ODAC Athletes of the Week | Baseball, Lacrosse, Softball, Tennis

ODAC Athletes of the Week | Baseball, Lacrosse, Softball, Tennis

FOREST, Va. --- Spring sports are at full-go with outdoor track & field joining the action for Week 29 (announced on Tuesday). Movement in ODAC standings became more frequent and will continue to take shape as we draw deeper into March. Those earning ODAC Athlete of the Week awards for Monday, March 20, include (pictured top-bottom, left-right): Sarah Watts from Lynchburg softball, Gaines Weis from Hampden-Sydney men's lacrosse, Caroline Kranich from Washington and Lee women's lacrosse, Jahveesha Combs from Shenandoah women's tennis, Kooper Anderson and Jacob Bell from SU baseball, Walker McKnight from W&L women's lacrosse, Wyatt Whitlow from Roanoke men's lacrosse, Emily Seale from Virginia Wesleyan softball, and Jovan Cirkovic from SU men's tennis.

Below are entries for each of the winners from today's release. The schedule below will be used for reporting ODAC Athletes of the Week:

  • Mondays: baseball, lacrosse, softball, tennis
  • Tuesdays: outdoor track & field
  • Wednesdays: m/w golf

For more on ODAC athletics, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.

BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Jacob Bell | Shenandoah | Sr. | Starter
Bell, a senior from Winchester, Va., put in a stellar shift on the circle in helping nationally sixth-ranked Shenandoah down #2 Salisbury University, 2-1, in 10 innings last week. Bell fired nine shutout innings towards a no-decision as the Hornets managed two runners across in the 10th following the Sea Gulls one 10th-inning tally. Bell worked around seven Salisbury hits and a pair of Hornet errors while issuing just one walk. He fanned a pair. He threw just 96 pitches in the effort, rolling up 13 ground ball outs along the way. For the season, Bell is 2-0 with a save in five appearances including three starts. He had given up only two runs towards an ODAC second-best 0.59 ERA in 30.1 innings of work. He had struck out 25 batters and walked seven. Opponents are hitting .202 against him.

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BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kooper Anderson | Shenandoah | Sr. | Outfielder
Anderson, a senior from Clear Brook, Va., picks up his second weekly award of the season after helping nationally sixth-ranked Shenandoah to a 5-0 week that opened with a 2-1 victory in 10 innings over #2 Salisbury University. Anderson, who went 12-for-25 with 10 RBI for the week, smacked a pair of hits including a game-tying RBI triple in the 10th inning and came around to score the winning run on Colby Martin's sacrifice fly. Anderson went 4-for-7 in a 16-4 victory at Mary Washington two days later. He doubled, drove in three, and scored three times against the Eagles. He collected his second triple of the week and against drove in three runs as part of a 3-for-6 outing in a 17-5 victory over Nichols. On the weekend, Anderson went 3-for-8 with two doubles, three RBI and a run scored in the Hornets sweep (9-6, 8-3) of ODAC foe Guilford College. For the the season, Anderson is slashing .419/.457/.677 with 16 RBI. He is second in the conference with three triples.

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MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Gaines Weis | Hampden-Sydney | So. | Midfielder
Weis, a sophomore from Richmond, Va., helped Hampden-Sydney collect a pair of wins last week including the Tigers first league victory of the year. Weis caused a pair of turnovers in a 10-5 victory over Ohio Northern University. He added a trio of ground balls and got forward to score H-SC's fourth goal a few minutes into the second quarter. Weis again posted two forced miscues and picked up three ground balls in a 17-9 triumph over legal rival Randolph-Macon. He again factored in the scoring, this time dishing out an assist on Conor Kilfeather's third quarter goal to make it 14-6 H-SC late in the frame. For the season, Weis has forced six turnovers with 16 ground balls. The midfielder has gotten forward for seven points on five goals and two assists.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Wyatt Whitlow | Roanoke | Jr. | Attackman
Whitlow, a junior from Salem, Va., put together an 11-point week in leading Roanoke to a pair of non-conference victories last week. In a 13-11 triumph over the University of Mary Washington, Whitlow registered three points on two goals and an assist. He also picked up a ground ball and caused a turnover. He scored a man-advantage goal to make it 8-6 Maroons in the third and then added one more tally later in the quarter for a 10-7 lead. In Roanoke's second game of the week, Whitlow exploded for eight points in a 22-8 triumph over Ohio Northern. He scored six times and handed out a pair of assists with two caused turnovers. He scored four times in the opening frame including the firs three goals of the contest as Roanoke built a 12-2 lead by halftime. For the season, Whitlow leads the ODAC in goals scored (26) and is third in points (35). He has posted nine assists.

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MEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jovan Cirkovic | Shenandoah | Gr. | #1 Singles | #1 Doubles
Cirkovic, a graduate student from Belgrade, Serbia, led Lynchburg to four wins on its spring break trip by going 7-1 overall during top-flight singles and doubles play. Cirkovic teamed with Artem Babaiev in all four doubles that matches. That began with an 8-3 win over Alexander Hadler and Federico Polidori in a 7-2 team victory over Cornell College. Cirkovic defeated Hadler, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, to claim a second point for SU. He and Babaiev were victorious by 8-2 scores in team wins over the College of Wooster and Lake Forest College. They topped Gabriel Escobar and Patrick Johnson from Wooster and downed Oleksyi Vyshyvanyuk and Daniel Tulchinsky from LFC. Cirkovic defeated Escobar, 6-2, 6-2, and Vyshyvanyuk, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0, in singles action. The Hornets duo lost a tight 8-7 (10-8) outing to Siddarth Byreddy and Kenny Elliott from Ramapo College. Cirkovic gained a point back with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Byreddy in singles play, helping Shenandoah claim a 6-3 team result.

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SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Emily Seale | Virginia Wesleyan | Jr. | Pitcher
Seale, a junior from Madison, Va., made four appearances with three starts and one relief outing in going 2-1 with a save to help the nationally sixth-ranked Marlins to a 3-1 showing. Virginia Wesleyan went 5-1 overall last week. Seale had second-ranked Christopher Newport on the ropes until a last-gasp effort resulted in a 6-5 Captains' win. Seale gave up six runs (four earned) on seven hits with four walks and five strikeouts. VWU's righty followed that with a pair of scoreless starts to earn two wins. In a 5-0 decision over Stockton University, Seale allowed just two hits and walked a pair of over 5.0 innings. She fanned five batters. The next day, she tossed a four-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory over Husson. She fanned one batter and rolled up 12 ground ball outs in game one against the Eagles. In game two, she entered the game in the seventh and registered her first save with a strikeout of the final batter in an 8-5 VWU triumph. For the season, Seale is 6-2 with a save in 11 appearances including nine starts. She has struck out 33 batters and owns a 1.20 ERA in 52.1 innings. Opponents are hitting .215 against her.

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SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sarah Watts | Lynchburg | Fy. | 2nd Base
Watts, a first-year from South Boston, Va., picks up her second ODAC weekly award of the season in helping Lynchburg to a 3-1 week against strong competition. Watts slashed .571/.600/.929 in going 8-for-14 for the week. That began with a 3-for-4 showing in a 4-1 win over TCNJ. She tripled and scored twice against the Lions. Then came a showdown with nationally top-ranked Salisbury University. Following a 1-0 loss in game one, Watts twice game Lynchburg the lead in game two as part of a second 3-for-4 effort on the week. She plated a run with a RBI single in the fifth for a 2-1 lead, and then smacked the would-be game-winning solo shot to left-center in the seventh for a 3-2 victory. Watts capped her week with a 2-for-3 day in a 4-3 win over Swarthmore College. She drove in two more runs and scored once while stealing a base. For the season, Watts leads the ODAC in slugging (.775) and is third in batting (.425). She had accounted for 31 total bases (2nd in the ODAC) and hit three homers to go with 12 RBI and a .468 on-base percentage.

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WOMEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Caroline Kranich | Washington and Lee | Jr. | Goalkeeper
Kranich, a junior from State College, Pa., picks up her second ODAC defensive weekly award of the season after helping now second-ranked Washington and Lee limit then second-ranked (now #4) Tufts University to just five goals in a 16-5 triumph at the USA Lax facility in Sparks, Md. Kranich made a career-best 13 saves with a gawdy 72.2 save percentage. Four of the Jumbos' goals came on 14 free position tries with only one via run-of-play attack. Kranich, who faced 23 total shots with 18 on-cage, allowed just one goal in the second half, leading a Generals defense that held Tufts scoreless for a period of 27:33 of game time. W&L went from leading 5-4 to 15-5 between Tufts' final two goals. Kranich added two ground balls and a caused turnover to complete her line. For the season, owns a 55.9 save percentage and a 6.47 goals against average with 52 total saves. Washington and Lee, now 7-0 overall, has won five games over ranked teams including four against top-10 ranked opponents.

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WOMEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Walker McKnight | Washington and Lee | Jr. | Midfielder
McKnight, a junior from Nashville, Tenn., was the driving forces behind the now nationally second-ranked Generals dominating victory over then second-ranked (now #4) Tufts University in a neutral site contest at the USA LAX facility in Sparks, Md. McKnight put all six of her shots on-goal in scoring five times to help Washington and Lee trounce the Jumbos, 16-5. McKnight scored back-to-back goes in the second quarter to give W&L its first lead at 4-3 with 11:45 on clock. The Generals did not surrender the lead throughout the remainder of the contest. McKnight, who added a ground ball and was 3-for-3 on free position attempts, scored three times in the second including a second back-to-back effort midway through the fourth frame. For the season, McKnight has registered 11 points on nine goals and two assists. She boasts a 81.8 shot percentage and is 4-for-5 on free position tries. Washington and Lee, now 7-0 overall, has won five games over ranked teams including four against top-10 ranked opponents.

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WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jahveesha Combs | Shenandoah | Jr. | #1 Singles | #1 Doubles
Combs, a junior from Suffolk, Va., helped lead Shenandoah to a 2-2 mark against non-conference foes on its spring break trip last week with a 7-1 combined record during top-flight singles and doubles matches. Combs teamed with Allison Cherwien on all doubles pairings with the tandem going 3-1 overall. That began with an 8-3 win in the Hornets 7-2 loss to Stockton University. SU's duo downed Lily Muir and Sarb Devi with Combs adding a 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (10-3) triumph over Muir in singles play. Combs and Cherwien poste an 8-2 victory over Paige Kemper and Rachel C-Roberston in a 9-0 team win over Cairn University. Combs dropped Kemper in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. In a 6-3 loss to Principia, Combs and Cherwien fell in a tight contest, 8-6, to Bissola Lassissi and Veronic Volkart. Combs earned one point back with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Lassissi in singles play. Shenandoah defeated Ramapo, 7-2, in its final match. SU's #1 duo earned an 8-5 win over Melanie Brentnall and Mackenzie Dates. Combs lost just two games in taking down Brentnall, 6-0, 6-2.

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