General | 11/25/2024 12:45:11 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on November 25, 2024, for games played from November 18-November 24. It is the 13th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2024-25 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s wrestling.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Lou Bellamy, Houghton, So., F, Tampa, FL/Bloomingdale
Bellamy averaged a double-double over three games this past week, posting 29.7 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while shooting 55.6 percent from the floor and 81 percent from the free throw line. In the Highlanders' contest against Hilbert on Tuesday, Bellamy poured in an Empire 8 season-high 38 points on 16-of-24 shooting and collected 15 rebounds. He added 20 points and 13 boards in a win over SUNY Canton and 31 points and 12 caroms in a win over Alfred State Saturday.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Colin Gentile, SUNY Geneseo, Fr., G, Rochester, NY/Bishop Kearney
Gentile reached double-digit points in a pair of games for the Knights this past week, scoring 11 in the Knights 75-70 win over Alfred St., and 10 points in their home opener against St. Lawrence. He shot 50 percent from behind the arc, going 4-for-8.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Vanessa Hall, Utica, So., F, Whitesville, NY/Whitesville
Hall recorded averaged 25.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 55.9 percent from the floor over the weekend. Against Westfield State on Friday, Hall netted 32 points, third most in one game all-time at Utica, shooting 12-for-19 from the floor, while hauling in 10 boards. She added 19 points and six rebounds in Saturday’s 69-58 win over Wellesley College, which was also the 300th win for Utica head coach Michele Davis.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Lillian Mullen, Keuka, Fr., G, Canisteo, NY/Canisteo Greenwood
Mullen led the Wolves to three wins over the week, averaging 11.7 points per game for the stretch while shooting 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from 3-point range and 60.9 percent (14-for-23) overall from the floor. Her week started with a 13-point performance against Penn College. Mullen then posted a team-high 15 points in Keuka's victory over Hilbert College before closing the week with seven against SUNY Delhi. For the season, she is averaging just under 10 points per game at 9.6 and is second on the team with 18 assists.
MEN’S ICE HOCKEY
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sean Melso, SUNY Geneseo, So., D, Philadelphia, PA
Melso tallied three points on two goals and an assist and was plus-3 from the blueline, as he led the No. 4 Knights to a two-game sweep over SUNY Brockport. Melso began the weekend by scoring two goals, including the game-winner late in the second period, leading Geneseo to a 3-2 home win. On Saturday, Melso was plus-2 and added an assist in a 3-1 road win for Geneseo at Brockport.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Brody Haynes, Elmira, Sr., G, York, PA/Commonwealth Charter Academy
Haynes improved to 5-0-1 on the season after stopping 32-of-33 shots, including 17 saves in the third period, in a 2-1 victory against Albertus Magnus on Friday. It is his third E8 weekly accolade of the season.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Brian Pabisch, SUNY Geneseo, So., Freestyle/Butterfly/IM, Huntington Station, NY/Half Hallow Hills East
Pabisch excelled over the weekend at Kenyon College for the Total Performance Invite, featuring several of the top teams in Division III. He was a member of the 400-yard freestyle relay that finished fifth and qualified for an NCAA “B” cut with a time of 3:01.21 and was part of the 400-yard medley relay that took tenth. Individually, Pabisch was fourth in 100 freestyle (:45.16), 11th in 100 butterfly (:49.48).
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Alex Sotek, SUNY Geneseo, So., Freestyle, New Lebanon, NY/New Lebanon
Sotek excelled over the weekend at Kenyon College for the Total Performance Invite, featuring several of the top teams in Division III. She earned a second-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a new school record and NCAA “B” cut time of 23.08 seconds. She also placed fourth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.10 seconds and sixth in the 100-yard butterfly touching the wall in 56.42 seconds. In addition, Sotek was part of the 200-yard medley relay team that was fifth (1:43.87) and 400-yard medley relay squad that was seventh (3:50.59).
MEN’S WRESTLING
CO-WRESTLER OF THE WEEK – Kiam Coleman, SUNY Brockport, So., 174 lbs., Yonkers, NY/Yonkers
Coleman took first in the 174-lb. division at the New York State Collegiate Championships on Saturday, contributing 22.5 points for the Golden Eagles, who finished second as a team. Coleman took the win in his first match by fall just 2:26 into the match. Coleman then won by fall in quarterfinals, by major decision in semifinals and competed for the title where he won by a technical fall over Christopher Reddy of Ithaca.
CO-WRESTLER OF THE WEEK – Trevor Cortright, Utica, So., 133 lbs., Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley
Cortright took first place in the 133-lb. weight class at the New York State Collegiate Championships on Saturday. Cortright began the day defeating Marek Sokolowski of Onondaga Community College in dominant fashion, 15-0 via technical fall. He went on to beat Kenji Walters of RIT by major decision, 16-3. Cortright was able to record three takedowns in the third period, securing a decisive victory. In the championship match against Matthew Reehil of SUNY Brockport, Cortright took control the whole match winning 9-2. He tallied one takedown and two near-falls to secure the win.
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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