Athletes of the Week: Oct. 9-15, 2017
The Empire 8 Athletic Conference has announced that 16 student-athletes in 10 different sports have been recognized for outstanding play during the week of Oct. 9-15, 2017....
Football Offensive Player – St. John Fisher
James Chambers, Senior, RB – Lockport, NY/Lockport
James Chambers helped lead the Cardinals to a thrilling 39-36 win over Utica College on Saturday. The game, which went five overtimes, marked the longest contest in program history. Chambers carried the ball 24 times and accumulated 123 yards and two touchdowns including the game-winning score in the fifth overtime period. Chambers also made history on the night as the Lockport native became just the seventh back in Fisher's storied history to have eclipsed 2,000 career rushing yards.
Football Defensive Player – Cortland
Kyle Richard, Junior, LB – Lakeview, NY/Malverne
Kyle Richard made a game-high and career-high 13 tackles, seven solo, in Cortland's 20-17 overtime win over previously unbeaten and nationally 17th-ranked Alfred. He helped the Red Dragons limit the Saxons to 279 yards of total offense.
Football Special Teams Player – Utica
Maki Medici, Freshman, Kicker – Watervliet, NY/Shaker
Utica kicker Maki Medici was responsible for 16 points with his foot in Saturday’s game against St. John Fisher, as he tied the school-record and conference record with five field goals, including four in overtime alone. Medici finished the night with field goals of 27, 33, 36, 31 and 39 yards for the Pioneers. He tied the school and conference-record of five field goals originally set by Utica’s All-American kicker Thomas Woodburn back in 2015.
Men’s Cross Country Runner – St. John Fisher
James Felice, Senior – Owego, NY/Owego
James Felice finished 21st out of 209 runners at the University of Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational. Felice clocked in at 26:58.8, a 5:26/mile pace over the 8K course.
Women’s Cross Country Runner – Nazareth
Claire Ludington, Senior – Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder
Senior Claire Ludington placed 60th out of 240 runners at the Inter-Regional Rumble in Oberlin, OH. Ludington clocked a 23:49 on the 6K course to average a6:23.1 mile pace.
Men’s Golf Athlete – Stevens
Vincent Cortese, Freshman – Falgstaff, AZ/Northland Prep Academy
Vincent Cortese carded scores of 77 and 75 to finish in a tie for sixth place out of 36 golfers with a total score of 152 at the Revolutionary College Classic.
Women’s Golf Player – SUNY Cortland
Tiffany Schapira, Junior – Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South
Junior Tiffany Schapira won the individual title at the 2017 Empire 8 Championship. On the first day, Schapira scored an 82 (+10), as she carded 10 pars and one birdie. On Sunday, she had no score higher than a six and marked nine pars to finish with a two-day total of 162.
Field Hockey Offensive Player – Stevens
Victoria Alvarez, Senior, Forward – Pine Beach, NJ/ Toms River South
Victoria Alvarez totaled 10 points in two games for the Ducks. Alvarez scored three goals - including the overtime game-winner - as Stevens erased a two-goal deficit to top Stockton University 4-3 on Wednesday night. Two days later, Alvarez scored two goals in the final seven minutes of play to come back and defeat William Paterson 3-2.
Field Hockey Defensive Player – Washington & Jefferson
Claire Shaak, Junior, Defense – Myerstown, PA/Eastern Lebanon County
Claire Shaak helped W&J to a win in its only game of the week, a 2-1 double overtime victory over E8 rival Hartwick on Saturday. Shaak assisted on the game-winning goal in the 91st minute against the Hawks and also added a defensive save in the first overtime period to keep the game tied at 1-1 at that point.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player – Alfred
Miguel Reyes, Senior, Midfielder – Valencia, Venezuela/La Salle
Miguel Reyes netted both the equalizing and game-winning goals as Alfred defeated Houghton, 3-2, in double-overtime. Reyes scored his first goal at the 82
nd minute mark off a free kick that went to the top left corner of the net, just past the outreached goalkeeper's glove to knot things up at 2-2. He scored the game-winning goal in the 105-minute as he took advantage of a penalty kick.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player – Nazareth
Brian Wilkin, Sophomore, GK – Rochester, NY/Hilton
Brian Wilkin recorded 181:12 of shutout action in two wins for Nazareth over the week. He stopped six shots in 83:34 of action on Wednesday at Alfred State, a 5-0 win for the Golden Flyers. He then made five saves, including stopping a penalty kick late in the second half, as Nazareth downed St. John Fisher 1-0 in overtime on Saturday. It was Wilkin's sixth shutout of the season.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player – Hartwick
Sierra Bentley, Senior, Midfield – Worcester, NY/Schenevus
Sierra Bentley scored the game-winning goal in the 104th minute on Saturday as Hartwick defeated St. John Fisher 1-0. She headed in a Maddy Paul cross for her second tally of the season which kept Hartwick in a first-place tie atop the E8 standings.
Women’s’ Soccer Defensive – Hartwick
Cassandra Robataille, Sophomore, GK – Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam
Cassandra Robataille made five saves in a 1-0 overtime win over St. John Fisher Saturday. Robataille now has three consecutive clean sheets and has shutout five of the last six Empire 8 opponents the Hawks have faced. In her last six games overall, Robataille has played in 553 minutes, conceded just one goal with 19 saves and has a goals against average of just 0.16.
Women’s Tennis Player – Nazareth
Maelah Nadeau, Sophomore – Raymond, ME/Windham
Maelah Nadeau was named the MVP of the Empire 8 Women's Tennis Championship as she claimed the deciding singles match 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to help Nazareth down Stevens 5-4 to claim the title. In the semifinal against Houghton, Nadeau’s match was ruled a no result as the match was already decided.
Women’s Volleyball Player – Elmira
Taylor Kaznowski, Junior, Setter – Hamburg, NY/Frontier
Taylor Kaznowski helped lead the Soaring Eagles to a 3-1 week, which included wins over Penn College, SUNY Canton and UMFK. She logged three double-doubles during that four-match stretch, all of which resulted in wins for Elmira. Kaznowski amassed 140 assists (9.33 per set), 12 kills (0.80 per set), seven service aces (0.47 per set) and 44 digs (2.93 per set). The junior setter produced 40-plus kills in two matches, including a weekend high for 46 helpers in the win over UMFK.
Women’s Volleyball Rookie – Nazareth
Savannah Bothner, Freshman, Libero – Rochester, NY/Pittsford Sutherland
Savannah Bothner led Nazareth with 68 digs (4.25 per set) in a 2-2 week for Nazareth. She also had 12 service aces, putting down four apiece against Springfield on Friday and Geneseo on Saturday. Her best defensive performance came against Geneseo on Saturday with 22 digs.