Fall 2012 Athletics Recap
Golf
It was a record-setting fall season for the Scots golf team. Sophomore Trey Patterson (Johns Creek, GA) became the first Covenant golfer to earn All-American status when he finished sixth, out of 96 golfers, at the NCCAA Men’s Golf National Championships. Patterson posted a first round score of 4-under 68, tying a school record, en route to a tournament score of 1-under 215. For his accomplishments at the NCCAA National Championships, Patterson was recognized at halftime of the men’s basketball home opener on November 16 where he was handed his All-American certification from head coach Trevor Potts.
Freshman Levi Nix (Lafayette, GA), who also competed at the NCCAAs with Patterson, had a round of 69, just one shot off the Covenant record, at the Emmanuel Invitational where he briefly held the lead.
As a team, Covenant had success in the fall. The Scots finished in the top half in two of their three tournaments and had the two golfers selected to participate in the NCCAAs. Covenant placed second at the Piedmont Invitational, led by fifth-place finishes from Nix and fellow freshman James Van Nice (Jupiter, FL). The Scots then placed sixth at the Emmanuel Invitational with Patterson and Nix leading the way with third and fourth-place finishes. The team finished the fall season with a 15th place finish at the Chick-fil-A Invitational hosted by Berry College.
Cross Country
The cross country teams both experienced success in head coach Katie Stanford’s second season. The men had three top-five finishes, while the women had three wins and five top-five finishes. The women won both the GSAC Pre-Conference and Conference meets, although with Covenant’s transition to Division III the Lady Scots were ineligible for the official conference title.
The women were led all year by sophomore Beth Burgess (Nicholasville, KY) who set personal bests in distances of 2-mile, 5k, and 6k this season. Burgess finished in the top-10 five times and placed 16th in a meet with several NCAA Division I runners. Alongside Burgess was freshman Spookie Eaves (Lakeland, FL) who won two meets individually, and also placed in the top-10 five times.
The men were led by a pair of Stephens. Sophomore Stephen Dillon (Indian Trail, NC) placed in the top-25 four times and set a new personal best in the 8k at the NCCAA Cross Country National Championships. Another sophomore, Stephen Harper (Aiken, SC), also had four top-25 finishes and set a new personal record at the NCCAAs.
The Scots had one win on the season when they placed 1st in the Scots Opener.
Men’s Soccer
The men’s soccer team finished the 2012 season with a 10-10-1 record, and reached the NCCAA Mid-East Region Championship match. The Scots got off to a rough start, losing five of their first six matches, but then won six of seven to climb back over the .500 mark.
Covenant’s attack was centered around junior Matt Hudnut (Florissant, MO), senior Tyler Morrison (Slidell, LA), and junior Garrison Dale (Statesville, NC) who combined to score 21 of Covenant’s 35 goals this season. Hudnut had a flair for the dramatic as he had a pair of “golden goals” on back-to-back nights to kickstart the Scots’ winning streak. Morrison had a hat trick in a 4-3 overtime loss at Emory, while Dale scored two goals in a 2-0 win over Maryville.
Covenant had four players on the NCCAA Mid-East All-Region team led by senior Chris Pifer (Lookout Mountain, GA), sophomore Hunter Harrison (Greenville, SC), senior goalkeeper Shuler Polk (Fountain Inn, SC), and Hudnut. Polk allowed 25 goals on the year for a 1.38 goals against average. Pifer produced two scores, both coming on penalty kicks, while Harrison also found the net twice from his defender position.
One of the key highlights as a team was a 2-0 road win over Maryville College on October 2. The win meant Covenant captured the Highland Cup, a trophy awarded to the winner of the matchup between the two schools who share the “Scots” nickname, for the first time since its inception.
The men were defeated 1-0 by Union (TN) University in the championship match of the NCCAA Mid-East Region Tournament.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer team had its most successful season since moving from the NAIA. The Lady Scots finished 15-5-1, just one win shy of tying a school record for victories, and claimed a share of the GSAC regular season title with a 9-1 conference record.
The highlight of the season came during Homecoming on October 6. Covenant defeated Tennessee Temple 2-0 that day to give head coach Mark Duble his 200th career victory at Covenant. After the match, current and former Lady Scots players came out to midfield to congratulate Duble, who finished his 19th season as head coach, on his milestone victory.
Senior Katelyn Newsome (Aichi Gun, Japan) led Covenant with nine goals on the season and earned a spot on the GSAC all-conference team. Six other Lady Scots joined Newsome on the all-GSAC team including senior Kathryn Allison (Birmingham, AL), junior Mary Buys (Luverne, MN), senior Sheri Koenig (Pamplin, VA), sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Bales (Cullman, AL), senior Mo Cross (Charlotte, NC), and freshman Anne Charlotte Strawbridge (Ocala, FL).
Cross was second on the team in goals (5) and points (15), and led Covenant in assists with five. Freshman Ruth Terry (Birmingham, AL) had four goals. The Lady Scots also defended extremely well all season as they allowed opponents to score 16 goals (0.75 goals against average), while recording 11 shutouts.
Sophomore Ally Jennings (Birmingham, AL), senior Rachel Carleton (Kingston Springs, TN), senior Hannah Weichbrodt (Court Spring, TX), senior Amy Dykstra (Acworth, GA), junior Beth Wilkening (Middleburg, FL), along with Newsome, Allison, Koenig, and Buys were all named GSAC all-academic.
The women were defeated in the semifinal round of the NCCAA Mid-East Region Tournament by Trevecca Nazarene 2-0 to end the season.
Volleyball
For the second consecutive season, the Covenant volleyball team posted 22 or more victories. The Lady Scots finished the 2012 season with a 25-8 record and accumulated a plethora of accolades along the way. Covenant finished with a perfect 10-0 record in conference play to earn the GSAC regular season title as the Lady Scots dropped just one set in conference matches.
The postseason awards are many. First, freshman Chelsea Van Dyk (Manhattan, MT) was voted GSAC Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year and also earned a spot on the NCCAA Mid-East All-Region team. Head coach Heather Taylor earned Coach of the Year honors both in the GSAC and the NCCAA Mid-East Region. Sophomore Stephanie Kirkpatrick (Rogersville, AL) was selected GSAC all-conference, NCCAA Mid-East All-Region, and CoSIDA Academic All-District. Junior Estes Carlson (Eaton, CO) and senior Jessica Chittenden (Boyds, MD) each received All-GSAC honors as well. Freshman Cora Schroeder (Marietta, GA) was chosen as a GSAC All-Freshman performer. In addition, Chittenden, Kirkpatrick, and senior Paige Cheney (Hoover, AL) were all recognized on the GSAC all-academic team.
The Lady Scots finished the regular season having won eight in a row, and then won the first match at the NCCAA Mid-East Region Tournament before falling twice to be eliminated.
Keep up with Covenant athletics at covenant.edu/athletics, facebook.com/CovenantScots, and twitter.com/CovenantScots.
Banner Access for Parents
After requests from many of you, we are excited to announce that we are now able to offer parental access on Banner web for student account information. You can set up your own login information and access any information that your student gives you access to, including grades, account detail, and tax notifications (W-2 and 1098-Ts). Please see the links for more information, and feel free to contact us if we can help answer any questions.
Covenant Parents' Testimony
As we sit and write this, it's hard to believe our daughter has only one more semester at Covenant and we only have one more tuition payment. It has gone faster than we could have ever imagined. One of the things that stands out from these past four years is how God has provided for our daughter and for us. God has provided Allie with such wonderful friends that have been truly encouraging, loving and truthful - friends that have been willing to speak truth into her life in ways that she could hear. He has provided her with professors that have been willing to get involved with students and wonderful opportunities to experience mentoring and care. When she hit a rough patch her sophomore year, the counseling center was a blessing. We felt so thankful to be able to entrust Allie to their counsel and care, knowing they were going to give her wise, biblical advice and wisdom.
God has provided for us as parents in ways just as amazing as Allie. He has provided for us financially and for Allie to be able to make all our tuition payments and he has provided us with wonderful and unexpected friendships. We got involved serving on the Parents Council at the beginning and it has been such a blessing and opportunity! We knew God would provide for our daughter - I guess we weren't quite prepared for how amazingly God would provide for us as we prepared to let our youngest go. Coming to the end of our Covenant experience is bittersweet. We are thrilled to soon be the parents of a Covenant alumna, but a little sad to leave being Covenant parents.
Bob and Connice Dyar
Matthews, NC
Praise and Prayer Requests
Please join us in praising God with thanksgiving for a great semester. We covet your prayers for the end-of-semester activities and finals, including studying and grading. Please also pray for the challenges that some of our students and their families are currently facing. Lastly, please offer prayers for travel and family time over the break.
Upcoming Events
December 5
|
Last Day of Classes |
December 6
|
Christmas Concert |
December 6-7
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Reading/Snow Days - May be used for class meetings depending upon college closings |
December 10-13
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Final examinations; meal plan concludes Thursday, 12/13 at 7:00 p.m. |
December 14
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Residence halls close at 12:00 p.m. |
January 5-7
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New Student Orientation |
January 6
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Continuing students may return to campus; meal plan begins Monday, 1/7 at 5:00 p.m. |
January 8
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First day of classes and Registration begins |
| View Covenant's Online Calendar |
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