Joe Glowacki

Cathedral Prep graduate Joe Glowacki recently finished a successful college swimming career at the University of Connecticut.

Glowacki, who graduated cum laude with a 4.0 grade-point average in his final semester, was a team captain and four-time member of the Big East All-Academic Team. The butterfly specialist, a state medalist in high school, made the top 16 in the 100-yard and 200-yard fly in the Big East championship meet all four years.

Read more on Glowacki in this week’s On Campus notebook.

Emma Swabb

Also featured in this week’s notebook:

• McDowell graduate Emma Swabb was named Washington & Lee’s Outstanding First Year Female Athlete of the Year after a record-setting freshman swimming season. She helped the Generals to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship and was named first-team all-ODAC after winning two individual events and competing on two winning relay teams at the ODAC meet.

• Gannon swimmer Michael Decsey and water polo player Daisuke Takagi were named to the Capital One Academic All-District II men’s at-large first team. Also, Point Park senior Lindsay Dill, a cross country runner and McDowell graduate, was named to the Capital One Academic All-District College Division First Team by the College Sports Information 
Directors of America.

• Also read about Mercyhurst North East softball players Ronette Claar and Alayna Carlson making the National Fastpitch Coaches Association all-East Region first team.

As the college spring sports seasons come to a close, area athletes continue to collect postseason accolades.

Aaron Cressley

Nick Grow

In this week’s On Campus notebook, read about a pair of former Erie County 
high school pitching standouts — Corry’s Aaron Cressley and North East’s Nick Grow – earning all-conference honors.

Cressley, a sophomore pitcher at Pitt-Bradford, was named to the AMCC second team after leading the team with a 2.25 ERA.

Grow, a relief pitcher for Westminster, was named to the honorable-mention all-Presidents’ Athletic Conference team. He broke the Titans’ single-season saves record with eight and set the career saves mark with 11.

Three area softball players recently were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association Atlantic Region all-star team. Mercyhurst sophomore Shaina 
Bunker and Edinboro senior catcher 
Marissa Pullo made the first team, while Gannon freshman center fielder Alexa Archambeault made the Atlantic Region second team.

Also featured in this week’s notebook:

• McDowell graduates De’Vion Tate and John Dahlstrand helped Akron’s track team win the Mid-American Conference outdoor championship.

• Fort LeBoeuf grad Anthony Peluso, a sophomore at Seton 
Hill, was a member of a WVIAC-title winning 400-meter relay team.

• Mercyhurst North East recently named Conneaut Lake graduate Aaron Smith its Outstanding Wrestler of the Year.

Get all the details in this week’s On Campus notebook.

Iroquois graduate Becky Zill finished her college softball career in memorable fashion.

Becky Zill

Niagara University catcher hit a walk-off home run in her team’s regular-season finale. She finished her four-year career with 26 homers for the Purple Eagles, who finished the season going 1-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament.

Read about Zill’s accomplishments in this week’s On Campus notebook.

Also this week, find out about Edinboro senior guard Kiara Brown claiming another honor to add to her standout basketball career for the Fighting Scots.

The two-time All-American will have her No. 12 jersey placed on display at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn. The jersey will hang in the Hall’s Ring of Honor display alongside jerseys of high school and college All-Americans from around the nation.

Also, Cathedral Prep graduate Tommy Steele and Iroquois grad Rachael Ragen earned the Most Improved Award for their respective University at Buffalo men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams.

Read more in the On Campus notebook.

Kiara Brown’s No. 12 jersey will hang in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame “Ring of Honor.”

Iroquois grad Becky Zill went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI to help the Niagara University softball team to a 6-3 victory over Siena today in an opening-round game at the MAAC tournament in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

The game was completed today after being suspended Thursday with Niagara leading 3-2 in the fifth inning.

Zill, a senior catcher, led the Purple Eagles with a .346 average, 8 home runs and 34 RBIs during the regular season.

Niagara (16-28) will take on Marist this afternoon.

Update 2: Marist 2, Niagara 0:  Marist limits Niagara to two hits. Iroquois grad Becky Zill goes 0-for-3 for Niagara (16-29). The Purple Eagles will play an elimination game later today against either Siena or Fairfield.

Update 3: Fairfield 2, Niagara o: The Purple Eagles saw their season end at 16-30. Zill went 0-for-3. She closed her career with 26 homers and 116 RBIs, both of which rank third on Niagara’s career list.

Brenna Cosgrove

McDowell graduate Brenna Cosgrove, a junior at Edinboro, was among six area softball players to make the PSAC Western Division all-star team today.

Cosgrove made the team as an outfielder after hitting .370 and starting all 31 Edinboro games.

She was joined by teammate Marissa Pullo, a senior utility player who claimed all-PSAC honors for the fourth straight season.

Gannon led area teams with three selections: freshman outfielder Alexa Archambeault, freshman designated hitter Alyssa Bates and junior at-large pick Kristie Cortazzo.

Mercyhurst junior Courtney Smith also made the team as an at-large selection.

Slippery Rock senior catcher Katie Saluga was named player of the year.

Becky Zill

Iroquois graduate Becky Zill’s final moment on Niagara University’s home softball diamond was unforgettable.

Zill, a four-year starter at catcher for the Purple Eagles, hit a walkoff solo home run to lift Niagara to a 4-3 victory over University of Maryland Baltimore County on Sunday in a regular-season finale at Niagara Softball Field.

The blast to left field was Zill’s 26th home run of her career. She finished the regular season by leading the team with a .346 average, eight home runs and 34 RBIs.

Zill will lead Niagara (15-28) into the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament against Siena Thursday in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Read more about Zill in Sunday’s Erie Times-News.

Caitlin Nealer

The Allegheny softball team capped an exciting NCAC tournament run with a 3-2 victory over Wittenberg Saturday.The win gave the Gators their fourth conference crown and their first since 2007.

Tournament MVP Caitlin Nealer led the fourth-seeded Gators by pitching every inning in four games. Nealer fanned 30 batters and allowed just four earned runs.

Read more on the tournament title here.

Most of the area college baseball and softball programs will not open their seasons until March.

The Mercyhurst squads, however, will start this weekend. Of course, the Lakers had to travel south to avoid the harsh winter weather. Both are in a more pleasant North Carolina.

The Mercyhurst softball team opens today, and the baseball teams opens Saturday. Read more about both teams’ openers.

Mercyhurst North East pitcher Alex Puckly has been named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American.

Puckly, a freshman from Corry, led the Saints with 20 wins and a 1.99 earned-run average. She set the school record for strikeouts in a season with 132 and was the first Saint to earn three saves in a season.

Puckly earned all three of Mercyhurst North East’s victories at the district tournament. She also hit .346 with eight doubles, a home run and 30 RBIs.

The Mercyhurst North East softball team won the Northeast District Tournament title to move to 40-12 and qualify for the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II tournament May 17-19 in Clinton, Miss.

The Mercyhurst North East softball team won the 2012 Northeast District Tournament May 6 in Rhode Island. Contributed photo

The Saints beat Orange County Community College 11-5 in the district championship game May 6 in Rhode Island. They’ll face Cowley Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the first game of the 16-team, double-elimination tournament. Watch or listen online.

Nine of coach Brian Dewey‘s Saints are from District 10: freshman OF Erica Wilkinson (Central Tech), freshman OF Felicity Knight (North East), freshman P/2B Allison Litz (Fort LeBoeuf), freshman OF/3B Allison Balkovic (Strong Vincent), P/3B Tyler Honard (Strong Vincent), freshman P/OF Alex Puckly (Corry), freshman OF/2B Nicole Bertolasio (Mercer), freshman 1B Sarah Hatton (Girard) and sophomore OF Jordan Artise (North East). Sophomore OF Kayleigh Millman went to Falconer in Jamestown, N.Y.

Honard leads the team with a .412 batting average, five home runs, six triples and 49 RBI. Puckly (20-7) has a 1.94 earned-run average.