WePlayed Sports Players of the Week - Nov. 17
Football
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its WePlayed Football Players of the Week for games played during week eleven of the 2025 season. Lenoir-Rhyne's Khamoni Robinson was named the Offensive Player of the Week and Wingate's Elihu Lipscomb was named the Defensive Player of the Week, while Lenoir-Rhyne's Tye Roberson was named the Special Teams Player of the Week.
Robinson, a redshirt sophomore from Monroe, N.C., led the Bears to a season-ending 48-46 victory over Catawba in a thriller. Robinson scored the game-winning touchdown with six seconds left to secure the win for LR. In the win, he hit on 18 of his 30 pass attempts for 226 yards and a trio of touchdowns and added eight rushes for 43 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. He didn't turn the ball over once in the game to go with his five total scores.
Lipscomb, a freshman from Kings Mountain, N.C., turned in another huge performance as the Bulldogs closed out the regular season with their sixth straight win to clinch a home game in the NCAA playoffs this week. Lipscomb piled up three big sacks on the day, with those resulting in a loss of 37 yards. Lipscomb was in the backfield all night, adding three QB hurries in the contest. This is the second straight week Lipscomb has won Defensive Player of the Week honors and the third time this season.
Roberson, a senior from Laurens, S.C., took a kickoff 95 yards to the house for his third kickoff return for a touchdown this year. The return came after Catawba's first touchdown of the day and his return for a touchdown put LR up 14-6 in the early stages of the second quarter.
2025 SAC Football Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week
Sep. 1 – Jordan Jackson, Emory & Henry
Sep. 8 – Khamoni Robinson, Lenoir-Rhyne
Sep. 15 – Preston Brown, Catawba
Sep. 22 – Zane Whitson, Carson-Newman
Sep. 29 – Daniel Thomas, UVA Wise
Oct. 6 – Reed Charpia, Newberry
Oct. 13 – Bryson James, Anderson
Oct. 20 – Elijah Holmes, Wingate
Oct. 27 – Zane Whitson, Carson-Newman
Nov. 3 – Reed Charpia, Newberry
Nov. 10 – JR Martin, Mars Hill
Nov. 17 – Khamoni Robinson, Lenoir-Rhyne
Defensive Player of the Week
Sep. 1 – Evan Simons, Catawba
Sep. 8 – Mikey Blandin, Newberry
Sep. 15 – Sakarri Morrison, Mars Hill
Sep. 22 – A.J. Burgess, Emory & Henry
Sep. 29 – Ean Rhea, Emory & Henry
Oct. 6 – Evan Simons, Catawba
Oct. 13 – Carter Wit, Anderson
Oct. 20 – Cruz Temple, Carson-Newman
Oct. 27 – Elihu Lipscomb, Wingate
Nov. 3 – Jamar Blandin, Newberry
Nov. 10 - Elihu Lipscomb, Wingate
Nov. 17 - Elihu Lipscomb, Wingate
Special Teams Player of the Week
Sep. 1 – Caleb Bonesteel, Wingate
Sep. 8 – Burke Nettles, Newberry
Sep. 15 – Elijah Swett, Anderson
Sep. 22 – Rivers Teeter, Wingate
Sep. 29 – Cam Peoples, Emory & Henry
Oct. 6 – Trace Butcher, Emory & Henry
Oct. 13 – Jake Snapp, Wingate
Oct. 20 – Caleb Bonesteel, Wingate
Oct. 27 – Songa Yates, Lenoir-Rhyne
Nov. 3 – Burke Nettles, Newberry
Nov. 10 – Lon Teachey, Mars Hill
Nov. 17 – Tye Roberson, Lenoir-Rhyne
Volleyball
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its WePlayed Sports Volleyball Players of the Week for matches played during week eleven of the 2025 season. Carson-Newman's Maddie Hurst was named the Offensive Player of the Week while Anderson's Jamie Juhnevicz brought home Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Hurst, a sophomore from Blaine, Tenn., set a Carson-Newman record for highest hitting percentage in a single game when she hit .677 in a 3-1 win over Newberry. Hurst went off for 22 kills and had just one error on 31 attempts in the four-set victory. In a sweep of UVA Wise earlier in the week, she totaled 16 kills and hit .577 to push her weekly total to 38 kills, 5.43 kills per set and a .632 hitting percentage.
Juhnevicz, a freshman from Taylors, S.C., contributed to a 3-0 Anderson win over Mars Hill with seven digs and was perfect in service receive for the match. She would add 11 digs in Friday's match against regular season champion Wingate.
2025 SAC Volleyball Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week
Sep. 8 – Maya Van Heyst, Wingate
Sept. 15 – Emerson Ahsmuhs, Carson-Newman
Sept. 22 – Sydney Morland, Wingate
Sept. 29 – Emmaleigh Allen, Lenoir-Rhyne
Oct. 6 – Sydney Morland, Wingate
Oct. 13 – Emmie Modlin, Lenoir-Rhyne
Oct. 20 – Mia Elder, Anderson
Oct. 27 – Maya Van Heyst, Wingate
Nov. 3 – Maya Van Heyst, Wingate
Nov. 10 – Blair Cherry, Carson-Newman
Nov. 17 – Maddie Hurst, Carson-Newman
Defensive Player of the Week
Sept. 8 – Maddie Hoffman, Wingate
Sept. 15 – Maddie Hoffman, Wingate
Sept. 22 – Hadley Prince, Lenoir-Rhyne
Sept. 29 – Emily Johnson, Wingate
Oct. 6 – Jamie Juhnevicz, Anderson
Oct. 13 – Maddie Hoffman, Wingate
Oct. 20 – Riley Hill, Catawba
Oct. 27 – Trinity Hafey, Carson-Newman
Nov. 3 – Hadley Prince, Lenoir-Rhyne
Nov. 10 – Maddie Hoffman, Wingate
Nov. 17 – Jamie Juhnevicz, Anderson
Men's Basketball
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Newberry forward Drake Downs has been named the South Atlantic Conference WePlayed Sports Men's Basketball Player of the Week for games played during week one of the 2025-26 season, the Conference announced today.
Downs, a senior from Simpsonville, S.C., delivered an exceptional week in leading the Newberry College Wolves to a 2–0 record, averaging 26.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 80% from the field and 82.6% from the free-throw line. He opened the week with a dominant 34-point, 15-rebound performance in a 100–98 in a double overtime win over Emmanuel (Ga.), controlling the paint and converting 16-of-20 at the line. Downs followed it up with 18 points, five rebounds, and six assists on near-perfect shooting (7-for-8 FG, 1-for-1 3PT, 3-for-3 FT) in a 97–84 road win at Erskine.
Basketball Players of the Week
Nov. 17 – Drake Downs, Newberry
Women's Basketball
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – UVA Wise forward Caroline Mullins has been named the South Atlantic Conference WePlayed Sports Women's Basketball Player of the Week for games played during week one of the 2025-26 season, the Conference announced today.
Mullins, a sophomore from Jasper, Ga., was a standout as the Highland Cavaliers opened their season with wins over Georgia Southwestern and S.C. Beaufort. In the win over Georgia Southwestern, Mullins went 8-for-12 from the field and scored 22 points to go with 12 rebounds and a steal. She came back the following day and exploded for 38 points on 13-for-20 shooting while adding 15 rebounds and an assist. For the week, she averaged 30 points per game, 13.5 rebounds per game and shot 65.6 percent from the field.
Basketball Players of the Week
Nov. 17 – Caroline Mullins, UVA Wise
Swimming
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its WePlayed Sports Swimmers of the Week for meets competed in during the week of November 11–24, 2025. Catawba's Nazar Herashchenko was named the Men's Swimmer of the Week, while Wingate's Natalia Dwojak earned Women's Swimmer of the Week honors.
Men's Swimmer of the Week – Nazar Herashchenko, Catawba
(So., Dnipro, Ukraine)
Herashchenko delivered a dominant distance freestyle performance at the Fall Frenzy, winning both the 1650 Freestyle (15:19.76) and 500 Freestyle (4:21.99) with big margins over the rest of the SAC. His 1650 mark set both a school and meet record, finishing more than 11 seconds ahead of the next-fastest SAC swimmer, while his 500 time was over four seconds faster than anyone else in the conference this season. He added a 10th-place finish in the 200 Free (1:37.96) to round out one of the top distance showings of the year.
Women's Swimmer of the Week – Natalia Dwojak, Wingate
(Sr., Lublin, Poland)
Dwojak continued her standout season with a strong all-around meet at the Kellianne Nagy Fall Frenzy Invitational. She captured first place in the 100 Breaststroke (1:01.53) and contributed major points across multiple relay and individual events, including top-10 finishes in the 50 Free, 200 Free Relay, 200 Medley Relay, and 400 Medley Relay. Competing against a field that included Division I and II programs, Dwojak totaled 58 points to help Wingate secure a fourth-place finish. The reigning SAC Swimmer of the Year once again showcased her consistency and versatility at a high-level meet.
2025–26 WePlayed Sports Swimmers of the Week
Men
Oct. 13 – Maks Minichowski, Catawba
Oct. 28 – Artur Vilela de Queiroz, Wingate
Nov. 11 – Maks Minichowski, Catawba
Nov. 24 – Nazar Herashchenko, Catawba
Women
Oct. 13 – Eniko Onofer, Catawba
Oct. 28 – Natalia Dwojak, Wingate
Nov. 11 – Marit Reckmann, Catawba
Nov. 24 – Natalia Dwojak, Wingate