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

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

FOREST, Va. --- ODAC standings are starting to take shape with just a couple of weeks left in the 2022-23 regular seasons. The lines making those shapes are sharper for some than others as results from Week 33 in some conference sports muddied the league tables with no way to predict who might sit where for seeding until all the games are completed. Those earning ODAC Athlete of the Week awards for Monday, April 17, include (pictured top-bottom, left-right): Lilly Burns from Roanoke softball, Owen Tappy from Hampden-Sydney baseball, Jada Karnes from RC softball, Levi Vigdorchik from Lynchburg men's tennis, Natalie Mason from RC women's lacrosse, Owen Gucwa from Randolph-Macon men's lacrosse, Paul Ryhsen from Averett women's tennis, Tyler Blittersdorf from Shenandoah baseball, Elizabeth Peasley from AU women's lacrosse, and Ethan Robinette from R-MC men's lacrosse.

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
Owen Tappy | Hampden-Sydney | Sr. | Starter
Tappy, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., registered his ODAC-best third complete game of the conference season and fifth start of at least eight innings in helping Hampden-Sydney down Washington and Lee University, 6-1, on the road on Saturday. Tappy tossed a seven-hitting over nine against against the Generals, allowing one run. He did not issue any free passes and fanned six batters. He need just 104 pitches (79) to finish the game, which featured 10 ground ball outs. He enjoyed several stretches of four or five batters retired in a row. For the season, Tappy is 5-1 in 16 total appearances including six starts. He has worked an ODAC-high 67.2 innings and faced the most batters (264) of any pitcher this season. He is third with a 1.73 ERA and fourth with 54 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .250 against him.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tyler Blittersdorf | Shenandoah | Jr. | Catcher
Blittersdorf, a junior from Oxford, Pa., posted a 1.745 OPS (.563 OBP, 1.182 SLG) to help nationally third-ranked Shenandoah to a 2-1 ODAC week that featured a 10-2 triumph over Bridgewater and a split (10-5, 7-8) at #10 Randolph-Macon. Blittersdorf went 5-for-11 overall with two doubles, two homers, 10 RBI, four runs scored, and three walks. Against Bridgewater, he went 2-for-5 with a grand slam in the second inning and an RBI double in the sixth. He kicked off scoring in game one at R-MC with a solo shot to left. He walked twice and scored two runs in that game. In game two, he went 2-for-4 with a walk. He tied the game 1-all with a RBI single in the fifth, gave SU to a 5-1 lead with a two-run double down the rightfield line in the sixth, and then tied the game for the last time with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. For the season, Blittersdorf is slashing .444/.525/.800 with five doubles, three homers, and 20 RBI.

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MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Owen Gucwa | Randolph-Macon | Fr. | Goalkeeper
Gucwa, a freshman from Raleigh, N.C., allowed just 12 goals and made 17 saves in 85:52 in goal in a 2-0 week against ODAC foes including a 13-9 triumph over nationally eighth-ranked Lynchburg, marking the program's first win over the Hornets since 1993 (14-10). Gucwa started and played the first 25:52 in a 22-3 win over Virginia Wesleyan to begin his week. He made saves on each of three shots fired at his net. Against Lynchburg, Gucwa stood in front of R-MC's cage for all 60 minutes. He made 14 saves on a 60.9 save percentage as Lynchburg fired 47 shots his way with 23 on-goal. He made nine stops in the second half, helping the Yellow Jackets outscore the Hornets, 7-4, over the final 30 minutes of action. He also factored in heavily in Randolph-Macon holding Lynchburg scoreless for a 22-minute stretch spanning the second and third quarters. For the season, has made 123 saves on a 45.2 save percentage. He owns an 11.86 goals against average.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ethan Robinette | Randolph-Macon | So. | Midfielder
Robinette, a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., put together an eight-point week in helping Randolph-Macon post a pair of ODAC victories to improve to 5-2 in the conference table. That included a 13-9 triumph over nationally eighth-ranked Lynchburg in the Yellow Jackets first win over the Hornets since 1993. Robinette opened with a five point effort in a 22-3 win over Virginia Wesleyan. He scored twice and dished out an assist in the first half as R-MC built a 13-0 lead by halftime. Against Lynchburg, Robinette scored three times at key moments to register his sixth game of three or more goals this season. He stopped the Hornets four-goal run in first quarter with his first goal at 0:11 on the opening quarter clock to leave Lynchburg ahead, 4-2. Robinette then bookended halftime with his remaining two tallies. He gave R-MC's is first lead since 1-0 with 58-seconds to go in the half. He would extend that advantage to 7-5 just 2:03 into the third quarter, solidifying a lead the Yellow Jackets would never surrender. Those two goals spearheaded a run of seven unanswered tallies as Randolph-Macon went from trailing, 5-4, to leading, 11-5, over a period spanning the second and third quarters. For the season, Robinette has registered 33 points on 21 goals and 12 assists.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Levi Vigdorchik | Lynchburg | Sr. | #1 Singles | #1 Doubles
Vigdorchik, a senior from San Francisco, Calif, led Lynchburg to a trio of ODAC wins with a perfect 6-0 record between singles and doubles play from the #1 position, helping the Hornets improve to 5-2 in the league table. Vigdorchik teamed with Alex Rintoul at doubles in all three matches. They won 8-5 over Nicolas Alvarado and Dev Mani from Randolph in a 9-0 Lynchburg team win. Vigdorchik won the first set, 6-3, over Alvarado and was leading 4-0 with Randolph's #1 was forced to withdraw due to injury. In a 7-2 win over Hampden-Sydney, Vigdorchik and Rintoul topped Barrett Foster and Casey Coffey, 8-4, in doubles play. Vigdorchik earned a 6-4, 6-4, win over Foster in singles action. The Hornets added an 8-1 win over Randolph-Macon to cap the week. Vigdorchik defeated Holland Baynard, 6-2, 6-2, in singles play and joined Rintoul for an 8-4 triumph over Baynard and Xan Johnston in doubles action. Vigdorchik is now 11-4 in single play. Lynchburg, at 11-5 overall, is enjoying its best season since 2003-04.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Jada Karnes | Roanoke | Sr. | Starter
Karnes, a senior from Roanoke, Va., went 3-0 in three starts to garner her second ODAC weekly honor of the season. All three victories were on the road with two coming at nationally ninth-ranked Randolph-Macon and #10 Virginia Wesleyan. Karnes opened with a complete game three-hit shutout at Averett in a 10-0 Maroons' triumph in six innings. She walked two Cougars and registered eight strikeouts, her most since striking out 11 batters in her first start of the season against Concordia-Chicago. She faced two batters over the minimum and needed 96 pitches (65 strikes) to complete the effort. Karnes worked all eight innings to registered a second complete game in a 4-3 triumph at Randolph-Macon. She surrendered three runs (2 earned) on seven hits. She walked one and struck out three. Seventy-four of her 111 pitches went for strikes as she limited the Yellow Jackets to just one extra-base hit. After giving up two runs before recording an out in the first inning, she settled down to not allow a run or more than one baserunner in any inning until the tiebreaker runner came around in the eighth inning. Karnes capped her week with a third complete game in a 9-1 triumph at Virginia Wesleyan in six innings. She gave up one run on six hits. She did not walk a batter and fanned a pair. She registered eight ground ball outs and benefitted from one double play. Fifty-nine of her 93 pitches went for strikes. For the season, Karnes is 7-3 in 12 appearances including 10 starts. In 77.2 innings in the circle, she has allowed 16 runs (14 earned) on 53 hits with 56 strikeouts. She leads the ODAC with a 1.26 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .196 against her, third-best in the conference.

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SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Lilly Burns | Roanoke | Jr. | 3rd Base/Shortstop
Burns, a junior from Bristow, Va., reached base at least once in all six of the Maroons games last week with at least one RBI in five outings to help Roanoke post a 5-1 week that included road sweeps of Averett (10-0 in 6 inn., 7-0) and nationally ninth-ranked Randolph-Macon (4-3 in 8 inn., 8-0 in 5 inn.) and a split (9-1 in 6 inn., 1-6) at 10th-ranked Virginia Wesleyan. Burns went 8-for-17 overall with five doubles, a homer, 10 RBI, and four runs scored. She was 3-for-5 at Averett with a 2-run double and a sacrifice fly in game one and another sac fly in game two. At Randolph-Macon, Burns was 2-for-6 with a two-run blast in the seventh inning to force extras in game one and a two-run double for a 5-0 advantage in game two. Against the Marlins, Burns smacked three doubles in going 3-for-6. Both of her two-baggers drove in runs in game one, while she was left stranded after doubling in game two. For the season, Burns is slashing .322/.344/.576 with seven doubles, a triple, two homers, and 16 RBI.

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WOMEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Natalie Mason | Roanoke | Jr. | Defender
Mason, a junior from Phoenixville, Pa., helped the nationally 17th-ranked Maroons hold a pair of strong offenses to seven goals to collect two more wins and improve to 11-2 overall with a 4-1 mark in ODAC play. Mason and the Roanoke defense held Lynchburg to nearly five goals below their per-game average in 10-7 triumph on the road. She caused a game-high four turnovers to go along with a team-best five ground balls. Roanoke forced Lynchburg into 23 turnovers overall. In a 12-7 victory over Christopher Newport, Mason again led all players with two caused turnovers to go with a game-high tying (w/ teammate Libby Bowman) with three ground balls. Mason also forayed forward to score her first goal of the season and second of her career. The Maroons forced the Captains into 15 turnovers over the course of the contest. For the season, Mason is tied for second in the ODAC in caused turnovers (29) and is fifth in ground balls (37).

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WOMEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Elizabeth Peasley | Averett | Gr. | Attack
Peasley, a graduate student from Wilmington, N.C., put together a prolific week as an exclamation point to becoming the most prolific goal-scorer in NCAA women's lacrosse following a pair of ODAC wins last week to improve Averett to 4-2 in the league table. Peasley posted a 24-point week powered by 18 goals and six assists. The 18 goals leave her with 380 for her career, making her not only the all-time leading goal scorer in Division III history, but the leader for all NCAA divisions. She surpassed the previous record of 370 goals as part of a nine-goal three-assist effort in a 19-1 victory over Guilford. Her final goal, which came in the final minute of regulation, proved the record-breaking effort. She added six draw controls two ground balls, and a caused turnover to her effort. Peasley again scored nine times and handed out three assists in a 23-9 triumph at Randolph. She was 4-for-4 on free position shots. She collected three ground balls to go with a draw control and a forced turnover. Over the two games, she needed just 23 shots (22 on-goal) to score her 18 goals. For the season, Peasley leads the ODAC in points (83), goals scored (68), shots (110), and shots on-goal (85).

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WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Paula Ryhsen | Averett | Jr. | #1/2 Singles | #1/2 Doubles
Ryhsen, a junior from Dusseldorf, Germany, collects her first ODAC weekly honor after helping Averett to four team victories with a pair of ODAC triumphs. Ryhsen split time between #1 and #2 flights in both singles and doubles play with three different double partners. In an 8-1 team win over Division II foe Shaw University, Ryhsen partner with Keira Gunning at #1 doubles. They dropped an 8-2 result to Dana Moreno and Prerana Koirala with the latter from SU topping Ryhsen, 6-2, 6-2, at #2 singles. In a 9-0 Cougars triumph at Pfeiffer University, Ryhsen defeated Eilthe Hudson, 6-2, 6-0, at #2 singles. She and Alejandra Garcia won, 8-4, at #2 doubles over Hudson and Riley Isley. In an 8-1 team victory over Hollins, Ryhsen and Amelie Brune posted an 8-0 win over Peyton Jones and Charlie Miller at #2 doubles. Ryhsen dropped a tight 3-6, 6-1, 9-11 top-flight singles match to Jessica Willebeek-LeMair. Averett capped its week with an 8-1 win over Virginia Wesleyan. Ryhsen and Garcia won 8-3 over Christine Zalameda and Shannon Lewes at #2 doubles. Ryhsen defeated Zalameda, 6-1, 6-0, at #2 singles. Ryhsen is 11-7 in all singles matches including 5-3 in ODAC play. She is 17-5 in doubles play with multiple partners.

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