Photo courtesy of Georgia State Athletics
A multitude of Georgia State sports begin their regular seasons this spring. There is optimism with hopes of improvement and visions of championships within reach as everyone begins the season 0-0. The Georgia State family of athletics has a lot to look forward to.
Baseball
Panthers baseball struggled last season, finishing with a 24-31 record, including a 14-16 record in conference play. This new season has 12 new players joining the program, with several veterans returning for the Panthers, such as pitchers Aidan McLaughlin, Jerry Stuckey, and Nick Squeglia. Coach Greg Frady is optimistic about the upcoming season.
“We have a really hard working, coachable and team-oriented group of men this season,” Frady said. “There was very little individual focus at all this fall. What’s different about that is that fall is usually a time to work with players individually, but the guys are very focused as a team. That’s a great sign and that’s going to translate into us having a successful spring.”
The Panthers begin their season at home on Feb. 15 against the Butler Bulldogs.
Softball
The Georgia State softball team had a successful season in 2012, recording a stellar 38-18 mark, as well as going 15-9 in conference play. The Panthers had several high points during the season since they reached the Colonial Athletic Association softball tournament and upsetting the then No. 2 nationally-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide 5-1.
The team is returning several star players, such as seniors Paige Nowacki, who hit 10 home runs last year, to go along with 20 for her career, and Brenna Morrissey, who lead the team in hits (46), runs scored (28), and at-bats (181).
The Panthers being their season Feb. 8 in the Bulldog Kickoff Classic against the Troy Trojans.
Men’sTennis
The Georgia State men’s tennis team had a strong showing during the 2012 season, winning 20 matches against five losses and working their way to the conference semifinals before falling to University of North Carolina at Wilmington 4-3. The team finished with 20 wins for the second straight season under head coach Chase Hodges, who left at the season’s end and was replaced by current head coach Joerg Barthel.
Senior Victor Valente earned the first ever Georgia State men’s tennis invite to the ITA Intercollegiate Indoor Championships this fall, after a run to the final at the ITA Regional Championships, while senior Lucas Santa Ana earned a 9-1 singles record across three tournaments during the fall.
Valente and Santa Ana were beaten by teammates junior Robert Schulze and sophomore Sofiane Chevallier in the Main Draw Doubles final at the Georgia Southern Tennis Championships.
The Panthers begin their spring season Jan. 18 against Chattanooga.
Men’s Golf
Men’s golf had a strong showing last season, averaging an eighth place finish to go along with one event win. They made it to the finals of the CAA Conference Championships, falling to UNCW by two strokes.
Freshman Jonathan Gray has won twice individually this season, rising to a high ranking of eighth in the country before settling in at 19 at the end of the fall season. The team’s best finish so far is a second place finish at their own tournament, the Autotrader.com Collegiate Classic.
The Panthers begin their spring season on Feb. 4 at the SeaBest Seafood Invitational.
Women’s Golf
The Georgia State women’s golf team averaged a top ten finish during the 2011-12 season, with their best showing being a second place at the Lady Pirate Intercollegiate.
They have had a slow start to the 2012-13 season, finishing with an average 13th place during the fall season. Their lowest finish was a ninth place at the Cardinal Cup.
The team will begin their spring season on Feb. 10 at the UCF Challenge.
Women’s Tennis
Women’s tennis at Georgia State had a strong season in 2012, making it to the CAA Conference finals before bowing out against the No. 1 seed VCU, losing only after an epic four-hour match between sophomore Maryna Kozachenko and VCU’s Alena Gerasimova. However, VCU came out on top, with both the conference title and the NCAA automatic berth to the Women’s Tennis Championship.
Sophomore Abigail Tere-Apisah ended one of the best individual seasons in school history, making it all the way to the round of 16 in the 2012 NCAA Singles Championship, before losing to the No. 1 nationally-ranked player Allie Will 6-1, 6-4. She set a new school record with a 19-2 record in singles.
The Panthers begin their spring season Jan. 19 against Syracuse.
Sand Volleyball
Sand Volleyball is new to Georgia State athletics, with its first season beginning this year. They are a young team, with nine freshmen and no seniors. Though they have a graduate student-athlete to add experience to the team.
The team played its first exhibition match November of last year against No. 3-ranked Florida State. The Panthers’ first team trounced the Florida State first team 8-0. However, the Seminoles eventually won the overall match with 32 sets won against 16 lost.
“Overall it was a pretty remarkable day,” said Georgia State assistant coach Beth Van Fleet. “To play as well as we did against last season’s No. 3 team was great.”
Sand Volleyball begins their season at the Ron Jon Surf Shop Beach-n-Boards Festival on March 9 at Cocoa Beach, Fla..
Women’s track and field
Women’s track and field had a successful season in 2011-12, finishing with a third place finish at a hard-fought CAA Conference Championship a year after the Panthers won their first ever CAA Conference title.
The team finished only 4.5 and 10 points behind the second and first place finishers, while their total of 122 points was the second best in school history, beaten only by the 133 that they accumulated the year prior.
The team is deep, with a seven seniors, seven juniors and two graduates, as well as an impressive number of underclassmen. Three seniors won CAA individual championships, Katharine Showalter (3000m Steeplechase), Angelia Nugent (Triple jump), and Tamara Moore, who won two championships (100m and 400m hurdles).
The Panthers began the spring season on Jan. 10, at the UAB Blazer Invite.
Men’s track
Men’s track at Georgia State ended their 2011-12 season with several individual accomplishments. Junior Valentin Poncelet finished fifth at the CAA Championship in the 5000m competition. He had previously won the 5000m twice earlier in the season, and the 1500m once.
