The South Atlantic Conference and AstroTurf Present Senior Spotlights Featuring Wingate Baseball, Golf and Tennis

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – In light of the recent events of the COVID-19 pandemic that canceled the remainder of the 2020 South Atlantic Conference spring sports seasons, the SAC along with its corporate partner AstroTurf, will be presenting the SAC AstroTurf Senior Spotlights. These highlights will showcase the spring sports teams at each of our 12 institutions and will give fans a brief overview of the team's shortened season, while highlighting the 2020 senior student-athletes on each team.

We begin our AstroTurf Senior Spotlights with the Wingate University Bulldogs and the baseball, men's and women's golf and men's and women's tennis teams.

BASEBALL

The Bulldogs baseball team closed out the 2020 season ranked No. 22 nationally with a record of 15-6 overall, going 7-2 in SAC play. Wingate picked up series wins over nationally ranked Newberry, Coker and a three-game sweep of Anderson.  

Leading the way for the Bulldogs were five seniors: McCann Mellett, David Nash, Sawyer Lee, Riley Isenhour, and Alex Rodriguez.

Mellett led the offense with a team-leading .395 average, nine doubles, a triple, four home runs, 24 runs scored and 20 RBIs. He was named both SAC AstorTurf Player of the Week and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association South Region Player of the Week on March 10.

Nash, Lee, Isenhour, and Rodriguez were the leaders on the mound. Nash finished the season with a 3-0 record and one save, while posting a 1.73 ERA in six appearances and four starts. He allowed just five earned runs over 26 innings with 21 strikeouts. Lee made 10 appearances out of the bullpen with two saves in 10 and a third innings with 14 strikeouts.

Isenhour closed out the season with a 1-0 record in six appearances on the mound. He threw 11 innings and had 11 strikeouts. Rodriguez posted a 0.00 ERA over nine innings, allowing just one hit and no earned runs with nine strikeouts in three appearances.

2020 Bulldog Baseball Seniors

WOMEN'S TENNIS
The Wingate women's tennis team went 6-0 overall and earned a 3-0 SAC record. The Bulldogs finished the season ranked No. 11 nationally. The reigning SAC women's tennis tournament champions were led by senior Alisa Rudenko.

Rudenko played both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles, going undefeated in both spots. She was named the SAC AstroTurf Women's Tennis Player of the Week on March 16.

2020 Bulldog Women's Tennis Seniors

MEN'S TENNIS
The nationally ranked No. 4 Bulldog men's tennis team went 7-2 overall in 2020 and was 3-0 in conference play. Led by seniors Daniel Belsito and Tamir Geva, the Bulldogs competed in the 2020 ITA Indoor Nationals where they took on two top-five opponents West Florida (No. 3) and Saint Leo (No. 5).

Belsito, the 2019 SAC Man of the Year and Men's Tennis Player of the Year, went undefeated at No. 1 singles with a record of 5-0, and he finished the year with a 3-3 record at No. 1 doubles.

Geva closed out the year at 1-0 in singles action and 3-1 at No. 3 doubles. 

2020 Bulldog Men's Tennis Seniors

WOMEN'S GOLF
The nationally ranked No. 10 Wingate women's golf team did not finish below tenth place all season as they won two tournaments, placed second in two more and third in another. Led by seniors Mind Puangcharoen and Diana McDonald, the Bulldogs posted an adjusted scoring average of 75.07 for the year as a team.

Puangcharoen, the 2019 SAC Women's Golfer of the Year, earned the first-ever SAC AstroTurf Women's Golfer of the Week award on Feb. 12. She took home medalist honors at the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate and finished the year with a 74.84 scoring average.

McDonald had four top-10 finishes in 2020, closing out the year with a 75.84 scoring average.

2020 Bulldog Women's Golf Seniors

MEN'S GOLF
The Bulldog men's golf team finished the year with five top-10 finishes, including a team championship at the 2020 J. Ralph Hargett Invitational. Led by six seniors: Tim Bombosch, Darius Gross, Charles Joubert, Christian Pickerel, Wes Simmons, and James Whitaker, Wingate finished the year ranked No. 33 nationally by Golfstat.

Bombosch competed in five events for the Bulldogs. His best finish of the year was a top-25 finish at the Queens Invitational. His low round of the year came at the Copperhead Championship, where he shot a two-under-par 70 in the first round.

Gross competed in four events during the season, placing 22^nd at the Griffin Invitational and posting a season-best round of 69 (-3) during the second round.

Joubert took part in all six tournaments this season, placing in the top-25 in five of them, including top-10 finishes in two events. He was instrumental in the Bulldog's J. Ralph Hargett Invitational title, firing a season low 68 (-4) in the opening round. He also shot a season-best 213 (-3) and placed fourth at the Copperhead Championship.

Pickerel competed in one event this season, placing 44^th at the Griffin Invitational. He shot 229 (+13) for the 54-hole event at the Country Club of Petersburg.

Simmons competed in four events during the year, earning a third place finish at the J. Ralph Hargett Invitational. He shot 213 (-3) for the tournament, including a season-best 68 (-4) in the second round.

Whitaker competed in the J. Ralph Hargett Invitational where he placed 37^th overall after shooting a 54-hole total of 235 (+19).

2020 Bulldog Men's Golf Seniors

AstroTurf is an official corporate partner of the South Atlantic Conference and title sponsor of the Conference's Player of the Week awards program.

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