PBC Players of the Week for April 21

4/21/2025 3:11:20 PM

Men's Lacrosse

Offensive Player of the Week - Michael Mattaliano, Lander (Jr., Attack, Fishers, Ind.)

Scored a career-high five goals and added an assist as Lander defeated #6 Flagler to win the PBC regular-season championship
Scored four goals in the first quarter as Lander jumped to a 7-2 lead...had a perfect shooting percentage, scoring on all five of his shots...added three ground balls
Currently ranked sixth in the PBC in goals per game and points per game...is tied for sixth in assists per game

Defensive Player of the Week - James Trainer, Montevallo (Sr., D, Seattle, Wash.)

Had a career-high six caused turnovers in the Falcons' 16-15 overtime win against Alabama-Huntsville
The six caused turnovers is tied for the most in a single game in the PBC this season...also added three ground balls
Currently ranked second in the PBC in caused turnovers per game

Women's Tennis

Player of the Week - Angelina Linnikova, North Georgia (Sr., Irkutsk, Russia)

Improved to 18-0 in singles this season with two more wins over ranked opponents last week...beat #8 Nikoline Gullacksen of Columbus State 6-2, 1-6, 6-2...beat #16 Emma Roberts of Mississippi College 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
Became the UNG all-time career leader in singles wins with 56...is 27-2 in singles over the last calendar year
Ranked #5 nationally by the ITA...is 8-0 against ranked opponents...has beaten the No. 1, No. 2 (twice), No. 8, No. 16 and No. 25 women's singles players

Men's Tennis

Player of the Week - Samer El Tori, Columbus State (So., Bat Yam, Israel)

Went 3-0 in singles and doubles as Columbus State went 3-0 on the week against nationally-ranked opponents
Defeated North Georgia's #59 Robin Eldin 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), GCSU's Rodrigo Perez Crespo 6-2, 6-2 and Lander's Merlin Bellett 6-4, 6-3, all at second singles...also partnered with Camilo Cano to go 3-0 in doubles
Is 5-0 in conference play this season in singles and 4-1 in doubles...is 10-7 overall in singles, including a 9-5 mark at #2 singles...has two wins over nationally-ranked opponents

Baseball

Player of the Week - George Davis, Georgia Southwestern (Sr., 3b, Bradenton, Fla.)

Had a monster week at the plate, hitting .571 in a three-game sweep of Augusta with a 1.429 slugging percentage...had four home runs and eight RBIs
Went 3-for-5 in game two of the series with two home runs and four RBIs...had two more home runs in the third game with four more RBIs
Now has eight home runs and 32 RBIs on the season...was 3-for-5 with runners in scoring position

Pitcher of the Week - Trace Goforth, Columbus State (Sr., RHP, Palmetto, Fla.)

Pitched seven shutout innings in CSU's 6-1 win over Georgia College & State University in the series opener...allowed only three hits and two walks while striking out 10
Did not allow a base hit until the fifth inning...set down the side in order twice...pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fifth without surrendering a run

Freshman of the Week - Nicholas Stinson, North Georgia (Fr., 1b, Kennesaw, Ga.)

Had a hit in all four UNG games last week with a .315 batting average, two doubles and three RBIs
Hit .357 in a three-game sweep of USC Aiken, going 2-for-5 in the second game with a double and two RBIs and 2-for-6 in third with three runs scored, including the game-winner in extra innings
Currently ranked second in the PBC in doubles with 17 on the season...hitting .352 on the season with 41 RBIs, third on the team

Softball

Player of the Week - Bailee Roberts, Augusta (Sr., 1b/3b, Statesboro, Ga.)

Hit an eye-popping .722 in five games last week with a 1.00 slugging percentage, two doubles, a home run and five RBIs...had 13 hits in 18 at-bats, including a .667 clip in a three-game series against North Georgia
Went 4-for-4 in the second game against Newberry with a double and an RBI...was 4-for-5 in the opener against the Nighthawks with a home run...had two hits in the second game and two more in the third with another double and two RBIs
Currently ranked fifth in the PBC in batting average and leads the conference with 72 base hits

Pitcher of the Week - Lakyn Phillips, USC Aiken (Sr., Lexington, S.C.)

Went 4-0 last week with a 0.57 ERA in 24.2 innings of work and 31 strikeouts...allowed only two earned runs in five appearances and six total walks
Started the week with a seven-strikeout performance in four innings of the five-inning win over Benedict … Struck out nine in the complete-game victory over Catawba … Struck out six in the complete-game win over USC Beaufort in the series opener … Entered in the seventh inning and struck out two batters for the final two outs in the middle game of the series, getting the save (and became the school's career saves leader with the performance) … Did not allow an earned run in the complete-game effort in the series finale victory over USCB
Leads the PBC in strikeouts and is second in wins and ERA...is third in the league in innings pitched and sixth in opponent batting average

Freshman of the Week - Brooke Maher, Flagler (Fr., OF, Marietta, Ga.)

Hit .412 over five games last week with one RBI and six runs scored...stole three bases in four attempts
Had at least one hit in all five games and hit .400 in three games against Georgia Southwestern...went 2-for-2 in the second game against #15 Saint Leo and was 2-for-3 in the second game against the Hurricanes, scoring twice
Currently fifth in the PBC in stolen bases

Men's Track & Field

Track Athlete of the Week - Avery Jaynes, Augusta (Sr. Brooklet, Ga.)

Set a school and Peach Belt Conference record in the 5000 at the Bryan Clay Invitational with a time of 13.51.61...finished in 11th in a stacked field that featured several Division I athletes and club pros
The 17th-fastest 5k run in NCAA Division II this season...broke a conference record that was established in 2016
Has the fastest 5k and 10k times in the Peach Belt this season

Field Athlete of the Week - Mitchell Jean-Baptiste, Augusta (Jr.)

Earns his second weekly honor of the season after clearing 2.03m in the high jump and the Georgia Tech Invitational
Finished sixth in the event in a field of 26 competitors, many from Division I...came in .02 under his season-best which is also tops in the Peach Belt...is the only league jumper to clear 2m in three separate meets

Women's Track & Field

Track Athlete of the Week - Emily McBride, Augusta (Sr., Peachtree City, Ga.)

Broke a school record and set an NCAA provisional time in the 3000 steeplechase with a 10:41.28 at the Bryan Clay Invitational
Smashed the NCAA provisional time by over 19 seconds...the 22nd-fastest steeplechase run in NCAA Division II this season...was four seconds off the PBC record

Field Athlete of the Week - Nene Akaose, Augusta (Fr.)

Hit a long jump distance of 5.12m at the Georgia Tech Invitational...her second-longest jump of the season, 0.44 off her 5.56 which is the third-longest in the PBC
Also ran the first leg on the 4x100 relay team

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