Around the Ohio Valley - April 26

There are so many OVC athletes and professionals making headlines, we just had to share in this week's version of Around the Ohio Valley: 

UT Martin's Carter Smith

Austin Peay – APSU Athletics handed out its annual Most Outstanding Male and Female Athlete awards this week, with both awards going to Governor tennis players this year. Junior Sean Bailey, who was named OVC Player of the Year, received the award for Most Outstanding Male Athlete, while senior Vanja Tomic, a three-time All-OVC selection who sported a 19-6 record at No. 1 singles this season, was named Most Outstanding Female. Tomic also received the Female Legends Award as the most valuable senior athlete, with baseball player Greg Bachman earning the Male Legends Award. For the full release on APSU’s athletic awards, see this link on APSUGovernors.com.

Eastern Illinois – Senior Panther sprinter Bridget Sanchez has been named as one of the national finalists for the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award, an honor received by ten male and ten female minority student-athletes around the country for their performance on the playing field and in the classroom. Sanchez holds multiple All-OVC honors in track and field, holds a 4.0 GPA in psychology and is actively involved in the Charleston community. Congratulations, Bridget!

Eastern Kentucky – Junior EKU softball player Raquel Howes broke the school records for both home runs in a single season and in a career this week in the Colonels’13-4 victory over EIU. Howes hit her 14th home run of the season and 29th of her career in the fourth inning of that game, breaking the previous mark set by Shyenne Hussey. The Colonels took the three-game series with EIU two games to one, and will return to action at East Tennessee State tonight.

Jacksonville State – JSU’s own Todd Hornsby has been selected as one of the finalists for the 2012 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Hornsby, a pitcher originally from Clay, Alabama, is on track to break the OVC career saves record of 31; he currently has 28 on his career. Hornsby will graduate this spring with a dual major in Industrial Technology Management and Occupational Safety and Health, and has been a member of the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll along with many other JSU academic honors. Help Todd secure the vote! Click here to vote for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

Morehead State – Sophomore Eagle baseball player Noah Smallwood was named BluGrass Pitcher of the Week by KyForward.com for his performance against Eastern Illinois last Saturday. Smallwood had the first complete game of his career, notching his third win with five strikeouts. The Eagles won the game 13-2.

Murray State – Two Racer rifle team members represented Murray State and the OVC at the USA Junior Olympics Nationals at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado last week. Kelsey Emme and Marisca Mozeleski, both freshmen, had solid showings, with Emme placing second in air rifle and fifth in smallbore and Mozeleski 26th in smallbore. With her second place finish, Emme earned a spot on the USA Shooting Junior Development Team.

Southeast Missouri – Former Southeast Missouri track and field coach Joey Haines will be inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame this weekend when the Redhawks compete in this year’s 103rd annual event. Haines, who coached the Redhawks from 1982-2006, won 44 conference titles in his tenure, 17 of which were OVC titles. He also coached 24 national champions, 154 All-Americans and was named OVC Coach of the Year 20 times. Big congratulations to Coach Haines from the OVC staff!

SIUE – The OVC staff wants to also send along congratulations to SIUE’s sports information director Eric Hess, who was named the 2012 recipient of Dr. Thomas Kearns Service Award by the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Hess has been with SIUE since 1990, and during the Cougars’14-year stint as a member of the GLVC made significant contributions to the conference, including creating the first official conference web site and introducing new media features throughout the years. Congrats Eric, you are much deserving of the honor!

Tennessee State – TSU men’s basketball seniors Kenny Moore and Wil Peters have been selected to play in this weekend’s Music City All-Star Classic game, which will be hosted by soon-to-be OVC member Belmont University. Moore, who averaged 11.1 on his career for the Tigers and dropped 53 three-pointers, while Peters logged 951 points, 386 assists and 3,572 minutes during his career. Proceeds from tickets to the game will go to Soles 4 Souls, and fans are encouraged to bring used and new shoes for donation.

Tennessee Tech – The Golden Eagles baseball program has several former players making headlines in the MLB farm system these days, including A.J. Kirby-Jones with the Stockton Ports of the Oakland A’s, who has posted a team-high .390 batting average, and Chad Oberacker with the Burlington Bees (also of the Oakland A’s), who holds his team’s highest batting average at .400 through 11 games. Also in the minor league are former Tech players Stephen Pryor with Jackson Generals (Seattle Mariners), Adam Liberatore with the Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Rays) and Ryan Dennick with the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Kansas City Royals).

UT Martin – Freshman Skyhawk pitcher Carter Smith is featured on the NCAA website this week with a feature story detailing his story from childhood to present. Smith was born without a right hand, but that hasn’t slowed him down any: he has started 6 games this season and is tied for the team lead with three wins. To view the feature on Smith, check out this link.

Around the Ohio Valley - April 12

Austin Peay – APSU women’s tennis senior Vanja Tomic is on the hot streak. Tomic, who was named OVC Player of the Year in 2010, tied her career-best 17-match win streak this past week with a victory over Jacksonville State’s Raisa Guasti at No. 1 singles. On the season, Tomic has an 18-4 record in singles, and sits at 12-12 in doubles. The Lady Govs currently have an 8-12 overall record, and are 5-2 in the OVC.

Eastern Illinois – Several Panther student-athletes were honored for both academic and athletic performances at EIU’s annual Student-Athlete Honors Dinner on Wednesday. The Senior Male and Senior Female Athlete of the Year awards both went to members of the track and field team, Zye Boey and Megan Gingerich. The Athletic Director’s Award, which honors a successful student, athlete and community member, was given to Bridget Sanchez, also a member of the women’s track and field team. EIU also presented many academic awards, the full list of which can be found on this page on EIUPanthers.com.

Eastern Kentucky – The Colonel football team will hold its annual Spring Game this Saturday at 6pm at Roy Kidd Stadium. After three weeks of spring practice so far, head coach Dean Hood is hopeful that the team will be healthy enough to split into two even squads for the game. Last season, EKU won a share of the OVC title with a 7-5 overall record. Admission to the Spring Game is free to the public.

Jacksonville State – With a 8-6 victory over Tennessee Tech, the JSU baseball team won its fifth-straight OVC series last Saturday. The Gamecocks, who are 12-19 overall and 6-3 in the conference, were led by senior Sam Eberle, who recorded the second five-hit game of his career and earned OVC Player of the Week honors as a result. JSU will return to conference play tomorrow on the road at UT Martin.

Morehead State – Morehead State Athletics and WKYT-TV are teaming up to help those in Eastern Kentucky who were effected by storms this spring by hosting Storm the Court, a basketball game featuring former and current Eagle notables and WKYT personalities. Players include head MSU men’s basketball coach Donnie Tyndall, head volleyball coach Jaime Gordon, Transylvania University men’s basketball coach Brian Lane, WKYT anchors Amber Philpott and Chris Bailey, and many MSU athletics alumni. For more information on Storm the Court, visit this link.

Murray State – Former Murray State basketball standout James Singleton is continuing his success in the NBA these days with the Washington Wizards. Singleton is currently having the best season of his four-year career in the NBA, averaging 10.5 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game and 25 minutes on the floor for the Wizards. During his two year stint as a Racer (2001-2003), Singleton was a impact player, averaging 12.1 points per game as a junior and 14.9 points per game as a senior.

Southeast Missouri – Junior Redhawk gymnast Taylor Westrick will be taking the big stage on at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships after tying for first in the balance beam with three other competitors at the NCAA Regional last Saturday. Westrick had a clutch performance, tying her career-best performance of 9.900, and scoring above 9.800 for a remarkable ninth-straight week. The Championships will be held April 20-22 in Duluth, Georgia at the Gwinett Center. Good luck Taylor!

SIUE – The SIUE women’s golf team is quietly tearing up the courses this season, placing no lower than eighth in any tournament so far this spring. The Cougars placed as high as second at the Titan Quad Challenge on March 5 and third at the IPFW Spring Classic on April 2. Junior Brooke Hood and senior Courtney Lovegreen tied for third out of 58 competitors at the Sunshine Spring Classic March 8-9, and freshman Ashton Stair and sophomore Brooks White have placed as high as fourth and fifth in tournaments.

Tennessee State – Head Tigers men’s basketball coach John Cooper has accepted the head coaching job at Miami (Ohio) this past week, leaving behind a big mark at TSU. During Cooper’s three years leading the program, the Tigers have been on a steady upswing, finishing this past season with a 20-13 record and making the program’s first postseason appearance since 1995. Cooper himself was nominated for four separate coaching awards this past spring. We here at the OVC wish him the best!

Tennessee Tech – Sophomore Golden Eagle baseball player Zach Stephens is having quite a season for himself so far this spring, currently leading the nation in four separate batting categories: home runs (14), slugging percentage (.917), total bases (100) and on-base percentage (.566). He also ranks second in batting average with .468. Stephens is continuing his success from a solid freshman season in which he was named a Freshman All-American and made the OVC’s All-Freshman team with 49 RBIs and 10 home runs.

UT Martin – Junior equestrian rider Kara Bergenty has been named Honorable Mention All-American in Equitation over Fences by the National Collegiate Equestrian Association this past week. Bergenty has put together an impressive resume this year: a 7-2 record with two MVP honors, an average score of 80 and average margin of victory of 9.14. She will be honored with the award at this year’s NCEA Championships at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Congrats Kara!