Athletes of the Week: March 26 - April 1, 2018
The Empire 8 Athletic Conference has announced that 15 student-athletes in eight different sports have been recognized for outstanding play during the week of March 26 - April 1, 2018....
Baseball Player – Utica
Christian Tiffin, Junior, INF – Sherrill, NY/VVS
Junior infielder Christian Tiffin went 9-for-14 in the last four games played for the Pioneers. In game two of the doubleheader against Elmira, he went 4-for 5 with four hits, including a 2-run home run and an RBI triple, contributing three RBIs and scoring three runs. Tiffin currently has a .475 batting average with 19 hits, 17 runs, one home run and 10 RBIs in 40 at bats.
Baseball Pitcher– Stevens
Charlie Ruegger, Junior, Morris Plains, NJ/Whippany Park
Charlie Ruegger turned in a masterful performance in Stevens' 3-0 win over Canton. The junior right-hander allowed just one hit and struck out 15 in posting his first career shutout. Ruegger allowed just one ball to leave the infield, didn't walk a batter and fell behind just nine hitters on the evening. The Morris Plains also turned in one of the top defensive performances of the evening with a barehanded grab of Travis Schindler's sixth-inning dribbler and a perfect throw to nab the Canton leadoff hitter at first.
Softball Player– Alfred
Lu Krawczyk, Junior, Catcher – West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West
Junior Lu Krawczyk played in three of the Saxons' four games this week. In all three games that she appeared in, the Saxons prevailed including two Empire 8 games against Nazareth College and the split against SUNY Geneseo. Krawczyk went 5-for-8 from the plate with six RBI's and three runs while hitting a double and a homerun during the nightcap against Nazareth. Five of her RBI's and two runs were in that game as well. Krawczyk was 2-for-3 in stolen bases against Geneseo with a run and two hits with one RBI.
Softball Pitcher– St. John Fisher
Lindsey Thayer, Senior – Winthrop, NY/St. Lawrence
Lindsey Thayer helped guide the nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College softball team to three wins last week, including a sweep of No. 24 Ithaca, and was part of a team no-hitter against the University of Rochester. Thayer pitched 20.0 innings overall in four appearances and went 3-1 in that stretch with two complete games. The senior pitcher gave up three earned runs on nine hits and tallied 37 strikeouts in all. Against Rochester, Thayer allowed three hits and had 17 strikeouts in a complete game shutout before throwing three more innings in the nightcap. Against Ithaca, the Winthrop native tossed another complete game in the opener where she surrendered two runs and had 13 strikeouts. She came back in relief in the second game to earn another win after going three innings and allowing one run on one hit with four strikeouts.
Men’s Lacrosse Player – Stevens
Max Bailey, Junior, Attack – Millersville, MD/Severn School
Max Bailey turned in another outstanding week for No. 13 Stevens Men's Lacrosse. The junior attackman recorded seven assists in Stevens' victory over Widener, setting the program's all-time career assist record and then added two goals and four assists as the Ducks moved to 2-0 in Empire 8 play with a win over St. John Fisher.
Men’s Lacrosse Goalie – Utica
Ryan Boshart, Freshman – Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius
Freshman goalkeeper Ryan Boshart had a solid two games in net for the Pioneers as he picked up his second collegiate win against Elmira on Saturday. On Wednesday against Oswego, he gave up four goals and made four saves on 19 shots faced. In the win over Empire 8 opponent Elmira, Boshart played in the second half where he didn't allow a goal and made seven saves on 13 shots faced.
Women’s Lacrosse Player – Stevens
Kyra Bednarski, Sophomore, Attack - Syracuse, NY/West Genesee
Sophomore attacker Kyra Bednarski had an impressive week for the Ducks as she had 10 points (seven goals and three assists) in two wins over nationally ranked opponents. She scored a hat-trick, including the game winner, against No. 12 Wesleyan on Wednesday. Bednarski assisted on the goal to tie the game 9-9 with 11:45 remaining and then scored unassisted with 2:14 left play for the game-winner. On Saturday, she scored four goals and two assists against No. 20 St. John Fisher.
Women’s Lacrosse Goalie – Hartwick
Carleigh Tarala, Sophomore – Tully, NY/Tully
Carleigh Tarala played in 106 minutes for the Hawks in a 3-0 week. She played the final 46 minutes surrendering three goals while making five saves to help Hartwick battle back from a 5-1 deficit in an 8-7 win over Potsdam on Tuesday. She then played in the second half, making eight saves, in a 13-11 victory over SUNY Canton on Wednesday. On Saturday, she started and played the first half against Alfred and made two saves. For the week, Tarala made 15 saves with a goals against average of 4.52 and a save percentage of .652.
Men’s Tennis Player – Alfred
Peter Smock, Junior – Prattsburg, NY/Prattsburg
Junior Peter Smock picked up two wins against Oswego State on Saturday. Smock first teamed with senior Mike Wisniewski at No. 1 doubles. They topped Jon Matros and Tyler Buxbaum, 8-5. Then, Smock defeated Chris Gayvert in two sets, 7-5, 6-1 at the No. 2 singles spot.
Men’s Volleyball Player – Nazareth
Jake Kemp, Senior Setter – Phelps, NY/Midlakes
Jake Kemp totaled 88 assists (11.0 per set) and 13 digs (1.62 per set) in two matches against nationally ranked opponents. Kemp dished out 40 assists, five digs and served two aces against No. 11 NYU on Friday. Against No. 3 Stevens, Kemp finished with 48 assists and eight digs
Men’s Volleyball Rookie – Sage
Scott Sanders, Sophomore, MH – Los Angeles, CA/Taft
Scott Sanders helped Sage to a 2-0 week after adding 14 kills with a .522 hitting percentage. He also added three block assists with 15.5 points on the week. Sanders hit .667 on six attempts with five kills and one error against Purchase College and then came back to hit .471 with nine kills and one error.
Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete – Stevens
Gina Dello Russo, Sophomore – Whippany, NJ/Whippany
Gina Dello Russo opened her portion of the outdoor season in record breaking fashion as she set two new school-records and won first place in both the 100-meters and the 200-meters, with times of 12.43 seconds and 25.29 seconds, respectively, at the Stockton Invitational.
Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete – Stevens
Katie Weeks, Senior – Toms River, NJ/Msgr Donovan
Katie Weeks continues to re-write the Stevens school record book but this time it was an outdoor field event record. Her first place mark of 40.71 meters at the Stockton Invitational set the school record in the discus.
Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete – St. John Fisher
Peter Girardi, Senior – Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse
Peter Girardi competed at the prestigious Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin. Girardi competed first on the day for the Cardinals in the fourth heat of the 400-hurdles event. The Cicero native finished 15th of 83 competitors, clocking in at 51.62 seconds. Girardi now ranks number one in Division III in the event after competing against a majority Division I athletes in the race. Girardi also posted a time of 14.63 seconds in the 110-hurdles event at the competition. The mark gives Girardi a solid Atlantic Regional qualifying time, and puts the senior at third in the country in the event.
Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete – St. John Fisher
Kyle Rollins, Freshman - Groveland, NY/Geneseo
Kyle Rollins put on a show at the Geneseo Early Season Invite on Saturday. The freshman jumped an astounding 2.12 meters to not only place first in the competition, but currently sits first overall nationally in the event. Rollins' mark set a new school record and also established a new benchmark in the Empire 8 Conference. The previous school record was 2.03 meters, while the former E8 record was 2.08 meters.