SSC Athletes of the Week: September 19 - 25
Weekly Honors in Volleyball, Soccer, Cross Country, and Golf
Sunshine State Conference Athletes of the Week | September 19 - 25, 2016
Athletes of the Week are chosen from a pool of nominees for their performances during the week of September 19 - 25. Athletes are nominated by Sports Information Directors of member institutions.
Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Allee Stelogeannis / University of Tampa / So. / Outside Hitter / Ocala, Florida
Stelogeannis led Tampa to a 2-0 week after connecting on 34 kills at a .484 attack percentage from the outside hitter position. The Ocala, Florida native posted two double-double efforts this week. First, a 22 kill and 17 dig performance led the Spartans to a 3-1 win over Embry-Riddle. She then registered 12 kills and 10 digs to help Tampa sweep Rollins. Stelogeannis added three service aces while taking the SSC lead in kills per set by averaging 4.68 across the season. Tampa improves to 2-1 in conference play and 8-3 overall.
Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week
Brindl Langley / Florida Southern College / Sr. / Libero / Camas, Washington
Langley averaged 6.78 digs per set as Florida Southern went 1-1 on the week. The Camas, Washington native opened the week by recording 33 digs (8.25/set) in a 3-1 victory at Nova Southeastern. Langley then tallied 28 digs (5.6/set) during a 3-2 loss at #16 Palm Beach Atlantic. She also provided the Moccasins with six assists and five aces as she improved her season digs per set average to 4.67. Florida Southern is now 8-3 overall, 2-1 in SSC play.
Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Marcelo Casas / Saint Leo University / Sr. / Forward / San Paulo, Brazil
Casas scored twice and added an assist at No. 11 Barry as the Lions picked up their first Sunshine State Conference win of the year. He assisted the game-tying goal in the first half against the Buccaneers before finding the back of the net twice in the second half, including the game-winning goal in the 51st minute. Casas finished the week with five points and five shots for a .400 shot percentage. The Lions are now 2-3 overall, 1-3 in SSC play.
Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Christian Moerch / Florida Tech / Fr. / Goalkeeper / Oslo, Norway
Moerch helped Florida Tech improve their SSC record to 3-0 with wins this week over Saint Leo and No. 22 Rollins. In FIT's 2-1 home victory over the Lions, the freshman made six saves while facing 16 total shots. In the 1-0 win over the Tars, the Oslo, Norway native recorded another six saves on 17 total shots to earn his second clean sheet of the year. Overall, The Panthers are 5-0-1.
Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Arielle Kabangu / Saint Leo University / Sr. / Forward / Ottawa, Ontario
Kabangu lifted the Lions to a pair SSC wins last week with two game-winning goals. In the first game of the week, Saint Leo came back from down 2-0 to win 3-2 at Florida Tech as Kabangu scored two goals with four total shots and three on goal. In the Lions 2-1 double-overtime win over Barry, Kabangu scored the first Saint Leo goal in the 79th minute to tie the game and hit the game-winner in the 104th minute. Kabangu finished the weekend off with four goals, eight points on 17 shots. With the play of Kabangu, the Lions improve to 6-1 overall, 4-0 in SSC play.
Kelly Rowswell / Rollins College / Fr. / Goalkeeper / Windermere, Florida
Rowswell earns Defensive Player of the Week honors after two shutouts in goal this week for Rollins. Rowswell recorded two saves and faced six shots in the Tars 1-0 road victory over Tampa. Against Florida Tech, Rowswell tallied a career high eight saves, including a penalty kick save in the 70th minute and a save with two seconds remaining. Rollins won the match, 1-0. The Tars are not 6-1 overall, 2-0 in league play.
Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week
Ronald Cheserek / Saint Leo University / Fr. / Kitale, Kenya
Cheserek won his second straight event as a collegian, this time finishing first overall at the University of Florida Mountain Dew Invitational on Saturday in Gainesville. Cheserek posted a time of 24:43.02 and had a nearly 19-second margin over the second-place finisher, 2016 UF graduate and 2015 SEC 10,000m outdoor champion Eddie Garcia, who was running unattached in the open event. Cheserek led Saint Leo to first-place finish out of 12 non-Division I teams at the Mountain Dew Invitational.
Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week
Colett Rampf / Saint Leo University / Jr. / Premnitz, Germany
Rampf ran the fastest 5K time in Saint Leo history on her way to a fifth-place overall finish at Saturday’s University of Florida Mountain Dew Invitational in Gainesville. Rampf clocked a time of 17:32.04, fastest time among non-Division I runners in the event, and shaving over 12 seconds off her previous best at the 5K distance set last season at the Disney Classic. Rampf helped pace Saint Leo to a first-place finish out of 16 non-Division I teams in the event, after the Lions finished second among non-D-I teams at the Mountain Dew Invitational a year ago.
Men's Golfer of the Week
John Coultas / Florida Southern College / Jr. / Valrico, Florida
Coultas earned the fifth win of his career by defeating Cabrick Waters of Limestone in a one-hole playoff at the Saint Leo Invitational. His performance helped Florida Southern win the team title by 13 shots over South Carolina-Aiken with a score of 12-under. The Valrico, Florida native posted individual scores of 71, 65, and 72 for a three-round total of eight-under par 208. His scorecard for the tournament included 15 birdies and one eagle to go along with 30 pars. The 15 birdies were tied for the third most overall and were tied for the most for any golfer from an SSC school. At one point in round two he birdied six consecutive holes en route to equaling his career-best round of 65.
Women's Golfer of the Week
Marie Coors / Saint Leo University / Sr. / Gross-Zimmern, Germany
Coors finished third overall at the UNC Pembroke “Battle at Old South,” held Saturday and Sunday at the Old South Golf Links in Bluffton, South Carolina. Coors fired a two-day total of 143, with rounds of 68 and 75 respectively. She led a quartet of Saint Leo golfers to finish among the top 20, and win a tournament at the Old South course for the third consecutive year.
Week-by-Week Winners
2016 SSC Volleyball Award Winners (Offense; Defense)
Sept. 5: Denvyr Tyler-Palmer, Nova Southeastern;
Jamee Townsend, Saint Leo
Sept. 12: Bri Civiero, Rollins;
Rebecca Wilson, Rollins
Sept. 19: JaQuayla Baker, Eckerd;
Jamee Townsend, Saint Leo
Sept. 26: Allee Stelogeannis, Tampa;
Brindl Langley, Florida Southern
2016 SSC Men's Soccer Award Winners (Offense; Defense)
Sept. 5: Jack Watson, Lynn; Drew Trautmann, Rollins
Sept. 12: Jack Watson, Lynn; Sebastian Radakovics, Lynn
Sept. 19: Jack Watson, Lynn; Alexander Roth, Lynn
Sept. 26: Marcelo Casas, Saint Leo; Christian Moerch, Florida Tech
2016 SSC Women's Soccer Award Winners (Offense; Defense)
Sept. 5: Kathryn O'Brien, Rollins,
Casey Winn, Eckerd
Sept. 12: Kathryn O'Brien, Rollins,
Karlyn Prisco, Florida Tech
Sept. 19: Natalie Melillo, Saint Leo;
Julia Ortiz, Saint Leo
Sept. 26: Arielle Kabangu, Saint Leo;
Kelly Rowswell, Rollins
2016-17 SSC Golfers of the Week (Men; Women)
Sept. 12: John VanDerLaan, Florida Southern; None
Sept. 19: Will Hall, Rollins;
Charlotte Puts, Barry
Sept. 26: John Coultas, Florida Southern;
Marie Coors, Saint Leo