Conference Carolinas Announces 2011 Fall Scholar Athletes of the Year

Conference Carolinas Announces 2011 Fall Scholar Athletes of the Year

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High Point, NC, December 8, 2011 – Conference Carolinas is proud to announce the Fall Scholar Athletes of the Year as recently voted on by the student-athlete affairs committee. This prestigious award is presented annually to a student-athlete in each sport for recognition of their outstanding academic and athletic achievements.

Each school submits candidates that are the best of the best for the conference from their sport while meeting certain qualifications for nomination. The qualifications include being a junior or senior student-athlete with a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale in all work completed at their member institution that have played in a conference sponsored sport. The GPA is calculated based on the student-athletes cumulative average through the previous semester and each student-athlete must have attended their member institution for at least one academic year. Additionally, in order to qualify for the award the student-athlete must be a current member of the All-Conference Carolinas First, Second, or Third Team that were recently selected by head coaches from conference member institutions that nominate and then vote upon award winners.

Women’s Cross Country

 

Danielle Alfano, a King College senior from Chattanooga, TN served as a prime example of the benefit of hard work a season can bring a student-athlete. From her first to her last race, Alfano showed steady improvement and exploded in her last two 5k races of the season. Between the Covered Bridge Invitational (Sept. 2) to the Conference Carolinas Championship (Oct. 22), she improved her 5k time by nearly three minutes, setting a new personal record at the league championships with a 19:24.4 time and a 13th place finish and all-conference selection. At the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship, she earned a spot on the All-Region Team finishing inside the top-25 with a time of 23:13.3. Alfano is a physical education major and carries a 3.53 grade point average in the classroom.

Women’s Volleyball

 

Megan Mitchell put together another impressive season for the Lees-McRae Bobcats, leading the team and the conference in assists per set (9.76), while ranking second in the league and 11th in the nation in aces per set (0.63). A native of Minden, Nev., Mitchell recorded a career-high 1,210 assists this season to become the program’s all-time leader with 3,347 helpers, while also needing just nine service aces to pass Megan Epperson for the career lead in that category. The junior setter earned first-team all-conference honors for the second straight season this fall. Majoring in business administration with minors in psychology and mathematics Megan is also a Sigma Beta  Delta, Alpha Chi, and honors program member.

Women’s Soccer

  

Senior forward Ashley Alderin-Fleagle adds another impressive accolade to her resume. The Kernersville, N.C. native and 2011 Conference Carolinas Women’s Soccer Player of the Year guided the Saints to a program-best 13-5-1 overall record this season after posting a career-high 20 goals. This year she earned First-Team All-Conference Carolinas, Daktronics First-Team All-Southeast Region and Daktronics First-Team All-American honors while claiming a share of the NCAA Division II National Scoring Title in total goals scored. The biology major has performed just as well in the classroom carrying a 4.0 GPA to secure a spot on the Conference Carolinas Women’s Soccer Academic All-Conference Team for the second consecutive season.

Men’s Cross Country

 

Felix Duchampt, a Clermont Ferrand, France native, led the Queens University of Charlotte men’s cross country team to an 18th place finish at the NCAA Championships after taking 48th individually. The Royals earned a bid to the national race after winning their fifth consecutive NCAA Division II Southeast Regional title. Duchampt took second place in the race with a time of 31:09.5 earning all-region honors. He also took first place in the Conference Carolinas Championships earning League Runner of the Year honors as the Royals won their third conference title in a row. The senior runner was one of two members from his team named to the Conference Carolinas All-Academic Team.

Men’s Soccer

  

 Coker College goalkeeper James Sweeney was recently named a Capital One Academic All-American First Team selection as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. The junior mathematics major from Huntington, MD holds a perfect 4.0 GPA. Sweeney was also a first team All-Conference selection at goalkeeper, leading Coker to an 18-3 record and season ending No. 18 national poll ranking. He helped Coker capture both the Conference Carolinas regular season and tournament championships, as well as leading the Cobras to their first appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. He also earned Daktronics All-Southeast region honors after posting a 0.61 goals against average that included 10 shutouts and a 0.817 save percentage.

 

 



 

Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletic conference currently made up of 12 teams from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Coker College, Converse College, Erskine College, King College, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, Mount Olive College, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Queens University of Charlotte.