Football | 9/28/2026 1:00:00 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Four St. John Fisher University student-athletes have earned weekly honors from the Empire 8 Conference, the league office announced on Monday afternoon.
FOOTBALL
Ryan Whitney (Sr., QB) – Empire 8 Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Whitney recorded his seventh career game and fourth in a row with at least one passing and rushing touchdown as St. John Fisher improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2016 with a 33-15 road win over Alfred on Saturday. The senior completed 21-of-32 passes for 268 yards and two scores and rushed for 62 yards with a pair of touchdowns on 16 attempts.
Whitney became just the second Fisher quarterback to log rushing and passing touchdowns in four straight games, joining Ryan Kramer, who accomplished the feat in 2011. Whitney has rushed for at least 60 yards in seven career games, including in five of the Cardinals' last seven games since last November. He has completed 60% of his passes in every game this season and has thrown for more than 250 yards with multiple touchdown passes in three of the Cardinals' four contests.
MEN'S SOCCER
Adam Grover (Gr., M) – Empire 8 Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Grover tallied four points as St. John Fisher earned Empire 8 wins last week over SUNY Poly and Hartwick. He scored his first goal in nearly two years in a 3-0 home win over Poly on Wednesday and netted the game-winning tally in a 2-1 road win over Hartwick on Saturday.
A graduate senior, Grover is the first Cardinal to score in consecutive games since teammate Jack Tamburino did so last season against Elmira and the University of Rochester.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Olivia Kalil (Jr., F) – Empire 8 Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Kalil scored five goals to total 10 points while leading St. John Fisher to a pair of Empire 8 victories last week. The junior forward became the 11th Cardinal since 2000 to score three goals in a game in Fisher's 5-1 win over SUNY Poly on Wednesday and found the back of the net twice more in a 4-1 victory over Hartwick on Saturday.
Since 2000, Kalil is the only Fisher player to have scored five goals over a two-game span. She began last week with five goals for her entire collegiate career.
With the victories, the Cardinals, winners of four straight matches, improved to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in Empire 8 play. This marks Fisher's best start to a season since the 1980s.
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Lydia Fraser (Jr., OH) – Empire 8 Co-Player of the Week
Fraser led the St. John Fisher offense at the Johns Hopkins Tournament, recording 41 kills (3.42 per set), 50.5 points (4.21 per set) and seven service aces across three matches. On Friday against Scranton, Fraser recorded 19 kills while hitting .472 and totaled 22.0 points. In Saturday's 3-2 win over Stevenson, she added 19 kills and 23.0 points.
With seven service aces last week, Fraser moved into the top 10 in Fisher's career record book with 149 career aces. Fraser was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
