TROY, N.Y. – The Liberty League has announced its weekly award winners in women’s basketball and women’s swimming & diving and three Rensselaer student-athletes have been selected. Whitney Coleman was named Guard of the Week in women’s basketball, while Kelsey Manley and Christina Provenza were tabbed Diver and Rookie of the Week, respectively, in women’s swimming & diving.
Coleman, who hails from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., led RPI in scoring last week, averaging 15.5 points and 12.0 rebounds, as the Engineers went 1-1 in Liberty League action, last week. She also collected six assists, six blocked shots and two steals. In the team's 51-38 win over Union on Friday, she recorded 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two assists. She then had 15 points, 11 boards, one assist and two blocks in a 58-49 loss to Skidmore on Saturday.
Through 18 games, Coleman leads the Liberty League in scoring (18.3) and is second in rebounding (8.8). Her 3.8 assists per game ranks third among league competitors. An Etiwanda High School graduate, she also third in assist/turnover ratio (1.17/1), fifth in blocked shots (0.94) and seventh in steals (2.2). This is the seventh Guard of the Week honor for the graduate student, this season.
Manley, a senior from Southbury, Conn., earned her third Diver of the Week award this season by posting a 1-2 finish in the diving events against Skidmore - a 169-66 dual meet win for RPI. She finished first off the 1-meter board with 243.00 points and was second in the 3-meter event with 222.31 points. As a team, the Engineers improved to 4-2 in dual meet action, winning 12 of 13 events against the Thoroughbreds.
The Diver of the Year for the second straight season at the Liberty League Championships, Manley is a graduate of Sacred Heart Academy. She has had a number of solid performances this season, including a three-win week in which she was victorious off the 1-meter board in a win over Vassar and then swept both diving events in a narrow loss at Hartwick.
A freshman from Millersville, Md., Provenza was the only swimmer to post three victories in Saturday's win at Skidmore. She won the 50-free with a time of 26.74 and claimed first in the 500-free with a mark of 5:31.35. The Severna Park High School graduate also helped the 200-medley relay team to victory with a time of 1:59.32.
The women’s basketball team (11-7; 6-1 Liberty League) returns to action this Friday and Saturday, when it hosts Clarkson (6pm) and St. Lawrence (2pm), respectively. Both games will feature live stats, available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/rpi/wbball/index.htm and can be seen live on a pay-per-view basis through the B2 Networks at http://www.b2tv.com/partner_members.asp?id=27. The men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams visit Hamilton for a dual meet on Saturday (2pm).