Athletes of the Week: March 13-19, 2017
A few spring schedules were changed due to weather, but the changes had little effect on the outstanding Empire 8 student-athlete performances. Those earning weekly honors for the week of March 13-19, 2017 include...
Baseball Player – Utica
JT Ross, Senior, OF – New York Mills, NY/New York Mills
During the week JT Ross recorded 15 hits in his 30 at-bats for a batting average of .500. He tallied eight runs batted in and hit seven doubles throughout the week. In the Pioneers' win over Trine University, he finished 6-for-6 at the plate with four doubles, six RBI's, and scored four runs.
Baseball Pitcher – Stevens
Danny Poidomani, Sophomore – Rochelle Park, NJ/Hackensack
Danny Poidomani, a sophomore left-hander, tossed a 12 .2 innings in a pair of appearances. Poidomani gave up one earned run, five hits and struck out 11 batters against Piedmont. In the 3-0 victory over New Paltz he scattered five hits and struck out nine, including a strikeout with the bases loaded and Stevens clinging to a 1-0 lead.
Softball Player – Stevens
Lauren Shirley, Junior, 2B/SS – Oceanport, NJ/Shore Regional
Lauren Shirley, an infielder, led the Stevens offense at the Tucson Invitatioal Games. Over eight games, Shirley batted .500 (12-for-24) with two home runs and 12 RBI. She also scored eight runs, stole three bases (on three attempts) with five doubles and three walks.
Softball Pitcher – Nazareth
Rachel Mertens, Senior – Syracuse, NY/Henninger
Rachel Mertens went a perfect 3-0 on the mound for Nazareth, allowing just one earned run (.34 ERA) in 20.2 innings pitched for the Golden Flyers in Fort Myers, FL. She held previously undefeated UMass-Dartmouth (7-1) to a shutout in a 3-0 win to start the week. Later in the week she held North Central scoreless in an 8-0 win (6 innings). She had 14 strikeouts for the week.
Men’s Lacrosse Player – Ithaca
Jake Cotton, Junior, Attack – Framingham, MA/Framingham
Jake Cotton had a huge week in helping the fourth-ranked Bombers to a pair of blow out victories against No. 19 Bowdoin and Western New England during their spring break trip to Florida. He began the week with six points, scoring twice and adding four assists in Ithaca's 17-7 victory over the Polar Bears. He continued his offensive surge with a seven-point outing against the Golden Bears, finishing with three-goals and four more assists.
Men’s Lacrosse Goalie – Ithaca
Jack Deragon, Senior – Fort Washington, PA/Upper Dublin
Jack Deragon posted an excellent week in helping IC to a pair of victories in neutral site venues down in Florida. He finished with 25 saves and just 10 goals allowed in playing the entirety of two games, helping the Bombers to a 17-7 victory over #19 Bowdoin and a 19-3 triumph over Western New England. He stopped 11 shots against the Polar Bears and finished with 14 saves against the Golden Bears on Friday night.
Women’s Lacrosse Player – Stevens
Laura Roberts, Senior, Attack – West Hartford, CT/Conard
Laura Roberts scored 11 goals with three ground balls and a draw control in three games for the Ducks that included 15-6 and 19-5 wins over Pomona-Pitzer and Whitman respectively. Roberts opened the week with a career-high five scores in the win over Pomona, before matching the scoring mark the following day against Whitman.
Women’s Lacrosse Goalie – Nazareth
Brianna Rizzari, Sophomore – Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia
Brianna Rizzari started two games and played a total of 79:44 to help Nazareth go 2-0 in its trip to Clermont, FL. She finished with a 4.52 goals against average and made nine saves. She allowed three goals in each contest.
Men’s Tennis Player – Ithaca
Minos Stavrakas, Freshman – Athens, Greece/St. Catherine’s
Minos Stavrakas posted a 6-2 overall record, going 3-1 in the top-flight of both singles and doubles play during Ithaca's four-match spring break swing at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. He scored his victories against RPI, Colby-Sawyer, and NCAA Division II Bloomsburg. His lone losses came against nationally-ranked Amherst.