admin
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 15:58:08 +0000

Four Berks athletes garner weekly conference honor admin Wed, 04/18/2018 - 11:58 April 18, 2018
READING, Pa. — For the second week in a row, Penn State Berks swept the tennis and golf honors, as announced by the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) on Tuesday afternoon.

Diego Olazagasti was selected as the NEAC Men's Tennis Player of the Week, while Caroline Bashore was the NEAC Women's Tennis Player of the Week honoree. Matt Kreider was recognized as the NEAC Golfer of the Week for the second straight week.

Olazagasti, receiving the weekly honor for the first time of his career, finished the week 4-0 in singles and doubles action to help the men's tennis team to a pair of conference victories. He teamed up with Mostafa Rahmy for an 8-1 victory against Lancaster Bible College's top duo. Olazagasti then followed that up with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles. In a win over Penn State Abington, Olazagasti and Will Byler nabbed an 8-4 win at No. 1 doubles. Olazagasti capped off the perfect week with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph at second singles.

Bashore, who earned the conference award for the second time in her career, went 4-0 overall to help the women's tennis team go 2-0. Bashore and Laura Youwakim edged their opponents, 8-6, in No. 1 doubles against Lancaster Bible. She then had a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 2 singles. Against Penn State Abington, Bashore and Youwakim prevailed 8-3 against their top opposition. Bashore capped off her week with a 6-1, 6-1 win at second singles.

Kreider led the Penn State Berks golf team to a first place finish at the Ursinus College Spring Invitational. Kreider carded a 74 (+4) to finish tied with Danny Harcourt of Gettysburg at the top of the leaderboard. The tie-break was the score on the back-nine of the course, with Kreider recording a 36 and Harcourt had a 37. Kreider's 74 matched his best round of the season, which he had on March 31 to help Berks win the Scotland Run Shootout.

The men's and women's tennis programs will host the College of Saint Elizabeth in a NEAC contest on Wednesday, April 18 at 1 p.m. Men's golf will return to action with a tri-match against Alvernia University and Albright College on Monday, April 23 at Berkshire Country Club.

Also for the second week in a row, Jess Rozick was selected as the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Pitcher of the Week, as announced by the league office on Monday afternoon.

Rozick continued her dominance in the pitcher's circle to help the Nittany Lions to a perfect record this past week. The junior right-hander earned two wins and one save during her three appearances in the pitcher's circle. She did not allow any runs, while surrendering just five hits and striking out 26 batters. Rozick tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout with nine strikeouts and just one walk in a thrilling 2-0 win over Wilson College. She picked up a save by striking out the final batter with the tying run on base in a 3-1 victory in the second game versus Wilson. Rozick capped off her phenomenal week with a school-record 16 strikeouts in a two-hit, shutout over Penn State Abington.

For the season, Rozick is 7-5 with one save, 11 complete-games, four shutouts, 97 strikeouts, and has a 1.53 ERA in 78.0 innings of work. She ranks second in the NEAC in ERA, while her wins, strikeouts, and shutout totals are first in the conference.

Rozick and the Nittany Lions will travel to Albright College for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, April 17 at 3 p.m.