Southern Conference names March athletes of the month

Twelve student-athletes across eight sports honored

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its March athletes of the month Thursday, highlighting the athletic excellence of 12 student-athletes across eight sports during the month.

BASEBALL
PLAYER
Justin Starke, VMI, R-Sr., Prince George, Va.

Posted a .441 batting average (30-for-68)
Recorded 11 extra-base hits with six home runs, four doubles and a triple, scored 24 runs and had 16 RBIs
Finished with a .794 slugging percentage and a .571 on-base percentage
Was 7-for-9 in stolen bases
Currently third in the SoCon with a .435 batting average
Led the Keydets with 10 multi-hit games, while recording a hit in 14 of the 20 games played in March

Others nominated: Nick Iannantone (ETSU), Brandon Prince (Mercer), Aidan Brewer (UNCG), Garrett Howe (Samford), Nate Stocum (Western Carolina) and Dixon Black (Wofford)

PITCHER
Zac Cowan, Wofford, So., Blythewood, S.C.

Posted a 2.05 ERA over five starts, surrendering only eight runs (seven earned) on 24 hits over 30.2 innings of work
Struck out 37 batters while walking only seven and held opponents to a .209 batting average
Was 4-0 with one no-decision in his starting assignments with wins over Lafayette, Charleston, The Citadel and VMI
Struck out a career-high 13 batters in the win over Lafayette on March 9
Tossed at least six innings in each of his final three starts of the month, including a career-best seven innings against VMI on March 29

Others nominated: Michael Harpster (ETSU), Colton Cosper (Mercer), Rob Ready (UNCG), Michael Ross (Samford), Riley Will (VMI), Jonathan Todd (Western Carolina)

MEN’S GOLF
John Houk, Chattanooga, Sr., Etowah, Tenn.

Average finish was second for the month of March as he finished with a 69.0 scoring average
Shot par or better in five of six rounds played during the month
Went 17-0-0 versus SoCon competition by a total of 245 strokes (14.4 per 18)
Defeated five golfers ranked in the top 100 over the course of two tournaments played
Named SoCon Men’s Golfer of the Week on March 27 following his performance at the General Hackler Championship

Others nominated: Mats Ege (ETSU), Symon Balbin (UNCG), Pablo Hernandez (Western Carolina) and Matthew Larkin (Wofford)

WOMEN’S GOLF
Anna Morgan, Furman, Sr., Spartanburg, S.C.

Shot 7-under par for the month with a 71.22 stroke average over nine rounds
Finished third with a 7-under 209 (64-73-72) at the Clemson Invitational on March 22-24, just one shot behind runner-up Adela Cernousek (-8) of Texas A&M
Shared ninth place at The Show at Spanish Trail on March 4-5, which was co-hosted by UNLV and Furman, with a 1-under 215 (73-69-73) and finished six strokes behind individual medalist Zoe Campos (-7) of UCLA
Tied for 23^rd at the Valspar Augusta Invitational with a 1-over-par 217 (73-73-71) on March 8-10, eight strokes off the pace set by Florida State’s Mirabel Ting

Others nominated: Violeta Fernandez-Tagle (Chattanooga), Brianna Castaldi (ETSU), Ava Romfo (UNCG), Brie Mapanao (Western Carolina) and Bella Kent (Wofford)

MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK
Jason Bowers, ETSU, So., Parys, South Africa.

Competed at the Charlotte 49ers Classic on March 15, logging a 3:46.82 1500 meter time to finish second in the event
The next day in the 800m, he finished first with a personal best time of 1:51.48
He also ran a 4x800 relay, registering a 1:51.21 split and first place finish for ETSU
At the Raleigh Relays on March 28, he finished eighth in the 5000 meter with a personal best time of 13:42.68
Currently ranked first in the SoCon in the 1500 meter and 5000 meter and second in the 800 meters and in the top 10 in the East Region and top 15 in the NCAA for his 5000 meter time

FIELD
Brenden Vanderpool, Samford, Fr., Smyrna, Ga.

Competed at the Montevallo Classic on March 15, finishing first in the pole vault after clearing 5.35 meters.
At the Bulldog Alumni Relays, finished fourth in the Pole Vault with a jump of 4.75 meters
His 5.35 meter mark ranks first in the SoCon, ninth in the East Region, and 15^th in the NCAA
Represented the Bahamas at the CARIFTA Championships this month, where he won the U20 Pole Vault and set a Bahamas National Record, clearing 5.30 meters

WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK
Sierra Bower, Furman, Jr., Carbondale, Colo.

On March 22 at the Bob Davidson Team Challenge, ran a 4:26 in the 1,500 meter
At the Raleigh Relays on March 28, she recorded a 16:03 time in the 5,000 meter run
No. 1 in the SoCon for her 5,000 meter time
Her 5,000 meter time is No. 15 in NCAA East Region
Ranked No. 36 in the NCAA for her 5,000 meter performance

FIELD
Ellison Chadwick, Samford, Fr., Clinton, Tenn.

Competed at the Bulldog Alumni Relays on March 21
Recorded a jump of 5.90 meters (19” 4.25”)
Currently leads the SoCon in the women’s long jump
Also runs the 200, where she is currently fourth in the conference

SOFTBALL
PLAYER
Brooklynn Maxwell, UNCG, Sr., 3B, Virginia Beach, Va.

Batted .429 (27-for-63) with six home runs, five doubles, three triples, 11 walks, 21 RBIs and 18 runs scored during March
Had a .988 fielding percentage in the month
Recorded two or more hits in 10 games, including three games with three hits
Named SoCon Player of the Week on March 11
Currently leads the SoCon in five offensive categories and ranks in the top 10 in the nation in hits (54), total bases (110) and triples (5)

Others nominated: Cameron Young (ETSU), Ashlee Lykins (Furman), Tori Hedgecock (Mercer), Katie Campbell (Samford), Olivia Lipari (Chattanooga), Lily Bell (Western Carolina) and Kaytlin Greenwood (Wofford)

PITCHER
Taylor Long, Chattanooga, So., Calhoun, Ga.

Had a 1.30 ERA with 63 strikeouts in 43 innings of work, allowing zero home runs and just six extra base hits during the month
Went 6-0 with one save, including four complete games and two shutouts, in March
Threw a complete game shutout with eight strikeouts in a 5-0 win against Central Arkansas on March 1
Tossed a complete game with a career-best 13 strikeouts versus ETSU on March 30
Named SoCon Pitcher of the Week on March 4 and 25

Others nominated: Lauralee Scott (Furman), Grace Taylor (Mercer), Salem Ward (UNCG), Jordyn Partain (Samford) and Abby Greenwood (Wofford)

MEN’S TENNIS
Dimitri Badra, ETSU, R-Sr., Maracay, Venezeula

Posted a combined 7-3 record between singles and doubles play in March
Went undefeated (5-0) in singles – all at the No. 1 spot
Helped lead Chattanooga to three wins during the month
Went 3-0 against SoCon teams and posted a pair of victories against No. 46 FAU and 69^th-ranked Stetson

Others nominated: Jakub Jupa (Chattanooga), Walker Allen (Furman), Samuel MacLeod (Mercer), Darcy Nicholls (Samford), Robbie Young (Wofford)

WOMEN’S TENNIS
Jade Groen, Western Carolina, So., Zoetermeer, Netherlands

Went 5-1 at No. 2 singles and 4-2 at No. 1 or No. 2 doubles
Finished the month 4-0 in conference singles matches and 3-1 in SoCon doubles play
Won all five singles matches in straight sets, ending the month with five straight singles victories
Lone singles loss was against No. 35 Wake Forest (7-5, 4-6, 0-1 (7-10)) and doubles losses came against Furman (6-3) and No. 35 Wake Forest (7-5)

Others nominated: Sofia Markova (ETSU), Grace Thomas (Furman), Madlena Orlova (Chattanooga), and Grace Agster (Wofford)

Southern Conference March Athletes of the Month

Baseball – player	Justin Starke, VMI
Baseball – pitcher	Zac Cowan, Wofford
Men’s golf	John Houk, Chattanooga
Women’s golf	Anna Morgan, Furman
Men’s outdoor track and field – track	Jason Bowers, ETSU
Men’s outdoor track and field – field	Brenden Vanderpool, Samford
Women’s outdoor track and field – track	Sierra Bower, Furman
Women’s outdoor track and field – field	Ellison Chadwick, Samford
Softball – player	Brooklynn Maxwell, UNCG
Softball – pitcher	Taylor Long, Chattanooga
Men’s tennis	Dimitri Badra, ETSU
Women’s tennis	Jade Groen, Western Carolina