Sewanee’s Tony Pacella was named Monday the Southern Athletic Association men’s soccer coach of the year, and five of his players and four female Tigers received some level of all-conference recognition. For the Sewanee men, seniors Alpo Sipila and Johnny McNeill were first-team All-SAA, Thompson Schollaert and goalkeeper James Murray were voted to the second team and Zach Shunnarah earned honorable mention. The All-SAA women included Sewanee sophomore Nika Gorski on the first team and freshman Addie Roemershauser on the second team, and the Tigers’ Kiera Giacomini and Bea Richardson received honorable mention. Pacella coached his Tigers to an 11-5-1 record – the program’s first double-digit win total since 2004 – and Sipila finished with 32 career points and an SAA-record-tying 18 career assists, while McNeill was a leader of the defense that gave up the program’s fewest goals, 16, in 18 seasons. Schollaert had eight goals and nine assists this season, and Murray had 65 saves, five shutouts and an .802 save percentage. Gorski was a key defender who contributed offensively with four goals and two assists, and Roemershauser totaled 12 goals and three assists.
* Tennessee Wesleyan’s Samantha Green and Chloe Rootes were selected the Appalachian Athletic Conference women’s soccer players of the week for their play in 2-1 and 1-0 wins in the league tournament. Rootes, a junior, was the offensive honoree with an assist against Point and the goal against Reinhardt. Green, a senior from Hixson, assisted on Rootes’ goal and anchors the defense that has allowed only one score in the last eight games.
Volleyball
* Sewanee junior Destiny Stewart three-peated on the All-SAA volleyball first team Monday, and Tigers sophomore Lilly Reilly and senior setter Constance Connolly were 2019 second-team selections. This also was the third all-conference honor for Connolly, who had 968 assists this season and 2,779 for her career – second-most in SAA history. She also had 1,062 digs and an SAA-record 174 career aces. Reilly matched Connolly with a league-high 59 aces in 2019 and added 293 kills and 320 digs, while Stewart had 323 kills and 322 digs.
Basketball