AMHERST, N.Y. - Mackenzie Donahue (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) and Ashley Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) have been named the Daemen College Student-Athletes of the Month for October, 2015.

Donahue, a 5-foot-2 junior on Daemen's regionally-ranked women's cross country team, participated in three races last month and broke two of her own school records in those appearances.  She first broke her school-record 6K time at the Mike Woods Invitational hosted by SUNY Geneseo at Letchworth State Park on October 3, completing the course in 22:14.5 to finish in 12th place overall, out of 453 competitors.  She went on to break her own 5K record time, finishing as the race runner-up at the East Coast Conference Championships on October 24 with a time of 17:44.31.  Donahue also mixed in an eighth-place finish at the Canisius Alumni Classic on October 17, running that 5K race in 18:32.0.

By finishing as the runner-up at the conference championship meet, Donahue earned first-team All-ECC honors, and her performance helped Daemen finish second in the team standings, vaulting them to a No. 3 ranking in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II East Region poll.  It was Donahue's third runner-up finish of the season, and she's now totaled 14 top-10 finishes in 18 career races.  Today's announcement marks the second time in her career that she's been named one of Daemen's Student-Athletes of the Month having previously earned the distinction for September, 2013.

Drzymala is a 5-foot-10 freshman outside hitter on the Daemen volleyball team.  Drzymala put down 155 kills and 18 service aces, and added 124 digs on defense to help the Wildcats to a 6-5 record last month that has them in contention for an ECC Tournament berth heading into the final four matches of the regular season.  

In 11 total matches, Drzymala recorded eight double-doubles, giving her 10 for the season.  She averaged 14.1 kills and 11.3 digs per match last month, earning ECC Rookie of the Week honors three successive times.  She picked up the weekly accolade for matches played October 5-12, October 13-18 and October 19-25.

In her best outing of the month, Drzymala matched a career-high with 24 kills and established a new personal benchmark with 18 digs in Daemen's five-set victory at Long Island University Post on October 10.  The win was Daemen's fourth-straight in five-set matches, and the program's first 3-2 road win since November 1, 2011 at Buffalo State College.