Men's Lacrosse Southern Conference

SoCon Announces March Athletes of the Month

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its March athletes of the month for baseball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s outdoor track and field, men’s lacrosse, softball, and men’s and women’s tennis Monday, highlighting excellence among student-athletes during the month.

BASEBALL
Player
Kyle Lewis, Mercer, So., OF
Mercer outfielder Kyle Lewis hit .386 with seven home runs, seven doubles, nine walks, 18 RBIs and 21 runs scored in March, slugging .723 and leading the Bears to a 12-7 overall record and 5-1 start to SoCon play. Lewis recorded hits in 17 of the 19 games, turning in 12 multi-hit performances and finishing the month on a 12-game hitting streak in which Mercer went 9-3. In Mercer’s two wins over Georgia, which later appeared in the national rankings, Lewis was a combined 4-for-8 with a homer, two doubles, five RBIs and four runs scored. In Mercer’s three-game sweep of ETSU, Lewis hit .538 with six runs, four RBIs, a double and two homers, one of which was a walk-off in the third game to complete the sweep. Lewis hit .389 with three homers in a four-game set with Harvard and had six hits in a three-game series with Bradley. With seven home runs in the month, Lewis, one of the national leaders in the category, had as many or more than every other SoCon player had for the entire season to that date. The Snellville, Ga., native was also perfect in the field in March, recording 54 putouts cleanly.

Others nominated: Connor Walsh (The Citadel), Chris Cook (ETSU), Zac MacAneney (UNCG), Hunter Swilling (Samford), Bradley Strong (Western Carolina) and James Plaisted (Wofford).

Pitcher
Ryan Clark, UNCG, Jr., RHP
UNCG junior Ryan Clark went 4-0 with a 2.00 ERA in March, going at least six innings and picking up the win in each of his four starts. The right-hander opened his month with a win over Princeton, allowing one run on four hits and three walks in six innings, striking out a career-high 10. Clark followed that up with another quality start at UNCW, which was receiving votes in the national rankings, allowing one run on just two hits and three walks in seven innings. He struck out eight. In perhaps his most impressive performance of the month, Clark threw seven innings of shutout ball against preseason SoCon favorite Western Carolina on March 20, striking out six and scattering five hits and two walks. Clark closed his month with another win over a SoCon opponent, striking out another six and allowing four runs in an 8-6 victory over ETSU. For the month, Clark struck out 30 and walked 10, allowing just six extra-base hits in 27 innings pitched. Opposing batters hit just .208 against the Johnson City, N.Y., product.

Others nominated: James Reeves (The Citadel), Dillon Cate (ETSU), Eric Nyquist (Mercer), Alex Ledford (Samford), Brandon Barbery (VMI), Tyler Powell (Western Carolina) and Matthew Milburn (Wofford).

MEN’S GOLF
J.T. Poston, Western Carolina, Sr.
Western Carolina senior J.T. Poston posted three top-15 finishes in March, highlighted by a pair of top-three finishes. Seven of Poston’s eight rounds in the month were par or better, as he finished the month a combined 12-under-par. The Hickory, N.C., native opened his month with a 14th-place showing at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate, shooting a 3-under 207 (70-68-69) on the par-70 course. He followed that up with a runner-up showing at the Southern Intercollegiate, finishing with a 3-under 141 (72-69) at the 36-hole, par-72 tourney. Poston, the reigning SoCon Player of the Year, finished his month with a third-place finish at the Furman Intercollegiate, firing a 6-under 210. He opened with a 3-under 69 before turning in his best round of the season, a 5-under 67, and wrapping up the tournament with a 2-over 74 to claim third place and SoCon Player of the Week honors. For the month, Poston fashioned a 69.8 stroke average.

Other nominees: Gudmundur Kristjansson (ETSU), Wehman Hopke (Furman), Trey Rule (Mercer), Roy Dixon (UNCG), Wes Gosselin (Chattanooga) and Jeremy Grab (Wofford).

WOMEN’S GOLF
Taylor Totland, Furman, So.
Furman sophomore Taylor Totland repeated as women’s golfer of the month after turning in a stroke average of 71.8 in March. Totland tied for 16th in the Paladins’ first tournament of the month, the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, which featured 14 teams ranked in the top 30 and 24 players ranked in the top 50 nationally. Totland turned in an 8-over-par 221 (71-74-76) on the challenging par-71 layout, which saw just two players finish under par for the tournament. The Tinton Falls, N.J., native followed that up by tying for second place at the 3M Jaguar Intercollegiate, shooting a 3-under 210 to help Furman to the second-place team finish. After opening with a 2-over 73, the reigning SoCon Freshman of the Year fired a 3-under 68 and a 2-under 69 to finish one stroke out of first place and earn SoCon Player of the Week honors. Totland is ranked 13th nationally in Golfstat’s latest head-to-head rankings.

Other nominees: Eraina Manor (The Citadel), Vivienne Chin (ETSU), Bailey Gray (Samford), Agathe Sauzon (Chattanooga), Kim Mitchell (Western Carolina) and Lauren Dunbar (Wofford).

MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Track
Brandon Hazouri, Samford, Jr.
Samford’s Brandon Hazouri ran a 3:47.48 to finish second in the 1,500 meters at the Alabama Relays on March 19. The time was a personal best for the Birmingham, Ala., junior and was the best in the SoCon for the month of March. Hazouri earned SoCon Track Athlete of the Week honors for his performance at that meet.

Field
Tray Oates, Samford, R-Fr.
Samford redshirt freshman Tray Oates vaulted to a height of 5.30 meters (17-4.5 feet) in the pole vault at the Alabama Relays to place first in the event on March 19. The mark tied the Samford school record and currently ranks first in the SoCon and tied for 11th in the NCAA. Oates earned SoCon Field Athlete of the Week honors for the performance. The Acworth, Ga., native also won the pole vault at the Battle of I-65 on March 14 with a mark of 5.16 meters (16-11 feet).

MEN’S LACROSSE
Offense
J.P. Forester, Richmond, So., Attack
Richmond attackman J.P. Forester scored 21 points in March, helping the Spiders to a 4-2 overall record and 2-0 SoCon mark. Forester, who scored at least one goal in all six contests and had two or more in five games, scored 13 goals and added eight assists in the month.  The sophomore from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., notched consecutive hat tricks to open the month, scoring three goals with four assists for a school-record seven points in a win over VMI on March 7 before notching three goals and an assist in a win over Mount Saint Mary’s four days later. Forester scored a goal in Richmond’s 16-11 loss to No. 2 North Carolina on March 14 before closing the month with three straight games with two goals. He scored twice in a win over Jacksonville before scoring a pair with three assists in a victory over NJIT. Forester closed his March account by scoring twice in a 14-7 loss to No. 8 Virginia. Forester fashioned a .406 shooting percentage for the month and shared the league lead with 2.17 goals per game.

Other nominees: Michael LeClair (High Point) and Chris Rahill (Mercer).

Defense
Colin Hart, Bellarmine, Sr., Defense
Bellarmine defenseman Colin Hart caused 12 turnovers and collected 20 groundballs in March, helping the Knights to a 2-3 record (1-2 SoCon) that included a win over No. 13 Marquette, the first win over a ranked opponent for a SoCon program. Hart, who is tasked with guarding the best offensive player of the opposing team, helped BU hold the Golden Eagles to their lowest goal total of the season in the 9-3 win, adding an assist, three caused turnovers and two groundballs. In a 17-7 win over VMI on March 21, Hart collected five ground balls, caused one turnover and held the Keydets’ leading scorer scoreless. The Brentwood, Tenn., senior opened his month with four caused turnovers and nine groundballs, both career highs, against Detroit. He also added a goal in the three-goal loss. Hart followed that up with a goal, four groundballs and two caused turnovers against Furman and had two caused turnovers against Mercer.

Other nominees: Reilly McDermott (Furman), Pat Farrell (High Point), Mike Nugent (Mercer) and Benny Pugh (Richmond).

SOFTBALL
Player
Riley Carter, Mercer, Sr., OF
Mercer outfielder Riley Carter hit .485 in 21 March contests, helping the Bears to a 16-5 overall mark and 2-1 SoCon record. The senior from Jacksonville, Fla., had six doubles, two home runs, nine walks, four stolen bases, 29 RBIs and 17 runs scored. Carter hit safely in 18 of the 21 games, putting together eight multi-hit games, including six three-hit contests. Carter went 9-for-15 (.600) at the USF Under Armour Showcase, getting three hits each in wins over Portland State and Western Michigan, with a double and four RBIs against Portland State and three RBIs against Western Michigan. Mercer went 5-0 at its own Mercer Bears Classic from March 13-15, with Carter going 7-for-14 with nine RBIs, highlighted by a 2-for-3, five-RBI showing against Youngstown State in which she had a homer and a double. She was 3-for-3 with two runs and two knocked in against Alabama A&M on the final day of the tournament and earned SoCon Player of the Week honors for her efforts on the week. Carter also had three hits each in wins over Alabama State and Savannah State and a loss to Western Carolina. For the month, she slugged .667 with an on-base percentage of .553 and was perfect in the field in 28 chances.

Others nominated: Megan Dowdy (Samford), Nicole Osterman (Chattanooga) and Courtney Price (Western Carolina).

Pitcher
Kirsten Stevens, Mercer, So., LHP
Mercer left-hander Kirsten Stevens went 11-1 with a 2.41 ERA in 13 March appearances, winning her final 11 decisions after dropping her first start of the month. The sophomore from Crystal Lake, Ill., struck out 72 batters in 78 1/3 innings pitched, walking just six. Stevens hurled four straight shutouts at one point, blanking South Dakota, Michigan State (twice) and Alabama A&M in succession. She did not issue a walk in any of those four contests, striking out a combined 19 and allowing just 15 hits in 26 innings. Stevens struck out at least eight batters three times, highlighted by a career-high 11 Ks in a win over Savannah State on March 21. She closed her month with consecutive wins over Western Carolina to power Mercer to the series win, allowing just three earned runs in 14 innings of work against the Catamounts. She struck out seven in each game and didn’t walk a batter in either. Stevens twice earned SoCon Pitcher of the Week honors for her efforts in March, doing so on March 16 and 30.

Others nominated: Mollie Hanson (Samford) and Cori Jennings (Chattanooga).

MEN’S TENNIS
Randy Phillips, UNCG, Sr.
UNCG senior Randy Phillips went a combined 15-3 in March, turning in an 8-1 record in singles and a 7-2 mark in doubles, both at No. 1. Phillips earned seven of his eight singles wins in straight sets, with his only loss coming in a super tiebreaker to ETSU’s David Biosca after falling in a tiebreaker in the first set. Phillips earned nonconference wins over opponents from Winthrop and Georgia Southern before nabbing his first SoCon win over the month over Mercer’s Arnav Mohanty in three sets. He followed that up with straight-set wins over Samford’s Fares Kilani, Richmond’s Ethan Dunbar and East Carolina’s Tendai Tapfuma before falling to Biosca. Phillips rebounded by rolling to a 6-3, 6-0 win over Davidson’s Shamael Chaudhry and wrapped up his month with a win over The Citadel’s Artemie Amari. In doubles play, the Snellville, Ga., native teamed with Connor Thompson, and the duo lost only to the top tandems from Richmond and ETSU. Three of the pair’s wins were by scores of 8-4 or better, highlighted by an 8-1 win over Mercer’s Arnav Mohanty and Arsav Mohanty. Phillips and Thompson also rolled to a 6-1 win over ECU’s Tapfuma and Colin Roller. Phillips was named the SoCon Player of the Week on March 31.

Other nominees: Ismael Merino (ETSU), Adam Steryous (Furman), Trey Carter (Samford), Luke Saunders (Chattanooga) and Rob Galloway (Wofford).

WOMEN’S TENNIS
Lyn Yee Choo, ETSU, Jr.
ETSU junior Lyn Yee Choo went 6-0 at Nos. 1 and 2 singles and 3-3 at No. 1 doubles in March to help the Bucs to a 4-2 team mark (3-0 SoCon). The Kuchinga, Malaysia, native won all six of her singles matches in straight sets, including a pair of dominating performances in which she surrendered three games or fewer. After rolling to a 6-1, 6-2 win over College of Charleston’s Samantha Maddox at No. 1 on March 11, Choo finished her month with an emphatic, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Mercer’s Xandra Fougner. Choo also picked up wins at the top flight against opponents from Winthrop, Wofford and Western Carolina and won her only match at No. 2, against Charleston Southern’s Nicolin Luecke, 7-5, 6-0. Choo teamed with three different doubles partners in March. Playing with Ionna Markesini, with whom she is ranked No. 78 nationally, Choo went 2-1, picking up 8-3 and 8-2 wins over the top doubles pairs from Wofford and Western Carolina, respectively, and falling 5-4 to CofC’s No. 1 tandem. Choo went 1-1 with Ana Gerbasi, downing Mercer’s Grace Korta and Roxy Bartz by a 6-1 count. Choo also played one match with Regina Nychytailova, falling 8-5 at Charleston Southern.

Other nominees: Ansley Speaks (Furman), Stephanie N’tcha (Samford), Kaylene Chadwell (Chattanooga), Megan McLinden (Western Carolina) and Mareli Sanchez (Wofford).


Southern Conference March Athletes of the Month
Baseball – player    Kyle Lewis, Mercer
Baseball – pitcher    Ryan Clark, UNCG
Men’s golf    J.T. Poston, Western Carolina
Women’s golf    Taylor Totland, Furman
Men’s outdoor track and field – track    Brandon Hazouri, Samford
Men’s outdoor track and field – field    Tray Oates, Samford
Men’s lacrosse – offense    J.P. Forester, Richmond
Men’s lacrosse – defense    Colin Hart, Bellarmine
Softball – player    Riley Carter, Mercer
Softball – pitcher    Kirsten Stevens, Mercer
Men’s tennis    Randy Phillips, UNCG
Women’s tennis    Lyn Yee Choo, ETSU

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