JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The United Athletic Conference (UAC) has announced its weekly award winners for Women’s Soccer, Volleyball and Cross Country for Monday, September 21.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Player of the Week: Zahra Friess, Tarleton State
Friess led Tarleton State to a 2-1 victory over Texas Southern on Thursday after being involved in both Texan goals. Friess notched the assist on the first score and then scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 65th minute of the match.
Defensive Player of the Week: Audrey Coppinger, Abilene Christian
Coppinger led the Wildcats' backline to a 5-0 shutout win against Texas Southern on Sunday for ACU's fifth shutout in its last six matches.
Defensive Player of the Week: Jetney Cook, Little Rock
Cook assisted the Trojans to their first clean sheet of the season in a 3-0 victory over Kansas City on Saturday.
Goalkeeper of the Week: Reese Potts, Little Rock
Potts recorded her first career shutout in the Trojans match Saturday against Kansas City. She made seven saves in the match all coming in the second half to keep the clean sheet alive. Potts played all 90 minutes and made two saves in the final 10 minutes to secure the victory.
VOLLEYBALL
Player of the Week: Hannah Gonzalez, Abilene Christian
Gonzalez led ACU to its best start in DI history following a 3-0 weekend in the Wildcat Classic. Gonzalez posted a .431 hitting percentage over the weekend while recording 3.91 points, 3.00 kills and 1.00 blocks per set.
Player of the Week: Emilee Hill, EKU
Hill was named the Geri Polvino Invitational MVP following a 4-0 week for EKU where Hill averaged 2.60 kills, 6.13 assists, 2.67 digs, 0.67 blocks and 0.60 aces per set with a .307 hitting percentage. Hill tallied her fourth triple-double of the year against Appalachian State on Saturday with a match-high 16 kills, 28 assists and 15 digs.
Setter Pair of the Week: Cooper Abney & Emilee Hill, EKU
The Colonel setter pair of Abney and Hill combined for 10.33 assists per set in EKU's 4-0 weekend. The pair accumulated at least 30 assists in each match with 48 assists in a 3-2 victory against Appalachian State.
Defensive Player of the Week: Reagan Anderson, Austin Peay
Anderson and the Govs collected three sweeps in four matches and led the UAC with 5.62 digs per set last week. Anderson matched a season-high 31 digs in the contest with Gardner-Webb on Friday
Freshman of the Week: Onita Davis, Tarleton State
Davis was named to the UNT Invitational All-Tournament Team after compiling a .407 hitting percentage and leading the Texans with 32 kills in the tournament. Davis posted a season-high .571 hitting percentage and a season-high 15 kills in Tarleton State's win over East Texas A&M on Friday. Davis also had 13 kills at Texas Tech on Tuesday, becoming the second player in the program's DI era to obtain multiple 10+ kill matches against Power 4 Conference opponents.
CROSS COUNTRY
Men's Runner of the Week: Taha Er Raouy, EKU
Er Raouy finished 21st out of 269 competitors at the John McNichols Invitational on Saturday that featured some of the top teams in the country including nationally-ranked squads such as No. 24 Cal Baptist, No. 20 Georgia, No. 26 Louisville, and No. 23 Air Force. Er Raouy's performance led the EKU to a 12th place finish as he covered the 8K course in a time of 24:07.9.
Men's Freshman of the Week: Hamish Murray, EKU
Murray finished 22nd out of 206 runners in the men’s open race of the John McNichols Invitational on Saturday, covering the 8K course in a time of 26:10.8.
Women's Runner & Freshman of the Week: Brighter Jepchumba, EKU
Jepchumba won the women's championship 6K at the John McNichols Invitational on Saturday, defeating a field of 230 competitors and breaking the long-standing LaVern Gibson Championship Course record with a time of 19:14.0. Jepchumba broke the course record, set by former Texas Tech national champion and Olympian Sally Kipyego.
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About the United Athletic Conference
The newly rebranded United Athletic Conference (UAC) is a competitive NCAA Division I conference sponsoring sixteen (16) sports and championships with nine (9) full member institutions including Abilene Christian University (Abilene, Texas), the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (Little Rock, Ark.), Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tenn.), the University of Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), Eastern Kentucky University (Richmond, Ky.), the University of North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), Tarleton State University (Stephenville, Texas), the University of Texas at Arlington (Arlington, Texas), and the University of West Georgia (Carrollton, Ga.) with the University of West Florida (Pensacola, Fla.) as an affiliate member in football.