Sidelines
Men’s Golf
Former Eagle Makes PGA Tour Debut
Former Eagle Scott Wolfes made his PGA Tour debut last fall at the RSM Classic at Seaside Plantation in Sea Island, Georgia. He shot a two over par 144 in the first two rounds, missing the cut by four strokes. He received a sponsors’ exemption for the tournament at his home course.
Wolfes capped his illustrious career at Georgia Southern with a tie for 11th in the NCAA Noblesville Regional last May. Over the summer, he played some amateur tournaments before officially turning pro in August. He played in a few mini-tour events where he had success, and he gained entry into a Web.com Tour event — one tier down from the PGA tour — through qualifying. He says he has learned a lot in his short time as a professional.
“The biggest eye-opener is the high level you have to play at week in and week out.” Wolfes said. “Every shot counts just a little bit more.”
Wolfes earned Golfer of the Year honors twice and was a four-time all-conference selection during his career at Georgia Southern. He posted 31 top-20 finishes in 46 collegiate tournaments and won medalist honors four times in his career, including the 2013 Schenkel Invitational.
Fisk Named Student-Athlete of the Month
Georgia Southern’s Steven Fisk was named the Sun Belt Conference men’s golf Student-Athlete of the Month in November. The freshman posted two top-10 finishes, giving him four in five events this season. The freshman averaged 71 strokes per round and shot par or better in three of five rounds.
Georgia Southern opens the spring campaign at the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., Feb. 20-21.
Women’s Soccer
El-Shami is One of the Best
Senior women’s soccer forward Nora El-Shami completed her final season with a team-high 30 points this season and 12 assists — tied for fourth in the nation. She also earned All-Sun Belt First Team honors for the second year in a row to become just the ninth player in program history to snag conference honors in consecutive years.
She started 74 out of her 76 games during her four seasons and led the team in points for all four years and assists for the last three. In addition, she topped the team in goals for her first three years, and this past fall, she was a close-second to Jennifer Wittick.
This season, El-Shami netted two hat tricks and was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt Team along with teammate Melinda Lukas in addition to grabbing two Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week awards. El-Shami’s 25 career goals puts her at sixth in school history. In points, she currently ranks fifth all-time with 78 in four years. Her 12 assists this season is tied for third all-time and her 28 total assists puts her at fifth.
Volleyball
Hanner Hosts Sun Belt Championships
Georgia Southern made its first appearance in the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship last fall. It also marked the first time the event has been held in Statesboro. While the eighth-seeded Eagles fell to top-seed and eventual conference tournament winner Arkansas State, Georgia Southern completed its second season in the Sun Belt with some strong individual performances.
Junior libero Alex Beecher became the school’s all-time leader in digs and ranked in the top 10 in the nation throughout the season. She now has almost 1,750 career digs, which tops Megan Lippi’s total of 1,707 from 2000-03. Beecher has had 13 matches with 20-plus digs, including seven in a row from this season and three matches with 30-plus. Redshirt junior Crysten Curry collected her 300th career block and this season moved into Georgia Southern’s top 10 in career blocks, solo block and block assists.
Georgia Southern Begins Rivalry Series with Georgia State
It’s on! — The rivalry between Georgia Southern and Georgia State has been formalized and starting this year (2015-16) the two schools will compete directly in 15 sports as well as student-athlete academic and community service components. At the end of each school year, the institution with the most points will be crowned the champion and receive the series trophy at the following year’s football game.
Points will come from head-to-head match-ups and conference championship finishes, along with additional points being available in Sun Belt Conference tournament match-ups when the two rival schools meet in postseason play.
“With the significant number of alumni that we have in the Atlanta area, and the pride that Eagle Nation displays toward Georgia Southern, a rivalry between Georgia State and Georgia Southern is a natural fit,” Georgia Southern Director of Athletics Tom Kleinlein said. “It only makes sense to bring Atlanta and Statesboro together and for the two areas to get excited when the Eagles and Panthers play in any sport. This series will give both fan bases a chance for bragging rights and will enhance the rivalry between these two great institutions.”
“A rivalry that already existed before last season definitely became more heated with several incredible match-ups, including the first game between the two schools on the football field,” Georgia State Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb said. “Awarding a trophy and bragging rights will only enhance the rivalry.”
The winner of the annual football match-up will receive two points. All other match-ups will be worth one point, with each baseball and softball series being worth one total point. Schools will receive one point for sweeping the volleyball season series, or a half-point each for a split.
As a part of the scoring, the school that finishes with the highest department-wide GPA for fall and spring semesters combined will receive one additional point.
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for each school will also select one community service project per semester to compete head-to-head in, with the winning school receiving one point for each project.
To see the current status, visit GSEagles.com/RivalrySeries.