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United East Athletes of the Week - April 7, 2026

LATHAM, N.Y. - The United East conference has announced its Athletes of the Week for April 7, 2026.  Today will include Athletes of the Week from men's and women's tennis, men's and women's outdoor track & field and men's golf. 

This week’s selections included contests through Sunday, April 5.  A total of seven student-athletes from four different institutions were recognized for their performances.

 
Men’s Tennis

Athlete of the Week
Max Esztergomi / SR / St. Mary's College of Maryland / Bethesda, Md. / Walt Whitman

Max Esztergomi helped the Seahawks extend their win streak to four with victories over Cairn and Penn State Brandywine. At No. 1 singles, Esztergomi notched a 6-0, 6-2 triumph over Cairn's Matheo Baez before taking down Brandywine's Mateo Torres, 6-0, 6-0. He partnered with Andrew Hand at No. 2 doubles, beginning with a 6-3 win over Cairn's Evan Ciccone and Joshua Nacy before collecting a 6-2 win over PSW's Zarius Silverio and Aaron Wilson. SMCM won both matches 7-0.

 This is Esztergomi's first United East weekly accolade of the season and his second of his career (04/08/25)

Women’s Tennis

Athlete of the Week
Ava Shepps / FY / Penn State Harrisburg / Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Mechanicsburg

Ava Shepps went 4-0 last week to help lead Penn State Harrisburg to a pair of conference victories. The freshman won a pair of No. 1 singles contests in sweeps of Penn State Berks and Cedar Crest, securing a 6-4, 6-3 win against the opposing Lions and a 6-0, 6-0 sweep against the Falcons. In the No. 1 doubles slot, she teamed with Kiersten Strohecker for a 6-4 victory at Penn State Berks and a 6-1 win at Cedar Crest. 

This is Shepps' first United East weekly accolade of her career.


 
Men’s Golf

Golfer of the Week
Peyton Moyer / JR / Penn State Berks / Barto, Pa. / Boyertown

Moyer had an incredible week for Penn State Berks. He started the week by winning the LVC Spring Invitational on Monday at the Lebanon Country Club. He had excellent day on the course, shooting a 75 (+3) on the par-72, 6,562-yard layout. He excelled on the back nine, posting the lowest score over the final nine holes to secure the tiebreaker over Max Pflieger and Jake Shmonov from Millersville, who also carded rounds of 75.

On Wednesday, Moyer led Penn State Berks at the Elizabethtown Spring Invitational at Hershey Country Club, posting a score of 80 (+9), finishing tied for 15th place in a competitive field of 60+ golfers.

Finally on Saturday, Moyer had the best round of his college career, playing in the Albright Spring Invitational. Moyer broke the school record, shooting a 66 (-6) to the win tournament by three strokes. He posted six birdies and an eagle on the day.

This is Moyer's second career United East Weekly Accolade (09/16/25).
 


Women’s Outdoor Track & Field

Track Athlete of the Week
Giada Smith / SO / Cedar Crest College / Springtown, Pa. / Palisades

Smith, broke her own school record in the 3000-meter steeplechase by 40 seconds, clocking a time of 13:26.01, taking fourth overall in the meet and moving up to first place in the conference at the time of competition.  She now ranks 23rd in the region in the event.

This is Smith's first United East weekly accolade of her career in the outdoor season.

 

Field Athlete of the Week
Rocksann Smith / SO / St. Mary's College of Maryland / Baltimore, Md. / Baltimore City College

For the second straight week, Rocksann Smith has rewritten the school record for the javelin throw. Smith threw a school record and personal-best 42.37m (8th in Division III, 2nd in Mid-Atlantic, 1st in United East) to finish third behind a pair of Division I Duquesne University throwers. She took down her own mark of 41.11m from last Saturday (March 28). She also anchored the 22nd-place 4x100m relay which clocked a season-best 50.52 (9th in Mid-Atlantic, 1st in United East).

This is Smith's second-straight Outdoor T&F United East weekly accolade of the season and the fourth of her career (03/30/26, 04/15/25, 03/25/25).
 



Men’s Outdoor Track & Field

Track Athlete of the Week
Nicholas Haylock / SR / St. Mary's College of Maryland / Odenton, Md. / Meade

Nicholas Haylock posted the school record in the 400m hurdles with a season-best 56.29 (8th in Mid-Atlantic, 1st in United East) for 13th place, beating his own record of 57.68 from May 4, 2025. Haylock anchored the 12th-place 4x100m relay which clocked a season-best 43.28 (12th in Mid-Atlantic, 1st in United East). He added a 44th-place finish in the 100m dash in 11.24 (47th in Mid-Atlantic, 2nd in United East).

This is Haylock's second United East weekly accolade of the season and his third overall (03/24/26, 04/22/25)
 

Field Athlete of the Week
Korey Blair  / FY / St. Mary's College of Maryland / Baltimore, Md. / Overlea

Korey Blair put up two school record performances this weekend (April 3-4) at the Dalton Ebanks Invitational hosted by George Mason University. Blair qualified for the 2026 All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Outdoor Championships on May 13-14 at Ursinus College, qualifying in the high jump.
 
He captured the high jump with a school record 1.95m (50th in Division III, 3rd in Mid-Atlantic, 1st in United East), besting seven Division I athletes (Coppin State University, Duquesne University, George Mason, Sacred Heart University) as well as four Division III athletes from Johns Hopkins University and Salisbury University. Blair broke the five-year old SMCM record of 1.78m set by Alex Behzadi '24 on April 10, 2021.

Blair also picked up the school record in the long jump with a personal-best 6.65m (3rd in Mid-Atlantic, 1st in United East) to finish seventh. He surpassed the previous record of 6.52m set by Ty Tindal ‘27 (May 4, 2024) and tied by Solomon David ’29 this weekend for 11th place.

This is Blair's first United East weekly accolade of his career in outdoor.


 
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The United East boasts 14 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Brandywine, Penn State Harrisburg, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.