The South Atlantic Conference 2016 Announces Soccer Scholar-Athletes of the Year
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Queens' Corey Brown and Jonathan Spicher of Tusculum were voted the South Atlantic Conference men's soccer Co-Scholar-Athletes of the Year, while Kaitlyn Brunworth of Wingate picked up the women's soccer honor, the League announced today. The student-athletes earned the honor for their achievements in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the Conference's championship sports, and is voted on by the SAC's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee.
Brown, a senior biochemistry major, has achieved a 3.96 GPA and has made the Dean's list every semester in his freshman, sophomore and junior years. Brown picked up CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America honors this season after being named first team All-District in each of the past two years. The award marks the second-straight year he has been named the League's Men's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
"Corey has been a great ambassador for our school and the South Atlantic Conference," said Queens head men's soccer coach Oliver Carias. "His award is very well deserved. Corey is a perfect example of a true student-athlete where he excels tremendously in the classroom and on the field. It has been a privilege to have the opportunity to watch him grow into a great leader and example for our all student-athletes."
This past season on the pitch saw Brown dish out nine assists, while finding the back of the net three times. He led the Royals in assists and ranked second on the squad with 15 points. He recorded five or more points in wins over North Georgia and Newberry in route to being named to the South Atlantic Conference All-League second team. A two-time All-SAC honoree, Brown finished his career with 25 assists for the Navy and White to go along with 14 goals.
Over the course of his career, Brown has been highly involved in the community, being active in various leadership and service commitments. Since his first year at Queens, Brown has been a member of the school's Emerging Leaders Program as well as being a part of Milestone Ministries. The senior has also had extensive volunteer experience, assisting at the Mount Sinai Hospital and North York General Hospital where he shadowed doctors during their practice. On top of this, he has volunteered at Team Impact – an organization that helps children going through serious illness – and taught young soccer player how to become better athletes by being a Power Soccer coach. Brown has also served at the Milestone Ministries Church of Christ as a part of its teen ministry.
Spicher, a senior accounting major, finished his playing career with a 4.0 GPA for the Pioneers. He earned the inaugural South Atlantic Conference Men's Soccer Elite 18 honor as he posted the highest GPA at the final site of the 2016 SAC Men's Soccer Championship. Spicher has been a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll in each of the past three years, while earning Tusculum President's List honors during the past three years as well. A two-time Tusculum Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Award honoree, Spicher posted Tusculum's top freshman GPA to earn the Tusculum Freshman of the Year Academic Award during his rookie season. He has also earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors during the past two seasons in the Orange and Black.
"Jonathan is an outstanding young man and has been the model student-athlete since his arrival at Tusculum," said Tusculum head men's soccer coach Allen Vital. "He has been an outstanding team player and has been a tremendous part of our team's success, not only for this year, but during his Pioneer career. He emulates all of the qualities that exemplify a scholar athlete and is a true ambassador for the sport, Tusculum College and the South Atlantic Conference."
On the field this season, Spicher produced one goal and posted one assist. His goal came in the 59th minute to help the Pioneers upset No. 6 and defending National Champion Pfeiffer, 3-2, in overtime. He dished out his assist on the match-winning goal in double-overtime as the Pioneers downed Lincoln Memorial 2-1 to advance to the 2016 South Atlantic Championship final. He finished his playing career with 15 goals, five assists and five game-winning goals in 60 matches for Tusculum.
Spicher has been a mainstay in the community and on campus as he has been a part of a number of philanthropic organizations. He is a member of the Tusculum College President's Society where he serves as an ambassador for the college in giving campus tours and assisting with alumni events. He is currently serving with Knoxville Pays It Forward as an accounting assistant with small businesses in the Knoxville area. A two year member of the Tusculum Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, he helped the PSAAC lead the South Atlantic Conference with over 3,500 dollars raised for Make-A-Wish.
Brunworth finished her playing career with a 4.0 GPA as a biology major. She has been a member of the Wingate President's List every year she has been at Wingate and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors as a sophomore, junior and senior. A four year member of the Wingate University Honors Program, Brunworth has been named to the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll in each of the past three seasons. The honor marks the second time in her career that she has been named the SAC Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year as she took home the award as a sophomore. She was also named the League's inaugural South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Elite 18 honoree this past season.
"The emphasis of the Wingate women's soccer program is on the development of amateur student-athletes in every aspect," head coach Chip Wiggins says. "Success on the field is important but not paramount in our overall goals as a program. Kaitlyn's career as a student-athlete exemplifies what we are striving to achieve for our team."
Brunworth has been named to the League's All-Conference team every season she has played for the Navy and Vegas Gold, earning first team honors for three-straight years. The 2016 season saw Brunworth post three goals, all of which were game-winners. She also anchored a Wingate defense that posted 12 shutouts and allowed only 0.60 goals per game. One of her game-winners came in the semifinals of the 2016 Women's Soccer Championship to push the Bulldogs to their seventh-straight South Atlantic Conference Championship match. She closed out her career for Wingate with a total of 14 goals, nine assists and one All-America honor.
A two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree, Brunworth is a spanish minor and is very active in the community and has spent time at local medical clinics translating and scheduling appointments for spanish speaking patients. She also participated in the United Way "Day of Caring" and spent a week in Honduras helping build a school for kids in an impoverished neighborhood. On campus, Brunworth is a biology lab assistant and is the Wingate MEDLIFE chapter president in which she helps families overcome poverty by them gain access to medicine, education and community involvement.
Other Men's Soccer Nominees:
Tom Reed, Carson-Newman
Ian Wu, Mars Hill
Brad Dixon, Newberry
Damian Gaona, Wingate
Other Women's Soccer Nominees:
Alaina Gay, Anderson
Holly Talbut-Smith, Carson-Newman
Shelby Middleton, Coker
Lindsay Huber, Newberry
Carlie Thornber, Tusculum