February 24, 2015
SUNYAC announces athletes of the week going into championships
CORTLAND, N.Y. - The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) has announced winter athletes of the week going into championship week for men's and women's basketball and indoor track and field. Swimming and Diving Championships were held last week with Geneseo taking both the men's and women's team title. The SUNYAC ice hockey championship game is set for March 7.
ICE HOCKEY PLAYER OF THE WEEK –  Connor Toomey (SR)Plattsburgh (Billerica, Mass./Merrimack College)
Connor Toomey tallied two goals and assist on the weekend that included trips to Oswego and Cortland. On Friday the senior assisted on the first goal and scored a goal in the third period to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead at the time before tying the No. 1 Lakers 3-3. On Saturday he would tally his second of the weekend in a 5-2 win on the way to securing the number one seed in the SUNYAC tournament.
ICE HOCKEY GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Jon Hall (JR)
Potsdam, Goalie (Dexter, N.Y./Â Stouffville Spirit)
Hall won two more decisions last weekend to run his season total to 12 victories. He stopped 41 shots in the Bears 8-5 win at Cortland on Friday. He then made 45 more the following night as Potsdam shocked No. 1 Oswego 4-2. He finished the weekend with a .925 save percentage. Halls play helped the Bears earn their first home playoff game in six years.
ICE HOCKEY ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Dylan Vander Esch (FR)
Potsdam, Forward (San Jose, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack)
Vander Esch continued his torrid scoring pace with his second straight five-point weekend. On Friday, the freshman assisted on three goals, including the game-winner, in an 8-5 shootout at Cortland. The following night he single-handedly erased a 2-0 deficit to No. 1 Oswego State, helping the Bears to a 4-2 victory, their first win over the Lakers in exactly six years. Vander Esch has recorded 20 of his 22 points over the last 10 games.
MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Gordon Lyons (SR)
Geneseo, F (Amherst, N.Y./Canisius)
Lyons averaged 21.7 points and 10.3 rebounds while shooting better than 61% from the field as the Knights clinched the second seed for the SUNYAC Tournament. In the Knights' 80-73 victory at conference-leading Plattsburgh on Saturday, Lyons totaled 30 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. He also had 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in Friday's win at Potsdam.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Shannon McGinnis (SR)
Geneseo, Forward (Walworth, N.Y./Gananda)
McGinnis had 14 points and 10 rebounds for her 15th double-double of the season as the Knights defeated Plattsburgh, 55-52, on Saturday. In a 74-49 victory at Potsdam, McGinnis recorded 21 points and 16 rebounds after totaling 13 points and 13 rebounds in a 72-59 win against visiting Oswego last Tuesday. McGinnis moved into third place on Geneseo's all-time scoring list with 1.375 points to date.
INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD MALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Melique Garcia (SR) Cortland (Watervliet, N.Y./Watervliet)
Garcia finished first out of 27 sprinters in the 200-meter dash at the Cornell University Deneault Memorial. His time of 22.02 seconds is an ECAC qualifier and ranks second nationally in Div. III.
INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD MALE FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Andre Green (SR)
Cortland (Watertown, N.Y./Indian River)
Green set a school indoor record in the long jump with his winning distance of 7.23 meters (23' 8.75") at the Ithaca College Friday Quad Meet. His performance currently ranks second nationally in Div. III and is an ECAC qualifier.
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INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD FEMALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Shuntone Pricher (JR)
Buffalo State (Brooklyn, NY/Transit Tech)
Shuntone Pricher led a 1-2-3 finish for Buffalo State in the 60-meter dash at the Brockport Golden Eagle Invitational with a winning time of 7.74 seconds, tied for the third-fastest time in Division III this season. Pricher also ran a leg of the winning 4x200-meter relay that clocked 1:43.03.
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INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD FEMALE FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Taylor Hudson (SR) Cortland (Victor, N.Y./Victor)
Hudson tied her own school record in the high jump by clearing 1.70 meters (5' 7") at the Cornell University Deneault Memorial. She finished second in the event and currently ranks third nationally in Div. III. Hudson also finished 30 of 20 in the long jump with an indoor personal best 5.68 meters (18' 7.75") that ranks fourth nationally. Both of her performances are also ECAC qualifiers.
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MALE SWIMMER OF THE WEEK – John Nasky, Geneseo
At the SUNYAC Championships this week, Nasky swept the 500 freestyle, winning his fourth-straight title while breaking his own meet record and hitting an NCAA B Cut time (4:34.96). In the 1650 Freestyle Nasky swam what would have been the 10th-fastest time in the country entering the week (15:41.88), out-distancing the rest of the field by over 43 seconds
MALE DIVER OF THE WEEK - Sam Randall, Geneseo
Randall was victorious on both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving boards during the SUNYAC championship. Randall compiled a winning score of 516.30 in the 1-meter diving board, nearly 20 points better than the rest of the field and a winning score of 505.80 points in the 3-meter diving board.
FEMALE SWIMMER OF THE WEEK - Abigail Max, Geneseo
Max won the 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle, while adding legs to the championship 200 free, 400 medley, 800 free and 400 free relays at the SUNYAC Championships. She was also named the Grace Mowatt Award winner, recognizing a student-athlete for their overall four-year career at the championships. Max finishes her career a 10-time individual and 16-time relay champion.Â
FEMALE DIVER OF THE WEEK - Meghan Bartlett, Fredonia
The winner of the 3-meter title on Wednesday, Barlett's her score of 500.80 placed her first out of the 14 divers competing. Bartlett earned 454.55 points for 11 dives during finals Friday. She was named Diver of the Meet at the completion of the SUNYAC Championships for her first-place finishes in both the one-meter and three-meter boards.
