Markeith Cummings, KSU Men's Basketball
Cummings, a senior forward for Kennesaw State men’s basketball, became the program’s all-time scoring leader during the month of November. In seven games during the month, Cummings averaged 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists a contest while producing six double-digit scoring games and leading the Owls in scoring six times.
He scored an A-Sun-high 31 points against Radford on Nov. 17, en route to being named to the Comfort Suites Invitational All-Tournament Team. He concluded the tournament with a 22-point effort against Towson that moved him into first place on Kennesaw State’s scoring list, surpassing Herman Smith’s total of 1,683 points. As of Dec. 4, Cummings has 1,750 career points.
ETSU Volleyball
The month of November was one to remember for the 2012 ETSU volleyball team. The Bucs captured their first-ever Atlantic Sun Tournament Championship after going into Lipscomb’s Allen Arena and defeating Mercer (3-0), Lipscomb (3-1), and North Florida (3-2) to claim the title. ETSU punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Along with winning the championship, three players landed on the A-Sun All-Conference Teams, while also having a record-high four scholar-athletes selected to the All-Academic Team. Megan Devine was named A-Sun Player of the Year, First Team All-Atlantic Sun, and Tournament MVP, while Meredith Hardy landed First Team All A-Sun honors and Khadijah Wiley took home All-Freshman Team accolades. Jamie Rutledge and Ivey Rice joined Devine and Hardy on the All-Academic Team
ETSU represented the A-Sun in the NCAA Tournament by battling No. 16 seed Kentucky in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in Lexington, Ky. Despite falling to the Wildcats, ETSU captured a 20-win season (23 total victories) for the second time in the last three years and set program records for block assists (613) and sets played (139), as well as new A-Sun records for total blocks (366.5) and blocks in conference only matches (198.5). The Blue and Gold also etched their name into the ETSU single-season record book for total blocks (366.5, 3rd), assists (1644, 4th), kills (1781, 5th), and attack percentage (.223, 5th).
Sammi Smith, Stetson Women's Golf
Stetson University junior Sammi Smith tied her fall low round of 70 and posted a total score of 224 en route to winning the final fall A-Sun Women's Golfer of the Week honor.
Smith earned her first collegiate tournament title by five shots in helping the Hatters to a win in their only home tournament of the year. Her efforts helped Stetson capture the Holiday Inn Express/Hatter Classic title for a sixth consecutive year.
North Florida Volleyball
North Florida volleyball went 5-1 during the month of November and advanced to the A-Sun Championship final as the No. 4 seed. In the last 12 days of their season, the Ospreys defeated cross-town rival Jacksonville twice in 12 days (once regular-season, the other in the first-round of the A-Sun Championship) and had landmark wins over both ETSU and Florida Gulf Coast. UNF’s regular-season victory against ETSU was the Ospreys’ first win over the Bucs in five matches. Meanwhile, the Ospreys’ thrilling 3-2 victory against top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast in the A-Sun semifinals not only ousted the tournament’s No. 1 seed, but was also UNF’s first win over the Eagles since a 3-0 victory on Nov. 11, 2005.
UNF finished out the season with a new program Division I record for overall wins (22) and Atlantic Sun wins (11). Nicole Baran was named Libero of the Year, becoming the first player in UNF history to collect a Libero of the Year honor. Paige Pridgeon collected her fourth A-Sun postseason honor with a First-Team selection. Baran and Dagnija Medina earned All-Academic A-Sun honors, while Baran, Carolyn Jenkins and Pridgeon were selected to the A-Sun’s All-Tournament Team.
Gilbert Kemboi, USC Upstate Cross Country
Coming off his third-straight individual championship at the 2012 A-Sun Cross Country Championships and leading the Spartans to their second-straight team title, senior Gilbert Kemboi was named the A-Sun Scholar-Athlete of the Year in men’s cross country. He followed that accolade up by earning All-Region honors after finishing a career-best sixth at the NCAA Southeast Regional at Charlotte, qualifying for nationals. At nationals, he finished a solid 42nd in the meet hosted by Louisville, just two spots short of earning All-America honors.
Hannah Phillips, Lipscomb Women's Basketball
Lipscomb senior guard Hannah Phillips enjoyed arguably her best month of basketball during November. Phillips led the Lady Bisons in all major categories including points (14.2), rebounds (6.2) and assists (3.0). She also led the A-Sun with 16 made 3-point shots while shooting 50 percent from long range.
Phillips scored a career first by winning the A-Sun Player of the Week for the first week of the season. She earned the honor after averaging 18 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists over the Lady Bisons first two games of the year against Gardner-Webb and No. 16 Vanderbilt. Phillips is on pace to be the fifth Lipscomb player to score 1,000 points as she currently has 804 points.
Kendra Grant, Mercer Women's Basketball
Mercer women’s basketball junior Kendra Grant has had a remarkable comeback 2012-13 campaign to date after missing all of last season due to two serious knee surgeries. The Macon, Ga., product current ranks sixth in the Atlantic Sun Conference averaging 13.1 points per game. She is third on the team averaging 5.3 rebounds per game and is doing her work on the offense end at an efficient clip, shooting 42 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the three-point line. Grant tied her career-high with 24 points at Furman on November 24 and has already scored in double-digits in six of Mercer’s seven games this season.
Santiago Echeverri, FGCU Men's Soccer
Sophomore Santiago Echeverri picked the most ideal times to provide his first two career game-winning goals. The first came in the 51st minute in the regular season finale at Mercer that clinched FGCU's third straight A-Sun regular season crown and host duties of the postseason tournament. Echeverri struck again in the A-Sun Championship game against Mercer, netting the game-winning goal in the 95th minute of overtime for the 1-0 win that sent the Eagles back to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Echeverri was also named the A-Sun Tournament MVP.
As the Official Motivation and Apparel Brand of the Atlantic Sun Conference, Crons sponsors the monthly "Achiever Award" to recognize what A-Sun fans deem the most notable performance from each month.
The Crons Brand provides what it calls “high quality motivational apparel, merchandise, and accessories to inspire people to get better and constantly strive for their goals.” It also strives to reinforce positive messages to athletes about what it takes to be a winner and the importance of working harder than anyone else in order to reach their full potential.
Crons communicates this message through four separate product categories: Team Gear, Lifestyle Apparel, Nutritional Products, and School Programs. Crons is a national brand with its message-themed and motivational merchandise and apparel already in use by more than 500 schools and organizations in 25 states.
Crons perpetuates its message through its Achievers Program, designed to teach students the importance of setting and achieving goals. The program focuses on fostering skills that will help young people set smart, measurable goals now and in the future – leading to academic, personal and professional success.
