Posted: May 09, 2016
Westminster College Athletics
Blue Jay Sports Week in Review and Westminster Athletes of the Week
May 2-8
Senior Athletes of the Year
The Westminster Athletic Department selects a male and female senior athlete each year that has best exemplified the true meaning of a student-athlete. This year, Katie Koonce (women's soccer) was selected as the 2016 Female Senior Athlete of the Year, and Deion Hughes (baseball) and Tyler Branneky (baseball) were selected as the 2016 Male Senior Co-Athletes of the Year!
Baseball CoSIDA Academic All-District
The 2016 Academic All-District Baseball Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), was released on May 5, 2016, and Westminster's senior Tyler Branneky was named to the 2016 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District First Team.
Softball
Softball began their trek in the SLIAC Tournament on Thursday. They defeated Eureka in the first round of the tournament, 2-1, followed by a 6-3 victory over Greenville on day two to send the Blue Jays to the championship game. On Saturday, the Blue Jays faced Greenville again, but this time for the SLIAC Championship. After nine hours of play with multiple rain delays, Greenville managed to grab two games from the Blue Jays, ending their hopes at their first NCAA Tournament appearance. Greenville finds out their fate in the regionals of the NCAA Tournament today.
SLIAC Awards: The Westminster softball team had a record-setting eight student-athletes receive St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) awards on Thursday, May 5, after the first SLIAC Tournament game. Also announced at the award ceremony was junior Erica Burney as the 2016 SLIAC Player of the Year. Congratulations to Erica Burney, Shannon Perrigo, Alyson Hahn, Amber Tepen, Anne Baker, Leah Holthaus and Alyssa Johnson!
All-Tournament Team: Westminster's Alyson Hahn, Alyssa Johnson and Erica Burney were named to the SLIAC All-Tournament Team for their performances in the tournament.
Baseball
Baseball closed out their regular season with a sweep of Spalding on Friday. The 7-1 and 10-6 wins puts the Blue Jays at 25-12 on the season and 16-6 in conference play.
What's next? The Blue Jays continue their season in post season play at the SLIAC Tournament. They enter the tournament as the #2 seed from the West Division and open with a game versus #1 from the East, MacMurray.
Women's Track & Field
With one first place finish by freshman Jessie Kuykendall and three second place finishes from sophomore Taylor Howard, the Blue Jays placed fifth at the SLIAC Invitational. Howard combined for 26 of the team's 36 points.
Men's Track & Field
The Westminster men's track and field team placed fifth out of seven in their season finale at the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Invitational. The Blue Jays placed in the top six in all six events competed in, and sophomore Addison Conway broke the 400-meter hurdles record!
Women's Tennis
The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) released the 2016 Women's Tennis awards and All-Conference Teams on May 4. Westminster's head coach Dave Dyson was announced as the SLIAC Co-Coach of the Year, and freshman Laural Royer was placed on the All-Conference Honorable Mention in the no. three singles.
Westminster Athletes of the Week
Jessie Kuykendall (women's track & field) and Collin Brinker (baseball) are this week's Athletes of the Week.
Jessie Kuykendall, a freshman from Warsaw, Mo., won the 10000-Meter Run at the SLIAC Invitational. She finished over two minutes faster than the other two runners with a time of 40:08.00 and earned the Blue Jays 10 points.
Collin Brinker, a senior from Auxvasse, Mo., grabbed a win and a save on the mound during Saturday's doubleheader sweep. He pitched the final two innings of the game one win, earning a save. He then started game two and pitched five innings to grab the win. He finished the two games with a 1.29 ERA with seven strikeouts.
