Four New York University student-athletes have been named University Athletic Association (UAA) Athletes of the Week following their stellar performances this past weekend.
Carnegie Johnson of men's basketball,
Caroline Peper of women's basketball,
Ty Finn of wrestling, and
Meera Kasturi of women's diving were all honored.
Johnson was outstanding in his first two games as a Violet. The Naval Academy transfer scored a career-high 32 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range in the Violets' 99-94 overtime victory against St. Joseph's College of Maine on Sunday. His bucket with 1:08 to play gave NYU a 95-93 lead which it held the rest of the way. He also added seven assists, three steals and two rebounds in the contest. In Friday's win over the College at Old Westbury, Johnson made his NYU debut with 13 points on 4-of-7 from the field, 2-of-4 from three and 3-of-4 from the foul line, along with four assists and two rebounds. For the weekend, Johnson averaged 22.5 points on 48% shooting (12-25) from the field, 50% from three-point land (5-10) and .941 (16-17) from the foul line, while adding 5.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds, and1.5 steals.
Peper was the high scorer in both games as NYU opened its season with a pair of victories at the Brandeis Invitational in Waltham, MA. In the opener vs. Swarthmore College on Friday, a 108-49 victory, Peper scored 19 points and added three rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Then, in the 114-35 win vs. Regis College on Saturday, she scored 21 points to go with two rebounds, four assists, five steals, and a blocked shot. For the two games, Peper averaged 20.0 ppg and shot 50% (12-24) from three-point range. The
#1-ranked Violets have now won 64 straight games.
Finn won the 174-pound title at the Racich Rumble in Collegeville, PA, on Saturday. As the #8 seed, Finn pinned his first opponent before collecting a tech fall and two straight major decisions. His semi-final major decision was over the #1-seed Michael Blum. He then dominated #2-ranked Anthony Cerulli with a 16-0 tech fall to claim the championship. His performance helped lead NYU to the championship in the 13-team field.
Kasturi posted one victory and one runner-up performance at the NYU Fall Invitational over the weekend. She won the nine-person one-meter dive with a score of 324.35, more than 22 points better than the second-place finisher. Kasturi placed second in the 10-person three-meter dive with a point total of 302.93, less than five behind the winner. Kasturi's performance helped lead NYU (650) to a first-place finish at the Invitational over Stevens Institute of Technology (293) and Drew University (97).
