SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Southern Conference announced its April Athletes of the Month today, honoring top performers in baseball, softball, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, men’s and women’s tennis and men’s and women’s golf. The athletes are chosen by the conference sports information directors for baseball, softball, tennis and golf and the league head coaches in outdoor track and field.
Baseball
Player
Appalachian State senior third baseman Isaac Harrow has been named Baseball Player of the Month.
Harrow led Appalachian to an 18-2 record in April by batting .442 (34-for-77) with 35 RBIs and 27 runs scored in 20 games. Half of his 34 hits went for extra bases (eight doubles, three triples, six home runs), good for a .857 slugging percentage. The Hickory, N.C., native hit safely in 19-of-20 games, including 14 straight to close out the month, and he had 10 multi-hit and 10 multi-RBI performances in 20 games. In addition, Harrow became ASU’s all-time leader in hits (244), RBIs (191), doubles (63) and total bases (398) during the month.
Also nominated for this month’s award were Elon’s Chase Austin, The Citadel’s Chris McGuiness, Georgia Southern’s Ty Wright, College of Charleston’s Joey Bergman, Western Carolina’s Brent Greer, Davidson’s Drew Gadaire, UNC Greensboro’s Pedro Leon, Samford’s Bo Smith and Wofford’s Michael Gilmartin.
Pitcher
Appalachian State senior reliever Zach Quate has been named Baseball Pitcher of the Month.
Quate was masterful on the mound in April, posting a 1-0 record with eight saves and a 0.00 ERA in 13 appearances on the month. The right-hander allowed just one unearned run on eight hits (.145 opp. BA) while striking out 24 and walking five in 16 innings of work. Quate struck out at least one batter in every appearance and recorded multiple strikeouts in more than half of his outings (7-of-13). The Raleigh, N.C., native surrendered only one extra base hit all month (a double), and he set the ASU single-season saves record with his ninth of the year on April 19 at College of Charleston before upping his save total to 10 against High Point three days later.
Also nominated for this month’s award were The Citadel’s Wes Wrenn, Elon’s Jimmy Reyes, UNC Greensboro’s Rob Gilliam, Davidson’s Mike Frongello, Western Carolina’s Corey Martin and Georgia Southern’s Jake Brown.
Softball
Player
College of Charleston second baseman Amber Shifflett has been named Softball Player of the Month.
Shifflett batted .368 in April with 15 RBIs and 16 runs scored in 15 games. The junior also posted a .419 on-base percentage and was a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts as the Cougars made a late charge to finish in a tie for second place in the Southern Conference regular season standings. Shifflett has now stolen 40 consecutive bases without being caught.
Also nominated for this month’s award were Georgia Southern’s Marie Fogle, Appalachian State’s Katie Boyd, Samford’s Amy Gonzalez, Furman’s Stephanie Cushing, Chattanooga’s Tiffany Baker and UNC Greensboro’s Alex Emeterio.
Pitcher
Georgia Southern’s Brianna Streetmon has been named Softball Pitcher of the Month.
The sophomore from Winder, Ga., went 6-3 with a 1.04 ERA during the month, recording three shutouts and six complete games in 10 starts. Streetmon allowed eight earned runs in 54 innings in the circle while striking out 33 batters. She also held opposing hitters to a .194 average at the plate.
Also nominated for this month’s award were Furman’s Lana Mackey, College of Charleston’s Terri Mesko, Chattanooga’s Brooke Loudermilk and UNC Greensboro’s Hannah Angel.
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
Track
Western Carolina sprinter Manteo Mitchell has been named Track Athlete of the Month.
Mitchell was part of three first-place finishes and two NCAA Regional qualifying performances at the Mountain vs. the Beaches meet hosted by WCU. He won the 200m title with a blazing NCAA Regional qualifying time of 20.73. This was also a new Western Carolina University record and a facility record. Mitchell was also part of the NCAA Regional qualifying 4 x 100m relay squad that clocked 40.24 and the winning 4 x 400m relay team. Mitchell's performances played a major role in the Mountains over the Beaches victory.
At the SoCon Championships Mitchell repeated in the 200 and 400. He won the 200 in a NCAA Regional qualifying time of 20.90 and the 400 in a time of 47.96. He was also a member of the winning 4x100 and 4x400 teams. The 4x100 team won in a NCAA Regional qualifying time of 40.24. He also finished 2nd in the 100 meters.
Field
Western Carolina’s Matt Evans has been named Field Athlete of the Month.
Evans won both the high jump and the javelin at the Mountains vs. Beaches meet Hosted by WCU. Both of his winning marks were NCAA Regional qualifying performances. In the high jump, Evans leaped 6' 10 3/4" (2.10m) and in the javelin he threw 202' 1" (61.60m). Evans performances along with the rest of his team and the squad from ASU helped the Mountains obtain the team championship over the Beaches (East Carolina and UNC Wilmington).
Evans later won the high jump and the javelin at the Western Carolina Invitational. His leap of 6' 11 3/4" (2.13m) improves his performance on the NCAA ranking list by 1".
At the SoCon Championships, Evans won the men’s high jump with a NCAA Regional qualifying leap of 2.10m (6-10.75).
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
Track
Samford middle-distance runner Hillary Neal has been named Women’s Track Athlete of the Month.
Neal began the month at the Austin Peay Invitational where she won the 800-meter run in a NCAA Regional time of 2:09.68. She was also a member of the winning 4x400-meter relay team with a time of 3:57.58.
At the Ole Miss Invitational, Neal won the 3000-meter steeplechase in her first attempt at the event in a NCAA Regional qualifying time of 10:29.83.
At the Auburn Invitational, she finished third in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:25.64.
At the SoCon Championships, Neal won the steeplechase in a NCAA Regional qualifying time of 10:41.38. She finished third in the 1500 with a time of 4:38.56.
Also nominated for the award were Chattanooga’s Anneli Uys and Western Carolina’s Felecia Paulding.
Field
Appalachia State’s Lilly Tallent has been named Women’s Field Athlete of the Month.
At the SoCon Championships she won the shot put (13.14m), discus (40.87m) and javelin (39.31m) while being named Field Athlete of the Year and Most Outstanding Performer.
Earlier in the month at the Mountains vs. Beaches competition Tallent finished third in the shot put (11.98m), third in the discus (40.38m) and fourth in the javelin (38.20m).
Also nominated for the award were Appalachian State’s Danielle Thorpe and Georgia Southern’s Melanie Trumbo.
Men’s Tennis
Furman’s Sawyer Duncan has been named Men’s Tennis Player of the Month.
Duncan won all eight singles matches in the month of April and helped lead Furman to a second straight league regular-season and tournament title. At the SoCon Tournament, Duncan won all three of his matches, including a come-from-behind, three-set win against Elon's Cody Stauffer MacDowell to clinch the tourney title for the Paladins and send them back to the NCAA Tournament. Duncan went undefeated against league opponents this season and has won his last 18 straight matches. The sophomore is 25-2 on the season.
Also nominated for this month’s award were Appalachian State’s Alain Humblet, College of Charleston Mickael Trinitgnac, Chattanooga’s Peter Sauska, Elon’s Chase Helpingstine and UNC Greensboro’s Orcun Seyrek.
Women’s Tennis
Furman’s Laura Gioia has been named Women’s Tennis Player of the Month.
Gioia closed out her Southern Conference career on an impressive note. Playing at the top singles position, Gioia posted straight set wins in all nine of her matches in the month of April. She was dominant in the SoCon Tournament, winning all three of her matches - Gioia did not drop more than one game in any of those matches. Gioia is 20-4 on the season and has won 14 straight matches. At the top doubles position, Gioia went 8-1 with Monica Arguello. The duo won all three matches at the SoCon Tournament to improve to 16-8 on the year. Their only loss was a 9-7 defeat to Alejandra Guerra and Arielle Von Strolley of UNCG.
Also nominated for this month’s award were College of Charleston’s Keely Mulligan, Davidson’s Lora Dushanova, Elon’s Paige Kensrue, Georgia Southern’s Melanie Rolle, UNC Greensboro’s Lucy Daugherty and Samford’s Andrie Meiring.
Men’s Golf
Georgia Southern’s Drew Lethem has been named Men’s Golfer of the Month.
Lethem became the first Eagle in more than a decade to take the Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship individual crown. His opening round of 6-under par automatically placed him in the record books as one of the lowest rounds in GSU history. The Camdenton, Mo., native followed his opening round with consecutive even-par 72s for a tournament total 6-under 210, putting him atop the SoCon leader board. For the month, Lethem carded a 71.33 stroke average, shot his collegiate career lowest opening round with a 66 and recorded his lowest 54-hole tournament total in his 210. Lethem’s title at the SoCon Tournament marked his first collegiate career win.
Also nominated for this month’s award were Chattanooga’s Derek Rende, Western Carolina’s Tanner Briele, Wofford’s Neil O’Briain and Davidson’s Michael Saari.
Women’s Golf
Furman sophomore Stefanie Kenoyer has been named Women’s Golfer of the Month.
Kenoyer fired rounds of 76-73-74=223 to claim individual medalist honors for the second straight year at the SoCon Championship at Moss Creek Golf Club in Hilton Head, S.C., in April. Kenoyer, who recorded a four-stroke victory over the rest of the field, helped Furman to a 22-stroke triumph as the Paladins earned their 17th straight trip to the NCAA Regionals. The SoCon Player of the Year also registered a 13th place finish at the Lady Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., earlier in the month against a field that included Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Duke and Washington. Kenoyer posted a 75.5 stroke average for the month.
Also nominated for this month’s award were Chattanooga’s Maria Salinas, Elon’s Danielle Mills, Wofford’s Erin Wells and Western Carolina’s Josefine Sundh.