CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced today its Scholar Athletes of the Week. Buffalo swept the latest round of awards as senior RB Messiah Burch (football) and junior Sarah Hartel (women's tennis) earned the male and female honors, respectively, for their performances in the previous week.

The Scholar Athlete of the Week Award is presented to a MAC male and/or female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and performs well during that week's competition. An institution can nominate up to one male and one female student-athlete per week in any of that current season's sports. The winners are selected by a representative of the MAC's Faculty Athletics Representatives (FARs).

FEMALE WINNER
Institution: Buffalo
Name: Sarah Hartel
Sport: Tennis
Year: Junior
GPA: 3.626
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Week’s Achievements (detailed description of week’s events): Sarah Hartel won the singles title at the MAC Fall Championship this weekend, defeating her teammate Aleksandra Kachushkina in straight sets in the championship match on Sunday. With the performance, both Hartel and Kachushkina qualify for the ITA Conference Masters Tournament in November. It is the first time in program history that the Bulls have qualified for the national tournament.
 
MALE WINNER
Institution: Buffalo
Name: Messiah Burch
Sport: Football
Position: Running Back
Year: Senior
GPA: 3.585
Major: Health and Human Services
Week’s Achievements (detailed description of week’s events): Messiah Burch rushed for a career-high 184 yards and three touchdowns in Buffalo's 31-24 win over Bowling Green. The senior running back scored on touchdown runs of 11, 2 and 73 yards. His 73-yard touchdown came in the fourth quarter to extend the Buffalo lead to 10-points and ice the game for the Bulls. It was Burch's fifth straight 100-yard rushing game – becoming the first UB running back since All-American Jaret Patterson in 2019 to rush for 100 yards in five straight games.