Athletes of the Week: Sept. 18-24, 2017
Those earning Empire 8 Athlete of the Week honors for the week of Sept. 18-24, 2017 include....
Football Offensive Player – Hartwick
Brad Garcia, Senior, WR – Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley
Brad Garcia recorded career highs of 14 receptions and 271 yards in Hartwick's 24-21 victory over St. John Fisher on Saturday. The win marked the first for the Hawks over the Cardinals since 2008. Over the course of the game, Garcia also set Hartwick program records for catches (204) and reception yards (3,841). After a 6-yard TD catch in the first half, Garcia caught a touchdown pass of 38 yards in the third and another for 21 yards to give the Hawks the lead with just over three minutes remaining.
Football Defensive Player – Buffalo State
Bart Mazzara, Senior, LB – Lockport, NY/Starpoint
Bart Mazzara finished with six tackles and had a hand in three turnovers with an interception, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble in Buffalo State's 33-21 come-from-behind victory over RPI. Mazzara and the Bengals limited RPI to just 89 yards of total offense in the second half as Buffalo State outscored the Engineers 24-0 in the final 30 minutes.
Football Special Teams Player – Hartwick
Brian McGovern, Senior, Kicker – Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley
Brian McGovern kicked a 21-yard field goal with 3.4 seconds remaining to push Hartwick past St. John Fisher on Saturday 24-21. The win marked the first for the Hawks over the Cardinals since 2008. In addition to McGovern's game-winner, he also was successful on his three PAT tries for the game.
Men’s Cross Country Runner – Utica
Tyler Wright, Junior – Little Falls, NY/West Canada Valley
Junior Tyler Wright led the Utica College men's cross country team to a second place finish Saturday at the fifth annual SUNY Poly Wildcat Weekend Classic (8K). Wright was the top finisher for the Pioneers as he placed fourth overall with a time of 27:47.3.
Women’s Cross Country Runner – Utica
Kaitlyn Stinson, Junior – South Kortright, NY/South Kortright
Utica's Kaitlyn Stinson nearly broke the course record as she posted a time of 23:00.7 and cruised to a first place finish, 14 seconds ahead of the second place finisher from Clarkson University on Saturday at the fifth annual SUNY Poly Wildcat Weekend Classic (6K).
Men’s Golf Athlete – SUNY Canton
Tom Rancour, Senior – Moriah, NY/Moriah
Tom Rancour earned first place and medalist honors at the SUNY Canton Invitational in his only event of the week as he carded a round of 80 at Partridge Run Golf and Country Club. The win is the first of the season for the Moriah, NY native. The Roos (334) finished in second place falling just short of Clarkson (332).
Women’s Golf Player – SUNY Canton
Cecelia Neally, Sophomore – Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post
Cecelia Neally finished in a tie for second place out of 27 golfers at the two-day 36-hole Utica College Invitational on Saturday and Sunday. The sophomore posted rounds of 84 and 82 finishing at 20-over par 166 as she posted a pair of birdies with six pars during the final round.
Women’s Golf Player – Keuka
Holly Reynolds, Junior – Ovid, NY/South Seneca
Holly Reynolds tied for second place at the Utica College Invitational with a 36-hole total of 166. Reynolds opened with an 84 on Saturday at Utica College. She then shot a +9, 82, on Sunday with a birdie and 10 pars on her card to finish with a 166.
Field Hockey Offensive Player – Washington & Jefferson
Rachel Buyan, Junior, Midfield – Huntington Beach, CA/Edison
Rachel Buyan scored three goals and assisted on two more during W&J's 2-0 week last week. She scored twice and had an assist in the Presidents' 8-0 home win Oberlin on Thursday, her fifth career multi-goal game, before scoring once and assisting once in a 4-0 E8 win over Nazareth on Saturday.
Field Hockey Defensive Player – St. John Fisher
Ashley Maynard, Junior, Goalie – Rochester, NY/Hilton
Ashley Maynard continued her strong play between the pipes for the St. John Fisher College Field Hockey team. The junior goalkeeper was credited with all three of the Cardinal wins this past week bringing her overall season record to 7-1. Maynard made a total of 14 saves and only allowed two goals against. She played all 70 minutes in each of the games, while posting her second shutout of the season against Houghton College 5-0.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player – Sage
River Seybolt, Junior, Forward – Selden, NY/Longwood
River Seybolt was instrumental in Sage's 2-0 week with two goals in each game. He scored in the 13th and 23rd minute to give the Gators a 3-0 lead en route to a 4-0 win over Elms College on Wednesday. Seybolt helped secure Sage’s first E8 win on Saturday as he scored the go ahead goal at 82:50 and put in a second goal at the 88:42 mark sealing the team's first Empire 8 win.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player – Elmira
Jacob Liese, Sophomore, Goalie – Massapequa, NY/Massapequa
Jacob Liese backstopped the Soaring Eagle defense by making eight saves in a 1-1-0 week. He logged a trio of saves in a one-goal setback to Brockport, before turning away five shots in a clean-sheet win over Nazareth in Empire 8 Conference play. Three of Liese's saves against the Golden Flyers came in the second half, as Liese recorded the first win and shutout victory of his collegiate career. Additionally, Elmira's win over Nazareth was its first over the Golden Flyers since 2012.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player – Stevens
Taylor Schaad, Freshman, Forward – Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial
Taylor Schaad came off the bench on Wednesday to net the first hat trick of her career in a 4-0 win against Montclair. Schaad's first goal came at 39:35 on a shot into the upper right corner. In the 75 minute, Schaad took a through ball to put the Ducks up 3-0 and then she earned the hat trick by running through the defense for another unassisted goal at 81:25. On Saturday, Schaad assisted on the first goal with a high pass over the defense in a 2-1 win over Hartwick.
Women’s’ Soccer Defensive – Sage
Emma Augustine, Junior, Goalie – Wawarsing, NY/Ellenville
Emma Augustine came up big for Sage this week posting a 0.93 GAA and .905 saves percentage in a 1-1 week. She earned the win in net making five save as Sage knocked off SUNY-Potsdam, 1-0 in 2OT. She backed up that performance with a career-best 14 saves as Sage fell to Hamilton on Sunday.
Women’s Tennis Player – St. John Fisher
Kaili Saffran, Freshman – Webster, NY/Webster Thomas
Kaili Saffran helped lead the Cardinals to two consecutive wins last week including a 7-2 decision over Hartwick College in Empire 8 action. Saffran posted four wins overall last week including two at first singles and another pair at first doubles. Against Cortland, Saffran posted a 6-2, 6-0 decision before teaming up for an 8-2 win in double play. The freshman followed that performance up with a come-from-behind win at first singles against Hartwick and an 8-4 win in doubles competition.
Women’s Volleyball Player – Nazareth
Melissa Newcomb, Sophomore, MB – Syracuse, NY/Westhill
Melissa Newcomb helped Nazareth to a 2-0 week with wins over Hartwick and Elmira, leading the Golden Flyers on a .425 attack percentage. She put down 19 kills (3.17 per set) on 40 attempts with just two attacking errors. She also had two digs. In Nazareth's three set win over Hartwick she went for nine kills, on 18 attempts with one error (.444). In Nazareth's four set win over Elmira, she put down 10 kills on 22 attempts with an error (.409).
Women’s Volleyball Rookie – Hartwick
Maria Sorriento, Freshman, OH – Troy, NY/Troy
In a 2-1 week for Hartwick, freshman Maria Sorriento put up staggering numbers as the Hawks began league play. In a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over Utica, the Hawks were spearheaded by the outside hitter who contributed an astounding 22 kills to lead all on the evening. In addition, she led with six service aces while raising for a block. Sorriento’s game-high 12 kills helped the Hawks to its first win over Elmira since 2007, 3-0. Against Nazareth, Sorriento again led in multiple categories registering 15 kills, three service aces and adding a rejection. She currently sits fourth in the conference in points earned (3.57 p/s).