... - Sports - College - Winthrop University

Thursday, Jun. 19, 2008

Winthrop softball team wins BSC sportsmanship award

For the second straight season, Winthrop's softball team earned the Big South Conference Team Sportsmanship Award, announced by the league office on Tuesday.

It was also the second straight season in which the Lady Eagles captured the award in addition to capturing the regular-season and conference tournament titles.

"It's quite an honor to win the second one," said coach Mark Cooke. "I feel like it's a tribute to our team for winning the championship and the sportsmanship in the same year. It is a tribute to how much in touch our players are with the spirit of the game and speaks highly of their character. Winning it two years in a row and getting the honor two years in a row is exciting."

The honors are part of the Big South's Sportsmanship Awards program, which began in 2005-06. The Team Sportsmanship Awards are voted on by Big South student-athletes and are awarded at the end of each competitive season. Teams cannot vote for themselves. Each institution ranks and votes for its top three. Teams receive three points for a first-place ranking, two points for a second-place ranking and one point for a third-place ranking.

• MEN'S SOCCER -- In Fredericksburg, Va., the Winthrop men's soccer players continue their impressive summer form as midfielder junior transfer Matt Lacey has been named to the PDL (Premier Development League) Team of the Week.

Lacey becomes the third Eagle to receive PDL weekly honors this summer after senior defender Henry Kalungi and senior goalkeeper Patrick Mitrovich have also made the league's Team of the Week.

Lacey, who enrolled in the spring and is getting ready for his first season as an Eagle in the fall, is the Fredericksburg Gunners' captain and received the award after scoring his team's winning goal in the 2-1 win over division leader Reading Rage.

The Gunners currently stand at second place in the Mid Atlantic Division with 18 points in nine games.

Winthrop players junior midfielder Stephen Nsereko, junior midfielder Said Abdi and Kalungi are Lacey's teammates at Fredericksburg.