Athletes of the Week for September 18, 2023
Women’s Cross Country
Grace Richardson — NYU — Kilkenny, Ireland (Loreto Secondary School)
Graduate student Grace Richardson broke the NYU six-kilometer record and finished third in the 193-runner field at the Manhattan College Jasper Invitational. Her time of 21:05.3 broke the previous program mark of 21:16.0 and led the Violets to a runner-up finish in the 19-team field of predominantly NCAA Division I teams.
Men’s Cross Country
Cullen Capuano — Washington University — Herndon, VA (Gonzaga College)
Senior Cullen Capuano placed third in the 294-runner field at the Wheaton College (IL) Gil Dodds Invitational, leading Washington University to a runner-up finish in the 18-team event. He completed the eight-kilometer course in 24:23.4.
Women’s Golf
Sydney Kuo — Washington University — South Plainfield, NJ (Wardlaw + Hartridge School)
Washington University junior Sydney Kuo captured medalist honors and led the Bears to the team title at the Illinois Wesleyan University Fall Classic. She shot rounds of 70 and 71 for a two-day total of 141. WashU won the 19-team tournament with a score of 584.
Men’s Golf
Brendan Frain — University of Rochester — Sudbury, MA (Lincoln-Sudbury)
University of Rochester graduate student Brendan Frain finished fifth in the 113-player field at the Williams College Fall Invitational. He shot rounds of 71 and 73 to shoot a two-day total of 144, just three strokes behind the medalist. Frain led the field in par-5 scoring and ranked third in par-3 scoring, leading the Yellowjackets to a seventh-place finish in the 22-team tournament.
Women’s Soccer – Offense
Cecelia Dieterich — Carnegie Mellon University — South Paris, ME (Oxford)
Senior midfielder Cecelia Dieterich scored two goals and added an assist to lead second-ranked Carnegie Mellon University to a pair of wins. She tallied the team’s third goal in a 5-0 win over Grove City College and tallied in the eighth minute in a 4-0 Tartans’ victory over 2022 NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship participant Ohio Northern University. Dieterich added an assist on a late goal against the Polar Bears.
Women’s Soccer – Defense
Hannah Bassan — Brandeis University — Aventura, FL (NSU University School)
Junior goalkeeper Hannah Bassan made seven saves and allowed just one goal in two Brandeis University draws. She stopped four shots for her first solo shutout of the season in a scoreless draw with Clark University on Tuesday and followed that with three saves in a 1-1 draw with Johnson & Wales University on Sunday.
Men’s Soccer – Offense
Ashton Prescott — University of Rochester — Tokyo, Japan (St. Mary’s International)
University of Rochester sophomore midfielder Ashton Prescott scored twice, including the game-tying goal on a 40-yard free kick with less than three minutes remaining, in the Yellowjackets’ 3-3 draw with Rochester Institute of Technology on Tuesday. He contributed an assist in a 4-1 win over Hobart College on Saturday.
Men’s Soccer – Defense
Bradley Winter — Case Western Reserve University — Marietta, GA (Blessed Trinity Catholic)
Case Western Reserve University sophomore goalkeeper Bradley Winter made seven saves to hold fifth-ranked John Carroll University scoreless in a 0-0 draw on Wednesday. The Blue Streaks scored 11 goals in their first four contests. Winter added a save in a 4-1 Spartans’ win over Allegheny College on Saturday.
Women’s Tennis
Katherine Wang — Case Western Reserve University — Dublin, OH (Dublin Jerome)
Senior Katherine Wang went a combined 5-0 in singles and doubles as Case Western Reserve University posted a 23-1 record in singles and 10-1 in doubles at the Denison University Big Red Invitational. She earned a pair of singles victories and teamed with Pallavi Goculdas to win three times in doubles.
Ksenia Goel — NYU — San Diego, CA (Pacific Beach Homeschool)
First-year player Ksenia Goel of NYU began her collegiate career with a combined 4-0 mark in singles and doubles. She dropped just two games in four sets in two singles victories and teamed with junior Jimena Menendez for 8-2 and 8-5 doubles wins at The College of New Jersey Lions Invitational.
Men’s Tennis
Dylan Walters — Brandeis University — Baltimore, MD (Gilman School)
Tommy Harrison — Brandeis University — London, England (National Extension College)
The Brandeis University duo of Dylan Waters and Tommy Harrison won the “A” doubles title at the Middlebury College Invitational to open the Judges’ season. They opened with an 8-5 win over a team from Bates College and then earned an 8-2 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the second round. Walters and Harrison advanced to the final with an 8-2 win over a team from host Middlebury and took the title, 8-6, over their Tufts University opponents.
Volleyball
Haley Holz — NYU — Palatine, IL (Palatine)
NYU outside hitter Haley Holz averaged 3.62 kills and 4.30 points per set as the Violets won all four of their matches during the week. She hit .342, including .444 with a season-high 21 kills in a four-set win over Emerson College. Holz finished the week with 14 kills and five digs in a four-set Violets’ victory over Virginia Wesleyan University.
Jennifer Ngo — Case Western Reserve University — Toledo, OH (Notre Dame Academy)
Case Western Reserve University middle blocker Jennifer Ngo averaged 1.80 blocks per set as the Spartans split four matches for the week. She matched career-highs with nine blocks in a four-set loss to 23rd-ranked Ohio Northern University on Friday and in a sweep of Albion College on Saturday. Ngo, who hit .261 and averaged 3.07 kills per set, added seven blocks as the Spartans took fifth-ranked Calvin University to five sets on Saturday.
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.