Athletes of the Week: March 14-20, 2016
A few spring schedules were changed due to weather, but the changes had little effect on Empire 8 student-athlete performances. Those earning weekly honors for the week of March 14-20, 2016 include...
Men’s Lacrosse Player – Ithaca
Jake Cotton, Junior, Attack – Framingham, MA/Framingham
Sophomore Jake Cotton scored 12 points over two victories for the Ithaca College men's lacrosse team during its annual Spring Break trip to Tampa, Fla. Cotton, an attacker, scored four goals with two assists against Colorado College in a 19-3 win Tuesday night. Cotton followed up with a three-goal, three-assist effort as the Bombers concluded their annual Spring Break trip with a 15-7 win over Babson College Thursday.
Men’s Lacrosse Goalie – Elmira
Cameron Prior, Junior – Malden, MA/Malden Catholic
Cameron Prior continued his stellar play in the Elmira cage this past week, notching his first two victories of the season. He made 23 saves, including several crucial stops down the stretch, in Elmira's tight 11-10 win over Cazenovia on Wednesday. He followed that up with a solid 14 save effort in the lopsided win over SUNY Cobleskill on Saturday.
Women’s Lacrosse Player – Elmira
Moorea Spoljaric, Senior, Midfield – Saugerties, NY/Saugerties
Moorea Spoljaric had a historic game in helping the Soaring Eagles to their first victory of the season in a 21-11 thrashing of Wells College. The EC senior was a one-woman wrecking crew, gashing the Express for 11 goals, 11 caused turnovers, 11 draw controls, and 10 ground balls. Spoljaric set new single-game career and program highs for goals and caused turnovers, while her 11 tallies were just three short of the NCAA Division III single-game record. She leads the Empire 8 in goals per game, points per game, draw controls per game, caused turnovers per game, and ground balls per game.
Women’s Lacrosse Goalie – Utica
Kells Casey, Senior – Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy
Senior Kells Casey tied her season-high with nine saves in Utica’s 8-7 overtime win against SUNY Potsdam on Saturday. She faced 23 shots and had a .563 save percentage over the 62:51 of minutes played.
Baseball Player – Elmira
Dylan Bellinger, Sophomore, First Base – Elmira, NY/Thomas A. Edison
Dylan Bellinger had a monster weekend in helping EC Baseball to a three-game sweep of its swing through Penn State-Harrisburg and Penn State-Abington last weekend. He went a combined 9-for-15, slugging two doubles and a homer, while also posting five runs scored and five RBIs in the three contests. The big weekend improved his average to .333 on the year.
Baseball Pitcher – Elmira
Conor Bawiec, Sophomore – Lebanon, PA/Cedar Crest
Conor Bawiec had a big weekend for the Soaring Eagles in the team's three-game sweep through Pennsylvania schools. He turned one of the strongest starts of his career in Elmira's weekend capping victory over Penn State-Abington. He went seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits, while striking out six to notch his first win of the season.
Softball Player – Stevens
Gavriella Risman-Jones, Senior, Centerfield – New Boston, NH/Goffstown
Gavriella Risman-Jones started the 2016 season 10-for-15 (.667) with one double, seven runs, and three RBIs to lead the Ducks to a 4-0 start. During the four-game stretch, Risman-Jones has a multi-hit game in each game, and has scored twice in all but one. Risman-Jones has also been perfect in the field, converting each of the chances she's had for a perfect fielding percentage.
Softball Pitcher – Utica
Abby Monroe, Senior – Watertown, NY/General Brown
Senior Abby Monroe totaled 28 strikeouts in four appearances last week. She set a new career-high for strikeouts in a single game as she fanned ten batters in back-to-back outings. She also set a new program record for career strikeouts, as she now has 291. Monroe is tied for second in the conference with 31 strikeouts and she ranks fifth in ERA (1.38).
Men’s Tennis Player– Elmira
Satchal Waters, Senior – Elmira, NY/Elmira Free Academy
Satchal Waters had a strong showing this past weekend sweeping both his first flight doubles match 8-2 and his second flight singles matchup 6-0, 6-1. The two wins moved Waters into first place in program history with 59 career victories, surpassing Gabe Cortes '11 (58).