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Wednesday, April 21, 2004 South
Atlantic Conference Announces Award Winners at Food Lion
Spring Sports Festival Banquet ROCK HILL, SC – The South Atlantic Conference spring sports all-conference teams and award winners were announced at Knights Stadium Wednesday night to kick off the 2004 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Spring Sports Festival. Nearly 800 players, coaches, family members and support staff attended this year’s function. Tusculum College’s Lesley Murray became the first student-athlete in conference history to be named Player of the Year for four years in a row, picking up the women’s tennis Player of the Year award, and also became a second-time winner of the Women’s Tennis Scholar Athlete award, presented to one student-athlete in each sport and recognizes academic achievement, athletic accomplishment and community service and leadership. She has a 3.6 GPA as a senior 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. Murray never lost a conference match in four years of competition. In the community, Lesley has served 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. Curtis Bell (Gilbert, SC) of Presbyterian College was named Baseball Scholar Athlete. He is a senior majoring in physics, with a minor in mathematics and business administration and maintains a 3.94 grade point average. He has been on the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll seven semesters, the Presbyterian College Dean’s List two semesters, and the President’s List, for having a perfect 4.0 average, for five semesters. On the baseball field, he is a four-year letterwinner, but had a career year this season as a full-time starter, averaging .311 at the plate with two home runs and 22 runs batted in. He was named First Team All-Conference at third base. In the community, Bell volunteers at the Thornwell School and Orphanage and Habitat for Humanity. A licensed pilot, he also donates his time and flying ability of antique airplanes at airshows and local events. He also participates in a Neighbor Day at his local airfield, taking friends and neighbors flying to see where they live from a totally new perspective. Haley Allen from Carson-Newman College was named Scholar Athlete for softball. Allen has a 3.97 GPA as a senior accounting major. She has been a member of the Carson-Newman Dean’s List and SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll for every semester. She is a member of the Alpha Chi honor society, the Institute of Management Accountants and the Tennessee Society of Accountants. On the field, Haley is one of the top hitters in the conference, with a .426 batting average. She leads the conference in sacrifice bunts, while also driving in 18 runs. She was named Second Team All- Conference at second base. Allen has an extensive list of volunteer activities, including the March of Dimes, the American Cancer Society and the American Diabetes Society. She works with Operation Christmas Tree, which gathers toys for needy children, and Angel Tree, which also gathers toys and food for needy families. Marius Dan from Wingate University received the Men’s Tennis Scholar Athlete award for the third year in a row. Dan is a senior Business Administration major with a 3.964 GPA. He has been on the President’s List for six semesters and the Dean’s List for one and was a 2002 Academic All-District selection. He is president of the Alpha Chi honor society. On the court, was named Second Team All-Conference. He is president of the International Student Organization and one of two Wingate students to serve on the Academic Affairs Committee. He serves on the National Student Athlete Advisory Council, as well as the Wingate and South Atlantic Conference SAAC groups. 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. Martina Moo Young from Wingate University was named Scholar Athlete for women’s golf. She has a 3.787 GPA as a sophomore management major. She has been a member of the Tusculum President’s list, Dean’s list, and the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. This season, she ranks third on her team with an average of 82.3 strokes per round. She has three top-three finishes and five top-10 finishes this season, including tying for first place in the first tournament of the season last fall. Young is member of the Wingate Student Athlete Advisory Council, and helped with the school’s Make-A-Wish Fundraiser. She is on the publicity committee of the Alpha Zi Delta sorority, a resident assistant in the Alumni Dorm, and helped run a golf clinic at Pinehurst for Aberdeen Baptist Church. Kevin White (Spartanburg, SC) of Presbyterian and Matt Baker from Catawba were named Co-Players of the Year for baseball, while Catawba’s Thomas Wilson was named Pitcher of the Year. Tusculum pitcher Matt Galens was named Freshman of the Year. Catawba coach Jim Gant, who guided the Indians to the conference championship, was selected baseball Coach of the Year. Wingate’s Stephanie White was named softball Player of the Year after leading the league in batting average. Alexis Kreske of Lenoir-Rhyne, who led the league in strikeouts, was voted the Pitcher of the Year. Tusculum catcher, a First Team All-Conference pick at catcher, was named Freshman of the Year. Presbyterian first-year coach Jeff Nickerson, who saw the Blue Hose finish second in the conference, was named softball Coach of the Year. Presbyterian’s Hector Rincon and Paul Ratchford, who helped lead the Blue Hose to the regular season championship, were named Player of the Year, and Freshman of the Year, respectively, for men’s tennis. Their coach, Paul Maxwell, was named men’s tennis Coach of the Year for the fourth time in the past five years. Tusculum standout freshman Danae Valderrama was named women’s tennis Freshman of the Year, while Murray received her Player of the Year award for the fourth time in her career. Pioneer coach Tommy Arnett, who guided the Pioneers to an undefeated season, was named Coach of the Year for women’s tennis. Catawba sophomore Paige Haverty was named women’s golf Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Tusculum’s Amanda Bowen was the women’s golf Freshman of the Year. Catawba coach Sam Gealy was selected women’s golf Coach of the Year. Spring Sports Award Winners
COACH OF
THE YEAR – Jim Gant, Catawba College STAT
CHAMPIONS
COACH OF
THE YEAR – Jeff Nickerson,
Presbyterian SOFTBALL STAT CHAMPIONS
COACH OF
THE YEAR – Paul Maxwell,
Presbyterian College
COACH OF
THE YEAR – Tommy Arnett, Tusculum College
COACH OF
THE YEAR – Sam Gealy, Catawba
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