General | 11/11/2024 12:20:11 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on November 11, 2024, for games played from November 4-November 10. It is the 11th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2024-25 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball, football, men’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, women’s volleyball, and men’s wrestling.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jajuan Preaster, Houghton, Sr., F, Orlando, FL/Central Florida Christian
Preaster posted 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor to go with eight rebounds, four steals, and three assists on opening night against Bethany College.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Merritt Holly, Nazareth, Fr., F, LeRoy, NY/LeRoy
In 23 minutes played this weekend for the Golden Flyers, Holly tallied 11 points and eight rebounds. In Friday's 82-73 win over SUNY Potsdam, Holly was 4-for-6 from the floor, while adding three offensive rebounds and four defensive rebounds.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Stephanie Jean-Baptiste, SUNY Brockport, Jr., G, Jersey City, NJ/John Jay
Jean-Baptiste averaged 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 steals per game, while shooting 90 percent from the foul line. In Brockport's win over 91-72 win over Alma College Friday, Jean-Baptiste scored 26 points and snatched nine steals, tied for the third most in a single game in Brockport program history. She added 16 points and six boards the following day at John Carroll University.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sidney Tomasso, St. John Fisher, Sr., G, Waverly, NY/Waverly
Tomasso, the reigning E8 Player of the Year, picked up right where she left off a season ago, averaging 25.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting 11-for-11 from the foul line in a pair of St. John Fisher wins to start the season. Tomasso opened the season with a double-double, scoring a career-high 29 points, while pulling down 10 rebounds and going 9-for-9 from the foul line in a 77-64 win over Susquehanna University. She followed that up with 21 points and eight rebounds in a 73-63 win over Chatham the following day.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Nelly Mbugeni, Alfred, Fr., G, Tanga, Tanzania/Masai Girls
Mbugeni had a strong start to her collegiate career as she helped Alfred pick up a season-opening win over Pitt-Bradford on Saturday. She pulled down 11 rebounds (five offensive boards) while going a perfect 2-for-2 from the floor (including a fast break layup) and adding one assist in 16 minutes of play.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Zac Boyes, SUNY Cortland, Sr., QB, Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West
Boyes completed 33-of-52 passes for 414 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 54 yards in SUNY Cortland's 29-28 win at SUNY Brockport that clinched the Red Dragons' fourth straight Empire 8 title. With 1:54 remaining and Cortland trailing 28-26, Boyes led Cortland on a drive from its own 23-yard line to the Golden Eagles' 21-yard line, setting up the winning field goal with 27 seconds remaining. Boyes tossed 47-yard and 19-yard TD passes earlier in the contest. It is his third E8 weekly honor of the season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Nazair Jean-Lubin, SUNY Cortland, So., CB, Freeport, NY/Freeport
Jean-Lubin had two key interceptions and broke up another in SUNY Cortland's 29-28 win at SUNY Brockport as the Red Dragons clinched their fourth straight Empire 8 title. His first interception came on a sliding grab late in the second quarter, as Brockport was driving near the red zone and looking to go ahead two scores. After his interception, Cortland drove and kicked a key field goal to end the half. Jean Lubin’s second interception came on Brockport's final play from the Cortland 33-yard line as he picked off a pass at the 12-yard line to seal the win with 11 seconds left. Earlier in the fourth, he broke up a pass in the end zone on third down, helping Cortland eventually force a punt with Brockport up 28-26.
CO-SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Mike Baloga, SUNY Cortland, Sr., K/P, New Windsor, NY/Cornwall
Baloga made the game-winning 38-yard field goal with 27 seconds remaining to lift SUNY Cortland past host SUNY Brockport, 29-28, as the Red Dragons clinched their fourth straight Empire 8 title. Baloga finished 3-for-4 on field-goal attempts, also connecting from 28 and 25 yards, with his miss from 35 yards, and he made both of his PAT kicks. He also averaged 44.7 yards on three punts. It is Baloga’s third E8 weekly accolade of the year.
CO-SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Liam Nealy, SUNY Brockport, Fr., DB, Vestal, NY/Vestal
Nealy made the biggest play of his young collegiate career on Saturday against No. 2 Cortland. In the first quarter, Nealy blocked a Red Dragon punt that was recovered in the endzone for a Brockport touchdown, giving the host Golden Eagles a 14-0 lead.
MEN’S ICE HOCKEY
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Vladislav Pshenichnikov, Utica, So., F, Moscow, Russia/Utica Comets
Pshenichnikov scored four goals and added an assist to end with a five-point weekend in Utica’s UCHC opening sweep of Nazareth University. During the first matchup in Rochester on Friday he netted his first collegiate hat-trick, putting the game out of reach after Nazareth crept back into the game during the second period. He also nabbed an assist during a hectic 11-4 win in the series-opener. Pshenichnikov followed up that impressive performance by getting the game-winning goal in Saturday's matchup, earning the first star of the night, and putting the finishing touches on a standout week.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Adam Harris, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., G, Burlington, Ontario/Oakville Blades
Harris stopped 34-of-35 shots in leading SUNY Geneseo to a 5-1 win over Chatham University in its UCHC opener on Friday night. He made five first period saves, 11 in the second period and stopped 18-of-19 Chatham shots in the third period to move to 2-0-0 on the season.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Trent Makowiec, SUNY Geneseo, Gr., Diving, Addison, NY/Addison
Makowiec won both the 1- and 3-meter diving events at the DIII Shootout hosted by the University of Chicago over the weekend. He set a new pool record and DIII Shootout record with his score of 377.40. He narrowly missed a second record in the 3-meter, scoring 331.00. He set the current record of 335.80 at University of Chicago at last year's meet.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Courtney Pierce, Hartwick, Jr., Breaststroke/Freestyle, Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley
Pierce continued her stellar season, helping the Hawks to a win over SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Brockport in Hartwick's double dual meet on Saturday. Pierce started her afternoon swimming the breaststroke portion of the 200-yard Medley Relay, propelling the Hawks to a first-place finish. She followed that performance up with a .07 win in the 200-yard free. With little time to recover, Pierce came out to win another tight heat in the 100-yard breaststroke. She wrapped up the meet with a second-place finish in the 100-yard free. It is her second consecutive weekly honor.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Isabella Gracias, Hartwick, So., MH, Oneonta, NY/Oneonta
Gracias had a career match on Saturday for the Hawks as they went on to defeat town rival, SUNY Oneonta in four sets. She posted a season and career best 18 kills across the four sets and hit .350 for the match. The middle hitter also collected three digs and assisted on two blocks.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Elizabeth Hanba, Utica, Fr., OH, Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy
Hanba recorded 45 kills in three matches, with 22 kills coming against the United States Merchant Marine Academy, boasting a .432 hitting percentage in that match and a .281 hitting percentage across three contests. Hanba averaged 3.21 kills and 3.75 points per set for the Pioneers. She also recorded five service aces.
MEN’S WRESTLING
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK – Hollis Berry, Elmira, Sr., 157 lbs., East Greenbush, NY/Columbia
Berry finished the week with a 3-1 overall record through four dual matches for the Soaring Eagles. Berry recorded victories via decision, technical fall and fall on Saturday at the Wilkes Duals with wins over wrestlers from New Jersey City, Wilkes, and Keystone.
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.
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube –
Facebook –
Twitter –
Instagram