Sports

Rusty Stroupe, Gardner-Webb University’s Head Baseball Coach, has announced the dates for the Diamond Dog Baseball Camp to be held June 14-18, 2010. Campers must be at least 7 years old by June 14 or have completed first grade in order to participate. The D-Dog Baseball Camp will be held from 9:00a.m.to 12:15p.m. at Crest Middle School due to the current construction on the John Henry Moss Baseball Stadium. Coach Stroupe, along with numerous local coaches and college baseball players, will provide hitting and defensive instruction. Campers will be divided into age appropriate groups and safety balls will be used with younger players. A Camp T-shirt will be provided to each player.

Gardner-Webb men’s basketball announced Friday that Jay McAuley, Mike Netti and Michael Lee had been hired as assistant coaches. The trio will join new head coach Chris Holtmann in rebuilding Gardner-Webb into a contender in the Big South Conference. "I am very excited about the addition of Jay, Mike and Michael,” said Holtmann. “They will represent Gardner-Webb University well and are committed to working very hard in building a successful men's basketball program here. They understand the work ahead and are very excited about the opportunity to be here." Read more on the experience of each assistant coach.

The Big South Conference today honored Gardner-Webb University student-athletes, Allie Mills (women's tennis) and Aaron Linn (men's basketball) with the prestigious George A. Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence. Mills is a 4.00 student in chemistry/biology. Linn graduated in December 2009 with a 3.95 in economics/finance. Big South member institutions nominate one male and one female student-athlete - regardless if the sport is sponsored by the Big South - for the annual Christenberry Award. The award is given to the male and female student-athlete who attain the highest GPA during their college careers and are graduates of a member institution during the past year. In case of ties, additional awards are provided. The honor is named for George A. Christenberry, the former President of Augusta College, now Augusta State University, and one of the founders of the Big South Conference. A member of the Big South Hall of Fame, Christenberry served as the League's first President from 1983-86. It is the seventh time in the last eight years that more than two student-athletes have been honored.

On Thursday, April 22, 2010, Gardner-Webb University named Chris Holtmann as the new Head Coach of the men’s basketball program, following a thorough national search that included more than 150 highly qualified applicants. Holtmann, the fifth coach in the 40-year senior college history of Gardner-Webb, is no stranger to the men’s basketball program. From 2003 to 2008, he served first as Assistant Coach and later as Associate Head Coach. Holtmann returns to Gardner-Webb from Ohio University where he was the lead Assistant with the Bobcats for the past two seasons. Holtmann is an excellent tactician and a relentless recruiter who has been a part of five conference championships during the past ten seasons. He is sure to lead the Runnin’ Bulldogs in a special basketball program, one that is sure to produce not only excellent players, but quality students and successful individuals as well.

Recently, South Carolina Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Darrin Horn announced changes to his coaching roster for the 2010-2011 season. In the line-up as Assistant Coach is Orlando Early, a Gardner-Webb University alumnus in Accounting. Early brings a wealth of experience to the Gamecock’s court including strong recruiting skills, a positive head coach history, and familiarity with the Southeastern Conference. He comes to South Carolina from the University of Louisiana-Monroe where, as Head Basketball Coach, he was named the Sun Belt Conference coach of the year in 2007 after leading his team to a division title. In addition, he was named coach of the year by the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches, Louisiana Sports Writers Association, and National Association of Basketball Coaches (District 8 Coach of the Year). Early, who was named the third-best assistant coach in the nation in 2004 by Athlon Sports, remarks, “This is a great opportunity for me to be at the highest level of college basketball with a head coach and a program this without question on the rise. I’m excited about the challenge of contributing in any way that I can to help coach Horn and South Carolina be successful.”

Kristopher Gray (Sophomore), Men's Golf: Gardner-Webb sophomore Kristopher Gray finished the three-day event of the Furman Intercollegiate tied for 62nd-place with his combined score of 231, +15. During the 2008-2009 season Gray played in five of the Bulldogs 10 tournaments, including four spring events and came on strong late in the spring season. Kristopher was the top Bulldog golfer at the Larry Nelson Collegiate Invitational in late March 2009 where he turned in a low round of 72, even par, carding a three-round combined score of 219, +6, and tied for 10th. Gray finished tied for 20th overall at the 2009 Big South Men’s Golf Championship with a three-day score of 235, +19. Kristopher is a native of Newcastle, England and before coming to Gardner-Webb he attended Queen Elizabeth High School. During his time there he was the 2007 Northumberland Schools Champion, Northumberland Under-21 Strokeplay champion in 2007 and two-time Northumberland County honoree.

Meghan Allum (Freshman), Women's Golf: Meghan Allum helped set the pace for the women's golf team as she carded a two-day score of 163, +19, and a Gardner-Webb low round of 80 on day one, to place in a tie at 35th-place overall in the Low Country Intercollegiate held March 14-15 at Moss Creek Golf Club in Hilton Head, SC. Meghan is having a solid freshman campaign for Gardner-Webb - at the last match of the fall she carded a two-round combined score of 162, +18, to finish 18th overall at the Boscobel Intercollegiate. Before coming to Gardner-Webb, Allum attended Markham District High School in Markham, Ontario, Canada. Meghan was named the Team MVP her senior year. The women’s golf team is in competition this week at the Winthrop Women’s Intercollegiate in Rock Hill, SC.

Gardner-Webb will face the Charlotte 49ers in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), Thursday, March 18, it was announced late Monday night by the WNIT Committee. Game times will be announced on Tuesday, March 16th. The Lady Bulldogs earned the WNIT berth after winning the Big South regular-season title. Gardner-Webb heads to Charlotte with a 28-4 overall record, the most wins in a single season by a GWU women's basketball team in its 35-year history. Senior forward Margaret Roundtree was tabbed the Big South Player of the Year and was joined on the First-Team All-Conference Team and the All-Tournament Team by junior guard Dominique Hudson. Junior Courtney Epps was selected to the Second-Team All-Conference Team, while Head Coach Rick Reeves was named the Big South Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career. (more)

Gardner-Webb senior Margaret Roundtree was tabbed the Big South Player of the Year, while head coach Rick Reeves was named the Big South Coach of the Year, as the Lady Bulldogs received five different conference postseason awards by the League's head coaches and media panel, it was announced this evening. In addition to Reeves and Roundtree's awards, Roundtree was also named to the First-Team All-Conference Team, where she was joined by junior guard Dominique Hudson. Sharp-shooter Courtney Epps was named to the Second-Team All-Conference team, while senior point guard Meranda Burnett was named to the Academic All-Conference Team. Coach Reeves was named the Big South Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career and the first while at GWU. Reeves lead the Lady Bulldogs to the 2009-10 Big South Conference Regular Season Championship and the No. 1 seed in this weekend's postseason conference tournament. (more)

Gardner-Webb won its first-ever Big South women’s basketball regular-season championship, and has earned the No. 1 seed in this week’s Advance Auto Parts Big South Women’s Basketball Championship, it was announced today by the League office. All games of the 2010 Advance Auto Parts Big South Women’s Tournament will be played at the Millis Center on the campus of High Point University. The Lady Bulldogs posted a 15-1 record in Big South play. To learn additional information about the other teams in the Advance Auto Parts Big South Women’s Basketball Championship, please click here.