Eagles soaring on: a year in review
8/23/2013 12:20:00 AM | General
STATESBORO, Ga. - The 2012-13 season was an exciting year for Georgia Southern Athletics which saw numerous achievements in academics, athletic competition, service and facility improvements and set a hight bar for the upcoming year.
"We would have been unable to make these accomplishments without the help of individuals and businesses who continue to invest in our success," said Athletics Director Tom Kleinlein. "We are going to strive to live up to our department mantra of exceeding expectations and better these accomplishments in the coming year."
During the past season 175 student-athletes were named to the Southern Conference Honor Roll. The Eagles posted the highest single term GPA (3.0), highest female GPA (3.26) and the highest male GPA (2.76). Other academic highlights included Moriah Bellisimo's selection as a NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee and 394 student-athletes being named to the Academic Honor Roll.
On the field, GSU made four post-season appearances and won four Southern Conference Championships. Football, golf, women's soccer and softball all made NCAA appearances, while football, volleyball, women's soccer and softball won SoCon titles. Track and field posted three individual SoCon Event Championships and three Eagles were named Player of the Year. Sarah Purvis of softball was the league's Pitcher of the Year, while Kate Van Dyke (volleyball) and Scott Wolfes (golf) were their sports' Player of the Year award winner. In addition, diver Sara Meisenhelder made an appearance in the NCAA Zone Diving Championships for the second consecutive season.
While spending time in the classroom and on the game field, student-athletes and coaches also took time out of their busy schedules to perform over 1,500 hours of community service and raised over $5,000 for charity.
During the year the Eagles also welcomed new head coaches in men's basketball, women's soccer and volleyball and a new sport in women's rifle.
In just six months at the helm, Kleinlein has been instrumental in the Eagles joining the Sun Belt and has announced new partnerships with adidas, Nelligan Sports Marketing and SIDEARM Sports. Kleinlein has also been improving the Eagles' facilities.
Currently under construction are new locker rooms for men's and women's basketball and volleyball. Recently completed is a new competition rifle range for the women's rifle team. Nearly all of Allen E. Paulson Stadium is undergoing change, everything from a fresh paint job on the pressbox to new seating and a new home to house football's operations. A new Football Operation Center will sit in one endzone while the Bishop Field House will now house a new 200-seat club level. The visitor side is being expanded on the lower level and a new upper deck with additional student seating will open in 2014.
In all, GSU finished 117 out of 291 Division I teams in the Learfield Directors' Cup for the 2012-13 season. The cup, which honors institutions maintaining a broad-based program and achieving success in multiple sports, ranked the Eagles ahead of Rutgers, East Carolina and Arkansas State and just behind Army, Pitt and Rice.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.
