AMHERST, N.Y. – Torrence Dyck (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College) and Ashley Cheff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) have been named the Daemen College Student-Athletes of the Month presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC for March, 2016.
Dyck, a 6-foot-5 senior guard/forward on the men's basketball team, earned the honor for the third time in four months. Dyck capped his outstanding two-year career by leading the Wildcats to an appearance in the East Coast Conference Tournament championship game. He opened the month by leading the second-seeded Wildcats to a heart-stopping victory over upset-minded Mercy College in the tournament semifinals. Dyck totaling 23 points and 10 rebounds in a 103-102 victory, which earned Daemen a spot in the tournament championship game in their first-ever appearance in the tournament. An 80-63 loss to top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College the next night brought the season to an end, as Dyck once again led the Wildcats with 22 points and six rebounds. His efforts earned Dyck a spot on the all-tournament team.
Dyck was named a first-team All-ECC selection for the second-straight and was also voted second-team All-Region by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA). He capped the season with averages of 21.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He ranked first in the ECC and fifth among all NCAA East Region players in scoring average. His 612 total points this year ranks fifth all-time at Daemen for a single season. He ends his two-year Wildcat career with 1,056 points in 51 games, the 18th highest total in team history, and third best among the program's two-year players. His career scoring average of 20.7 points per game is the highest in team history.
Behind the play of Dyck, the men’s basketball team closed out the year with a 19-10 overall record and placed second in the ultra-competitive ECC with a 14-6 mark. Since Daemen joined the ECC for the 2013-14 season the Wildcats have posted 61 victories, which ranks second to only STAC (63) among all ECC teams over the last three seasons.
Cheff placed first among all female participants to pace the Daemen College women's triathlon team at the Wildman Triathlon Festival held in Orlando, Fla. on March 12.
Cheff, a 5-foot-1 junior, completed the race in just over one hour's time (1:04.40), more than 10 minutes better than her closest competitor, 42-year old Carol Heuser. The sprint triathlon race featured a 0.75 kilometer swim in Lake Mary Jane, a 20 kilometer bike ride and 2.8 mile run. It marked the second event this season that Cheff has placed first among all female participants.
The women’s triathlon team is in its inaugural year of competition which has been bolstered by a
$70,000 grant from USA Triathlon to aide in the initial establishment of the program. USA Triathlon is the governing body for the sport, and has been the driving force behind the expansion of the sport into the intercollegiate ranks, leading to the sport gaining approval as an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women at the NCAA Convention in January of 2014. At present, Daemen is one of a handful of colleges and universities nationwide to sponsor the sport for intercollegiate competition.
The Wildcats conclude their spring season by competing at the Fly By Night Duathlon in Watkins Glen, N.Y. on May 7.
