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Centennial Conference Athletics

Ainsley McClure, Franklin & Marshall, Pitcher of the Week

Ainsley McClure, Franklin & Marshall, Pitcher of the Week
Posted: Apr 25, 2023

LANCASTER, Pa. -- Four athletes earned weekly honors for at least the second time this spring as Centennial weekly awards were presented in baseball, softball, lacrosse, tennis and track & field. This marks the final tennis weekly honors of 2023 as the CC tennis postseason commences this week. One more regular season week remains in baseball, softball, lacrosse and track & field. 

This week's repeat winners include Michael Melnikov of Swarthmore men's tennis (three-time winner), Abby Marquis of Haverford softball, Von Mabbs of Swarthmore men's lacrosse, and Ethan Hart of Dickinson men's track & field. 

Other honorees for the week of Apr. 17-23 were Aidan Sullivan of Swarthmore baseball, Riley Grohowski of Haverford baseball, Ainsley McClure of Franklin & Marshall softball, Chris Brandau of Dickinson men's lacrosse, Katie Fullowan of Gettysburg women's lacrosse, Meaghan Haughney of Muhlenberg women's lacrosse, Cassidy Landau of F&M women's tennis, Aidan Cantine of Swarthmore men's track & field, Rose Teszler of Swarthmore women's track & field, and Abby Lienhard of F&M women's track & field. 

Scroll 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
 Aidan Sullivan, Fr., DH, Swarthmore
 Rye, N.Y. | Canterbury
 Sullivan hit .706 (12-for-17) with four home runs, two triples, a double, 11 RBIs and eight runs scored in a 2-1-1 week for the Garnet. The first-year posted a slugging percentage of 1.706 throughout the four games. Sullivan began his week with a 4-for-4 performance with 5 RBIs against Ursinus College. He finished a double shy of the cycle with a home run, two triples and a single. Sullivan then closed out the series with Ursinus with a two-home run effort and four more RBIs in the series finale. He then capped off an incredible week with another 4-for-4 performance versus McDaniel. 

Pitcher of the Week
Riley Grohowski, So., RHP, Haverford 
McLean, Va. | Gonzaga College
Grohowski twirled a gem against Muhlenberg, taking a no-hit bid into the eighth inning and finishing with a complete-game, four-hit shutout in the Fords' 6-0 victory on Friday at Cedarcreek Field. It marked Haverford's second complete-game shutout of the season, as Josh Fuller logged seven innings of scoreless ball in Haverford's win over Cabrini on March 18. The contest was Haverford's first complete-game nine-inning shutout since Stephen Ridings twirled a one-hit gem against McDaniel on April 16, 2016, striking out 11.

SOFTBALL

 Player of the Week
 Abby Marquis, Sr., C/3B, Haverford 
 Albuquerque, N.M. | Cibola
 Marquis earned Player of the Week for the second time this spring after slashing .583/.667/1.250 in another stellar week as the Division III National Player of the Year Watchlist member extended her CC leads in RBIs (42) and home runs (9). Marquis hit another pair of round-trippers on Saturday against F&M as part of a five-hit day that also included a pair of doubles and six total RBIs. She has also tied the Haverford program record for homers in a single season.

Pitcher of the Week
Ainsley McClure, Fr., P, Franklin & Marshall
Yardley, Pa. | Pennsbury
McClure posted a 1.33 ERA over 21 innings as she pitched complete games during each of her starts and came back in relief in her other appearance. The first-year allowed just 16 hits and four earned runs over 21 innings while striking out 13 on the week, picking up victories against Cabrini and Haverford.

MEN'S LACROSSE

Offensive Player of the Week
Von Mabbs, Jr., M, Swarthmore
Concord, Mass. | St. Mark's 
Mabbs collected weekly honors for the second time this spring after tallying 11 points to lead the Garnet to victories over Ursinus and McDaniel. The junior notched four goals against the Bears and three against the Green Terror. Mabbs also collected a pair of assists in both games.

Defensive Player of the Week
Chris Brandau, Sr., GK, Dickinson
Timonium, Md. | Boys' Latin
Brandau racked up 28 saves and allowed just 12 goals in wins over Gettysburg and Haverford last week. In a 12-7 road win at No. 6 Gettysburg, he made a season-high 17 saves to post a .708 save percentage, before notching 11 more stops on Saturday in the 18-5 home win on a wet and windy day in Carlisle as he helped the Red and White to push their win streak to seven. Saturday marked the fourth straight game and six of the last seven that Brandau has allowed single-digit goals.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE

Offensive Player of the Week
 Katie Fullowan, Sr., M, Gettysburg
 Lebanon, N.J. | North Hunterdon
 Fullowan led the Bullets to a 2-0 week to officially clinch one of the top two seeds in the conference tournament, registering six goals and two assists on the week. Her six goals came on just 13 shots. She tallied three goals and one assist in the 14-5 win at 10th-ranked Franklin & Marshall before adding the same in a 20-5 win over Ursinus. She also had four draw controls and four ground balls on the week.

Defensive Player of the Week
Meaghan Haughney, Fr., GK, Muhlenberg
Verona, N.J. | Verona 
Haughney compiled a 5.24 goals-against average and .591 save percentage to help the Mules to two wins that moved them into sole possession of fourth place in the Centennial Conference. She made five saves while allowing only four goals in a 14-5 home win against Swarthmore and stopped a career-high eight shots with five goals allowed in a 17-7 win at McDaniel. Haughney is 3-0 as a starter.

MEN'S TENNIS

Athlete of the Week
 Michael Melnikov, Fr., Swarthmore
 Karlsruhe, Germany
 Melnikov earned his third weekly honor of 2023 after going 2-0 at No. 1 doubles and 1-0 and No. 1 singles last week as the Garnet locked up the top seed in the Centennial Conference tournament. Melnikov's singles win was a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Washington College's Karl Hoegstedt, who is ranked eighth in the Atlantic South region. With the victory, Melnikov set a program record for singles victories (18) by a freshman. He also paired with Utham Koduri for victories in No. 1 doubles over Washington College and Franklin & Marshall.

WOMEN'S TENNIS

Athlete of the Week
Cassidy Landau, Sr., Franklin & Marshall 
Devon, Pa. | Conestoga
Landau went 3-1 on the week, highlighted by wins at No. 1 singles against both Swarthmore and Ursinus to help F&M lock up the No. 4 seed in this week's Centennial Conference Tournament. Landau was a perfect 2-0 on Senior Day Wednesday against Ursinus as she also teamed up with classmate Sammi Perry for that match. Landau's only loss of the week came at No. 1 doubles against the Garnet's regionally-ranked duo.

MEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD 

Track Athlete of the Week
Aidan Cantine, Sr., Swarthmore
Ridgewood, N.J. | Eastside Catholic
Cantine broke the Swarthmore outdoor record in the mile with a time of 4:05.85 at the Widener Invitational. Converted to 1500 meters, that time ranks tied for seventh in Centennial history and 10th in Division III this spring. 
 
Field Athlete of the Week
Ethan Hart, Jr., Dickinson
New Market, Md. | Linganore
Hart reset his own school record and posted the second-best shot put mark in Centennial history on Wednesday at Shippensburg. Hart delivered a shot put toss of 16.37 meters, which also ranks 11th on the national list this season. 

WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD  

Track Athlete of the Week
Rose Teszler, Sr., Swarthmore
Newton, Mass. | Newton North
Teszler broke the program record in the 800 meters at the Widener Invitational, crossing in 2:10.61 to finish in first place. The previous record of 2:12.48 was held by Rebecca Hammond since 2013. Teszler's time ranks sixth all-time in the CC and fourth in the nation this spring. 
 
Field Athlete of the Week
Abby Lienhard, Sr., Franklin & Marshall
Allentown, Pa. | Allentown Central Catholic
Lienhard posted the second-best long jump in the conference this season and the second best in F&M history as she was marked at 5.50 meters at the Rider Invitational on Saturday. That mark also ranks 39th in the nation this spring. She was later part of a 4x100 relay that became the second-fastest in school history.