University of Massachusets Athletics
Six UMass Student-Athletes Earn Atlantic 10 Weekly Honors
October 18, 2004 | General
Oct. 18, 2004
AMHERST, Mass. - Six UMass student-athletes earned Atlantic 10 weekly honors in football, men's soccer, women's soccer, field hockey and women's cross country as announced by the league office on Monday.
In addition to the league honors, junior tailback Steve Baylark (Apopka, Fla.) of the football team and sophomore midfielder Richie Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii) of the men's soccer team were named the Dinn Brothers/UMass Co-Athletes of the Week.
Higa led the way as he was named the league's men's soccer player of the week after helping the Minutemen to a 2-0 weekend with wins over Dayton (10/15) and Xavier (10/17).
Higa tallied three goals in wins over Dayton (10/15) and Xavier (10/17). He scored the second goal of the game against Dayton putting UMass up 2-0 in an eventual 3-2 overtime victory. In the match against Xavier, he scored the opening goal and game-tying goal with 16 seconds remaining in regulation against Xavier. He tallied six total points on three goals, while taking just three shots. He now has four goals and one assist for nine points on the season ranking third on the team.
The men's soccer team is now tied with Temple for third-place in the A-10 with a 6-6-2 overall record and a 3-1-2 league record.
Freshman forward Britt Canfield (Granville, Mass.) earned women's soccer co-rookie of the week honors along with Kristin Hextall of La Salle. Canfield scored twice in the Minutewomen's win over Fordham on Sunday posting two goals in a span of one-minute, 13-seconds. Canfield now leads UMass with eight goals on the season for 16 points.
Last week, Canfield was named the league's rookie of the week and the Dinn Brothers/UMass Athlete of the Week after scoring three goals in three games, including the game-winner against Temple in overtime.
The Minutewomen moved into a seventh-place tie with La Salle in the A-10 with a 5-8-0 overall record and a 3-4-0 league record.
In field hockey, Kara Murphy (Dedham, Mass.) earned rookie of the week honors as she led UMass to a perfect 3-0 week including wins over A-10 rivals Temple (10/15) and St. Joseph's (10/17).
Murphy notched game-winning goals against New Hampshire (10/13) and Temple (10/15) for the week. The freshman also recorded an assist against UNH. The goals and assist were all the first of her career.
UMass now ranks second in the Atlantic 10 with a 3-1 record and is 6-11 overall on the season.
For the second week, freshman Christina Derosa (Sound Beach, N.Y.) has earned women's cross country rookie of the week honors after leading UMass for the fifth-consecutive race this season.
She captured a ninth-place finish in 18 minutes, 16 seconds at the Albany Invitational (10/16) marking her top-time of the season on a 5K course. For DeRosa this was the third time in five races where she finished in the top-10.
The women's cross country team will break for the next week in preparation for the Atlantic 10 Championship on Oct. 30 at Duquesne.
Baylark was named Atlantic 10 Co-Offensive Player of the Week and safety Shannon James (Stratford, Conn.) was named A-10 Defensive Player of the Week after their big games in UMass' 38-21 win over No. 7 New Hampshire. Baylark piled up a career-high 192 yards and James had two interceptions in the win.
Baylark rushed for 192 yards and three touchdowns on 43 carries -- all of which are career-bests. It marked his second 100-yard rushing performance of the season and eighth of his career. He scored on runs of five, nine and two yards. He also added one reception for 28 yards. His 43 totes are the third-highest single-game total in program history.
Baylark shared the award with Villanova sophomore quarterback Marvin Burroughs, who threw for five TD's in the Wildcats' 49-10 win.
James registered his third two-interception game of the season in Massachusetts, giving him a league-best seven interceptions this season. Collected seven tackles, including one for loss. James is tied with former standout Jeremy Robinson (1998-01) for fourth place in UMass history with 15 career interceptions. Earned his second A-10 Defensive Player of the Week award this season (Oct. 3) and third of his career.
Fans are invited to UMass' Weekly Sports Luncheon this Wednesday, Oct. 20th held in the Student Union Ball Room.
Each week the luncheon features UMass Athletics coaches, athletes and administrators who speak tothe friends and supporters of the program and faciliate questions. This week's speaker list includes head football coach Don Brown, head men's basketball coach Steve Lappas, and head hockey coach Don "Toot" Cahoon.
A $7 donation includes a full-course lunch buffett. For more iformation on the Sports Lunheon, please call 413-545-4290.