Baseball | 2/20/2023 12:47:24 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on February 20, 2023, for games played from February 13-February 19. It is the 24th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2022-23 season. Sports featured include baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor track and field and men’s volleyball.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jared Money, Elmira, Gr., 2B, Templeton, CA/Templeton
Money batted .429 over the weekend for the Soaring Eagles and helped Elmira to a season-opening split against Gallaudet. Money finished game one 1-for-3 at the plate with a run scored. In a game two victory for the Soaring Eagles, Money went 2-for-4 at the plate with 5 runs batted in, a double, two runs scored, and two walks. Defensively, he had four assists for the Soaring Eagles.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Connor McHugh, St. John Fisher, Sr., P, Latham, NY/Shaker
McHugh, the reigning Empire 8 Pitcher of the Year, picked up right where he left off in 2022, throwing 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win in St. John Fisher’s season-opening 12-6 victory over Clarkson on Sunday. McHugh came in to get the final out of the third inning with the Cardinals down 6-0. He scattered just three hits over the next five innings, as the Fisher bats came alive to get the win. McHugh struck out a pair of batters and induced nine ground outs in the win.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Francis Milone, Elmira, Fr., U, Colonia, NJ/Colonia
Milone made his collegiate debut one to remember, as Elmira rolled to a 22-3 win over Gallaudet in game two of the doubleheader Saturday. Milone, who started at first base, went 2-for-4 at the dish, with a double, three runs scored, three RBI, and a pair of walks. He also posted a 1.000 fielding percentage after making seven putouts.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brewster Marshall, Alfred, Gr., F, Horseheads, NY/Horseheads
Marshall was instrumental for the Alfred in a 71-61 win over Elmira on Senior Day Saturday afternoon, finishing the game with a team-high 29 points, just two shy of his career-high. Marshall additionally totaled seven rebounds in the win. From the floor, Marshall shot 11-of-17 and was responsible for 13 of Alfred's first 19 points in the first half. Marshall had a career-high shooting performance from 3-point range, finishing 7-of-9. It is Marshall’s fourth E8 weekly accolade of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Mac Creek, Medaille, Fr., G, Tampa, FL/Cambridge Christian
Creek averaged 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game as the Mavericks finished out the season with a pair of home games. He totaled 19 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. Creek’s excelled against Utica on Friday where scoring 10 points, with a pair of made 3-pointers to go along with three rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Meg McGwin, Keuka, Sr., F, Rochester, NY/Hilton
McGwin had a big final weekend for her collegiate career as the senior helped lead the Wolves to a pair of conference wins. On Friday, McGwin set a new career-high with 19 points as Keuka defeated Houghton for their first conference win. McGwin then followed that on Senior Day with a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds as the Wolves closed the season with a win, defeating Medaille.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Presleigh Brunner, St. John Fisher, Fr., G, Hamburg, NY/Nardin Academy
Brunner averaged 13.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 assists per game as the Cardinals completed a perfect 18-0 regular season in E8 play. On Friday Brunner added 13 points and nine rebounds in the win over Russell Sage. On against Hartwick, Brunner scored 13 points, added six rebounds and three steals. It is her second E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Quinn McKercher, Nazareth, Jr., A, Lake Mary, FL/Lake Mary
McKercher scored four times, including three times in the second half as Nazareth came from behind to record a 10-8 win over Springfield in the season-opener. He also had an assist and four groundballs.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Eric Almquist, Nazareth, Gr., G, Wakefield, MA/Malden Catholic
Almquist made 15 saves including 10 in the second half to lead Nazareth to a season-opening 10-8 win over Springfield. He finished the day with a .652 save percentage.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Mikey Schultz, Hartwick, Jr., Butterfly/Individual Medley, Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley
Schultz was named Empire 8 Swimmer of the Meet at the 2023 Allegheny Empire Swimming and Diving Championships, held at the Webster Aquatic Center last week. He won both the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:53.63 on Thursday and took the 200-yard butterfly on Saturday, hitting the wall first in a time of 1:51.00. Schultz was also second in the 100-yard butterfly and helped Hartwick to second place finishes in the 200-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay, in addition to third place finishes in the 400-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relays. It is his second straight Empire 8 Championship Swimmer of the Meet award. He is now a five-time Empire 8 Athlete of the Week in 2022-23.
CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jack Armstrong, Hartwick, Jr., Diving, Windham, NH/Windham
Armstrong was named Empire 8 Diver of the Meet at the 2023 Allegheny Empire Swimming and Diving Championships, held at the Webster Aquatic Center last week. On Thursday, Armstrong opened the week by winning the E8 Championship in the 3-meter diving event with a score of 428.85. He completed the E8 sweep in the 1-meter event on Saturday, recording an impressive score of 454.20.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Courtney Pierce, Hartwick, Fr., Breaststroke/Individual Medley, Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley
Pierce was named Empire 8 Swimmer of the Meet at the 2023 Allegheny Empire Swimming and Diving Championships, held at the Webster Aquatic Center last week. Pierce won the 100-yard breaststroke by just 11 one-hundredths of a second in a time of 1:06.30 on Friday and took the 200-yard breaststroke on Saturday evening, hitting the wall first in 2:26.37. In addition, she was third in the 200-yard individual medley and helped Hartwick to second place finishes in the 200- and 400-yard medley relay events and 400-yard freestyle relay. It is Pierce’s second E8 weekly accolade of the season.
CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Elizabeth Tripp, Nazareth, Jr., Diving, Hamburg, NY/Hamburg
Tripp was named Empire 8 and Allegheny Empire Diver of the Meet at the 2023 Allegheny Empire Swimming and Diving Championships, held at the Webster Aquatic Center last week. She began the week by winning the 1-meter diving event in an impressive score of 469.00 points on Wednesday. Two days later, Tripp won the 3-meter event with a score of 458.95. It is Tripp’s third E8 weekly accolade of the 2022-23 season.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Neil Peters, Alfred, Sr., Sprints/Jumps, The Bronx, NY/DeWitt Clinton
Peters recorded a time of 7.11 seconds in the 60-meter dash at the Conference Tune-Up, hosted by Nazareth College on Friday. That time is now the fastest among all Empire 8 student-athletes in 2022-23.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ivan Lopez-Testillano, St. John Fisher, Sr., Jumps, Madrid, Spain/Montserrat
Lopez-Testillano exploded for a personal-best leap of 14.52 meters in the triple jump at the Conference Tune-Up meet at Nazareth, which is tops in the Empire 8 and now 15th in all of Division III to date this season. It is his second E8 weekly accolade.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Samantha Shea, St. John Fisher, Gr., Sprints, North Tonawanda, NY/Starpoint
Shea continued her tremendous season on Friday at the Conference Tune-Up at Nazareth, clocking a time of 7.76 seconds in the championship of the 60-meter dash. That is now the 24th best time nationally among Division III student-athletes in the event this season. It is Shea’s fourth E8 weekly accolade of the season.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Lea Richard, Nazareth, Jr., Throws, Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls
Richard continued to improve her weight throw numbers as she unloaded a 17.03-meter (55' 10 1/2") throw to win the competition at the Conference Tune-up Meet at Nazareth Friday. The throw broke her own school record, ranks No. 1 (by more than 2 meters) in the Empire 8, is second in the Niagara Region and 18th in the nation. It is Richard’s third E8 weekly honor of 2022-23.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alberto Mauricio, Elmira, So., OH, San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic/Liceo Gaston Fernando Deligne
Mauricio helped the Soaring Eagles to its best start in program history (7-1), after Elmira earned wins against Misericordia (3-0), as well as the #10 ranked Violets from NYU on Sunday (3-2). Against the Cougars, Mauricio posted 14 kills and six digs, while against NYU, Mauricio posted a career-best 31 kills and a .356 hitting percentage to go along with eight digs. For the week, Mauricio posted a hitting percentage of .288. It is Mauricio’s second E8 weekly honor of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Alex Vega, Elmira, Fr., L, San Cristobal, Dominican Republic/Liceo Antonio Garabito
Vega recorded 21 digs, four assists and three kills, as Elmira is off to its best start in program history (7-1), after earning wins against Misericordia (3-0), as well as the #10 ranked Violets from NYU (3-2). He had nine digs and a pair of kills in three-set win over Misericordia before recording 12 digs and three aces in the five-set thriller over NYU.
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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