Athletes of the Week for October 23, 2017
Football – Offense
Sam Benger — Carnegie Mellon University — Hingham, MA (Hingham)
Carnegie Mellon University senior Sam Benger rushed 23 times for 204 yards and two touchdowns to help lead the Tartans to a 42-10 road victory over Thiel College. The 200-yard effort marked his second of the season and eighth of his career. Benger scored on runs of five and 40 yards.
Football – Defense
Justin McMahon — Case Western Reserve University — Mentor, OH (Mentor)
Case Western Reserve University senior linebacker Justin McMahon totaled a team-high 10 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, and returned a recovered fumble 68 yards for his first career touchdown in the Spartans’ 45-7 win over Geneva College. The Spartan defense limited the leading rusher in NCAA Division III to 53 yards on the ground.
Football – Special Teams
Tyler Kohman — Carnegie Mellon University — Pataskala, OH (Columbus Academy)
Carnegie Mellon University senior Tyler Kohman averaged 53.3 yards per punt on three kicks in the Tartans’ 42-10 victory at Thiel College. All three of his punts were more than 50 yards and landed at or inside the Tomcats’ 10-yard line. Kohman leads NCAA Division III with an average of 47.5 yards per punt.
Women’s Golf
Samantha Haubenstock — Washington University — Weston, FL (Pine Crest School)
Sophomore Samantha Haubenstock captured medalist honors at the Golfweek Division III Fall Invitational as Washington University won the 16-team tournament, which included multiple nationally ranked squads. She tied for first place with an eight-over par score of 224 over three rounds with rounds of 74 and back-to-back 75s.
Men’s Golf
Keenan Hickton — Emory University — Pittsburgh, PA (Sewickley Academy)
Senior Keenan Hickton broke par in all three rounds to place second in the 90-player field at the Golfweek Division III Fall Invitational. He shot rounds of 70, 69, and another 70 to shoot a four-under par 209 to help guide the Eagles to a fourth-place finish in the 18-team field.
Women’s Soccer – Offense
Elle Zadina — Case Western Reserve University — Glencoe, IL (Loyola Academy)
Case Western Reserve University senior midfielder Elle Zadina scored all three Spartan goals in a 3-1 win over Oberlin College on Saturday. She tallied one goal in the first half and two in the second half to double her season goal-scoring output.
Women’s Soccer – Defense
Danielle Staffin — Emory University — Bridgewater, NJ (Bridgewater-Raritan)
Emory University junior goalkeeper Danielle Staffin recorded four saves, her second-highest total of the season, as the Eagles blanked Roanoke College, 2-0 on Saturday. The shutout marked her fourth of the season.
Men’s Soccer – Offense
Noah Gans — Brandeis University — Newton, MA (Newton South)
Freshman midfielder Noah Gans scored twice to help lead Brandeis University to a 5-1 victory over host Clark University. The scores marked the second and third of his career.
Jimmy Jameson — Carnegie Mellon University — Fairfax, VA (Oakton)
Senior defender Jimmy Jameson recorded his second multi-goal game of the season as Carnegie Mellon University came back to edge La Roche College 4-3 in overtime. His second goal in the 85th minute evened the score at 3-3 to send the match into overtime. Jameson is tied for the team lead with seven goals this season.
Men’s Soccer – Defense
Grant Engel — NYU — New York, NY (The Birch Wathen Lenox School)
Junior goalkeeper Grant Engel recorded his third shutout of the season in a 1-0 NYU win at Lehman College on Saturday. He recorded three saves as the Violets halted a two-match losing streak.
Women’s Tennis
Mira Amin — Case Western Reserve University — Oak Brook, IL (Hinsdale Central)
First-year player Mira Amin of Case Western Reserve University finished 3-0 in singles and 1-1 in doubles at the Middlebury College Invitational. She defeated opponents from Brandeis University and Williams College before winning a three-setter, 12-10 in the deciding set, against an opponent from host Middlebury. Amin and Nina Cepeda defeated Brandeis rivals in doubles.
Men’s Tennis
David Aizenberg — Brandeis University — Highland Park, IL (Highland Park)
Sophomore David Aizenberg reached two finals at the Bates College Wallach Invitational, including capturing the A doubles competition with freshman Anupreeth Coramutla. The duo won four matches, including a 9-7 win over a Tufts pair in the first round and an 8-6 victory in the final over a duo from Amherst College, who knocked off the top seeds from Bowdoin College in the previous round. Aizenberg won four matches in the B singles event, including three in super tiebreakers.
Volleyball
Rayne Ellis — NYU — Macon, GA (Mount de Sales Academy)
NYU senior middle blocker Rayne Ellis averaged 3.83 kills and 1.00 blocks per set, while attacking at a .419 clip, in a 2-1 week for the Violets. She matched a career-high with 20 kills and added five solo blocks in a four-set win over Rowan University. Ellis hit .500 with 16 kills in a five-set NYU victory over Montclair State University.
Kayla Yew — Carnegie Mellon University — San Francisco, CA (Sacred Heart Cathedral)
Carnegie Mellon sophomore libero Kayla Yew averaged 6.50 digs per set as the Tartans recorded three more wins to move to 25-1 this season. She totaled at least 20 digs in all three matches, averaging 7.33 in a sweep of Haverford College. Yew raised her double-digit dig streak to 32 matches.
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Julia Durmer — Emory University — Decatur, GA (St. Pius Catholic)
Emory University junior Julia Durmer won three events in the Eagles’ 173-111 dual meet victory over Birmingham-Southern College. She finished first in the 200-yard individual medley (2:11.01), 200-yard breaststroke (2:27.19), and 1,000-yard freestyle (10:36.15).
Madeline Lutwyche — Emory University — Reistertown, MD (The Hill School, PA)
Emory University sophomore diver Madeline Lutwyche won one event and placed second in the other in a 173-111 Eagles’ win over Birmingham-Southern College. She met the NCAA Division III regional diving standard in winning the one-meter event with a score of 257.55 and earned a runner-up finish on the three-meter board with a mark of 211.58.
Men’s Swimming and Diving
Sven Mesihovic — Emory University — Sewanee, GA (Lambert)
Emory University freshman Sven Mesihovic notched a pair of first-place showings and added a second-place effort as the Eagles topped Birmingham-Southern College, 163-121, in a dual meet on Saturday. He finished first in the 200-yard backstroke (1:53.51) and the 200-yard individual medley (1:57.40), and placed second in the 100-yard backstroke (52.97 seconds).
Trevor Burke — Emory University — Glenview, IL (Glenbrook South)
Emory University sophomore Trevor Burke swept both diving events as the Eagles defeated Birmingham-Southern College 163-121. He met the NCAA Division III regional diving standard in the three-meter dive with a score of 321.45 and won the one-meter board with a score of 281.25.
Athlete of the Week selections are drawn from nominees submitted by member institution coaches and sports information directors. UAA Athletes of the Week are selected in each sport in which the UAA sponsors competition. They are selected on the basis of their individual performances and contributions to team efforts during the past week in both Association and non-Association competition.