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| Spring Sports All-Conference
Teams and Award Recipients Announced April 23, 2003 |
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CLINTON, SC - The South Atlantic Conference spring sports all-conference teams and award winners were announced on the campus of Presbyterian College Wednesday night to kick off the 2003 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Spring Sports Festival. Nearly 900 players, coaches, family members, media, and support staff attended this year’s function. The 2003 South Atlantic Conference Baseball Coach of the Year is Brent Achord of Carson-Newman. Achord, taking over for last year’s coach of the year who guided that team to a conference title, duplicated that feat, guiding his team to a 13-7 conference record and the school’s fifth regular season championship in his first year as head coach.. The Eagles finished 13-7 in the SAC, and 29-19 overall. Michelle Caddigan of Wingate University was named the SAC Softball Coach of the Year for the third time in her career. After starting out the conference race 1-3, her team regrouped to win its next 10 conference games to finish second and enter the tournament on a 14-game winning streak. Wingate’s Nicole Smith was recognized as Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year for the first time after leading her team to a share of its first-ever conference title. Presbyterian’s Paul Maxwell, who guided the Blue Hose to an undefeated conference record, was named Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. Bob Dibble of Tusculum College was named Men’s Golf Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. The Pioneers had eight top-10 finishes this year. Wingate’s first-year coach Holly Burns was honored as Women’s Golf Coach of the Year. She guided her team to one first place and five top-five finishes this year.
Marci Mitchell of Carson-Newman College was named the 2003 SAC Softball Player of the Year for the second year in a row. She went 15-5 as a pitcher with 115 strikeouts and eight shutouts.
Mathew Cram-Smith of Carson-Newman College, who averaged 74.2 strokes per round and posted four of the lowest rounds recorded in the SAC this year, was named Men’s Golfer of the Year. Catawba College’s standout freshman Paige Haverty captured both the Women’s Golf Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards. She averaged 78.5 strokes per round, the best in the conference. She posted five of the nine lowest scores recorded this year. Brian Lovett of Tusculum is the Baseball Freshman of the Year. He went 7-2 with a 3.57 ERA and was 6-1 in conference games and was the SAC Pitcher of the Week one time. The 2003 South Atlantic Conference Softball Freshman of the Year, from Carson-Newman, is pitcher Megan Elliott. Presbyterian College’s Hector Rincon was the 2003 SAC Men’s Tennis Freshman of the Year. He was undefeated in singles and doubles play against conference opponents and is ranked as one of the top players in the Southeast. Tusculum College’s Maria Nevarez is the Women’s Tennis Freshman of the Year. She was 16-1 overall, and undefeated in her six conference matches and was named Player of the Week two times. Tanner Davis of Carson-Newman was the leagues Men’s Golf Freshman of the Year. He has a stroke average of 76.5 and five Top 10 finishes in 10 tournaments this year. The SAC Scholar-Athlete for Baseball is Mike Calano of Tusculum College. Calano is a sophomore majoring in accounting and general management. He maintains a 3.95 grade point ratio. He received the 2002 Tusculum Freshman Academic Award, and has been a member of the Tusculum President’s List, Dean’s List, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. On the baseball field, he is batting .324 and is second on the team in RBIs. In the community, he volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club of Greenville, where his service included the construction of a new playground. He also volunteers with the Holsten Home for Children to do gardening, painting and renovation of a barn. The SAC Scholar-Athlete for Softball is Marci Mitchell from Carson-Newman College, who wins this award for the third consecutive year. Marci has a perfect 4.0 GPA as a senior mathematics major. She has been on the Carson-Newman Dean’s List and SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll for every semester. She is a member of the Blue Key national honor society, Alpha Chi national honor scholarship society, and Kappa Mu Epsilon mathematics honor society. She was selected to the Verizon CoSIDA Academic All-District Team and an All-American National Scholar and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American Scholar Award. On the field, Marci continues to be one of the top pitchers in The South Atlantic Conference. She has a 15-5 record and 1.35 earned run average. She holds the school record for strikeouts and no-hitters. She was the 2002 SAC Softball Player of the Year and 2002 Food Lion Tournament MVP and is a four-time All-SAC selection. On campus and in the community, Marci visits a local nursing home and volunteers at a local church. She helps feed and care for patients at a local Rehabilitation Center. She has helped solicit book donations for area schools and worked with a book fair. She has volunteered at the local Samaritan House to help individuals improve their computer skills. Marius Dan from Wingate University won the Men’s Tennis Scholar Athlete Award for the second year in a row. Dan is a junior Business Administration major with a 3.949 GPA. He has been on the President’s List for four semesters and the Dean’s List for one and was a Verizon Academic All-District selection. He was awarded the 2002 Pickette Williams Memorial Athletic Award, awarded to a Wingate male student-athlete who has demonstrated exemplary sportsmanship. On the court, he has a 6-9 record in singles play. On campus and in the community, Marius is president of the International Student Organization and served on the Academic Affairs Committee. He was recently selected at an at-large representative to the national student athlete advisory council. He is a Presidential Ambassador and a Resident Assistant. He serves as a tutor at the Academic Resource Center and has been selected a Leadership Fellow at Wingate, a program that identifies campus leaders. The Scholar-Athlete for Women’s Tennis is Lesley Murray of Tusculum College. Murray has a 3.48 GPA as a junior physical education major. She has been on the Tusculum President’s List, Dean’s List, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. She is also on the Charles Oliver Gray Scholar List and a member of Alpha Chi Honor Society. On the court, Murray is one of the most dominating players in the SAC. She was earlier named the SAC Player of the Year for the third straight time. She is ranked 47th in NCAA Division II singles, and 10th in the Southeast. Her singles record is 48-2 and 18-0 against conference opponents. In the community, Lesley serves as a volunteer at local elementary schools and sports camps. She also helps at the Holston Homes for Childen and has participated in a road clean-up project and an Adopt-A-Family project with the Tusculum women’s basketball team. Thomas Cameron of Presbyterian College is the Scholar Athlete for Men’s Golf. He has a 3.6 GPA as a junior Business Administration and Math major. He is a member of the Order of Omega Honor Society and the Mathematical Association of America. He has been a five-time member of the Dean’s List and the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. On the course, Cameron is a three-year letterwinner for the Blue Hose golf team. He finished third at last year’s SAC Tournament, and finished fifth at the Billy Joe Patton Intercollegiate tournament this year. In the community, he is an Eagle scout, and continues to work with his local scout troop in the summer. He is active at First United Methodist Church in Clover, serving as usher and Sunday School president and treasurer. He also serves as treasurer, rush chair and constitution committee chair for his fraternity, Alpha Sigma Phi. The SAC Scholar-Athlete for Women’s Golf is Brooke Robbins from Tusculum College. She has a 3.57 GPA as a sophomore biology and psychology major. She has been a member of the Tusculum President’s list, Dean’s list, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. She is a member of Alpha Chi honor society. Robbins is second on the team in scoring, averaging 86.63, the sixth best in school history. She had five top-20 finishes this year. She finished seventh at the Lady Indian Invitational, where she shot a career-low 79. Robbins is active in the community and her church. She serves as a youth group leader, a Sunday School teacher for middle school students, and served as a leader on a middle school mission trip. She assists a second-grade class each week with craft time and recreation. She also volunteered with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes golf camp in Florida. Spring Sports Award Winners2003 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL AWARD WINNERS
COACH OF THE YEAR –
Brent Achord, Carson-Newman College INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS TEAM CHAMPIONS 2003 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE SOFTBALL AWARD WINNERS
COACH OF THE YEAR –
Michelle Caddigan, Wingate INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS TEAM CHAMPIONS 2003 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS AWARD WINNERS
COACH OF THE YEAR –
Paul Maxwell, Presbyterian College 2003 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS AWARD WINNERS
COACH OF THE YEAR –
Nicole Smith, Wingate 2003 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE MEN’S GOLF AWARD WINNERS
COACH OF THE YEAR – Bob
Dibble, Tusculum 2003 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S GOLF AWARD WINNERS
COACH OF THE YEAR –
Holly Burns, Wingate COACHES SERVICE AWARDS 5 Years 15 Years SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE SENIOR AWARDS
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The
2003 Baseball Player of the Year, from Tusculum College, is third
baseman Guy O’Connell. The Perth, Australia, native led the SAC
in home runs, RBIs per game, batting average and slugging percentage.
The
Men’s Tennis Player of the Year was Evan Bowling of Catawba
College. He is 14-5 overall at No. 1 singles and 15-6 at No. 1
doubles. He was 5-1 against conference competition in singles and 4-2
in doubles. He has 57 career doubles wins, which ranks second in
school history.
Tusculum
College standout Lesley Murray was named Women’s Tennis Player of
the Year for the third year in a row. She went 11-1 in singles
competition and 6-0 in conference matches. In three seasons, she has
yet to lose a conference match.