Thomas More College senior outside hitter Stacy Howell (Cincinnati, Ohio/Glen Este) and sophomore setter Jenna Fessler (Fort Mitchell, Ky./Beechwood) were named All-Americans by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
Both Howell and Fessler were honorable mention All-Americans and were also first team All-North Region selections.
Howell, who was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Player of the Year, hit .283 with a team-high 401 kills, had 42 service aces and four assists. Defensively, she had 245 digs and 20 total blocks.
Fessler hit .258 with 78 kills and a team-best 48 service aces. She paced the offense with 1,173 assists and defensively she had 246 digs and also had 36 total blocks.
The Saints finished the season with a 26-5 record, including an undefeated 18-0 record in the PAC.
Thomas More won the PAC regular season and championship tournament titles, while advancing to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
Five Saints named to All-Great Lakes Region soccer team
Thomas More College had five women’s soccer student-athletes named All-Great Lakes Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
Junior midfielder Laura Felix (Burlington, Ky./St. Henry) and senior forward Olivia Huber (Woodlawn, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) were named to the first team. Felix was third on the team in scoring with 13 points on five goals, including one game-winner and three assists. She has a .636 shot-on-goal percentage and also helped the Saints defensively hold opponents to four total goals and post 18 shutouts. Huber had a team-high-tying 62 points on a team-best 26 goals and 10 assists. She had six game-winning goals and had a .619 shot-on-goal percentage and was two-for-two in penalty kicks.
Junior goalkeeper Megan Barton (Florence, Ky./Villa Madonna) was a second team selection. She started all 22 matches in goal for the Saints had had a 19-1-2 record as she only allowed four goals for a 0.19 goal-against average and recorded 53 saves. Barton set the Thomas More single-season shutout record with 14 shutouts.
Junior defender Taylor Robinson (Taylor Mill, Ky./Campbell County) and sophomore forward Julia Flagge-Echols (Colerain, Ohio/Colerain) were named to the third team. Robinson had eight points on three goals and two assists. She helped anchor the Saints’ defense that held opponents to 123 shots and four goals in 22 matches and posted 18 shutouts. Flagge-Echols a team-high-tying 62 points on 24 goals and a team-best 14 assists. She had eight game-winning goals and had a .574 shot-on-goal percentage.
The Saints finished the season with a 19-1-2 record and won their fourth-straight Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) regular season title and fifth-straight PAC Championship Tournament title, while advancing to the NCAA Division III Championships’ sectional semifinals for the third-straight season.
NSCAA names three Thomas More performers to All-Region squad
Thomas More College senior defender RJ Best (Lorton, Va./South County Secondary), senior forward Austin Juniet (Fort Thomas, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) and junior midfielder Tim Knauer (Batavia, Ohio/Batavia) have been named All-Great Lakes Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
Best and Juniet were first team selections. Best had 12 points on four goals, including a game-winner, and four assists. He also helped anchor the Saints’ defense that had a 1.10 goal against average and only allowed 195 shots, while posting eight shutouts. Juniet led the team in scoring with 55 points on 16 goals and 23 assists. He had six game-winning goals and had a .707 shot-on-goal percentage.
Knauer was a third team selection after he had six points on one goal and four assists, while also helping the defense post eight shutouts and only giving up 195 shots.
The Saints finished the season with a 16-3-1 record and won their fifth-straight Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) regular season title and advancing to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the seventh-straight season.
From TMC Athletics