Athletes of the Week are chosen from a pool of nominees for their performances during the week of February 22 - 28, 2016. Athletes are nominated by Sports Information Directors of member institutions.
Men's Basketball
Yunio Barrueta / Barry University / Guard / Forward / Sr. / Miami, Fla.
Barrueta is awarded his fourth SSC Player of the Week honor after helping the Buccaneers to a pair of victories to end the regular season. In a win at Embry-Riddle (112-84), Barrueta scored 20 points, brought down seven rebounds, had an assist, and a blocked shot. The Buccaneer senior helped lead his team to their final regular season conference victory over Eckerd (82-69) and secure the No. 1 seed at the SSC Championship. In the game he scored 22 points, brought down six rebounds (all defensive), dished two assists, and recoreded one steal. The Buccaneers finished the season with a perfect record at home (14-0) for the first time in school history. Barry finished the season with an overall record of 21-5 and 12-4 in SSC play.
Harrison Goodrick / Nova Southeastern University / Jr. / Center / Sydney, Australia
Goodrick is awarded his second SSC Defensive Player of the Week honor after leading Nova Southeastern to a split of their final two regular season conference games. The Sydney, Australia native recorded eight points and four defensive rebounds (five total) as well as four assists and a steal in the Sharks final home game. NSU fell in the game, 60-56, to Eckerd. With the SSC tournament No. 5 seed on the line Goodrick brought down 16 defensive rebounds (21 total), tallied five assists, and scored 15 points as the Sharks defeated Florida Southern, 90-84. Nova Southeastern finished the season with an overall record of 11-15, and 6-10 SSC play.
Women's Basketball
Jensen Blassage / Florida Southern College / Guard / So. / Cherry Valley, Ill.
Blassage wins her second SSC Player of the Week honor this season after leading the Moccasins to two SSC victories to end the regular season. In a 67-62 win at Eckerd, Blassage scored 20 points, brought down five rebounds, had two steals and one assist in 36 minutes. The Cherry Valley, Illinois native scored 19 points, bringing down another five rebounds, two steals and an assist as the Moccasins closed out their season with a victory over No. 18 Nova Southeastern, 63-60. Florida Southern finished the regular season, 23-4 overall, 12-4 in SSC play. The Moccasins earned the a No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seed Rollins in the opening round of the SSC Championship Tournament.
Amra Elezovic / Barry Univeristy / Guard / Forward / Sr. / Manchester, N.H.
Elezovic claims the SSC Defensive Player of the Week honor after helping the Buccaneers to two victories to end the regular season. The New Hampshire native recorded 26 points, four steals, one assist, and had six defensive rebounds (eight total), in 37 minutes played at Embry-Riddle, 77-71. The Buccaneer senior recorded 19 points, three assists, two blocked shots and all nine of her rebounds were defensive rebounds in the season finale victory over Eckerd, 88-72, to help Barry secure the No. 4 seed and the chance to host the opening round of the SSC Championship tournament. The Buccaneers ended the regular season with a 19-8 overall, 10-6 in SSC play.
Baseball
Frank Grandinette / Lynn University / Jr. / RHP / Orlando, Fla.
Grandinette earns SSC Pitcher of the Week honors after leading Lynn to a conference win over Florida Southern last week. Grandinette tossed seven innings for the Fighting Knights in the SSC opener at Florida Southern. The Orlando native struck out seven and allowed a single unearned run in his first ever SSC victory. Grandinette threw 130 pitches in the, 11-8 victory, giving up six hits and a walk to the Moccasins. At the plate, Grandinette helped his own cause by adding two base hits and a run scored. Lynn has won six consecutive games and are 8-6 overall, 3-0 in SSC play.
Casey Scoggins / University of Tampa / Sr. / CF / Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Scoggins takes SSC Player of the Week after piloting Tampa to a three-game conference sweep of Barry. In game one, Scoggins went 1-for-2 with two walks. His lone hit in the game was the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the seventh inning that gave the Spartans a 3-2 victory. In game two, Scoggins had a career game as he tied a school record for hits. He as went 6-6 at the plate with two triples, a double, and three singles. Scoggins would come around to score four runs in the game and added three RBI in the 12-11 extra inning victory. In the third game of the series, Scoggins added another triple and scored a run in the Spartans 10-8 victory. For the weekend, Casey went 8-14 at the plate with three triples, a double, and one home run. Scoggins scored six runs and drove in four RBIs. With the sweep, No. 1 Tampa moves to 11-1 overall, 3-0 in SSC play.
Softball
Alyssa Bache / University of Tampa / Sr, / Pitcher / Clearwater, Fla.
Bache earns her first SSC Pitcher of the Week honors after throwing a no-hitter last week against SSC foe Lynn. In the first game against Lynn, Bache threw struck out eight in seven innings pitched, allowing one run (unearned) and walked two as Tampa got the 3-1 victory. On Saturday, February 27th, Bache threw a no-hitter against Lynn. The Clearwater native struck out six batters in five innings while only allowing one base runner via the walk. Bache helped out her own cause with a first inning RBI double as UT won the game 8-0. The Spartan senior is now 3-4 on the young season and has 44 K’s, fourth among SSC pitchers. Tampa is 5-6 overall and 2-4 in SSC play.
Sommer Pollard / Saint Leo University / So. / Catcher / Clearwater, Fla.
Pollard is awarded SSC Player of the Week honors following the Lion’s weekend sweep of Nova Southeastern. The Clearwater native went 2-3 in the first game with a sac fly, two RBIs and three runs scored as the Saint Leo topped Nova Southeastern, 22-0 in 5 innings. In the second game she went 2-2 at the plate collecting two base hits, scoring twice and recording a stolen base in the 8-0 victory in game one of the double header. In the second game of the double header Pollard went 1-2, walked once and scored a run as the Lions defeated the Sharks 8-0 for the second time that day. Saint Leo is 12-0 on the season and 5-0 in SSC play.
Golf
Jenny Ayala / Lynn University / So. / Bogota, Colombia
Ayala finished first individually for her first career tournament win and helped Lynn University to a first place finish at the Lady Moc Classic.The Fighting Knights overcame a nine-shot deficit heading into the final round to earn the win over top-ranked Rollins and No. 2 Barry. Ayala would shoot a career-best 54-hole score of 217 and the second-best total in tournament history. The record is 216 set by Lynn alum Samantha Smolen in 2014.Ayala tied for the lead with 10 birdies and sank 34 par shots. She also tied for the par three scoring lead (-1), shot +5 on par four holes and was three-under on par fives.
Tennis
Mehdi Laalej / Lynn University / So. / Meknes, Morocco
Laalej posted six wins for the No. 6 Lynn men’s tennis team this week on his way to SSC weekly honors. The Meknes, Morocco native went 3-1 at No. 2 doubles with partner Ethan Itzkovitz, and 3-0 at No. 3 singles. Laalej notched two wins in the team’s 5-4 victory over Division I Bethune Cookman, a 6-3 win in doubles and a 6-2, 6-0 decision in singles. In a 6-3 setback to No. 4 West Florida on Saturday, Laalej was the only Fighting Knight to win both of his matches. He won 8-5 in doubles and 6-1, 6-2 in singles. Laalej grabbed two wins yet again in Lynn’s comeback 5-4 victory over No. 8 Columbus St, winning 8-5 in doubles and dropping nationally-ranked (43rd) Jorge Vargas handedly, 6-0, 6-2. Lynn is 4-3 on the season.
Grace Mpassy / Lynn University / So. / Berlin, Germany
Mpassy went 6-0 for the No. 5 Lynn team this week against three Top-15 opponents to garner the SSC Player of the Week nod. The Berlin, Germany product went 3-0 at No. 2 doubles with Carolina Cuevas and 3-0 at No. 3 singles, in a 5-0 sweep over No. 15 Valdosta St. Mpassy won 8-4 in doubles action and 6-4, 6-0 in singles. Mpassy and Cuevas battled for a 9-7 doubles triumph in an 8-1 win over No. 6 University of West Florida, and then blanked her opponent in singles, 6-0, 6-0. In the final match of the weekend, a 5-0 sweep over No. 8 Columbus St., Mpassy won 8-2 in doubles and posted another eye-opening singles victory, a 6-0, 6-0 rout over nationally-ranked Kirsa Utech. Lynn is 5-1 on the season.
Men's Lacrosse
Justin Diamond / Rollins College / Jr. / Att / Syracuse, N.Y.
Diamond earns his second SSC Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Tars to an 11-7 upset victory over No. 10 Lindenwood. Diamond tallied a game high four goals and added an assist for a game best five points. The Syracuse, New York native fired off nine shots and five shots on frame, adding three ground balls to help the Tars take down their nationally ranked opponent on the road in St. Charles, Missouri on Sunday afternoon. Rollins is now 3-1 on the year.
Matt Lalli / Florida Southern College / Jr. / Goal / New Milford, Conn.
Lalli picks up his second SSC Defensive Player of the Week award after two wins in goal for the Moccasins this week. Lalli opened the week by recording 15 saves in a little over 58 minutes of action against No. 5 Adelphi in a 15-8 losing effort. He then had eight saves and allowed just two goals against Mars Hill in a 12-6 FSC victory. Lalli closed the week collecting a career high 22 saves in an 11-6 win over Lenoir-Rhyne. He also picked up 19 ground balls, including seven against Adelphi and had six against both Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne. Florida Southern sits 4-2 on the season.
Will Cothron / Saint Leo / Sr. / Midfielder / Ocala, Fla.
Cothron takes SSC Specialist of the Week after doing his part in a win over Shorter. Cothron took 19 of 25 (76%) face-offs over the weekend and picked up 10 ground balls in the 17-7 Lions victory. Cothron has moved into 2nd place in program history with 251 ground balls. Saint Leo is 2-1 overall.
Women's Lacrosse
Kendall Kerge / Florida Southern College / Jr. / Attack / Edgewater, Md.
SSC Offensive Player of the Week, Kerge, scored a career-high seven goals in Florida Southern’s 16-10 home loss to No. 1 ranked Adelphi. In the loss to Adelphi, Kerge scored four of her goals in the first half and then added three goals in the second half. She also finished the game with nine shots and was 2-for-2 on free position shots and had one groundball and one caused turnover. The Moccasins are 0-2 on the season with both losses coming against Top-15 opponents.
Malorie Olin / Rollins College / So. / Goal / Skaneateles, N.Y.
Olin is named SSC Defensive Player of the Week after helping No. 6 Rollins to two wins over the weekend. Olin faced a total of 13 shots all weekend, making seven saves to earn a save percentage of .583 over the course of two games. Olin added four ground balls and two caused turnovers to her stat total for the weekend. Rollins moves to 3-0 on the season.
2015-16 SSC Men's Basketball Award Winners (Player; Defense)
Nov. 16: Caleb Stewart, Saint Leo; Corbin Jackson, Florida Tech
Nov. 23: Dylan Travis, Florida Southern; Corbin Jackson, Florida Tech
Nov. 30: Fred Landers, Lynn; Obi Kyei, Eckerd
Dec. 7: Marcus Dewberry, Saint Leo; Deion Clark, Rollins
Dec. 14: Drushaun McLauren, Eckerd; Yunio Barrueta, Barry
Dec. 21: Kevin Walsh, Eckerd; Dylan Travis, Florida Southern
Jan. 4: Yunio Barrueta, Barry; Corbin Jackson, Florida Tech
Jan. 11: Marcus Dewberry, Saint Leo; EJ Moody, Eckerd
Jan. 18: Jerrick Stevenson, Eckerd; Duke Shelton, Tampa
Jan. 25: Yunio Barrueta, Barry; David Johnson, Lynn
Feb. 1: Marcus Dewberry, Saint Leo; Tray Leonard, Barry
Feb. 8: Yunio Barrueta, Barry; Jarel Spellman, Florida Southern
Feb. 15: Pat Bacon, Tampa; Harrison Goodrick, Nova Southeastern
Feb. 21: Marcus Dewberry, Saint Leo; Tray Leonard, Barry
Feb. 29: Yunio Barrueta, Barry; Harrison Goodrick, Nova Southeastern
2015-16 SSC Women's Basketball Award Winners (Player; Defense)
Nov. 16: Sydni Payne, Florida Southern; Monaye Merritt, Nova Southeastern
Nov. 23: Shequana Harris, Florida Tech; Sydni Payne, Florida Southern
Nov. 30: Jensen Blassage, Florida Southern; Mariah Harris, Florida Southern
Dec. 7: Shequana Harris, Florida Tech; Monaye Merritt, Nova Southeastern
Dec. 14: Charla Nelson-James, Lynn; Kimbreli Flournoy, Barry
Dec. 21: Kayla Wright, Nova Southeastern; Angela Alvarez, Tampa
Jan. 4: Ines Kerin, Barry; Alysia Johnson, Saint Leo
Jan. 11: Kayla Wright, Nova Southeastern; Jensen Blassage, Florida Southern
Jan. 18: Molly Blomer, Nova Southeastern; Mariah Harris, Florida Southern
Jan. 25: Juliana Callavaro, Tampa; Angela Alvarez, Tampa
Feb. 1: Irene Sanchez, Barry; Kaila Britten, Barry
Feb. 8: Monaye Merritt, Nova Southeastern; Kimbreli Flournoy, Barry
Feb. 15: Amra Elezovic, Barry; Diamond Cooper, Florida Tech
Feb. 21: Amra Elezovic, Barry; DeLise Williams, Florida Tech
Feb. 29: Jensen Blassage, Florida Southern; Amra Elezovic, Barry
2016 SSC Baseball Award Winners (Pitcher; Player)
Feb. 1: Ty Cohen, Florida Tech, Carlos Matamoros, Barry
Feb. 8: Christopher Williams, Tampa; Tyler Fairbanks, Rollins
Feb. 15: Logan Browning, Florida Southern; Alexander DeGoti, Barry
Feb. 21: Alex Mateo, Nova Southeastern; Peter Nicoletto, Rollins
Feb. 29: Frank Grandinette, Lynn; Casey Scoggins, Tampa
2016 SSC Softball Award Winners (Pitcher; Player)
Feb. 1: Rachel Pence, Florida Tech; Krista Patterson, Florida Tech
Feb. 8: Stephanie Adkins, Saint Leo; Brooke Samios-Uy, Saint Leo
Feb. 15: Rachel Pence, Florida Tech; Samantha Ohmie, Saint Leo
Feb. 21: Stephanie Adkins, Saint Leo; Brooke Samios-Uy, Saint Leo
Feb. 29: Alyssa Bache, Tampa; Sommer Pollard, Saint Leo
2016 SSC Men's Lacrosse Award Winners (Offense; Defense; Specialty)
Feb. 8: Justin Diamond, Rollins; Jake Hogan, Rollins; Travis Wunder, Florida Tech
Feb. 15: Connor Whipple, Tampa; Matt Lalli, Florida Southern; Travis Wunder, Florida Tech
Feb. 21: Andrew Kew, Tampa; A.J. Ferraro, Tampa; Alex Patton, Tampa
Feb. 29: Justin Diamond, Rollins; Matt Lalli, Florida Southern; Will Cothron, Saint Leo