Women's Golf
Player of the Week: Stella Jelinek, Flagler
Jelinek won her third tournament of the year with an 8-under par 205 (71-66-68) at the Emerald Coast Collegiate at the beginning of the week. She tied her own school record for lowest round (66). Her 54-hole score broke a school record as did her score relative to par. Jelinek was tied for second for the most birdies in the field with 11 and was tied for eighth with 37 pars. She was tied for first for the best scoring average on par-5 holes (4.58) and was second on the par-4s (3.93). As a team, the Saints broke several program records. The final round 278 is the best team score for 18 holes (previous 285 in 2017), the 852 smashed the 54-hole score by 20 strokes (previous 2022), and the score relative to par was annihilated by the same 20 strokes (2022). The 30-stroke win was the largest margin of victory in the program's history. Jelinek is ranked #3 in the nation by Clippd and leads the PBC in stroke average.
Men's Golf
Player of the Week: Erik Fogel, Georgia Southwestern
Fogel finished fourth out of 90 golfers at the First Federal Southeastern Intercollegiate hosted by Valdosta State. In a field that included nine teams ranked in the top 30 by the GCAA, the junior from Stockholm, Sweden, fired the low round of the tournament in the second round with a bogey-free 66 with six birdies. He finished with a 4-under for the tournament, just one stroke out of third and three strokes off the lead with rounds of 73-66-73. Helped GSW to finish 2nd, three strokes behind No. 15 Nova Southeastern. Fogel ranks 9th in the PBC in scoring average and is ranked #44 by Clippd.
Softball
Player of the Week: Brooke Miller, Columbus State
Miller continued her offensive assault last week, hitting .438 with a 1.125 slugging percentage, three home runs and 14 RBIs in six games. The senior second baseman from Suwanee, Ga., homered in three straight games, starting with a three-run shot against Valdosta State, plating four in the game. She then homered in each of the first two games against Augusta, driving in a pair in the opener followed by a grand slam in the second game. She tripled and drove in four more in the series finale, hitting .600 in the sweep with a 1.400 slugging percentage. She leads NCAA Division II in RBIs per game, is third nationally in home runs per game and leads the conference in slugging percentage.
Pitcher of the Week: Jana Shellhorse, Georgia College & State University
Shellhorse went 1-0 in two appearances on the week, pitching 12.0 innings with no earned runs allowed. The senior righty from McDonough, Ga., pitched a complete-game five-hitter in a 4-0 win over USC Aiken, allowing only one walk and striking out eight. She then pitched five innings of relief in the third game, allowing only one walk and striking out four. For the week she had 12 strikeouts and two walks.
Freshman of the Week: Austyn Dixon, USC Aiken
Dixon hit .500 with a 1.214 slugging percentage in four games last week. The catcher from Kings Mountain, N.C., tripled and homered against USC Beaufort on Monday, then had two doubles in the second game against GCSU and homered in the third. For the week she had four RBIs and scored two runs and struck out only once in 14 at-bats. Dixon is currently tied for second in the PBC with 30 RBIs on the season and is sixth in the league in slugging percentage.
Baseball
Player of the Week: Kyle Lodise, Augusta
Lodise had a monster week, hitting .500 over four games with a 1.583 slugging percentage. He homered in all four games, driving in 12 total RBIs. He opened with a solo shot in a win over Emmanuel, then hit .556 in a three-game sweep of Claflin with 11 RBIs. The sophomore infielder from Brunswick, Ga., went 2-for-3 in the second game of the series with a grand slam and seven RBIs, the most RBI in a conference game this season and second-most overall. Lodise currently leads the PBC in runs scored, is second in RBIs, fourth in slugging and seventh in batting average.
Pitcher of the Week: Lex Kenny, Georgia College & State University
Kenny picked up three saves in three appearances last week, pitching 5.2 innings in all with no runs allowed. The sophomore closer from Canton, Ga., took the mound in the eighth against Newberry, allowing no hits or walks with one strikeout in a 9-7 win. He entered the first game against Georgia Southwestern in the ninth with one out and the bases loaded and a 5-3 lead, getting the final two outs to win 5-4. He pitched three full innings in the finale against GSW, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out three. Kenny is currently tied for third in the PBC in saves and is ninth in ERA.
Freshman of the Week: Ethan Califf, Lander
Califf had a career day on the mound Saturday against Columbus State. The righty from Taylors, S.C., threw a career-high 7.1 innings, allowed just one run on three hits, and struck out three in Lander's 2-1 series-clinching win over the Cougars. Califf did not allow a hit through the first 6.1 innings, retiring the first 14 batters he saw in order before a walk in the fifth. Califf is currently third in the PBC in opponent batting average, holding hitters to a .209.
Women's Tennis
Player of the Week: Dana Heimen, Flagler
Heimen won a pair of matches over nationally-ranked opponents and also went 2-0 in doubles. The sophomore from Ketsch, Germany, defeated No. 72 Malak Arafat of Wayne State 3-6, 7-5, and 10-2. On Friday, she knocked off No. 52 Hannah Yip of Midwestern State, 7-5 and 6-2. Heimen is one-half of the No. 9-ranked doubles team in the nation. She teamed with Nadja Meier to defeat No. 4-ranked Anais Ruyssen and Marta Komar of Wayne State, 6-3.
Men's Tennis
Player of the Week: Jacopo Denitto, Flagler
Denitto went 2-0 in both singles and doubles last week. The junior from Lecce, Italy, defeated Jefferson's Hannibal Borg 6-4, 6-7 (10-3) and #47 Luis Diaz Argente of #20 Midwestern State 6-4, 6-4; all at #1 singles. In doubles, her partnered with Max Berner to beat the Jefferson team 6-2 and Midwestern State team 6-1. Denitto is ranked #8 in the nation in singles by the ITA.
Women's Outdoor Track & Field
Track Athlete of the Week: Taylor Stone, Flagler
Stone won the 800m at the Bob Hayes Spring Break Invitational over the weekend. The junior from Largo, Fla., covered the distance in 2:09.60 which not only bests the NCAA provisional mark by over two seconds, is the fastest 800 run in NCAA Division II so far this season. Stone is nearly a full second faster than anyone else to run the 800 nationally and set a personal best. She won the event in a field of 38 by over five seconds.
Field Athlete of the Week: Maxime Kirschner, Embry-Riddle
Kirschner won the javelin at the Bob Hayes Spring Break Invitational in Jacksonville. The junior from Munich, Germany, hit 43.48m on her fifth attempt, beating the field of 20 athletes by over three and a half meters. Her distance set an NCAA provisional mark and is the fifth-longest javelin throw in NCAA Division II this season. It is her second first-place finish in the javelin in the spring outdoor season, she also finished in third place, earning All-Conference accolades, in the pole vault at the PBC Indoor Championships.
Men's Outdoor Track & Field
Track Athlete of the Week: Joel Nesi, Flagler
Nesi won the 5000m at the Bob Hayes Spring Break Invitational, turning in a time of 14:38.19. The senior from Middleburg, Fla., finished nearly five seconds ahead of his nearest competitor in a field of 48 runners. Not only is that the fastest time in the PBC this season, it is the fastest 5k run in the southeast region in 2024.
Field Athlete of the Week: William Player, Columbus State
Player soared to new heights as he won the pole vault at the Emory Spring Break Classic last weekend. The junior from Roswell, Ga., cleared the bar at 5.00 meters on his second attempt at that height, nearly two feet higher than any of the other 18 vaulters in the event. He cleared the NCAA provisional height by .17 meters and his vault is second-highest in NCAA Division II so far this season. He also won the pole vault at the Clark Atlanta Panther Classic the week before wit a 4.57m and was second in the season-opening Victor Ice Breaker Duals. His vault was 0.20 short of the PBC record, which was established in 2014.
Men's Lacrosse
Player of the Week: Nicholas Paige, Lander
Paige had an outstanding week in goal for the 20th-ranked Bearcats. The junior keeper from Calgary, Alberta, tied a career-high with 18 saves in a tough loss to 18th-ranked Florida Southern, then made 15 saves in an overtime win over Anderson. He had a .550 save percentage on the week with a 13.06 goals against average and five ground balls. He played all 124 minutes of the two games combined. Among goalies with more than 100 minutes in net, he is second in the PBC in goals against average, third in saves percentage and third in saves per game.