POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 1, 2010) – The final week in January was an excellent one for seven Vassar winter athletes, as the Liberty League recognized Brewers representing women's basketball, women's squash, and men's and women's swimming and diving with weekly awards on Monday. Women's basketball senior Emily Haeuser earned Forward of the Week honors, while women's squash senior Emilie Kraft and freshman Alexa Lichtenstein were named Performer of the Week and Rookie of the Week respectively. Men's swimming and diving garnered three honors, with Swimmer of the Week sophomore Jack Smart, Diver of the Week sophomore Greg Sullivan, and Rookie of the Week Nicholas Veazie. For women's swimming and diving, sophomore Caroline Shannon was named the Swimmer of the Week.

Emily Haeuser, Senior, Women's Basketball Forward of the Week
Haeuser averaged 18.3 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game to lead Vassar to a 2-1 week. In Vassar's first ever win over Union on Saturday, Haeuser led the Brewers to a 59-46 victory with a game-high 24-point, 11-rebound double-double, her seventh of the season, and also recorded three blocks. Haeuser's first rebound of the game upped her career total to 785, making her Vassar's all-time leader in rebounds. The night before, Haeuser scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 59-55 overtime loss to Skidmore. In the Brewers' 79-20 win over College of New Rochelle on Tuesday, Haeuser netted 17 points and four steals in just 13 minutes of play. Haeuser leads Vassar in scoring (14.3 points per game) and rebounding (8.2 rebounds per game) and is fourth and third, respectively, in those categories in the Liberty League. This is the third Forward of the Week honor for Haeuser this season, bringing her career total to five.

Emilie Kraft, Senior, Women's Squash Performer of the Week
Kraft picked up a win at the No. 1 spot on Saturday as No. 17 Vassar dropped a close 6-3 match to No. 13 Middlebury. Kraft showed resilience in her match against Middlebury's Virginia Shannon, holding tough for a 20-18 second game victory in an 11-7, 20-18, 11-6 win. Kraft, a two-time Player of the Year, has been named Performer of the Week three times this season, and 11 times in her career.

Alexa Lichtenstein, Freshman, Women's Squash Rookie of the Week
Lichtenstein won her fourth straight match at No. 7 as No. 17 Vassar lost a tight 6-3 match to No. 13 Middlebury. Lichtenstein went to five games for her win, in a 2-11, 13-11, 4-11, 11-5, 11-8 victory over Middlebury's Lindsay Becker, in the process improving to 8-1 on the season. This week's award follows Lichtenstein's first career Rookie of the Week honor last week.

Jack Smart, Sophomore, Men's Swimming and Diving Swimmer of the Week
Smart had four individual and one relay win in two dual meets for the Brewers. Against a talented NYU team, Smart had two individual and one relay win. In his victory in the 200 Breast, Smart set a new personal best with the speedy time of 2:14.78, just 1.69 seconds off the current Vassar record of 2:13.19. Smart finished nearly three seconds faster than the second place finisher from NYU. Smart also won the 400 IM (4:20.57) and swam on the 200 Medley relay team that kicked off the meet with a win in 3:45.00. Against Montclair State University on Tuesday, Smart took home a win of his own in the 100 Breast (1:02.72). Additionally, although Montclair exhibitioned the event, Smart had the top time in the 200 IM (2:04.41) and placed second in the 500 Free (5:13.92), an event he does not generally swim. This is Smart's third Swimmer of the Week honor of the season.

Greg Sullivan, Sophomore, Men's Swimming and Diving Diver of the Week
Sullivan swept the diving events in Vassar's two dual meets over the week. Against Montclair State on Tuesday, Sullivan won the first of two rounds of 1-meter dives with a score of 267.38 and the second with 172.58 points. Against NYU on Saturday, Sullivan won both the 1-meter and 3-meter events against a large NYU diving squad. Sullivan scored a 269.85 in the 1-meter and a 304.73 in the 3-meter. Sullivan has been named Diver of the Week twice this season and a total of eight times in his career.

Nicholas Veazie, Freshman, Men's Swimming and Diving Rookie of the Week
Against Montclair State University on Tuesday, Veazie notched two individual wins, in the 200 Fly (2:08.11) and the 200 Back (2:04.53). Both wins came in convincing fashion as Veazie was over eight seconds faster than the second place finisher in the 200 Fly, and accumulated a cushion of nearly four seconds in the 200 Back. On Saturday, against a talented NYU squad, Veazie earned two second place finishes, in the 200 Free (1:51.32) and 200 Fly (2:07.02). This is the third Rookie of the Week honor for Veazie.

Caroline Shannon, Sophomore, Women's Swimming and Diving Swimmer of the Week
Against No. 19 NYU on Saturday, Shannon proved her mettle against the strong competition, with two wins. Shannon recorded a convincing victory in the 200 IM, finishing in 2:18.79, over five seconds faster than NYU's second place finisher. She added another strong win in the 200 Breast (2:35.59), again five seconds faster than the runner-up. Shannon earned her first career Swimmer of the Week award last week.