SUNYAC Athletes of the Week - January 5, 2026
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The SUNYAC picks its winter Athletes of the Week recognizing 9 student-athletes from six member institutions for their performances during the week ending January 4.
Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week - Deacon Judd, Oswego
The Lakers were on the road in Tennessee earlier this week and earned two impressive road wins lead by Judd. First against St Marys (MD), he scored 23 points while grabbing 14 rebounds. Then against Franklin, Judd added 15 more points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. So far he is 2nd in the conference in scoring (19.8), and fourth in rebounds (7.9).
Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week - Brianna Fitzgerald, New Paltz
Fitzgerald played all but one minute of a pair of wins for the Hawks at the Mike Scala Memorial Tournament. She scored 17 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds with four assists, two steals and a team-high three blocks. She then scored a game-high 22 points and ripped 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the year, while adding three assists, two steals and two blocks. Fitzgerald finished the weekend averaging nearly 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks while shooting more than 41 percent from the field to lead her team to a four-game winning streak to end 2025.
Men's Ice Hockey Athlete of the Week - Connor Gatto, Oswego
The Lakers hosted their annual Holiday Classic tournament this weekend and Connor Gatto added 3 points to his already great season. First against Williams, Gatto scored a goal and assisted on another. This tournament game was decided by a shoot out and Gatto buried his shoot out attempt for the Lakers. Then against Elmira, Gatto added another goal to help Oswego earn a decisive 6-2 win.
Men's Ice Hockey Goaltender of the Week - Tommy Aitken, Skidmore
Aitken stopped 31-of-33 shots (.939) on Friday night to lead Skidmore to a 3-2 overtime victory over nationally eighth-ranked Curry on the road. He kept the Thoroughbreds in it with 11 saves in the first period and 10 in the second while shutting out the Colonels over the final 39 minutes of the contest allowing for the come-from-behind win.
Men's Ice Hockey Rookie of the Week - Adam Ondris, Hobart
Ondris led the Statesmen with three points on two goals and an assist in Hobart's victory over Middlebury on Saturday. He scored a goal in the second period and then tacked on an insurance goal in the third period. Ondris added an assist in the first period. The Bratislava, Slovakia native, has five points on three goals and two assists through nine games this season.
Women's Ice Hockey Athlete of the Week - Katie Mahoney, Cortland
Mahoney was named the MVP of the Utica University Kick Off Tournament last weekend after helping lead the Red Dragons to the team title. The junior registered three points on two goals and an assist, with an on-ice rating of (+3) for the tournament. In the championship game against Wilkes on Sunday, Mahoney scored two goals in regulation, and also tallied the title-winning goal in the shootout for the Red Dragons. In a 2-1 overtime victory over nationally 13th-ranked Colby on Saturday, Mahoney provided the primary assist on the game-tying goal in the final minute of the third period.
Women's Ice Hockey Goaltender and Rookie of the Week - Eline Gillodes, Cortland
Gillodes was named to the all-tournament team for her role in helping Cortland claim the Utica University Kick Off Tournament title over the weekend. The freshman started both games in goal for the Red Dragons, finishing with a .917 save percentage and a 2.44 goals-against average in two games. In a 2-1 victory over nationally 13th-ranked Colby on Saturday, Gillodes stopped 34-of-35 shots to lead Cortland to the overtime win. She followed it up with a strong outing in the championship game against Wilkes on Sunday, making multiple clutch stops among her 21 saves, and also preventing Wilkes from scoring on three attempts in the shootout to secure the tournament title.
Men's Wrestler of the Week - Culley Bellino, Cortland
Bellino went 4-0, with all four wins by pin in less than two minutes each, to win the 141-pound title at the Williams College Open. He opened with a pin in 1:57 versus Nick Alves of Emmanuel, followed by a pin in 1:03 over Anthony Samuels (unattached from Sacred Heart). Bellino finished with pins over two unattached wrestlers from Springfield, winning in 43 seconds over Eddie Lavoie in the semifinals and in 1:13 over Ryan Kozdra in the finals. Bellino is 15-8 with 13 pins this season.
Men's Wrestling Rookie of the Week - Jackson Rush, RIT
Rush recorded a 2-0 record to help lead RIT to wins over Nassau Community College and Oswego. Rush pinned Jaime Sanchez in the Tigers 33-20 win over Nassau and picked up a 15-0 technical fall win over Ben Burkhart in RIT's 36-12 win over Oswego.
