General Feb 09, 2023

Mocs Minutes: Tennis and Men's Lacrosse at Home During Busy Weekend

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Opponent: North Georgia
Dates | Times: Feb. 10-11, 2023 | 1:00/4:00 PM DH / 12:00 PM
Location: Dahlonega, Ga. | Bob Stein Stadium
Records: Florida Southern 1-3, 0-0 SSC | North Georgia 3-0, 0-0 PBC
Florida Southern has its first road series of the 2023 season taking on North Georgia this weekend. The Mocs are looking to rebound after losing the last three games between the home opening series against West Florida and a midweek game against Eckerd Tuesday night. Florida Southern went to extra innings in game one of the season, before a walk-off homer by Jeff Liquori led to a 3-2 win against UWF in the first of a doubleheader. A close pitching duel in game two led to an Argos 2-1 victory in the scheduled seven innings. The game three series decider went to another round of extra innings, with a homer by UWF in the 10th, enough for a 6-7 Moccasin loss. Tied halfway through the game against Eckerd, Florida Southern gave up five runs in the sixth as the Tritons pulled away in a 8-6 EC win.
The Mocs fought from behind for most of the opening games in the 2023 season, being outhit each of the four games. A DH addition in one game, and a start in the game against Eckerd, Bryce Safferwich has impressed with a .556 batting average, including a two-run homer in game three to send the game into extras. Leading FSC starters at the plate is grad transfer Mitch Donofrio, who is batting .286 with a homer and four RBI. Other transfers El'Rico Riley, Roshean Riley, and D'Ante Starks are other top batters as Connor Berry returns with a .250 average in his three starts. With four home runs as a team on the season, Drew Cavanaugh added a homer against Eckerd.
On the mound, Florida Southern relied on weekend starters Nathan Madej and Aric McAtee. Both returning from a stellar 2022 season, Madej went five innings and no runs as McAtee had seven strikeouts in his game two start in just five innings. Jake Curry got the start for game three and had early struggles in his three innings of work, giving up three earned runs. With 43 hits allowed in the first four games, Florida Southern will rely on strong relievers to give the Mocs a strong defense. Behind the plate, Cavanaugh, a sophomore transfer, has done a great job alongside Julio Cortez in sharing catching duties during doubleheaders.
North Georgia will host the Mocs undefeated in its opening series against Mars Hill. The Nighthawks scored 37 runs in three games, allowing only two runs. A 7-0 home opener win set the tone for a 10-2 game two and a 20-0 rout of Mars Hill, with 10 of those runs in the eighth inning. The strong eighth inning capitalized on mistakes by Mars Hill with three of the runs from a walk with bases loaded, one free run with a hit by pitch, and a wild pitch score. Despite no homers in the 37 runs scored, the Nighthawks had 33 RBI on the weekend.
UNG is led by Jace Bowen at the bat, with seven hits this season and a .583 batting average in his three starts. Connor Frost joins Bowen with six RBI in the three games, and three others batting over .300. An astonishing 24 walks in three games led to plenty of scores and a note for the FSC pitchers. With only two runs allowed by the UNG pitchers (only one earned run), Nighthawks have two shutouts and a combined 0.33 ERA. They allowed 17 hits in just two runs scored and struck out 29. There were only two extra-base hits, one being a solo homer.
HISTORY: The Mocs and Nighthawks have faced off once before, in a three-game weekend series back in 2018. Florida Southern won all three of the games, with 23 runs, and allowed four runs each game for UNG. With North Georgia hot from a great opening series and Florida Southern looking to rebound, the game is set to be one to watch.

Opponent: Anderson
Date | Time: Feb. 10, 2023 | 7:00 PM
Location: Lakeland, Fla. | Berend Field
Records: #14 Florida Southern 2-0, 0-0 SSC | Anderson 1-0, 0-0 SAC
No. 14 Florida Southern plays its first home game of the 2023 season Friday night as the Anderson Trojans head to Lakeland looking to avenge their loss in the 2022 season opener in Anderson. The Mocs opened the 2023 season with back-to-back dominating performances in Alabama against the defending regular season and tournament champions out of the Peach Belt Conference.
Senior Sean Nolan and freshman Jacob Czyz brought home the opening Sunshine State Conference Offensive Player and Specialist of the Week honors of the season after their performances in Alabama. Nolan became the career record holder at FSC for hat tricks with his 27th and 28th against UAH and Montevallo. He currently leads the team and the SSC in goals (8) and points (10). Czyz made his collegiate debut this past weekend and won 24 of his 43 attempts (.558) at the X while scooping up 16 ground balls. Twelve different Mocs have handed out assists on the season led by a group of five who have two each.
Defensively, senior Nick Shannon has been a standout and leads the team with eight caused turnovers on the year and has grabbed five ground balls. Senior Lucas Sommers out of the midfield has caused five turnovers to rank second on the squad and has four ground balls. In the cage, five different Mocs have seen action led by graduate student Maxwell Freestone. Freestone has started both contests this season and has a 2-0 record while collecting 14 saves and a 3.07 goals against average.
Anderson opened the 2023 season in impressive fashion at home defeating Chowan 32-12. The 32 goals marked a Anderson school record. The Trojans received votes in the USILA Preseason Poll and are looking to avenge a 23-12 defeat at the hands of the Moccasins to open the 2022 season.
Freshman Matthew Rodgers led the way for the Trojans versus Chowan, setting a program individual record with 11 goals on the afternoon. Garrett Hawkins totaled five goals off six shots on goal. Junior Cam Weeks, one of the top face off specialist in the country, scored the opening goal of the contest after scooping up the opening face off. He was 18-of-18 at the 'X' on the day as the Trojans as a squad went 36-of-46 (.783).
Sophomore Joey Heckel earned the start in goal and played nearly 25 minutes while making two saves and allowing two goals. Graduate student Bryce Cheek played 20 minutes in net and made four saves while allowing four goals. Freshman Hunter Klosterman played the final 15 minutes with one save and six goals allowed. Senior Peyton Jefferson led the team with four caused turnovers.
HISTORY: The Mocs and Trojans met for the first time in 2022 with FSC taking a 23-12 victory on the road. Sean Nolan led the offensive attack with a team-best six goals on the night. Nolan fired a team-high 11 shots at the net with seven finding the frame. Thomas Frank and Jay Minor each tallied four goals. Beau Henson led the Trojans with five goals and two assists. Michael Simone earned the victory in net with 10 saves while playing all 60 minutes of action.

Opponent: #1 Barry
Date | Time: Feb. 11, 2023 | 9:00 AM
Location: Lakeland, Fla. | Wynee Warden Tennis Center
Records: #24 Florida Southern 0-0, 0-0 SSC | #1 Barry 2-0, 1-0 SSC
No. 24 Florida Southern will have its first dual meet of the season with a home match against No. 1 Barry Saturday. The Mocs hosted the FSC Invite last weekend to open the season with a great intro to the team and competition. FSC hosted three teams, all top teams, including Flagler, Tampa, and St. Pete College. Florida Southern had several flight wins with a freshman class that gained valuable collegiate experience. The Mocs return Laura Vetter in the lineup as a veteran player and Kelly Klaren. Returning for a second year with the Mocs, Maxima Ellenberg Karina Bazilevych, and Vivien Charvatova have improved greatly. Isabella Bolivar returns as another valuable veteran, as does Olivia Bryant.
No. 1 Barry, the defending national champions, travel to Lakeland to take on the Mocs with an early 2-0 record, including a 4-0 win over SSC opponent Embry-Riddle. Returning for the Buccaneers include No. 1 singles player Deniz Khazan and No. 21 Daniela Farfan. In doubles, the Bucs have No. 5 pairing of Farfan and Nathalia Gasparin. In the last match, Barry defeated Florida National 6-1, only giving up one court in a three-set match.
HISTORY: The Mocs have a lengthy history against the Bucs, spanning 52 matches. Barry has the upper hand, winning the last 17 matches against the Mocs, after Florida Southern won many of the matches in the late 80s and 11-match win-streak. Last time these two teams met was in the first round of the SSC Championships when Barry won 4-0.

Opponents: King & North Georgia
Date | Times: Feb. 12-13, 2023 | 11:00 AM / 3:00 PM / 10:00 AM / 12:00 PM
Location: Dahlonega, Ga. | Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium
Records: Florida Southern 2-0, 0-0 SSC | King 0-2, 0-0 CC | North Georgia 2-1, 0-0 PBC
Florida Southern is hitting the road for the first time this season as they head north to compete in the Captain D's Surf 'N Turf Classic hosted by North Georgia. The Mocs will face King University and North Georgia during the weekend opening up with King on both days.
FSC has opened up with a historic year so far defeating Ursuline in the home opener last weekend. The Mocs defeated the Arrows 4-1 in game one and then forced a shutout with senior Mel Rogers in the circle. Rogers pitched a complete game allowing just two hits, with one walk striking out nine batters for a new career-high. New comer Ashley Blessin earned her first win as a Moc in game one pitching all seven innings sending seven batters back to the dugout with strikeouts. Game one was a close game that was tied 1-1 until the bottom of the seventh when leadoff batter Kelsey Peck stepped up and hit a 3RBI homer ending the game in walkoff fashion. This was Pecks first homer of the year and second of her career. The local prodigy finished the opener with her second home run in game two sending both over the leftfield fence.
On the young season, junior transfer Taylor Thomas is leading from the plate batting a .600 going 3-for-5 with one double and RBI. Behind Thomas is Peck with two homers, a .500 batting average going 4-for-8, with four runs, two doubles, and six RBIs. Graduate Student Maddi Conner is holding down first base batting .400 with two hits and an RBI in two games. Several other Mocs had hits over the weekend including sophomore Destiny Colgate, senior Jessica Bryson and sophomore Jadyn Bushnell. Colgate also had two RBIs in game two. Florida Southern is a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen bases so far this season. Taylor Thomas and Kelsey Peck are both 2-for-2 on the base paths
King opened their season on Wednesday against RV Lenoir-Rhyne University. The Tornado offense was slowed by a pair of Bear pitchers as Lenoir-Rhyne took the doubleheader 2-0 and 8-1. King received hits from Peyton Day, Jessica Campbell, Haylee Dye, Lauren Lawson and Camryn Haag. Dye, Haag and Lawson all ripped doubles while Campbell scored the lone run for the Tornado.In her Tornado debut, Madison Walter pitched well in game one, only allowing two runs on six hits.
The Tornado are looking for their first "W" of the season after falling 2-0 and 8-1 to Lenoir-Rhyne on Feb. 8. • Five players each have one hit for King with Lauren Lawson, Haylee Dye, Peyton Day, and Camryn Haag each recording a double while Jessica Campbell has the lone single. King is batting .102 on the season and has been outscored 10- 1. Head coach Kyleigh Payne is in her first season as head coach after serving as King's assistant coach.
HISTORY: Florida Southern and Kings will be meeting for the first time ever in the opening game of the Leadoff Challenge.
North Georgia are off to a 2-1 start following an appearance in the Gulf Shores Invitational, Feb. 4-5, in Gulf Shores, Ala. UNG won their opener, shutting out Spring Hill, 11-0, scoring 10 runs in the final three innings. The Nighthawks dropped a 7-4 game to West Alabama in game two after falling behind 4-1 after the first inning. UNG bounced back in game three to beat Florida Tech, 8-2.
Mallory Parker is off to a hot start with a 7-for-10 (.700) effort that included three runs scored and a pair of doubles with a homer for seven runs batted in. UNG head coach Mike Davenport is in his 23rd season as the Nighthawks head coach with a 980-261 career record. North Georgia is hitting .268 on the season.
HISTORY: This is the fourth time the Mocs have played the Nighthawks with UNG winning all three previous meetings. North Georgia won 5-0 in the first meeting on 2/2/13 in the PBC/SSC Challenge in Columbus, GA. The Nighthawks swept two games (10-2 and 8-0) on 2/13/22 here in Dahlonega in the Univ. of North Georgia Tournament.

Opponent: #3/4 Tampa
Date | Time: Feb. 11, 2023 | 2:00 PM
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Bob Martinez Athletics Center
Records: Florida Southern 13-10, 9-7 SSC | #3/4 Tampa 22-1, 14-1 SSC
Florida Southern is coming off a huge win at home in Jenkins Field House as three Mocs had historic nights. FSC defeated Rollins 60-48 with sophomore Arielle Dabu leading the way with her first collegiate double-double. Dabu came away with 11 points and 12 boards followed by graduate student Ashley Shell with 15 points and six boards. The two other Mocs that had a big night was sophomore Arriyana Bracero with a new career-high of 11 points and freshman Reagan White tying her career-high points with nine and a new high of seven rebounds.
Shell continues to lead FSC in the conference sitting in seventh in scoring with 331 points averaging 14.4 points per game. The Deerfield Beach native is also leading the Mocs defensively coming in seventh with 161 total boards for an average of 6.9 rebounds per game. Senior Domenica Zamora moved to fourth in the SSC with assists per game averaging 4.8. Along with Zamora's top performance she is in fourth in the free throw percentage shooting .893, third in 3 pointers per game averaging 2.2 and steals in seventh with an average of 1.8 steals per game.
As a team, FSC is averaging 69.8 points per game, while their opponents average 66.4. Florida Southern remains in the middle of the Sunshine State Conference at fifth. After 23 games the Mocs stand as the top team in the free throw percentage hitting 320 of 404 shots for a .792 average. On the defensive side, as a team the Mocs sit first in the conference with 278 offensive boards for an average of 12.1 rebounds per game and move to third in steals coming in with 214 averaging 9.30 steals per game.
No. 3/4 Tampa is currently on an 11 game winning streak leading the SSC sitting in first place with only one loss in conference action which was to Palm Beach Atlantic to close out the 2022 portion of the schedule. It was just a 3-point game between the Spartans and Sailfish that concluded in an overtime loss.
As a team, Tampa is the top team of the SSC sitting first offensively, averaging .511 field goals percentage and keeping their opponent at .362 points per game. The Spartans' game is mainly defense as they are averaging 30.1 defensive boards per game as the top team in the conference, and to finish Tampa off they are the top team in blocks with 3.35 blocks per game.
The Spartans are led by Sydney Kin averaging 18.0 points per game shooting 67.3 percent from the field. Alongside Kin that is averaging double-digit scoring is Melijah Sullivan with a 14.0, Mya Giusto shoots 10.9 points per game and Audrey Ramsey closes out with 10.7 average.
HISTORY: In the last meeting between the two teams Mocs were defeated by the Spartans at home with an 81-72 final. In the last meeting four Mocs finished in double-digit scoring as Dabu led the way with 16-points, followed by Zamora and Shell with 14-points and freshman Sydney Gomes with 13 respectively. Despite the Spartans leader, Sarah Jones led Tampa against the Mocs in the last meeting going 4-for-8 from beyond the arc to tie the game-high of 25 points. Kin also earned 25 points followed by Ramsey with 13 points of her own.

Opponent: #1 Barry
Date | Time: Feb. 11, 2023 | 2:00 PM
Location: Lakeland, Fla. | Wynee Warden Tennis Center
Records: Florida Southern 1-1, 0-1 SSC | #1 Barry 2-0, 2-0 SSC
Florida Southern will host the defending national champions after a near upset against No. 12 Lynn earlier this week. The Mocs won their season opener in a 6-1 win over Gustavus Adolphus and started the match against Lynn strong, winning the doubles point. With only one court win for the Mocs, a two-set win by Matteo Feggi, Florida Southern took three courts to a third set, losing two, before the third went unfished with the Fighting Knights victory. Chris Fok Kow continues to lead the Mocs as the inaugural SSC Athlete of the Week for men's tennis.
No. 1 Barry has an early 2-0 record, with a 4-0 win over Embry-Riddle last week to start the season. The Buccaneers took on a recent Moccasin opponent, No. 12 Lynn, which was a narrow 4-3 Barry win. After a doubles point win, Barry had four of its courts go to three sets, winning only one of the three. The close match came with set tiebreakers and almost the Buccaneers' first loss of the year.
HISTORY: Both teams have faced each other many times, with Barry being the victor in the last 19 matches. With only seven wins in its history, Florida Southern will have to battle and harness some home energy to upset the defending champs.

Opponent: Tampa
Date | Time: Feb. 11, 2023 | 4:00 PM
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Bob Martinez Athletics Center
Records: Florida Southern 16-7, 10-6 SSC | Tampa 7-14, 6-9 SSC
Florida Southern travels to Tampa after an overtime thriller 124-113 against Rollins on Feb. 8. The Moccasins saw six players in double-figures with three huge career nights from Luke Anderson, Dominick Denny, and Trey Jones.
Luke Anderson led the Mocs with 28 points and 12 rebounds while Dominick Denny added 20 points and 16 assists. Trey Jones joined in with 18 points and eight rebounds. E.J. Dambreville notched another double-double with 16 rebounds and 15 points as Jadin Booth continues to average over 20 points finishing Wednesday's game with 21. Connor Raines came off the bench and provided 11 points in the win.
As a team the Mocs average 92.3 points per game, second in the league, and hold opponents to 84.5. Jadin Booth is third in the SSC in scoring, 20.4 ppg, and E.J. Dambreville is second in rebounding, 9.8 rpg.
Tampa dropped its third straight game, falling to Saint Leo 77-72 at home on Wednesday where Mykah Brown registered a game-high 26 points. Tyson Leitao recorded a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds while Jesse White came off the bench and provided 12 points for the Spartans.
As a squad, Tampa averages 70.4 points per game which is last in the league while holding opponents to 75.9, the fourth ranked defense in the league. Tyson Leitao is third in rebounding at 9.0 rebounds per game.
HISTORY: The two teams met earlier this season, on Jan. 18 in which Florida Southern defeated Tampa 96-67 for the programs 100th win over the Spartans. The Mocs are 100-66 overall in the all-time series and are 38-37 on the road in the matchup. Three players paced the Mocs with 19 points from Jadin Booth, 18 from E.J. Dambreville, and 17 from Luke Anderson while Tyson Leitao and Mykah Brown each tallied 21 points for the Spartans.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Arriyana Bracero: PG; 5' 1"; Sophomore

#20 Arielle Dabu: G; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#25 Ashley Shell: F/C; 5' 11"; Graduate Student

#4 Domenica Zamora: PG; 5' 7"; Senior

#44 Luke Anderson: F; 6' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore

#2 Jadin Booth: G; 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore

#13 E.J. Dambreville: G; 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior

#1 Dominick Denny: G; 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore

#35 Trey Jones: F; 6' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore

#22 Connor Raines: G; 6' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#1 Arriyana Bracero
: 5' 1"; Sophomore
: PG

#20 Arielle Dabu
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: G

#25 Ashley Shell
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student
: F/C

#4 Domenica Zamora
: 5' 7"; Senior
: PG

#44 Luke Anderson
: 6' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore
: F

#2 Jadin Booth
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#13 E.J. Dambreville
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#1 Dominick Denny
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#35 Trey Jones
: 6' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore
: F

#22 Connor Raines
: 6' 5"; Junior
: G

Florida Southern College

Scoreboard

Mocs Minutes: Tennis and Men's Lacrosse at Home During Busy Weekend

Players Mentioned

#1 Arriyana Bracero

#20 Arielle Dabu

#25 Ashley Shell

#4 Domenica Zamora

#44 Luke Anderson

#2 Jadin Booth

#13 E.J. Dambreville

#1 Dominick Denny

#35 Trey Jones

#22 Connor Raines

Players Mentioned

#1 Arriyana Bracero

#20 Arielle Dabu

#25 Ashley Shell

#4 Domenica Zamora

#44 Luke Anderson

#2 Jadin Booth

#13 E.J. Dambreville

#1 Dominick Denny

#35 Trey Jones

#22 Connor Raines

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