SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its March athletes of the month Friday, highlighting the athletic excellence of 12 student-athletes across eight sports during the month.
 
 
BASEBALL
PLAYER
Ryan Galanie, Wofford, Sr., 1B, Mason, Ohio

• Hit .435 with a .533 on-base percentage and a .774 slugging percentage in March, all of which ranked in the top three in the league, and had 16 RBIs and 18 runs scored as he helped Wofford to a 11-5 overall record and a 2-1 league mark
• Recorded three doubles and hit six home runs and 9-for-10 in stolen base attempts
• Hit safely in 12 of his 15 games played, recording multiple hits in 10 of them and three hits in five of them
• Committed just one error in 121 chances for a .992 fielding percentage
• Named SoCon Player of the Week on March 13 after hitting .571 and slugging .857 in Wofford’s 4-0 week, reaching base in 15 of his 21 plate appearances

 
Others nominated: Noah Mitchell (The Citadel), Garrett Wallace (ETSU), Treyson Hughes (Mercer), Kennedy Jones (UNCG), Garrett Staton (Samford), Justine Starke (VMI) and James Hinson (Western Carolina
 
PITCHER
Ben Hutchins, The Citadel, Jr., RHP, Inman, S.C.

• Went 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 innings over four starts, striking out at least five batters in each outing and allowing opposing batters to hit just .235 against him
• Opened his month with a win over LIU on March 5, allowing three runs on seven hits and striking out seven in five innings
• Tossed five scoreless innings in a win over Holy Cross on March 11, allowing just three hits and striking out five
• Won his third straight win in the month against Kansas on March 17, allowing just one run on five hits in a season-high seven innings
• Closed his month with a no-decision against Mercer on March 25, allowing one run on five hits and striking out six in six innings

 
Others nominated: Nathanial Tate (ETSU), Josh Farmer (Mercer), Jake Wolf (UNCG), Jacob Cravey (Samford), Nick Torres (Western Carolina) and Lucas Mahlstedt (Wofford)
 
 
MEN’S GOLF
Garrett Engle, Chattanooga, So., Harrisburg, Pa.

• Beat 164 of the 179 golfers faced during the month for a .925 winning percentage
• Finished in the top 10 in both tournaments played in March
• Shot a combined 10-under-par 422 over six rounds
• Finished tied for fourth alongside the nation's No. 1 player, Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt, at the Linger Longer Invitational on March 21, in a field that included 17 ranked individuals
• Named SoCon Men's Golfer of the Week on March 22

 
Others nominated: Mats Ege (ETSU), Will Morlan (Furman), Tobias Jonsson (Mercer), Nick Lyerly (UNCG), Pablo Hernandez (Western Carolina) and Matthew Larkin (Wofford)
 
 
WOMEN’S GOLF
Kera Healey, Chattanooga, Fr., Johannesburg, South Africa

• Beat five ranked golfers of the eight in the field at the Clover Cup
• Led Chattanooga in the Clover Cup, finishing tied for 11th with a 2-under-par 214 on March 10-12
• Largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent was 17 shots, that being Louisville's Carmen Griffiths, who is ranked No. 62
• Tied her season-low 69 in the first round of the Clover Cup
• Shot her first under par 54-hole total of the season

 
Others nominated: Sophie Bert (ETSU), Anna Morgan (Furman), Camilla Jarvela (Mercer), Elizabeth Lohbauer (Western Carolina) and Lilli Horn (Wofford)
 
 
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK
Cagan Campbell, Samford, Gr., Tuscaloosa, Ala.

• Ran at two meets in March, posting three SoCon-leading times and two school records
• Opened his outdoor season at the Falcon Classic on March 18, finishing 11^th in the 100-meter run in 11.16 seconds and anchoring Samford’s 4x400-meter relay, which won in a SoCon-leading 3:17.19
• Ran at the Mississippi State Bulldog Relays on March 24-25, posting a program-record and SoCon-leading time of 47.47 in the 400-meter run, finishing seventh, and anchoring the 4x100-meter relay to a fifth-place finish in a school-record and SoCon-leading time of 40.55 seconds
• Named SoCon Track Athlete of the Week for that performance
• Ranks 47^th on the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying List in the 400m, while Samford’s 4x100m ranks 37th

 
FIELD
Tripp Marcus, Samford, Sr., Ruston, La.

• Competed at two meets in March
• Finished fourth in the javelin at the Falcon Classic on March 18 with a SoCon-leading throw of 62.30 meters in his Samford debut
• Followed that up with another fourth-place finish at the Bulldog Relays on March 25, extending his SoCon lead with a throw of 65.51 meters, which ranks 31st on the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying List
• Earned SoCon Field Athlete of the Week honors for that performance
• Leads the SoCon by just over nine meters in the event and is the only SoCon student-athlete to surpass 60 meters this season

 
 
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK
Genevieve Schwarz, ETSU, Sr., Oak Ridge, Tenn.

• Competed at two meets in March, running at the 49er Classic on March 17-18 and at the Raleigh Relays on March 23-24
• Named the SoCon Track Athlete of the Week on March 22 after winning both the 1,500-meter run (4:30.90) and 800-meter run (2:10.92) at the 49er Classic, both in times that led the SoCon at the time
• Claimed her third straight win in the 1,500m at the 49er Classic and second straight 800m title at the meet
• Bettered her time in the 800m at the Raleigh Relays, turning in a season-best effort of 2:10.67
• Ranks 58^th on the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying List in the 800m

 
FIELD
Erin Long, Samford, Jr., Pelham, Ala.

• Competed twice in March, winning the javelin at both events
• Opened the season with a win at the Falcon Classic on March, launching a throw of 48.52 meters, which leads the SoCon by 7.44 meters
• That mark ranks 13^th on the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying List
• Named SoCon Field Athlete of the Week after that performance
• Followed that up with a win at the Bulldog Relays on March 25 with a throw of 45.15 meters

 
 
SOFTBALL
PLAYER
Riley Ludlam, Furman, Sr., C/SS, Fort Myers, Fla.

• Batted .474 with four doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs
• Had zero fielding errors in 13 starts
• Was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored versus Canisius on March 4
• Had four hits with a double and three RBIs in a doubleheader sweep against Charleston Southern on March 11
• Went a combined 6-for-7 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored during a doubleheader at Western Carolina on March 25

 
Others nominated: Rebeca Laudino (Mercer), Jessie Shipley (UNCG), Logan Champion (Samford), Kaili Phillips (Chattanooga) and Brooklynn Brewington (Western Carolina)
 
PITCHER
Alyssa Lavdis, Chattanooga, So., Concord, Ohio

• Had a 2.37 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings of work en route to a 3-0 record for the month
• Threw a complete game, allowing four hits and striking out a career-best 15 batters against Detroit on March 5
• Pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts versus Bucknell on March 11
• Pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief work at No. 17 Virginia Tech, allowing zero runs and striking out two batters
• Named SoCon Pitcher of the Week on March 6

 
Others nominated: Sierra Tufts (Furman), Jordan Chartrand (UNCG) and McKenzie Newcomb (Samford)
 
 
MEN’S TENNIS
Gabriel Castillo, Chattanooga, So., Washingtonville, N.Y.

• Went a combined 7-1 in singles and doubles in March to help Chattanooga to a 6-1 overall record and 3-0 league mark
• Was a perfect 5-0 in singles play at No. 3 and went 1-1 at No. 2
• Won six of his seven singles matches in straight sets
• Earned a 6-2, 6-0 win over Austin Peay’s Giovanni Becchis on March 11
• Was 4-0 in SoCon matches, winning No. 3 singles matches against The Citadel, ETSU and Mercer in two sets and earning a 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles against Mercer

 
Others nominated: Hayden Shoemake (The Citadel), Thiago Pernas (ETSU), Jerry Barton (Furman), Marceau Foulihoux (Mercer), Tymofiy Khrystyuk (UNCG), Sandeep Mohandoss (Samford) and Alex Horn (Wofford)
 
 
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Laylo Bakhodirova, ETSU, Sr., Tashkent, Uzbekistan

• Went 5-1 at No. 1 singles and 5-3 at No. 1 doubles, with her only losses coming against opponents from No. 4 NC State, No. 36 FIU and No. 39 Charlotte
• Earned all five of her singles wins in straight sets and was leading in the third sets of matches that went unfinished against opponents from No. 36 FIU and No. 39 Charlotte
• Helped ETSU to a 5-2 win over No. 72 Yale on March 16, taking a 6-2, 6-1 win in singles play and a 7-6 win in doubles
• Was 3-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles against SoCon opponents, dropping just 11 games in six singles sets
• Earned SoCon Player of the Week honors on March 28 after going a combined 4-0 in wins over Wofford and Samford

 
Others nominated: Jess Dawson (Furman), Teodora Ristic (Mercer), Alexis Lopez (Samford), Rozalie Dohnalova (Chattanooga), Angela Perez (Western Carolina) and Breda Brennan (Wofford)
 
 
Southern Conference March Athletes of the Month

Baseball – player	Ryan Galanie, Wofford
Baseball – pitcher	Ben Hutchins, The Citadel
Men’s golf	Garrett Engle, Chattanooga
Women’s golf	Kera Healey, Chattanooga
Men’s outdoor track and field – track	Cagan Campbell, Samford
Men’s outdoor track and field – field	Tripp Marcus, Samford
Women’s outdoor track and field – track	Genevieve Schwarz, ETSU
Women’s outdoor track and field – field	Erin Long, Samford
Softball – player	Riley Ludlam, Furman
Softball – pitcher	Alyssa Lavdis, Chattanooga
Men’s tennis	Gabriel Castillo, Chattanooga
Women’s tennis	Laylo Bakhodirova, ETSU