General | 4/12/2021 2:32:27 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on April 12, 2021 for games played from April 5-April 11. It is the tenth Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2020-21 season.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Adam Zebrowski, St. John Fisher, Jr., C, Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy
Zebrowski was a hitting machine for the Cardinals again last week as the Albany native batted .667 over five games. Zebrowski finished the week with 12 hits in 18 at-bats and slugged 1.556 overall. The catcher had four doubles and four home runs to go along with 11 RBI and 12 runs scored. He also drew five walks and had an on-base percentage of .750. Zebrowski currently has a home run in four consecutive games. It is Zebrowski’s second E8 weekly honor of 2021.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Sebastian Rodriguez, Houghton, So., P, Boca Raton, FL/Boca Christian
Rodriguez earned two wins on the mound on Saturday against Utica College for the Highlanders in two outings of relief work where he pitched five innings and surrendered just three earned runs.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Chris VanCheri, Houghton, Fr., C, Silver Creek, NY/Silver Creek
VanCheri batted 7-for-14 in four games for the Highlanders including a triple and two walks, while catching all four games between Friday and Saturday as the Houghton went 2-2 against Utica. VanCheri also scored three runs and tallied four RBI for the team.
SOFTBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ashley Lugo, Alfred, Jr., SS, Hesperia, CA/Oak Hills
Lugo batted .526 and had an on-base percentage of .640, while helping the Saxons to an impressive 5-1 week with sweeps over Fredonia and Ithaca. Lugo had hits in every single game and a stolen base in all but one game with tying a season-high of three against Utica College. She totaled nine stolen bases on the week, 10 hits, eight runs scored, nine RBI, two triples and two doubles. Lugo was also hit by pitch three times and walked three more times.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Jessica Wilcox, Alfred, Gr., P, Forestville, NY/Pine Valley
Wilcox won three games and had double-digit strikeouts in all three contests, while breaking the Alfred single-game mark for punchouts. Wilcox struck out 12 Fredonia batters in a five-inning win. The next day, Wilcox tied her own record with 14 strikeouts in a win over Ithaca. On Saturday, Wilcox broke the program record with 15 strikeouts against Utica, while only allowing two hits and one walk. Wilcox is undefeated on the season with a 6-0 record. It is Wilcox’s second E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kimedrick Murphy, Utica, Sr., C, Hudson, NY/Hudson
Murphy was named 2021 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Tournament Most Valuable Player after helping lead the Pioneers to their first E8 Championship in program history. Murphy averaged 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game in the two postseason contests. He pulled down 11 boards and scored nine points in the E8 semifinal win over Nazareth. On Sunday versus St. John Fisher, Murphy scored 11 points, including four straight baskets midway through the second half to help the Pioneers withstand a Cardinals run and roll to an 89-65 win.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ryann Stefaniak, Nazareth, Sr., G, Batavia, NY/Batavia
Stefaniak was named Empire 8 Tournament Most Valuable Player after leading the Golden Flyers to their first league title on April 8. Stefaniak averaged 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, while shooting 48 percent from the floor in the tournament. She scored 16 points, including four made 3-pointers, nine rebounds, two blocks and two assists in Nazareth’s 67-62 win over Nazareth in the Empire 8 Championship game on April 8.
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Matthew McGaugh, St., John Fisher, Sr., Hamilton, NY/Hamilton
McGaugh led the Cardinals at the season-opening Midvale Invitational on April 5, as he tied for fifth place overall. McGaugh shot a 78 on both halves of the course to combine to shoot a 156.
MEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Joe Post, St. John Fisher, Sr., F/O, Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua
Post was close to perfect at the faceoff X last week for the No. 12 Cardinals as Fisher won its only matchup of the week at Cortland, 13-9 on Wednesday. Against the Red Dragons, who are receiving votes in the latest USILA national poll, Post was 20-for-25 on draws and scooped up a game-high 17 ground balls in the win. It is Post’s second E8 weekly honor this season.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Scott Kimiecik, Alfred, Jr., GK, Randolph, NJ/Randolph
Kimiecik recorded his fourth win a row as he made 11 saves and allowed only eight goals after facing a season-high 29 shots and 19 shots on goal in a 12-8 win versus Utica. It was the second game of the year where he stopped more than 10 shots on goal as he still has not allowed double-digit goals in a single game. It is Kimiecik’s second E8 weekly accolade of 2021.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brenna Turner, Alfred, So., A/M, Bentonville, AR/Bentonville
Turner scored a career-high nine goals in an overtime loss to Houghton College. She had four or more goals than every other player on the evening and tied a game-high 14 shots with a game-high 12 on goal. Turner was 2-for-4 from free position while adding two draw controls and a ground ball.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Claudia Mocciaro, St. John Fisher, Sr., GK, Syracuse, NY/West Genesee
Mocciaro picked up two more wins in net last week as No. 12 Fisher defeated both Keuka and earned an 11-10 win over Geneseo in the second overtime period. Mocciaro played roughly 103 minutes in goal and finished the week with nine total saves across two games. Against Keuka, she played the first half and did not allow a goal before making eight stops against the Knights on Saturday. It is Mocciaro’s second E8 weekly honor of 2021.
MEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ethan Yung, Houghton, Sr., Rochester, NY/Pittsford Mendon
Yung went 4-0 on the week for the Highlanders by winning both of his singles and doubles matches. Against St. John Fisher, Yung won the second singles match 6-1, 6-0 before later contributing to an 8-4 victory in doubles play with Levi Webb. Against Utica, Yung won his 2nd Singles match 6-2, 6-0 before picking up a No. 2 doubles win 8-3 alongside Webb.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jonah Dean, St. John Fisher, So., Sprints, Webster, NY/Webster Thomas
Dean posted two top-five finishes at the SUNY Geneseo Roundtable Invitational over the weekend. The sophomore placed fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.47 seconds and took fifth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.16 seconds, finishing ahead of all other Empire 8 competition in both events.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Chase Corcoran, St. John Fisher, Sr., Throws, Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles
Corcoran broke the St. John Fisher program record in the discus throw for the second week in a row with a toss of 47.14 meters, to re-set the record that he broke last week in the event by 1.12 meters. The senior also took fifth place in the hammer throw with another personal record throw of 49.00 meters and sixth place in the shot put with a mark of 13.99 meters. The discus mark moves him to 13th nationally while the hammer toss puts him within the nation's top 50 distances.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Brenna Johnson, Nazareth, Jr., Sprints, Cortland, NY/Homer
Johnson placed fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.58 seconds and ran the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay that was also fourth, crossing the finish line in 4:10.75. She also placed fourth in the high jump, clearing 1.55 meters at the SUNY Geneseo Roundtable Invitational Friday. It is Johnson’s second straight weekly honor.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ana Ion, Alfred, So., Multi-Events, Bucharest, Romania/Episcopal School of Jacksonville
Ion enjoyed success in several events in Friday’s first outdoor meet of the season as she placed in the top-five in each of her four events. She placed third in the shot put with a toss of 10.21 meters while simultaneously taking third in the high jump, clearing 1.50 meters. Ion recorded fifth place finishes in the javelin with a throw of 21.04 meters and the 100-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line with a time of 17.63 seconds.
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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