November Athletes of the Week
Nov. 7th
In his first event of the season, sophomore Jonas Ricci (Palmyra, Pa. / Palmyra Area) qualified for the NCAA's in the one meter with a 286.75 score against New York University on Saturday. Ricci placed second in that event, which occurred in North Pool at Hollinger Field House. This is his first athlete of the week nomination this season. West Chester's swimming and diving squad returns on Saturday as they face Rowan University in a diving only competition once again at home inside North Pool at Hollinger Field House.
Fr., runner Diana Dunn (Media, Pa./Penncrest) captured seventh to lead West Chester to a 12th place finish at the NCAA Division II Regional Championship on Saturday morning at Slippery Rock University. Dunn was the fastest freshman by 20 seconds and 58 seconds ahead of the third best freshman. She was the first individual non-qualifier for nationals. By registering a final time of 23 minutes and 20 seconds, Dunn did indeed claim top 25 All-Region honors. The freshman maintained a 6:16 pace in the 6k event and has gotten stronger as the season has progressed. Coach Comstock viewed Dunn's performance as "nothing short of awesome." "The amount of improvement she's shown since high school last year is very rare. Today was a testament to her work ethic and love for running that shows in every training session and competition.” This is her first athlete of the week nomination of her career.
Nov. 14th
So., DB Nydair Rouse (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz) played a crucial role in West Chester’s 37-10 victory over host Clarion on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Rams’ defense forced Clarion into five turnovers in the regular season finale. Rouse registered an an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in the win. Rouse’s four interceptions were a team-high in 2016.
Julie Kirkpatrick (Brick, N.J./Brick Twp.) scored in the 78th minute, which proved to be the difference maker as West Chester held on for a 2-1 victory over East Stroudsburg in the second round of the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament at Rockwell Field Sunday. With the score locked at one apiece, Kirkpatrick was able to capitalize on a corner kick to record her first collegiate goal. Her header off the corner hit the cross bar and fell to the ground in a mass of players. East Stroudsburg tried to clear the ball, but Kirkpatrick knocked down the clear attempt and booted a shot into the right side of the net past the goalkeeper. Additionally, Kirkpatrick was stout on defense by helping limit East Stroudsburg to to ten shots. The sophomore propelled the Golden Rams to the Atlantic Region final where they will face Kutztown this Friday afternoon at Rockwell Field.
Nov. 21st
Madison Torresin (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cumberland Valley) registered the go-ahead bucket in the final 34 seconds to help the Golden Rams secure their first victory of the season against Gannon on Saturday. In a pair of games this weekend, the junior led the squad in scoring with 33 combined points in addition to grabbing 18 rebounds and seven steals. In the conference victory over Gannon, the junior provided 16 points, six rebounds, and four steals. The following day against Clarion, the forward produced 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 steals for her third double-double of the season. Torresin is the Golden Rams’ leading scorer early in the season, averaging 17.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest.
After being named the PSAC East Rookie of the Year a season ago, Malik Jackson (Lansdowne, Pa. /Penn Wood) has continued to improve by eclipsing 20 points in all three of the games in which he has appeared in 2016. The sophomore contributed a season-high 24 points in a pair of PSAC victories this weekend for the Golden Rams. On Saturday, Jackson helped propel the Golden Rams to a 73-63 win over Gannon. Jackson scored nine of his 24 points in the first nine minutes of the second half as the Golden Rams opened up their largest lead of the game. The next day, the guard produced 24 points once again in a 92-67 victory against Clarion. He knocked down five shots from behind the arc for a 38.5 percentage (5-for-13). Jackson this weekend scored a combined 48 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and generated three steals. In the up-temp style of play, Jackson leads the team in scoring with 23.7 points per game.
Nov. 28th
Freshman guard Zach Bare (Reiserstown, Md./St. Paul's School) posted a career-high 26 points, including a jumper in the lane with 16 seconds remaining to lift West Chester past non-league opponent Bowie State, 94-92, Saturday afternoon. The Maryland native helped the Golden Rams win their third straight game, knocking down five shots from behind the arc for a 62.5 three-point percentage. West Chester hit a season-best 14 3-pointers in the matchup, five of which coming from the freshman. Bare did most of his damage in the second half, producing 15 points in 12 minutes of action. The freshman was instant offense coming off the bench, shooting 60 percent from the field (9-15) in the contest, while also adding a pair of rebounds and assists in the victory. This is the first athlete of the week nomination for Bare in his young career.
