Athletes of the Week for November 21, 2016
Men’s Cross Country
Ryan Becker — Washington University — Johnson City, TN (Science Hill)
Senior Ryan Becker of Washington University earned All-America status for the second time in his career as he led the Bears to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. He set a personal record with his eight-kilometer time of 24:40.08 to place 11th overall.
Women’s Cross Country
Aly Wayne — Washington University — Lowell, MA (Phillips Academy Andover)
Junior Aly Wayne achieved All-America honors and led Washington University to a runner-up finish at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. She set a personal record with her six-kilometer time of 20:52.9, placing eighth in the field of more than 300 competitors.
Football — Offense
Kevin Hammarlund — Washington University — Arlington Heights, IL (Saint Viator)
Washington University senior wide receiver Kevin Hammarlund hauled in a career-high 13 catches for 116 yards in the Bears’ 49-13 loss at fourth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the first round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship. He recorded his eighth consecutive 100-yard receiving game and finished his career ranked second in program history in receptions (235) and receiving yards (3,106).
Football — Defense
Jake Coon — Washington University — Barrington, IL (Barrington)
Washington University sophomore linebacker Jake Coon recorded a game-high 14 tackles, including nine solo hits, in the Bears’ 49-13 loss at fourth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the first round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship. He finished the season with a team-high 114 tackles, posting seven games with double-digit tackles.
Football — Special Teams
Johnny Davidson — Washington University — Inverness, IL (Barrington)
Washington University freshman punter Johnny Davidson averaged 41.3 yards on six punts in the Bears’ 49-13 loss at fourth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the first round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship. He landed two punts inside the 20-yard line and booted a long of 47 yards. The Bears’ punt defense allowed just one return for three yards.
Women’s Soccer — Offense
Samantha Schwartz — Brandeis University — Highland Park, IL (Highland Park)
Junior forward Samantha Schwartz scored two goals and added two assists as Brandeis University advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship for the first time in program history. She scored the game’s only goal at 86:34 against McDaniel College in the sectional semifinal. After the Judges fell behind top-ranked William Smith College, 2-0 in the sectional final, Schwartz assisted on a goal 32 seconds after the Herons’ second goal and then scored the tying goal just over seven minutes later. She assisted on Jessica Morana’s winning goal just 1:43 into overtime.
Women’s Soccer — Defense
Lizzy Crist — Washington University — Wayzata, MN (Minnetonka)
Senior goalkeeper Lizzy Crist did not allow a goal in 200 minutes as Washington University reached the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship semifinals for the second consecutive year and fourth time in program history. She stopped three penalty kicks and made two saves as the Bears posted a 2-1 shootout victory over 10th-ranked Hardin-Simmons University in the sectional semifinal. Crist made four saves in a 1-0 win over second-ranked Trinity University (TX) in the sectional final, extending her scoreless streak to 10 games and 897 minutes and setting a program single-season record with 13 shutouts.
Men’s Soccer — Offense
Mike Lynch — Brandeis University — Weymouth, MA (Weymouth)
Brandeis University senior forward Mike Lynch scored the first two goals in a span of 59 seconds to lead the Judges to a 4-2 win over Rutgers University-Newark in the sectional final of the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship. The Judges, who advanced past second-ranked Amherst College by penalty kicks in the sectional semifinal, advanced to the national semifinals for the first time since 1984.
Men’s Soccer — Defense
Ben Woodhouse — Brandeis University — Suffield, CT (Suffield)
Brandeis University junior goalkeeper Ben Woodhouse made a career-high 10 saves and then stopped three of four penalty kicks as the Judges advanced past second-ranked Amherst College in the sectional semifinal of the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship. He stopped three shots in a sectional final win over Rutgers-Newark University that gave the Judges their first trip to the national semifinals since 1984.
Volleyball
Julianne Malek — Washington University — The Woodlands, TX (John Cooper)
Sophomore middle hitter Julianne Malek recorded 33 kills with just four errors combined as Washington University defeated University of Mary Washington and Southwestern University (TX) to reach the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship final. In three matches, she posted a .405 hitting percentage with 39 kills and nine blocks for the runner-up Bears.
Zoe Baxter — Washington University — Los Angeles, CA (Harvard-Westlake)
First-year libero Zoe Baxter averaged 6.36 digs per set as Washington University advanced to the final of the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship. She set a season-high with 33 digs in a come-from-behind five-set win over University of Mary Washington in the national quarterfinals. Baxter totaled 18 kills in the Bears’ sweep of Southwestern University (TX) in the semifinals and 19 more in the title match against Calvin College.
Women’s Basketball
Lisa Murphy — Carnegie Mellon University — McLean, VA (McLean)
Carnegie Mellon University senior center Lisa Murphy averaged 25.0 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks per game to lead the Tartans to a 3-0 start, while shooting 81.1 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the free throw line. She opened the season with 24 points and a career-high 22 rebounds in a win over La Roche College and then earned Wilmington College (OH) Tip-Off Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Murphy hit all 12 field goals and seven free throws she attempted in an 80-60 win over Transylvania University and netted 20 points, hitting six of eight field goals, in a 63-56 victory over the host.
Men’s Basketball
Adam Gigax — Emory University — Mason, OH (Moeller)
Emory University junior guard Adam Gigax averaged 20.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, connecting on 58.3 percent (14 of 24) of his three-point attempts, in a 2-1 opening week for the Eagles. He finished with career-highs of six 3-pointers and 26 points in the Eagles’ opener at Covenant College. Gigax matched both those marks in a 69-66 double-overtime win over Guilford College on Saturday.
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Hannah Eastman — University of Chicago — Elk Grove, CA (Rio Americano)
Sophomore Hannah Eastman of the University of Chicago provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in six events at the Maroons’ Phoenix Fall Classic. She recorded NCAA “B” cut times of 2:06.45 in the 200-yard butterfly and 1:52.09 in the 200-yard freestyle. Eastman recorded personal-best relay splits in the 200-yard freestyle relay (23.95 seconds) and the 400-yard freestyle relay (51.71 seconds). She also split a 1:53.14 on the winning 800-yard freestyle relay that achieved a provisional qualifying time.
Anna Girlich — University of Chicago — Orland Park, IL (Carl Sandburg)
Sophomore Anna Girlich of the University of Chicago won both diving events with NCAA Division III Diving regional qualifying marks as the Maroons hosted the Phoenix Fall Classic. She won the events by an average of 29 points, posting scores of 430.5 on the one-meter board and 429.80 in the three-meter event.
Carmen White — NYU — Lake Bluff, IL (Lake Forest)
First-year diver Carmen White of NYU won three events over the weekend, meeting the NCAA Division III Diving regional qualifying standard all three times. She swept the events with scores of 322.13 (one meter) and 298.43 (three meter) in the Violets win over The College of New Jersey on Saturday. White captured the three-meter dive (293.15 points) in a close NYU win over NCAA Division I Bucknell University on Sunday.
Men’s Swimming and Diving
Byrne Litschgi — University of Chicago — Tampa, FL (Jesuit)
University of Chicago freshman Byrne Litschgi broke two program records and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in both events at the Maroons’ Phoenix Fall Classic. He led off the winning 400-yard medley relay with a “B” cut and school-record time of 49.78 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke and broke another school mark and met the provisional NCAA standard in the 200-yard backstroke in 1:48.81.
Gabe Bamforth — Carnegie Mellon University — Cambridge, MA (Cambridge Rindge & Latin)
Carnegie Mellon University sophomore Gabe Bamforth set one pool record and clinched his spot at the 2016 NCAA Division III Region 4 Diving Championships in both diving events at the Tartans’ invitational against Washington & Jefferson College. He earned a score of 470.80 points on the one-meter board to surpass the previous school record of 443.35 and tallied 464.20 points in the three-meter dive.
Connor Brisson — NYU — Greenwich, CT (Greenwich)
NYU sophomore Connor Brisson set a pair of program records in sweeping the diving events in a dual meet against The College of New Jersey on Saturday. He captured the one-meter event with a score of 359.18 and the three-meter board with a mark of 397.65. Brisson met the NCAA Division III regional qualifying standard in both events.
Wrestling
Raymond Jazikoff — NYU — South Plainfield, NJ (South Plainfield)
Junior Raymond Jazikoff of NYU placed fourth at the New York State Collegiate Championships, which featured competition across all NCAA divisions. He finished 5-2 at the tournament with both his losses coming to opponents from NCAA Division I Army West Point. Jazikoff, ranked ninth in NCAA Division III at 157 pounds, is now 13-3 this season.
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.