7.0 and averaged 16.5 saves per game..
Women's Lacrosse Player – St. John Fisher
Samantha Barton, Senior, Midfield – Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia
In a 2-0 week, Samantha Barton led Fisher with seven goals, four ground balls and three caused turnovers. In a 14-13 win on Thursday over Brockport, the No. 3 team in the region, she tallied three goals and three draw controls and was a perfect 2-for-2 on free position shots. In Sunday's win over Utica, Barton scored three of her team-high four goals in the first half and added three ground balls. The victory secured Fisher a spot in the Empire 8 Championship.
Women's Lacrosse Goalie – Ithaca
Emily Ross, Sophomore – Stony Brook, NY/Ward Melville
Sophomore goalie Emily Ross made 13 saves in 60 minutes of play against No. 18 Geneseo on Friday, April 17. Ross earned a save percentage of .619 against the Knights. Ross made one save while playing 30 minutes the first half for Ithaca on Saturday against Houghton. She received the win after Ithaca defeated the Highlanders 17-3 in conference play.
Men’s Tennis Player– St. John Fisher
Kevin Kulawiec, Freshman – Fairport, NY/Fairport
Kevin Kulawiec had a perfect 4-0 week for Fisher. He won first singles 6-3, 6-1 and second doubles 8-5 in a 5-4 loss to Elmira Saturday and then came back on Sunday to win first singles 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 and second doubles 8-6 in a 7-2 win over Alfred.
Men’s Golf Player – St. John Fisher
Corey Haas, Junior – Cuba, NY/Cuba-Rushford
Junior Corey Haas overcame a nine-stroke deficit and shot a 71 on Sunday to lead St. John Fisher to the E8 Men’s Golf Championship. Haas posted the tournament’s lowest overall score of 303 (78-81-73-71) at +19 to earn Empire 8 Player of the Year honors, marking the fifth straight year a Fisher athlete has earned the honor.
Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete – Utica
Nicodemus Gambill, Freshman – Rochester, NY/East High
Freshman Nicodemus Gambill won Male Track Athlete of the Meet Sunday as he recorded victories in both the 100 and 200 meter dash events. He registered a time of 10.68 in the 100 and currently ranks sixth in the country on the NCAA Qualifying List. His time of 21.72 in the 200 is good enough for 13th in the nation.
Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete – St. John Fisher
Mark VanMarter, Freshman – Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Mark VanMarter earned wins in the long jump and triple jump, while finishing second in the high jump at the Empire 8 Championship, en route to being named the meet's Most Outstanding Field Athlete. VanMarter set the Fisher school record and qualified for ECACs with a jump of 13.60 meters in the triple jump to take first place. In the long jump, VanMarter once again took the top spot at 7.05 meters. He finished in second place in the high jump at 2.00 meters.
Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete – Alfred
Miasia Hillman, Senior – Buffalo, NY/Hutch Tech
Alfred senior Miasia Hillman won the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash to claim Track Athlete of the Meet honors. Hillman's winning time of 12.12 seconds in the 100 meters broke her own conference championship meet record of 12.29 seconds, set last year. Her winning time of 24.72 seconds in the 200 meters also set a new meet record. Both times met ECAC qualifying standards.
Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete – Ithaca
Brandy Smith, Sophomore – Miami, FL/Ransom Everglades
Ithaca's Brandy Smith was named the E8 Championship Field Athlete of the Meet on Sunday. Smith blew away the field by over 10 meters in the discus with a mark of 46.97 meters, which broke the previous meet record by 3.74 meters. Smith met a mark of 47.01 meters in the hammer throw to take second place.