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Kearney, Mack earn Coleman Lew Leadership Awards
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNCG soccer players Kelsey Kearney and Will Mack were among 25 Southern Conference student-athletes honored with Coleman Lew Leadership Awards, the league and Coleman Lew & Associates, Inc., announced Wednesday.
The award recognizes student-athletes from each of the Southern Conference's 12 member institutions. Coaches, faculty athletic representatives and senior woman administrators nominate prospective candidates based on leadership, academic excellence and athletic achievement in both the college environment and the community. Athletic directors and representatives from Coleman Lew & Associates conducted one-on-one interviews with the finalists before determining the award winners.
"Our firm is privileged to have an educational partnership with the Southern Conference," said Kenneth D. Carrick Jr., president of Coleman Lew & Associates. "We are proud to present the sixth annual Coleman Lew Leadership Award to these outstanding student-athletes who have demonstrated leadership skills in their academic performance, athletic skill and community service."
"Our members should take great pride in these student-athletes, who represent their institutions so well," said Southern Conference Commissioner John Iamarino. "The Southern Conference is again grateful to Coleman Lew & Associates for their commitment to this program."
Kearney and Mack just completed their junior years at UNCG and were integral parts of their teams' success in 2010. Both the men's and women's soccer teams made the NCAA tournament last season.
The starting goalkeeper for UNCG's women's team the last three seasons, Kearney will enter her senior year as the Spartans' all-time leader in goals against average (0.61) and shutouts (31) and sixth on the career saves list (186). The Durham, N.C., native, a kinesiology major, turned in 12 shutouts and a 0.55 GAA last season as UNCG went 19-2-1 overall and 11-0-0 in SoCon play. The Spartans won the SoCon regular-season and tournament titles and were ranked as high as No. 10 nationally.
Kearney is the second straight women's soccer player to take the honor for UNCG. Jenn Partenheimer earned the award in 2010.
Mack, a midfielder for the men's team, appeared in all 22 games with 20 starts for the Spartans last season. In addition to scoring three points on a goal and an assist as part of an offense that led the SoCon in points and goals, Mack contributed to a defense that was second in the league in shutouts. A kinesiology major from Mooresville, N.C., Mack helped the men's team go 12-6-4 overall and 4-1-2 in the league last season, tying for the regular-season title and winning the SoCon tournament title.
Coleman Lew & Associates, Inc., founded in 1979 and headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is a national retained executive search firm that recruits board members, officers and senior level executives for national and international companies, academic institutions and non-profit organization. The firm also provides customized leadership development services to organizations seeking to maximize corporate performance.
The Southern Conference, in its 90th season of intercollegiate competition, is a national leader in emphasizing the development of the student-athlete and helping build lifelong leaders and role models. The conference has been on the forefront of innovation and originality in developing creative solutions to address issues facing intercollegiate athletics. From establishing the first conference basketball tournament (1921), tackling the issues of freshman eligibility (1922), developing women's championships (1984) to becoming the first conference to install the 3-point goal in basketball (1980), the Southern Conference has been a pioneer. The Southern Conference is the nation's fifth-oldest NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association.
The 2011 Coleman Lew & Associates Leadership Award recipients are:
Name (Institution) Sport Academic Major
Nadia Liriano (Appalachian State) Track & Field Elementary Education
Terrance McLean (Appalachian State) Football Construction Management, Architecture
Christian Bailey (College of Charleston) Cross Country International Business
Kristen Wolfe (College of Charleston) Cross Country/Track Business Admin., Hospitality/Tourism Man.
Joshua Thomas Cook (The Citadel) Tennis Civil Engineering
Shanna Couch (The Citadel) Soccer Health, Exercise and Sport Science
Stephanie Gerow (Davidson) Soccer Psychology
Tyler Mullen (Davidson) Wrestling Philosophy
James Carroll (Elon) Soccer Physics
Virginia Mayer (Elon) Golf Business Administration
Daniel McFadden (Furman) Football Mathematics-Economics
Rebecca Shelton (Furman) Cross Country/Track Biology
Sebastien Alexandre Felt (Georgia Southern) Tennis Biology
Brittani Martin (Georgia Southern) Cross Country/Track Business Administration
Kelsey Kearney (UNCG) Soccer Kinesiology
Will Mack (UNCG) Soccer Kinesiology
Lauren Cook (Samford) Soccer Family Studies
Jeremy Towns (Samford) Football Sports Medicine
Elaine Kuhn (Chattanooga) Volleyball Marketing
Sam Parfitt (Chattanooga) Tennis History
Christopher Everett (Western Carolina) Football Science Education/Biology
Samantha Hodge (Western Carolina) Soccer Mathematics
Brad Loesing (Wofford) Basketball Business Economics
April Moorhouse (Wofford) Basketball Undeclared
David Roney (Wofford) Baseball Humanities
- UNCG -
