General | 3/9/2020 12:57:25 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on March 9, 2020 for games played from March 2-March 8. It is the 27th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2019-20 season.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jeremy Newswanger, Houghton, Sr., INF, Bainbridge, PA/Lancaster Mennonite
Newswanger led the Highlanders at the plate, hitting .387 (12-for-31) with a double, two triples, and 10 runs batted in. Newswanger also posted a .424 on-base percentage and went 3-for-3 in stolen bases as the Highlanders went 4-3 on their spring trip to Florida. He was 3-for-5 with three RBI in a win over Northwestern (MN).
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – R.J. Kuruts, St. John Fisher, Jr., P, Forest City, PA/Forest City
Kuruts dazzled on the mound as he earned a win in Fisher’s final game at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational Kuruts pitched 6.0 innings and allowed just six hits and three unearned runs while striking out a career-high 11 batters in the process, as Fisher won 5-3.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Brian Norsen, St. John Fisher, Fr., INF, Hamburg, NY/Frontier
Norsen proved to be a difficult out, as he hit .385 over six games in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. Norsen was 10-for-26 at the dish with six extra base hits including three doubles and three home runs to go along with six runs scored and a team-leading nine RBI. Norsen slugged .846 and drew one walk on the week. He slugged two homers and a double to go along with a career-best seven RBI in a win over Saint Vincent. He closed out the week with a double and a homer in a 5-3 win over John Carroll to earn his third straight E8 weekly honor.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Daniel Norris, St. John Fisher, Sr., Sprints, Guilford, NY/Bainbridge-Guilford
Norris, the Empire 8 Indoor Champion in both the 60- and 200-meter dash events, placed sixth at the All-Atlantic Regional Championships in the 60-meters with a time of 7.06 seconds.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Kyle Rollins, St. John Fisher, Jr., Jumps, Groveland, NY/Geneseo
Rollins, the 2020 Empire 8 Championship Field Athlete of the Meet, won the high jump at the All-Atlantic Regional Championships on Saturday with a leap of 2.13 meters. He enters the NCAA Championships with the second best mark in that event in 2019-20. It is his sixth E8 weekly accolade of the 2019-20 season.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Eshone Cofield-Jackson, Utica, Fr., Sprints, Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove
Cofield-Jackson ran an outstanding sprints double at the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Championships. On Friday, the first-year standout dominated the track in the 60-meter dash preliminaries as she put down a new school record time of 7.82 seconds. She went on to finish seventh in Saturday's final in that event. On Saturday, Cofield-Jackson became the All-Atlantic Region Champion at 200 meters with a personal best time of 25.35 seconds. The 2020 Empire 8 Indoor Championship Track Athlete of the Meet and three-time Empire 8 Track Athlete of the Week, Cofield-Jackson will compete in the 200-meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Kelsey Wands, Utica, Fr., Jumps, Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro
Wands recorded a fourth place finish in the women's long jump at the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Championships on Saturday. She put up a strong mark of 5.41 meters in her first time at the meet. Wands' personal best of 5.59 meters set in her win at last week's Empire 8 Championships aided her in getting into the NCAA Championship field. She will compete in the long jump at nationals on Friday.
MEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Colin McElligott, Nazareth, Sr., M, Spencerport, NY/Spencerport
McElligott helped the Golden Flyers to a pair of non-conference victories last weeks by totaling 10 points on four goals and six assists. He had one goal and four assists in a 20-8 win at Brockport on Tuesday and then added three goals and two assists in Saturday's 11-4 win over Ohio Northern. Through five games, McElligott ranks third on the team in scoring with 15 points on eight goals and seven assists.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Jacob Mattice, Elmira, Jr., GK, Canton, NY/Hugh C. Williams
Mattice went 2-1 while recording a .650 save percentage, 39 saves, and a 7.00 goals-against average last week. He also added an assist to go along with five caused turnovers and 17 ground balls. Mattice made a season-high 24 saves on Monday against Keuka. He followed that up with nine saves and a .900 save percentage in a 12-1 win over Alfred State on Wednesday. Mattice allowed the fewest goals in a game by an Elmira goalie in 30 years. He then won his second consecutive start with six saves, six ground balls and two caused turnovers in a 7-5 win over SUNY Cobleskill.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Lexi Scaccia, Utica, So., A, Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro
Scaccia excelled in leading Utica to a pair of wins last week. She totaled 15 points on 13 goals and two assists, while also adding eight ground balls, five caused turnovers, and 15 draw controls. In a weeknight win over Canton, she had eight points on six goals and two assists. In Saturday's victory over Wellesley, she buried seven goals. Scaccia was also 6-of-8 on free position opportunities in earning her second straight E8 weekly accolade.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sydney DeGirolamo, St. John Fisher, So., A, Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius
DeGirolamo netted eight goals and 15 points in leading No. 12 St. John Fisher to a pair of dominant wins to start the 2020 season. On Saturday, she set a new career-high with 10 points against Meredith on four goals and six assists. DeGirolamo also won eight draw controls in each contest as Fisher won its two games by a combined score of 41-7.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Claudia Mocciaro, St. John Fisher, Jr., GK, Syracuse, NY/West Genesee
Mocciaro earned two wins in net for the No. 12 Cardinals, recording a microscopic 2.85 goals against average and a .615 save percentage. She made two saves in the season-opening win and stopped six shots against Meredith on Saturday.
SOFTBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Emily Trotman, St. John Fisher, Jr., P/DH, East Amherst, NY/Mount Saint Mary Academy
Trotman enjoyed a tremendous week for the Cardinals as she helped guide Fisher to a 7-3 record against some of the nation's top teams last week in the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Trotman contributed in the circle and aided her own cause at the plate as she went 4-2 with a 2.46 earned run average over 42.2 innings of work. Trotman also accounted for one save and finished the week with 32 strikeouts. She defeated No. 14 St. Thomas and allowed just one run in nearly eight innings against No. 4 East Texas Baptist. At the plate, Trotman combined to go 16-for-33 (.457) with 13 runs, two doubles, a triple, two homers, six RBI and a .743 slugging percentage. She was 4-for-4 in stolen bases.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Alicia Swavely, Sage, Sr., P/UT, Rome, NY/Rome free Academy
Swavely went 2-1 in the circle with a 1.47 earned run average to go along with 11 strikeouts and one complete game. She also held opposition to a .262 batting average on the week after appearing in four games with a pair of starts. Swavely fired a complete-game gem versus Penn State Brandywine and finished the week by allowing just an unearned in 4 2/3 innings to pick up a win over John Jay.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Joe Crosby, Nazareth, Sr., MB, Walworth, NY/McQuaid Jesuit
Crosby helped Nazareth to a pair of non-conference wins over the weekend as he totaled 20 kills against Potsdam and Medaille. He had 12 kills without an error in 17 attempts in a three-set sweep of Potsdam and added eight kills with two blocks in a three-set sweep of Medaille.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Tyler Anderson, Elmira, Fr., RS, Bellmore, NY/John F. Kennedy
Anderson stood out as Elmira's main attacking option in a pair of contests against nationally ranked opponents. The rookie totaled a team-best 17 kills with a 2.83 kills-per-set mark while hitting at a .262 clip against No. 6 Vassar and No. 2 NYU. Anderson added five digs, a team-high five blocks and two service aces to round out his contribution. Against No. 6 Vassar, Anderson floored 11 kills with a stellar .500 attack percentage, while adding three digs and four blocks. Against NYU, Anderson registered six kills, two aces, two digs and a block. It is his third E8 Rookie of the Week accolade in 2020.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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