NCAC Athletes of the Week | Sept. 17

North Coast Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week | Sept. 17, 2024

Field Hockey Athlete of the Week – Sophia Sparks, Transylvania
Transylvania fifth-year Sophia Sparks (Louisville, KY/Kentucky Country Day High School) helped guide the Pioneers to a 3-0 win over Earlham on Saturday. Spark's first goal came during the first period, putting the Pioneers ahead by one. During the second period, the fifth-year found the back of the net for the second time off a corner, increasing the score to 2-0. Sparks finished the road game with four points and two goals on two shot attempts.
 
Football Offensive Athlete of the Week –  Robby Ballentine, DePauw
DePauw junior Robby Ballentine (Crown Point, IN/Andrean) scored two touchdowns in the Tiger's 33-0 win over No. 21 Berry on Saturday. The junior gave the Tigers an early 7-0 lead after finding the endzone on a six-yard pass during DePauw's second drive of the game. Ballentine also scored the final touchdown of the game on a 17-yard pass during the final two minutes of the third quarter, putting DePauw ahead 31-0. Ballentine recorded six catches, with a long of 47 yards, for a total of 87 yards in the win.
 
Football Defensive Athlete of the Week – Gavin Ruppert, Wabash
Wabash junior Gavin Ruppert (Greenwood, IN/Greenwood) matched his career-best mark of tackles with 18 stops in Saturday's 30-13 victory over Ohio Wesleyan. The junior recorded 12 tackles with six assisted tackles to match his career-best mark that was originally set against Denison in 2022. Ruppert also tallied two sacks for losses of 27 yards to go along with five tackles for losses totaling 29 yards. The linebacker also intercepted a pass to set up a third-quarter touchdown to give Wabash a 20-6 lead. Ruppert anchored the Little Giants' defense that forced three turnovers and limited the Battling Bishops to 13 points.
 
Men's Golf Athlete of the Week – Andrew Carey, Wooster
Wooster sophomore Andrew Carey (Rockford, IL/Guilford) captured medalist honors with an even-par 140 at the par-70, 6,646-yard Westfield Insurance Companies Invitational. Carey's 140 is tied for the program's lowest 36-hole round since 1990*. The sophomore led the Scots to a 2-over-par 282 on Saturday to record the program's second-lowest team score since 1975 when the program's National Championship team competed in Kent State's tournament. Carey's 140 bested his 36-hole collegiate-mark by six strokes. *Complete program records are not available before 1990.
 
Women's Golf Athlete of the Week –  Abigail Haywood, Wooster
Wooster sophomore Abigail Haywood (Dayton, OH/Centerville) recorded a collegiate-best third-place finish at the Westminster Invitational on Saturday. The sophomore carded an 81 at the par-71, 5,516-yard Avalon Field Club to tie her third-lowest collegiate score. Haywood had a par on all the par-3 and par-5 holes to lead Wooster to a runner-up finish (340), just seven strokes behind first place.
 
Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week – Jack Pascoal, Wittenberg
Wittenberg junior Jack Pascoal (Liberty Township, OH/Lakota East) played a key role in helping the Tigers secure two home victories last week. In a 5-1 win over Mount St. Joseph, Pascoal put the game out of reach with a pair of unassisted goals in the span of five minutes during the second half. Against Capital, Pascoal scored in the 23rd minute putting Wittenberg up one in the eventual 1-0 victory.
 
Women's Soccer Athlete of the Week – Reagan Mory, Hiram
Hiram sophomore Reagan Mory (Garretsville, OH/Crestwood) scored three goals in a 4-1 win over Bethany (WV) on Wednesday, making her just the 10th player in program history to record a hat trick. Mory also joined Kaitlyn Harris (2021) as the only Hiram student-athletes over the last five seasons to score three goals in a single game. After scoring three goals on only three attempts, Mory lifted the Terriers to their first win of the 2024 campaign.
 
Volleyball Athlete of the Week – Cate Maguire, Hiram
Hiram senior Cate Maguire (Austintown, OH/Austintown Fitch) helped the Terriers to a 3-1 record this past week, with the team earning victories over Thiel (3-0), Geneva (3-1), and Kalamazoo (3-1) and a tough loss to Heidelberg (3-1). Over four matches, Maguire produced on both sides of the net, securing 38 kills and 18 blocks. The right-side hitter also averaged 2.53 kills per set, 3.27 points per set and hit over .400 percent in two matches.
 
NCAC Milestones & Records (Sept. 9-15)
 
Denison, Volleyball – Sophomore Claire Hamilton (Lower Merion, PA/Lower Merion) recorded a career-high 23 kills during the Big Red's four-set victory over Muskingum on Wednesday.
 
DePauw, Football – The DePauw Tigers defeated the Berry (GA) Vikings 33-0 on Saturday, marking the first time Berry has been shut out since September 27, 2014 (12-0 vs. Rhodes).
 
DePauw, Volleyball – Senior Ashley Haas (San Clemente, CA/San Clemente) was named to the Augustana All-Tournament Team after totaling 34 kills over three matches. Haas hit .455, averaged 2.63 kills and 2.88 points per set, and totaled just four errors on 66 attempts, while junior Grace Myers (New Palestine, IN/New Palestine) tallied her 1,000th career dig at the Viking Classic hosted by Augustana (IL).
 
Hiram, Football – Senior Breyana Buxton (East Canton, OH/East Canton) became the first female student-athlete to take a snap in program history after she made an extra point against Mount St. Joseph on Saturday.
 
Hiram, Women's Soccer – Head Coach Mike Shiels won his first game as the Terrier's head coach with Wednesday's 4-0 win over Bethany (WV).
 
Wabash, Men's Soccer – The Little Giants improved to 5-0 for the season, marking the program's best start since the 2015 season where Wabash went on to win its first eight games.
 
Wooster, Field Hockey – Head Coach Lauren Voigt won her first game as the Fighting Scots' head coach with Saturday's 4-2 win over Concordia (WI). 

Related Stories

Related Videos

Now Playing: