SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its March athletes of the month Friday, highlighting excellence among 14 student-athletes across nine sports during the month.
 
BASEBALL
Player
John Dempsey, Wofford, Sr., INF, Potomac, Md.

• Hit .449, slugged .537 and posted a .768 on-base percentage in March, also turning in a .994 fielding percentage
• Twelve of his 31 hits went for extra bases, including five home runs and seven doubles
• Had a team-leading 15 RBIs and scored 17 runs, adding nine walks and five HBPs
• Had 10 multi-hit games and amassed 53 total bases
• Earned SoCon Baseball Player of the Week honors on March 21 after batting .637 and scoring 10 total runs with four doubles, four home runs and eight RBIs in the Terriers' games against Lafayette, Cincinnati and Belmont

Others nominated: Ryan McCarthy (The Citadel), Cam Norgren (ETSU), Treyson Hughes (Mercer), Greg Hardison (UNCG), Stephen Klein (Samford), Justin Starke (VMI) and Seth Graves (Western Carolina).
 
Pitcher
Dalton Rhadans, Wofford, Sr., RHP, Acworth, Ga.

• Went 3-1 with four saves and a 0.33 ERA in March, striking out 31 with just two walks in 27 2/3 innings of work over 13 appearances
• Allowed his only earned run on March 1, finishing the month with 25 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings pitched
• Held the opposition to a .204 batting average
• Earned SoCon Pitcher of the Week honors on March 28 after his three-appearance week in which he allowed no runs en route to a win and a save in the Terriers' games against USC Upstate and Gardner-Webb
• Holds the best ERA in the SoCon at 2.61 through his 19 appearances this season

Others nominated: Hunter Loyd (ETSU), Jackson Kelley (Mercer), Alex Hoppe (UNCG), Jacob Cravey (Samford) and Zach Franklin (Western Carolina).
 
 
 
MEN’S GOLF
Nick Lyerly, UNCG, Sr., Salisbury, N.C.

• Carded a 4-under-par 68 in the final round of the Dorado Beach Collegiate on March 1, finishing with a 14-under-par 202 to capture his third individual and seventh career tournament title and help UNCG finish first in the 13-team, 81-golfer field
• Posted his sixth top-20 finish of the campaign at the Linger Longer Invitational (March 20-22), shooting a 3-under-par 213 to finish tied for 16th with North Carolina's Ryan Burnett and Vanderbilt's Harrison Ott in a field with 16 ranked individuals
• Named SoCon Golfer of the Week after both tournaments
• Shot a 2-under-par 214 to tie for 21st at the General Hackler Championship, which featured 10 top-50 programs
• Averaged 70.7 strokes per round over his seven rounds in March, with four rounds of 70 or lower

Others nominated: Archie Davies (ETSU), Ross Funderburke (Furman), Tobias Jonsson (Mercer), Davis Woodliff (Samford), Braedon Wear (Chattanooga), Jake Peacock (Western Carolina) and Harry Jones (Wofford).
 
 
WOMEN’S GOLF
Anna Morgan, Furman, Jr., Spartanburg, S.C.

• Averaged 72.40 strokes over 10 rounds in March, turning in three top-five finishes, including her second win of the season and of her career
• Two-time SoCon Golfer of the Week, claiming the honor March 9 after winning the UNF Collegiate and on March 30 after finishing fifth at the Clemson Invitational
• Shot 6-under-par 210 to tie for first at the UNF Collegiate, highlighted by a 5-under 67 in the final round
• Closed the month with consecutive 3-over-par, fifth-place finishes, at the Valspar Augusta Invitational and at the Clemson Invitational
• Also competed in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur from March 30 to April 2

Others nominated: Sera Hasegawa (ETSU), Carol Pyon (Mercer), Tara Bettle (UNCG) Esme Hamilton (Chattanooga), Elizabeth Lohbauer (Western Carolina) and Becca Earl (Wofford).
 
 
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Track
Adam Bradtmueller, ETSU, Sr., Sarasota, Fla.

• Won his section and finished 13th overall (ninth among collegiate athletes) among 223 finishers in the 5,000-meter run at the Raleigh Relays on March 24
• His time of 13:50.51 was a personal record by 14 seconds and leads the SoCon in the event this season by five seconds
• Time ranked fifth on the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying List and eighth on the overall DI Outdoor Qualifying List at the time
• SoCon Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week on March 30

 
Field
Matt Cahoon, Samford, Gr., Cullman, Ala.

• Opened his month at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta, Georgia, finishing second in the discus with a school-record and personal-best toss of 51.27 meters, which leads the SoCon this season and ranked eighth on the Division I South Region Outdoor Performance List at the time
• Finished fifth overall and was the top collegiate finisher in the javelin with a throw of 66.57 meters, which leads the SoCon and ranked first in the South Region and 18th overall on the DI Outdoor Qualifying List at the time
• Named the SoCon Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week after that performance
• Took 10^th in the javelin at the Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays in Starkville, Mississippi

 
 
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Track
Megan Marvin, Furman, So., Chapel Hill, N.C.

• Competed at the Raleigh Relays in her only action of the month, winning her heat and finishing seventh overall and fifth among collegiate athletes in the 1,500-meter run in her collegiate debut in the event
• Turned in a time of 4:17.09, the second-best time in program history, which leads the SoCon this season by more than nine seconds.
• Her time also ranked fourth on the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying List and fifth on the overall DI Outdoor Qualifying List at the time
• Named the SoCon Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week after that performance

 
Field
Brittany Bishop, Samford, Jr., Clinton, Tenn.

• Recorded personal records and conference-leading marks in the pole vault both times she competed in March
• Opened her month at the Yellow Jacket Invitational, jumping 4.00 meters to finish second with a mark that ranked third in the South Region and was good for 15th overall in Division I at the time
• At the Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays, she extended her PR and conference lead with a jump of 4.05 meters, which ranked third in the South Region and in the top 50 in the NCAA
• Named SoCon Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week on March 23 after her effort at the Yellow Jacket Invitational

 
 
MEN’S LACROSSE
Offense
Asher Nolting, High Point, 5^th, A, Greenwood Village, Colo.

• Averaged 6.40 points per game in March, totaling 32 points on 11 goals and 21 assists and twice being named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week (March 8, March 29)
• Scored at least five points in four of five games, highlighted by a career-best and program-record 11 in HPU’s 18-8 win over Detroit Mercy on March 26 in which Nolting recorded five goals and six assists
• Had eight points on three goals and five assists against No. 10 Duke on March 1 and had a goal and an assist against No. 9 North Carolina on March 20
• Had a goal and five assists against Bellarmine on March 5 and a goal and four assists against Robert Morris on March 11
• Finished the month with 319 career points to sit 11^th in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse history

Others nominated: Max Waldbaum (Jacksonville), Matt Winegardner (Mercer) and Ryan Lanchbury (Richmond).
 
Defense
Luke Millican, Jacksonville, Gr., GK, Southlake, Texas

• Went 3-1 in goal with a 6.83 goals-against average in 123 minutes of play, starting all four games for the Dolphins
• Made 26 saves and allowed just 14 goals for a .650 save percentage
• Had two ground balls each in games against Utah on March 6 and Bellarmine on March 11
• Allowed just one goal in one half of action in the 16-2 win at Bellarmine and only two in 30 minutes in a 25-4 win over St. John’s on March 26
• Had nine saves and allowed five goals in 33:01 in a 22-8 win over UMass Lowell on March 19

Others nominated: Garrett LeClaire (Mercer) and Ray Baran (Richmond).
 
 
SOFTBALL
Player
Grace Loftin, UNCG, Fr., LF, Conover, N.C.

• Hit .373 and slugged .898 with 30 RBIs, seven doubles and eight home runs in March to lead UNCG to a 13-6 record
• Had six multi-hit games, including three-hit efforts against North Carolina, Elon and Mercer
• Had seven multi-RBI games, driving in four each in wins over Connecticut and Michigan State and six in a win over Mercer in which she hit three home runs
• Named the SoCon Player of the Week on March 21 and the D1 Softball Freshman of the Week the following day after hitting .533 and slugging 1.000 in games against Charlotte and Elon
• Matched UNCG’s program record with three doubles against Elon on March 20

 Others nominated: Cameron Young (ETSU), Emily Bartlett (Furman), Mary Katherine Tedder (Samford), Emily Coltharp (Chattanooga) and Bailey Huneycutt (Western Carolina).
 
Pitcher
Morgan Scott, UNCG, Jr., RHP, Irmo, S.C.

• Went 8-4 with a 2.96 ERA in March, striking out 88 and walking just 19 in 73 1/3 innings of play over 12 appearances
• Recorded double-digit strikeouts three times, fanning 10 each in wins over Penn State on March 5 and Saint Francis (Pa.) on March 11 and a career-high 16 in a three-hit shutout of Radford on March 30
• Allowed one earned run or fewer in six of her 10 starts
• Opened her month with 9 2/3 innings pitched against No. 12 Oregon, holding the Ducks scoreless through the first five
• SoCon Pitcher of the Week on March 14 and March 28

Others nominated: McKenzie Newcomb (Samford) Hannah Wood (Chattanooga) and Savannah Rice (Western Carolina).
 
 
MEN’S TENNIS
Dimitri Badra, ETSU, R-So., Maracay, Venezuela

• Went 5-1 at No. 1 singles and 5-1 in doubles, primarily at No. 2
• All five singles wins were in straight sets
• Only singles loss came against No. 43 Charlotte and only doubles loss was in a tiebreaker
• Picked up three clinching wins, securing the doubles points against UNC Asheville on March 5 and Lipscomb on March 11, adding the clinching singles win against Lipscomb
• Named the SoCon Player of the Week on March 8 after going 4-0 against Wofford and UNCG

Others nominated: Jamie Connel (Furman), Hugh Knapp (UNCG), Simon Labbe (Chattanooga), and Mark Endler (Wofford).
 
 
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Julia Adams, Furman, Sr., Knoxville, Tenn.

• Went 4-0 at No. 1 singles and 3-1 at No. 1 doubles to help the Paladins to a 3-1 team record in March, including a 4-2 win over No. 43 Charlotte and a 7-0 SoCon win over Wofford
• Won all four singles matches in straight sets, surrendering a combined four games against her two unranked opponents
• Topped No. 120 Margaux Maquet of Charlotte, 6-3, 6-3, and No. 121 Cristina Mayorova of Clemson, 6-4, 6-3
• Only doubles loss came against No. 31 Maquet and Lucia Quiterio of Charlotte, 6-4
• Named the SoCon Player of the Week on March 22 and March 29

Others nominated: Fernanda Carvajal (ETSU), Rouxanne Janse Van Rensburg (Samford), Coco Bosman (Chattanooga), Jordyn King (Western Carolina) and Georgia Fischer (Wofford).
 
 
Southern Conference March Athletes of the Month
Baseball – player                                    John Dempsey, Wofford
Baseball – pitcher                                   Dalton Rhadans, Wofford
Men’s golf                                              Nick Lyerly, UNCG
Women’s golf                                         Anna Morgan, Furman
Men’s lacrosse – offense                        Asher Nolting, High Point
Men’s lacrosse – defense                        Luke Millican, Jacksonville
Men’s outdoor track and field – track        Adam Bradtmueller, ETSU
Men’s outdoor track and field – field         Matt Cahoon, Samford
Women’s outdoor track and field – track   Megan Marvin, Furman
Women’s outdoor track and field – field    Brittany Bishop, Samford
Softball – player                                     Grace Loftin, UNCG
Softball – pitcher                                    Morgan Scott, UNCG
Men’s tennis                                           Dimitri Badra, ETSU
Women’s tennis                                      Julia Adams, Furman