TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (October 18, 2022) - The Florida College System Activities Association has released its weekly coaches' polls and announced its Player of the Week Awards in Volleyball and Cross Country.

October 17, 2022 Coaches' Polls

• Region 8 Volleyball Coaches' Polls (DI/DII)
• Region 8 Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
• Region 8 Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Region 8 Player of the Week Awards (for events/matches October 10-16)

Congratulations to the following student-athletes who received Player of the Week recognition:

• Region 8 DI Volleyball Player of the Week: Barbara Koehler, Florida SouthWestern
• Region 8 DI Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week: Gaia Riedmuller, Eastern Florida State
• Region 8 DI Volleyball Setter of the Week: Alexandra Koleva, Miami Dade
• Region 8 DII Volleyball Player of the Week: Allison Bryant, Palm Beach State
• Region 8 DII Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week: Anyaliz Rodriguez, Pensacola State
• Region 8 DII Volleyball Setter of the Week: Julianne Lindsey, St. Johns River State
• Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week: Christian Ruocco, Daytona State
• Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week: Gabrielle Marshall, Pasco-Hernando State

All Player of the Week honorees will be considered for NJCAA Player of the Week honors, which will be announced Wednesday.

Visit Region 8 Player of the Week HQ to read more about this week's honorees.

Sports Updates

• Cross Country: The Daytona State College men finished fourth at the USF Invitational, led by Christian Ruocco's first-place finish. Lake-Sumter State College and Pasco-Hernando State College placed eighth and ninth, respectively. Florida State College at Jacksonville finished 13th and Seminole State College, 15th. In the women's race, Pasco-Hernando State led a Region 8 quintet in the team standings, placing seventh. Florida Gateway College was ninth followed by FSCJ (10th), Lake-Sumter State (11th) and the College of Central Florida (12th). Up next for everyone is the FCSAA/Region 8 Championships in Tallahassee, Fla., October 28.
• Women's Soccer: Thanks to an OT win over previously undefeated Eastern Florida State College, Polk State College soared into the No. 10 spot in the NJCAA Division I Women's Soccer Poll. The Titans dropped to No. 2, their first time out of the top spot in the poll all season. Daytona State College fell one spot to No. 19. The three teams are still vying for seeding in the Region 8 Tournament, to be led at Daytona State, October 28 and 30.
• Men's Soccer: Daytona State moved into the top five at No. 5 and Eastern Florida State rose two spots to No. 14 in the NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer Poll. The teams meet for the second time on Saturday - at Daytona State - and the Region 8 Championship could be determined with an Eastern Florida State victory. Should the Falcons hold serve, the championship will be decided in the teams' final regular season meeting, October 29 at Eastern Florida State. 
• Women's Tennis: The 2022 ITA Cup took place at Berry College in Mount Berry, Ga. Hillsborough Community College's Esmee Andresen and Arina Gamretkaia claimed the doubles championship, defeating the duo from Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) College. Hillsborough's Yoana Dudova and Alicia Gomez placed third in doubles. In singles play, Gamretkaia placed second while Isabela Alvarez Mercante placed third. In the men's draw, Region 8 was represented by the doubles team of Lucas Gonzalez and Jack Dixon from Eastern Florida State. 
• Women's Golf: Seminole State College placed fifth in the Palm Beach Intercollegiate Invitational. The Rainders' Rim Imni finished tied for sixth at +5. Eastern Florida State is currently participating in the Nancy Nichols Fall Invitational. 
• Volleyball: Florida SouthWestern State College (No. 2) and Miami Dade College (No. 4) stayed put in the NJCAA Division I Volleyball Poll, leading up to two meeting in a span of four days. The first will be Saturday in Fort Myers. Daytona State and Hillsborough are ranked No. 16 and No. 17, respectively, while Eastern Florida State received votes. Gulf Coast State College is the lone Region 8 school in the Division II Volleyball Poll at No. 15. 
• Men's Basketball: Region 8 stole the show in the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Preseason Poll with Nos. 1 and 2, four in the Top 10 and five overall in the Top 25. Defending National Champion Northwest Florida State College claimed the No. 1 preseason ranking followed by No. 2 Florida SouthWestern. Two-time defending FCSAA Champion Chipola College is ranked ninth while Tallahassee Community College is tied for No. 10. Eastern Florida State is No. 25. Indian River State College was among the other schools receiving votes. Florida Gateway College, who is coming off its first-ever trip the NJCAA Division II Tournament, received votes in the preseason poll.
• Women's Basketball: Defending FCSAA Champion Northwest Florida State College is the top Region 8 team in the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Preseason Poll at No. 4. The Raiders are joined by No. 11 Chipola, No. 16 Gulf Coast State and No. 20 Eastern Florida State. Led by that quartet, Region 8 will look to reclaim the National Championship trophy after a string of six consecutive titles was broken in 2022. 

For more Player of the Week coverage, follow the FCSAA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at "TheFCSAA."