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GSW Athletics Has Successful Year
The conclusion of the 2014-15 academic year means the end of another year of intercollegiate athletics at Georgia Southwestern State University. The Hurricanes received a lot of attention this season in a variety of sports as a member of the Peach Belt Conference and NCAA Division II.
It was another banner year for the GSW men’s golf program. The Hurricanes recorded three runner-up finishes in 2014-15. GSW took second place at the 13team North Georgia Fall Invitational in October, the 18-team Newberry College Invite in February and the 16-team Argonaut Invitational hosted by West Florida at the end of March. In a loaded South/Southeast Super Regional, where 18 of the 20 participating schools were nationally ranked in the top 26, the Hurricanes finished ninth, a stroke shy of being the top program in Georgia.
On the individual side, PBC All-Conference selection senior Chris Low tied for first at the North Georgia event and fellow All-Conference selection sophomore Nick Ward took third at North Georgia and the Rock Barn Collegiate. Ward garnered additional post-season accolades with PING All-Region honors and All-America honorable mention.
The men’s basketball team also made its fair share of history. Coach Leeder and company rallied from a 0-5 start in conference play to eventually win five of their final six games and qualify for the PBC Tournament, marking their third straight appearance in the post-season. The Blue & Gold finished the season ranked 10th in the Southeast region and a pair of school records were shattered along the way. All-Conference selection Deric Rudolph drained 108 from beyond the arc for the GSW single season record and he led NCAA Division II in 3-point field games per game with 4.0. Darius Redding dished out a GSW record-setting 129 assists.
The men’s soccer team produced their most wins in a season since joining the NCAA in 2006. Sophomore Isaac Avila became the first soccer player in GSW history named All-PBC First Team and the first forward to receive post-season honors. Behind Avila’s contributions, GSW made marked improvement in its offensive output in 2014 as the squad accounted for the second-most goals scored in a season in program history, two shy of the record.
Softball senior Keri Tompkins etched her name in the GSW record books when she belted her 14th home run of the season on April 20 in front of the home fans as the Lady Hurricanes took on Albany State. The GSW single season home run record entering the spring was 12. Rachel McElroy earned her second All-Conference award in three years to put a bow on her collegiate career.
The women’s cross country team has reason to be optimistic about its future as the squad, with no upperclassmen, won the 2014 Darton State College Mid-Season run and was runner-up at the GSW Remembrance Run. Freshman Ashleigh Owens ran the fifthfastest 5K and fourth-fastest 6K in program history during the fall campaign.
Women’s basketball saw a five-win improvement from 2013-14 and churned out the second-most PBC victories in program history.
GSW Athletics, as a whole, earned a Peach Belt weekly honor, five All-Conference selections, 21 PBC All-Academic selections and placed a school-record 83 athletes on the PBC Presidential Honor Roll.
