POTSDAM -- In the past seven days, the Clarkson University Athletic Department performed incredibly well in several sports, posting a 7-0-1 record, and the Golden Knights were justifiably rewarded with six Liberty League Weekly awards on Monday.
Leading the way was a repeat performance from a pair of Clarkson Volleyball team members as junior Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, NY) and freshman Lani Durio (Austin, TX) each picked up the honors once again. Artus, the Liberty League Co-Performer of the Week, picked apart opponents all weekend with 49 kills in just 10 sets, helping the Knights to a perfect 4-0 weekend. Durio, the Liberty League Co-Rookie of the Week and MVP of the North Country Invitational, recorded 91 assists, 13 kills, 6 aces, and 19 digs, most of which came in three matches as she and Artus sat out one of the blowout victories.
Also gaining a nod for the second straight week, junior Alex Benway (Queensbury, NY) was chosen as the Liberty League Co-Performer of the Week from Clarkson Men’s Cross Country team. Benway came through with a first-place finish at the 2010 North Country Five Meet held at Paul Smiths College on Wednesday afternoon, winning the 5-kilometer race with a time of 16:53.8. Benway wasn’t alone for the Golden Knights’ harriers as freshman Catherine Zarnofsky (Glenville, NY), the Liberty League Co-Rookie of the Week, was seventh overall in the same event on the women’s side, pacing Clarkson with a time of 22:14.2.
Freshman Kurt Knolle (East Aurora, NY) of the Clarkson Men’s Soccer team was named the Liberty League Co-Rookie of the Week for his part in an impressive 4-3 come-from-behind victory against Geneseo. Knolle scored a pair of goals within a five-minute span to key the Knights’ unlikely comeback as Clarkson scored four times in the second half to erase a three-goal deficit.
Junior Alix Petitti (Amsterdam, NY) of the Clarkson Women’s Soccer team matched Knolle’s performance in Thursday’s win against Potsdam State, scoring twice in the second half to lift the Knights to a 3-1 win, picking up Liberty League Co-Defender of the Week honors in the process. Petitti, a midfielder/back, helped hold Clarkson’s opponents to a single goal in 180 minutes, doubling the opponents’ output by herself.
