LATHAM, N.Y. - It is week five of the United East’s Athletes of the Week awards and six student-athletes from four different institutions earned a weekly honor. Women’s soccer saw a great performance by Emma Tawney out of St. Mary’s College of Maryland earned her Defensive Player of the Week while Grace Burns from Penn State Abington was tabbed the Offensive Player of the Week. On the men’s side, Colton Jaquith from Wells College picked up Defensive Player of the Week honors while Penn State Harrisburg’s Jose Palomeque earned the title of Offensive Player of the Week. Inside on the volleyball court, Penn State Abington swept the weekly accolades as Gaby Shreve and Jenny McAnaney were named the Defensive and Offensive Players of the Week, respectively.
Check out all of athletes of the week HERE:
Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Emma Tawney | St. Mary’s College of Maryland | FR | GK
Tawney dialed up a big game in net for the Seahawks this week, helping them take down former conference-rival Salisbury University, 1-0. The freshman clocked all 90 minutes en route to the shut out, turning aside a season-high 10 Seagull shots on target. The shutout, which was Tawney’s first of her young career, helped snap a four-game losing skid against the Gulls.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Grace Burns | Penn State Abington | SO | F
Burns was all but unstoppable for the Nittany Lions this week, helping propel her squad to a pair of victories. In the week’s opening win over Keystone College, the sophomore tallied the game’s first three goals. She then picked up assists on the next two, helping lead to a 7-1 victory over the Giants. She continued that momentum into the conference match up with Penn College over the weekend as she rang home the first score in a 2-0 win for her team. On the week, Burns finished with 10 points.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Colton Jaquith | Wells College | GK | SR
Jaquith was a wall in net on Friday, helping the Express earn their first win of the season as they took down Hilbert College 3-0. The senior netminder turned aside four Hawk shots in the first half before saving two more in the final 45 minutes to preserve the win. The shutout also marked the second of his career. Currently Jaquith has logged 99 saves which leads not only the conference but the entirety of Division III.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Jose Palomeque | Penn State Harrisburg | GR | F
Palomeque was a key part of the Lion offense this week, helping his squad go undefeated at 2-0. In the 2-0 win over Neumann University to start the week, the graduate student opened up the scoring with a goal in the 60th minute. Palomeque then turned it up for conference play as he registered five points in the 4-0 win over Morrisville. The forward assisted on the opening goal before finishing the game with two of his own. Palomeque’s 13 points rank fourth in the conference as of this week.
Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week
Gaby Shreve | Penn State Abington | JR | L
Shreve had a tremendous week manning the back row for the Nittany Lions, helping the team to a 2-2 record. Across the 17 sets played, the junior racked up 90 digs, hitting over twenty in three matches. After 12 digs in the win over St. Elizabeth College, Shreve totalled 23 against Delaware Valley University. She then nearly matched that with a 21-dig performance against Gwyndd Mercy University before setting a career-high with 34 against FDU-Florham. Shreve also pitched in with 10 assists and three kills.
Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Jenny McAnaney | Penn State Abington | SR | OH
McAnaney hit at a clip of .228 this week, helping her Nittany Lion squad pick up two wins in four matches played. The senior tallied up 74 kills across the four matches, including a pair of season high 23-kill matches. Adding to her offense, McAnaney piled up eight aces as well. If her offense wasn’t good enough, the outside hitter also collected 70 digs on the week.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram - gounitedeast | Twitter - @GoUnitedEast
******************************************************************************************************************************************
The United East has nine NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Gallaudet University, Lancaster Bible College, Morrisville State, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg, St. Mary's College of Maryland and Wells College. The United East also includes three associate members in the sport of men’s golf including Rosemont College, Rutgers University – Camden and Wilson College. The United East has also partnered with the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference in the sports of men's and women's lacrosse and the North Atlantic Conference in men's tennis and women's tennis. For more information, please visit: gounitedeast.com.