NEWTOWN, Pa. – Four Lebanon Valley College student-athletes were honored by the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) on Tuesday, Oct. 20, for their strong performances during the past week of events. The conference office announced in a release that Dutchmen Men's Soccer swept the MAC Freedom weekly awards, while members of LVC's men's cross country and men's swimming team each collected a weekly honor.
 
Senior Rory Lieberman was named the MAC Men's Runner of the Week after a record-setting effort for Lebanon Valley's men's cross country team at the Connecticut College Invitational. LVC's men's soccer team also claimed both MAC Freedom weekly honors, as sophomore forward Gavin Rapp was chosen as the Offensive Player of the Week and first-year goalkeeper Isaac Yerger was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week. Additionally, sophomore Ryan Kuffa was recognized as the MAC Swimmer of the Week for his contributions during Dutchmen Men's Swimming's season opener at King's.
 
Lieberman broke the school record with a time of 24:11.7 to place fifth out of 241 runners at the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 17, averaging 4:52 per mile. He led Dutchmen Men's Cross Country to 11th place in a field that included 10 nationally ranked teams and beat his previous best time of 24:19.2. This is the second time Lieberman has been listed as the MAC Men's Runner of the Week this fall, as he also earned the award on Tuesday, Sept. 29. The senior has collected both conference weekly honors the Flying Dutchmen have received this season. Additionally, Lieberman has now been chosen as the Men's Runner of the Week seven times in his cross country career. 
 
Rapp recorded seven points with three goals and one assist during a 2-0-0 week for Lebanon Valley's men's soccer team. The sophomore delivered his first career hat trick and dished out an assist for a career-high seven points during a 4-2 victory at FDU-Florham on Saturday. Rapp scored the first two goals of the contest in the fifth and 28th minutes and netted the game-winner in the 36th minute, before tallying an assist in the 59th minute. This is the third time Rapp has been named the MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week during his career, as he was also honored early this season on Sept. 8 and 29.
 
Yerger recorded 11 saves during two strong performances in a pair of road victories for the LVC men's soccer team. The first-year began the week with four saves on 10 shots faced during the win at King's. Yerger then tied a season-high seven saves on 16 shots faced in the victory at FDU-Florham. This marks the goalkeeper's second MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week award of his career, as he was also presented with the honor on Sept. 29. Additionally, the Dutchmen have now received five conference weekly awards so far this year. Furthermore, this is the second time this fall that Rapp and Yerger have swept the MAC Freedom weekly honors.
 
Kuffa won three events in the LVC men's swimming team's season opener at King's, taking the 200-yard freestyle (1:55.22), 100-yard butterfly (1:01.09), and 500-yard freestyle (5:48.21) in a defeat to the Monarchs on Saturday. His times in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly qualified him for the MAC Championships. This marks the first time Kuffa has been selected as the MAC Swimmer of the Week during his career. The sophomore is the first member of the Dutchmen to receive a conference weekly award since Dr. Ian Lloyd '18, D'20 on Nov. 27, 2017.
 
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