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SUNYAC announces weekly awards for fall sports

CORTLAND, N.Y. - The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) has selected its athletes of the week based off of performances Oct. 12-18. The SUNYAC tennis championship took place Oct. 11 with Geneseo taking the crown while cross country, soccer, field hockey and volleyball will finish regular-season competition this week before championships begin Saturday Oct. 31 and run through Nov. 7.

FEMALE RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Mary Baughman (JR)
Cortland (Rush, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta)
Mary Baughman finished in second place out of 229 runners at Rowan University's Inter-Regional Border Battle race. She covered the 6,000-meter course in 21:20.99. Her performance helped Cortland, ranked 32nd nationally, finish fifth out of 24 teams, with three of the four teams ahead of the Red Dragons also nationally ranked.

MALE RUNNER OF THE WEEK - Kyle Collins (SR)  
Fredonia (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern)
Kyle Collins broke the Fredonia men's cross country 8,000 meter time with a clocking of 24:22 at the Oberlin (Ohio) Inter-Regional Rumble held Saturday, October 17. He was fifth in a field of 280 runners while the Blue Devils were ninth in the 32-team standings. Collins took down an 8K time that has been atop the Fredonia record board since 1979 (Bob Carroll, 24:26).

FIELD HOCKEY OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kayla McKeveny (JR)  
New Paltz, Forward (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East)
New Paltz junior forward Kayla McKeveny scored three goals and added an assist in a 2-0 week for the Hawks. McKeveny provided an assist on Wednesday, as New Paltz blanked SUNY Oneonta, 4-0, in a Catskill Cup contest. She then scored a hat trick in the Hawks' 5-0 win over Morrisville State College in their SUNYAC finale on Saturday. On the season, McKeveny is tied for the SUNYAC lead in goals scored (12) and points (26).

FIELD HOCKEY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Alayna Wageman (SR)  
New Paltz, Goalkeeper (Getzville, N.Y./Williamsville North)
New Paltz senior goalkeeper Alayna Wageman did not allow a goal in a 2-0 week for the Hawks. She played the full 70 minutes in a 4-0 shutout win over SUNY Oneonta in a Catskill Cup game on Wednesday, making three saves, before registering two stops in 63:59 of action in the team's 5-0 win over Morrisville State College in its SUNYAC finale Saturday. Among the SUNYAC leaders on the season, she ranks second in goals-against average (1.13), second in shutouts (3), second in save percentage (.827) and seventh in saves (67)

MEN'S SOCCER OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Cory Santangelo (SO)  
Oneonta, Forward (Sayville, NY/Sayville)
Cory Santangelo led Oneonta to a 2-0 record last week with three goals and one assist, all coming in a second half explosion against Hamilton College. Trailing 1-0 at halftime, Santangelo scored the final three goals including the game-winner in a 4-2 win against the Continentals.

MEN'S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jesse Kohler (SR)  
Potsdam, Goalkeeper (Middletown, N.Y./ Minisink Valley)
Jesse Kohler earned two conference victories in goal for the Bears last weekend. He made six saves in 107:17 as the Bears defeated Buffalo State 2-1 in double overtime on Friday. He repeated the feat with six saves in Potsdam's 2-1 win over Fredonia. The wins helped Potsdam match single-season program record for victories with nine.

WOMEN'S SOCCER OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Melissa Smith (JR)  
Buffalo State, Forward (N. Tonawanda, NY/Niagara-Wheatfield)
Melissa Smith tallied two goals and an assist in two more victories, helping the Bengals continue to roll to their 11th-consecutive victory. Smith picked up an assist in Friday's 2-0 victory over Potsdam and then scored both goals in Saturday's 2-1 win over Plattsburgh. Smith leads the Bengals with seven goals and 19 points in 15 games this season.

WOMEN'S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Catherine Eliasson (SO)  
Brockport, Goalkeeper (Salisbury Mills, N.Y./Cornwall)
Catherine Eliasson totaled 24 saves in two wins for the Golden Eagles. Against Cortland she posted a seven save shutout game before adding 17 saves against Oswego in a 3-2 win. 

VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tricia Baxley (JR)  
Geneseo, OH (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown)
Tricia Baxley helped lead the Knights to a 3-1 weekend at the Elmira Invitational over the weekend. Notching double-digit kills in all four matches, she averaged 3.79 kills along with 1.86 digs per set. On Friday, Baxley attacked at a combined .362 clip over two matches, including 14 kills in a 3-0 sweep of Utica before tying a career-high with 18 kills and hitting .378 in a four-set win over the host Soaring Eagles. On Saturday, she was credited with 10 kills and six digs in a 3-0 sweep of Wilkes, and then added 11 kills and nine digs in a setback to Canton.