General | 11/9/2026 1:00:00 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on November 9, 2026, for games played from November 2 - November 8. It is the ninth Empire 8 Players of the week release of the 2026-27 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball, football, men’s and women’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 – Pape Tunkara, Russell Sage, Sr., G, Mount Vernon, NY/Iona Prep
Tunkara tallied 28 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor and 14-for-16 shooting from the foul line, a career-high seven steals, four assists, and three rebounds in Saturday's 97-75 home win over SUNY Morrisville.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Corey Faines, Nazareth, Fr., G, Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore
Faines averaged 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in two wins for the Golden Flyers while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor 50 percent from 3-point range. He led the Golden Flyers with 22 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in their 74-73 win over Keystone on Friday. Faines added seven points and three rebounds in the 88-61 victory over SUNY Canton. Faines’ efforts earned him a spot on the Mike Daley All-Tournament Team
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Vanessa Hall, Utica, Sr., F, Independence, NY/Whitesville
Hall opened the season with a dominant double-double, leading Utica to a 64-56 victory over SUNY Morrisville on Saturday afternoon. Hall posted a team-high 24 points and 15 rebounds, including five offensive boards, while adding three steals, one block and one assist. She shot an impressive 60 percent from beyond the arc (3-for-5) and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line (7-for-8). Hall accounted for 37.5 percent of Utica's total scoring and 30 percent of the team's rebounds and committed just one turnover.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Kaitlyn Milham, Nazareth, Fr., F, Mechanicville, NY/Shenendehowa
Milham averaged 17 points, six rebounds, four steals and 2.5 assists per game in two wins for the Golden Flyers. She led the Golden Flyers with 22 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists in their 83-46 win over Allegheny. She added 12 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists in Nazareth’s 66-62 victory over Ohio Northern. Milham earned a spot on the Women’s Leaders Tip-Off All-Tournament Team.
FOOTBALL
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Mike Rescigno, SUNY Cortland, Jr., QB, Arlington, NY/Arlington
Rescigno ran for a career-high 196 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries (10.9 yards per rush) and completed eight passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns in Cortland's 42-24 win at Brockport as the Red Dragons clinched their sixth straight outright Empire 8 title. Rescigno's rushing total is the second highest by a quarterback in a game in school history. He ran for a 20-yard TD in the first quarter to tie the game at 7-7, and his 60-yard TD run two plays into the third quarter gave Cortland a 28-10 lead. Cortland trailed 10-7 late in the first half before Rescigno threw a 61-yard TD pass with 2:01 left, followed by a 30-yard TD pass with 33 seconds left, to give the Red Dragons a 21-10 halftime lead. His third TD pass covered 33 yards midway through the third quarter to put Cortland up 35-10. In addition to his 60-yard and 20-yard TD runs, he also ran for 49 yards on a play early in the second quarter. This is Rescigno’s third E8 Offensive Player of the Week honor in 2026.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ryan Whitney, St. John Fisher, Sr., QB, Geneseo, NY/Geneseo
Whitney delivered a record-setting Senior Day performance, leading St. John Fisher to a 56-21 win over SUNY Morrisville at Growney Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals produced 438 yards behind another stellar day from Whitney, who went 16-of-20 passing for 199 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and rushed for 97 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries. He pushed his career rushing touchdown total to 20 and his season total to 14, breaking Ryan Kramer's program records for career and single-season touchdown rushes by a quarterback. This is his fourth E8 Offensive Player of the Week honor of 2026.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tahjir Fernand., Utica, So., DB, Fort Lauderdale, FL/New Rochelle
Fernand enjoyed an outstanding performance in Utica’s 39-3 win over Hartwick on Saturday. He led a unit that allowed just 53 yards and held the hosts to 2-for-12 on third down. On the outside, Fernand limited his matchup to zero catches, while also recording two highlight-reel-level interceptions, one of which was returned 52 yards for the team’s first pick-six of the season. Fernand would end the game with his two interceptions, in addition to three key tackles.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jordan Baker, St. John Fisher, Fr., RB, Glens Falls, NY/Glens Falls
Baker returned the opening kickoff of the second half 66 yards for a touchdown on Saturday in St. John Fisher's 56-21 home victory over Morrisville State. It was St. John Fisher's second special teams’ touchdown of the season, and the team's first kickoff return touchdown since Oct. 16, 2021, against Alfred.
MEN’S ICE HOCKEY
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Lucca Munoz, St. John Fisher, Jr., F, Chicago, IL/Disney II Magnet
Munoz helped lead the Cardinals to a split weekend, recording four points on three goals and one assist. In Friday's 6-0 win over SUNY Morrisville, Munoz tallied two points with a power-play goal and an assist. The following day, in a 4-3 loss to Buffalo State, he scored back-to-back goals, including a power-play tally.
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK – Adam Casper, SUNY Geneseo, Jr., G, Skaneateles, NY/New Hartford
Casper was outstanding in his first career start, recording 35 saves to earn his first career win and shutout as the Knights earned a 3-0 win over SUNY Cortland Saturday evening. Casper made six saves in the opening period, seven in the second frame and preserved the win and shutout with a whopping 22 third period saves, as Geneseo scored a pair of goals to put the game away.
WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Autumn Frear, Utica, Fr., F, Marshall, VA/Gilmour Academy
Frear and the Pioneers split a home-and-home series against Oswego State, a team receiving votes in both the USCHO poll. She netted a goal in each game, aiding Utica to a 3-2 win in Oswego, before a late 2-1 overtime defeat in Utica. Frear knocked home a quick turnover and pass in game one before batting a rebound past the netminder on the power play the following day.
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK – Elizabeth Poole, St. John Fisher, So., G, Georgetown, Ontario/Georgetown District
Poole helped lead the Cardinals to a 1-0-1 weekend, making 33 saves with a .971 save percentage, a 0.48 goals-against average, and one shutout. On Friday, in a 3-0 win in the opening game of the two-game series against SUNY Morrisville, Poole stopped all 16 shots faced to earn the shutout. The following day, in a 1-1 tie in the second game of the series, she made 17 saves while posting a .944 save percentage.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
CO-SWIMMER OF THE WEEK – Hassan Abdelwahed, Hartwick, Sr., New Hartford, NY/New Hartford
Abdelwahed dominated the competition in Hartwick's tri-meet against SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Potsdam, sweeping all three of his individual events. He secured first place in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 58.30, followed by another victory in the 100-yard butterfly at 54.40. Abdelwahed rounded out his performance with a first-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley, touching the wall in 2:07.31.
CO-SWIMMER OF THE WEEK – Rihards Kagis, Alfred, Fr., Kekava, Latvia/British School Muscat
Kagis enjoyed an impressive showing in a tri-meet against the University of Rochester and in a dominant defeat of SUNY Fredonia. He was part of the winning team in the 200-medley relay, clocking in at 1:36.82. He also managed to come back in the 100-backstroke to tie for first with a time of 53.77. Finally, he wrapped up the meet with another win in the 200-backstroke, coming in at sub-two minutes with a 1:57.69.
DIVER OF THE WEEK – Nathan Davey, SUNY Geneseo, So., Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa
Davey competed at the DIII Shootout at the University of Chicago and took third in both the 1-meter diving, scoring 466.95 points and 3-meter, scoring 475.50. This is his second E8 Diver of the Week honor.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
SWIMMER OF THE WEEK – Alex Sotek, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., New Lebanon, NY/New Lebanon
Sotek swam at the DIII Shootout at the University of Chicago, finishing third in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.63 and fourth in the 100-yard backstroke at 57.34. Sotek led Geneseo individually, capturing first place in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 55.76 and earning a NCAA B-cut time. This is her second consecutive E8 Swimmer of the Week honor.
DIVER OF THE WEEK – Morgan Davey, SUNY Geneseo, So., Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa
Davey led the way for the Knights with a second-place finish in the one-meter dive with 440.90 at the DIII Shootout from the University of Chicago. In the 3-meter dive, Davey posted 417.45 points for fourth place. This is her second E8 Diver of the Week honor.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kate Barba, SUNY Geneseo, Jr., OH, Huntington, NY/Huntington
Barba led Geneseo to a dominant three-set sweep over Nazareth in the Empire 8 Quarterfinal match on Saturday, taking 35 swings on the outside for the Knights and hitting .286 with 13 kills, while averaging 5.00 points per set. She added a pair of service aces in the win.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Gillian Dickerson, Alfred, Fr., S, Frisco, TX/Wakeland
Dickerson recorded her eighth match of the season where she recorded more set assists than the entire opposing team’s roster, helping the Saxons defeat No. 4 seeded Houghton University in five sets on Saturday during in the 2026 Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball Championship Quarterfinal match. She recorded 40 set assists, added two kills and completed a double-double by tacking on a team-high 13 digs. Saturday’s performance moved Dickerson into the Top 10 in Alfred University history for most assists in a single season. This is her fourth E8 Rookie of the Week honor of 2026.
MEN’S WRESTLING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Aidan Martorano, Utica, Fr., Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus
Martorano and the Pioneers opened their 2026-27 season on the road, challenging Onondaga Community College in a dual meet. With Utica holding a 21-19 lead entering the final bout, the first-year heavyweight secured a win by fall over Mykola Fabian at the 5:49 mark, sealing a 27-19 victory for the Pioneers. The win came in Martorano’s collegiate debut and gave head coach Pankil Chander a victory in his first dual with the program.