ODAC Athletes of the Week | Basketball, Swimming, Wrestling

ODAC Athletes of the Week | Basketball, Swimming, Wrestling

FOREST, Va. --- Week 21 of the 2022-23 season means we are just over two weeks away from our first winter championships with swimming and wrestling gearing up for their postseason events. Those earning ODAC Athlete of the Week awards for Monday, January 23, include (pictured left-right): Anna Giannopoulou from Guilford women's basketball, Matt Fritz from Washington and Lee men's swimming, Miles Mallory from Randolph-Macon men's basketball, Emily Fritz from R-MC women's swimming, and Cameron Blizzard and Ryan Luth from W&L wrestling.

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

  • Mondays: basketball, swimming, wrestling
  • Tuesdays: indoor track & field

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.

MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Miles Mallory | Randolph-Macon | Sr. | Forward
Mallory, a senior from Beltsville, Md., earns his second straight and third overall ODAC weekly honor of the season after helping nationally second-ranked Randolph-Macon run their winning streak to 15 straight games with two more ODAC wins last week. Mallory etched his name in the ODAC record books over the two contests as his seven combined blocked shots increased his career total to 239, snapping the previous ODAC career record of 236 formerly held by Guilford All-American Ben Strong (2004-08). Mallory opened his week with 18 points and 12 rebounds for this eighth double-double in a 62-41 triumph over Bridgewater. He was 7-of-12 from the field and canned 4-of-5 from the line. He added three assists, four blocked shots -- tying for the conference career-record -- and a steal to his output. Mallory collected his ninth double-double in a 58-46 road win at Roanoke on the weekend. He finished with 16 points and 18 rebounds, a half-dozen of which came via the offensive glass. He was 2-for-3 from deep as part of a 7-for-17 shooting day. He also dished out five assists to go with two steals and three blocked shots to secure the ODAC record. For the season, Mallory leads the ODAC in blocked shots (50), rebounding (9.7), total rebounds (174) and defensive boards (115). He is third in field goals made (114-of-205) and offensive rebounds (59), fourth in points scored (284) and field goal shooting (55.6%), and fifth in scoring (15.8).

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Matt Fritz | Washington and Lee | So.
Fritz, a sophomore from Reston, Va., earns his first ODAC weekly award of the season after winning a pair of individual events and joining one victorious relay in Washington and Lee's 197-64 team triumph at Randolph-Macon. Fritz won the 100-yard breaststroke with a personal season-best time of 1:00.41, which slots seventh in the ODAC table. He also claimed gold in the 100-yard butterfly in 0:51.94, which was just 0.21 seconds off his best time this year, which currently ranks second in the league standings. Fritz swam third on the Generals "A" 200-yard medley relay squad. He joined teammates Charles Byars, Todd Echols, and Baxter Smelzer in posting a winning time of 1:35.17, less than a second off their ODAC season-best time. Fritz's sister, Emily, is a senior on the Randolph-Macon women's swimming team and is this week's ODAC Women's Swimmer of the Week.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
WOMEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Emily Fritz | Randolph-Macon | Sr.
Fritz, a senior from Reston, Va., swam four times in the Yellow Jackets showdown with Washington and Lee (L, 160-101) and claimed two individual event victories along with a fourth-place showing in a third indy event and a third place finish in a relay. Fritz won the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke events with times of 1:10.55 and 2:30.96. She is already #1 in the ODAC in the shorter distance (1:05.87) and fourth (2:25.17) in the longer discipline. Her time in the 200-breaststroke against W&L would still appear inside the conference's top-10. Fritz added a fourth place finish in the 200-yard individual medley at 2:21.68. She also took part in one relay, joining teammates Kelsey James, Melina Christou, and Katelyn Vieni on a time of 1:53.90. Fritz's brother, Matt, is a sophomore on the Washington and Lee men's swimming team and is this week's ODAC Men's Swimmer of the Week.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC WOMEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Anna Giannopoulou | Guilford | Fy. | Forward
Giannopoulou, a first-year from Athens, Greece, earns her first ODAC weekly award after leading Guilford to a pair of ODAC victories last week, running the Quakers winning streak to nine straight games including five conference contests in a row. Giannopoulou matched her season and career-high with 19 points to go with a season and collegiate-best 14 rebounds in a 73-51 win at Roanoke. She collected eight offensive boards on the way to her second double-double. She was 7-of-14 shooting from the field including 2-of-3 from deep. She added three assists and a blocked shot to her line. Giannopoulou was again in double figure with 12 points in a 62-58 triumph at Bridgewater. She added five boards including four via the offensive glass, and came away with four steals. For the season, Giannopoulou is second in the ODAC in steals (53), seventh in offensive rebounds (42), and eighth in field goals made (71-of-176). She is averaging 10.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK - 165 LBS. AND HEAVIER
Cam Blizard | Washington and Lee | Sr. | 184 lbs.
Blizard, a senior from Greensboro, N.C., earns his first ODAC weekly award after posting a pair of victories in ODAC dual matches at 184 pounds. Blizard, ranked #5 in the Southeast Region by the NWCA, helped Washington and Lee to a 43-10 team win over Shenandoah with victory by technical fall at 18-2 (3:12) over Dylan Wiegert. Blizard then took on Khalil Mitchell during the Generals 28-6 triumph over nationally 24th-ranked (tournament rankings) Averett. Blizard earned a 7-3 decision over Mitchell, who is ranked one spot ahead of him in the southeast region rankings.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC WRESTLER OF THE WEEK - 165 LBS. AND HEAVIER
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK - 157 LBS. AND LIGHTER
Ryan Luth | Washington and Lee | Sr. | 157 lbs.
Luth, a senior from Milford, Conn., picks up his second straight ODAC lighter weight weekly award of the season after posting a pair of wins at 157 pounds to help Washington and Lee to two conference dual match victories. Luth, ranked fifth in Division III and #1 in the Southeast Region by the NWCA, squared off with Xavier Locke in the Generals 43-10 team win over Shenandoah. Luth won his bout by fall at 0:31. Luth then met nationally sixth-ranked and regionally second-rated Jesse Alvarado from nationally 24th-ranked (tournament) Averett. Luth posted a 6-1 decision over Alvarado help W&L to a 28-6 team triumph.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC WRESTLER OF THE WEEK - 157 LBS. AND LIGHTER