S-A of the Week (12-8)
MAAC Sports
Tara Ballay, Rider, Women's Soccer, Back/Midfield, Jr., 5-5, Delran, N.J.
A junior from Delran, N.J., Tara Ballay recently led the Rider Broncs to their first-ever Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship and NCAA tournament.
Despite suffering a broken leg and missing five games, Ballay led the MAAC in goals (11) and points (24) and was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year. She returned from her injury to play in all three MAAC playoff games, helping Rider win the title.
In the classroom, Ballay compiled a 3.88 grade point average as a Psychology major and earned Capital One Academic All-America honors.
As a freshman Ballay was named the MAAC Rookie of the Year. She was a Preseason All-MAAC selection as a sophomore but played just nine games due to a leg injury. In 41 Rider games Ballay has compiled 17 goals and five assists for 39 career points. In the 41 games Ballay has played, Rider was 24-11-6.
A winner in the classroom and on the soccer pitch, Tara Ballay.
Jon Kristofferson, Saint Peter's, Baseball, Shortstop, Jr., 6-1, Jefferson, N.J.
Kristoffersen, who picked up the All-MAAC second-team nod at shortstop in 2014, paced the team and also established a new program single-season hit record with 67 base hits. The junior also led the team in runs scored (37), triples (3) and total bases (87) while ranking second in batting average (.305) and second in doubles (11). In addition to becoming the single-season hit leader, Kristoffersen finished tied for seventh in runs scored and eighth in total bases on the single-season charts. The sophomore recorded two hits, and four RBIs while touching home with the decisive run in a 6-5 win against Saint Louis on Feb. 28. Kristoffersen registered a 16-game hit streak during the year and posted a hit in 41 of the 52 games played. He notched two hits in a game 18 times in 2014 and also had four games with three hits.