The Mercer Univerity Athletics Department announced its 2012-13 Outstanding Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year at its third annual Big Bear Event held at Hawkins Arena on Saturday April 20.
Seniors Will Betts and Kacie Niemann picked up the honors after four impressive years at Mercer University filled with outstanding achievements both on and off the field. Betts will be graduating this May from the men’s soccer team and Niemann recently finished up her running career on the women’s cross country team.
“It was really unexpected,” said Betts. “I’m extremely honored and humbled to have the opportunity to bring recognition to the men’s soccer program and the strides that the team has made throughout my four years here.”
Both Betts and Niemann have had impressive careers in their respective sports.
Betts finished his Mercer career with 77 games played and tied for the fifth-most games started in A-Sun Conference history, with 74. The Brenham, Texas native had 33 career points on 12 goals and nine assists, including a stellar 2012 senior campaign where he amassed 11 points on four goals and three assists.
 Niemann will go down as one of, if not the best, women’s cross country runners in Mercer history. She holds seven of the top times ever run by women’s runners in the Bears’ record book and is now a two-time Academic All-Conference selection. Niemann also picked up All-Conference honors for the third time in her career with a top 14 finish in the conference championship race this past fall. Niemann wrapped up her A-Sun career with a personal best of 17:47.3 and finished 8th overall in the conference championship.
Both Betts and Niemann have also had impressive careers as students at Mercer.
This isn’t the first major honor for Betts, who has a 3.98 cumulative GPA as a finance major. The Brenham, Texas native was named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-American first team, the 2012 NSCAA Scholar All-South Region first team and was voted the Atlantic Sun Conference Men’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2011 and 2012. This past season Niemann was also twice named Atlantic Sun Runner of the Week for her performances in the Bears’ fall schedule.
 Niemann carries a 3.97 overall GPA as a double major in Spanish and Pre-Physician’s Assistant.
“It came as quite a surprise,” explained Niemann. “We have so many talented athletes at Mercer, but I am honored by the recognition. Coach Bailey took a chance on adding me to the team because I had only been a mediocre high school runner, but with God’s grace I have been able to significantly improve over the last four years. I still have terrible running form, asthma and a predisposition to stress fracture, so I can really only attribute my running success to God because it does not biologically make sense for me to be able to run well.” Niemann said.
“I have to give credit to coach Bailey’s instruction, my wonderful team, and the tough love of my fiance and fellow captain Jacob Law for giving me the tenacity to endure the pain of 3.1 miles over and over in a Mercer uniform. I am proud to bring what honor I could to an already great university.” Neimann said.

After yet another successful week between the lines, the Mercer baseball team completed its season-long rise to the top of the charts to the No. 1 ranking in the most recent College Baseball Daily Top-25 Mid-Major Poll released earlier this week.
 Mercer (32-11, 12-6 A-Sun) started the week off by collecting a solid 5-3 mid-week road win over Georgia Southern before continuing its recent surge in league play by taking two-of-three from Lipscomb at home this past weekend.
Against Georgia Southern, Chesny Young and Sasha Lagarde led the way for the Bears on the strength of a homerun and two RBIs a piece.
The series against Lipscomb started well for the Bears as the team took game one by a score of 7-4. Chesny Young went a perfect 3-for-3 hitting on the day earning two RBIs. On the strength of one homerun and two hits, Nick Backlund batted in four runners during the contest.
The Bears continued their winning ways in game two of the series defeating the Bison 5-2. Michael Massi, Sasha Lagarde, Logan Gaines and David Reid-Foley all contributed an RBI in the winning effort. Brandon Barker earned the win on the strength of six innings of work that included nine strikeouts.
The final game of the series was not so lucky for the Bears as they fell 8-4 to Lipscomb. Nick Backlund, David Reid-Foley and Logan Gaines each contributed an RBI in the loss.
 The Orange and Black started the season ranked 25th in the poll and has been steadily moving up all season long leading up to its No. 1 ranking this week, just slightly beating out Big East power Louisville for tops in the nation.
 The Bears are one of three Atlantic Sun Conference teams in the CBD Mid-Major poll, joining No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast and North Florida who is currently in the receiving votes section.
 Mercer has one day off before its back on the road in Tallahassee for a mid-week contest against Florida A&M on April 23. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Moore-Kittles Field.

Reimers finishes ninth overall in the conference

The Mercer men’s golf team finished off the season with a fifth place finish in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.
On day one of the tournament, Junior James Beale booked a 75 (+3) in to lead the Bears to a tie for fifth place on the team leaderboard.  Mercer’s first day total of 308 at The Legends Course of Chateau Elan positioned the team seven strokes behind Jacksonville and East Tennessee State for third place and 19 strokes off North Florida’s tournament leading pace.
Head coach Steve Bradley explained the rough conditions throughout the turf.
“It’s not an easy golf course,” Mercer head coach Steve Bradley said.  “Firm greens combined with winds and cooler temperatures made the course play longer today.  We got off to a rough start and righted the ship in the middle, but we played our last two holes eight over par which is disappointing,”Bradley said.
The second day saw the Bears drop to sixth place in the tournament after they slipped to sixth place in the second round of the Atlantic Sun Championship. Individually, Hans Reimers posted a 73 (+1) to jump into a tie for eighth place.
Again, the conditions were far from ideal for the Bears.
“Obviously it was a tough day condition-wise, and a tough day for the Mercer Bears,” Mercer head coach Steve Bradley said.  “We had some swings that really cost us, but they didn’t quit.  We’ve got another day tomorrow, so we hope we can put this behind us and try to move up.”
In the final round of the Atlantic Sun Championship, junior Hans Reimers tied for ninth place at the Atlantic Sun Championship while leading the Mercer men’s golf team to a fifth place finish.
North Florida (881) shot 291 on the final day of competition to fend off East Tennessee State (895) and Kennesaw State (897) for its second-consecutive title.  The Ospreys’ final round total capped a dominating performance that saw the team place three players in the top-five individuals, highlighted by sophomore MJ Maguire’s individual medalist performance.
Mercer’s final round 298 was the team’s low round of the event, fueled by an even-par 72 from junior James Beale.  The effort pushed his tournament total to 228 and tied him for 13th place individually.
 Reimers’ used 77 strokes on Tuesday and completed his tournament with a score of 226.  The effort marked his fourth top-10 finish in his last five events.  Sophomore Trey Rule and freshman Jeffrey Heinicka both tied for 21st place with 56-hole scores of 232.  Senior John Gregory Joseph rounded out Mercer’s competitors with a final round 82 to place 46th at 244.
The men’s golf team graduates two seniors in John Gregory Joseph and Thomas Holmes.

The fifth seeded Mercer sand volleyball team was eliminated from the Atlantic Sun Tournament on Saturday after dropping 3-2 decisions to No. 4 Florida Gulf Coast and No. 3 Jacksonville at the Dolphin Beach Volleyball Courts.
 Mercer (0-17) saw its season conclude while FGCU (5-9) and Jacksonville (6-16) moved on to Sunday’s play, where they will face each other at 11 a.m.
 In the fifth flight against FGCU, Charlayna Braxton and Erin Brett pushed Jill Hopper and Gigi Meyer to a deciding third set before ultimately falling 2-1 (14-21, 21-7, 15-10).  The Bears rebounded to take wins in the No. 3 and 4 flights as Madison Petsos and Molly Locke claimed a 2-1 (21-17, 17-21, 15-13) victory over Liga Strautniece and Christine Pinder and Emily Rochefort and Caroline Carlton topped Olivia Mesner and Lindsey Childs 2-0 (21-15, 21-12).
 The Eagles claimed a 2-0 (23-21, 21-17) win in the No. 2 flight, setting the stage for a deciding match between Mercer’s No. 1 pairing of Jamie Duffy and Jennifer Katona and FGCU’s Brooke Kohler and Brittany Muse.  After the teams split the opening sets, Kohler and Muse captured a 15-8 win in the deciding frame.
 Against Jacksonville, Mercer picked up wins in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots again, but the Dolphins prevailed by capturing straight-set victories in the No. 5, 4 and 1 spots.  Petsos and Locke teamed for a 2-0 (21-9, 21-11) victory in the fourth flight while Rochefort and Carlton rolled to a 2-0 (22-20, 21-17) win in the third flight.
Despite a disappointing season, two Bears were recognized for their accomplishments. Junior Erin Brett and freshman Molly Locke among the honorees.  Brett earned an All-Academic team selection while Locke picked up All-Freshman team honors.
 Brett landed a spot on the 10-member Academic All-Conference team, consisting of nominees who maintained at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA, had matriculated one year at their institution and participated in at least 50% of their team’s matches. 
 This spring, Brett has blossomed into one of the team’s most consistent players, teaming with classmate Carly Iannarino to post a 2-1 record in A-Sun play at the No. 5 pairing.  In the classroom, Brett boasts a 3.86 GPA in Environmental Engineering.
 Locke played alongside seniors Jenn Katona and Madison Petsos in the No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 pairings this season.  She notched a pair of wins, including a league triumph over Florida Gulf Coast’s No. 4 pairing of Liga Strautniece and Christine Pinder on March 30.
 Locke’s selection is her second conference accolade of the academic year after also picking up All-Freshman honors following the indoor volleyball season.

Fail to capitalize at North Florida

After an impressive 10-1 win against then No. 12 ranked Georgia Tech and taking the first game against North Florida in a 5-4 thriller, the Mercer baseball team dropped their next two matches to the University of North Florida making it the Bears’ first weekend series loss of the year.
Junior Brandon Barker and senior David Randall pitched the first two innings for Mercer and didn’t allow a single hit to start the night off for the Bears hurlers.
 The home team broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third when sophomore Chesny Young followed up a double by senior Evan Boyd with an RBI single to left field to give Mercer an early 1-0 lead.
 After Georgia Tech tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth, senior Travis Benn provided the Bears with an answer in the bottom half of the frame. Benn lifted a two-run home run that bounced on top of, then over the wall in right-center field to push Mercer back in front 3-1.
 That is the way things would stay until the Orange and Black put the game out of reach with an emphatic seven-run bottom of the eighth inning. Mercer batted around in the frame and received a three-run home run by Benn and a two-run long ball from junior Sasha LaGarde to make the final score 10-1.
 Junior Stephen Glaze earned his second win of the season by throwing two frames of scoreless relief while sophomore Dimitri Kourtis picked up his third save of the season by closing out the contest with three-straight shutout innings.
In the first game of the series against the Ospreys, junior Brandon Barker received the start on the mound for the Bears. The first inning was quiet for both Mercer and North Florida as neither team was able to get anything going from behind the plate.
The Bears struck first in the top of the third. An RBI double by senior Evan Boyd followed by an RBI single by sophomore Chesny Young put Mercer in front by a 2-0 margin.
The visitors kept things going in the top of the fourth when an RBI double by senior Logan Gaines extended the Bears advantage up to 3-0.
 Mercer added two more insurance runs in the top of the sixth thanks to a pair of North Florida errors and a perfect suicide squeeze bunt by senior Travis Benn to take a 5-0 lead.
That would be enough for the Bears and starter Brandon Barker to win the game despite a valiant comeback effort from UNF to make the game 5-4.
The North Florida bats proved too much to handle for the Orange and Black in game two as the Ospreys were able to rattle off 10 runs to win the game 10-4.
Mercer wasted little time jumping on North Florida’s starting pitcher Nick Allbritton, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first. With junior Sasha LaGarde and sophomore Chesny Young on second and third, junior Nick Backlund brought them both home with a two-RBI double to make the score 2-0.
 The Ospreys came back with an answer just an inning later thanks to a three-spot in the bottom of the second. A two-RBI triple by sophomore Drew Weeks and an RBI single by freshman Kyle Brooks put UNF back up 3-2.
 North Florida continued to simply put balls in play, pushing another three runs across in the bottom of the fourth on several balls that were not hit hard at all but continued to find holes in the Bears defense. Six singles, most of which either failed to leave the infield or just slipped past a Mercer defender, accounted for three UNF runs to push the home team’s lead up to 6-2.
 While the Ospreys were finding ways to manufacture runs, Mercer had no such luck against Allbritton. After some success in the first inning, the Bears struggled against the right-hander until the top of the eighth. Following a single by Young, junior Derrick Workman deposited a fastball over the fence in right field for his team-leading eighth home run of the season to bring Mercer within two, at 6-4.
 That would be as close as the Bears would get however, as UNF scored four runs in the bottom half of the eighth and freshman Corbin Olmstead pitched a scoreless ninth to secure the win for the Ospreys.
Game three was once again a disappointing one for the Bears. Despite a valiant effort from starting pitcher DJ Johnson, the Bears fell 3-2.
For the third time in as many days, Mercer lit up the scoreboard first after an RBI single by junior Austin Barrett put the Bears ahead early 1-0.
 The Orange and Black tried to add to their advantage in the top of the third inning, but a fly out by junior Michael Massi left the bases loaded and the score still 1-0 in favor of Mercer.
 The score would remain 1-0 until the bottom of the fourth when sophomore Drew Weeks yanked a solo home run to left field to pull UNF into a tie with Mercer at 1-1.
 The Ospreys continued to use the long ball to their advantage in the bottom of the fifth after senior Paul Karmeris and junior Tyler Marincov both went yard with solo shots to make the score 3-1 in favor of the home team.
 The Bears offense continued to struggle to generate any momentum against North Florida starting pitcher Michael Renner. Following the first inning, Mercer only mustered one hit against the soft throwing left-hander until a hectic top of the eighth.
 After singles by Barrett and Massi, senior Logan Gaines lined an RBI single to left field to make the score 3-2.
 The Mercer rally ran out of steam going into the ninth as freshman Corbin Olmstead pitched a scoreless frame to secure his fifth save of the season.
The Mercer baseball takes to the field again on Friday, April 12 for a home weekend series against FGCU. Games are scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Mercer University seniors Richie Edmondson of the men’s soccer team and Charlayna Braxton of the women’s volleyball team were both recognized as National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) All-Americans as released by the organization Wednesday afternoon.
 The prestigious national honor is awarded to a select group of collegiate athletes nominated with measurements in the vertical jump, pro-agility run, 40-yard dash, bench press poundage and squat poundage.  Last year, only eight collegiate men’s soccer players and 13 women’s collegiate volleyball players earned the distinction throughout the country.
 Edmondson wrapped a stellar four-year career in the Orange and Black in the fall of 2012, helping the Bears capture their second Atlantic Sun Championship runner-up finish in four seasons. Edmondson appeared in 70 games over his career, including 48 starts, and racked up 32 career points on 11 goals and 10 assists. The Montego Bay, Jamaica native was also named to the A-Sun All-Tournament team as a freshman and voted onto the A-Sun All-Conference second team at the conclusion of his sophomore and senior seasons.
 Braxton played in 69 volleyball matches with Mercer after transferring from UAB.  For Mercer University, Braxton knocked down 319 kills and totaled 158 blocks while leading the Bears to 48 wins and a pair conference tournament appearances.  She also participates in sand volleyball, where she’s posted a pair of match victories this season.
 The NSCA All-American Strength and Conditioning Athletes of the Year program recognizes those collegiate and high school athletes whose athletic accomplishments, in the opinion of their strength coach, reflect their dedication to strength training and conditioning.
The athletes are also recognized for their academic and personal accomplishments and their integrity as student athletes. Power Systems, Inc. is the official sponsor of the program.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches announced its Division I All-District teams on Tuesday, with Mercer senior guard Travis Smith among the 242 national honorees.  Smith was named a second team selection in District 3, comprised of teams in the Atlantic Sun and Big South Conferences.
 Smith was selected by the NABC member coaches in the A-Sun and Big South after leading the Bears to a 24-12 record while averaging a team-best 13.9 points per game.  Smith was one of five A-Sun players to score 500 or more points this season after reaching the mark in the team’s final game at BYU on Monday evening.
 Smith led or tied for the team lead in scoring 21 times while reaching double-digits on 27 occasions.  The Johns Island, S.C. native also scored 20 or more five times, including a pair of 25-point outings against Stetson and at Tennessee.
 Smith’s season was a model of efficiency, as he shot 43.3% (74-of-171) from three point range and 89.8% (114-of-127) from the free throw line.  His free throw percentage was the best single-season mark in school history while his three-point shooting percentage ranks sixth on the school’s single-season chart.  His 74 three pointers positioned him sixth in the school’s single-season record book.
 In three seasons of Division I play, Smith racked up 984 points while playing for Presbyterian and Mercer.  In 2009-10, Smith scored 219 points for the Blue Hose before transferring to Gulf Coast Community College before his sophomore campaign.  In the last two years, Smith racked up 766 points in Orange and Black, highlighted by 502 points in his senior year.

The Mercer women’s golf team recently took home the title at the MSU Invitational.
After day one, Mercer junior Lacey Fears and senior Kaitlin Marrin each fired 71 to help the Mercer women’s golf team wrap up opening play at the MSU Invitational atop the team standings.  Mercer’s team score of 293 on Sunday at the Juliette Falls Golf Course outpaced the next closest team by four strokes.
 Stetson (297) is second while Toledo (298), host Morehead State (302), Western Kentucky (305) and Appalachian State (305) rounded out the top six teams.
 Fears and Marrin were two of just five players to post sub-par rounds, and were both tied for third place overall.  Ohio’s Kara Brinkmann led all individuals after shooting 68 on Sunday.
 Junior Mary Alice Murphy shot 74 and was tied for 10th place while senior Aurelie Wiriath was tied for 32nd at 77.  Sophomore Sarah Louie Brown shot 79 and was tied for 42nd place.
On the second day of competition, junior Lacey Fears posted her second consecutive sub-par round to help the Mercer women’s golf team extend its lead on the field at the Juliette Falls Golf Course.  Through 36 holes, Fears sat atop the individual leader board while the Bears held a 12-stroke lead on the next closest teams.
 Mercer’s team score of 291 on day two was a two-stroke improvement on day one’s total and helped the Bears stay ahead of Stetson (596) and Toledo (596) for the tournament lead.  Host Morehead State (604) was fourth while McNeese State (606) was fifth.
 “This team is really coming together,” Mercer head coach Gary Guyer said. “Our lineup is starting to see how well it can play as a team. Each time we go out, our goal has been to shoot an even-par 288, and we had a good chance at it today. Hopefully, we can focus a little bit more tomorrow and execute well enough to achieve our goal.”
 Fears’ 70 (-2) combined with an opening round 71 placed the Bonaire, Ga. native two strokes ahead of Ohio’s Kara Brinkmann for the individual lead.  Junior Kaitlin Marrin followed day one’s 71 with a 75 and was tied for sixth, while senior Aurelie Wiriath turned in an even-par 72 and was tied for 13th at 149.
 Junior Mary Alice Murphy carded a 78 and is tied for 22nd at 152 while sophomore Sarah Louie Brown was one shot behind her after shooting 74 and is tied for 27th.
Junior Lacey Fears wrapped up a third place finish in the MSU Invitational on Tuesday at Juliette Falls Golf Course while leading the Mercer women’s golf team to the event’s team title.   Mercer’s three-day total of 883 outpaced second place Stetson by seven strokes and marked the squad’s second tournament championship of the academic year.
 On day three, as a team, Mercer booked three sub-300 rounds to maintain a wire-to-wire lead at the event.  The final round score of 299 combined with team totals of 293 and 291 on days one and two to outpace 13 other teams in the field.  The team also captured the Eat a Peach Collegiate title on Sept. 24, 2012.
 “This win gives us a lot of momentum heading into the conference championship,” Mercer head coach Gary Guyer said.  “We started well, stayed focused in the middle of the tournament and closed the deal.”
 Fears’ third place finish was her third top five placements of the academic year and seventh top five finish of her collegiate career.  After shooting 71 (-1) and 70 (-2) in the opening rounds, the Bonaire, Ga. native carded a 77 in the final round to come three strokes shy of tying McNeese State’s McKayla Anderson for individual medalist honors.
 Junior Mary Alice Murphy posted Mercer’s low round of the tournament on the final day of play, shooting 69 (-3) to tie for eighth place at 221.  Senior Kaitlin Marrin also tied for eighth place after following an opening round 71 with a pair of a 75’s.
 Senior Aurelie Wiriath completed her showing with a 79 and tied for 18th at 228.  Sophomore Sarah Louie Brown (231) rounded out Mercer’s competitors with a tie for 32nd after shooting 78 on Tuesday.
 In six seasons as Mercer head coach, Guyer has now led the Bears to eight tournament championships, including two titles in each of the last three years.
On the heels of her tournament victory, Lacey Fears garnered A-Sun recognition as she was named the A-Sun Player of the Week.
Mercer returns to action in the aforementioned Atlantic Sun Championship on April 15.  The three-day event will be contested at Pine Lakes Golf Course in Jekyll Island, Georgia.

Despite dropping a weekend series for the first time all season, the Mercer baseball team jumped up into the No. 6 position in the most recent College Baseball Daily Top-25 Mid-Major Poll released earlier this week.
 Mercer did drop two-of-three at North Florida this past weekend, but offset that with a dominant 10-1 mid-week win over No. 12 Georgia Tech on April 2 for its second win in as many seasons over the Yellow Jackets.
 The Bears started the season ranked 25th in the poll, before moving up to 15th after week one, the #10 slot after week two, staying in the No. 7 position for two-straight weeks, slipping slightly down to a No. 8 ranking for three-straight weeks before moving up to its current No. 6 position.
 The Bears are one of three Atlantic Sun Conference teams in the CBD Mid-Major poll, joining No. 10 Florida Gulf Coast and North Florida who is currently in the receiving votes section.