TROY, N.Y. – The Union College swimming and diving teams started off 2025 with a pair of weekly awards and the men's basketball team earned a spot on the honor roll in the first Liberty League weekly honors of the New Year, the conference office announced on Monday afternoon.
Men's Swimming & Diving Swimmer of the Week: Drew Hill
Hill put together a strong meet individually against Amherst College with two top-three finishes and a personal best time of 2:01.61 in the 200 butterfly to finish fourth. Hill was edged out at the wall to finish second in the 50 butterfly with a time of 23.65 and also recorded a third-place finish in the 100 freestyle, clocking in at 49.52, exactly one second off the first-place finisher.
Women's Swimming & Diving Swimmer of the Week: Kristina Valenti
Valenti had a very strong meet on Saturday against #20 Amherst College. She recorded a season-best time in the 100 freestyle to take third with a time of 56.95, only 0.36 seconds back from the second-place finisher. Valenti went on to place second in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:38.08.
Honor Roll Mentions:
Men's Basketball: Jack Plesser
Plesser averaged 25.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game on 51.3 percent shooting in a pair of contests at the Emory Holiday Classic on December 29-30. The sophomore started the week with a game-high 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and an 8-of-8 effort from the line in a 73-71 win over LaGrange, scoring 13 points in the first half and then adding 14 in the second stanza, including the go-ahead basket with three seconds remaining to break the tie and provide the final points of the game. He then nearly led Union to a massive upset of #1 Emory the next day, scoring 24 points with a season-high 11 rebounds in a 77-71 defeat. He was nearly unstoppable in the first half, hitting 7-of-10 shots and scoring 16 points as the Garnet Chargers led by as many as 17 points early on, the largest deficit faced by the Eagles all season and marking the first time all season that Emory trailed at the half.
