SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its January athletes of the month for men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, rifle, men’s and women’s tennis and wrestling Tuesday, highlighting excellence among student-athletes during the month.
 
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Isaiah Miller, UNC Greensboro, Jr., G
UNC Greensboro guard Isaiah Miller averaged 22.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals per contest to lead the Spartans to a 6-2 record in January. The senior from Covington, Georgia, scored at least 20 points five times, opening the month with a career-high 31 points in a win over Mercer on Jan. 1, a contest that also saw him set a program record with nine steals. Miller had 28 points and a career-best nine assists in a double-overtime loss to Wofford on Jan. 4, hitting a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in the first overtime frame to send the contest to a second. Miller notched 26 points in a win over Chattanooga on Jan. 18 before notching the first double-double of his career with 19 points and a career-best 11 rebounds in a win at Samford. Miller narrowly missed his second straight double-double with 23 points and nine boards in a win at Western Carolina to end the month.
 
Others nominated: Fletcher Abee (The Citadel), Bo Hodges (ETSU), Jordan Lyons (Furman), Djordje Dimitrijevic (Mercer), Josh Sharkey (Samford), Ramon Vila (Chattanooga), Mason Faulkner (Western Carolina) and Nathan Hoover (Wofford).
 
 
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Natalie Armstrong, Samford, Jr., C
Samford center Natalie Armstrong averaged 18.8 points per game in six games in the month of January as Samford went 5-2. Armstrong, who scored in double figures in all six games and had three games with 20 or more points, also averaged 5.3 rebounds per contest. She began the month with 25 points and five rebounds in just 22 minutes in a win at Wofford on Jan. 9 and followed up with 14 points and five rebounds in a loss at Furman two days later. On Jan. 18, Armstrong went 12-of-13 from the floor (92.3 percent), scored 28 points and added five rebounds in a win at Mercer and was named SoCon player of the week for her performance. The native of Norcross, Georgia, scored 22 points against Chattanooga on Jan. 23, 14 points against ETSU on Jan. 25 and ended the month just shy of a double-double, amassing 10 points and nine rebounds in a win at Western Carolina on Jan. 30.
 
Others nominated: Micah Scheetz (ETSU), Tierra Hodges (Furman), Jaron Dougherty (Mercer), Bria Dial (Chattanooga), Lauren LaPlant (Western Carolina) and Jamari McDavid (Wofford).
 
 
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Track
Ryan Adams, Furman, R-Sr.
Furman’s Ryan Adams was a two-time SoCon track athlete of the week in January. He earned his first honor after making his indoor season debut at the Vanderbilt Invitational, posting the first sub-4:00 mile in school history to take second in the event with a time of 3:57.66, just 0.63 seconds out of first and more than five seconds lower than the school record of 4:02.91. At the time, his effort was No. 2 on the NCAA performance list. The following week, the redshirt senior from Hudson, Ohio, set another Furman record with a time of 7:49.45 in the 3,000-meter run at the Dr. Sander Invitational/Columbia Challenge in New York City, finishing second in the event by just 0.34 seconds. Adams was the top collegiate finisher in the event, turning in the top time in NCAA Division I this season at the time and knocking nearly 11 seconds off the previous school record of 8:00.07. He was also named the General Shale SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week following that performance
 
Field
Matt Cahoon, Samford, Jr.
Samford junior Matt Cahoon exceled in the throws and the jumps in January. The Cullman, Alabama, native opened his month at the UAB Blazer Invitational, taking sixth in the shot put with a throw of 15.03 meters (49 feet, 3 3/4 inches) and eighth in the weight throw with a career-best and SoCon-leading heave of 16.56 meters (54 feet, 4 inches), earning SoCon field athlete of the week honors. The following weekend, Cahoon took second in the weight throw and fourth in the shot at the Samford January Invite and fourth in the high jump in the Samford Indoor Clash, leaping 2.03 meters (6 feet, 8 inches), which ties for second on the SoCon performance list this season. Cahoon also holds the top league marks in the shot put and weight throw.
 
 
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Track
Gabbi Jennings, Furman, Sr.
Furman senior Gabbi Jennings set a pair of program records in January. At the Vanderbilt Invitational on the weekend of Jan. 17-18, the Slidell, Louisiana, native was part of the Paladins’ distance medley relay unit that took second place in the event with a time of 11:28.98, knocking more than 10 seconds off the previous school mark. That time leads the SoCon by more than 38 seconds and ranks 15th on the NCAA Division I performance list. Jennings closed the month with another school record on Jan. 31 at the Carolina Challenge in Columbia, South Carolina, turning in a SoCon-leading time of 4:39.97 in the mile to eclipse her own program mark and take more than 10 seconds off the previous facility record. Her mile time leads the SoCon by more than seven seconds and is good for 17th on the NCAA performance list.
 
Field
Georgia McDevitt, Wofford, Fr.
Wofford freshman Georgia McDevitt competed in three meets in January. The rookie from Maryville, Tennessee, opened her month with a pair of second-place performances at the ETSU Track and Field Invitational on Jan. 10-11, earning SoCon field athlete of the week honors. McDevitt set Wofford records in both the long and triple jumps, turning in leaps of 5.96 meters (19 feet, 6 3/4 inches), and 11.59 meters (38 feet, 1/4 inch), respectively. Her long jump effort leads the SoCon and is 68th on the NCAA performance list this season, while her triple jump mark is fifth in the SoCon. She would go on to post efforts of 5.66 meters (18 feet, 7 inches) in the long jump at both the Liberty Kickoff and the Carolina Challenge. McDevitt has also excelled on the track, as her time in the 60-meter dash from the Liberty Kickoff ranks fourth in the league and her effort in the 200-meter dash at the Carolina Challenge is tops in the SoCon.
 
 
RIFLE
Smallbore
Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia, Jr.
North Georgia junior Kimberlee Nettles led the Nighthawks once again in smallbore during the month of January. The Waycross, Georgia, native opened the month by shooting a 577 on Jan. 19 against No. 10 Alaska and Georgia Southern. Nettles led the team and finished third out of 16 competitors in smallbore. She improved on her previous score by shooting 578 at an eight-team event in Murray, Kentucky, on Jan. 24 that included several ranked squads, headlined by No. 3 Kentucky. Nettles once again led the team and finished 19th overall in smallbore.
 
Others nominated: Amy Kohan (UAB) and Hunter Jacob (VMI).
 
Air rifle
Lilly Vonderau, UAB, Sr.
UAB senior Lilly Vonderau matched her top score of the season on Jan. 24, shooting a 583 in the air rifle at an eight-team event at Murray State that included seven top-20 teams. The Helena, Alabama, native finished just one point shy of her personal best and finished 26th overall in the air rifle. The senior closed the month of January with another solid showing against No. 17 UT Martin as she scored 571 points in air rifle to finish seventh overall.
 
Others nominated: Tobin Sanctuary (North Georgia).
 
 
MEN’S TENNIS
Yusuf Khamis, ETSU, Jr.
ETSU junior Yusuf Khamis went 4-0 in singles play and 2-2 in doubles action in the month of January, highlighted by a ranked win in singles. The Cairo, Egypt, native began the month with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Florida Atlantic’s Maxime Lapraille, ranked No. 58, at No. 2 singles before earning a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 win over South Florida’s Jakub Wojcik. From there, he moved to the top spot in the lineup and added wins over the top players from No. 7 Wake Forest (5-7, 6-3, 6-4) and Penn State (7-5, 7-6 (2)).  He began the season at No. 2 doubles and won 6-2 over the Florida Atlantic duo before moving to No. 1 and winning 7-6 (8) against the pair from Wake Forest. He was named the SoCon Player of the Week on Jan. 28.
 
Others nominated: Zvonko Bencedic (The Citadel) and Niklas Gerdes (Chattanooga).   
 
 
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Katarina Kozarov, Furman, Sr.
Furman senior Katarina Kozarov finished the month of January 5-0 in singles play at flight one and 4-1 in doubles play, primarily in the top flight. The native of Novi Sad, Serbia, ranked No. 13 nationally, defeated three ranked opponents in the span and all but one of her singles wins came in straight sets. Kozarov began the month with a 6-2, 6-3 win over NC State’s Anna Rogers, ranked No. 18, on Jan 15. She picked up another ranked win three days later, downing Georgia Tech’s Kenya Jones, ranked No. 53, 6-2, 6-4. The two-time SoCon Player of the Year ended the month with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Davidson’s Alexandra Abele and a 6-1, 6-0 win against Notre Dame’s Zoe Spence before downing Michigan State’s 110th-ranked Mary Lewis, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2. In doubles play, she fell 6-4 at flight two with MaryAnn Rompf at No. 8 NC State, but the duo rebounded to win 6-2 at Georgia Tech. She played with Julia Adams at flight one the remainder of the month and the duo, ranked 30th nationally, picked up a 6-2 win over USC Upstate’s pair, a 6-3 win against Notre Dame and a 6-3 win against Michigan State. Kozarov was the SoCon Player of the Week on Jan. 21 and 28.
 
Others nominated: Erika Barquero (UNCG) and Emma Van Hee (Chattanooga).
 
 
WRESTLING
Noah Gonser, Campbell, R-Sr., 133 pounds
Campbell’s Noah Gonser compiled a perfect month of January, going 7-0 overall with all seven wins coming in duals. The Grand Blanc, Michigan, native posted four pins, a technical fall and three wins over ranked opponents during his impressive run. Gonser was named the SoCon Wrestler of the Week following a 3-0 showing at the Duals on the Diamond on Jan. 11 that included victories over 14th-ranked Joshua Krammer of Arizona State and 21st-ranked Todd Small of Iowa State to lead his team to a win over the 11th-ranked Cyclones. Gonser logged his third victory over a ranked opponent on Jan. 25 with a 4-2 decision over 14th-ranked Devan Turner of Oregon State. He now holds an overall record of 24-5 this season with a 3-0 mark in SoCon action, debuting 10th in the initial NCAA coaches’ panel rankings at 133 pounds.
 
Others nominated: Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State), Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga) and Neal Richards (VMI).
 
 
Southern Conference January Athletes of the Month
Men’s basketball                                    Isaiah Miller, UNCG
Women’s basketball                               Natalie Armstrong, Samford
Men’s indoor track and field – track          Ryan Adams, Furman
Men’s indoor track and field – field           Matt Cahoon, Samford
Women’s indoor track and field – track     Gabbi Jennings, Furman
Women’s indoor track and field – field      Georgia McDevitt, Wofford
Rifle – smallbore                                    Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia
Rifle – air rifle                                         Lilly Vonderau, UAB
Men’s tennis                                           Yusuf Khamis, ETSU
Women’s tennis                                      Katarina Kozarov, Furman
Wrestling                                               Noah Gonser, Campbell