April 21, 2008
A-10 Spring Sports Honor Roll - Apr. 21
Baseball Player of the Week
Rob Lyerly - Charlotte
Sophomore, 1B/DH, 6-1, 185 lbs.
Indian Trail, N.C./Piedmont HS
Lyerly batted .526 (10-for-19) with four homers, three doubles and a triple while driving in eight runs over four contests...went 6-for-6 with a school record-tying three home runs and a program-best 19 total bases on Apr. 19 in Charlotte's 24-6 win at Massachusetts...scored eight runs and added three walks on the week...27 of his 47 hits this season have been extra-base hits.
Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Charlie Leesman - Xavier
Junior, LHP, 6-4, 210 lbs.
Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder HS
Leesman tossed eight shutout innings on Apr. 18 in Xavier's 3-1 win over Saint Joseph's...scattered four hits and fanned six...improved to 2-3 on the season with 31 strikeouts in 40.2 innings pitched.
Baseball Rookies of the Week
Kevin Fuqua - La Salle
Freshman, RHP, 6-0, 205 lbs.
Derwood, Md./Avalon School
Fuqua became the first La Salle hurler since 2000 to register four complete games in a season after allowing two runs on just three hits in the Explorers' 3-2 win over Fordham on Apr. 20...retired the final nine batters of the game...struck out and three and walked to en route to earning his fourth win of the year.
Byron McKoy - Temple
Freshman, OF, 5-8, 175 lbs.
Charlotte, N.C./Independence HS
McKoy collected at least two hits in all three games of Temple's series sweep of Duquesne (Apr. 18-20)...went 11-for-23 (.478) with eight runs scored, five RBI and three doubles on the week...leads the Owls with a .344 batting average and has stolen ten straight bases.
Softball Players of the Week
Carly Normandin - Massachusetts
Sophomore, Outfield, Gardner, Mass./Gardner HS
Normandin collected eight hits in 14 at-bats (.571) with 14 RBI on the week...tallied one double, two triples and two home runs including a grand slam in five wins on the week...went a perfect 5-for-5 in the series sweep over Dayton on Apr. 20 with a double, two home runs and ten RBI...batted a perfect 1.000 in three of the five games this week...leads the team in RBI (30) and slugging percentage (.579)...first Player of the Week honor.
Brooke Darreff - Saint Joseph's
Sophomore, Catcher, Hartsville, Pa./Central Bucks South HS
Dareff batted .714 on the week with a 1.286 slugging percentage and .833 on base percentage after starting all four games...smacked her second home run of the year in SJU's 11-0 win over Temple on Apr. 16...also threw out two of three base runners from behind the plate...entered the week ranked fourth nationally in batting average (.471) and raised her average to .494 this week...second Player of the Week honor.
Softball Pitchers of the Week
Brandice Balschmiter - Massachusetts
Junior, Pitcher, Newark, N.Y./Newark HS
Balschmiter grabbed three wins in three starts giving up no runs and just four hits striking out 31 batters while tossing her second perfect game of the season...threw her fourth career no-hitter, second career perfect game while striking out 12 in a 12-0 five-inning win over Dayton on Apr. 20...tossed a one-hitter while fanning nine batters against Rhode Island on Apr. 15, followed by a three-hit, ten-strikeout outing in a 6-0 win over Boston University on Apr. 17...has pitched 44-consecutive scoreless innings, 70 2/3 innings without giving up an earned run while extending her shutout streak to seven games...seventh Pitcher of the Week honor.
Dani Gonzales - Saint Joseph's
Junior, Pitcher, Litchfield Park, Ariz./St. Mary's HS
Gonzales posted a perfect 0.00 ERA in 23.1 innings of work, going 4-0, while averaging over a strikeout per inning...picked up a pair of complete game victories over Temple on April 16 and La Salle on Apr. 20, while allowing just nine base runners all week.
Softball Rookie of the Week
Lindsay Maroney - Massachusetts
Freshman, Designated Player, Bradford, Mass./Phillips Academy
Maroney batted 6-for-11 (.545) with two doubles, a home run and eight RBI over five wins on the week...hit her first-career home run, a grand slam, in a 12-0 win over Dayton on Apr. 20...had a pair of 2-for-3 single-RBI performances in wins over Rhode Island on Apr. 15 and Boston U. on Apr. 1...has at least one RBI in all five games on the week...leads the team in batting average (.361) and stolen bases (six)...first Rookie of the Week honor.
Lacrosse Players of the Week
Mandy Friend - Richmond
Junior, Midfielder, Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy
Friend posted 14 points in two contests for Richmond...led the Spiders with six goals and three assists for nine points in a 13-9 win over Saint Joseph's on Apr. 20...also picked up eight ground balls, seven draw controls and six caused turnovers in the victory...put in two goals and added three assists for five points in a tough 11-10 loss to George Washington on Apr. 16...third Player of the Week honor.
Kat McNish - Duquesne
Junior, Attack, Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell HS
McNish totaled 12 points in DU's wins over La Salle on Apr. 18 and UMass on Apr. 10...scored game-winner with 13 seconds remaining in regulation in the Dukes' 11-10 win over UM...win clinched a No. 3 seed for the A-10 Championship...had two goals and two assists against the Minutewomen...tied a season-high with eight points (3g, 5a) in the Dukes' 18-6 win over the Explorers...has scored in 15 straight matches...leads Dukes with 42 assists and 71 points...second Player of the Week honor.
Lacrosse Rookie of the Week
Jackie Lyons - Massachusetts
Freshman, Midfield, Rocky Point, N.Y./Rocky Point HS
Lyons netted a goal and added two assists in the win over St. Bonaventure on Apr. 18 and 11-10 loss to Duquesne on Apr. 20 to secure a spot in the A-10 Championship..also had five draw controls and one groundball on the weekend...had a career-high two assists to go along with two draw controls and a groundball versus SBU...netted her lone goal of the weekend along with three draw controls against the Dukes...second Rookie of the Week honor.
Men's Tennis Most Outstanding Performer
Doug Matthews - Xavier
Junior, Maineville, Ohio/Kings HS
At first singles and doubles, Matthews helped lead the Musketeers to the A-10 title on Apr. 4-6 at Club 4 Life in Monroeville, Pa...Matthews did not lose a singles match throughout the Championship, earning a victory over Felipe Acosta of Saint Louis (6-0, 6-1) before clinching the title against George Washington's Mustafa Gencsoy (6-4, 3-6, 6-4)...teamed with sophomore Chris Herringer to go 3-0 at first doubles, defeating Saint Louis (8-4) and Charlotte (9-7), before securing a crucial doubles point against George Washington (8-6) in the championship match.
Men's Tennis Most Outstanding Rookie
Yan Levinski - George Washington
Freshman, Melbourne, Australia/Brighton Grammar School
Levinksi garnered Most Outstanding Rookie honors after winning all three of his doubles matches paired with teammate Salyer at the A-10 Championship...the duo posted second flight wins against Rhode Island (8-2), St. Bonaventure (8-3) and Xavier (8-6)...in singles, Levinski held a lead in his first two matches against No. 2 opponents from URI and SBU, but did not finish either match.
Men's Tennis Coach of the Year
Eric Toth - Xavier
First Season
Toth was named Coach of the Year after guiding Xavier to its first-ever A-10 men's tennis title and a subsequent automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament...entering the Championship as the second seed, the Musketeers captured three 4-0 victories, starting with Saint Louis, then Charlotte and finally top-seeded George Washington en route to the title..it was Toth's first season as head coach after serving as an assistant at XU for ten years.
Men's Golf Player of the Week
Andrew DiBitetto - Charlotte
Senior, Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena
DiBitetto shot under par at both events for the 49ers this past week and helped the team win its fifth regular-season tournament title of the year at the Palisades Collegiate Classic on Apr. 14-15, then a fifth-place finish at Purdue's Boilermaker Invitational on Apr. 19-20...DiBitetto carded a one-under par 215 (68-70-77) as the 49ers competed against a 14-team field at the Palisades, then added a two-under 214 (71-70-73) at Purdue...DiBitetto's four-under par 68 in the first round of the Palisades was his best single-round of the season...the team title at the Palisades matched the 49ers' school-record of five tournament wins, set last season.
Men's Golf Rookie of the Week
Sasha Bozic - Temple
Freshman, Beach Lake, Pa./Honesdale HS
Bozic tied teammate Andrew Mason's 18-hole freshman record, which was just a day old, with a four-under 68 to lead the Owls to a fourth-place finish at the Mount St. Mary's Invitational on Apr. 19...Bozic's one-over total of 217 (77-72-68) was good for ninth overall, carding a career-low in the final round (68).
Men's Outdoor Track and Field Performer of the Week
Sean Quigley - La Salle
Senior, Braintree, Mass./Archbishop Williams HS
Two weeks after qualifying for the Olympic Trials in the 10,000-meter run, Quigley did it again, this time in the 5,000-meter run after setting a personal record of 13:20.25 at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., on Apr. 18...he topped his previous time by 19 seconds, placing fifth overall and the top American finisher.
Men's Outdoor Track and Field Rookie of the Week
Darius Law - Charlotte
Freshman, Raleigh, N.C./Southeast Raleigh HS
Law posted an NCAA Regional-qualifying time of 21.27 in the 200-meter dash at the North Carolina A&T, which placed 11th and ranks fourth all-time for Charlotte and first in the Conference this season...clocked a fourth-place 47.02 in the 400-meter dash, which would lead the A-10 if he were not already in possession of the top spot...anchored the Conference-leading 4x100m relay to a 40.86, which placed fifth, then led off the 4x400m relay to a fourth-place finish with a time of 3:13.77.
Women's Outdoor Track and Field Performer of the Week
Tsehaye Dagnachew - Charlotte
Senior, Jacksonville, N.C./ Jacksonville HS
Dagnachew ran a school record and Olympic Trials "B" qualifying time of 10:10.53 in the 3000m steeplechase at the Mt. SAC relays on Apr. 18...improved her national ranking and NCAA Regional qualifying performance, which now ranks first in the Atlantic 10 and third in the nation...finished 11th in the invitational section of the event, posting the second-fastest collegiate time in a group of only three college-level athletes mixed with post-collegiates and professionals.
Women's Outdoor Track and Field Rookie of the Week
Amanda Goetschius - Charlotte
Freshman, Franklinville, Pa./Delsea Regional HS
Goetschius turned in a third-place performance in the 5,000m run at the Princeton Invite on Apr. 18, posting an ECAC-qualifying time of 16:53.02...time narrowly missed the NCAA Regional qualifying time by just a second...ranks fifth all-time in school history.
