Softball

Player of the Week - Zoe Willis, Georgia Southwestern

Willis had a monster week for the Hurricanes over four games as the team went 3-1. The senior second baseman hit .625 with a 2.250 slugging percentage and .786 on-base percentage for a 3.036 OPS. She had five hits in eight at-bats, four of those home runs and the other a double for 11 total RBIs. She hit two home runs against Point, the second a grand slam, and also homered against Newberry and West Florida. She was walked six times, scored five runs and did not have an error in six chances at second base. The two-time reigning PBC Player of the Year is currently ranked fourth in the league in slugging percentage and tied for third in home runs.

Pitcher of the Week - Payton Baker, USC Aiken

Baker made three appearances and pitched 17.1 innings with no earned runs allowed and 18 strikeouts. The junior lefty from Denver, N.C., pitched a seven-inning complete-game shutout over Belmont Abbey with one hit and no walks allowed with eight strikeouts. She then pitched a monster 10-inning complete game against Anderson, allowing only three hits and the one unearned run with 10 strikeouts in a 2-1 win. For the week, she held batters to a .086 average and her 10 innings pitched in one game is tied for third-most in NCAA Division II this season. Baker is currently second in the PBC with a 0.36 ERA and 42 strikeouts, and is third in opponent batting average and innings pitched.

Freshman of the Week - Karlie Gutierrez, Georgia College & State University

Gutierrez hit .600 in three games last week for the Bobcats with a triple, a home run and five RBIs. The catcher and DP from Newnan, Ga., went 1-for-3 with an RBI in a win over Erskine. She then went 3-for-4 in the opener against Southern Wesleyan, driving in two with a triple in the second and hitting a solo home run in the sixth. She went 2-for-3 in the second game, driving in another. For the week, Gutierrez had a 1.100 slugging percentage and .667 on-base percentage and also stole a base. For the season, she is hitting .400 over six games with a 1.233 slugging percentage.

Baseball

Player of the Week - Connor Droze, Lander

Droze put on a display in four games last week, hitting .583 with a 2.000 slugging percentage and .727 on-base percentage. The junior DH from Roebuck, S.C., hit two doubles, five home runs and drove in eight as the Bearcats went 3-1. He homered and doubled with three RBIs against Coker to begin his week. He then went 3-for-3 in the series opener at Nova Southeastern, smashing two home runs with another double and three more RBIs. He went 2-for-2 in the series finale at Nova with two more home runs. For the week he scored six runs and was walked six times. Droze is currently tied for the league lead in home runs, is second in slugging percentage, fourth in runs and tied for eighth in RBIs.

Pitcher of the Week - Tyler Overholt, Lander

Overholt made two relief appearances at Nova Southeastern, picking up a win and a save with one hit allowed over three innings of work. The sophomore righty from Abbeville, S.C., pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth with one hit allowed and one strikeout in a 9-8 win for his third save of the season. He then entered game two with the score tied 7-7 in the eighth inning and pitched two hitless frames, allowing only one walk, as Lander won 9-7 for his first win of the year. Overholt is currently tied for the conference lead with three saves on the season.

Freshman of the Week - Jake Larson, Lander

Larson made his first career start against Coker on Thursday, picking up the win with eight innings pitched, one hit and one earned run allowed in a 12-3 win. The righty from Ponte Vedra, Fla., struck out eight and issued no walks. He retired the first 13 batters he faced in order before allowing his only hit in the fifth and also retired the side in order in the seventh. Larson improved to 2-0 with the result and is fourth in the Peach Belt with a 1.59 ERA on the season. He is also leads the conference in opponent batting average.

Men's Basketball

Player of the Week - Brendan Rigsbee, Georgia College & State University

Rigsbee had a pair of 20-point games to lead the Bobcats to two wins last week. The sophomore guard from Suwanee, Ga., scored 20 with five rebounds, three assists and three steals in a three-point win over USC Beaufort. He then scored 24 points against 19th-ranked Lander with four assists and two blocks in a 69-62 win. He shot .516 (16-31) from the field, hit two of his four three-point attempts and was 83% from the line. He finished with 22 points, 3.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. Rigsbee is currently tied for fifth in the PBC in scoring and is 11th in assists and 12th in blocks.

Women's Basketball

Player of the Week - Jashanti Simmons, Georgia Southwestern

Simmons averaged 15.5 points per game as the Hurricanes won two big road games last week to solidify their hold on the top spot in the PBC standings. The junior guard from Eatonton, Ga., opened with 18 points, four rebounds and four steals in a win at USC Aiken. The then scored 18 with five rebounds and three steals in a critical win at Augusta in a battle of the top two teams in the standings. Simmons finished the week averaging 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 1.0 assists per game. She is currently ranked 13th in the PBC in scoring, 12th in rebounding and fifth in steals.

Men's Golf

Player of the Week - Bernard Meyer, Columbus State

Meyer won his first career event at the Spring Kick-Off Intercollegiate on Tuesday, holding off a massive field of 20 teams and 102 golfers with a four-under 212. The sophomore from Johannesburg, South Africa, fired rounds of 68-69-75, clearing his closest competitor by two strokes. He was the only golfer in the field with two rounds in the 60s in a tournament that featured seven top-25 teams including three of the top five in the latest GCAA national poll. He now has two top-five finishes on the season, is ranked #15 in the nation by Clippd and is now second in the PBC with a 71.20 stroke average.

Men's Lacrosse

Player of the Week - Trace McDonald, Flagler

McDonald scored five goals and added an assist as the Saints went on the road to edge Florida Tech 14-13. The sophomore attacker from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., scored two of Flagler's four goals in the fourth quarter as the two teams entered the period tied at 10, including the game-winner with 2:27 left to play. He took 10 shots in the game with six on goal, two ground balls and caused a turnover. McDonald is currently tied for the league lead in assists and is sixth in the conference in points per game.

Women's Tennis

Player of the Week - Angelina Linnikova, North Georgia

Linnikova went 2-0 in both singles and doubles in a pair of wins for the 11th-ranked Nighthawks. The junior from Irkutsk, Russia, defeated Newberry's Emma Arnal 6-3, 6-4 and Erskine's Emma Bentz 6-3, 6-2, both at #1 singles. She partnered with Viktorie Wojcikova at #1 doubles to beat the Newberry team of Arnal and Nikonorova 6-0 and Erskine's Bentz and Valtere 7-5. Ranked #5 in the nation in singles and #18 in doubles, Linnikova is 3-0 on the season and has not dropped a set.

Men's Tennis

Player of the Week - Jacopo Denitto, Flagler

Denitto went 2-1 as Flagler finished in third place at the ITA Division II Men's Team Indoor Championships, the best in program history. The junior from Lecce, Italy, defeated #1 Valdosta State's Luca Mack 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at #1 singles to begin the tournament as Flagler won 4-3. He then fell to 18th-ranked Martin Soukal of #3 Saint Leo in three sets before returning in the third-place match to beat #6 Columbus State's Camilo Cano 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Ranked #7 in the nation in singles, Denitto moved to 2-2 in dual play match singles, all at #1.