THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The 2014-2015 school year has concluded for the Thomas University athletics department.  The student-athletes continued their excellence this past season on and off the field garnering several honors, awards, and recognition.

A total of 41 Night Hawks were named to the President's List, 20 in the fall 2014 semester and 21 in the spring 2015 semester, during the academic year.  The President's List consists of students who receive a 4.0 grade point average (GPA) during a given semester.  Fifty-five student-athletes received Dean's List honors.  This list recognizes students with a 3.5 or above GPA for the semester.  One hundred and twenty-five student-athletes finished the academic year with a 3.0 GPA or above.  Overall, 262 student-athletes are responsible for the Night Hawk athletic department's 2.88 GPA during the 2014-2015 academic year.

Six out of the 10 varsity sports earned team GPA's of 3.0 or above during the academic year.  Softball led the way with a 3.25 team GPA while men's soccer was right behind them with a 3.24 team GPA.  Rounding out the six teams were women's basketball (3.17), men's golf (3.15), men's swimming (3.10), and women's soccer (3.03).  Each of these teams will receive recognition as a NAIA Scholar Team in July.  For a team to be considered for the NAIA Scholar Team award, it must have a minimum 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) as defined by the institution.  It is the fourth consecutive year that men's and women's soccer teams have received this prestigious honor.  The two programs will also receive NSCAA Team Academic Award honors in Fall 2015.
 
In addition to team academic success, 20 student-athletes were recognized for their individual achievements by the Sun Conference as All-Academic Team members.  This year's selections included Severin Abt, Andrew Berg, Luis Berrios, Taylor Cloyd, Alex Condell, Stone Cowie, Aileen Fiallo, Juan Figueroa, James Fletcher, Heidi Hinz, Danielle Lower, Jordan Patton, Eric Persson, Breana Pullara, Patrick Ramdial, Ashley Sikes, Richar d Slaney,, Brent Slaughter, Jake Slocombe, and Ivory Smith.  Berg also received recognition as a NAIA Scholar Athlete, Capital One Academic All-American, and Capital One Academic All-District representative.
 
Seven student-athletes maintained a perfect 4.0 during the academic year.  They include Hannah Bowman, Cloyd, Michael Cooper, Tan Dang, Colin Kirkland, Linnea Roivas, and Tess Wright.
 
On the field, the Night Hawks had a very successful year going a combined 113-76-5 and 55-41-1 in Sun Conference play. 
 
A highlighting achievement of the 2014-2015 academic year was seen with the men's soccer team who was crowned conference tournament champions becoming the TSC's first back-to-back tournament champion in Sun Conference history. The Night Hawks (15-3-3, 7-2-1 TSC) made back-to-back appearances in the NAIA Men's Soccer National tournament and ranked as high as No.1 twice in the 2014 season (six consecutive weeks in top five) and finished 12th overall in the final NAIA Coaches Poll of the year.  Abt was named the Sun Conference Offensive Player of the Week twice and was selected as the NAIA National Offensive Player of the Week once.  He also received an Honorable Mention recognition on the NAIA All-American team.  Lyle Gifford and Slocombe were also named the Sun Conference Offensive Player of the Week while Condell received Defensive Player of the Week recognition.  At the Sun Conference Tournament Banquet in Savannah, Ga., head coach Ricky Zambrano was named the Sun Conference Co-Coach of the Year sharing the honors with SCAD-Savannah's Tom Melville.
 
The women's soccer program (10-7-1, 6-3 TSC) had a strong fall finishing fourth in the Sun Conference.  Head coach Julie Orlowski lost eight of her starters from the previous season, but rebounded with a strong freshman class that started six newcomers over their 18 matches.  The Lady Night Hawks had three student-athletes receive honors for the play on the field.  Jenny Hernandez and Adrianna Johnson received selections on the TSC All-Conference Second Team while Mackenzie Dolan was tabbed as an Honorable Mention.  Hernandez was also honored as the TSC Offensive Player of the Week on October 6, 2014. 
 
Thomas' men's and women's swim teams had a strong showing at the NAIA National Championship meet with the men finishing 12th and the women finishing 17th.  While at the NAIA National meet in Oklahoma City, Okla., the men's 200 yard freestyle relay team, consisting of Igor Dos Santos, Tan Dang, Christian Marchione, and Victor Vassallo, finished in 5th place (1:23.98).  This performance was the highest finish by any relay team or individual in Thomas' swim program's history.  Two other Night Hawks made podium visits as individuals.  Junior Madison Osterlund, a Tallahassee, Fla., native, finished eighth place at the NAIA National in the 400 yard IM (4:44.36) while Vassallo also finished eighth place in the 200 yard backstroke (1:53.07).
 
The men's basketball team (18-11, 9-9 TSC) had a strong start to the season winning its first nine games.  The squad would climb the rankings in NAIA Division II as high as 15th overall and finished the season receiving votes.  During the season, the Night Hawks spent eight weeks in the Top 25 or receiving votes in the Coaches Poll, all while upsetting six ranked teams.  The season was highlighted by a victory over then undefeated and second-ranked Embry-Riddle.  The Eagles were the final unbeaten team remaining in NAIA Division II when the Night Hawks snapped their 17 game winning streak in the 77-70 victory.  Thomas finished the year ranked sixth in the Sun Conference.  Senior Alan Love was the team's sole representative on the TSC All-Conference team as a First Team selection.
 
Head coach Coretta Brown guided the women's basketball team to a 12-17, 8-10 TSC, record in the program's second year of existence.  The Lady Night Hawks finished the regular season fifth in the Sun Conference.  Several Lady Night Hawks received awards for their time on and off the court.  Senior guard Courtney Saunds headlined the list receiving an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention selection.  Saunds was also named the Sun Conference's Newcomer of the Year, was an All-Tournament Team selection, and was a First Team member of the Sun Conference's All-Conference team.  Teammate Laura Cherranfant received recognition for her defensive play being named to the TSC's All-Defensive Team.  For her work off the court and in the classroom, senior Ivory Smith was named a Daktronics-NAIA Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete.  While Thomas will lose four senior starters, the Lady Night Hawks look to start strong in the 2015-2016 season with a strong signing class by Coach Brown.
 
Both the men's and women's golf teams finished the year ranked 19th in the nation.  Sophomore Jodi Henley represented the women's team at the 2015 NAIA Women's Golf National Championship where she finished 26th overall, receiving an Honorable Mention selection on the NAIA All-American team.  Henley also received recognition on the TSC's All-Conference Team.  The Lady Night Hawks finished fourth at the Sun Conference tournament with Henley leading the way with a 10th place individual finish.  After finishing sixth as a team at the Sun Conference championships, the men's golf team was represented by Stone Cowie at the 2015 NAIA Men's Golf National Championship at the LPGA International course in Daytona Beach, Fla.  Cowie, who finished as the TSC tournament runner-up and received All-Conference honors, went on to finish 10th at the NAIA National Championship.  The Night Hawks also placed two individuals on the NAIA All-America teams, Cowie as a Second Team selection and senior James Fletcher as a Third Team selection.
 
Down the stretch, the TU baseball team (23-25-1, 13-13 TSC) mustered a rally at the end of the regular season to sweep Florida Memorial University to clinch the sixth and final spot in the Sun Conference Championship tournament.  During the series against FMU, First Team All-Conference selection Kaleb Holbrook went 5-for-9, plating 10 RBIs while lifting two grand slams in game two of the three game set.  This performance landed him the Sun Conference Player of the Week and the NAIA National Player of the Week honors for April 20-27.  This honor was the program's first in its history.  During the Sun Conference tournament, the Night Hawks upset the tournament's top-seeded and NAIA's third-ranked Northwood University (Fla.).  During the season, senior Josh Bruijn was named the TSC Player of the Week while junior Monte Reese was named the TSC Pitcher of the Week.  At the conclusion of the season, Tate Lambert (pitcher) and Brandon Singer (outfielder) were honored as recipients of the Sun Conference's Gold Glove Award.
 
The Lady Night Hawk softball team (35-13, 12-4 TSC) had a dominant year on the diamond.  The squad finished the season ranked No. 23 in the final NAIA Coaches Poll of the season.  Thomas, who finished third in the Sun Conference, defeated four Top 25 programs and were named the Gold Bracket Consolation Champions at the NFCA NAIA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.  Seven student-athletes received All-Conference honors.  Cooper, Katie Lopes, and Alex VanWagner all received first team selections while Rachel Hoeft, Carmen Nadal, Chandler Seay, and Ashley Sikes all received Honorable Mention selections.  Freshman Kelsey Connolly (February 24-March 2) and Lopes (February 10-16) were recognized as Sun Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.
 
A complete year-in-review listing of all of Thomas University's athletic and academic records, honors, achievements, and awards can be accessed by clicking here.
 
For up-to-date information on TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of your TU athletic teams by following them via Twitter at @TU_Night_Hawks.