Senior
Laura Eldridge (Knoxville, Tenn./West) and freshman
Janay Whittaker (Stone Mountain, Ga./Peideia) were recognized as 2009 Big South All-Conference performers, the conference announced at the awards ceremony Wednesday Night. Eldridge earned first-team All-Big South honors and was named to the All-Academic team while Whittaker received second-team All-Big South honors and was named a member of the All-Freshman team.
“I am very proud of Laura and Janay for making the All-Conference teams,” said head coach Marty Beall. “Both girls work very hard and are great examples of what our team and are program are all about.”
Eldridge played in all 20 games with 19 starts during her senior season, spending time both in the midfield and at forward. She scored one goal and had two points during the season. The Knoxville, Tenn., native worked as a target forward, helping to facilitate the attack during the conference season after sliding up from her defensive midfielder position. In the classroom, Eldridge has a 3.98 GPA while majoring in Sport Management.
“Laura does a lot of the little things for us,” said Beall. “She wins balls in the air, she hustles down everything, and she is a great target for us. She causes our opponents a lot of problems as they try to match up with her size and abilities.
Whittaker has played in all 20 games with 12 starts in her freshman season. She scored the game-winning goal in three straight wins over VMI, Radford and Presbyterian late in the season to help secure HPU spot in the conference tournament. The Stone Mountain, Ga., native leads High Point in goals, with three, and points, with six.
“This is a well-deserved honor for Janay,” said Beall. “Not just making the All-Freshman team but making second-team All-Conference with all those great players. Obviously her scoring three game-winning goals was huge for this program and getting us to where we are this year. Her resilience and her work effort have helped this team out tremendously.”
The seventh-seeded Panthers will begin tournament play against No. 2 Gardner-Webb at 4:30 on Thursday in the first round of the 2009 Big South Women’s Soccer Tournament. With a victory, HPU would advance to play either No. 3 Charleston Southern or No. 6 Radford in the semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m.
2009 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE WOMEN’S SOCCER ALL-CONFERENCE AND AWARD WINNERS
First-Team All-Conference
Karen Blocker, GK, Liberty
Silvia Betancourt, MF, Liberty
Maria Owen, F, Liberty
Marky Boyce, F, Charleston Southern
Sarah Keyser, MF, Gardner-Webb
Caitlin Wesnesky, D, Charleston Southern
Audrey Falconi, D, VMI
Anna Tupy, MF, Coastal Carolina
Dana Gentile, F, Coastal Carolina
Megan Reimer, F, Gardner-Webb
Jackie Cozza, D, Radford
Stevie Lucas, D, Winthrop
Laura Eldridge, F, High Point
Second-Team All-Conference
Lisa Lubke, GK, Radford
Maegen Hellberg, D, Coastal Carolina
Jen Vroman, MF, Charleston Southern
Mary Wiley, F, Radford
Sarah Strand, MF, VMI
Mary Kate Tucker, D, UNC Asheville
Tricia Vensel, MF, Winthrop
Sarah Catenacci, MF, Charleston Southern
Brooke Bull, D, Gardner-Webb
Janay Whittaker, MF, High Point
Elia Lake, D, Liberty
Sarah McPartlan, MF, Coastal Carolina
Chloe McCleary-Small, F, UNC Asheville
All-Freshman Team
Morgann Wood, F, Charleston Southern
Samantha Rupert, GK, Gardner-Webb
Madison Short, MF, Liberty
Mary Wiley, F, Radford
Kacey Hall, MF, VMI
Morgan Thomas, F, Coastal Carolina
Janay Whittaker, MF, High Point
Ariana Espinoza, D, Liberty
Rebecca Hollstegge, MF, Charleston Southern
Kylie Long, MF, Winthrop
Hannah Jeske, MF, UNC Asheville
All-Academic Team
Lindsey Trexler, Charleston Southern
Maegen Hellberg, Coastal Carolina
Megan Tremblay, Gardner-Webb
Laura Eldridge, High Point
Rachel Whisehart, Liberty
Rachel Lamb, Presbyterian College
Jill Boyer, Radford
Veronica Lazar, UNC Asheville
Audrey Falconi, VMI
Rachel Webster, Winthrop
Player of the Year
Marky Boyce, F, Charleston Southern
Freshman of the Year
Mary Wiley, F, Radford
Coach of the Year
Jessica Hain, Liberty
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Audrey Falconi, VMI