Athletes of the Week: March 20-26, 2017
Men's golf and outdoor track and field have held their first events of the spring season, bringing the Empire 8 up to a full slate of spring sports in action. Those earning weekly honors for the week of March 20-26, 2017 include...
Baseball Player – Stevens
Zeph Walters, Senior, OF/1B – Diamond Bar, CA/Diamond Bar
Zeph Walters hit .533 (8-for-15) with three home runs, four runs scored, 8 RBI, a .529 on-base percentage and a 1.133 slugging percentage in a 3-1 week for the Ducks. He finished the week with three multi-hit games including a 3-for-4, 4 RBI effort in a 13-5 win against Houghton. To start the week, the senior had two hits versus nationally ranked Kean. Walters also added three more hits against Houghton in the 3-game series.
Baseball Pitcher – Elmira
Nick Sampogna, Junior – Verplanck, NY/Hendrick Hudson
Nick Sampogna '18 earned the victory on the mound for Elmira in Saturday's 10-4 victory over Utica College in EC's home- and conference-opener at Dunn Field. He finished with a game-high nine strikeouts and allowed just one run on two hits in 5.0 innings of work. After giving up the lone run in the top of the first, he allowed only one batter to reach base safely on an infield single over his remaining four innings. The junior righty set down the Pioneers in order in the second, third, and fifth innings, and in both the third and fifth, he struck out the side. Sampogna's nine strikeouts tied his career high, and he did so on just 69 pitches.
Softball Player – Houghton
Tanya Hatton, Sophomore – Greene, NY/Afton
Tanya Hatton led the Houghton offense in two doubleheader sweeps as the Highlanders won its first games of the 2017 season. Over four games, Hatton batted .750 (12-of-16) and six RBI. She also scored six runs, with one triple and three walks. In the doubleheader against Wells, Hatton was 7-of-8 at the plate including a perfect 5-for-5 in game one. She followed up with a 5-for-8 performance in the doubleheader against Medaille. Hatton had a .789 on base percentage and had 14 total bases.
Softball Pitcher – St. John Fisher
Lindsey Thayer, Junior – Winthrop, NY/St. Lawrence
Lindsey Thayer picked up her sixth win of the season on Sunday as the nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College softball team swept the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford. Thayer pitched the opening game and allowed just one run on three hits over 4.0 innings. Thayer struck out seven in the win.
Men’s Lacrosse Player – Alfred
Jake Lynch, Junior, Attack – Whitney Point, NY/Whitney Point
Junior Jake Lynch set the school record in career goals with 128 as the Saxons had a 1-1 week with a road win over Oswego State, 16-12, and the home loss to Stevens. While at Oswego, Lynch scored his first two goals within four minutes of each other in the first quarter. His second score (at 5:11 and unassisted) broke the school record. The previous was 127 held by Dylan Macro (2011-04). Lynch totaled five goals in the outing and added one assist for six points. He scored the game-winner in the contest and posted a season-high two man-up goals. His weekly total was seven goals and one assist for eight points. Defensively, Lynch caused a turnover in both contests as well as scooping up six ground balls.
Men’s Lacrosse Goalie – Nazareth
Alex Winkler, Freshman – Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins
Alex Winkler had a 2-0 week for Nazareth in net, making 18 saves. He had a career-high 16 saves in Nazareth's 15-5 win over Hamilton on Tuesday. He also made two saves and allowed just one goal in 15 minutes of action against Elmira on Saturday.
Women’s Lacrosse Player – Hartwick
Lauren Rosenberg, Senior, Midfield – Smithtown, NY/Commack
Lauren Rosenberg scored 14 goals and added two assists in a 2-1 week for the Hawks. She scored four goals, including the game-winner, in an 11-10 victory over New Paltz in which the Hawks rallied from a 10-7 deficit in the final 13 minutes on Monday. Rosenberg added six goals and an assist in a 17-4 win over Keuka the following day. She completed her week with four goals and one assist in a 16-8 loss to Nazareth. With her four goals, she cracked the all-time top 10 in career tallies at Hartwick (146). Rosenberg also contributed five ground balls and three caused turnovers on the week.
Women’s Lacrosse Goalie – Stevens
Stephanie Schnelzer, Junior – Carmel, IN/Carmel
Stephanie Schnelzer posted an impressive .516 save percentage in 120 minutes of work against two nationally ranked teams. She made seven saves against No. 7 Trinity and then made nine saves in the win against No. 14 St. John Fisher.
Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete – Nazareth
Nick LaBarbera, Junior – Red Hook, NY/Red Hook
Nick LaBarbera took the top spot in the 400 at the Dr. Jack Toms Invitational in Lynchburg, VA on Saturday (49.49). He also helped the 4 x 400-meter relay earn second place in 3:24.67.
Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete – Houghton
Leland Roberts, Sophomore – Danbury, CT/Danbury
Leland Roberts broke the outdoor school record in the pole vault with a cleared height of 4.40 meters at the Jim Taylor Invitational, hosted by Susquehanna University. His 4.40 meters was the same height he cleared to win the E8 Indoor Championship.
Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete – Stevens
Amy Regan, Senior – Green Brook, NJ/Watchung Hills
Amy Regan opened the 2017 outdoor track and field season with a victory in the 5,000 at the Monmouth Season Opener. He time of 17:01.02 was over 11 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete – Alfred
Danielle Perry, Freshman – Leicester, NY/York
Danielle Perry competed in her first collegiate outdoor track and field meet at California University of Pennsylvania on Saturday. In the meet, she finished fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 10.70m (35’-1.25”). The distance broke the school record of 10.57m (34’-8.25”) set by Corine Pettit in 2013. Perry also led the Saxon jumpers in the long jump with a distance of 4.76m (15’-7.5”). That distance is .02m from besting her indoor personal best in the event.
Men’s Tennis Player – Elmira
Patrick Tracey, Junior – Bardonia, NY/Clarkstown South
Patrick Tracey '18 helped the Elmira men's tennis team win its third consecutive match with a sweep at No. 1 doubles and No. 3 singles, as part of a 9-0 victory over Marywood University on March 23. Tracey and doubles partner, Theo Tran '20, beat Marywood's top tandem by an 8-2 score. Then at third singles, Tracey rolled Brendan O'Rourke, 6-0, 6-0, making him the only Elmira player to win every game in singles play on the afternoon. The pair of wins extended Tracey's doubles win streak to four consecutive matches, and his singles win streak to three in a row. The third-year netter also moved into a three-way tie for fifth place in program history with 21 career singles wins.
Men’s Golf Player – Stevens
Frank Szucs, Senior – Brookside, NJ/Delbarton
Frank Szucs tied for 4th place at the at the McDaniel Spring Invitational. He shot back to back rounds of 77 to close the event 10-over-154 to lead the Ducks and finish as the highest placing E8 golfer.