Hamden Resident Named Elmira College Athlete Of The Week

HAMDEN, CT — Hamden’s Madison Jerolman, a senior on the Elmira College women’s hockey team, was one of two student-athletes named Athletes of the Week, the school announced on Tuesday. Rachel Vespucci of the women's basketball team also received the weekly honor.

Jerolman collected four points (two goals, two assists) in a home-and-home series sweep of Utica, which allowed the nationally ranked Soaring Eagles to clinch the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) regular-season title. She produced multiple points in each game and became the third player on the team to reach the 100-point plateau this season.

In the series opener at Utica, a 5-3 victory, Jerolman scored Elmira's first goal 1:40 into the opening period. Midway through the second, she tied the game at 2-all to begin a four-goal run with her 14th tally of the year. The following afternoon at the Murray Athletics Center, Jerolman handed out two assists in a 6-1 defeat of the Pioneers on Class of 2019 Recognition Day during the 37th Annual Athletics Alumni Weekend. Her first assist was the 100th point of her career, joining classmates Katie Granato '19 and Maddie Evangelous '19 as the program's 15th entrant into the prestigious 100-point club.

Vespucci also helped guide her team to a triumph over Utica, as the women's basketball team split a pair of Empire 8 Conference games with first-place Hartwick and Pioneers. For the week, the fourth-year forward averaged a team-leading 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, while adding six steals and shooting 50.0 percent (12-of-24) from the field.

After tallying 10 points against the E8-leading Hawks, the senior from Macedon, New York, posted her fourth double-double of the year in a 70-60 win over the Pioneers, which also came on the team's Class of 2019 Recognition Day. In 36 minutes on the court, Vespucci netted 17 points with 11 rebounds and a season-high five steals. Due to her defensive pressure and ability to work the offensive glass, Elmira finished with advantages in points off of turnovers (21-to-12) and second-chance points (16-to-6).

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