UConn athletes dominate weekly conference awards

Thanks to the dominance of the UConn women’s basketball team and trophy cases filled with national championships from numerous programs, Huskies fans have become accustomed to UConn’s winning ways.

This week was a prime example as a slew of Huskies were honored with well-deserved accolades from their respective conferences.

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UConn men’s basketball

R.J. Cole - Big East Player of the Week

R.J. Cole has been a revelation for UConn men’s basketball in recent weeks with his strong play giving the Huskies a 1-2 punch offensively alongside James Bouknight. Over the last week alone, Cole led UConn to two conference victories and helped the Huskies lock up the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament that’s set to begin next Monday.

In those two contests, Cole accrued a total of 38 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds while picking plenty of opposing players’ pockets on the defensive end. This is Cole’s first Big East Player of the Week award since coming to UConn and is a sure indication that he’s ready to shine come postseason time.

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UConn women’s basketball

Aaliyah Edwards - Big East Freshman of the Week

If it wasn’t for Paige Bueckers, Edwards would be getting headlines as the top freshman sensation. While she’s had her ups and downs, Edwards certainly picked the right time to take her game to the next level and was rewarded with Big East Freshman of the Week honors.

In helping the Huskies rack up three wins during an undefeated week, Edwards put up 16.3 points and 9.3 rebounds while hitting almost every shot she took. Her 83.3 percent accuracy during this stretch helped her move into second place in the country for shooting percentage. She’s averaging a double-double over her last two games and looks primed to help the Huskies make another run at banner No. 12.

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UConn field hockey

Claire van den Noort - Big East Freshman of the Week

Two assists plus a stifling defensive performance during UConn field hockey’s 4-0 pummeling of Providence helped Claire van den Noort win Big East Freshman of the Week. The rookie standout now has three assists on the season and is making a name for herself on a Huskies team that has national championship aspirations under first-year head coach Paul Caddy.

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UConn women’s ice hockey

Savannah Bouzide - Hockey East Co-Player of the Week

UConn women’s ice hockey scored a resounding 5-1 victory over Boston College in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East Tournament with Savannah Bouzide’s three assists playing a major role in the win.

Her clutch performance earned her Hockey East Co-Player of the Week honors and extended her streak of consecutive games with an assist to four. She has six assists during that time and will look to keep her points parade going when the Huskies take on top-ranked Northeastern tomorrow in the Hockey East semifinals.

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UConn men’s ice hockey

Marc Gatcomb & Ryan Tverberg - Hockey East Top Performers

After letting a very winnable game against the Maine slip through their grasp on Friday, UConn men’s ice hockey’s Marc Gatcomb and Ryan Tverberg took matters into their own hands, helping the Huskies earn a much-needed win over the Black Bears on Saturday.

Tverberg put the game-winning goal in the back of the net and added an assist, while Gatcomb had a goal of his own after scoring once and assisting on two scores the day before. Their strong play earned both of them a spot on the Hockey East Top Performers list and helped UConn reclaim fourth place in the Hockey East Power Index. The Huskies will now face Providence on Friday to determine the four and five seeds in the upcoming Hockey East Tournament.

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UConn women’s lacrosse

Sydney Watson - Big East Midfielder of the Week

Blowouts of UMass Lowell and New Hampshire earned multiple UConn women’s lacrosse players a place on this week’s list of award winners. Sydney Watson led the way with a season-high six points on five goals in the Huskies’ 19-3 beatdown of New Hampshire and now has eleven goals and one assist on the season. Her stellar performance earned her Big East Midfielder of the Week honors.

Ariana Kline - Big East Defensive Player of the Week

On the defensive end, the Huskies surrendered just four goals per game during their two wins with sophomore standout Ariana Kline taking the Big East Defensive Player of the Week award as a result. Her disruptive play has kept UConn’s opponents from scoring at the best clip in the Big East so far this season and also helped them amass a goal differential of plus-23.

Lauren Barry - Big East Freshman of the Week

Newcomer Lauren Barry got in the action by scoring three goals against UNH. Her success at finding the back of the net made her an easy choice for Big East Freshman of the Week and helped the Huskies improve to 2-1 after starting the 2021 campaign with a loss to Hofstra.

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UConn softball

Briana Marcelino - Big East Player of the Week

UConn softball scored one of their biggest wins in recent history on Saturday when they defeated No. 21 Baylor, 7-3. Briana Marcelino led the way for the Huskies by belting a home run, plating three, and scoring two runs of her own while walking twice as part of a perfect 2-2 day at the dish. This clutch performance, combined with her overall slugfest of a week where she batted .417 overall and had a .563 on-base percentage, helped her win Big East Player of the Week.

Jana Sanden - Big East Freshman of the Week

Also playing a big part in the Huskies’ win over the Bears was Jana Sanden, who had a double, walk, and two runs batted in to help UConn pull off the upset. That stat line and a solid string of games earned Sanden Big East Freshman of the Week honors.