NCAC Athletes of the Week | Dec. 10

North Coast Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week | Dec. 10, 2024
 
Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week – Vinny Buccilla, Wabash
Wabash senior Vinny Buccilla (Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern) led the Little Giants to a 2-0 week with a pair of conference victories over DePauw (74-48) and Oberlin (66-57). The senior scored 15 points and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field in Wabash’s win over the Tigers on Wednesday. Buccilla filled the stat as he sank his only three-point attempt, went 2-for-2 from the line and tallied three rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the 26-point victory. Against the Yeomen, the guard scored a season-best and game-high 22 points to go along with a season-high eight rebounds. In the nine-point win, he made 7-of-15 shots from the field, went 4-for-7 beyond the arc, and recorded three steals, one assist, and one block. On the week, Buccilla averaged 18.50 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and two assists per game while shooting 62 percent from the floor, 63 percent from deep, and 75 percent from the charity stripe.
 
Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week – Camille Zinaich, Oberlin
Oberlin senior Camille Zinaich (Boonsboro, MD/Saint Maria Goretti) led the Yeowomen to a 3-0 week with wins over Wooster (64-52), Kalamazoo (73-61), and Muskingum (73-54). The senior recorded her third double-double of the season scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds while also dishing out four assists and one steal in the win over Wooster on Wednesday. She followed that up with a 20-point performance against the Hornets, while netting her 1,000th career point and becoming just the 11th player in program history to reach this milestone. Ziniach went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and collected five rebounds, one block and one steal against Kalamazoo. The senior capped the week with her fourth double-double of the season and the 21st of her career in the win over the Muskies after posting 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and two steals. On the week, Ziniach averaged 18.0 points, 8.67 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.33 steals per game.
 
Men’s Swim & Dive Athlete of the Week – Patrick Daly, Denison
Denison senior Patrick Daly (New Albany, OH/New Albany) posted six NCAA Division III ‘B’ cut marks and a school record to help the Big Red take first place at the competitive Denison Invitational. Individually, the senior placed second in the 200 breaststroke (1:57.09), third in the 200 individual medley (1:46.56), and fourth in the 100 breast (53.64). Daly’s mark in the 200 breast established a new school record, surpassing the previous record set by Richie Kurlich in 2023 (1:57.75). The New Albany, Ohio native was a member of the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:19.40) as well as the 200 (1:27.81) and 400 (3:14.96) medley relays. No. 3-nationally ranked Denison totaled 2,159.0 points at the invitational, besting top-ranked Emory (1,909.0), NCAA Division II’s No. 4-nationally ranked University of Indianapolis (1,639.5), and No. 6-nationally ranked Washington University in St. Louis (1,188.5).
 
Women’s Swim & Dive Athlete of the Week – Ollie Bream, Wooster
Wooster senior Ollie Bream (Melbourne, Australia/Firbank Grammar School) was a quadruple winner at the program’s annual Wooster Invitational to help the Fighting Scots win the meet for the first time since 2009. The senior earned the crown in the 200 butterfly after finishing in an NCAA Division III ‘B’ cut time of 2:04.28, winning by nearly five seconds. Bream finished 6.72 seconds ahead of the field in the 400 individual medley (4:32.00) and she had a two-second lead in the 200 IM (2:07.01). The senior’s fourth win was in the 800 freestyle relay after posting a time of 7:56.45. Bream and her teammates added third-place finishes in the 400 medley (4:02.82) and 400 freestyle (3:40.14) relays, finishing behind NCAA Div. II’s PennWest University-Edinboro and Ashland University.
 
Men’s Indoor Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Week – Namu Makatiani, Oberlin
Oberlin junior Namu Makatiani (Nairobi, Kenya/George School (PA)) set a new career-best and broke the program record in the 60-meter hurdles at the Spartan Alumni meet on Saturday. The junior clocked a personal best time of 8.63 seconds in the preliminaries to break his original record of 8.70 seconds but followed that up with a time of 8.29 seconds in the final to shorten his milestone once again. With that time, Makatiani also surpasses Chris Andrews’ converted mark of 8.53 seconds (1990).
 
Men’s Indoor Distance/Mid-Distance Athlete of the Week – Simon Glass, Denison
Denison first-year Simon Glass (Milburn, NJ/Millburn) placed fourth in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.77 at the Wittenberg Tiger Opener last week. With that time, the rookie currently ranks first in the NCAC and 27th in NCAA Division III. Glass was also a part of the Big Red’s 4x400 relay team that clocked in at 3:30.14 to rank second in the league so far this season.
 
Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week – Chris Slater, Denison
Denison senior Chris Slater (Hudson, OH/Hudson) established a new program record at the Wittenberg Tiger Opener after recording a toss of 18.83 meters in the weight throw. With that mark, the senior placed second in the event and ranks first in the league and second among all NCAA Division III competitors so far this season. Slater also brought home the title in the shot put after heaving the implement 15.23 meters, which is currently the best in the league and 14th in Div. III.
 
Women’s Indoor Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Week – Shelby Stall, DePauw
DePauw sophomore Shelby Stall (Lindenhurst, IL/Lakes) established a new program record in the 200-meter dash at the Scott Fangman Invitational on Saturday. The sophomore took down an eight-year old record (26.32 seconds) set by Kaitllyn Dannen in 2018 after running a time of 26.00 seconds to take home the title. With that time, Stall currently ranks first in the league and 16th in Division III. The Lindenhurst, Illinois native also placed third in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.09 seconds to rank third in the conference so far.
 
Women’s Indoor Distance/Mid-Distance Athlete of the Week – Victoria Pipinich, Wittenberg
Wittenberg senior Victoria Pipinich (Fort Worth, TX/All saints Episcopal) placed second in the 800-meter run at the Tiger Opener on Saturday. The senior crossed the finish line in 2:24.74 to rank first in the NCAC so far this season.
 
Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week – Katie Moore, DePauw
DePauw senior Katie Moore (Lawrenceville, IL/Lawrence) placed third in the pentathlon at the Scott Fangman Invitational on Saturday. The senior posted personal bests in three of the five events, including the high jump (1.49 meters), shot put (10.11 meters) and 800-meter run (2:29.10). Moore also posted a long jump mark of 4.86 meters and finished the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 9.33 seconds to total 3,215 points in the event. With that mark, the Lawrenceville, Illinois native ranks first in the NCAC and eighth in NCAA Division III standings.
 
NCAC Milestones & Records (Dec. 1-8)
 
Denison, Men’s Basketball – Senior Darren Rubin (Oakwood, OH/Oakwood) earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team at the 40th Annual Lopata Classic, hosted by WashU, after sinking 29 points on 13-of-26 shooting from the field. The senior also went 5-for-13 from beyond the arc, 12-for-14 from the charity stripe, and dished out six assists at the tournament.
 
Denison, Women’s Swim & Dive – Junior Quinn Brown (Portland, OR/Grant) recorded four NCAA ‘B’ cut times at the 2024 Denison Invitational last week. The senior recorded national marks in the 1,650 (16:53.16), 500 (4:51.60) and 200 (1:49.05) freestyles as well as the 800 free relay (7:24.95).
 
Denison, Women’s Track & Field – Sophomore Mariel Drost (North Royalton, OH/Saint Joseph) took home the crown in the weight throw at the Wittenberg Tiger Opener on Saturday. The sophomore won the event with a career-best toss of 14.17 meters.
 
Ohio Wesleyan, Women’s Basketball – Fifth-year Elizabeth Homan (Cincinnati, OH/Anderson) dished out a season-high 12 assists in Ohio Wesleyan’s win over Hiram on Wednesday. The 12 assists were the 12th career double-digit assist game for Homan and she currently shares the NCAA Division III lead with 7.7 assists per game and is tied for second in the nation with 54 assists this season.

Wittenberg, Women’s Swim & Dive – At the Wooster Invitational, first-year Teagan O'Connor (Fort Wayne, IN/Carroll) was victorious in the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 58.98. In the prelims of the event, the rookie swam a 58.75, which is the third-fastest in program history. The gold medal performance came shortly after O'Connor finished fourth in the 400-yard individual medley in a time of 4:47.25, the sixth-fastest time in program history. O’Connor rounded out her stellar meet with a second-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:09.22, marking the second-fastest in program history.
 
Wooster, Men’s Basketball – Senior JJ Cline (Wooster, OH/Northwestern) scored a career-high 24 points in Wooster’s 83-76 win over Case Western on Saturday.
 

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