SUNYAC Athletes of the Week - September 15, 2025
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The SUNYAC releases its fall Athletes of the Week for the third week of the 2025 season. The league honors the performances of 12 student-athletes across seven different institutions during the week of September 8-14.
Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week – Brandon Mulholland, Cortland
Mulholland repeats at the SUNYAC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week. He finished first out of 61 runners at the SUNYAC Preview Meet, hosted by Plattsburgh. He covered the 8,000-meter course in 26:51.2, to win by more than 38 seconds. His performance helped Cortland finish first out of six teams in the final standings.
Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week – Grace Estus, Plattsburgh
Estus picked up the win at the SUNYAC Preview on Saturday. She ran a time of 23:52.0 and helped lead the Cardinals to a third-place finish in the 6K race. Estus's time marked a new personal best and course best as this was her first time running the Rugar Woods 6K course.
Field Hockey Offensive Athlete of the Week – Ali Howell, Oneonta
Ali Howell finished the week strong with three goals and two assists for eight points as she helped Oneonta go 2-0 in non-conference play. To start the week, Howell recorded three points against Hartwick with a goal and an assist on the game-winning score for a 3-2 Red Dragon victory. She then tallied two goals, including the game-winner, with an assist in a 7-0 shutout win over Alfred. Howell currently leads the conference in goals (6) and points (16).
Field Hockey Defensive Athlete of the Week - Gail Comiskey, New Paltz
Comiskey was crucial for the Hawks in two wins on the week, especially in a 1-0 shutout victory on the road over Skidmore Wednesday. The senior captain totaled eight saves including two huge stops in overtime to allow New Paltz to eventually come away with the 1-0 double overtime victory. She posted six more saves in a 4-1 win on the road over Ramapo Saturday.
Men's Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week – Diego Rivera, Buffalo State
Rivera earns this award for the third straight week. He tallied his first career four goal game with the Bengals as Buffalo State defeated Brockport 6-2 in a non-conference battle. Rivera currently leads the SUNYAC with 20 points on eight goals and four assists.
Men's Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week – Jordan Ott, Cortland
Ott helped lead the nationally fourth-ranked Red Dragons to a 2-1 week, stopping 13-of-14 shots over three games, and recording a .929 save percentage, 0.33 goals-against average, and two shutouts. The senior closed the week by making four saves to record the shutout in a 4-0 win at Manhattanville on Sunday afternoon. He also stopped two shots in a 3-0 victory over St. Joseph's on Saturday, with one save coming with the game scoreless and another with the Red Dragons holding onto a slim one-goal advantage. Ott also made seven saves against nationally second-ranked Rowan on Wednesday, including a pair of diving saves in the final 15 minutes of the contest.
Women's Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week – Brooke Kelleher, New Paltz
Kelleher was the key to the offense this week for the Hawks. She got behind a good Montclair defense several times, most importantly during the first half to play back a ball to Kennedy Jones for the assist in an eventual 1-1 tie against the Red Hawks Thursday night after playing a full 90 minutes. She then did whatever she wanted against a King's College defense Saturday at home, playing dangerous balls across throughout the 5-0 rout and tallied an assist on the game-winning goal just seven minutes in and then added her second goal on the season in the 53rd minute on an unassisted score, breaking through the Monarch's defense to make the score 3-0. Overall, she totaled a goal and two assists for four points on the week with three shots, two on goal.
Women's Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week – Casey Fetzner, Fredonia
Freshman Fetzner went 2-0 for the week, including her first career shutout. Against Geneseo, she made seven saves in a 2-1 win. She made six stops in a 1-0 victory over Allegheny. For the week,, she had a 0.50 GAA with 13 saves in 180 minutes in net.
Women's Tennis Singles Athlete of the Week – Lisa Schulz, Cortland
Schulz repeats as the SUNYAC Women's Singles Athlete of the Week after she won both of her matches at first singles during the week to improve to 4-0 on the season. She beat Geneseo's Natalie Pipes on the road on Tuesday, winning the first set, 6-3, and losing the second, 6-4, before winning a 10-4 super tiebreaker in place of the third set. On Friday, she won 6-3, 6-1 in a road match against St. John Fisher's Lilly Renzi, helping Cortland claim a 4-3 team victory. Schulz also finished 2-0 at first doubles during the week.
Women's Tennis Doubles Team of the Week – Christina Massoni and Lisa Schulz, Cortland
Massoni and Schulz won both of their matches at first doubles. On Tuesday at Geneseo, they earned a 6-4 win over Samantha Rava and Rachel Molloy. In a road contest Friday at St. John Fisher, they earned a 6-3 win over Eliana Kelly and Lilly Renzi. Massoni and Schulz are 3-1 in doubles play this season.
Women's Volleyball Offensive Athlete of the Week - Emerson Coulter, Canton
Coulter had a remarkable week averaging 4.1 kills, 4.1 digs, 0.8 aces and 0.5 blocks per set while hitting at an impressive .371 clip (41-5-97) leading the Roos to a 2-1 record last week. She opened the week with six kills, three digs, a block and an ace in a sweep of VTSU Johnson on Friday. The sophomore followed that up with career-highs of 18 kills, 26 digs and six aces to go with three blocks in a five-set loss to Hilbert (6-6) on Saturday. Coulter closed out her weekend with match-highs of 17 kills and 12 digs hitting an impressive .517 (17-2-29) in a sweep of Cobleskill on Saturday.
Women's Volleyball Defensive Athlete of the Week - Hailey Kulniszewski, Buffalo State
The freshman libero played a key role in Buffalo State's 3-0 effort at the University of Rochester Tournament as she totaled 58 digs and a .867 reception percentage across eight sets played. Kulniszewski also chipped in a kill, 10 assists, and seven service aces. She was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
