2009-10 COOP Harvard Athlete of the Week
May 17, 2010
Blake Pucsek, Men's Heavyweight Crew
Blake Pucsek is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week, for the week ending May 16. Pucsek, the captain of the Harvard men’s heavyweight crew, represents a Crimson squad that claimed four gold medals and its 30th Rowe Cup as team champion at the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Sprints Championships May 16 on Lake Quinsigamond. Harvard captured its 26th EARC varsity eight title and 26th Ivy League crown. In the varsity eight race, Harvard avenged its only previous loss by beating third-place Brown and defeated runner-up Princeton. Joining Pucsek as first-team All-Ivy League honorees were fellow varsity oarsmen Patrick Lapage, Matt Edstein, Nick Jordan, David Wakulich, Sam O'Connor, Michael DiSanto and Anthony Locke and coxswain Kelly Evans. The Crimson also won gold medals in the freshman eight, freshman four and fourth varsity eight.
May 10, 2010
Justin Grinstead, Men's Track & Field
Justin Grinstead is the COOP Athlete of the Week, for the week ending May 9. Grinstead won the 400 meter hurdles at the Heptagonal Championships. The senior co-captain clocked in with a time of 52.19 seconds to successfully defend his title from last year. Grinstead claimed All-Ivy League first team honors for the second time in his career by winning the event. The product of Orillia, Ontario was Harvard's lone champion at the meet. Grinstead will compete at the IC4A Championships, May 14-16, after posting a qualifying time at the Heptagonal Championships.
May 3, 2010
Tom Nesel, Men's Lightweight Crew
Sophomore Tom Nesel of the Harvard lightweight crew is the COOP Athlete of the Week, for the week ending May 2. On May 1, the Crimson defeated No. 1 Princeton and No. 4 Yale to claim the Goldwaith Cup for the first time in four years with a time of 5:40.7, as well as the Vogel Cup for overall team supremacy. The varsity eight cruised to its first undefeated dual season since 1997, going 10-0 on the year. Nesel switched into the varsity eight midway through the week after a varsity rower got injured. With two practices between the switch and the HYP regatta - the biggest race of the dual season - Nesel had to adjust to a new crew and switch from port to the starboard side for the race.
Apr 26, 2010
Kevin Vaughan, Men's Lacrosse
Kevin Vaughan is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week, for the week ending April 25. Vaughan tallied three goals in the Crimson's 11-8 win over No. 6 Princeton, April 24. Vaughan's efforts helped Harvard pick up its first win over the Tigers since 1990. The sophomore netted Harvard's ninth goal of the game with 7:47 remaining in the fourth quarter, which would prove to be the game winner. The native of Ridgewood, N.J., fired seven shots on frame and also scooped up four groundballs in the contest.
Apr 19, 2010
Jennifer VanderMeulen, Women's Lacrosse
Jennifer VanderMeulen is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week for the week ending April 18. The freshman scored nine goals and posted two assists in back-to-back wins for the Crimson, including Harvard’s first win over Princeton in 17 tries. VanderMeulen scored six goals and had two assists in Harvard’s 15-9 midweek win over Holy Cross. The product of Liverpool, N.Y., scored a hat trick, won two draw controls and collected a ground ball in a win over Princeton despite being double and triple teamed all day. VanderMeulen scored a highlight reel goal in the first half, weaving through defenders en route to the cage. The rookie has 44 goals on the season and eight assists for 52 points.
Apr 12, 2010
Christo Schultz, Men's Tennis
Christo Schultz is the Harvard COOP athlete of the week, for the week ending April 11. Schultz posted a 4-0 record in the Crimson's two Ivy League wins. Schultz partnered with Aba Omodele-Lucien at the No. 1 doubles slot to pick up a 9-8 win against Princeton and an 8-5 victory against Penn. The freshman scored a 6-2, 6-4 win at the No. 6 singles position in Harvard's 5-2 win over Princeton. The product of Sudbury, Mass., earned a 6-3, 6-2 victory at the No. 5 singles spot to help the Crimson sweep Penn, 7-0.
Apr 5, 2010
Rachel Brown, Softball
Rachel Brown is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week, for the week ending April 4. Brown hurled her first career no-hitter as the Crimson swept Princeton, April 2. The sophomore struck out seven batters and only allowed two baserunners in the game. Brown picked up her sixth win of the season with the decision over the Tigers. The San Diego, Calif., product asserted her dominance early in the game as she struck out the side in the second inning.
Mar 30, 2010
Caroline Vloka, Fencing
Caroline Vloka is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week. Vloka claimed the sabre title at the NCAA Fencing Championships, March 25-26. The sophomore co-captain earned her second straight All-America first-team honors, as she earned 19 wins en route to her first-place finish. Vloka, who entered Friday in fifth, boasted a +42 indicator rating, collecting 102 touches in the preliminary rounds to receive the third seed in the semifinal round. In the semifinals, she faced Margarita Tschomakova of Ohio State and earned a 15-10 win to advance to the national final for the second consecutive year. Vloka fenced Duke’s Rebecca Ward in the championship bout, a rematch of last year’s final. Vloka got the better of her opponent this time around, as she scored a 15-13 victory, earning the national crown. A product of Upper Saddle River, N.J., Vloka became Harvard’s first female national champion since Emily Cross ’08-09 captured the foil title in 2005.
Mar 22, 2010
J.P. O'Connor, Wrestling
J.P. O’Connor is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week, for the week ending March 21. O’Connor won the 157 pound title at the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,919 at the Qwest Center. O’Connor is the third NCAA All-American for the Crimson and first to finish a season undefeated. O’Connor defeated Cal Poly’s Chase Pami, 6-4, to take the title and improve to 35-0 on the season. The senior out of Oxford, N.Y., outscored his opponents 51-10 at the NCAAs. He is the second three-time All-American at Harvard and finishes his career tied for first in program wins with 132. He shares the top spot with another national champion, Jesse Jantzen. He is the 16th All-American under Jay Weiss, the David G. Bunning '88 Head Coach for Harvard Wrestling and 23rd overall. This marks the fifth year in a row, the Crimson has had at least one All-American at the NCAA Championships.
Mar 15, 2010
James Hawrot, Fencing
James Hawrot is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week, for the week ending March 14. The Barrington, R.I., native captured first-place in the epee competition at the NCAA Northeast Regionals. The sophomore posted a 4-2 record in the opening round of bouts, a 5-1 mark in the second pool and won eight bouts in the final round.
Mar 8, 2010
Colin West, Men's Squash
Colin West of the Harvard men’s squash team is the COOP Athlete of the Week, for the week ending March 7. The senior co-captain capped a 16-1 season by going 5-0 at the College Squash Association Individual Championships, as won the individual national title and took home the Pool Cup. West swept the "A" Division national final against Princeton's Todd Harrity, winning in consecutive games. West took the first game, 11-9, before claiming game two in overtime, 13-11. He then clinched the national crown with an 11-1 showing in game three.
Mar 1, 2010
Women’s Squash
The Harvard women’s squash team is the Harvard COOP Athletes of the Week, for the week ending Feb. 28. The top-ranked Harvard women’s squash team captured the 12th national title in program history, as the Crimson won the College Squash Association national women’s team championship Sunday. Harvard defeated No. 3 Penn by a score of 6-3 to grab its first national crown since 2001.
Feb 22, 2010
Randi Griffin, Women's Ice Hockey
Randi Griffin is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week for the week ending Feb. 20. Griffin was the hero of the weekend as No. 5 Harvard defeated St. Lawrence and tied Clarkson in crucial ECAC Hockey games. In the Crimson’s 2-1 win over St. Lawrence, the senior forward netted a penalty shot with 25 seconds remaining to give Harvard the lead and eventually the win. The following afternoon, Griffin recorded her first career hat trick in her final regular season game, potting a trio of goals in the second period to spur Harvard to a 3-3 tie with No. 6 Clarkson. Griffin’s natural hat trick is the second time that a Crimson player has lit the lamp three times in one period this season.
Feb 16, 2010
Kyle Casey, Men's Basketball
Kyle Casey is the Harvard COOP athlete of the week, for the week ending Feb. 15. In Harvard’s two wins this weekend, Casey averaged 23.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 52 percent overall (13-25 FG), 67 percent from 3-point range (6-9) and 88 percent at the free throw line (15-17 FT). He had 20 points and seven rebounds at Yale and tied a career-high with 27 points to go with nine rebounds at Brown in a game in which he was 8-of-9 from the floor, 3-of-3 from deep and 8-of-9 at the free throw line. The freshman was tabbed the Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Week for his performance, marking the first time that a first-year player garnered the league’s top honor since Jan. 28, 2002.
Feb 8, 2010
Devan Kennifer, Women's Water Polo
Devan Kennifer is the Harvard COOP athlete of the week, for the week ending Feb. 7. Kennifer tallied 15 goals in four games at the Harvard Invitational. The sophomore recorded four hat tricks, one in each of the Crimson’s four wins. She netted three goals in the season opener against Villanova. The Monterey Bay, Calif. native scored four goals in the nightcap on day one of the Harvard Invitational. Kennifer netted a hat trick in the third game of the season and capped off the weekend with a five-goal performance. Kennifer’s scores helped the Crimson win its first four games of the season.
Feb 1, 2010
Laura Gemmell, Women’s Squash
Laura Gemmell is the Harvard COOP athlete of the week, for the week ending Jan. 31. Gemmell posted two wins at the top position in the week to spur the No. 1 Crimson past No. 2 Trinity and No. 6 Stanford. The freshman rolled through both matches, winning in straight games. Gemmell, ranked No. 3 in the College Squash Association individual poll, defeated Pamela Hathway of Trinity, the top-ranked player in the CSA rankings. Gemmell now stands at 5-0 on the season at the No. 1 spot.
Jan 25, 2010
Zac Ranta, Men's Swimming & Diving
Zac Ranta is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week, for the week ending Jan. 24. Ranta placed first in three of the four diving events in a 2-0 weekend for the Crimson. The junior claimed the three-meter competition against Brown with a score of 331.88 and placed third in the one-meter. In Harvard’s 201-99 win over Boston University, Ranta swept both diving events. The Hales Corner, Wis. native earned a first-place finish in the three-meter with a score of 331.20 and completed the sweep by scoring 274.50 points in the one-meter, good for first-place.
Jan 19, 2010
Louis Leblanc, Men's Ice Hockey
Louis Leblanc is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week, for the week ending Jan. 18. Leblanc recorded back-to-back multiple goal games as he lit the lamp twice in wins over Yale, Jan. 12, and Dartmouth, Jan. 18. He becomes the first Crimson player to accomplish this feat since February 2003. The freshman notched both game winners in Harvard’s two games this week. He has registered three of the four game winning goals scored by the Crimson this season and leads the team in the category. Leblanc also paces the squad with eight goals and is second in points with 14. The Kirkland, Quebec native was tabbed the Rookie of the Week by ECAC Hockey.
Jan 11, 2010
Keith Wright, Men's Basketball
Keith Wright is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week, for the week ending Jan. 11. Wright, who led all scorers in the game, posted a career-high 22 points in Harvard’s Ivy League opener against Dartmouth, Jan. 10. He also added three blocks, a steal and pulled down six rebounds in the Crimson’s 76-47 victory. The sophomore power forward poured in 16 points in the first half and shot 11-for-16 for the game.
Jan 4, 2010
Louis Caputo, Wrestling
Louis Caputo is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week for the week ending Jan. 3. Caputo placed fifth at the 47th Midland Championships, one of the most prestigious tournaments. The tournament was the senior co-captains first wrestling match of the season for the Crimson. Caputo posted a 4-2 record at the two-day event and improved to 22-12 at the tournament in his career. The 184-pound grappler won his first two matches before falling to fifth seed and eventual champion John Dergo of Illinois, 6-3. In the wrestlebacks, Caputo defeated Jerome Ward of Iowa State, the eighth seed and No. 12 wrestler in the nation, 3-1 in sudden victory. After falling to the three seed Phil Keddy, Caputo handed Grant Gramball a 5-0 defeat to place for the fourth time in his career at Midlands.
Dec 14, 2009
Brogan Berry, Women's Basketball
Brogan Berry is the COOP Athlete of the Week for the week ending Dec. 13. Berry dropped a career-high 31 points in a 90-85 double-overtime victory over Northeastern. She connected on 10-of-18 shooting from the field, including three treys. Berry was just two assists shy of a double-double as she dished out eight helpers in the game. The sophomore guard also pulled down three rebounds, recorded a steal and drained 8-of-9 free throws in the win.
Dec 7, 2009
Christina Kessler, Women's Ice Hockey
Christina Kessler is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week for the week ending Dec. 6. Kessler recorded her third and fourth shutouts of the season over the weekend. The senior goaltender made 24 saves to earn the win in a 1-0 victory over No. 2 Minnesota, Dec. 4. Kessler followed with a similar performance the following afternoon, blanking the Gophers for the second-straight game in a scoreless tie where she turned aside all 29 shots that she faced. Kessler’s two clean sheets marks the first time that Minnesota has been held scoreless since 2007. Entering the two-game series, No. 2 Minnesota was averaging 3.69 goals per game. Kessler and the Crimson also snapped the Gophers’ six-game unbeaten streak with the 1-0 win. She was tabbed the ECAC Goaltender of the Week for her performance between the pipes.
Nov 30, 2009
Caroline Vloka, Fencing
Caroline Vloka is the COOP Athlete of the Week for the week ending Nov. 29. Vloka posted an 18-0 record in the sabre at the Harvard Invitational. Vloka helped the Crimson earn victories over perennial powerhouses Princeton and Penn State, the defending national champions, as well as North Carolina, NYU, Sacred Heart and Vassar. The sophomore co-captain won the decisive bout to give Harvard a 14-13 win over Penn State.
Nov 23, 2009
Chris Lorditch, Football
Chris Lorditch is the Harvard COOP athlete of the week for the week ending Nov. 22. Lorditch caught the game-winning touchdown with 1:32 left to play in the 126th edition of "The Game" against archrival Yale. Lorditch cut across the middle of the field and then swiftly past two defenders up the seam as quarterback Collier Winters lofted a perfect pass over the inside coverage which Lorditch took in stride and waltzed into the endzone to complete the Crimson's stunning comeback. The junior wide receiver out of Chalfont, Pa., finished the contest with 104 yards on five catches with the one score. Lorditch and Winters also connected for the longest play of the game, a 46-yard reception in the second quarter. Lorditch closed out the 2009-10 campaign as Harvard's leading receiver, reeling in 30 receptions for 545 yards with five touchdowns.
Nov 16, 2009
Richard Smith, Men's Soccer
Richard Smith is the Harvard COOP athlete of the week for the week ending Nov. 15. Smith tallied his first collegiate goal in the Crimson’s 1-0 win over Penn. With the win, Harvard clinched its 13th Ivy League regular-season title. Smith, a central defender, also played a vital role in the Crimson earning its eighth shutout of the season as the stingy defense held the Quakers to just two shots on goal in the game.
Nov 9, 2009
Alex Chi, Men's Soccer
Alex Chi is the COOP Athlete of the Week for the week ending Nov. 8. Chi netted his second goal of the season in an overtime thriller at Columbia. Chi notched the game winner 4:33 into overtime, blasting the ball into the goal over Columbia's goalie off a cross. WIth the win, the Crimson remain on top of the Ivy League standings heading into the final week of the regular season. Chi was also recognized as the Ivy League Player of the Week.
Nov 1, 2009
Daniel Chenoweth, Cross Country
Daniel Chenoweth is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week for the week ending Nov. 1. Chenoweth took the Ivy League individual crown at the 2009 Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships held at Van Cortlandt Park. He becomes the first Crimson runner to win the title since Ian Carswell did it in 1995. Chenoweth clocked with a time of 25:09.2, 10.5 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Chenoweth helped Harvard to its second straight sixth place finish at the event.
Oct 25, 2009
Mikaelle Comrie, Women's Volleyball
Mikaelle Comrie is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week for the week ending Oct. 25. Comrie led the Crimson with 24 kills over the weekend. She posted 16 kills against Brown in a 3-0 victorious sweep and eight against Yale in a 3-0 loss. Against Brown, the outside hitter came up one kill shy of her season-high of 17 kills in a match. Comrie added three digs and three blocks in the two matches.
Oct 19, 2009
Ann Carroll Ingersoll, Women's Volleyball
Ann Carroll Ingersoll is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week for the week ending Oct. 18. Ingersoll led the Crimson with eight blocks versus Princeton and seven against Penn over the weekend. She posted 12 and seven kills against Princeton and Penn, respectively. Ingersoll’s offensive and defensive prowess played a critical role in the Crimson’s defeat of the Tigers, the first win over the conference foe since 2002.
Oct 12, 2009
Katherine Sheeleigh, Women's Soccer
Sheeleigh scored three goals this week, including two in the first half in Wednesday's 4-1 win against Fairfield. She also scored in Harvard's 2-0 win at Cornell Saturday. The Crimson has won four games in a row, and Sheeleigh leads the team with 13 points on five goals and three assists.
Oct 5, 2009
Brian Rogers, Men's Soccer
Rogers tallied the golden goal in the 103rd minute to lift Harvard over archrival Yale 1-0. Rogers’ fifth goal of the season gave the Crimson its first conference victory and seventh win of the year.
Sep 28, 2009
Max Eliot, Water Polo
Max Eliot is the Harvard COOP Athlete of the Week for the week ending Sept. 27. Eliot led the Harvard charge with a career-high five goals, while also making three steals and drew four ejections in a Collegiate Water Polo Association match against Queens (N.Y). The victory was the Crimson’s second consecutive CWPA Northern Division win of the season.
Sep 21, 2009
Sammy Silva, Cross Country
Silva led the Crimson to a first place finish at the Iona Meet of Champions by winning the 6k race at Van Cortlandt Park, the first race of her collegiate career. She crossed the finish line 18 seconds ahead of the field, helping the team to its best finish at the meet in the 15-year history of the event.
Sep 14, 2009
Jamie Rees, Men's Soccer
Rees scored a pair of goals this week, including the game-winner as Harvard knocked off No. 14 Boston University. The sophomore midfielder banged in a rebound late in the first half against the Terriers, and the tally held up as the difference in a 1-0 Crimson win. Rees also scored in Monday's win at Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Boston College and contributed to Harvard's three shutout wins this week, helping Harvard climb to No. 12 in the Soccer America national poll.
Sep 8, 2009
Chloe Keating, Field Hockey
Keating scored two goals and assisted on another for a five-point game, leading the Crimson to a 4-1 win at Holy Cross to open the season Saturday. Keating had a hand in each of Harvard's first two goals, scoring the first and assisting freshman Emma Keller on the eventual game-winner. She added an insurance tally in the second half. Keating led all players with four shots on goal.
