Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

The Centre College field hockey team continued its best start in school history Saturday with a 2-1 win over visiting Sewanee. The Colonels are now 11-0 overall and 4-0 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The Centre College golf teams will travel to Tunica, Miss., for this weekend's Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships at the Tunica National Golf Course. The Centre men are led by sophomore Chris Morris and his 71.7 scoring average. "Morris has a lot on the line. As great of a year that Morris has had, this tournament could secure an NCAA appearance. A top 5 finish would practically guarantee an NCAA for Morris," said Brian Chafin, Centre's Director of Golf.

Leah Ballinger of Centre College has been named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's volleyball co-player of the week. Ballinger was named most valuable player of the Centre College Classic after leading the Colonels to an undefeated weekened in their own tournament. In four matches, the senior setter from Butler had 147 assists (12.25 per game), 27 digs, 12 kills and seven service aces. She assisted on five blocks and had one solo block. Ballinger is the second Centre volleyball player to earn SCAC weekly honors this season.

Liz Braun of Centre College has been named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball player of the week for her performances in Centre's wins last weekend. Braun, a 6-1 junior center, averaged 12 points, 17.5 rebounds, and 6.5 blocks in the two games. Against Rhodes, she had a double-double with 18 points and 18 rebounds along with five blocks and three assists. In Centre's upset of Hendrix, she grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked eight shots. "These are Liz's best games by far since she's been here," Centre coach Jennifer Ruff said.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Reggie Magnusson of Centre College was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men's player of the year Saturday. Fellow senior Coy Zerhusen was named the league's co-defensive player of the year, and he and sophomore Matt Nestheide were named to the all-SCAC third team. Magnusson averaged 17.3 points and 5.9 rebounds in the regular season. He is the first Centre player to be named player of the year since David DeMarcus in 1993. Zerhusen led the league in rebounding (8.6)

The Centre College women’s tennis team defeated Elmhurst 9-0 Monday in the first of four spring-break week matches at Hilton Head Island, S.C. Kathryn Hays won a three-set match at No. 1 singles for Centre (2-2), taking the third set 10-7. Katy Bender also won in three sets at No. 4 singles. Kathryn Hays and Karolyn Hays won 8-2 at No. 1 doubles. Men’s Lacrosse At Danville, Centre lost 21-1 to Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference leader Colorado College. The Colonels (1-4, 0-2 SCAC)

Centre College outfielder Chris Bennett has been named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball offensive player of the week for March 7-13. Bennett, a senior from Louisville, helped the Colonels to a 4-1 record during the week, including a four-game sweep of Oglethorpe to open Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play. It was Centre's first conference sweep since the SCAC Eastern Division began playing four-game series in 2000 and the first conference sweep of any sort since the Colonels swept Sewanee in three games in 1997.

SCAC honors 3 Centre athletes Centre College freshman Amy Hebbeler was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference women's soccer offensive player of the week after scoring five goals in three games in the opening week of the season. Hebbeler came off the bench in all three Centre wins, scoring once in three shots against Asbury, twice in seven shots against St. Mary's (Ind.) and twice in four shots against Heidelberg. She led the SCAC after the first week of the season in goals, points (10)

The Centre College men's soccer team got a pair of goals in the final 7 minutes to earn a 2-0 win over visiting Hanover on Tuesday. It was a scoreless game until Austin Hall headed in a pass by James Jusak with 7:14 to play to put the Colonels ahead 1-0. With 31 seconds to play, Josh Settle pushed the lead to 2-0 when he scored off an assist from Cameron Bayse. Aaron Arndt had three saves to earn the shutout. Hinton honored Richard Hinton was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer offensive player of the week.

Chelsea Benham's comeback may finally be complete. Benham came back from offseason knee surgery in time for the start of her senior season, but only in recent weeks has she begun to play the way she did a year ago. She has been trying to get in shape on the fly since being cleared to play just in time for the start of practice, and lately she has been pleased with the results of that work. “I'm almost there,” Benham said. “You can never be in peak shape, I don't think in basketball.

Bridget Winstead can do a good many things well, and she probably will. But for the time being, she's happy that playing basketball is once again one of those things. Winstead is a versatile athlete who can not only shoot the jumper but can also shoot with either a golf club or a gun, as well as a dedicated student whose interests range from politics to cooking and whose dream job is to write for Southern Living magazine. The Centre College junior is also a passionate basketball player, one who has returned from injury just in time to fill a key role with for a team chasing a conference championship.

Games like this don't come along every day for Greg Ross. Or, for that matter, for Centre College. Ross emerged as the Colonels' leading scorer last season, but he didn't have many nights - or many starts - like the one he had in their season opener. And his performance was one reason why his team enjoyed an unusually easy victory against one of its traditional rivals. Ross scored 32 points Tuesday night, including eight in the first three minutes, to lead Centre to a 70-50 victory over Maryville (Tenn.)

Consistent offense was hard to come by for the Centre College men last season. But coach Greg Mason said the offense has to pick up this season in order for a smaller Centre team to win its fourth straight conference title. “We don't have nearly the size we've had in recent years. At the four-five spots (power forward and center) we go 6-4, 6-4. That's not what we had been,” Mason said. “This will be the smallest team we've had here. But they are very competitive, and the group's strengths will be different this year.” Mason, whose team opens Tuesday at home against Maryville (Tenn.)

The road to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship has gone through San Antonio for so long, Centre College is bound to know the way. The Colonels are heading for Texas once again this weekend to play Trinity in a game that will decide the conference title, and coach Andy Frye said they are better prepared for this trip than they have been in some time. “The nice thing is we've been there. We haven't won it, but two years ago this same group of seniors was in a game at Trinity where we could have won the conference,” Frye said.

He remains Centre College's all-time winningest football coach. Now Joe McDaniel will be honored for his achievements when the field at Farris Stadium is named in his honor. Joe McDaniel Field will be dedicated Saturday before the Colonels' 2:30 p.m. homecoming game with Sewanee. “It's unbelievable it's happening,” McDaniel said Wednesday. “ I have so many people to thank for this, and it's a huge honor. I can't really belive it's happening, but it is. “I consider this a team affair to all of the people that have been involved with the program over the years.

He wears shoulder-length hair that doesn't look out of place today but that would have gotten his grandfather cut from the football team in short order. He plays on artificial turf that replaced the grass field where his grandfather roamed more than 50 years ago. And he plays a position that puts a premium on hunting down quarterbacks, rather than the quarterback position where his grandfather starred. Cooper McGuire is proud of be following in the footsteps of Herb McGuire, his grandfather and one of the most recognizable names in Centre College athletic history.

Jordan Gay never thought he was in the middle of the best day any Centre College kicker has had. He was just trying to do his job. The junior from Danville put on a record-setting performance in the Colonels' season-opening win against Hanover. He made all five of his field goals to set a school record, and went 3 for 3 on extra points and scored 18 of Centre's 38 points in 38-21 victory. “No, I really wasn't expecting that. I was just doing my job and trying to put it through,” said Gay, who booted field goals from 46, 23, 25, 34 and 29 yards.

After leading for most of the season, Centre College golfers Chris Morris and Emily Bachert finished first in the NCAA Division III Golfstat Cup regular season standings, and now they will lead their teams into the NCAA Division III men’s and women’s tournaments. Morris, a senior who won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s championship last month, has a scoring average of 71.78 through 23 rounds. Bachert, a junior who was third in the SCAC women’s tournament, also averaged 71.78 strokes per round.

The Centre College softball team dropped a doubleheader to DePauw on Saturday at Greencastle, Ind., losing 10-2 and 16-8. Mary Saylor drove in both runs in the first game for Centre (13-19, 5-9 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) with a first-inning double and a third-inning groundout. DePauw (21-7, 8-4) held the Colonels to four hits in the first game but gave up 12 in the second. The Tigers trailed 5-0 after two innings and erased a 7-3 deficit with a seven-run fourth. Ashley Christian and Chelsea Collard had three hits each for Centre — Saylor’s total included a home run — and Saylor drove in three runs.