Majot and Pilcher named RIT Athletes of the Week

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT first-year Jessica Majot (SB) and senior Luke Pilcher (MLAX) were named RIT Athletes of the Week, announced Tuesday.

Majot only allowed one run in 14.0 innings of work last week. She threw a complete-game shutout in last Tuesday's 0-0 tie with Oswego, scattering seven hits and striking out four over seven innings before the game was called due to darkness. Majot then held Elmira to three hits and one run while striking out five over seven innings in Saturday's 8-1 win.

Pilcher tallied 10 points on six goals and four assists to help lead No. 3 RIT to a 2-0 record. The senior attack scored four goals and added an assist in the Tigers 16-14 win over St. John Fisher, Wednesday. His goal with 8:40 to play in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winning goal. Pilcher scored two goals and added two assists in RIT's 18-10 win at Vassar, Saturday. He fired 11 shots, including 11 on net.

March 21 Michelle Messenger (WLAX) Drew Scheib (MSD)

Messenger posted a 3-0 record, an 8.8 goals against average and a .551 save percentage for RIT last week. The graduate student goalie made four saves in the first half of the Tigers' 19-5 win over Farmingdale State in Florida Monday. She made eight saves in the Tigers 15-11 win over Marywood, Wednesday and a season-high 15 saves in RIT's 15-9 win at Clarkson, Saturday.

Scheib finished seventh (1:47.97) and is the first RIT male swimmer to be named All-American since Erik Zelbacher in 2006. He posted a program-record time 1:47.33 to finish sixth in the preliminaries, Friday morning, shaving .60 seconds off his old record set at the Liberty League Championships.

March 14 Matthew Funicelli (MT&F) Colby Giroux (WRE)Josh Harkless (WRE) Tyler Hulse (MT&F)

Funicelli finished sixth in in the shot put to earn All-American honors at the 2023 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships with a mark of 16.22m/53'2.75, capping a season in which he improved upon his program record mark (16.32m/53' 6.5").

Giroux finished sixth at 184-pounds to earn All-American honors at the 2023 NCAA Divison III Wrestling Championships after entering the meet seeded seventh. He started with a win over Wisconsin-La Crosse's Kalyn Jahn by a 3-2 decision before falling to second-seeded Shane Liegel (Loras), 9-7. Giroux won two-straight matches in the consolation bracket, defeating eighth-seeded Edwin Morales (Bridgewater State), 3-1, and Wabash's Charles Baczek, 3-2, before falling to Luther's Donovan Corn and Coast Guard's David McCullough.

Harkless finished eighth at 197 pounds to earn All-American honors at the 2023 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. After starting the tournament with a 6-0 setback to top-seeded Coy Spooner (Coast Guard), Harkless pinned Ferrum's Braden Homsey and beat seventh-seeded Camden Farrow (York), 7-2, to advance in the consolation bracket. Harkless ended the tournament by falling to three-seed Doug Byrne and five-seed Beau Yineman, both by decision.

Hulse tied for seventh in the high jump at the 2023 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships with a 2.03m/6' 8" performance to clinch his second-consecutive All-American finish after finishing runner-up at the Atlantic Region Championships and winning his second-straight Liberty League conference title.

March 6 John Mozrall (MLAX) Adele Jones (WLAX)

Mozrall tallied seven points on five goals and two assists to lead No. 1 RIT to a 2-0 record last week. The senior midfielder scored a career-high four goals in the Tigers 18-9 win over Nazareth, Wednesday, and had a goal and an assist in RIT's 11-10 win over No. 11 York, Sunday.

Jones recorded nine points on five goals and four assists in two games last week. The first-year attack had a goal and two assists in her collegiate debut at Brockport, Wednesday. She tallied four goals and two assists in the Tigers 13-12 loss to Nazareth, Saturday.

Feb. 27 Colby Giroux (WRE) Ian Libby (BASE)
Colby Giroux helped RIT to its highest finish (3rd) at the Mideast Regional Championship in program history with a win at 184 lb. He defeated Pennsylvania College of Technology's Isaac Cory by decision in the first-place match to cap a 4-0 meet.

Libby hit .625 (10-for-16) with eight RBIs in three games at Gallaudet Bison Baseball Classic, including a historic 7-for-7 performance in Sunday's 29-1 victory over Gallaudet- a game that saw RIT amass the most runs, hits, total bases, and RBIs in program history. His performance on Sunday set a program record for hits in a game and fell just short of the program marks in RBIs. His five runs would have tied the previous program record (3B John Bagley scored six times on Sunday). He ended the game just a home run away from the cycle.

Feb. 20 Anna Peshenko (WS&D) Mike Atanasoff (MS&D)

Peshenko won the 200 breaststroke (2:19.91) and the 100 breaststroke ((1:04.89) to help RIT to a fourth place finish at the Liberty League Championship. She won the 400 individual medley in a program-record 4:27.76.

Atanasoff was named Liberty League Swimmer of the Year leading No. 18 RIT to its second straight Liberty League Crown. Atanasoff won the 100 fly with a Liberty League and program record 48.28 and won the 50 freestyle (20.13), tying the Liberty League and program record he set in the preliminaries. He swam a leg in the winning 400 medley relay that finished with a Liberty League and program record time of 3:18.16, and swam legs in three second-place relays that set program records.

Feb. 13 Violet Ameele (WT&F) Austin Lamb (WRES)

Ameele finished 10th in the triple jump at the Fastrack National Invitational, Friday, with a PR and the second-best performance in the Liberty League (11.20m/36' 9") this season.

Lamb, ranked No. 4 at 165 lb., went 2-0 to help No. 12 RIT to wins over Oneonta and Penn College, Saturday. He defeated Penn College's Mason Leshock with a 13-0 major decision to help the Tigers to a 43-4 win. He pinned Ryan Meisner at 2:09 to lead RIT to a 44-3 win over Oneonta.

Feb. 6 Kaleesha Joseph (WBK) Matt Chaikowsky

Joseph averaged 22.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and shot 61.2 percent from the floor in two games last week. The senior forward scored 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting, grabbed 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a 78-67 win at Clarkson, Friday. She scored 20 points (8-of-16 FG) and had 10 rebounds in the Tigers loss at St. Lawrence, Saturday.

Chaikowsky set a personal-best in winning the 800 at the Brockport Multi & Invitational, Saturday. He won the race in a time of 1:55.60.

Jan. 30 Lindsay Maloney (WHLY) Carter Wilkie (MHKY)

Maloney tallied two goals and an assist to lead RIT to a 1-1-0 record last week. The junior forward tied her career-high scoring two goals in the Tigers 5-3 win over Syracuse, Tuesday. She fired seven shots and won 11-of-22 face offs. Maloney had an assist and won 11 draws in Wednesday's 4-1 loss at Syracuse..

Tied, 2-2, in the third period of Friday's opener, Wilkie scored shorthanded at the 10:15 mark and found the net again just over two minutes later to lift RIT to a 4-3 win over the Crusaders. He also scored a goal and won 15-of-20 faceoffs in Saturday's 4-3 overtime setback as the first-place Tigers picked up four of six points in the Atlantic Hockey standings.

Jan. 23 Lila McGuiggin (WBB) Theo Heilman (MS&D)

McGuiggin scored a career-high 21 points to lead RIT to a 66-49 win over Clarkson, Saturday. The sophomore guard shot 8-of-12 from the floor, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Heilman won two individual events to help lead No. 19 RIT to wins over Rochester, Nazareth and No. 18 Geneseo in a quad-meet at Judson Pool, Saturday. The graduate student swimmer won the 1000 freestyle in a pool-record time of 9:56.76 and the 500 freestyle in a time of 4:49.50.

Jan. 16 Jordyn Bear (WHKY) Gabe Scalise
 
Bear scored two goals, including her first collegiate goal at Penn State. The sophomore forward scored her first collegiate goal in the third period of Friday's loss. She gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead on her goal in the first period of Saturday's 2-2 tie.
 
Scalise won the 133 lb. weight-class to help RIT to a win at the Will Abele Invitational, Saturday. Third-seeded Scalise defeated Peter Sacco with a fall at 3:11 in his second-round match after receiving a bye. He pinned Anthony Hernandez at 2:42 in the quarterfinals and defeated Kyle Nase 8-1 in the semifinals. Scalise beat Luke Kowalski with a fall at 4:44 in the title match.

Jan. 9 Kaylea Oliver (WSD) Tommy Scarfone (MHKY)

Oliver won the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions against Hamilton, Saturday. She won the 1-meter competition with a score of 235.80 and the 3-meter competition with a score of 270.95.

Scarfone stopped 58 of 59 total shots he faced in a sweep at Bentley. He stopped all 29 shots he saw in Friday's 3-0 victory for his first shutout of the season, and made 29 saves in Saturday's 3-1 victory to improve to a league-best 13-4-0 this winter.

Dec. 5 Caroline Hill (WTF) Brendan Kapp (MSD)
Hill won the 60 (7.99) and finished third in the 300 (42.08) at the Houghton December Classic, Saturday. Both times were program records, while her 60 time ranks 29th nationally this season.

Kapp won three individual events and swam a leg in the winning 400 medley relay to lead No. 18 RIT to a first place finish at the Don Richards Invitational, last weekend. Kapp won the 200 breaststroke in 2:00.15 which is a Judson Pool and Liberty League record and is the third-fastest time in Division III this season. He won the 100 breaststroke in a Judson Pool-record time of 56.49, and won the 200 IM in a time of 1:53.80.

Nov. 29 Andreja Peciuraite (WBB) Kevin Ryan (MBB)

Peciuraite tallied 19 points and grabbed six rebounds in RIT's 68-43 win over Brockport, Tuesday. The graduate student forward shot 7-of-9 from the floor to go along with two assists, a block, and a steal.

Ryan averaged 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and shot 62.5 percent from the floor to lead RIT to a 3-0 record, last week. The senior forward tallied 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting and had seven rebounds in the Tigers 84-81 overtime win against Wells, Tuesday. Ryan scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds in RIT's 77-71 win over SUNY Canton in the opening game of the Brodie Tournament, Saturday. He recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday's 81-77 win over La Roche in the championship game, earning tournament MVP honors.

Nov. 21 Emma Waite (WBB) Josh Harkless (WRE)
Waite was named to the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout All-Tournament Team, averaging 14.5 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals, last week. She tallied 19 points, with eight assists and three steals in the Tigers 70-60 win over Nazareth in the opening game of the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout, Thursday. She scored 10 points in a loss to St. John Fisher, Saturday.

Harkless posted a 3-0 record to lead the Tigers to three wins at the Waynesburg Duals, Saturday. The sophomore pinned Waynesburg's Ayden Bishoff in his opening match. He beat Fairmont State's Aydan Edwards, 5-0 in his second match and pinned Washington and Jefferson's Nicholas Funovits 50 seconds in his third match.

Nov. 14 Madison Corso (WSOC) Hassan Eissa (MXC)

Corso scored two goals to lead RIT to a 3-1 win over Johnson & Wales in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Saturday. It was the first win for the Tigers in the NCAA Tournament. She scored in the 11th minute to give the Tigers the lead and again in the 20th minute.

Eissa received an at-large invite to the NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championships, announced Sunday. He earned the invite based on his ninth-place finish out of 172 runners at Saturday's NCAA Division III Niagara Region Championships.

Nov. 7 Sydney DeLapp (WSD) Spencer Berry (MHK)
 
DeLapp won two individual events and swam a leg in a winning relay to help the Tigers edge Div. II Gannon 154-146, Saturday. The first-year swimmer won the 50 (25.50) and 100 (54.61) freestyles and swam the opening leg in the 400 freestyle relay (3:39.16).
 
Berry helped lead RIT to a pair of wins at four-time defending Atlantic Hockey champion AIC over the weekend. The graduate student defenseman tallied a goal and an assist, blocked four shots and finished +2 in the Tigers 3-2 win, Sunday. He gave RIT a 2-1 lead on his goal at 8:52 of the first period in Sunday's win and assisted on Tanner Andrew's game-winning goal 1:50 into the third period.

Nov. 1 Erin Percy (WXC) Tommy Scarfone (MHKY)
Percy finished 11th out of 94 runners to lead the women's cross country team to fifth out of nine teams at the Liberty League Cross Country Championships, Saturday. The graduate student runner completed the six-kilometer course in 23:29.1.
 
Scarfone backstopped a pair of RIT victories against Holy Cross last weekend. The sophomore goalie made 32 saves, including 16 in the second period, in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win. Scarfone made 27 stops in Friday's 5-2 victory.

Oct. 24 KhaVy Sangasy (WS&D) Brendan Kapp (MS&D)
Sangasy won three individual events to help lead RIT to wins over St. Lawrence and Clarkson, Saturday. The senior swimmer won the 100 backstroke (1:02.16), the 100 freestyle (54.69) and the 200 IM (2:13.85). She also swam a leg in the anchor leg in the winning 200 medley relay.
 
Kapp won three individual events to help lead RIT to wins over St. Lawrence and Clarkson, Saturday. Kapp won the 100 (58.28) and 200 breaststroke (2:08.72) and 200 IM (2:02.10) for the Tigers and swam a leg in the winning 200 medley relay (1:35.15).
 
October 17 Anna Peshenko (WS&D) Tyler Mahan (MHKY)
Peshenko won a pair of individual races and swam a leg in the winning 200 medley relay to help lead RIT to a 214-64 win over Alfred, Saturday. Peshenko won the 100 breaststroke (1:08.18) and the 100 butterfly (1:01.41) and swam the second leg in the 200 medley relay (1:51.48).
 
Mahan scored three goals in the Tigers' 8-5 victory over Union in Saturday's Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend game, played at Blue Cross Arena. Mahan opened the scoring with 10:17 left in the first period before giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead early in the second. He tacked on an empty-net goal with 3:34 left in regulation.

Mahan's goals were the first of his career in an RIT sweater. He was also the first Tiger rookie to score a hat-trick since Andrew Rinaldi netted three goals in a 7-4 win over Holy Cross on Nov. 1, 2019.
 
October 10 Kylie Aquaro (WHKY) Evan Owens (MXC)
Aquaro tallied a career-high five points and four assists in the Tigers' 9-0 win over Saint Michael's, Saturday. She recorded an assist in Friday's 8-0 win and finished +5 on the weekend.
 
Owens finished fourth out of 123 runners to lead RIT to first place at the Houghton Highlander Invitational, Saturday. Owens covered the 8K course in 26:06.8 to lead five Tigers in the top-12. RIT totaled a winning score of 35 points to best runner-up St. John Fisher (47) and D2 Daemen (80) in the 10-team field.
 
October 4 Chloe McNeil (WHKY) Jaden Winall Longdon MSOC)
McNeil scored a career-high two goals at No. 14 Vermont, Friday. She tallied a power play goal at 19:51 of the second period and scored an even-strength goal at 15:21 of the third.
 
Longdon tied his career-high, tallying four points in a 4-0 win against Houghton, Tuesday. He converted a penalty kick in the 22nd minute and assisted on Randy Dickersbach's goal in the 48th minute and Carlos Cardona's goal in the 60th minute. Longdon fired three shots, including two on target in RIT's 1-0 loss at No. 19 Clarkson, Saturday.
 
September 26 Liv Benard (VBALL)
Bernard averaged 13.2 kills and hit .173 last week, averaging 9.2 digs per set for the Tigers. Bernard tallied 16 kills (.160) and had 12 digs and two assisted blocks in Wednesday's 3-2 come-from-behind win against Rochester. She recorded six kills and five digs in the Tigers loss to Franklin and Marshall, Friday, and tallied six kills and eight digs in a loss to Scranton. She tied her career-high with 17 kills and added 14 digs for her fourth double-double of the season against Rowan, Saturday, and broke her career high with 21 kills to go along with seven digs and three service aces against Messiah.

September 19 Jessica Wagner (WSOC) Jonathan Cohen (MSOC)
Wagner helped RIT notch its fourth straight shutout, anchoring a Tiger's defense that held Brockport to a pair of shots on net in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Golden Eagles. Wagner and the Tigers defense has not allowed a goal since the 15th minute in the season-opener against Denison (435 minutes).
 
Cohen recorded three assists to help lead RIT to a 1-0-1 record, last week. The senior midfielder had an assist on Daniel Gebura's game-tying goal in the Tigers 1-1 draw against No. 7 Rochester, Tuesday. Cohen recorded a pair of assists in RIT's 3-0 win at Mount Aloysius, Saturday.
 
September 12 Sam Halligan (WSOC)
Halligan recorded five points on a goal and three assists to help RIT to a 2-0 record last week. Halligan tallied a goal and added an assist in the Tigers 2-0 win over No. 25 Geneseo, Wednesday. She assisted on Madison Corso's goal in the 67th minute, and gave RIT a 2-0 lead on her goal in the 68th minute. She assisted on both RIT goals in the Tiger's 2-0 win over Otterbein, Saturday.
 
September 6 Sydney Neff (VBALL) and Jason Trapp (MSOC)
Neff was named to the U of R Invitational All-Tournament Team. The junior setter racked up 118 assists, averaging 9.83 assists per set and added seven service aces and added 19 digs.
 
She tallied 42 assists and eight digs in the Tigers 3-2 loss to Buffalo State, Friday. She had 31 assists, three service aces and six digs in the Tigers 3-0 win over Medaille and had 45 assists, four service aces and five digs in RIT's 3-1 win over Oneonta, Saturday.
 
Trapp made 10 saves and allowed one goal last week, recording a 0.50 goals against average and a .909 save percentage in two games. Trapp made six saves in Thursday's 1-1 draw against Brockport, and recorded four stops in the Tigers 0-0 draw at Marietta, Sunday.