SWU Named Winner of Patterson Cup Second Consecutive Year
Greenville, SC – For the second year in a row, Southern Wesleyan University has been named the winner of the 2020-21 Body, Mind & Soul Dr. Alan Patterson Cup.
In just its third year, The Body, Mind & Soul Dr. Alan Patterson Cup is the ultimate comprehensive conference award. The award recognizes the member with the best average ranking when combining the Hawn Cup, the Allan Sharp Award and the Messick Award.
Over the course of the 2020-21 academic year, Southern Wesleyan earned the Messick Team Sportsmanship Award for women's basketball, women's indoor track and field, women's volleyball, women's golf, softball, women's outdoor track and field and men's outdoor track and field. Not only that, but the Warriors were named the both the overall Men's Messick Sportsmanship and Women's Messick Sportsmanship winners. With their seven individual team Messick awards and both the Men's and Women's Messick honors, Southern Wesleyan was also named the winner of the overall Messick Award.
In addition, the Warriors picked up the Allan Sharp Award (Release) for their efforts in the classroom. Southern Wesleyan posted an overall graduation rate of 91 percent.On the field of competition, the Warriors collected five major awards during the 2020-21 campaign. Head Coaches Nathan Thompson (Men's Tennis) and Greg Thiel (Women's Outdoor Track and Field) both received Coach of the Year honors. The Men's Tennis team finished in fourth place in the regular season with sophomore Jonas Grasmuck going undefeated in singles play. The Warriors picked up their eighth Conference Carolinas Runner-Up title in Women's Outdoor Track and Field as both Jami Wright and Kelsie Smith claimed Track and Field Athlete of the Year honors. Ameek Batth picked up the final major award for the Warriors as she was named the Women's Tennis Freshman of the Year after going 10-5 in singles and 4-9 in doubles in her first season in the Warrior blue.
Throughout the semester, Southern Wesleyan had 11 different players earn Conference Carolinas Player of the Week honors over eight teams. The Warriors continued to compete athletically as 37 athletes received All-Conference honors. Southern Wesleyan has also received All-Region and All-District honors for several individuals on both Track and Field and Men's Basketball teams. Emileigh Swords (Women's Golf) and Ty Campbell (Men's Golf) received All-Tournament honors in the Conference Carolinas Golf Championships.
Over the course of the 2021 season, several teams set new school records including Men's and Women's Track and Field, Women's Lacrosse, Men's Golf, and Men's Tennis. Jami Wright ran the fastest time in the 200 meters in all NCAA Division II on March 27 at the Weems Baskin as she finished with a time of 23.58. Several Warriors reached statistical milestones this year as Jairy Sandoval surpassed 200 career draw controls, Olivia Johnson recorded her 1000 career kill and Kaeleigh McDaniel saved the ball from the cage over 500 times.
"Wow, I was truly blown away when I heard the news!" said Director of Athletics Julia Reininga. "I am so proud of our amazing student-athletes, coaches and staff and to accomplish this in a Covid year is tremendous. It is an honor to receive this back to back years, we are truly blessed.
The Body, Mind & Soul Dr. Alan Patterson Cup is named after the former Conference Carolinas Commissioner. Patterson served for 32 years as the Commissioner of Conference Carolinas before retiring after the 2018-19 academic year.
As Commissioner of Conference Carolinas, Patterson championed that classroom success and sportsmanship should be valued equally with competitive success.
The Body, Mind & Soul Dr. Alan Patterson Cup Previous Winner
2018-19: North Greenville University
2019-20: Southern Wesleyan University
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