ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Second-year men's golfer Charl Pretorius '19 and fourth-year field hockey defender Julia Derco '17 have been selected as Elmira College Athletes of the Week, for the week ending September 25th.

Pretorius followed up last weekend's outing at the fall portion of the Empire 8 Conference Championship with the best round of his collegiate career on Monday, September 19th, at the Oswego State Fall Invitational. The South African native finished the round of 18 with an eight-over par 79 at the Oswego Country Club and tied for fifth place at the tournament.

Not only was Pretorius able to shave five strokes off of the best round from his rookie season at the links in Oswego, New York, but his 79 marks the lowest single-round total recorded by any of the Soaring Eagles through five tournaments this fall.

The sophomore linksman has established himself as one of the leaders on the EC men's golf team this year. His average score of 85.43 and 14.00 versus par are just fractions of a point off the pace for the team lead. Additionally, the dual-sport student-athlete, who also plays in goal for the Soaring Eagles men's ice hockey team, has trimmed nearly two strokes off of his rookie average.

The Elmira men's golf team will hit the links on Tuesday, September 27th, on its home course at the Elmira Country Club, as the Purple and Gold host their annual Elmira College Fall Invitational. The tournament will begin with a 10:00 a.m. shotgun start.

A defender by trade, Derco has found her scoring touch in her final two seasons with the Soaring Eagles. After scoring a career-high three goals during her junior campaign, the senior from Hackettstown, New Jersey, is tied for the team-lead in goals after scoring a pair last week.

Derco's first tally of the season propelled the Purple and Gold to their first victory of the year against Wells College. Tied at 2-2 on the road on Tuesday, September 20th, she gathered a penalty corner entry pass from Sarah McCaffrey '18 and beat Wells goalie Kelsey Kokosa for the game-winner from the left side of the shooting arc in the 61st minute.

On Saturday, September 24th, the senior established her first goal-scoring streak. Derco made good on a penalty stroke in the 49th minute against Empire 8 Conference opponent, St. John Fisher College. She also added her team-leading seventh defensive save in the loss to the Cardinals.

In her final season with the EC field hockey team, Derco has started all seven games and only left the field for a total of six combined minutes. Her two scores are tied with McCaffrey for the team lead, while she sits second with four points.

The Soaring Eagles are set to begin a season-long four-game homestand at the Murray Athletic Center in Pine Valley, New York, on Wednesday, September 28th. The EC women host non-conference foe, Keuka College, at 4:00 p.m.