This Blog Entry Sponsored by the Number Nine

In honor of 9-9-09 the A-Sun insider has decided to take a look at all the fall sports “Nines” in the conference. Take a look and get to know your “A-Sun Nines” a little better.

Belmont
Men’s Soccer - Will Moorad - The sophomore looks to improve on a 2008 season in which he earned Atlantic Sun All-Freshman Team honors. A Brentwood, Tenn. native, Moorad played in 20 matches a season ago with starts in 15. The Bruins forward finished ’08 with seven goals, which ranked him seventh in the conference. Moorad led Belmont in assists and ranked sixth in the league in helpers with five.

Women’s Soccer - Elizabeth Bublis - The senior, a Norman, Okla. Native, boasts starts in all four of Belmont’s game this season and she played in all of the Bruins 23 matches in 2008 and earned A-Sun All-Academic honors and passed out assists in each of Belmont’s first two Atlantic Sun Tournament game in ’08.

Volleyball - Katie Marshall - The redshirt sophomore enters her first season in the Atlantic Sun after spending the 2007 season at Cornell, where she was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on November 14. The Glencoe, Ill native led the Big Red in points and kills in ’07 and after sitting out a year as part of the NCAA transfer rules she looks to be a key contributor for the Bruins in ’09.

Campbell
Men’s Soccer - Hector Moreira - The native of Moterrey, Mexico is the first freshman to adorn the number nine. The freshman forward for the Camels has not seen action yet but the rookie entered as an accomplished high-school star, winning the Mexican high school national title in 2008 and 2009.

Women’s Soccer - Kristen Baker - The Camels make it a pair of freshman “Nines” with Baker. The rookie forward from Fuquay-Varina, N.C. was the embodiment of a “student-athlete” in high school as she scored 168 goals with 64 assists and she also played varsity tennis and basketball and was named her senior class valedictorian.

Volleyball - Allyson Goldbach - The junior outside hitter is the second transfer on our list of “A-Sun Nines”. The Jupiter, Fla. native played her first two season of college volleyball at Florida CC - Jacksonville where she earned NJCAA Division I Second Team All-American honors twice. This season, Goldbach ranks third on the Camels in kills per-set and has seen action in eight matches for Campbell.

ETSU
Men’s Soccer - Andrew Brown - The junior forward is the first international nine we have some across as he hails from Montego Bay, Jamaica. A member of the U20 Jamaican national soccer team in 07-08, Brown has played in both of the Bucs first two games, once as a sub and once as a starter. Undefeated ETSU takes on Radford and Virginia Tech this weekend.

Women’s Soccer - Jen Altimier - The junior defender played in all of the Bucs 18 matches in 2008 and posted an assist in a 2-1 win against Morehead State. The Cincinnati native has earned a spot on the A-Sun All-Academic team in each of her first two seasons.

Volleyball - Erin Ryan - Ryan leads ETSU in kills per set with 2.44 and kills with 66. She led the Bucs to a win against USC Upstate in the conference opener with 19 kills. The junior outside hitter/middle blocker led ETSU a season ago on the attack with 247 kills. The Davie, Fla. native earned A-Sun All-Academic honors in ’08 and posted a career-high 21 kills against USC Upstate on Nov. 11.

FGCU
Men’s Soccer - Taylor Sullivan - The junior midfield has yet to see action for the Eagles this season but does have 21 games of experience for FGCU.

Women’s Soccer - Stacey Payne - The Coral Springs, Fla. native enters her sophomore season with FGCU following a freshman campaign in which she saw in 14 games. The forward found the net once and also passed out two assists en route to a four point freshman season.

Volleyball - Keishla Negron - The junior outside hitter earns the title of first female international “A-Sun Nine” as she is a native of Caroline, Puerto Rico. She saw action in four matches in 2008 for the Eagles and earned conference all-academic honors.

Jacksonville
Men’s Soccer - Nedim Hrustic - The junior forward is becoming a regular in the A-Sun Insiders Blog as he also came up in the A-Sun Family Athletic Connections entry. Hrustic ranks tied for first on the Dolphins in points with two. The Jacksonville, Fla. native finished fourth on the team in 2008 in goals scored with four.

Women’s Soccer - Tamara Cormier - The junior forward earns the honor as the first Canadian on our list as she is a native of Coquitlam, British Columbia. She has not seen action in 2009 but Cormier found the field in 18 matches a season ago including four as a starter. She earned A-Sun All-Academic honors in ’08.

Volleyball - Nicki Kent - The senior middle blocker has started all six matches this season for the Dolphins and leads Jacksonville in blocks (28) and blocks per set (1.33). The Vancouver, Wash. native finished 2008 ranked third in the A-Sun in blocks per set in second season since transferring from Wyoming.

Kennesaw State
Women’s Soccer - Maylee Attin-Johnson - The senior midfielder earned Preseason Player of the Year honors for 2009. Attin-Johnson, a native of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, missed all of the 2008 season with an injury, but in 2007 she earned First Team All-Atlantic Sun Conference honors.

Volleyball - Rachael Albright - The sophomore setter for the Owls has appeared in all seven matches this season and leads the team in assists per game (5.32).

Lipscomb
Men’s Soccer - Garret Pettis - The sophomore forward has yet to see action in 2009 for the Bisons. As a freshman earned Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year honors, the first Bisons’ soccer player to receive the award. The Elizabethtown, Pa. native was the only unanimous selection to the Atlantic Sun All-Freshman Team and picked up Second Team All-Atlantic Sun honors.

Women’s Soccer - Emily Longden - In her first collegiate game Longden, the native of Jacksonville Fla., scored the lone goal in the Lady Bisons’ 1-0 home victory against Austin Peay. The freshman forward earned conference Player of the Week honors following her first two matches with the Bisons.

Volleyball - Amy Trykowski - The senior concluded 2008 ranked 153rd in NCAA Division I in hitting percentage (.298). The Dumfries, Va., native finished seventh overall in A-Sun in hitting percentage and sixth in A-Sun matches only in hitting percentage (.314).

Mercer
Men’s Soccer - Richard Wimsatt - The sophomore has started all three matches for the Bears this season. The Warner Robins, Ga. native posted one assist in 2008 in a 2-1 loss to Lipscomb in the A-Sun Tournament.

Women’s Soccer - Emerald Phillips - The sophomore forward for the Bears ranks third on the team in points this season with three.

Volleyball - Chelsea Gebben - The senior setter leads the Bears in assists this season (126) and assists per set with 5.48. In 2008, the Jacksonville, Fla. native dished out double-digit assists in 24 of Mercer’s 29 contests and handed out a career high 25 assists and added eight digs against Presbyterian (9/5).

UNF
Men’s Soccer - Peter Lauer - The freshman is the first (or “Erst”) German on the list of “A-Sun Nines” as he is a native of Weiskirchen, Germany. The communications major made his collegiate debut against UCF in the UCF Fall Classic.

Women’s Soccer - Vladana Petricevic - The sophomore notched the first goal of here college career in the finale of the JU Invitational. The native of Dunedin, Fla. came off the bench against Furman to find the net in the 78th minute.

Volleyball - Kaley Read - The junior middle blocker earned All-Atlantic Sun Second Team honors a season ago. The Tampa, Fla. native started in all 32 matches for the Osprey in 2008 and led the team and was fourth in the league in kills per set with 3.5. Read recently picked up All-Tournament honors at the Appalachian State Invite. Read averaged 4.7 kills per set as well as 2.5 digs at the tournament.

USC Upstate
Men’s Soccer - Erkan Yildirim - The junior forward is the second German on our list as he is a native of Flensburg, Germany. He played in all 18 games and started 16 contests a season ago. The business management major finished the 2008 campaign third on the team with six points.

Women’s Soccer - Alyssa Roegner - The junior midfielder has yet to see action in 2009 but in 2008 she played in 18 games, earning six starts. The Shelby Township, Mich., native finished the campaign with one goal and one assist and tied for fourth on the team with three points.

Stetson
Men’s Soccer - Giulio D'Amore - The sophomore played in 17 games with two starts in 2008 and tied for 6th on team in goals with two. The DeLand, Fla., native scored a goal in his first collegiate game against Webber International.

Women’s Soccer - Kristen Mueller - The freshman defender for the Hatters made her collegiate debut against UT Martin as a substitute. The Deland, Fla. native played 23 minutes and help Stetson shutout UT Martin, 1-0.

Volleyball - Sam Freeman - The sophomore middle blocker has found her way into four matches this season for the Hatters and currently leads the team in bocks per set (0.92).