Women’s, Men’s Golf Add Recruits

The men’s and women’s golf teams welcomed three members apiece to their respective squads June 7, as head coach David Synan announced the signing of six new players to the 2010-2011 teams.

The women’s golf team welcomed three new golfers, including two from the state of North Carolina.

The Lady Braves will welcome Dana Watkins from Clayton, N.C., Meghan Moore from Durham, N.C., and Kelly Sumner from Callao, Va., to the team next season.

Watkins was a four-year letter winner at Knightdale High School in Knightdale, N.C.

The high school senior took home team most valuable player honors from her squad this season, while performing both on and off the links.

“Dana has the potential to be a top-three player for us in the fall,” Synan said.  “With her natural athletic talents, she has limitless potential.  I’m very excited about Dana joining the UNCP Golf family.”

Watkins placed 10^th at the 2009 4A North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s State Championships during her senior year and helped lead her team to a second place finish in the conference.  Watkins also earned academic all-conference honors during her junior and senior campaigns.

Watkins plans to major in biology at UNCP.

Joining Watkins, Moore joins the Lady Braves after a transfer from Division I East Carolina University.  Because Moore is switching between Division I and Division II, she will not have to sit out a season as NCAA transfer rules state.

Moore was the No. 1 ranked junior player in the state of North Carolina during the 2008-2009 season.

“Meghan will be joining us from ECU and I am really excited about what she can bring to the team,” Synan said.  “She has a tremendous work ethic and should be able to contribute from day one.”

Moore placed in the top-10 in many events last season, including a first place finish in the 2010 Carolina You Amateurs with a two day score of 152.

Closing out the Lady Braves’ 2010 recruiting class, Sumner comes to UNCP after player for Northumberland High School.

The senior medaled in every contest last season except for two and took home a second place finish at the 2009 High School District Tournament.

“I am pumped that Kelly is joining the Braves this fall,” Synan said.  “She comes from an athletic-minded family that loves golf.  Kelly will be a strong addition to the UNCP Golf family and has the skills to contribute this fall.”

Sumner’s father, Dean, was her high school coach and is also a Professional Golf Association Tour Professional.

Braves Take Home Academic Award

The Black and Gold athletic department received one of the Peach Belt Conference’s top academic honors June 2, as the Braves were awarded the conference’s Presidents’ Academic Award.

The award was the first time UNCP was given the honor and was given out to UNCP at the league’s annual meeting in Hilton Head, S.C.

The award recognizes academic excellence throughout all UNCP athletics and their student-athletes.

“The Peach Belt Conference Presidents’ Academic Cup Award is a direct result of the emphasis that our UNCP coaches put on academic excellence,” athletic director Dan Kenney said.  “UNCP student athletes had a 2.82 GPA with five of the 16 UNCP teams posting over a 3.00 GPA.”

The conference asked for the league’s 13 members to submit an average grade point average for all of their undergraduate student body at UNCP this spring.  The conference then compared this GPA to the school’s student-athletes’ GPAs.

These two numbers were then used to create a ratio to identify the top academic performing schools in the conference.  UNCP had the highest ratio of regular students to student-athletes at 1.106 to win the award.

Overall 11 of the conference’s institutions had their student-athletes have a better GPA than the general student body.

The award is part of a larger conference program to highlight the accomplishments of PBC student athletes in the classroom as well as on the field.  This year marks the fifth year the award has been presented.

The conference also selects the top student-athletes in each sport for all-academic teams following each sport’s season.

UNCP Female Athletes Search for Equality

UNCP freshman shortstop Holly Berry swings at an oncoming pitch. Berry is one of 115 female athletes at UNCP.

Male and female athletes may spend their time on different playing fields, but the way athletic budgets are often set up leaves many wondering when female athletes will have a fair shot at succeeding on the field.

At UNCP though, it appears that gender equality is being met and females are leading the way in athletic scholarships, despite the myth that male athletics dominate the athletic department’s budget.

After Title IX was passed in 1972 and fully enforced in the 1980s, it was meant to give female athletes and their sports more control in a male-dominated industry.  Since the 1990s, even more laws have been passed to give female athletes equity in athletic programs, specifically handling female scholarships, facilities, scheduling and other forms of athletic support.

Women lead in scholarships
While there are still many institutions where male athletics still demand the highest priority in the athletic landscape, at UNCP, female athletes are leading the charge.

According to the UNCP Athletic Department’s 2008 budget records, UNCP had 241 males and 115 females participate in 16 total varsity sports.  The school set aside $1,257,323 in aid for all student athletes.

While $712,858 in aid went to male athletes, 57 percent of the total allotment, male athletes were only given on average $2,958 a year in student aid.  Female athletes received $544,464 in total aid, but because of their low roster numbers, each female athlete averaged $4,734 in athletic-based aid.

Lady Braves Place Fourth at PBC Championships

The Black and Gold women’s golf team took home fourth place honors April 13 at the inaugural Peach Belt Conference Championship, finishing seven strokes back of champion Flagler University.

The Lady Braves posted a team round of 241 in the two-day event at the par-71, 5,860-yard Lake View Course at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga.

Flagler, who trailed most of the first round, picked up the pace in the second day of the tournament, shooting a tournament-low 234 to take home first place honors.                    

Armstrong Atlantic fell just three shots back of the Saints, earning second place with a two-round team total of 237.  Montevallo finished one stroke ahead of the Black and Gold for third place and Columbus State rounded out the top-five with a 341 team score.

Individually, the Black and Gold had two top-10 finishers, with all-conference selections Katja Dammann and Christina Crovetti finishing in the top-10.

Damman led the Black and Gold with two rounds of 78, finishing the event with a two-round score of 156 to finish in second place.

Crovetti finished second for UNCP, posting rounds of 81 and 79 to finish sixth overall.

Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Shauna Walor finished in 15th place at the event, shooting rounds of 87 and 85 for a total of 172.

Sophomore Alexa Mooney shot a 179 over the tournament for a 17th place finish.

The Braves fifth competitor, freshman Jennifer Crow, was disqualified on the fifth hole of the day with Armstrong Atlantic’s Carrie George for a rules violation.

Montevallo’s Emily Gibson took home top individual honors, shooting a round-low 74 to move past Dammann for the title.

Walor Named PBC Freshman of the Year

Black and Gold women’s golfer Shauna Walor was announced April 11 as the Peach Belt Conference’s Freshman of the Year.

Walor and fellow golfers Katja Dammann and Christina Crovetti were honored by the conference at the annual Women’s Golf Banquet in Calloway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga., with selections to the conference’s first and second team all-conference teams.

 “I was actually really surprised when I won Freshman of the Year,” Walor said.  “Of course along with that I was ecstatic.  It was cool because my brother won it last year and when I was awarded with it, my parents and brother were screaming in the background.  It was pretty awesome.”

In her first season, Walor played every round for the Lady Braves, helping the team lead the conference in stroke average.

Black and Gold Spotlight: Shauna Walor

Matt Smith sits down with UNCP women’s golf star Shauna Walor…

What are your expectations of yourself and the team as the season closes?
My expectations for myself are to just go out on the course everyday and do the best I can. I just want to finish every round and know that I gave it my all that day and never gave up. It is so easy to just give up in golf because it is such a frustrating and mental game so to keeping it together when things aren’t going your way shows how strong you are as an athlete.  As for the team, I hope we can make it to Regionals.  There are a couple seniors on the team and I know that is their biggest goal, especially saying it is their last year. I also would like us to beat Newberry. They are one of the best teams we play, and I know we have the talent on our team to beat them. Beating Newberry is our goal going into every tournament.

Describe your experience as a UNCP student athlete.
Being a UNCP student athlete is the best experience I have ever had. It is so much fun going out to tournaments and seeing all the great competition out there. It really gets you motivated to practice as hard as you can every single day. It’s great being part of a team that you see as your family and knowing that they are there for you no matter what. On the other hand, it’s difficult being a student and an athlete. It is very challenging at times, but you learn how to handle both. You really need to have good time management.

What is your most exciting golf moment?
My most exciting golf moment had to be when I shot 73 on my second day of the tournament in Myrtle Beach during the fall season. It was the best performance I had ever had in a tournament round, and it was so exciting because my parents and grandparents were there watching. It made me realize that I can really compete with all these girls, and it gave me a big boost of confidence.

Women’s Golf Places Second at Ralph Hargett Intercollegiate

The UNCP women’s golf team took home second place honors March 30 at the 2010 J. Ralph Hargett Memorial Intercollegiate at Mint Hill, N.C., after a 21-day layoff.

The Lady Braves shot a team total of 654 to finish second to Newberry at the par-72, 5,673-yard Olde Sycamore Golf Club.

After posting a team round of 325 in the first day of the event, the Lady Braves posted a second-day total of 329 to finish 17 strokes back of the Scarlet and Gray.

“We were happy with our performance,” UNCP women’s golf coach David Synan said.  “This is our fifth second place [finish] of the year and we beat the 10th ranked team in the country.  We are headed into the PBC tourney with momentum.”

Newberry took home top honors out of the 12 teams competing at the event with a two day total of 637.  Carson-Newman finished third in the team event with a score of 665 while host Wingate was fourth in the event with a 673.   Anderson rounded out the event’s top-5 with a 678 for the tournament.

Lady Braves Take Home Second Place

The UNCP women’s golf team took home a second place finish Feb. 28 at the St. Andrews Spring Invitational at the Woodlake Golf 7 Country Club.

The Lady Braves improved their team score by six strokes on the second day of the tournament to post a 330 in the second round of the event.  The Lady Braves’ two-day total of 666 put them 33 strokes back of first place finisher Belmont Abbey, who posted a team score of 633 to take home top team honors.

Mount Olive (729), Lenoir-Rhyne (744) and Limestone (782) rounded out the top-5 in the team event.

Individually for the Black and Gold, senior Christina Crovetti and freshman Shauna Walor led the way, as both posted a two-day score of 165 to finish tied for seventh.  Both Crovetti and Walor posted rounds of 82 on the first day of the tournament and rounds of 83 on the second day to finish in the top-10 of the event.

Black and Gold junior Katja Dammann posted rounds of 86 and 81 to post a 167 and a 10th place finish at the event.  Sophomore Alexa Mooney tied for 11th at the event, posting a 169 and freshman Jennifer Crow placed 18th with a 186 to give the Lady Braves five top-20 finishers at the event.

 Belmont Abbey’s Carley Warrington took home top individual honors at the event.  Warrington and teammate Rita Kim both posted two-day totals of 155, with Warrington winning the title in a playoff.

The Crusaders would take every spot in the top five, as Michele Low (159), Melissa Siviter (164) and Meagan Wallace (164) took home third, fourth and fifth place honors.

The second place finish was the Lady Braves’ second top-5 finish of 2010.  UNCP finished fifth overall at the Newberry Invitational on Feb. 16.

Women’s Golf Takes Fifth Place Finish

After posting a 12^th place finish at their previous event, the UNCP women’s golf team bounced back with a fifth place finish Feb. 16 at the Newberry College Invitational at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

In her first action since a hand injury, junior Katja Dammann led the Lady Braves with a 10^th place finish after posting two rounds of 84 for a 168 total.

Dammann posted the top individual score for UNCP at the par-74 5,940-yard Moss Creek Golf Club, as senior Christina Crovetti placed second for the Black and Gold with scores of 83 and 88 to finish with a 171, good for 18^th at the event.

Freshman Jennifer Crow (85-92) placed 34^th overall for the Lady Braves, with teammate Shauna Walor posting two 89-stroke rounds.  Sophomore Alexa Mooney finished the event with a 183 after posting rounds of 95 and 88.

UNCP’s fifth place finish was bested by tournament host Newberry, who posted a team score of 661 to take top-team honors.

Carson Newman (670), Armstrong Atlantic (684) and Catawba (687) rounded out the top-5 of the event.

The Braves’ top-5 finish marked the fifth time out of six tournaments played this season that the Black and Gold have placed in the top-10.  With their fifth place finish, UNCP posted back-to-back top-5 finishes at the Newberry Invitational.

Montevallo’s Emily Gibson took home top individual honors, posting rounds of 78 and 79 to take home medalist honors.

Newberry’s Lisa Brandl (161) and Catawba’s Kelsey Babos (162) rounded out the top-3 finishers.

Lady Braves’ Golf Finish 12th

After posting a 14^th place finished on day one of the 2010 Tusculum/Kiawah Island Women’s Golf Intercollegiate on Feb. 6, the Lady Braves golf team stormed to a 12^th place finish to close out the tournament.

The Lady Braves combined to shoot a second-round total of 335 to finish 12^th at the par-72, 5,876-yard Cougar Point Golf Club.

Combined with their first day total of 348, the Black and Gold posted a two day total of 683 for the two-round event.

“The weather and big numbers hurt us,” UNCP head coach David Synan said.  “We need to cut back on big numbers when we find ourselves in difficult situations. We have at least five more events in the spring and we will stay positive.”