Hislop and Joyce named soccer Players of the Week, four others grab Freshman of the Week accolades

RINDGE, N.H. (October 11, 2005) – Six Franklin Pierce student-athletes were selected to receive honors by the Northeast-10 Conference office this afternoon. Two collected Player of the Week awards, while four others were named Freshman of the Week in their respective sports.

All-Americans Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern Ireland) and Christopher Joyce (Jarrow, England) collected NE-10 soccer Player of the Week honors. Jacob Greene (Gardner, Mass./The Winchendon School) earned Freshman of the Week for men’s golf, Dixon Simmons (Narragansett, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) collected the award for men’s tennis, while Nicole Buchholz (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) and Rebecca Westbury (Northbridge, Mass./Northbridge) were named Freshman of the Week in volleyball and women’s soccer, respectively.

Hislop was named women’s soccer Player of the Week for the second-straight week and third time this season overall (16th career) after she played a role in all five of the No. 8-ranked Ravens goals in a 2-0 week. She totaled three goals (two match-winners) and two assists for a team-best eight points and in the process became just the second player in program history to reach the 200-career point in program history.

Hislop netted two goals and assisted on another as Franklin Pierce posted a 3-0 victory over Le Moyne College on Wednesday. Her opening goal, just 6:33 into the match, put her over the 200-point plateau. Hislop registered a goal and assist in the Ravens key 2-0 victory over No. 19 UMass Lowell on Saturday.

Hislop, a two-time All-American and reigning NE-10 Player of the Year, leads the Northeast-10 with 45 points and 19 goals (six match-winners) to go with seven assists. Her 207 career points are good for tenth in Division II history, while she has also totaled 81 goals and 45 assists in her three years at the College.

Joyce was named men’s soccer Player of the Week for the second time this season (third career) after he scored a pair of second-half goals in the Ravens key 3-1 comeback victory over Le Moyne, ranked fourth in the New England region, last Tuesday. Joyce’s first goal proved to be the match winner when he headed in a free kick in the 52nd minute. He later added an insurance goal in the 70th minute to cap the Ravens three-goal second half flurry that erased a 1-0 halftime deficit.

Joyce leads the Northeast-10 with 27 points and 12 goals (five match-winners) to go with three assists in his second season with the Ravens. He ranks among career leaders at the College with 79 points and 34 goals to go with 11 assists for his career at Franklin Pierce.

Greene collected men’s golf Freshman of the Week honors for the first time after carding a three-over-par 74 to finish just one stroke off the pace set by the medallists at the Saint Anselm Fall Classic on Thursday. His season-low round led the Ravens to a second-place finish among the five competing schools and was good for third place overall.

Greene leads Franklin Pierce with an 80.57 stroke average through his first four collegiate events. He also led all Ravens at the Northeast-10 Championships with a two-day total of 159 to tie for 19th place overall.

Buchholz collected volleyball Freshman of the Week honors for the first time after averaging 5.09 kills per game, while hitting .509, with 1.00 blocks per game in a 2-1 week for the Ravens. She led Franklin Pierce to a 3-1 non-conference win at Post University, on Wednesday, as she totaled 19 kills, with just one error, for a .783 hitting percentage to go with five blocks. In Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Le Moyne College, Buchholtz registered 17 kills, without an error, for a .607 hitting percentage and four blocks. She registered a season-best 20 kills to go with two blocks in a 3-1 setback to NE-10 leaders College of Saint Rose on Saturday, still posting a .317 hitting percentage.

Buchholtz is hitting a team-best .264 in her first collegiate season, while averaging a team-high 3.49 kills (ninth NE-10) and 0.85 blocks per game.

Simmons, the men’s tennis Freshman of the Week for the first time, was a double-winner in his collegiate debut against Saint Michael’s College on Thursday. He teamed with sophomore Austin Gardella (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) for an 8-0 victory at No. 1 doubles, and then posted a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 triumph at No. 1 singles.

Westbury, also a first time Freshman of the Week in women’s soccer, netted a goal and also backboned a Ravens defensive unit that posted back-to-back shutouts in a 2-0 week. She helped limit Le Moyne to eight shots, including just five on goal in Wednesday’s 3-0 win. Westbury scored the Ravens insurance marker and helped hold No. 19 UMass Lowell to just three shots (one on goal) in Saturday’s key 2-0 win.

Westbury has started all 12 matches for the Ravens in her first collegiate season and scored two goals for four points. She has also played a key role on a defensive unit that ranks fifth in the Northeast-10 with a 0.82 team goals against average and six shutouts.