Baseball

Player of the Week - Matthew Mebane, Georgia College & State University

Mebane hit .462 in a three-game conference series against Flagler with a 1.000 slugging percentage. The junior third baseman from Dublin, Ga., went 2-for-4 in the opener and 1-for-4 in the second game with an RBI. In the third game he either drove in or scored all seven runs for the Saints, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double and five RBIs. For the week he had six RBIs, three runs scored and had no errors in seven chances at third. Mebane leads the PBC in home runs with 14 and is tied for sixth in NCAA Division II in homers per game. He is also fifth in the league in RBIs and fourth in slugging percentage.

Pitcher of the Week - Colton Joyner, Columbus State

Joyner pitched a complete-game four-hitter against USC Aiken, allowing one earned run while striking out four. The senior righty from Columbus, Ga., threw 104 pitches, setting down the side in order four times and retiring 16 of the final 17 batters he faced. He held batters to a .143 average with one walk allowed.

Freshman of the Week - Jared Huse, USC Aiken

Huse pitched the final three innings of USCA's 6-3 win over Columbus State in the second game of the series, getting the save after allowing no runs, no hits and no walks. The reliever from Buford, Ga., struck out six of the nine batters he faced with a groundout and two fly outs to complete his outing with no runners reaching base. Huse gets his first save of the season with 18 strikeouts in 13 innings of work.

Softball

Player of the Week - Emily Allen, Lander

Allen hit .647 over five games with a 1.294 slugging percentage, three home runs and nine RBIs as the Bearcats went 4-1. She had multiple hits in all five games, including a .636 average in a three-game sweep of GCSU. She homered in the second game against Francis Marion, then hit two more in the opener against the Bobcats. In that game, the sophomore outfielder from Mount Dora, Fla., recorded a 9-3 putout in the 10th inning with a run coming home from third with to keep the game tied. Allen is currently tied for eighth in the PBC in batting average.

Pitcher of the Week - Tybee Denton, North Georgia

Denton had another stellar week in the circle for the No. 1 Nighthawks, going 3-0 with a 0.47 ERA in 19 innings of work . On Tuesday, Denton pitched a complete-game seven innings against Montevallo, allowing zero runs on only four hits while striking out eight batters and walking none. In a three game series against Flagler, Denton threw a pair of complete games in a five-inning, 11-1 win on Saturday and a seven-inning, 1-0 win on Sunday. She only allowed three hits total in the series, highlighted by a one-hit, seven-strikeout shutout in Sunday's victory. In total this week, For the week, the senior from Homer, Ga., allowed one earned run on seven hits with 17 strikeouts. She retired 60 of the 77 hitters faced in the week. Her pair of performances allowing less than three hits give her a total of 12 such outings on the year. She also now has 11 games recording seven or more strikeouts this season. Her now 16 victories lead the entire nation while her hits allowed rate of 3.23 per seven innings ranks second nationally.

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

Gutierrez hit .450 over five games last week with one home run and eight RBIs. The catcher from Newnan, Ga., collected at least one hit in all five games, with a .429 average in a three-game series against Lander. In the final game of that series, she hit a grand slam and a double, driving in five. She had six of her eight RBIs in conference play, struck out only twice in 14 at-bats and scored six runs. Gutierrez is currently tied for sixth in the PBC in RBIs.

Men's Larcosse

Player of the Week - Trace McDonald, Flagler

McDonald scored six goals and added three assists as Flagler dropped a tight game to Colorado Mesa 12-11 on Thursday. The sophomore attacker from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., scored three goals and added two assists in the fourth quarter alone as Flagler rallied from four goals down to cut the margin to one. He took 11 shots in total, eight of those on goal, with one ground ball and caused three turnovers. McDonald's nine points are tied for the most in a single game in the PBC this season. He currently is tied for the league lead in assists per game, is fourth in goals per game and third in points per game.

Men's Outdoor Track & Field

Track Athlete of the Week - K'Anthony Benjamin, Embry-Riddle

Benjamin ran the fastest 200 and second-fastest 100 in the Peach Belt this season at the UCF Knights Invitational over the weekend. The junior from Sandy Point, St. Kitts, ran the 200 in 21.53, finishing 12th out of 96 sprinters with teams such as Clemson, Penn State and Rutgers competing. It was the fastest 200 run in the PBC by 0.2 seconds and less than three-tenths off the NCAA provisional time. He ran the 100 in 10.86 seconds, finishing 19th of 77.

Field Athlete of the Week - Antonio Caito, Embry-Riddle

Caito set an NCAA provisional mark in the triple jump, soaring 14.84m at the UCF Knights Invitational. The sophomore from Indianapolis, Ind., won the event at the UCF Knights Invitational, beating jumpers from Clemson, West Point, FIU and Penn State. It is the longest triple jump in the PBC this season and sixth-longest in NCAA Division II.

Women's Outdoor Track & Field

Track Athlete of the Week - Nakhia Montgomery, Columbus State

Montgomery ran the fastest 100m in the Peach Belt this season with a 12.07 at the Emory Thrills in the Hills over the weekend. The sophomore from Blakely, Ga., ran a 12.11 in the preliminary heat, then turned in a personal best 12.07 in the final, finishing third in a field that started with 18 runners. Montgomery also holds the eighth-fastest 200 time in the PBC and ran the opening leg of the 4x100 relay team that holds the third-fastest time in the conference.

Field Athlete of the Week - Maxime Kirschner, Embry-Riddle

Kirschner wins her second straight weekly honor after earning a podium spot in the javelin at the UCF Knights Invitational. The junior from Munich, Germany, hit a distance of 43.77 on her third throw, finishing third overall in a field of 31 that included many Division I competitors. Her throw improved upon her previous long of 43.48 set last week and is the new standard in the PBC. It is also the eighth-longest throw in NCAA Division II this season.

Men's Golf

Player of the Week - Will Chambless, North Georgia

Chambless picked up his first victory and finished in the top-5 of the individual leaderboard for the third time this season at the GCSU Bobcat Invitational on Tuesday. The graduate student from Macon, Ga., posted rounds of 69, 70 and 69 at the par-70 Golf Club at Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee. He finished two-under-par, beating out Florida Southern’s Adam Alvarez by a stroke for the victory. Chambless’ performance led the way as the No. 1 Nighthawks finished T2 overall in the 16-team event that hosted 10 of the nation's top-15 teams. Per Clippd’s computer scoring rankings, Chambless currently ranks as the No. 4 men’s golfer in NCAA Div. II.

Women's Tennis

Player of the Week - Angelina Linnekova, North Georgia

ITA women's singles No. 12 player Angelina Linnikova picked up a pair of wins in both singles and doubles competition to help No. 6 UNG to its second ranked win of the year over No. 15 West Florida. In the #1 singles match, Linnikova won 6-3, 7-6 (7-5 tiebreaker) to seal a point for the Nighthawks. For the first time competing in the #1 doubles spot, Linnikova paired up with senior teammate Svetlana Teterina for a 6-4 win which also helped seal the doubles point for UNG. Linnikova is now 11-1 in singles play this year and 22-2 combined in singles and doubles matches. 

Men's Tennis

Player of the Week - Giulio Sassi, North Georgia

In just his third appearance as the #1 singles player for No. 19 UNG, Sassi had a resounding comeback win against ITA Men's singles No. 22 Sebastian Rondon of No. 17 West Florida. After losing the first set 2-6, Sassi charged back and won the second set 6-4 before taking the final set in a very close battle, 7-5. The win marks Sassi's seventh of the year in singles matches and his first over a nationally ranked opponent. For good measure, he added a 6-4 win in the #1 doubles match with freshman teammate Marcos Castellanos.