TROY, N.Y. – Junior
Jack Plesser of the Union College men's basketball team ended the regular season just as he started it with Liberty League Performer of the Week honors and first-year
Garrett Salit of the men's lacrosse team started his career with Rookie of the Week laurels to lead nine student-athletes recognized by the Liberty League for the week ending February 22, the conference office announced on Monday afternoon.
Men's Basketball Performer of the Week: Jack Plesser
Plesser earned his sixth Performer of the Week award after averaging 27.5 points on 57.5 percent shooting and 9.5 rebounds per game to close out the regular season for the second-seeded Garnet Chargers. He started the weekend with a 17-point, 14-rebound double-double in Friday's victory over Clarkson, adding two assists and two steals to his ledger as well. He was dominant on Saturday against St. Lawrence, hitting 16 of 23 shots (69.6 percent) from the field on the way to a 38-point effort, the most points scored by a Liberty League player this year and tied for the ninth-most in a game in Union men's basketball history. The 16 field goals are tied for fourth-most in a game in program history and the most in over 56 years since Union Athletics Hall of Famer Jim Tedisco '72 sunk 17 shots against Stevens Institute of Technology on September 14, 1970. Plesser also moved into sixth place on the school single-season scoring list with 542 points so far this season.
Men's Lacrosse Rookie of the Week: Garrett Salit
Salit recorded three goals and three assists for six points in the first two games of his collegiate career last week. He netted his first collegiate goal and added two helpers on Wednesday in a one-goal loss to Bates, and then tied for the team lead with three points again on Saturday against Babson, scoring twice in the first half to put Union up early and adding an assist in the second half.
Honor Roll Mentions:
Women's Basketball: Jelena Perovic
Perovic averaged a team-leading 16.0 points per game to go with 12 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals in two Union wins, which extended the team's winning streak to eight games and clinched the top seed in the Liberty League Tournament. The senior filled up the stat sheet in Friday's win at Clarkson, scoring 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds while chipping in four assists, two blocks and two steals. She added 14 points, four caroms and two blocks in Saturday's win over St. Lawrence to secure the top spot in the conference.
Men's Lacrosse: Walker Popko
Popko started the season with nine goals and three assists for 12 points in two tough games against Bates and Babson last week. The senior kept the Garnet Chargers in the game against the Bobcats on Wednesday with a career-high seven goals and two assists over the first three quarters of a 14-13 loss, then added two goals and an assist in the first half against Babson on Saturday.
Men's Lacrosse: John Sula
Sula was Union's top defensive midfielder in two games against Bates and Babson last week, combining for 17 ground balls and two caused turnovers. The senior had six grounders and a pair of caused turnovers on Wednesday in a one-goal loss to Bates, then cleaned up with a game-high 11 GBs as a key member of the faceoff and defensive units against Babson.
Men's Tennis: Arhan Gupta
Gupta started the spring season with a pair of fourth-singles wins against tough competition over the weekend. He outlasted Aidan Twamley of TCNJ on Saturday, winning the supertiebreaker by a 10-3 score after the pair split two 6-4 sets to start the day. He then kept Union alive in its battle with #27 NYU on Sunday with a comeback victory, dropping the first set 7-5 to Jeh-Lei Fan before coming back for a 6-2 second set and then taking the supertiebreaker, 10-8.
Men's Tennis: Simon Philip
Philip had two good battles against good competition over the weekend, splitting two close fifth-singles matches. He started the weekend by earning a key victory over Faris Shehata in Union's 4-3 win over TCNJ, posting a 6-2, 7-5 triumph. He came a supertiebreaker away from a perfect singles weekend on Sunday against #27 NYU, trading 6-3 sets with Cooper Kline before coming up two points short in a 13-11 third-set breaker. He also teamed with
Solen Bellemare to post the team's only doubles win of the weekend, a 7-5 victory at second doubles over TCNJ's Alberto Thomas and Nathan Chan.
Women's Tennis: Calista FInkelstein
Finkelstein went 2-0 in fifth-singles action against good competition over the weekend. She started the weekend by taking down TCNJ's Gabriella Robinson by a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) score on Saturday afternoon, then picked up Union's lone point against #24 NYU on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Aditi Narayan.
Men's Indoor Track & Field: Michael Fitzmaurice
Fitzmaurice had a season-best in the 800 meters to lead three Union runners at the Army West Point Tune-Up on Saturday, coming eight-hundredths of a second short of AARTFC qualifying with a second-place time of 1:57.88.
