NEW ORLEANS – Former University of South Alabama student-athletes Alexandria Stitler (women's tennis) and Gavin Patterson (football) were both selected as Sun Belt Conference Postgraduate Award winners and will receive a $3,000 graduate school scholarship as announced Thursday by the league office.  

Stiteler, who received her undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in geology in May completed her academic career with a 3.63 grade-point average, and has been accepted into the St. John's University Law School in New York with a goal of obtaining her Juris Doctor degree. She finished her four-year career as the program's all-time leader in wins (65) and win percentage (.783) at the top singles flight. She went 81-30 overall, posting the third-most victories in South Alabama history, and became just the second Jaguar in history to earn all-Sun Belt honors four times.

The Bradenton, Fla., native was named player of the year in the conference as a freshman and sophomore, following 18-7 and 15-5 spring campaigns, respectively. She racked up 28 victories overall in 2016, third-most in school history, and finished the year ranked No. 102 by the ITA thanks in part to a 4-2 record against ranked opponents. She also achieved season-ending top 125 status in 2018, finishing No. 111 after an appearance in the NCAA Singles Championships.

Stiteler led the program to two NCAA Tournament appearances and advanced to the NCAAs in singles competition twice. She also set the school record with 11 Sun Belt Athlete-of-the-Week awards in her career.

Off the court, Stiteler volunteered at the Mobile Animal Shelter and with Operation Christmas Child, as well as collecting goods for Louisiana flood relief. She also served on the South Alabama Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and as a coach for the Nick Brochu Tennis Academy.

Patterson received his undergraduate degree in exercise science from South in May, posting a 3.98 cumulative grade-point average, and he is set to further his education in pursuit of a doctorate degree in physical therapy at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. The Bourdonnais, Ill., native was selected to the Sun Belt's Commissioner's List three times, the President's List six times and the Dean's List once during his time in Mobile, while also earning a selection to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District® team.

A four-year letterwinner with the Jaguar football program, Patterson earned first-team all-league honors in 2017 from both the Sun Belt coaches/media and Phil Steele Publications. Patterson ended his career ranked among the career leaders at South Alabama ranking first in extra points (99), second in scoring (204), field goals (35), extra-point percentage (95.2) and fourth in field-goal percentage (72.9). Patterson also holds the single-season marks in extra points (42), extra-point percentage (100.0), while also ranking second in field-goal percentage (84.2), third in field goals (16) and sixth in scoring (74).

For his career, Patterson was 35-for-48 in his field goal attempts, connecting on a career-long 50-yarder this past fall. He was 99-of-104 in his extra-point attempts.

Patterson is a member of both the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. He was a member of the Freshman Leadership Scholar program at South and serve as a team captain this past season. During his time in Mobile, Patterson has volunteered in community service activities including the USVBA Regional Volleyball Tournament, the Ronald McDonald House, Feeding The Gulf Coast, the First Light Marathon, the L'Arche Marathon and with the Special Olympics.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSout_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to the South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

Join the Baseline Club, the tennis-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Baseline Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's and women's tennis programs. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/baselineclub

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