The South Atlantic Conference Announces 2016 Woman and Man of the Year
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Elayna Siebert of Carson-Newman and Tom Sizeland from Coker have been named the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Woman and Man of the Year respectively, the League publically announced today. Siebert will be the SAC’s nominee for the NCAA National Woman of the Year that will be announced at the annual ceremony in Indianapolis, Ind. in October.
“What an honor it is to have two extraordinary student-athletes like Elayna and Tom represent the South Atlantic Conference,” said South Atlantic Conference Commissioner Patrick Britz. “We wish them nothing but the brightest futures and feel fortunate to have a hand in developing such exceptional student-athletes.”
Siebert, from Knoxville, Tenn., graduated from Carson-Newman with a 3.97 GPA as an accounting major. A four-time Dean’s List honoree, she earned Eagle Scholar honors during her sophomore, junior and senior years. Siebert was a four-time Carson-Newman Hope Scholar and picked up Carson-Newman Presidential Scholar honors all four years as an Eagle. Siebert was also named to the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner’s honor roll all four years at Carson-Newman. She is a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society and was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American as a junior to go along with Carson-Newman Student-Athlete of the Year plaudits.
"Elyana is such a competitior, and always had it in her to make sure business was taken care of on the field as well as off it, said head coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield. “I could not be prouder of her for winning this honor. She cared equally about her performance on the field of competition as well as what happened in the classroom."
Siebert earned All-South Atlantic Conference three times in her career and was named a first-team All-American as a utility player during her junior year. She earned All-Region honors twice in career and picked up Tennessee Sportswriters Association State Player of the Week honors during her senior season. Siebert finished her career with 115 RBI, 22 home runs, 31 doubles and a .365 average at the plate. She is tied for No. 8 All-Time in South Atlantic Conference history with 14 triples as she slugged .572 for her career.
Siebert was very generous with her time during her college career as she sponsored a child in Bangladesh all four years as an Eagle volunteering and providing funds to help a child receive a Christian Education. She has been an active volunteer with Compassion International and has worked with the Knoxville Area Rescue Ministries in each of her last three years. Siebert spent time in Cape Town South Africa with the Living Hope Organization and has been a guest speaker at the Vonore Baptist Church during the summer youth revivals.
She is also a coach of a summer travel softball team and volunteers as a coach during Carson-Newman’s summer softball camps.
Sizeland came to Hartsville, S.C. by way of Hamilton, New Zealand and graduated from Coker College with a 4.0 GPA as a biology/pre-medical major. He earned Dean’s List honors all four years in the Navy and Gold and concluded his career with CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
"What an honor this is for Tom and the Coker men's tennis program as a whole," said head coach Bill Simpson. "Tom is so deserving of this award because of the hard work he put into being an excellent student-athlete. This just caps off what was a great four years for Tom here at Coker."
On the court, he was named the Coker College Freshman of the Year after finishing the season 15-6 at No. 2 singles and 15-8 at No. 2 doubles. During his sophomore season, he took home first team All-SAC honors with a 14-3 ledger at No. 2 singles, including a 13-match winning streak. He closed out his career with a 17-3 record at No. 2 and No. 3 singles and a 13-7 record at No. 2 doubles. He posted 46 singles wins to rank No. 1 all-time on the Cobras’ career wins list.
Sizeland stayed busy off the court as well as he spent three years as the Coker Men’s Tennis SAAC Representative. He also served as a tutor for both math and science and was a member of the astronomy club. Sizeland also volunteered every year he was at Coker in the Hartsville community as a tennis coach.