Dietrich, Townsend Take Home Top Honors At Athletic Award Banquet

PEMBROKE – Baseball's Kevin Dietrich and soccer standout Lauren Townsend each took home most outstanding student-athlete honors, while golfer Jordan Walor and soccer's Britney Joiner collected freshman of the year awards, to highlight UNCP's student-athlete awards banquet on Sunday evening.

The most outstanding student-athlete honor annually goes to a 4-year letter winner at UNCP who has maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better. They must demonstrate good sportsmanship and have represented UNCP well both on and off the playing fields, as well as in the classroom. The freshman of the year award is annually given to a first-year letter winner who has made a major impact on his and her team in the first year of competition. Both laurels are voted on by UNCP’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Dietrich, a 50-game starter for UNCP’s 36-16 baseball team, finished his 2009 regular season campaign on Saturday with a .431 (90-for-209) batting average to go along with school records in hits, home runs (16) and total bases (165). A PBC player of the week selection and two-time UNCP student-athlete of the week honoree, Dietrich ranks in the top five of every major statistical category in the league. Winners of 16 of the last 21 outings, the Black and Gold will resume their season, May 9-10, at the Peach Belt Conference Tournament in Aiken, S.C.

Townsend was one of three players to start all 23 games for the UNCP women’s soccer team this season and helped lead the Braves to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, as well as a 19-3-1 record and a final national ranking of No. 17. Along the way, the Fuquay-Varina product captured all-conference and all-region laurels and was one of three players named to the PBC’s women’s soccer all-academic team. Townsend took 11 shots from her central defender position in 2009, scoring three points on a goal and an assist.

Walor and Joiner each took home their respective sport’s PBC Freshman of the Year laurels this season. Walor, a Wake Forest native, is currently the 69th-ranked individual player in the country after maintaining a team best 72.3 stroke average this season. He set a school record by winning the Lenoir-Rhyne-hosted Chick-FIl-A Invitational with a two-round total of 138. He also placed second at the 2009 PBC Championships in Carthage.

Joiner played in all 23 games for the women's soccer team, including 12 starts, and finished second on the team in scoring with 11 goals and four assists, while also logging a team-best five game-winning goals. The Jacksonville native is the third UNCP student-athlete in the 9-year history of the women's soccer program to take home PBC Freshman of the Year laurels.

Following is a recap of each sport’s individual award-winners on Sunday evening at the UC Annex:

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Most Dedicated Runner – Catherine Shoemaker
Co-Most Valuable Runners – Tierra McIntosh, Ivy Ramsey

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Most Dedicated Runner – Chris Midgette
Most Valuable Runner – Seth West

VOLLEYBALL
Braves Award – Allie Schneider

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Offensive MVP – Melanie Cobb
Defensive MVP – Whitney Beverly

MEN’S SOCCER
Offensive MVP – Carlos Cipriano
Defensive MVP – Michael Davis

FOOTBALL
Spring Defensive Champion – Adam Deese
Spring Offensive Champion – St. Anthony Lloyd

WRESTLING
Most Improved Wrestler – Erik Stancil
Most Oustanding Wrestler – Russell Weakley

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Defensive MVP – Ashley Morales
Offensive MVP – JaToya Kemp

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Lacy Gane “Mr. Plus” Award – John Walters
Dick Lauffer “Most Improved” Award – Brandon Thomas
Co-Most Valuable Players – Demarcus Lyday, Cortez Brown

SOFTBALL
Best Student-Athlete – Kelly Niccum
Clutch Hits Award – Candace Evans

BASEBALL
Most Valuable Pitcher – Matt McGovern
Most Valuable Player – Kevin Dietrich

TENNIS
Coach’s Award – Janna Oxendine, Jenna McGary
Most Valuable Player – Linda Tatala-Colin

WOMEN’S GOLF
Hardest Worker – Alexa Mooney
Most Valuable Player – Katja Dammann

MEN’S GOLF
Leadership Award – Taylor Ferguson
Most Valuable Player – Jordan Walor

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Most Valuable Field Event Performer – Katie Davis
Most Valuable Runner – Jessica McDowell

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Most Valuable Field Event Performer - Jamel Allison
Most Valuable Runner – Karlos Jordan

CHEERLEADING
Most Improved – Sean Jaenicke
Coach’s Award – Aylin Nunez

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING
Female Athlete of the Year – Whitney Beverly, Soccer
Male Athlete of the Year – Erik Stancil, Wrestling

ATHLETIC TRAINING
Female Comeback Athlete of the Year – Brittany Anderson, Track & Field
Male Comeback Athlete of the Year – Brian Willis, Baseball

SAAC
Female Freshman of the Year – Britney Joiner, Soccer
Male Freshman of the Year – Jordan Walor, Golf
Female Outstanding Athlete of the Year – Lauren Townsend, Soccer
Male Outstanding Athlete of the Year – Kevin Dietrich, Baseball

CHAMPS/LIFE SKILLS
Braves Cup Champion – Women’s Tennis

ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
UNCP Coaches' Coach of the Year - Lars Andersson, Women's Soccer