Melanie Rolle Highlights 25 Eagles Who Earned Academic All-Conference Honors

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Georgia Southern had 25 student-athletes named to the 2010 Southern Conference Spring Academic All-Conference Team, conference officials announced Wednesday (July 7).

The Eagle Softball team led the way, earning seven selections, more than any other softball team in the conference. The Baseball team was second at Georgia Southern with six selections. Men's Golf and Women's Tennis each had four honorees, while Men's Tennis and Women's Outdoor Track and Field added two honorees each.

In all, the conference honored 318 student-athletes from baseball, softball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's outdoor track and field teams from the 12 member institutions. The students combined for a 3.54 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

Junior tennis player Melanie Rolle had the highest GPA among the Georgia Southern honorees. The Gainesville, Fla., native posted a 3.87 in multimedia communication. She was joined by teammates Kristi Kegerreis (Fairfax, Va.), who earned a 3.80 as a senior exercise science major, Ali Beavers (Kingsport, Tenn.), a junior marketing major who earned a 3.75, and Christine Caforio (Acworth, Ga.), who posted a 3.52 as a senior in sports management. For Caforio and Kegerreis, this is their third selection, while Beavers and Rolle earned their second honor in as many years.

Senior pitcher Charles Matthews led the baseball team, and was the top male student-athlete from Georgia Southern. The history major from Athens, Ga., achieved a 3.70. He was joined by seniors Kevin Bowles, 3.39 in management, Dexter Bobo, 3.37 in general studies, Randy J. Williams, 3.35 in management and entrepreneurship-small business, and sophomores Eric Phillips, 3.26 in middle grades education, and Colin Snow, 3.22 in pre-sport management. Bowles was also a 2009 honoree.

Senior outfielder Kelly Burnett (Boynton Beach, Fla.) was the top performer in the classroom among the softball honorees, recording a 3.67 as an early childhood education major. She was followed by ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team selection Nina Iduate (Norcross, Ga.). The senior boasted a 3.64 in mathematics. The 2010 conference honor is the third for Iduate. Juniors Bethany Crenshaw (Warner Robins, Ga.) and Stephanie Peet (Lawrenceville, Ga.) each earned their second seletion to the team. Crenshaw scored a 3.60 in nursing, while Peet earned a 3.57 in mathematics. Senior Sam Russo (Snellville, Ga.) with a 3.28 in early childhood education, and sophomores Mackenzie Williams (Baxley, Ga., 3.36 in modern languages) and Hanna Ennis (Snellville, Ga., 3.22 in pre-sport management) round out the softball team's selections.

Senior Spence Fulford (Rocky Mount, N.C.) earned his third Academic All-Conference selection, leading the golf team with a 3.69 in management. He was joined by two-time honoree, junior Logan Blondell (Lakeland, Fla., 3.56 in finance and financial service) senior Matt Deal (Statesboro, Ga., 3.37 in finance) and redshirt-freshman Florian Sander (Bregenz, Austria, 3.23 in management).

Sophomore Alain Garrido (Vigo, Spain) led the men's tennis team with a 3.68 in management and entrepreneurship-small business, while three-time selection, senior Gregory Bekkers (Antwerp, Belgium) posted a 3.65 in philosophy.

Two-time selection, junior Kassi Lee (Elberton, Ga.) scored a 3.48 in management, while sophomore Brittani Martin (Alpharetta, Ga.) led the women's outdoor track and field team with a 3.64 in psychology.

In order to be eligible for the Academic All-Conference team, student-athletes must possess at least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average entering the spring season and had to compete in at least one-half of their team's competitions during the recently-concluded spring campaign. In addition, the student-athletes must have successfully completed at least 24 credit hours in the previous two semesters. First-year student-athletes are not eligible.

Category: Athletics

Published on Thursday, 08 July 2010 17:56