WePlayed Sports Players of the Week - Mar. 30

March 30, 2026

Men's Lacrosse

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference has announced its WePlayed Sports Men's Lacrosse Players of the Week for games played during week eight of the 2026 season. Catawba's Tanner Stout was named the Offensive Player of the Week and his teammate Owen Conway was named the Defensive Player of the Week, while Lenoir-Rhyne's Matthew Mancini was named the Specialist of the Week.

Stout, a junior from Elon, N.C., netted six goals with one assist, setting a new career high of seven points, in Catawba's 22-12 upset of #5 Anderson on Saturday. The junior attackman found paydirt on six of his seven total shots in the contest while adding five ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Conway, a sophomore from Bel Air, Md., powered the defensive side of Catawba's 22-12 victory over #5 Anderson on Saturday, racking up five caused turnovers with four ground ball pickups. Conway leads the Catawba Indians with 18 caused turnovers and paces all field players with 27 ground balls this season.

Mancini, a senior from Middletown, Md., was dominant at the faceoff X for the Bears who defeated Wingate and Mars Hill last week. Mancini won 25-of-35 faceoffs for the week and grabbed 14 ground balls. This is the second consecutive Specialist of the Week for Mancini.

2026 SAC Men's Lacrosse Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week

Feb. 9 – Ben Royer, Tusculum
Feb. 16 – Radyn Badraun, Anderson
Feb. 23 – Gage Vigar, Newberry
Mar. 2 – Ryan Bitterman, Anderson
Mar. 9 – Bradley David, Newberry
Mar. 16 – Kyle Spence, Wingate
Mar. 23 – Vinny Butrico, Wingate
Mar. 30 – Tanner Stout, Catawba

Defensive Player of the Week

Feb. 9 – Graham Tillett, Wingate
Feb. 16 – Lennon Connolly, Coker
Feb. 23 – Owen Conway, Catawba
Mar. 2 – Chris Czulada, Anderson
Mar. 9 – Ryan Morrison, Newberry
Mar. 16 – Trey O'Callaghan, Wingate
Mar. 23 – Graham Tillett, Wingate
Mar. 30 – Owen Conway, Catawba

Specialist Player of the Week

Feb. 9 – AJ Rush, Anderson
Feb. 16 – Adin Laughlin, Anderson
Feb. 23 – Jayden Herman, Lincoln Memorial
Mar. 2 – Ben LoPiccolo, Catawba
Mar. 9 – Houston Horton, Newberry
Mar. 16 – Aiden Dixon, Anderson
Mar. 23 – Matthew Mancini, Lenoir-Rhyne
Mar. 30 – Matthew Mancini, Lenoir-Rhyne

Women's Lacrosse

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference has announced its WePlayed Sports Women's Lacrosse Players of the Week for games played during week eight of the 2026 season. Tusculum's Elisha Stack was named the Offensive Player of the Week, while UVA Wise's Addie Donalson earned the Defensive Player of the Week.

Stack, a sophomore from Lockport, Ill., had five goals and 14 assists for the Pioneers in wins over Shorter and Coker this week. She finished with four goals and seven assists in the victory over Shorter, and added a goal and seven assists in the win against Coker. Stack leads the SAC in assists (37) and points (62) this season.

Donalson, a senior from Pittsburgh, Pa., had 10 saves in the Cavs' first defeat of Newberry since 2022, breaking a five game losing streak. Donalson only allowed seven goals and had 10 saves for a 7.00 GAA and a 58.8 save percentage. She is tied for fourth in the SAC in goals allowed and is second in GAA.

2026 SAC Women's Lacrosse Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week

Feb. 9 – Ellie Wilkins, Anderson
Feb. 16 – Ellie Wilkins, Anderson
Feb. 23 – Julia Garvin, Wingate
Mar. 2 – Ava Skeffington, Anderson
Mar. 9 – Stacy Glover, Wingate
Mar. 16 – Elisha Stack, Tusculum
Mar. 23 – Stacy Glover, Wingate
Mar. 30 – Elisha Stack, Tusculum

Defensive Player of the Week

Feb. 9 – Kathryn McCabe, Wingate
Feb. 16 – Chloe Huston, UVA Wise
Feb. 23 – Olivia Schmidt, Coker
Mar. 2 – Krysta Churns, Wingate
Mar. 9 – Sophie Pavlick, Wingate
Mar. 16 – Skylar Duval-Lewis, Newberry
Mar. 23 – Kathryn McCabe, Wingate
Mar. 30 – Addie Donalson, UVA Wise

Tennis

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Catawba's Luca Bergonzi has been named the South Atlantic Conference WePlayed Sports Men's Tennis Player of the Week and Carson-Newman's Hala Awad has been named the Women's Tennis Player of the Week for matches played during week eight of the 2026 season, the Conference announced today.

Bergonzi, a sophomore from Pavia, Italy, led Catawba to a 2-0 week, with wins over Newberry and Mars Hill in SAC play. He went 2-0 in singles action, posting straight set wins at the number 3 and 4 spots. In doubles action, he went 2-0 with wins of 6-2 and 6-4 at the top spot.

Award, a senior from Cairo, Egypt, recorded a victory in the Wingate match that saw the unranked senior take down the #34 player in the nation. She has won the last five straight singles matches, and also took a victory 6-3 against Emory & Henry's first doubles pair to win her last three doubles matches in a row.

2026 SAC WePlayed Sports Women's Tennis Players of the Week

Feb. 9 – Salome Sierra, Coker
Feb. 16 – Claudia Vallejos, Wingate
Feb. 23 – Ilona Hernandez-Sanchez, Coker
Mar. 2 – Nellie Wahlberg, Lenoir-Rhyne
Mar. 9 – Rin Igarashi, Catawba
Mar. 16 – Sofia Antolini, Catawba
Mar. 23 – Fernanda Castillo, Wingate
Mar. 30 – Hala Awad, Carson-Newman

2026 SAC WePlayed Sports Men's Tennis Players of the Week

Feb. 9 – Ethan Hirons, Lincoln Memorial
Feb. 16 – Vicent Fenollar, Anderson
Feb. 23 – Ruben Lebron, Wingate
Mar. 2 – Samuil Sivinov, Lenoir-Rhyne
Mar. 9 – Luca Bergonzi, Catawba
Mar. 16 – Louis Keenan, Carson-Newman
Mar. 23 – Santiago Passoni, Catawba
Mar. 30 – Luca Bergonzi, Catawba

Men's Outdoor

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its WePlayed Sports Men's Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for meets contested during the second week of competition. Carson-Newman's Rylan Jordan earned the track honor while Wingate's Mateo de Castro Navarro earned the field honor.

Jordan, a sophomore sprinter from Johnson City, Tenn., made his first appearance of the outdoor season, after his All-American and bronze medal in the 60m during the indoor season, setting a pair of PRs at Emory's Thrills in the Hills. He took first place in the 200m, 20.95 seconds, and had the fastest qualifying time in the 100m at 10.17 seconds. Jordan's 100m time is the second fastest in DII this season behind Issac Botsio from West Texas A&M, 10.09 seconds, and tied for the 10th fastest across all divisions. His 200m time is the eighth fastest in DII.

De Castro Navarro, a junior thrower from Valladolid, Spain, posted a 16.04-meter shot put effort in the Raleigh Relays. His mark is tops in the SAC this season and No. 3 in the Southeast Region.

2026 SAC Men's Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week

Track
Mar. 24 – Gavin Malloy, Anderson
Mar. 31 – Rylan Jordan, Carson-Newman

Field
Mar. 24 – Cadence Dolgin, Carson-Newman
Mar. 31 – Mateo de Castro Navarro, Wingate

Women's Outdoor

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its WePlayed Sports Women's Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for meets contested during the second week of competition. Lenoir-Rhyne's Sharonda Priester earned the track honor while UVA Wise's Lexi Carter earned the field honor.

Priester, a junior sprinter from Taylors, S.C., set a new school record and is ranked 3rd in DII with a 59.23 in the 400m Hurdles at the Raleigh Relays. Priester also took 33rd in the 100m hurdles with a 14.51.

Carter, a sophomore thrower from St. Paul, Va., won both the hammer and shot put at the King Invitational while helping lead UVA Wise to a first-place team finish in the meet, the program's first. Carter threw for 43.63m in the hammer, a new school record, and also threw for 13.11m in the shot put. She moves to the top of the conference standings in hammer with her throw.

2026 SAC Women's Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week

Track
Mar. 24 – Dounia Routbi, Wingate
Mar. 31 – Sharonda Priester, Lenoir-Rhyne

Field
Mar. 24 – Maggie Long, Anderson
Mar. 31 – Lexi Carter, UVA Wise

Baseball

2026 SAC Women's Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week

Track
Mar. 24 – Dounia Routbi, Wingate
Mar. 31 – Sharonda Priester, Lenoir-Rhyne

Field
Mar. 24 – Maggie Long, Anderson
Mar. 31 – Lexi Carter, UVA Wise

Softball

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Anderson's Lauren Brakovec was named the South Atlantic Conference WePlayed Sports Softball Player of the Week, while Catawba's Alex Baquie was named Pitcher of the Week for games played during week eight of the 2026 season, the conference office announced today.

Brakovec, a senior from Farragut, Tenn., had an incredible week for the Trokans, boasting three perfect games at bat to start the week, leading the Black and Gold to their seventh-straight sweep at home. During the six-game week, she went 15-for-21 and scored nine runs for the Trojans while also recording 10 RBI and three homeruns to tally six on the season. On Tuesday against LMU, Brakovec went 6-for-6 for a career high four hits in a single game with three runs, six RBI and three home runs for a conference doubleheader sweep.

Baquie, a senior from Sanford, Fla., allowed one run across 14 innings in two wins for Catawba, who pushed their win streak to eight games and handed Wingate its first winless DH in SAC play since 2018. Baquie allowed one run in the win over the Bulldogs on Wednesday before recording a complete-game shutout over Emory & Henry on Saturday, allowing just three hits, while striking out six

2026 SAC Player of the Week
Feb. 10 – Ella Majchrzak, Tusculum
Feb. 17 – Grace Flynn, Catawba
Feb. 24 – Madison Primm, Lenoir-Rhyne
Mar. 3 – Macauley Bailey, Carson-Newman
Mar. 10 – Hannah Booth, Emory & Henry
Mar. 17 – Sadie Cecil, Mars Hill
Mar. 24 – Brianna Gallagher, Catawba
Mar. 31 – Lauren Brakovec, Anderson

2026 SAC Pitcher of the Week
Feb. 10 – Katie Morris, Anderson
Feb. 17 – Olivia Shockley, UVA Wise
Feb. 24 – Chelsey Stonesifer, Tusculum
Mar. 3 – Madison Wilson, Lenoir-Rhyne
Mar. 10 – Chelsey Stonesifer, Tusculum
Mar. 17 – Malorie Reeves, Emory & Henry
Mar. 24 -Kamryn Akins, Mars Hill
Mar. 31 – Alex Baquie, Catawba

Beach Volleyball

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Carson-Newman's Emerson Ahsmuhs and Ava Potts were named the South Atlantic Conference WePlayed Sports Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week for matches played during week seven of the 2026 season, the conference office announced today.

Ava Potts and Emerson Ahsmuhs went 2-0 at the No. 2 flight, earning straight-set wins in Carson-Newman's victories over Erskine (21-12, 21-11) and Berry (21-11, 21-15) . Their dominant play was key in securing a 5-0 sweep and a 4-1 win.

2026 SAC Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week
Feb. 17 – Camryn Ehlers / Addie Smith, Carson-Newman
Feb. 24 - Siri Aasgard/Ally Doty, Tusculum
Mar. 3 - Sydney Wattles / Taylor Vecchione, Catawba
Mar. 10 – Addie Smith / Camryn Ehlers, Carson-Newman
Mar. 24 - Lilou Thieme / Kate Beezer, Wingate
Mar. 31 – Emerson Ahsmuhs / Ava Potts, Carson-Newman