General 4/8/2024 2:28:00 PM United East Athletes of the Week - April 8, 2024 LATHAM, N.Y. - The United East conference has announced its Athletes of the Week for April 8, 2024. This includes Athletes of the Week for both the Skye and Volt Divisions in Baseball and Softball as well as Men’s Volleyball, Women’s Lacrosse, and Men’s Lacrosse. This week’s selections included contests from Monday, April 1 through Sunday, April 7. A total of 14 student-athletes were recognized for their performances. Men’s Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week Will Nase / Sr / Cairn University / Harleysville, Pa. / Souderton Area HS Nase had a big senior night on Wednesday evening as the senior tallied 31 kills and 33 points, both career-highs (previous career mark was 18 kills & 22 points). Nase’s career-highs in kills and points are the most by any player in a single game in the United East this season and the 6th most kills in a game in all of Division III, on .383% hitting. With his big night, Nase put himself amongst the top five in program history in both categories for a single game. This is the fourth Player of the Week award for Nase, who previously won for the weeks of March 7, 2022, February 28, 2022, and March 29, 2021. Defensive Player of the Week Camden Sterner / FY / Wilson College / Spring Grove, Pa. / Spring Grove HS Sterner led the back line with 28 digs over two matches in the week. He opened with a 15-dig effort in a five-set marathon with Cairn as Wilson tried to clinch a playoff bid. While they were short, the Phoenix bounced back with a four-set victory over Saint Elizabeth on Saturday. Sterner had 13 in the game, the third-straight contest he's reached double figures. This is the second Player of the Week award for Sterner, who previously won for the week of January 29, 2024. Women’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week Bella Dunigan / Sr / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Catonsville, Md. / Catonsville HS Bella Dunigan put forth a three-goal, three-assist performance as St. Mary's College rolled to their third straight win - a 20-1 league road win over Wilson. Dunigan also added four draw controls, three ground balls, and one caused turnover. Dunigan currently sits 3rd in the United East in both 1.58 Assists per Game and 19 Total Assists. This is the first Player of the Week award for Dunigan. Defensive Player of the Week Rachael Freeman / Sr / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Baltimore, Md. / Friends School of Baltimore Rachael Freeman notched a season-best six loose ball pickups plus two draw controls and two caused turnovers as the Seahawks picked up a 20-1 league road win over Wilson. Freeman currently is second in the United East after picking up 50 Total Ground Balls as well as third with 20 Total Caused Turnovers in the 2024 season. Freeman is a two-time First Team All-Conference honoree as well as the United East Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. This is the second Player of the Week award for Freeman, who previously won for the week of March 25, 2024. Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week Joshua Martel / So / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Linthicum, Md. / North County HS Joshua Martel notched 11 goals and two assists in a 2-0 week for the Seahawks. Martel tallied a career-best six goals plus an assist for a season-best seven points while also adding season-highs of four ground balls and two caused turnovers in the team's 24-3 win over Cairn. He then notched all six of his points in the first 30 minutes with five goals and an assist in the 24-2 win over Bryn Athyn while chipping in two caused turnovers and one ground ball. Martel currently leads the United East with 47 Total Goals for a 3.92 Goals per Game average. This is the third Player of the Week honor for Martel who previously won for the weeks of March 4, 2024 and April 10, 2023. Defensive Player of the Week Connor Gentile / FY / Penn College / Oxford, Pa. / Oxford HS Gentile had four ground balls and two caused turnovers in a 2-0 week for the Wildcats. Posted one CT and grabbed a season-high three ground balls in a 10-4 win at Marywood on Wednesday. Added a ground ball and a caused turnover in an 18-4 victory at Rosemont on Saturday. This is the first Player of the Week award for Gentile. Softball Player of the Week - Skye Division Taylor Barker / Sr / Wilson College / Chehalis, Wa. / WF West HS Barker crushed the ball this week as she hit .588 after going 10-for-17 as Wilson went 4-2 through six games. In doing so, she extended her hit streak to 15 games. The highlight of her week came on Senior Day against Mary Baldwin on Sunday. She went a perfect 4-for-4 and drove in five runs while scoring three. Two of those hits went for round trips which included a walk-off home run. Barker currently leads the United East with a .918 Slugging Percentage, RBI (20), as well as a 1.433 OPS (On-Base + Slugging Percentage) and is second for Batting Average (.492), Hits (30), and Home Runs (4). This is the fourth Player of the Week nod for Barker, who previously won for the weeks of March 11, 2024, March 21, 2022, and March 29, 2021. Pitcher of the Week - Skye Division Corinne Mundy / Sr / Cedar Crest College / Philadelphia, Pa. / The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush Mundy tossed a no-hitter for her lone win of the week in a 5-0 triumph over Clarks Summit. Mundy only faced two batters above the minimum, allowing two base runners via walks: neither of which advanced past first base, while striking out three. This is the fourth Pitcher of the Week award for Mundy, first in 2024, who previously won for the weeks of April 10, 2023, April 3, 2023, and April 4, 2022. Mundy was a First Team honoree and Pitcher of the Year in the CSAC for the 2023 season. Player of the Week - Volt Division Madelyn Lehigh / Jr / Penn State Harrisburg / Harrisburg, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt HS Lehigh was excellent at the plate in a doubleheader split at Penn State Abington on Sunday afternoon. The junior slashed .714/.750/1.571 with a 2.321 OPS after racking up five hits across the pair of games, with three triples, two RBI, and two runs scored. She also drove in the game-winning runs with a two-RBI triple in the eighth inning of the team's extra-inning game-one win. Lehigh is a two-time First Team All-Conference honoree as well as a NFCA All-Region honoree in 2023. This is the first Player of the Week award for Lehigh. Pitcher of the Week - Volt Division Mackenzie Weaver / Jr / Penn College / Williamsport, Pa. / Montoursville HS Weaver pitched her ninth complete-game and earned her fourth shutout victory of the season in a 8-0 (6 inn.) game one final against Gallaudet on Saturday. The Wildcat junior fanned 10 Bison and allowed just one hit and a walk for her eighth victory of the year. Added a three-run home run to spark a four-run first inning in a 9-2 game two victory. This is the fifth Pitcher of the Week honor for Weaver, who previously won for the weeks of April 1, 2024, March 11, 2023, April 17, 2023, and March 13, 2023, in addition to back-to-back United East Pitcher of the Year awards from the 2022 and 2023 season. Baseball Player of the Week - Skye Division Jordan Daphney / Jr / Wilson College / Countryside, Fl. / Countryside HS Daphney hit .556 after he went 10-for-18 from the plate in four games. He drove in six runs and scored three himself as Wilson took two of the four contests which included a series win against Valley Forge. Two of his base hits were doubles, and he added a pair of stolen bases as well. This is the first Player of the Week award for Daphney, who is currently 4th in the United East with 28 RBI and 9th in Hits with 31 total hits on the season. Pitcher of the Week - Skye Division Mikey Gutierrez / FY / Cairn University / Cooper City, Fl. / St. Thomas Aquinas Gutierrez threw his second-straight complete game, this time in shutout fashion, as he held the Rosemont lineup to a single hit and struck out seven Raven hitters leading to an 8-0 win in game one on Saturday. Gutierrez is Top 5 in the United East in Innings Pitched (3rd; 41.1), ERA (3rd; 2.83), Strikeouts (3rd; 28), Opponents’ Batting Average (3rd; .219), and leads the league in wins with four. This is the first Pitcher of the Week award for Gutierrez. Player of the Week - Volt Division Brendan Henn / Jr / Penn State Harrisburg / Matamoras, Pa. / Delaware Valley HS Brendan Henn was the offensive catalyst for Penn State Harrisburg during the team's 3-1 weekend. The junior was the team's lone player to have a multi-hit game in a setback at Scranton on Friday before racking up five hits across two victories at Keystone the next day. He capped the weekend with an eighth-inning grand slam in a comeback win over Wilson on Sunday afternoon. For the week, Henn slashed .571/.588/.786 with a 1.374 OPS with eight hits, a home run, two walks, six runs scored, five RBI, and two stolen bases. Henn was the 2023 United East Championship Tournament MVP as well as Second Team All-Conference and Second Team All-Region last year. This is the second Player of the Week honor for Henn who previously won for the week of February 26, 2024. Pitcher of the Week - Volt Division Danny Eden / Jr / Penn State Harrisburg / Morgantown, Pa. / Twin Valley HS Danny Eden turned in a strong start in Penn State Harrisburg's victory in the second game of a doubleheader at Keystone on Saturday afternoon. The junior earned the win after throwing six innings and allowing just two runs on two hits and a walk. He also racked up a season-high eight strikeouts. This is the third Pitcher of the Week award for Eden, who previously won for the weeks of March 6, 2023, and February 28, 2022. 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