SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Southern Conference announced today the Athletes of the Month for April. One athlete is chosen from each of the following sports: men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s golf, baseball, softball.
Men’s Tennis
Furman’s Bo Ladyman was 6-0 in singles and 8-0 in doubles at the No.2 position with all of his singles wins coming in straight sets. Ladyman helped lead Furman to an undefeated record in April as well as a regular season title and a Southern Conference Tournament title. Ladyman received the Don Bunch/Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award and earned first team all-conference honors in singles and doubles.
Women’s Tennis
Laura Gioia, a junior at Furman, posted an undefeated record in April. Gioia was 9-0 in singles and 8-0 in doubles playing at No.1. Gioia led Furman to a regular season title and a tournament championship as well as a birth in the NCAA Tournament. Gioia earned first team all-conference honors in singles and doubles along with being named Southern Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Baseball
Baseball Pitcher
Furman’s Jay Jackson went 4-0 with a 2.43 earned run average while helping Furman to 14-4 overall record and an 11-1 mark in the Southern Conference. Jackson pitched 29.2 innings, giving up 22 hits and eight runs, walking 12 and striking out 24. Jackson had a career high in strikeouts with 11 against Western Carolina on April 25. In the four games that Jackson started, opponents had a batting average of .212.
Baseball Player
Ty Wright, a junior from Georgia Southern, had 29 RBI, 34 hits, 28 runs, nine home runs and eight stolen bases. Wright batted .410 with a .916 slugging percentage and .474 on-base percentage. Wright had 12 games with an RBI and nine games with multiple RBI. Wright had 11 games with two or more hits and went 5-for-5 against Wofford on April 27. Wright became the second Eagle to hit for the cycle this year. Wright was named the National Hitter of the Week by NCBWA, the Southern Conference Player of the Week and Southeast Region Player of the Week by College Baseball Insider.
Softball
Softball Pitcher
College of Charleston’s Shannon Howard pitched 53.1 innings allowing only 22 runs on 42 hits. She struck out 43 batters and walked just 12. Howard’s earned run average was 2.62 in March. She had 15 strikeouts against Hampton and nine against Western Carolina and pitched six complete games. Howard was named Southern Conference pitcher of the week for April 21 and has a 7-1 overall record for the month
Softball Player
Nina Iduate, a sophomore from Georgia Southern, had 14 runs, 25 hits, five bases on balls and 11 RBI. Iduate had a .490 batting average and .536 on base percentage in April. She recorded two six-game hitting streaks and had eight multi-hit games. Iduate had a hit, run or an RBI in all 17 games in April.
Men’s Golf
Matt Cook of Western Carolina won the 2008 Southern Conference Men’s Golf individual championships. Cook fired rounds of 67 and 69 in the last two rounds to finish five-under par and claim his second Southern Conference individual title. Cook also placed sixth at the UK Bluegrass Invitational. He posted three consecutive rounds of 75 to help Western Carolina to a fifth-place team finish.
Women’s Golf
Stefanie Kenoyer, a freshmen from Lighthouse Point, Fla., placed 16th at six-over par to lead Furman to a tie for second at the Canes & Cardinal Classic. Kenoyer also became the second freshmen in the Southern Conference history to capture individual medalist honors at the Southern Conference Championships carding rounds of 70-78-70 to finish at two-over-par.