LAKELAND, Fla. - The Florida Southern College spring sports programs of women's golf, men's golf, women's lacrosse, men's lacrosse, women's track, men's track, beach volleyball, women's tennis, men's tennis, softball, baseball and JV baseball announce the 2022 team Most Valuable Players (MVPs).
Loren Perez earned her second straight team MVP honors after leading the team all season in stroke average with a 75.10 over 31 rounds of golf. The Bartow, Fla. native tallied four top-10 finishes including two top-5 tournaments with a third-place finish, her best of the season, at the BarryU Invite. Perez was the top-Moc at seven of the 11 tournaments on the year. Perez was named to the 2022 Sunshine State Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Adam Alvarez earns his second straight team MVP honors after helping guide the Moccasins to the NCAA National Championship, claiming 10th as a team. Alvarez played in all 12 tournaments on the year where he was second on the team in scoring average with a 73.28. The Winter Haven, Fla. native turned in 14 rounds of par-or-better golf which led the team where he also had one top-five finish which was second place at the Bobcat Invitational. Alvarez tied for ninth at the 2022 SSC Golf Championship.
Abby Hammond earns her first team MVP honors after helping guide the Moccasins to the programs' sixth NCAA appearance, advancing to the second round of the tournament. Hammond helped Florida Southern secure the programs' 10th Sunshine State Conference title, a 20-10 win at Tampa, on her way to being named a First Team USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American, Second Team IWLCA All-American, and a First Team All-SSC selection. The Marriottsville, Md. native played and started in 17 games on the year with 34 groundballs, 32 caused turnovers, and 29 draw controls. Hammond was also tabbed as the SSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP) as well as being named to the SSC All-Tournament team.
Seniors
Jeff Atlas and
Kevin Horwitz share the men's lacrosse MVP honor as they led the Moccasins to one of the best seasons in program history. The 2022 Mocs set a new program record for wins in a season with 12 while also winning their first road SSC Tournament semifinal contest to advance to their second SSC Championship game in program history. Atlas and Horwitz re-wrote the FSC Record Book including both single season and career marks in 2022. The pair were both named USILA Third Team All-Americans and both participated in the USILA Senior All-Star Game. Atlas earned a USA Lacrosse Magazine Third Team All-American nod as well as being named CoSIDA Academic All-America and USILA Scholar All-American. The pair were both USILA Second Team All-South Region and First Team All-SSC selections. Atlas took home the Pat McFadden Male Student-Athlete of the Year honor at FSC while Horwitz became just the third men's lacrosse player in SSC history to earn five weekly awards in one season. Horwitz was named to the SSC All-Tournament Team as well as being named an Inside Lacrosse Preseason Honorable Mention All-American. Horwitz broke both the single season and career records for ground balls and faceoffs won while Atlas broke both the single season and career records in assists and points.
Sophomore
Ellie Fluman, who earned the women's cross country MVP honor as well, continued her strong running performances on the track in 2022 as she was named USTFCCCA All-South Region in the 10000m. The St. Augustine, Fla. native became just the third women's track athlete in school history to earn All-Region honors. She was also named a USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete and CoSIDA Academic All-District for her performance in the classroom. She broke the school record in the 3000m early in the season at the Tampa Track Classic before posting the second fastest 10000m time in program history at the Flames Invitational.
Joshua Wagner had a strong final season on the track for the Moccasins in 2022. The Philadelphia, Pa. native earned a total of 10 top-10 finishes throughout the season including capturing the eighth individual win of his career in the 1500m at the Sunshine State Meet. He posted the second fastest 1500m time in program history at the Lee Last Chance Meet while also posting the second fastest 5000m time in program history at the Flames Invitational. He was one of two Mocs to be named a USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete.
Sarah Crocker posted an impressive 17-9 record on the beach courts this past spring. She opened the year in the No. 4 flight where she was 12-4 with teammate
Olivia D'Agostino including winning the first four matches they played together. The Laytonsville, Md. native then moved up to the No. 3 flight with D'Agostino for a tri-match with Eckerd and Palm Beach Atlantic. The pair went 1-1 in those two matches at No. 3 before Crocker moved up to No. 2 with teammate
Kennedy Mathews. The pair would play the final eight matches together at No. 2 while splitting the set 4-4. The pair rattled off three-straight wins at the end of the season at the AVCA Small College Beach Championship including victories over Catawba, Erskine and Tusculum. .
Mathilda Vidgren earned 11 singles victories to lead the women's tennis team in 2022. She posted a pair of victories over nationally-ranked opponents including the No. 24 and No. 71 ranked singles athletes. The Stockholm, Sweden native finished the season ranked No. 75 nationally. She had an impressive 16 doubles victories including 15 with teammate
Laura Vetter. The pair were ranked as high as No. 39 in doubles midway through the season. She earned a doubles win over the No. 19 ranked pair from Rollins during the season as well.
Valentin Hertweck concluded his collegiate tennis career in 2022 while spending most of the season ranked in the national rankings. The Baden-Baden, Germany native reached a peak of No. 42 in the nation in singles and nearly upset the No. 3 ranked player early in the season, going to a third set tiebreaker. He posted 10 singles victories on the season including two against nationally-ranked opponents including the No. 18 and No. 19 ranked athletes. He also posted 10 doubles victories including two against nationally-ranked pairs.
Destiny Colgate, a freshman catcher from Samford, Fla., played and started all 47 games for the Moccasins, ending the season second on the team in batting with a .336 batting average. The Samford, Fla. native had a team-best 49 hits with 18 doubles while driving in 20 RBI and scoring 16 herself. Colgate registered 11 multi-hit games with a hit in 34 of her 47 games on the season. She was awarded with Second Team All-SSC for an outstanding freshman campaign.
Jeff Liquori earns the baseball MVP honor after a strong sophomore campaign for the Moccasins. The Lake Mary, Fla. native was named First Team All-SSC as well as NCBWA All-South Region Honorable Mention. He is the only member of the 2022 squad to start all 50 games where he patrolled first base with one start on the mound. He finished the season tied for second in the SSC in home runs with 14 round-trippers on the year. He led the SSC in OPS (1.025) while boasting a .612 slugging percentage. He finished the season with a .316 batting average with three stolen bases. He led the team with a 27-game reached base safely streak and finished the year with a conference-leading 53 runs scored. He drove in 34 runs off of 62 hits. He finished with a .990 fielding percentage and had 360 putouts to go along with 17 assists.
Zach Karson led the 2022 Moccasins with a team-high five victories on the mound. The Greenwich, Conn. native finished the season with an impressive 1.77 ERA and led team with over 44 strikeouts. He allowed only one home run during the entire season and his opposing batting average was a measly .165.
