The South Atlantic Conference and AstroTurf Present Senior Spotlights Featuring Anderson Softball, Women's Golf, Women's Track & Field 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 continue our AstroTurf Senior Spotlights with the Anderson University Trojans and the softball, women's golf, women's track & field and men's and women's tennis teams.

SOFTBALL

The 2020 Anderson University softball team went 16-4 overall and 4-0 in SAC play, including an impressive 13-game winning streak, the longest since the 2015-16 season. The Trojans won six games during the fourth week of the season, sweeping the SAC AstroTurf Player and Pitcher of the Week honors. Sophomore Kayson Boatner was named Player of the Week, while senior Kayla Pepper was named Pitcher of the Week.

 Senior Meghan Majeski was batting a team second best .369. For the shortened season, Majeski swiped 10 bases which ranked 3^rd in the SAC. For her career, Majeski stole 76 bases which ranks second on Anderson's all-time steal list, just eight short of taking over the top slot. Majeski also ranks No. 6 all-time in career runs scored (127) and tied for tenth in career batting average (.333).

Senior Mattie Hamilton drove in 25 RBIs, ranking fourth in the SAC and second on the team. Hamilton posted a .328 batting average with five doubles and four home runs to her credit this season. She ranks in multiple Anaderson career records, including being No. 5 in RBIs (152), No. 7 in runs scored (123) and slugging percentage (.613). She ranked ninth in total bases (295), sixth in home runs (30), seventh in doubles (38) and eight in batting average (.339).

Pepper earned eight wins in the circle, pitching a team leading 62 innings. She threw nine complete games while striking out 72 batters. The southpaw ranked third in the SAC in wins and sixth in the SAC with a 1.81 earned run average.

In just two and a half seasons, Pepper ranks in several Anderson career records, including being second in career earned run average (2.26), fourth in strikeouts (335) and wins (35) and eighth in innings pitched (362.1).

2020 Trojan Softball Seniors

WOMEN'S GOLF
The Anderson women's golf team finished the 2019-20 season with a tournament championship and four top-10 finishes out of six tournaments. Additionally, the Trojans closed out their season by competing against arguably the strongest field in program history, with the Trojans claiming 17^th place in mid-March at the 44th Annual Peggy Kirk Bell Memorial Invitational. The 54-hole event featured seven of the top-10 ranked teams in the nation and 12 of the top-25.

The young Anderson team featured just one senior, one of Trojan's most accomplished golfers, Kate Hill. The native of Clemson, S.C., earned postseason SAC honors in each of her first three collegiate seasons, while capturing Second Team All-SAC honors twice, after being named SAC Freshman of the Year in 2017. She was twice named to the SAC All-Tournament Team (2018 & 2019) and as a junior, Hill equaled the fourth-best three-round total in SAC Tournament history and finished in a tie for fifth place at the 2019 SAC Championship.

Hill won the 2018 Anderson University Invitational, while claiming twenty top-10 finishes in her career, including a second-place finish at the 2017 AU Invitational and a third-place finish at the 2018 SAC Championship. She fired a school-record 68 in the second round of the 2018 AU Invitational and followed up her school-record four weeks later with a 69 in the final round of the 2018 Patsy Rendleman Invitational. Hill wrapped her junior season ranked 141^st nationally and paced the Trojans in 12 tournaments during her career. She earned All-Tournament honors at 2017 AU Invitational and at Tusculum's 2017 Agnes McAmis Memorial.

2020 Trojan Women's Golf Seniors

WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
The Anderson women's track and field team had a successful indoor season. Leading the way were seniors Kelsey Horner and Emily Olson, along with junior standout Olivia Rish, who was named an All-Southeast Region honoree by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for her performances in both the 800 meters and the mile.

Rish posted a school record in the 800 meters by crossing the finish line in a time of 2:20.10 at the South Carolina Open in February. Overall, nearly three dozen Trojans combined to repeatedly post more than 60 personal-best efforts through the indoor season, with several notching record-setting marks in multiple events.

Horner also posted personal records in the mile run and both the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters, while setting the season's top mark in the 5,000 meters.

Olson notched personal-best times in the 3,000 meters, the 5,000 meters and the mile run. 

2020 Trojans Women's Track & Field Seniors

WOMEN'S TENNIS
The Anderson University women's tennis team won its last three matchups to push the 2020 record to 12-3 overall and 1-2 in South Atlantic Conference play, including a convincing, 6-1, win over No. 17 ranked Tusculum and wins over Peach Belt Conference opponents, Young Harris and August.

Head Coach Joey Eskridge also reached the 300 combined win milestone with the victory over the Pioneers.\

Senior Mirna Curcic posted a, 10-2, overall singles record and an, 8-3, doubles mark to help lead the Trojans to 12 victories.

Senior Gabrielle Dacuba defeated her USC Sumter opponents in both the singles and doubles portion of the match on Feb. 1. 

2020 Trojans Women's Tennis Seniors

MEN'S TENNIS
The Anderson University men's tennis team began the season with eight straight wins, while posting a 13-2 overall record and 2-1 record in conference play. For the first time in program history, the Trojans had a winning record against all three conference members within the region.

Senior Ignacio Bidegain lost only one match in both singles and doubles actions out of 15 team matches. He earned SAC AstroTurf Player of the Week after the Trojan's final week of action. He has been a SAC first team singles selection each season.

Senior Preston Morpeth posted a 7-4 singles record and an 11-1 doubles slate during the 2020 season.

Senior Jeffrey Dayton went 7-3 in both singles and doubles action. Dayton earned SAC first team doubles honors following the 2017 season.

Senior Jerry Price posted a 2-0 singles record in the No. 3 position, while going 3-2 in doubles play. In October at the SC Men's Collegiate Championships, Price was presented the Big Jim Russell Award which is awarded to a player based on his sportsmanship, attitude on and off the court and participation. 

Senior Hank Sartain won both of his singles and doubles matches he played during the 2020 season.

Senior Jordan Crooks earned a victory in singles action, blanking his opponent, 6-0, 6-0, while dropping just one set, 8-1, in the number three slot in doubles play.

2020 Trojans Men's Tennis 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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