TNIAAM Athlete of the Week: National Champions Edition

After an exhilarating weekend for Syracuse Orange, we decided to do a special edition of the Athlete of the Week voting. Congratulations to last week's AOTW winner, Ben Polk.

First, let's give some recognition to other Syracuse athletes: Ice Hockey's Melissa Piacentini became the all-time leading scorer in SU history, Silvi Uattara led the Orange volleyball squad to a big road win at Pitt, Alexis Peterson led the Orange to a near-upset of Tennessee, Julian Buescher paced the Men's Soccer team with two assists in the win over Dartmouth advancing the Orange to the 3rd round, and the women's XC squad of Margo Malone, Shaylyn Tuite, Sydney Leiher, Cassia Hameline, Rebecca Skodis, Stephanie Bitcon, and Mary Malone earned the 2nd-highest place in program history with their 12th place NCAA finish this weekend.

Congratulations to these athletes, and no disrespect intended, but this week we are going to focus on Syracuse's two new NCAA Champions: Field Hockey and Men's XC. Let's meet our nominees:

Jess Jecko- Field Hockey

Jess was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team after her play helped secure the Orange's 4-2 win.  She finished the season with a record of 21-1 and allowed only 22 goals on the season.

Alma Fenne- Field Hockey

Syracuse's leading scorer during the 2015 season, Alma scored 5 goals during the Orange's NCAA run. She finished the year with 19 goals and 9 assists on the year and was also named to the NCAA All-Tournament team.

Emma Russell- Field Hockey

Emma finishes her career as the all-time Syracuse leader in goals (56) and points (137). The senior forward tallied 4 goals and 3 assists during the NCAA run.

Zoe Wilson- Field Hockey

Zoe made her 1st career goal a memorable one, as she notched the game-winning goal in the title game. The freshman was named to the All-Tournament team.

Alyssa Manley- Field Hockey

Alyssa was the key for the Orange defense all year. She finished her Syracuse career with the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award, and was also named to the All-Tournament team.

Justyn Knight- XC

Justyn capped his Sophomore year with a 4th place finish at the NCAA meet in a time of 29:46. He led the Orange in each meet he ran this year and earned All-America honors.

Colin Bennie- XC

Colin was the 2nd man all year for Syracuse and his 7th place finish (29:55) at the NCAA meet earned him All-America honors.

Martin Hehir- XC

Syracuse's most accomplished distance runner capped his career with an 8th place finish (29:59) and also earned All-America honors.

Philo Germano- XC

The surprise of the NCAA meet, Philo picked up 14 spots over the final 2k to help the Orange dethrone Colorado. Philo placed 39th in a time of 30:29 and captured All-America honors.

Joel Hubbard- XC

Joel's closing 2k picked up 4 valuable spots to help the Orange to the title. The junior ended up in 47th place in a time of 30:31.

Voting will close on Tuesday morning, and always write-in other candidates in the comments.

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