ALFRED, NY -- Junior backstroke/freestyle swimmer, Andy Edmister (Belmont, NY/Genesee Valley Central) of the Alfred University men's swimming & diving team was named the Empire 8 Men's Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week on Monday afternoon.

Edmister had a standout day on Saturday at the ever-tough Ithaca College in the Saxons' final dual meet of the season. Edmister won two individual events while earning two second place finishes in relays. Edmister won both of the backstroke races as he swam a 54.68 in the 100 and a 1:56.92 in the 200. He then teamed with Richard Berger (New Paltz, NY/New Paltz), Vincent Tamplain (Luling, LA/Hahnville) and Ryan Brown (Olean, NY/Olean) in the 200-yard medley relay where they swam a 1:40.87 for silver. To close out the day, Edmister was joined by Noah Koltenuk (Danville, PA/Danville Area), Bryan Rafoth (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) and Zach Goodwin (Holden, MA/Wachusett) in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The squad edged the Ithaca third place team by 0.26 seconds to earn second with a time of 1:33.15.

This is Edmister's first Empire 8 weekly recognition as he bolsters multiple Saxon of the Week honors. He was joined by women's basketball's Lyndsey McCoy (Middleburgh, NY/Middleburgh Central) as the Saxons of the Week as made official on Monday. For the season, Chris Deaver (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) and Lauren Serotta (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) of the women's team join Edmister as the only Alfred representatives to earn a weekly award from the conference.

Edmister and the Saxons will next going into training to prepare for the Empire 8 Championships held at Webster Aquatics Center. The four-day meet will begin on Wednesday, February 20 and end that Saturday. Alfred University is the host of the meet.