GNAC Players of the Week: January 25

By Melissa Maitland

GNAC Sports Information Specialist

Stephanie Fox (Women's Basketball, Simmons), Zach Hansen (Men's Volleyball, Rivier), Bryan Rouse (Men's Basketball, Emerson), and Brittany Torelli (Women's Swimming, Simmons) have been named Great Northeast Athletic Conference Players of the Week.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Women's Basketball - Stephanie Fox, Simmons, Sr., West Springfield, Mass.
Weekly Totals
Points (52/26.00 per game), Rebounds (14/7.00 per game) Assists (7/3.5 per game)

Fox and the Sharks are off to their best-ever conference start, going 2-0 for the week, for a conference record of 4-1.  Fox, who had 9 blocked shots on the week, set the single season block shot record for the Sharks with 49 blocked shots to date.  Fox also is close to adding her name to the Simmons 1,000 career points club after scoring 52 points this week.  At the end of the week she is just 42 points shy of 1,000 career points.  Simmons defeated St. Joseph's (ME), 65-57, on Jan. 23 and Pine Manor, 87-46, on Jan. 18.   Fox is ranked 1st in the GNAC in blocked shots (3.1 per game) and defensive rebounding (7.1 rpg), 2nd in scoring (16.1 ppg), 3rd in free throw percentage (.820) and 3-point field goal percentage (.429), 6th in rebounding (9.1 rpg), and 11th in field goal percentage (.442) and assists (2.9 apg).  This is the first time this season that Fox has been named as a GNAC Player of the Week.  Simmons is currently in four-way tie for 1st place in the GNAC, with a conference record of 4-1 and an overall record of 12-5.  Fox will have a chance to inch closer to the 1,000 point club when she and the Sharks travel to Emmanuel to face the 2009 GNAC Champions on Jan. 28.

Men's Volleyball - Zach Hansen, Rivier, Sr., Shelton, Conn.
Weekly Totals
Kills (13), Assists (277), Digs (35), Blocks (14), Aces (8)

The 2009 GNAC Champion Raiders, currently ranked #5 in Division III, are off to an impressive start with wins over four nationally ranked Division III teams, as well as a 3-2 triumph over Division I Sacred Heart on Jan. 23.  Hansen is leading the offense for the Raiders who have team hitting percentage of .345, including a game-high of .488 against #11 ranked Ramapo College on Jan. 22.  In six matches over 21 sets, Hansen averaged 13.19 assists, 1.40 points, 1.67 digs, 0.67 blocks, and 0.38 aces per set.  On Jan. 26 Hansen was named the Sports Imports/AVCA Men's Division III National Player of the Week for his impressive statistics.  Rivier began its season on Jan. 17, defeating #15 ranked Medelle, 3-1, and #10 ranked Baruch, 3-0.  The Raiders also defeated #9 Philadelphia Biblical, 3-1, on Jan. 23.  This is the first time this season that Hansen has been named as a GNAC Player of the Week.  The Raiders are in 1st place in the GNAC, with a conference record of 3-0 and an overall record of 8-0.  Rivier's next match is against Springfield College on Jan. 30.

Men's Basketball - Bryan Rouse, Emerson, Sr., East Greenwich, R.I.
Weekly Totals
Points (46/23.00 per game), Rebounds (16/8.00 per game), Assists (2/1.00 per game)

Rouse led Emerson to a 2-0 week with victories over Johnson & Wales, 72-65, on Jan. 18 and Norwich, 76-62, on Jan. 23, to keep the Lions tied for the top spot in the GNAC.  Rouse led his team in scoring in both contests, scoring 24 points against the Wildcats and 22 points against the Cadets.  Rouse shot 56% from the field, including 2-4 from 3-point range and .714 from the free throw line for the week.  This is the second time this season and second week in a row that Rouse has received GNAC Player of the Week honors.  As of Jan. 19, Rouse is ranked 4th in the GNAC in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game.  Emerson is currently tied for 1st place in the GNAC, with a conference record of 8-1 and an overall record of 11-5.  Emerson next travels to face St. Joseph's (ME) on Jan. 28. 

Women's Swimming - Brittany Torelli, Simmons, Sr., Waterbury, Conn.

Torelli made the most of her final home swim meet at Simmons, taking home two 1st place finishes and one 2nd place finish.  Torelli won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:13.86, just a few hundredths off pace from her lifetime best and three seconds faster than her best this season.  She finished 2nd in the 200-yard breaststroke with a lifetime best time of 2:39.96.  Torelli also swam the breaststroke leg of the 200-yard medley relay, which finished in 1st place, and anchored the 800-yard freestyle relay for the Sharks.  Torelli's victories proved not to be enough, as Simmons was defeated 158-137 by UMass Dartmouth on Jan. 20.  This is the first time this season that Torelli has been named as a GNAC Player of the Week.  The 2009 GNAC Champion Sharks' next meet is Jan. 30 at Western New England College.