Posted: Sep 07, 2022
LANCASTER, Pa. -- The 2022 fall campaign is underway as Centennial Conference teams opened their seasons last week. Weekly awards are listed below in the sports of men's and women's cross country, field hockey, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball.
This week's awards were collected by Matthew Kleiman of Johns Hopkins men's cross country, Alex Ross of Johns Hopkins women's cross country, Abby Birk of Hopkins field hockey, Mikayla Smith of McDaniel field hockey, Jack Carroll of Gettysburg men's soccer, Tyler Reid of McDaniel men's soccer, Katie Vassilakos of Dickinson women's soccer, Kaela Frenchman of Ursinus women's soccer, Simone Adam of Hopkins volleyball and Taylor Jones of Haverford volleyball.
More details on each award winner are listed below.
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MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Athlete of the Week
Matthew Kleiman, Sr., Johns Hopkins
Concord, Mass. | Concord Carlisle
Kleiman claimed the individual title and led Johns Hopkins to a first-place finish in the season-opening nine-team Baltimore Metro Invitational. Kleiman covered the 5K course in 15:22.6 to earn his first-place finish. It's the second straight year that Kleiman has won the season-opening race for the Blue Jays.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Athlete of the Week
Alex Ross, Gr., Johns Hopkins
Glastonbury, Conn. | Glastonbury
Ross placed first individually and led Johns Hopkins to the team title at the season-opening Baltimore Metro Invitational. Ross clocked in at 18:01.1 to place first and edge Maryland's Katie Altieri for top honors. Ross's first-place showing helped Hopkins defeat the Division I Terrapins by eight points for the team crown.
FIELD HOCKEY
Offensive Player of the Week
Abby Birk, Gr., M, Johns Hopkins
Louisville, Ky. | Sacred Heart
Birk led Johns Hopkins to a pair of wins over top-10 opponents to open the season. She totaled four goals and one assist in the two games. Birk notched her first career hat trick, and had the game-winner, in Hopkins' season-opening win over No. 10 Washington & Lee. She followed that with a goal and an assist (on the game-winner) as JHU shutout No. 8 Messiah on the road. Her goal against the Falcons pushed her over 100 career points. She is just the third player in program history to reach the milestone.
Defensive Player of the Week
Mikayla Smith, Jr., GK, McDaniel
Frederica, Del. | Lake Forest
Smith posted two shutouts in two games last week while making 12 saves, one shy of her career high set at Haverford on Sept. 25, 2021. She also played a career-best 80 minutes and stopped four of Randolph-Macon's five attempts in the shootout.
MEN'S SOCCER
Offensive Player of the Week
Jack Caroll, Sr., F, Gettysburg
Leonia, N.J. | Bergen Catholic
Carroll led the Bullets to a 2-0 weekend at the Elmer Lord Tournament hosted by Salisbury. He registered three goals in the two contests, scoring twice against St. Mary's (Md.) on Saturday and once against the Sea Gulls. He netted the game-winners in both contests.
Defensive Player of the Week
Tyler Reid, Jr., D, McDaniel
West Chester, Pa. | Henderson
Reid anchored the stout Green Terror defense in their first two games of the season. In the opener, Reid helped McDaniel pitch a shutout against Immaculata. He followed that up with a stellar performance against Penn College. Reid and company did not allow a single shot during the full 90 minutes of action.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Offensive Player of the Week
Katie Vassilakos, Fr., F, Dickinson
Holmdel, N.J. | Holmdel
Vassilakos made her collegiate debuts memorable as she totaled two goals and five assists and tied a Centennial Conference record in a pair of wins last week. The freshman forward opened her career with a CC-record-tying five assists in a 6-0 Red Devil win over Mount Aloysius on Thursday. In a 3-1 triumph over DeSales on Saturday, she scored twice including the game-winner.
Defensive Player of the Week
Kaela Frenchman, Jr., GK, Ursinus
Long Valley, N.J. | West Morris Central
Frenchman and the Bears had a great start to their 2022 season. The junior goalkeeper anchored the defense, compiling two shutouts on the road while earning three saves. Frenchman earned the win on Thursday after collecting one saving and shutting out Eastern. She followed up her performance with saves on Sunday, blanking Stevenson 4-0.
VOLLEYBALL
Offensive Player of the Week
Simone Adam, Fr., OH, Johns Hopkins
Menlo Park, Calif. | Menlo School
Adam wasted little time making an impact as she led Johns Hopkins to wins in its first three matches. She collected 50 kills (5.0/set) and hit .333 while adding 14 digs and four service aces. She also had a hand in six blocks in the three wins. Adam had at least 13 kills in all three matches with 21 in a three-set win over St. John Fisher.
Defensive Player of the Week
Taylor Jones, So., MB, Haverford
Yorba Linda, Calif. | Esperanza
Jones added 21 total blocks in four matches at the Haverford Invitational, picking up tournament MVP honors in the process as the Fords went 3-1. Nationally, Jones ranks third in all of NCAA with 21 total blocks. She currently leads the Centennial in blocks per set (1.17), total blocks (21), block assists (15), and solo blocks (6) while also ranking third in hitting percentage (.427) and 6th in kills (38).