General | 3/1/2021 1:59:30 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on March 1, 2021 for games played from Feb. 20-Feb. 28. It is the first Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2020-21 season.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kevin Underwood, Nazareth, Sr., F, Canastota, NY/Christian Brothers Academy
Underwood scored a career-high 27 points off the bench to lead all scorers in the season-opener for Nazareth in a 93-87 loss to University of Rochester Friday night. Underwood was 10-for-15 from the field with a team-best seven rebounds and three assists.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Daijon Richards, Utica, Fr., Sprints, Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon
Richards bolted out of the starting blocks on his season, and his college career with a strong effort in the short sprints at Colgate University He won the men's 60-meter dash in his collegiate debut with a time of 7.05 seconds, which was good enough for the third fastest time in program history. Richards later recorded a runner-up finish at 200 meters with a debut performance of 23.40 seconds.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Josh Pomerleau, Nazareth, Jr., Pole Vault, Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder
Pomerleau won the pole Vault in last weekend's season-opening meet with a height of 4.10 meters (13' 5 1/4") and followed that by setting a school record this past weekend with a height of 4.28 meters (14' 1/2").
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Brenna Johnson, Nazareth, Jr., Hurdles/Jumps, Cortland, NY/Homer
Johnson was second in both the 60-meter dash (8.10) and 200-meter dash (27.37) and was the anchor leg of the winning 4x400-meter relay (4:19.30) in last weekend’s season opening meet. Johnson won the 60-meters (8.16) and was second in the 200-meters (27.59) as Nazareth competed this past weekend versus Roberts Wesleyan and Rochester.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Lea Richard, Nazareth, Fr., Throws, Gansevoort, NY/Glens Falls
Richard made her collegiate debut by winning both the shot put (10.71 meters) and weight throw (13.96 meters) in her first college competition on Feb. 20 versus Roberts Wesleyan. This past weekend, she was third in the weight throw (14.09 meters) and fifth in the shot put (10.78 meters) in a tri-meet against Roberts Wesleyan and Rochester.
MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Sidney Taylor, Nazareth, Sr., Diver, Rochester, NY/Pittsford Mendon
Taylor, the defending Empire 8 Champion in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events, opened the new season by winning the 3-meter event with a NCAA qualifying score of 312.0. He was second in the 1-meter event with a 287.17 in the season-opening dual against Rochester Saturday.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Taylor Robey, Nazareth, Sr., Sprints, Hurley, NY/Kingston
Robey, the two-time reigning Empire 8 Swimmer of the Year, opened the season by winning the 50-meter freestyle by breaking her own pool record with a time of 26.42 seconds versus Rochester Friday evening. She added wins in the 200-freestyle (2:13.05), 100-freestyle (59.56) and also swam a leg of the winning 200-meter freestyle relay (1:52.02). Her 26.54 second split was the fastest leg of any in the race by more than a second.
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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