Catawba’s Dula, Wingate’s Montgomery Named SAC Athletes of the Year

ROCK HILL, S.C. – The SAC Athletic Directors Council has named Catawba's Chris Dula and Wingate's Jade Montgomery as the league's 2012-13 Athletes of the Year, it was announced on Tuesday.

Dula, a member of the Catawba baseball team, was selected as the SAC Male Athlete of the Year, while Montgomery, who plays soccer, was chosen as the Female Athlete of the Year. Dula becomes the fifth SAC Athlete of the Year in Catawba history, while Montgomery is the seventh Wingate student-athlete to earn the distinction.

Dula had a monster season at the plate in 2013 for the SAC-champion Indians. He ranked first or tied for first in each of the SAC's Triple Crown categories, finishing with a .402 batting average, 14 home runs and 54 RBI. He also led the conference with a .484 on-base percentage and a .632 slugging percentage. The first baseman's on-base percentage was the sixth-best in the nation, while his home run total tied for sixth.

Dula was selected as the SAC Player of the Year and was a member of the All-Conference First Team. He was also named the Southeast Region Player of the Year by Daktronics and a consensus All-American. He hit safely in all but six of the 50 games he played in this season, and recorded multiple hits 26 times.

Following the completion of the season, Dula was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 25th round of the MLB Draft.

Montgomery was one of the nation's top offensive players in 2012, finishing first in Division II with 21 goals and ranking third in total points with 48. She was also second in the nation with seven game-winning goals.

The sophomore had three hat tricks during the 2012 season, including a three-goal performance in the Bulldogs' Food Lion SAC Soccer Championship quarterfinal victory over Newberry.

Montgomery was chosen as the SAC Player of the Year and was a member of the All-Conference First Team. She was also named to the Daktronics All-Southeast Region First Team and the Daktronics All-America First Team.

Behind Montgomery, Wingate reached the title game of the SAC Championship and earned a selection to the NCAA Tournament.