Appalachian State men's basketball junior guard Ronshad Shabazz (Raleigh, N.C./Huntington Prep) has been named Second Team All-Sun Belt.

Shabazz, who was named Preseason Second Team All-Sun Belt, earns his second consecutive all-conference honor after being named Third-Team All Sun Belt last season.

This season, Shabazz has played and started in all 31 games and leads the Mountaineers in scoring (18.9 ppg) and assists (93), while ranking second in steals (35). All three represent new career-highs. He has reached double figures in 28 of the team's 31 contests, including 11 games of 20 or more points.

Shabazz has left his mark in the record books in his third season as Mountaineer. He has tallied 587 points this season, which is the sixth most in single season history. He has also made 199 field goals on the season, which is ninth most and has drained 79 three-pointers, which is just two shy of entering the top-10.

In his career, Shabazz currently ranks 12th all-time with 1,459 points and is also tied for seventh in program history with 189 made three-pointers.

The Mountaineers finished the regular season 14-17, with a 9-9 mark in the Sun Belt. App State will be seeded fifth in the Sun Belt Tournament and will take on 12th seed Little Rock in the First Round on Wednesday at 3 p.m. EST at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.

2017-18 SUN BELT MEN'S BASKETBALL POSTSEASON HONORS

First Team All-Sun Belt
Tookie Brown, Georgia Southern (Junior, G, Madison, Ga.)
D'Marcus Simonds, Georgia State (Sophomore, G, Gainesville, Ga.)
Frank Bartley IV, Louisiana (Senior, G, Baton Rouge, La.)
Bryce Washington, Louisiana (Senior, F, New Orleans, La.)
Kevin Hervey, UTA (Senior, F, Arlington, Texas)

Second Team All-Sun Belt
Ronshad Shabazz, Appalachian State (Junior, G, Raleigh, N.C.)
Travis Munnings, ULM (Junior, F, Freeport, Bahamas)
Rodrick Sikes, South Alabama (Junior, G, Ocean Springs, Miss.)
Erick Neal, UTA (Senior, G, Dallas, Texas)
Jordon Varnado, Troy (Junior, F, Brownsville, Tenn.)

Third Team All-Sun Belt
Devin Mitchell, Georgia State (Junior, G, Suwanee, Ga.)
JaKeenan Gant, Louisiana (Junior, F, Springfield, Ga.)
Sam McDaniel, ULM (Senior, G/F, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia)
Nijal Pearson, Texas State (Sophomore, G, Beaumont, Texas)
Wesley Person, Troy (Senior, G, Brantley, Ala.)

Sun Belt Player of the Year
D'Marcus Simonds, Georgia State (Sophomore, G, Gainesville, Ga.)

Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year
JaKeenan Gant, Louisiana (Junior, F, Springfield, Ga.)

Sun Belt Freshman of the Year
Michael Ertel, ULM (Freshman, G, Indianapolis, Ind.)

Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year
JaKeenan Gant, Louisiana (Junior, F, Springfield, Ga.)

Joe Gottfried Sun Belt Coach of the Year
Bob Marlin, Louisiana

For her stellar sophomore season, Appalachian State University women's basketball center Bayley Plummer (Thomasville, N.C./East Davidson) was named to the All-Sun Belt Third Team, announced by the league office on Monday.

Plummer is one of four sophomores to receive postseason recognition on the all-conference teams. The Thomasville, N.C., native's vast improvement from her freshman campaign to this season led to her first Sun Belt postseason honor. Plummer more than doubled her production with career highs across the board.

This season, she started in all 29 games while seeing 32.7 minutes of playing time, which is sixth in the league. Plummer's season has been predicated on rebounding and defense, as she was the lone player in the conference to average more than 10 rebounds a game with a staggering average of 11.4, which is 13th in the country. Plummer is fifth in the league in blocks (1.6 bpg) and one of three players to rank in the top five in both swats and rebounds. She was as a consistent of a rebounder you could ask for where she posted 10 or more rebounds in 23 games with seven games of 15 or more off the glass including a personal-high 20 rebounds against UTA, which tied for the ninth highest in a single game and one of six players in App history to accomplish the feat. Her rebounding numbers are the highest in the conference since the 2009-10 season (Alysha Clark; Middle Tennessee State - 11.6 rpg).

Her gaudy rebounding average is the highest by a Mountaineer since the 1990-91 season (Shannon Thomas - 12.0 rpg) and the fifth highest in a single season by a player. Also, her 330 rebounds and counting surpassed the previous sophomore mark of 328 set by Valorie Whiteside in 1985-86 and the second-highest mark in a season overall. Plummer is just one of five student-athletes all-time to post at least 300 rebounds in a campaign.

Not only was Plummer a force on the glass, but she was a double-double machine with a league-high 12 games of at least 10 points and 10 rebounds. Highlighting her 12 double-doubles was a monster performance of 16 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks at Marshall that led to her selection to NCAA.com's Starting Five. She joined some of the top players across the nation in Chennedy Carter (Texas A&M), Brooke McCarty (Texas), Teaira McCowan (Mississippi State), and Jessica Shepard (Notre Dame)

Plummer and the Mountaineers aim to continue their season when they face Arkansas State on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. (ET) in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament in New Orleans.

All-Sun Belt First Team
Ronjanae DeGray, Little Rock (Junior, Forward, Odessa, Texas)
Jas Adams, Coastal Carolina (Senior, Guard, Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Chyna Ellis, South Alabama (Senior, Center, Cordova, Tenn.)
Rebekah VanDijk, UTA (Senior, Center, Nazareth, Texas)
Taeler Deer, Texas State (Senior, Guard, Houston, Texas)

All-Sun Belt Second Team
Akasha Westbrook, Arkansas State (Junior, Guard, Malvern, Ark.)
DJ Williams, Coastal Carolina (Sophomore, Guard, Moreno Valley, Calif.)
Toshua Leavitt, Texas State (Junior, Guard, Nixa, Mo.)
Kayla Robinson, Troy (Sophomore, Guard, Clyo, Ga.)
Amber Rivers, Troy (Sophomore, Forward, Birmingham, Ala.)

All-Sun Belt Third Team
Bayley Plummer, Appalachian State (Sophomore, Center, Thomasville, N.C.)
Monique Townson, Little Rock (Senior, Guard, Kansas City, Mo.)
Keanna Keys, Little Rock (Graduate, Forward, Sumrall, Miss.)
Simone Fields, Louisiana (Senior, Forward, San Antonio, Texas )
Crystal Allen, UTA (Senior, Guard, Fort Worth, Texas)

Sun Belt Player of the Year
Taeler Deer, Texas State (Senior, Guard, Houston, Texas)

Sun Belt Defensive of the Year
Chyna Ellis, South Alabama (Senior, Center, Cordova, Tenn.)

Sun Belt Freshman of the Year
Savannah Jones, South Alabama (Freshman, Guard, Ocean Springs, Miss.)

Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year
Sky'Lynn Holmes, Troy (Junior, Forward, Mount Pleasant, Texas)

Sun Belt Coach of the Year
Joe Foley, Little Rock

The Catawba Valley Community College baseball team dropped its series finale 8-3 against Lousiburg College on Sunday afternoon at Henkel-Alley Field.

 The Red Hawks (11-6) struggled offensively in the contest, tallying just five hits.

 Kyran Russ led Catawba Valley with two of those hits, including a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning that scored himself, Garrison Burress and Jimmy Marcelli.

 Zaccheaeus Rasberry paced Louisburg (12-4) with three hits, including a solo home run in the top of the second inning. The Hurricanes tallied 13 hits in the game, including two each off the bats of Trey Hicks, Seth Johnson and Brian Kahn.

 The Hurricanes scored two runs in the first, third and fifth innings and one run in each in the second and ninth innings in their victory.

 On the mound, Red Hawk starting pitcher Trae Starnes allowed 10 hits, seven runs (four earned), two walks and struck out 10 batters in five innings.

 Relief pitchers Timothy Davila, Nic Messina and Connor Hewell closed out the final four innings of the game, allowing a combined three hits, one earned run and struck out three.

 Louisburg starting pitcher Jason Parker allowed four hits, three earned runs, two walks and struck out 13 batters.

 The CVCC baseball team returns to the field on Wednesday for a road doubleheader against USC Lancaster.

On a record-setting day for the program, the Catawba Valley Community College women's basketball team finished off its 2017-18 regular season with an 80-37 road conference victory against Johnston Community College.

Shaniya Lester and Tanisha Wall led the Red Hawks (25-5, 20-2 in Region X) with 17 points each in Saturday's conference game.

A free throw by Lester in the first quarter of the contest notched her 1,000th career point — making her the first Catawba Valley women's or men's basketball player to earn that distinction.

The Red Hawks led 15-10 after the first quarter of the game and outscored the Jaguars 19-5 in the second quarter to pull ahead 34-15 at halftime.

In the second half, Catawba Valley outscored Johnston 46-22 to earn its 25th victory of the season.

Ariana Huskey paced the Jaguars (9-19, 3-19 in Region X) with 16 points in Saturday's contest.

Sophomores Nikkyana McCaskill and Tanisha Wall also reached double figures in scoring for Catawba Valley with 14 and 13 points, respectievly.

With the regular season over, the CVCC women's basketball team starts play in the Region X tournament on Thursday.

Appalachian State's baseball team dropped both games of a Sunday doubleheader against Marshall, losing 4-2 and 14-5 to conclude its first home series of the season.

App State (4-6) got another strong start from Colin Schmid (one run on three hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings) and took a 2-1 lead in Sunday's opener thanks to Conner Leonard's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning, but Marshall (6-3) scored three times in the top of the ninth inning.

In the series finale, the Mountaineers used an RBI double from Joel McDaniel and sacrifice fly from Drew Beck to tie the game at 2-all in the third inning, but the Thundering Herd broke the tie with a seven-run fifth.

App State returns to action Tuesday night in Charlotte with a Sun Belt Rentals Collegiate Baseball Series game against South Carolina (7-5). First pitch at BB&T Ballpark is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

GAME 1 RECAP

Marshall went ahead with an RBI double in the second inning, and App State tied the game on a sixth-inning sac fly from Beau Myers. Beck scored after delivering a one-out single and moving to third on a double from Leonard.

The Mountaineers broke the tie after Jason Avers led off the bottom of the eighth with a double and pinch-runner Robert Langdon moved to third on a fielder's choice by pinch-hitter Calev Grubbs. Leonard's run-scoring flyball to center on a two-strike pitch put App State three outs away from winning the first two games of the series.

Marshall posted its three ninth-inning runs on one single, one hit by pitch, two walks and one throwing error.

Beck led App State's offense with two hits, while Bailey Welch and Alex Leshock also doubled. Schmid has struck out 18 batters over 14 innings in his last two starts.

GAME 2 RECAP

Marshall had three RBI doubles as it took a 9-2 lead with its seven-run fifth.

App State's productive third inning began with a double from catcher Bradley Davis, who advanced to third as Langdon reached first on a sacrifice bunt. Leshock's infield single loaded the bases for McDaniel, who brought Davis in with his double. A potential second run was thrown out at the plate, and Leshock scored from third on Beck's bases-loaded sac fly with one out.

The Mountaineers' other run came from Leonard's no-doubt homer to left in the sixth inning.

Leonard, Leshock, McDaniel and C.J. Brown had two hits apiece for App State, which finished with 12 hits. It used seven pitchers, including freshman reliever Will Sprinkle, who made his Mountaineer debut.

Appalachian State University men's tennis suffered a 6-1 decision to a strong Stetson (8-2) squad on Sunday afternoon at the Molly Stoll Tennis Center in Deland, Fla.

App State (7-5) fell in the doubles portion of the match and five of six singles contests. Scott Webster (Perth, Australia/Scotch College) was the lone player to pick up a point in singles competition. The senior is 7-3 this season and has won his last three matches.

The tandem of Blake Carter (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) and Alexander Free (Johns Creek, Ga./James Madison) were playing in their first match as a tandem this season. The duo would fall to Loic Blanco and Antoine Sanchez, 6-3. Alex Pavkovich (Queensland, Australia/Mansfield State) and Ben Webster (Perth, Australia/Scotch College) suffered a 6-4 decision in the clinching match to Malik Bhatnagar and Angus Bradshaw, 6-4. Scott and Milo Bargeron were ahead, 4-1, and on their way to a victory but the contest went unfinished.

In singles play, Ben fell to a tough opponent in Bhatnagar, who came into the match with an unblemished 8-0 record. Carter dropped his affair to William Shkrob, 6-3, 6-3 before Bargeron fell to Sanchez, 6-2, 6-4. Scott's straight set win over Blanco in a matchup of No. 1s might have been his most impressive of the season, as Blanco was 8-1 and on a four-match win streak coming into the afternoon.

Pavkovich showed some fight in his match where he came back from a 3-6 setback to tie up the match in the second set, 6-2. However, the comeback fell short in the final frame, as he fell 6-0 to Bradshaw. Free was downed in a first set-tiebreaker to Coilin McNamara, 7-6, and then was topped, 6-1.

The Saint Leo Women’s Lacrosse Team (5-0) scored 14 consecutive goals over both halves to remain unbeaten in an 18-4 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne (1-3) Sunday afternoon at Moretz Stadium.

The Lions were led by Leslie Ferguson (Marietta, Ga.) with a game-high six goals while Kaylah Walstad (Chanhassen, Minn.) scored three times as Saint Leo held a 31-15 advantage in shots taken in the victory.

Lenoir-Rhyne junior attacker Gabby Sousa (Delran, N.J.) scored twice as the Bears did take a 3-2 lead at the 19:50 mark of the first half before the Lions began their 14-goal run.

In goal, Lenoir-Rhyne senior All-American Ines Flueck (Coppell, Texas) made six stops despite the loss while Saint Leo’s Erin Davis (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) also made six saves on her way to the win.

Sousa now has a team-leading 11 goals on the year.

Lenoir-Rhyne remains at home for the final of a five-game home stand to start the season when the Bears take on No. 17 Mercyhurst on Thursday, March 8, at 4pm.

The Catawba Valley Community College women’s basketball team earned its third-straight win on Saturday, knocking off host Brunswick Community College, 81-71.

Sophomore guard Shaniya Lester led the Red Hawks (24-5, 19-2 in Region X) with 22 points — her 16th game this season with at least 20 points scored.

Three other Red Hawks reached double figures in scoring in the contest, including freshman forward Zharia Brown with 17 points, sophomore guard Nikkyana McCaskill with 15 points and freshman guard Jada Reid with 12 points.

Brunswick led by two points after the first quarter of Saturday’s conference tilt, but Catawba Valley powered ahead for good with a 25-point second quarter — led by nine points from McCaskill (all 3-pointers) and six points from Lester.

Katisha Hyman paced Brunswick (15-11, 12-10 in Region X) with a team-high 24 points, while teammates Lakita Basnight and Jayda Malone added 16 and 12 points, respectively.

The 17th-ranked Catawba Valley Community College baseball team split with visiting Louisburg College on Saturday afternoon at Henkel-Alley Field at the Hickory American Legion Fairgrounds.

The Red Hawks (11-5) took a big lead in game one before holding off the Hurricanes (11-4) for a 6-3 victory, but Louisburg bounced back with a 6-0 shutout against Catawba Valley in game two.

Game one: Catawba Valley 6, Louisburg 3 (nine innings)

Powered by a pair of home runs off the bats of Kyran Russ and Garrison Burress, the Red Hawks took the opening game by three runs on Saturday afternoon against the Hurricanes.

Russ' two-run blast in the bottom of the fourth inning scored himself and teammate Brett Macchia, helping give the Red Hawks a quick 2-0 lead.

Catawba Valley padded its lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Graham Mitchell's RBI double scored Jimmy Marcelli, and Mitchell later scored in the inning on an error at first base by the Hurricanes.

Louisburg ended CVCC's attempt at a shutout bid in the top for the sixth inning when Justin Oakley led off the inning with a home run to center field off Red Hawk starting pitcher Julian Smith — only one of two hits Smith gave up in the contest.

Padding its lead late, Catawba Valley received two more runs in the bottom of the eighth when Burress connected on his first home run of the season, which also plated Russ.

The Hurricanes made a late-game rally, driving in two runs on a home run by Aaron Beach off CVCC closer Kevin Finzer in the top of the ninth.

However, Finzer would strike out the final two batters in the inning with runners on first and second to help the Red Hawks close out their 11th win of the year.

Smith picked up his third win of the season for Catawba Valley, allowing one earned run, two walks and striking out nine in seven innings. Finzer picked up the save — his second of the season.

Game two: Louisburg 6, Catawba Valley 0 (seven innings)

Despite tallying seven hits, the Red Hawks were shut out by the Hurricanes in the second game of the twin bill on Saturday afternoon.

Jimmy Marcelli led Catawba Valley with two hits in the contest, while Graham Mitchell, Willie Gordon, Garrison Burress, R.J. Conner and Cody Payne each tallied a hit.

Louisburg starting pitcher Payton Rice held the CVCC bats in check, striking out 11 batters in 6.1 innings before giving way to reliever Payton Rice in the seventh inning.

The Red Hawks stranded seven runners in scoring position in the contest, including two each in the second, third and fourth innings.

Starting pitcher Harry Hatcher took the loss for Catawba Valley. He allowed six hits, three earned runs and struck out four batters in his 3.1-inning appearance.

The Catawba Valley Community College men’s basketball team had its season ended on Saturday in the first round of the Region X tournament by Guilford Tech.

The eight-seeded Titans used a 23-0 first-half run to surge into the lead for good against the ninth-seeded Red Hawks in a 103-79 victory at Statesman Hall on the campus of Richard Bland College.

Eric Peaks paced the Titans (13-15, 6-14 in Region X) with a season-high 35 points, helping Guilford Tech advance to Sunday’s quarterfinals where they will face top-seeded Louisburg (25-4, 18-2 in Region X).

Tyrell Oglesby and Isayah Johnson powered the Red Hawks in Saturday’s tournament game. Johnson recorded a career-high 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Oglesby also registered a double double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

Catawba Valley (10-20, 5-15 in Region X) kept pace with Guilford Tech in the game’s opening stages before the Titans used their 23-0 run, including 10 points from Peaks, to grab control for good in the contest. The Red Hawks were scoreless during a six-minute, 45-second stretch from the 8:58 mark to the 2:13 mark of the first half during that run.

Down 53-29 at halftime, Oglesby and Johnson tried to power the Red Hawks back in the second half. The duo combined to score 29 of their 43 total points in the second half.

Despite those performances, Catawba Valley only kept pace with Guilford Tech in the second half with both teams scoring exactly 50 second-half points.

Saturday’s game was the final in the careers of four Catawba Valley sophomores — guards Caleb Bryson, Myles Williams and Dante Starr and forward Steve Ruszala.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Women’s Tennis Team (5-1) suffered its first setback of the year – 7-2 – to Emmanuel (Ga.) Saturday afternoon in a regional contest at the Lions Complex.

Junior Sara Kalkenova (Astana, KAZAKHSTAN) and freshman Sanne Janssen (Maastricht, NETHERLANDS) won at third and fifth singles, respectively, for the Bears despite the loss.

Lenoir-Rhyne next travels to Dahlonega, Ga., to take on North Georgia on Tuesday, March 6, beginning at 1:00 p.m., while Emmanuel takes on UNC Asheville, an NCAA Division I school, next Saturday, March 10, at 2:00 p.m.

NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Final

Emmanuel 7, Lenoir-Rhyne 2

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Franklin Springs, Ga. (Lions Tennis Complex)

Singles competition:

1. Fantine Botella (EC) def. Iulia Ponomareva (LR), 6-1, 6-1

2. Pearllan Cipriano (EC) def. Marta Escanero Funes (LR), 6-1, 6-4

3. Sara Kalkenova (LR) def. Maria Raich (EC), 6-4, 6-4

4. Victoria Silva (EC) def. Emily Murchland (LR), 1-6, 6-4, 10-8

5. Sanne Janssen (LR) def. Katharina Kiderlen (EC), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

6. Chloe O'Connor (EC) def. Taylor Fredrickson (LR), 6-7, 6-4, 10-7

Doubles competition:

1. Fantine Botella/Chloe O'Connor (EC) def. Iulia Ponomareva/Sara Kalkenova (LR), 8-4

2. Maria Raich/Katharina Kiderlen (EC) def. Emily Murchland/Sanne Janssen (LR), 8-4

3. Victoria Silva/Pearllan Cipriano (EC) def. Taylor Fredrickson/Marta Escanero Funes (LR), 8-6

Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (5-1), Emmanuel (4-5)

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,3,5,2,4,6)

It's a SoCon Sweep for Appalachian State's wrestling team.

After wrapping up a third straight regular season championship in the same venue last month, App State completed a sweep of Southern Conference titles by winning the eight-team championship tournament with 110.0 points on Saturday at McAlister Field House.

Second-place Chattanooga finished 22 points behind the Mountaineers, who benefited from individual titles by top-seeded senior Forrest Przybysz at 174 pounds and fourth-seeded tournament MVP Irvin Enriquez at 141 pounds. Redshirt freshman Alan Clothier joined Przybysz and Enriquez in clinching an NCAA Championships berth by securing the SoCon's second automatic spot at 184 pounds.

App State dominated the 10 weight classes with eight finalists, four more than the second-place total, and two wrestlers in third-place matches. As a result, JohnMark Bentley was named the league's coach of the year for the third time in the last four seasons and the fourth time in his nine seasons as the Mountaineers' head coach.

"Today was a great day for Appalachian," Bentley said. "We came in, and our guys responded. They were ready to go this morning. We had really good quarterfinal and semifinal rounds to put eight in the finals and placed all 10 of our guys in the top four in the tournament. That's really important as far as the team title. I just can't say enough about our guys because we have a young group and have a lot of these guys coming back. We're growing and continuing to improve."

The 2018 team joined the groups from 2016, 2003, 2001 and 1997 as two-way champions in the Southern Conference.

In addition to Przybysz, Enriquez and Clothier, App State was also represented by De'Andre Swinson-Barr (125 pounds), Codi Russell (133 pounds), Gavin Londoff (149 pounds), Angel Najar (157 pounds) and Cary Miller (285 pounds) in championship matches. An at-large berth into the NCAA Championships is still possible for Randall Diabe, who finished third at 197 pounds thanks to an escape in the Tiebreaker-2 period against Campbell's Chris Kober, and Laken Cook placed fourth at 165 pounds.

Enriquez opened with an 11-2 major decision against SIUE's Dakota Leach and reached the final with a 3-1 upset of top-seeded Chattanooga standout Mike Pongracz, who had claimed a victory by major decision against Enriquez during the regular season. Enriquez then won by a 14-3 major decision against Campbell's Jonathan Ryan in the final.

"I came in here and obviously had some nerves, but I knew I could win this tournament," Enriquez said. "I knew people were going to sleep on me. I came here to have fun, wrestle as hard as I could and attack. It paid off."

Przybysz, who competed at the NCAA Championships two years ago as a sophomore, secured a return trip with an 11-1 major decision against The Citadel's Robert Tywater, a 5-1 decision against Gardner-Webb's Christian Maroni and a 3-2 decision against Campbell's Andrew Morgan.

Morgan officially took a 2-1 lead on a takedown with 1:02 left in the final, but Przybysz already had a point locked up for riding time. He executed an escape with 45 seconds left to regain control and win his first conference title.

"I can't even describe how much better it is to go out like this than had I lost," said Przybysz, who also received the Pinnacle Award that goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA on the championship team. "It's just a night-and-day difference."

Clothier dropped an 8-2 decision against Chattanooga's Bryce Carr, the SoCon Wrestler of the Year, after recording a 10-1 major decision against Gardner-Webb's Cole Graves in the semifinal round and a 4-2 decision against Campbell's Charlie Andrews in the opening round. Since Clothier hadn't faced third-place finisher Conor Fenn of Davidson during the tournament, they concluded the event by wrestling for the league's second automatic NCAA berth at 184 pounds, and Clothier won by an 11-3 major decision.

Diabe, who went 7-0 against his SoCon competitors during the regular season, is one wrestler who could still join three of his teammates in Cleveland from March 15-17. With 33 wrestlers filling every bracket at the NCAA Championships, there are five at-large spots available for the 197-pound wrestlers who don't qualify automatically, and those selections are based on head-to-head competition, quality wins, coaches' ranking, results against common opponents, RPI, qualifying event placement and winning percentage. Those announcements are scheduled for Tuesday.

As a No. 5 seed, Swinson-Barr had the most improbable run to the championship round Saturday. He collected a third-period pin against VMI's Clifton Conway and moved on to the final because of a medical forfeit by SoCon freshman of the year Korbin Meink from Campbell.

Russell followed an 18-1 technical fall against The Citadel's Nicholas Long with an 11-5 decision against reigning SoCon champion Chris Debien, and Londoff reached his final thanks to a Tiebreaker-1 takedown that helped him claim a 4-2 semifinal win against The Citadel's Tyler Buckiso. Londoff started his day with a first-period pin of VMI's Kevin Keaveney.

Najar had technical falls by scores of 20-2 and 20-3 to advance to his final, and Miller posted an 11-0 major decision against Chattanooga's Connor Tolley in the semifinals after winning with a first-period pin against VMI's Jake Tomlinson in the opening round.

125 pounds: (5) De'Andre Swinson-Barr
W, by fall (6:21) vs. (4) Clifton Conway, VMI
W, by medical forfeit vs. (1) Korbin Meink, Campbell
Final: L, 9-5 dec. vs. (3) Alonzo Allen, Chattanooga

133 pounds: (2) Codi Russell
W, 18-1 tech. fall vs. (7) Nicholas Long, The Citadel
W, 11-5 dec. vs. (3) Chris Debien, Chattanooga
Final: L, 5-4 dec. vs. (1) John Muldoon, SIUE

141 pounds: (4) Irvin Enriquez
W, 11-2 maj. dec. vs. (5) Dakota Leach, SIUE
W, 3-1 dec. vs. (1) Mike Pongracz, Chattanooga
Final: W, 14-3 maj. dec. vs. (2) Jonathan Ryan, Campbell

149 pounds: (1) Gavin Londoff
W, by fall (3:00) vs. (8) Kevin Keaveney, VMI
W, 4-2 (tiebreaker 1) vs. (4) Tyler Buckiso. The Citadel
Final: L, 3-1 dec. (SV) vs. (2) Tyshawn Williams, SIUE

157 pounds: (1) Angel Najar
W, 20-2 tech. fall vs. (8) Ethan Phillips, The Citadel
W, 20-3 tech. fall vs. (5) Karsten Van Velsor, SIUE
Final: L, 10-3 dec. vs. (2) Tyler Marinelli, Gardner-Webb

165 pounds: (6) Laken Cook
L, 10-3 dec. vs. (3) Quentin Perez, Campbell
W, by fall (1:12) vs. (7) Hunter Costa, Davidson
W, 8-4 dec. vs. (4) Brett Stein, Gardner-Webb
Third-place match: L, 11-7 dec. vs. (3) Quentin Perez, Campbell

174 pounds: (1) Forrest Przybysz
W, 11-1 maj. dec. vs. (8) Robert Tywater, The Citadel
W, 5-1 dec. vs. (4) Christian Maroni, Gardner-Webb
Final: W, 3-2 dec. vs. (3) Andrew Morgan, Campbell

184 pounds: (2) Alan Clothier
W, 4-2 dec. vs. (7) Charlie Andrews, Campbell
W, 10-1 maj. dec. vs. (4) Cole Graves, Gardner-Webb
Final: L, 8-2 dec. vs. (1) Bryce Carr, Chattanooga
Match for 2nd NCAA berth: W, 11-3 maj. dec. vs. (5) Conor Fenn, Davidson

197 pounds: (1) Randall Diabe
W, by fall (2:01) vs. (8) Jake Koch, VMI
L, 4-3 dec. vs. (4) Sawyer Root, The Citadel
W, by fall (6:19) vs. (3) Christian Dulaney, SIUE
Third-place match: W, 5-4 (Tiebreaker 2) vs. (6) Chris Kober, Campbell

285 pounds: (2) Cary Miller
W, by fall (1:48) vs. (7) Jake Tomlinson, VMI
W, 11-0 maj. dec. vs. (3) Connor Tolley, Chattanooga
Final: L, by fall (1:48) vs. (1) Jere Heino, Campbell

The Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Tennis Team (6-2) won its third straight match with a 6-3 triumph over Emmanuel (Ga.) (4-7) Saturday afternoon at the Lions’ complex.

Two Bears – junior Shane O’Dea (Dublin, IRELAND) and senior Tomas Hons (Valasske Mezirici, CZECH REPUBLIC) – won at both singles and doubles play to lead Lenoir-Rhyne to the road victory.

Lenoir-Rhyne travels to Dahlonega, Ga., to take on North Georgia on Tuesday, March 6, at 1:00 p.m., while Emmanuel takes on UNC Asheville next Saturday, March 10, beginning at 2:00 p.m., on the road.

NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Final

Lenoir-Rhyne 6, Emmanuel 3

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Franklin Springs, Ga. (Lions Tennis Complex)

Singles competition:

1. Tom Jarry (EC) def. Hamed Gandouz (LR), 6-1, 6-0

2. Noah Johansen (EC) def. Tales Miranda (LR), 6-1, 6-0

3. Tomas Hons (LR) def. Juan Carlos Romero (EC), 6-3, 7-6

4. Shane O'Dea (LR) def. Lucas Pereira (EC), 6-7, 7-5, 6-1

5. Alex Ayguavives (LR) def. Lucas Hideo Sasaki (EC), 6-1, 6-1

6. Enrique Alcacer (EC) def. Paul Lenz (LR), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition:

1. Tomas Hons/Shane O'Dea (LR) def. Tom Jarry/Noah Johansen (EC), 8-5

2. Paul Lenz/Hamed Gandouz (LR) def. Enrique Alcacer/Juan Carlos Romero (EC), 8-2

3. Alex Crespo Sanchez/Tales Miranda (LR) def. Jorge Canadas/Lucas Pereira (EC), 8-6

Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (6-2), Emmanuel (4-7)

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,6,4,1,5,3)

Lenoir-Rhyne (15-7, 4-2) and Catawba (8-11, 4-2) split a South Atlantic Conference Baseball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Newman Park. The Indians rallied to win the first contest by a 6-5 score while the Bears earned the shutout victory in the nightcap, 5-0.

In game one, the Indians were able to rally from a 4-0 deficit to take the win. Catawba’s Luke Setzer (Salisbury, N.C.) hit the game-winning, run-scoring single in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Catawba’s Heath Mitchem (Salisbury, N.C.) also drove in two runs while Clay Young (Greensboro, N.C.) (2-2) earned the win in relief and Connor Johnson (Rockwell, N.C.) pitched the final two innings for his first save of the year.

For Lenoir-Rhyne, junior first baseman Alex Reynolds (Kings Mountain, N.C.) hit a three-run home run but senior Connor Dailey (Rutherfordton, N.C.) fell to 2-1 after taking the loss.

In game two, Lenoir-Rhyne sophomore John Grigg (Lawndale, N.C.) improved to 3-0 after earning the complete game victory. Grigg allowed just five hits while striking out five batters. Catawba’s Michael Elwell (Mooresville, N.C.) fell to 1-2 after being tagged with the loss.

Lenoir-Rhyne junior outfielders Justin Dean (Mauldin, S.C.) and Aaron Stamper (Clemmons, N.C.) hit solo home runs for the Bears. Dean has a team-leading four home runs on the year.

Lenoir-Rhyne wins a weekend league series over Catawba for the first time since the 2002 season.

Lenoir-Rhyne returns to Bears Field to take on Newberry in the opening game of a South Atlantic Conference weekend series next Friday, March 9, at 6pm.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Softball Team (15-4), ranked No. 15 in NCAA Division II, swept a non-conference regional doubleheader from Francis Marion (9-9), 5-1 and 8-2, Saturday afternoon at the Patriots Complex.

In game one, Lenoir-Rhyne junior outfielder Erin Boone (Creedmoor, N.C.) hit a bases-clearing triple as part of a four-run second inning to spark the offense while junior Brandi Parks (Roaring River, N.C.) improved to 6-3 on the year after picking up the complete game win.

Francis Marion’s Jennie Polak (Quincy, Ill.) drove in a run while Sydney Holland (Statesville, N.C.) fell to 5-4 after taking the loss.

In game two, Lenoir-Rhyne put the game away early with a six-run first inning. The Bears were led by sophomore designated player Mackensi Swain (Pinetown, N.C.) and freshman third baseman Talon LaClair (Statesville, N.C.) with two hits and two runs batted in each.

Lenoir-Rhyne junior Emily Kenley (Charlotte, N.C.) improved to 8-1 on the year after going the distance.

For Francis Marion, Jessica Harney (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) hit a solo home run while Reece Davis (Hickory, N.C.) fell to 4-4 after taking the loss.

The Bears are 13-1 in their last 14 contests.

Lenoir-Rhyne returns home to take on Davis & Elkins on Thursday, March 8, in a doubleheader beginning at 2pm.

Seniors Craig Hinton (Winston-Salem, N.C./East Forsyth) and Griffin Kinney (Delaware, Ohio/Fork Union Military Academy) combined for 38 points as the Appalachian State men's basketball team posted a 76-67 victory over Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon.

Hinton recorded his first double-double of the season and second of his Mountaineer career with a career-high 20 points and a career-high tying 10 rebounds (four offensive). He went 7-of-10 (70.0 percent) from the field and went 3-of-6 on three-pointers. His seven made field goals represent a new career-high and his three made treys tie his career-best.

Kinney had 18 points on 6-of-8 (75.0 percent) shooting, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Junior Ronshad Shabazz (Raleigh, N.C./Huntington Prep) added 11 points and three assists, while junior Tyrell Johnson (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson) chipped in with 10 points off the bench.

With the win, App State (14-17, 9-9 SBC) concludes the season with a 9-4 mark inside the Holmes Center, which is their best record at home since the 2010-11 season, when the Mountaineers went 9-3 at home.

The Black and Gold used an early 6-0 run to build a 11-6 lead. For the remainder of the half, App State led by as many as seven points and took a 38-33 lead into the break.

In the second half, the Mountaineers were able to push their lead to double digits at 44-34 courtesy of an old-fashion three-point play by sophomore Isaac Johnson (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day).

The Black and Gold would expand its lead to 14 points at 58-44, only to see Coastal Carolina respond with the next five points to trim the Mountaineer lead to 58-49. Kinney would come right back with a basket to give the Apps a 60-49 advantage with 8:20 remaining.

But the Chanticleers had an answer and scored six consecutive points to pull within five points at 60-55 with 6:31 to play.

Leading by four points, a jumper from freshman Justin Forrest (Decatur, Ga./Greenforest McCalep Christian Academy) put the Mountaineers up 71-65 with 1:52 to play.

The Chanticleers answered with a basket, but App State would respond with four straight points from the free throw line to open a 75-67 lead and put the game away.

App State will now turn its focus on the Sun Belt Tournament, which will tip off on Wednesday at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. With the win, the Mountaineers are seeded 5th in the tournament, and will face the 12 seed in Little Rock.

Appalachian State softball swept Tennessee Tech in the home-opening doubleheader on Saturday, March 3. The Apps had two comeback wins, 3-2 in the first game and 10-8 in the second game. The Mountaineers improved to a 6-10 overall record.

Jenny Dodd had a fantastic day with three home runs in two games. Dodd went 1-2 in the first game when she hit her first home run of the season. She was 2-3 in the second game with two more home runs. All three home runs allowed go-ahead runs for the Mountaineers to take two from Tennessee Tech. Her three home runs combined for six RBIs today.

Game One (W, 3-2)

After two perfect innings, the Apps scored their first run in the bottom of the third. Ally Walters was the first run across the plate on the day. The Golden Eagles answered with two runs in the top of the fourth with a two-run homer.

It was not until the bottom of the sixth that the Apps regained the lead. Alisha Josey started the inning with a double to the left center fence. Jenny Dodd smacked her first home run of the season to take over the lead, bringing the score to 3-2 in favor of the Mountaineers.

Kenzie Longanecker threw 4-2/3 innings for the Mountaineers and allowed four hits with two walks and both of the Golden Eagles’ runs. Katie Williford was awarded the win after the Mountaineers made the comeback in the sixth inning. Williford pitched 2-1/3 innings with two allowed hits and two walks. The two combined for 113 pitches in the first game against Tennessee Tech.

Game Two (W, 10-8)

App State came out swinging to start off the second game of the doubleheader. Sidney Russell sparked the Mountaineer offense with a single up the middle. Alisha Josey followed with a single to center field, scoring Russell from second base after she advanced to second base on a passed ball. Haley Stewart earned an RBI after a single through the right side to score A. Josey. Dodd hit her second homer of the day for two RBIs. The Mountaineers scored four in the bottom of the first inning.

The Golden Eagles hit a solo home run from Callen Griffin to lessen the Apps’ lead, 4-1. Julianna Roupas got the Mountaineers out of the inning with a fly out and a pop up.

The Apps were not done on offense after a four-run first inning. Keri White doubled to left field and stole third base. Sidney Russell trailed with a double to score White for back-to-back doubles from the Mountaineers. Stewart’s groundout scored Russell for an RBI and the second run of the second inning.

The Golden Eagles scored six in the top of the third off of seven hits. Annaleise Kennedy came in to relieve Roupas, but Callie Kuykendall came in to finish the inning. At the end of the third, Tennessee Tech led 7-6. Once again, Dodd regained the lead for the Mountaineers with a two-run home run, her third of the day and third of the season. Alisha Josey sent a two-RBI homer out of the park in the bottom of the fifth inning. At the end of the fifth, the score was 10-7 in favor of the Mountaineers.

The Golden Eagles scored one in the top of seventh on a passed ball, but it was not enough to pull ahead of the Mountaineers. Callie Kuykendall was the winning pitcher, throwing 4-1/3 innings, allowing only one hit and walking one batter. Kuykendall had three strikeouts. The Mountaineer pitching staff threw 108 pitches, 27 pitches less than Kayla Hughes from Tennessee Tech.

Four Mountaineers had multi-hit games in the second game to contribute to a 10-8 win.

The Appalachian State baseball team pounded out a season-high 13 hits in an 8-5 win over Marshall in Saturday’s 2018 home opener.

App State (4-4) used a balanced offensive attack and a couple of big innings to take down the Thundering Herd (4-3) of Conference USA. All nine Mountaineer starters recorded at least one hit, including two-hit efforts from catcher Riley Smith, first baseman Conner Leonard, left fielder Beau Myers and center fielder Alex Leshock.

Left-hander starter Andrew Vaccacio (1-2) earned his first career win with the Black and Gold, as the junior college transfer allowed just two runs with eight strikeouts in six innings of work. Kaleb Bowman struck out three over the next 2.1 innings, and Luke Watts entered with one out in the ninth and induced a double play ball to pick up his second save of the year.

“When you talk about a big offensive day, sometimes what’s hidden is a pretty good pitching day,” head coach Kermit Smith said. “I thought Andrew did a great job. He gave up the home run to the second batter of the game and only gives up one more run through six. That’s kind of been the theme of our season is we’ve had phenomenal starts all year. Kaleb’s first two innings were dominant, and Watts only had to throw four of five pitches before the double play ball.”

Trailing 2-0 in the third inning, App State plated four runs in the bottom half of the frame to surge to the lead. The Mountaineers used four hits and two Marshall errors for the big inning. Run-scoring doubles by Bailey Welch and Jason Avers highlighted the action.

App State maintained a 4-2 lead until the bottom of the seventh, when the Mountaineers tacked on three more runs, thanks in large part to a pair of triples by Riley Smith and CJ Brown.

Smith doubled in his next at-bat in the bottom of the eighth to score Joel McDaniel and give the Mountaineers a commanding 8-2 lead. Marshall made a late push with three runs in the ninth before Watts came in and shut down the comeback.

App State managed a season high in hits for the second straight game, after piling up 12 hits in Tuesday’s 13-3 win at Western Carolina.

“Offensively, I thought it was a complete game,” Kermit Smith said. “Nothing extraordinary, just some really quality balls that were put in play.”

Shane Hanon had a three-hit afternoon and Raul Cabrera drove in three to pace the Herd. Marshall starting pitcher Wade Martin (0-1) took the loss after allowing four runs (two earned) and striking out six hits in six innings.

Appalachian State University women's basketball (7-22, 5-13 SBC) freshman guard LaPresha Stanley (Rockledge, Fla./Rockledge) tied a career-high with 24 points, but it wasn't enough in a 66-51 decision to Coastal Carolina (16-13, 10-8 SBC) on Senior Day at the Holmes Center.

Stanley shot 10-for-22 from the field and tied a game-high with seven rebounds. It's the third time in the past six games the Rockledge, Fla., native has scored at least 20 points in a game and a team-leading 16th game in double figures. Bayley Plummer (Thomasville, N.C./East Davidson) finished the game with six rebounds and five points, setting the sophomore record for rebounds in a single season with 330 and counting, surpassing Brittney Whiteside's 328 rebounds from the 1985-86 campaign. It's also the second most rebounds in a campaign by a player.

The Apps held the conference's second-best offensive rebounding team with just seven rebounds while amassing 23 offensive rebounds, outscored CCU in the paint, 30-26, and forced the visitors into 21 turnovers for 21 points. The reserves also outscored the Chanticleers' bench, 15-9. However, CCU shot 51.1 percent to Appalachian's 31.8 percent showing on Saturday and doubled up on App in 3-pointers, 8-4.

Appalachian got off to the start it wanted in the opening frame with an 8-2 advantage in the first 3:38 of the contest thanks in large part to a 6-0 spurt with the game tied, 2-2. Nicola Mathews (Adelaide, Australia/College of Central Florida) connected on a jumper before Stanley drove for back-to-back layups to cap off the surge. Coastal would respond with a 7-0 run of its own to take a 9-8 edge before Stanley hit two at the free throw line followed by a Lainey Gosnell (Demorest, Ga./Habersham Central) 3-pointer that gave the Black and Gold an eventual 13-11 lead after the frame.

Going into the second quarter, the Mountaineers wanted to build off their solid quarter. The offense went cold shooting 2-for-13 from the field that helped CCU outscore App by eight in the frame and hold a 23-17 lead into halftime. Appalachian was trailing 23-13 before Stanley hit a pair of baskets to slice the gap to just six.

Tierra Wilson (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds) started App off with a 3-pointer to bring the score to 23-20. Wilson aimed to get the Mountaineers on track before CCU went on a 16-0 run to go in front by double digits. The Chanticleers eventually went into the fourth frame with a 50-31 lead.

Appalachian displayed a spirited effort in the final frame, outscoring CCU, 20-16. App shot 53.3 percent from the field and went 2-for-3 from 3-point range (2-17 first three quarters). While trailing 57-36 with 6:29 left in the game, the Mountaineers had one run left in them as they went on a 13-3 burst to bring the deficit to just 11, 60-49, with 2:28 left in the game. A layup from Plummer and three points from Gosnell led the charge. That was the closest the Apps came to within striking distance as CCU six of the final eight points to pull away for the win.

Jas Adams led three players in double figures with 20 points. Naheria Hamilton scored 17 points and DJ Williams turned in 16.

Before the game, senior student assistant P.J. Bellantoni and guard Katelyn Doub (Asheboro, N.C./Southwestern Randolph) were recognized for their dedication and commitment to the women's basketball program.

The Black and Gold will now head into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament as the ninth seed and will face eighth seeded Arkansas State. Tip-off for the first round is 12:30 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday in Lakefront Arena and the winner will face No. 1 seed Little Rock in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. (ET). All games are streamed on ESPN3.

The Appalachian State men's track & and field team landed nine All-Sun Belt honorees the league announced on Friday.

Senior Ryan Hastings (Matthews, N.C./Porter Ridge) led the way, earning First Team All-Sun Belt honors. Junior Brandon Smith (Fayetteville, N.C./Douglas Byrd), sophomore Jabari Johnson (Yokosuka, Japan/Nile C. Kinnick and freshman De'Shawn Ballard (Wilmington, N.C./Laney) earned Second Team All-Sun Belt accolades.

Senior Collin Loy (Burlington, N.C./Southern Almance), senior Isaiah Relliford (Winston-Salem, N.C./White Oak), sophomore Sean Doyle (Rutherfordton, N.C./Polk County), sophomore Jordan Dale (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) and freshman Gable Dershem (Clayton, N.C./Cleveland) were all named Third Team All-Sun Belt.

Hastings won the 800-meter run at the Sun Belt Championships in 1:50.87, after qualifying second in prelims. Earlier this season at the Thundering Herd Invitational, he set a PR in the 800-meter run, crossing in 1:50.48. His time was a meet and facility record and also earned him Sun Belt Track Athlete of the Week honors.

Ballard recorded a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash at the Sun Belt Championships, with a PR time of 21.28 seconds. His time ranks second in the event in program history.

The 4x400-meter relay team of Ballard, Hastings, Johnson and Smith recorded a second-place finish at the Sun Belt Championships in 3:15.69. Earlier in the season at the Thundering Herd Invitational, the same team broke the school record in the event, finishing with a time of 3:14.30.

The DMR squad of Loy, Smith, Doyle and Dershem notched a third-place finish in the event at the Sun Belt Championships in 10:13.45.

Dale finished third in the high jump at the Sun Belt Championships, clearing 6-8.25. At the VMI Winter Relays earlier in the season, he set a new PR with a mark of 6-10.75. His height also ranks sixth in program history in the high jump.

Relliford would finish third at the Sun Belt Championships in the triple jump, covering a new PR distance of 47-10.00.

The Mountaineers recorded a fifth-place finish at the Sun Belt Championships and will open the outdoor season on March 15 at the 49er Classic hosted by the University of Charlotte.

MEN'S ALL SUN-BELT

First Team
Ryan Hastings, Appalachian State
Jaylen Bacon, Arkansas State
Michael Carr, Arkansas State
Tiaan Steenkamp, Arkansas State
Luke Fielding, South Alabama
Javen Jackson, South Alabama
Ben Rolader, South Alabama
Migael Strydom, South Alabama
Joel Duren, UTA
Michael Guerrero, UTA
Erik Martinsson, UTA
D'Undre Mitchell, UTA
Emeka Nwangwu, UTA
David Seastrunk, UTA
Brenden Wallace, UTA
Jemal Parharm, ULM
Alton Clay, ULM
Alvin Chikaeze, Texas State
Ben Collerton, Texas State
T-Mond Johnson, Texas State

Second Team
De'Shawn Ballard, Appalachian State
Jabari Johnson, Appalachian State
Brandon Smith, Appalachian State
Heinrich Herbst, Arkansas State
Nick Hilson, Arkansas State
Itamar Levi, Arkansas State
Jacob Oury, Arkansas State
Bennett Pascoe, Arkansas State
Jamil Peeples, Arkansas State
David Phillips, Arkansas State
Cristian Ravar Ladislau, Arkansas State
Carter Shell, Arkansas State
Sven Glueck, Louisiana
Niel Giliomee, South Alabama
Rafael Scott, South Alabama
Beau Robinson, Louisiana
Justin Domangue, UTA

Third Team
Jordan Dale, Appalachian State
Gable Dershem, Appalachian State
Sean Doyle, Appalachian State
Collin Loy, Appalachian State
Isaiah Relliford, Appalachian State
Charles Okeze, Little Rock
Landon Abernathy, Arkansas State
Hayden Hampton, Arkansas State
Elijah Ross, Arkansas State
Kyle Baudoin, Louisiana
Richard Delphin, Louisiana
Warno Potgieter, South Alabama
Petter Gustafsson, UTA
Joe Austin III, Texas State
Joseph Meade, Texas State