March 24, 2008
A-10 Spring Sports Honor Roll - Mar. 24
Baseball Player of the Week
Chris Taylor - Charlotte
Senior, C, 6-3, 205 lbs.
Mt. Pleasant, N.C./Mt. Pleasant HS
Taylor had five extra-base hits, including three homers, and drove in seven runs in Charlotte's three-game series sweep of Saint Louis (Mar. 21-23)...scored five runs and drew three walks...had a pair of home runs on Mar. 22 as the 49ers rallied to edge Saint Louis in ten innings, 10-9...leads the team in batting (.479)...named the A-10 Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Baseball Pitchers of the Week
Jim Britton - St. Bonaventure
Junior, RHP, 6-4, 225 lbs.
Erie, Pa./McDowell HS
Britton allowed just two hits over eight scoreless innings while fanning a career-high ten on Mar. 20 as St. Bonaventure opened A-10 play with a 4-0 win at Fordham...did not issue a walk and retired 12 straight batters at one point...improved to 2-1 on the year.
Ryan Juran - Duquesne
Junior, RHP, 6-1, 215 lbs.
Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler HS
Juran tossed his first career complete-game shutout on Mar. 21 as Duquesne edged Massachusetts, 2-0...scattered five hits and struck out four...earned his second victory of the season.
Baseball Rookie of the Week
Billy Barber - Richmond
Freshman, DH, 6-5, 210 lbs.
Fredericksburg, Va./Colonial Forge HS
Barber earns his second consecutive A-10 Rookie of the Week honor after smashing three home runs and knocking in 11 over four contests...went 7-for-17 (.412) with eight runs scored and a pair of walks...had three multi-hit games...his first collegiate grand slam on Mar. 21 proved to be the difference in Richmond's 7-4 win over La Salle...leads the Spiders in homers (ten) and RBI (37).
Softball Player of the Week
Rachel Heet - Saint Louis
Junior, St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville HS
Heet came through with the game-winning hit, a three-run walk-off double with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, to help the Billikens down GW in their A-10 opener...hit her first home run of the season in the nightcap against the Colonials and also tied the school record for RBIs in a game (four)...three-run homer with two outs in game two helped the Billikens knot the score to force an 11th inning...had a team-high ten RBIs last week, including six with two outs in the GW series.
Softball Pitcher of the Week
Brandice Balschmiter - Massachusetts
Junior, Newark, N.Y./Newark HS
Balschmiter went 3-0 during the week, giving up just two runs while striking out 28 with two shutouts...shutout South Florida on Mar. 17 giving up just three hits while striking out a season-high 11 batters...gave up two runs on four hits while striking out six in a 4-2 win over Fordham...pitched her fourth one-hitter and seventh shutout of the season while striking out 11 in a 9-0 win over La Salle to move to 9-6 with a 0.92 ERA on the season.
Softball Rookie of the Week
Beckah Wiggins - Fordham
Freshman, Conklin, N.Y./Susquehanna Valley HS
Wiggins held opponents to a .188 batting average in her first action in the Atlantic 10...posted a 1.58 ERA this weekend, allowing just one run (a solo home run) and six hits in 7.1 innings of work against UMass...retired the first 16 batters she faced in a win against URI, as she struck out five.
Lacrosse Player of the Week
Chelsea Rosiek - Temple
Sophomore, Blue Bell, Pa./ Wissahickon HS
Rosiek scored five goals and dished two assists to lead Temple to a 1-1 week...in the narrow 9-8 loss against Delaware, Rosiek scored four goals and dished two assists to help Temple mount a second half comeback...in the A-10 opener against Saint Joseph's, the sophomore netted a goal with 4.6 seconds remaining to give the Owls a 9-8 win.
Lacrosse Rookie of the Week
Colleen Speth - Massachusetts
Freshman, Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township HS
Speth made nine saves, including five in the second half, in a 13-10 win over Boston College...faced 28 shots, 17 in the first half, in picking up her first collegiate win...nine saves were just shy of her career-high of 12 which she set the week prior...also had two groundballs and one caused turnover in the game.
Men's Tennis Player of the Week
Mustafa Gencsoy - George Washington
Senior, Istanbul, Turkey/Ayazaga Isik HS
Gencsoy went 2-0 this week in singles competition, playing from the No. 1 position and earning wins against Richmond (6-2, 6-2) on Mar. 21 and Duquesne (6-3, 7-5) on Mar. 22...also 2-0 in doubles action from the No. 1 position...now 20-4 overall in singles play, including a perfect mark of 7-0 versus A-10 foes.
Men's Tennis Rookie of the Week
Yan Levinkski - George Washington
Freshman, Melbourne, Australia/Brighton Grammer School
Levinksi won two matches from the No. 2 position in singles play, besting opponents from Richmond (7-5, 6-4) on Mar. 21 and Duquesne (2-6, 6-4, 6-2) on Mar. 22...also finished 2-0 in third-flight doubles action...improved to 13-1 overall in singles action, including 7-0 against A-10 opponents.
Women's Tennis Player of the Week
Nyssa Peele - Rhode Island
Sophomore, Austin, Texas/St. Stephens HS
Peele added seven victories, including a perfect 4-0 record in singles play to improve her record to 16-6 this season...wins against Flagler, Tufts, Bethune-Cookman and Florida CC-Jacksonville from the first flight were nearly matched with three victories in doubles.
Women's Tennis Rookie of the Week
Zena Williams - Duquesne
Freshman, Bellaire, Texas/American School of Bangkok
Williams went 2-0 during the week, winning at No. 1 singles (6-2, 6-4) and No. 2 doubles (8-6) over Temple on Mar. 17...21-2 in singles and 8-3 in doubles during the 2007-08 season.
Men's Golf Player of the Week
Andy Whalen - St. Bonaventure
Senior, Conklin, N.Y./Susquehanna Valley HS
Whalen opened his final spring season with a third place finish at William Mary on Mar. 18-19...carded a 140 (68-72), which included a three-under, six birdie performance on the first day...was second in the field with eight birdies and tied for first in par-four scoring (-2).
Men's Golf Rookie of the Week
Brendan Barrack - George Washington
Freshman, Toronto, Canada/Crenshaw School (Fla.)
Barrack fired a 188 (71-79-38) to tie for 11th place in the 10th Annual George Washington Invitational on Mar. 21-22...aided the Colonials to a second-place finish in the 20-team field.
Men's Outdoor Track and Field Performer of the Week
Matt DiBuono - Fordham
Junior, New Rochelle, N.Y./Iona Prep
DiBuono won the hammer throw with a school-record distance of 195-6 feet (59.60 meters) at the Towson Invitational on Mar. 21-22...also the top Fordham finisher in the shot put with a fifth-place distance 46-3 ½ (14.11 meters), as well as a fourth-place throw of 129-11 (39.60 meters) in the discus.
Men's Outdoor Track and Field Rookie of the Week
Brian Schmidt - Fordham
Freshman, Malverne, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial HS
Schmidt placed second in the 800-meter run at the Towson Invitational on Mar. 21 with a time of 1:59.12.
Women's Outdoor Track and Field Performers of the Week
Amanda Cole - Temple
Junior, New Castle, Del./Charter School of Wilmington
Cole shattered a school record and met ECAC standards in the weight throw with a mark of 173-3 (52.80 meters) at the Towson Invitational on Mar. 22...won the event by over 30 feet...also placed sixth in the discus with a distance of 113-6 (34.59 meters).
Becky Clark - Xavier
Junior, Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula HS
Clark took two individual titles at the Early Bird Relays hosted by Cincinnati on Mar. 22...set a new school record in 1,500-meter run (4:41.26) and followed it with another first-place finish in the 800-meter run (2:19.43).
Women's Outdoor Track and Field Rookie of the Week
Assata Cowart - Temple
Freshman, New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle HS
Cowart won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.44 at Towson Invitational on Mar. 22...time was just .80 seconds from ECAC qualifying mark.
