MOBILE, Ala. – Nearly 400 University of South Alabama student-athletes were recognized for their accomplishments in the past year both in and out of competition at the eighth annual Pete Tolbert Night of Champions Wednesday at the Mitchell Center, with two individuals who earned Sun Belt Conference Player-of-the-Year accolades this semester picking up top honors.
Kaitlyn Beans (Montgomery, Ala.) and Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Namibia) were chosen the Jaguar Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year, respectively. Other winners announced at the ceremony included Emilie Berge (Iveland, Vest-Agder, Norway; Auralia Crowell Freshman Scholar-Athlete Award), Kaleigh Todd (Bessemer, Ala.; Female Perseverance Award), Sean Collins (Mobile, Ala.; Male Perseverance Award), Danielle Henley (Hattiesburg, Miss.; Female Jaguar Athletic Fund Award), Jason Mendel (Norcross, Ga.; Male Jaguar Athletic Fund Award) and Mark Hewes (Mobile, Ala.; Matt Smith Award). The night also included a video tribute to Jan-Louw Kotze (Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa), who was presented the Elite 90 Award at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship a year ago for posting the highest cumulative grade-point average among all competitors at the event.
Beans was selected the Most Outstanding Field Athlete of the Year — earning first-team all-league honors as well — after winning both the triple and long jumps at the 2017 Sun Belt Indoor Track and Field Championship, which included setting a school record in the latter event. Last spring, she concluded her junior season by earning second-team All-America honors by placing 13th in the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship, winning the discipline at the SBC meet a month earlier. She was also voted first-team academic all-district by the College Sports Information Directors of America in 2016.
Beans was also selected as South's NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee. Requirements for the award include the candidate needing to be a varsity letterwinner completing her intercollegiate eligibility by the end of the spring sports season, who has excelled in academics, athletics, service and leadership with a minimum cumulative 2.5 grade-point average.
Jacobs repeated as the Sun Belt men's tennis Player of the Year this season, receiving first-team all-league honors as well, while posting a 24-6 mark in singles and going 17-11 in doubles action in helping the Jaguars to the finals of the conference tournament and a 23-6 record in dual matches. The senior moved up to No. 78 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings released Tuesday, and as the highest-rated player in the SBC will likely earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tennis Singles Championship next month in Athens, Ga. Jacobs, who was also voted first-team all-conference a year ago, has been a member of the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner's List following each of his first three years at USA.
Berge received the honor given to the school's most outstanding freshman based on excellence in academics and athletics. In her first season of competition at the collegiate level, she picked up first-team all-league recognition with a first-place finish in the pentathlon at the SBC meet in February with 3,947 points; that total ranks second on the Jaguars' all-time performance list. Berge — who has a 3.80 grade-point average in the classroom — also has posted a mark that ranks in the top five on the school's outdoor performance list in the heptathlon while leading the conference in the event this spring.
Todd fractured her foot the month before her freshman season began, and as a result hit .222 in just 90 at bats. Following the campaign she underwent reconstructive surgery that required six months of recovery time, returning last spring to bat .415 and steal 22 bases to pick up first-team all-Sun Belt honors. This year she is again among the league leaders in five different statistical categories, pacing the Jags in batting average (.379), hits (58), runs (38), triples (3), on-base percentage (.431) and stolen bases (16).
Collins was a first-team All-American in the pole vault at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship, finishing second in the event, and was champion in the discipline at both the Sun Belt Indoor and Outdoor Championships as well. On his final try at the latter meet he dislocated his left ankle, an injury that would keep him out of competition until the start of the indoor campaign in January. Collins returned to win the pole vault and earn first-team all-conference honors in February at the indoor conference championship, and he again leads the league in the event this spring.
Henley, a member of the soccer program, and Mendel, who plays golf, received JAF Awards which are presented annually to individuals for their overall support of South Athletics. Hewes received the department's award — named in memory of former USA Sports Information Director Matt Smith, who passed away December of 2004 — given to a member of the athletic staff who consistently goes the extra mile, has the spirit of commitment, strong work ethic, and a deep sense of pride in their job.
Head coaches of 13 Jaguar teams presented program awards at the ceremony also. The winners of those honors included: Goldie Ungar Heart of Gold Award (men's basketball), Ken Williams (Houston, Texas); Jaguar Women's Basketball NCAA Award (women's basketball), Colby Davis (Wylie, Texas); Female Distance Award (cross country), Laura Labuschaigne (Durbanville, Western Cape, South Africa); Male Distance Award (cross country), Katleho Dyoyi (Vanderbijlpark, South Africa); Jim Yance Heart of a Jaguar Award (football), Devon Earl (Hoover, Ala.); Beth Barry Award (women's golf), MacKenzie Peyton (New Castle, Ky.); Lindsay Rogers Award (soccer), Henley; Lubel Family Award (men's tennis), Loic Cloes (Remicourt, Belgium); Top Point Scorer — Women's Indoor Track & Field, Beans; Top Point Scorer — Men's Indoor Track & Field Student-Athlete Award, Rafael Scott (Lucedale, Miss.); and, Kari Frazier Spirit Award (volleyball), Kelley Hartman (Woodstock, Ga.).
In addition to the awards presented, 59 student-athletes who will earn their degree from South either next month or at the end of the summer received graduation gifts from the athletic department.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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