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Centennial Conference Athletics

Centennial Conference Athletes of the Week - Feb. 20-26

Centennial Conference Athletes of the Week - Feb. 20-26
Posted: Feb 28, 2023

LANCASTER, Pa. -- Centennial Conference winter championships are now complete as we turn our attention to the NCAA postseason play for winter sports as the beginning stages of the spring seasons continue in baseball, softball, lacrosse and tennis. 

Weekly honors were distributed this week to Dillon Souvignier of Johns Hopkins baseball, Jack Bowling of Swarthmore baseball, Maddie Solow of Ursinus softball, Justine Bergara of Muhlenberg softball, Jack Dunleavy of Gettysburg men's lacrosse, Kyle Craig of Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse, Delaney Herbert of Dickinson women's lacrosse, Elizabeth Tompkins of Bryn Mawr women's lacrosse, Michael Melnikov of Swarthmore men's tennis and Nathalie Williams of Swarthmore women's tennis. 

Continue reading below for more information on each of this week's honorees. 

Visit Centennial.org for more information on Centennial Conference athletics. Also, be sure to like the Centennial on Facebook, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and follow @CentennialConf on Twitter and Instagram. 

BASEBALL
 
Player of the Week
Dillon Souvignier, So., OF/1B, Johns Hopkins
Boulder, Col. | Fairview
Souvignier kicked off his 2023 campaign by going for 4-for-7 with three RBIs to help the Blue Jays pick up victories over 14th-ranked Cortland (6-0) and Wittenberg (10-3) this past weekend. This included a 3-for-4 display against Wittenberg in which Souvignier cranked a two-run homer for the second home run of his career.
 
Pitcher of the Week
Jack Bowling, So., RHP, Swarthmore
Corneilus, N.C. | Charlotte Country Day
Bowling returned to the mound in 2023 with three shutout innings in relief against Lycoming. The sophomore returned from last year's season-ending injury to strike out seven of his 10 batters faced while allowing just one hit in a dominant season debut. The Garnet went 2-0 on the weekend to open the season.
SOFTBALL
 
Player of the Week
Maddie Solow, Jr., OF, Ursinus
Norristown, Pa. | William Penn Charter
Solow helped power an Ursinus doubleheader sweep on Sunday afternoon against Stevens, batting .429 (3-for-7) with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Solow went 2-of-4 from the plate and scored a run in game one and swiped two bases in the process. The junior delivered the biggest hit of the Bears' 5-4 win in game two with a three-run home run.
 
Pitcher of the Week
Justine Bergara, So., P, Muhlenberg
Sylmar, Calif. | Sierra Canyon
Bergara pitched a gem in her first start of the season, allowing only four hits in her first career seven-inning complete game to defeat Kean, a team that won two games in the NCAA Tournament last year. She walked none and struck out two. After giving up a run in the second and a leadoff single in the third, Bergara slammed the door, retiring the final 15 batters she faced with 10 of them on ground balls. She also reached base in two of three plate appearances.

MEN'S LACROSSE

Offensive Player of the Week
Jack Dunleavy, So., A, Gettysburg
New Providence, N.J. | Seton Hall Prep
Dunleavy led the seventh-ranked Bullets to a 12-10 victory over No. 1 Salisbury on Saturday, registering six goals and one assist. He scored the final three tallies to cap a late run that turned a two-goal fourth-quarter deficit into a two-goal win. He also had a ground ball and caused turnover.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Kyle Craig, Sr., D, Franklin & Marshall
Wantagh, N.Y. | Wantagh
Craig tied the school record with six caused turnovers during a 23-10 win against Catholic, a team which was receiving votes in the national polls. He is just the fourth player in program history to record six caused turnovers in a game. A second-team All-CC selection last season, Craig totaled seven caused turnovers and five ground balls in a 2-0 week for the Diplomats. Craig is currently second in the conference in caused turnovers.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE

Offensive Player of the Week
Delaney Herbert, So., A, Dickinson
Elkridge, Md. | McDonough School
Herbert picked right up where she left off last season, serving as a main catalyst to the Dickinson offense, tallying six goals, six assists, 12 draw controls and three ground balls in a 2-0 week. In Thursday's the opener at Misericordia, Herbert notchhed a career-high eight points notching four goals on just five shots along with four assists, winning five draws and tracking down two ground balls in the 20-9 win. In Sunday's home-opening win over 19th-ranked Dension, she racked up four more points thanks to two goals and two helpers, while claiming seven draws and scooping up a loose ball.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Elizabeth Tompkins, Sr., GK, Bryn Mawr
Sparkill, N.Y. | Tappan Zee
Tompkins helped lead the Owls to a 10-1 season-opening triumph over Neumann on Saturday. The senior goalkeeper recorded seven saves and did not allow a goal in 53 minutes of action. 
MEN'S TENNIS

Athlete of the Week
Michael Melnikov, Fr., Swarthmore
Karlsruhe, Germany
Melnikov went 3-0 on the weekend versus Muhlenberg and NYU. The Germany native won both of his singles matches, 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 1 spot. He also teamed with Rushil Patel for a No. 2 doubles victory over NYU, 8-7(2). 
WOMEN'S TENNIS

Athlete of the Week
Nathalie Williams, So., Swarthmore
New York City, N.Y. | Greenwich
Williams went 3-0 on the weekend with a pair of wins at No. 1 doubles and a top singles victory. Williams teamed with Erica Stutz to defeat the top doubles teams from Stevens (8-1) and Vassar (8-3). The sophomore also took down Vassar's No. 1 singles player by a 6-1, 6-0 score.