ANNVILLE, Pa. (Conference News) – The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) has announced its conference weekly award recipients for the week ending May 3, 2021. A total of 23 student-athletes were recognized for performances from April 26 – May 2, 2021.
BASEBALL (#MACbaseball)
MAC Commonwealth Player of the Week
Austin Denlinger (York / Jr., SS / Elizabethtown, Pa.) had a huge week as the Spartans went 3-1 for the week. The Spartans closed the regular season out against Stevens on Wednesday and Denlinger went 4-for-5 with four runs scored, four RBIs, and a school-record tying three home runs. In the quarterfinal series opener against Hood, Denlinger went 2-for-4 with a run scored, three RBIs, a double and a home run. In the second game of the series, Denlinger was 3-for-5 with a run scored, three RBIs and a pair of home runs. For the week, the junior shortstop hit .500 (9-for-18) with nine runs scored, 10 RBIs, six home runs and a pair of doubles.
MAC Commonwealth Pitcher of the Week
Brandon Haggerty (York / Sr., P / Forked River, N.J.) earns his second conference weekly award of the season. Haggerty led the Spartans to a pair of wins in his two games this week. He tossed ten innings, allowing one run on six hits with six strikeouts and a walk as he notched a pair of victories to improve to a conference leading 8-0. In the win over Stevens, Haggerty made the tune up start and was the first of eight Spartan pitchers who appeared in the game. He tossed a scoreless inning with a strikeout. In Saturday's quarterfinal opener, Haggerty was brilliant as he tossed his first career nine-inning complete game. The senior gave up a home run to the first batter of the game and then shut out the Blazers over the final eight innings. Haggerty allowed six hits as he struck out five and walked one. He earned the complete game with 108 pitches as the innings pitched and the batters faced set new career highs for the senior.
MAC Freedom Player of the Week
Santino Manganella (Misericordia / Jr., OF / West Milford, N.J.) hit .800 (4-for-5) and slugged 2.200 with two doubles, a triple and a home run. Manganella opened the MAC Freedom quarterfinal round with a pinch-hit two-run home run in the opener against Delaware Valley. In game two, he was 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and a hit-by-pitch. He finished the week with five RBIs and four runs scored.
MAC Freedom Pitcher of the Week
John Poccia (DeSales / Sr., P / Monmouth Beach, N.J.) was incredible on Saturday helping DeSales clinch the best-of-three series against King’s. Poccia pitched a nine-inning complete-game while scattering seven hits in a 7-1 win. Poccia recorded the second most strikeouts in a game in the win, fanning 15 Monarchs without issuing a walk. His 15 strikeouts were one shy of the single-game record.
SOFTBALL (#MACsb)
MAC Commonwealth Player of the Week
Sarah Reinert (Alvernia / Sr., INF / Boyertown, Pa.) earns her second conference weekly award of the season. Reinert went 4-for-6 with four runs scored and an RBI in a quarterfinal sweep of Hood on Saturday. She led off the doubleheader on Saturday with a triple and went on to score Alvernia's first run of the game. She then followed that with a double later in the game. Reinert was also 4-for-4 on stolen bases in game two.
MAC Commonwealth Pitcher of the Week
Madison Walter (Messiah / Jr., P / Manheim, Pa.) earns her third conference weekly award of the season. In five appearances last week, Walter was 3-1 in four complete-games and earned a save. She recorded a no-hitter in the first game of their series with Eastern in the MAC Commonwealth quarterfinals. On the week, she allowed just four runs (one earned) and 10 hits in 30 innings. She struck out 19 batters while issuing just one walk. In a sweep of Lebanon Valley, she earned a win and a save in eight innings of work, striking out seven. In a 2-1 series win over Eastern she allowed six hits, no earned runs and struck out 12 in 22 innings of work.
MAC Freedom Player of the Week
Nicole Elliott (Misericordia / Fy., 2B / Wilmington, Del.) batted 6-for-7 (.857) with seven RBIs, three runs scored, two doubles and a home run in a MAC Freedom quarterfinal sweep of Delaware Valley. She went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs in the opener, including a two-run game-ending single. Elliott had three hits and RBI in the nightcap, including a three-run double to end the game.
MAC Freedom Pitcher of the Week
Jessie Masur (Stevens / Sr., P / Montclair, N.J.) earns her fourth conference weekly award of the season. Masur twirled yet another gem in the first game of the doubleheader sweep of Wilkes to help Stevens advance to the MAC Freedom semifinals. Masur earned her league-best 12th win of the season after tossing her fourth complete-game one-hit shutout on the mound. After allowing a base hit in the first, Masur allowed just one more baserunner the rest of the way while striking out eight to lower her ERA to a miniscule 1.00.
MEN’S LACROSSE (#MAClax)
MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week
Connor Heisman (Widener / Jr., Att. / West Chester, Pa.) recorded 12 points on nine goals and three assists. Heisman scored six goals and added an assist in a 16-10 win over Hood in the MAC Commonwealth quarterfinal round. Earlier in the week in the regular-season finale against Stevens, Heisman recorded three goals and two assists. He added five ground balls during the week.
MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Week
Matty Mancuso (York / Jr., LSM / Gambrills, Md.) tied for the team lead with two caused turnovers and led all Spartan defenders with four ground balls in York’s 31-2 MAC Commonwealth quarterfinal victory over Albright on Saturday. Mancuso led a Spartan defense that held the Lions to their lowest goal total of the season, lessening their total by one from the week before. The Spartans held Albright scoreless in the second half which marked the second York has shutout the Lions in a half this season.
MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week
Robert Wagner (Misericordia / Sr., M / Mullica Hill, N.J.) earns his second conference weekly award of the season. Wagner totaled 17 points on nine goals and eight assists, while also collecting 11 ground balls and two caused turnovers. In a 16-12 win over DeSales to lock up the No. 3 seeds in the conference tournament, he scored seven goals and added an assist. Wagner then scored two goals with seven assists in a 28-13 win over Wilkes in the MAC Freedom quarterfinal round.
MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week
Quinten Lyons (DeSales / Fr., G / York, Pa.) earns his second conference weekly award of the season. Lyons recorded 24 saves in the loss to Misericordia on Wednesday posting a .600 save percentage and finished the week with 14 saves in just three quarters of play with a .737 save percentage in the playoff win over Delaware Valley. On the week he totaled 38 saves and had a .644 save percentage. He faced 80 shots on the week.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE (#MAClax)
MAC Commonwealth Player of the Week
Rachel Delate (Messiah / So., A / Glen Mills, Pa.) earns her fourth conference weekly award of the season. Delate was named the 2021 MAC Commonwealth Championship MVP after leading the Falcons to the 2021 MAC Commonwealth title with a 17-10 win over York on Saturday. She finished the title game with five goals, four assists and six draw controls. Delate finished the tournament with 23 points on 12 goals and 11 assists, while also adding eight ground balls and seven draws.
MAC Freedom Player of the Week
Katie Walsh (FDU-Florham / Fy., M / Marlton, N.J.) earns her sixth conference weekly award of the season. Walsh was named the 2021 MAC Freedom Championship MVP after leading the Devils to the 2021 MAC Freedom title with a 15-14 win over Stevens on Saturday. She finished the title game with seven goals, one assist and six draw controls. Walsh finished the tournament with 13 points on 12 goals and one assist, while also adding 25 draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD (#MACtf)
MAC Track Athlete of the Week
Mitch Forgash (King’s / Jr. / Swoyersville, Pa.) earns his second conference weekly award of the season. Forgash won the 400 meters at the Monarch Open on Saturday running a meet record 49.56 seconds. In his only action of the day, he was just a little over a half-second off his program-record time of 48.96 seconds which is ranked second in the conference this year and it was his fifth fastest time. He finished nearly three seconds faster than Amar Bindra of Stevens who was second in 52.22 seconds.
MAC Field Athlete of the Week
Jackie Ni (King’s / Sr. / Walnutport, Pa.) won the hammer throw at the Monarch Open on Saturday by blasting a program, meet, and complex record right out of the gates on the first throw of the entire meet with a mark of 53.77 meters (176'5"). The mark is better than his previous program record of 52.21 meters he threw last week. Ni also threw the shot put and the javelin on Saturday. He finished fourth in the shot put with a mark of 12.45 meters (40'10.25") on his fifth attempt and fifth in the discus with a toss of 36.25 meters (118'11") on his third attempt.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD (#MACtf)
MAC Track Athlete of the Week
Esther Seeland (Messiah / Jr. / State College, Pa.) earns her fourth conference weekly award of the season. Seeland competed at the Virginia Grand Prix at the University of Virginia in the 800-meter run. Against a field littered with Division I talent, Seeland was fantastic. She turned in a time of 2:03.25, shattering her program and MAC record by a fraction shy of two seconds (2:05.24) and becoming the second-fastest woman in Division III history to ever run the event. Seeland's time is the fastest in Division III this season by more than eight seconds. She also is the 13th fastest woman in any division of the NCAA this season.
MAC Field Athlete of the Week
Tessa Zamolyi (Misericordia / Sr. / Bethlehem, Pa.) won the javelin throw at the King’s College Monarch Open with a mark of 40.85 meters. It is second in the MAC to only her own best mark of the season, and it is the 11th best throw in Division III.
GOLF (#MACgolf)
MAC Women’s Golfer of the Week
Natalie Robson (York / So. / Bradenton, Fla.) earns her third conference weekly award of the season. Robson won the individual MAC title on Saturday while also leading the Spartans to the team title. Robson finished the championship with a two-day score of 153 (+9). She shot a three-over-par 75 in the first round for the championship low round. Robson was named the 2021 MAC Commonwealth Golfer and Rookie of the Year.
TENNIS (#MACtennis)
MAC Commonwealth Men’s Player of the Week
Ray McDermott (Stevenson / Gr. / Bel Air, Md.) earns his second conference weekly award of the season. McDermott was a combined 4-0 in singles and doubles action as the Mustangs clinched the MAC Commonwealth regular season title. He posted a 6-2, 6-0 win against Lebanon Valley and a 6-1, 6-0 win against Alvernia in single play. He teamed with Larry Johnson III for an 8-3 doubles win against the Dutchmen and an 8-6 win against the Golden Wolves.
MAC Freedom Men’s Player of the Week
Josh Noble (Arcadia / Fy. / Newtown Square, Pa.) played to an 8-4 win at first doubles alongside Jonathan Noble and a 6-4, 6-3 win at second singles in Tuesday's victory over Misericordia. He then picked up an 8-4 win at first doubles and a 6-0, 6-3 victory at second singles at Lycoming on Saturday.
MAC Commonwealth Women’s Player of the Week
Elsa Oestermarker (York / Fy. / Imperial Beach, Calif.) earns her fourth conference weekly award of the season. Oestermarker led the MAC Commonwealth-leading Spartans with a pair of shutout victories in York’s 9-0 dual victory over Eastern last Wednesday. The freshman did not surrender a single game on the day as she posted an 8-0 victory in No. 1 doubles before cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 win in No. 1 singles.
MAC Freedom Women’s Player of the Week
Brianna Pizzano (Misericordia / Fy. / Exeter, Pa.) earns her third conference weekly award of the season. Pizzano went 6-0 at No. 1 singles and doubles in a 2-1 week for the Cougars. She won doubles by scores of 8-3 (Arcadia), 8-1 (Lycoming), 8-0 (DeSales). In singles play, Pizzano won by scores of 6-2, 6-0 (Arcadia), 6-0, 6-0 (Lycoming) and 6-1, 6-2 (DeSales).