May 4, 2021

Women's Swimming, Wykle and Coe bring home top honors at Eighth Annual Frosty Awards

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman baseball's Brayden Coe and women's basketball's Braelyn Wykle brought home top honors as the Frosty Award winners for Male and Female Athlete of the Year, respectively, Tuesday evening at the Eighth Annual Frosty Awards ceremony which was streamed live on the Eagle Sports Network.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman baseball's Brayden Coe and women's basketball's Braelyn Wykle brought home top honors as the Frosty Award winners for Male and Female Athlete of the Year, respectively, Tuesday evening at the Eighth Annual Frosty Awards ceremony which was streamed live on the Eagle Sports Network.

Additionally, the women's swim program captured team of the year.

The winners, finalists and award history is all below.

Male Athlete of the Year, Brayden Coe - Baseball

VIDEO: Male Athlete of the Year Finalists

The first-team All-SAC performer produced one of the best seasons in school history. Coe reset the program's NCAA-era record for ERA in a season with a 2.23 margin. He finished the year top 15 in the country in wins while finishing top 10 in the league in six categories. Coe notched three outings of eight-plus innings allowing one run including a complete-game shutout in the SAC tournament

Other finalists: Bram Kaarsgaren (Soccer), Raphael Lima (Swimming), Devon Moore (Track)

Past winners:

2014: Ross Frame (Men's Soccer)

2015: Andy Hibbett (Football)

2016: Damian Baker (Football)

2017: Charles Clark (Basketball)

2018: Tanner Stepp (Track and Field)

2019: Luke Greer (Cross Country)

2020: Devon Moore (Track and Field), Desmond Fairell (Football)

2021: Brayden Coe (Baseball)

Female Athlete of the Year, Braelyn Wykle - Basketball

VIDEO: Female Athlete of the Year Finalists

After an historic sophomore season, Braelyn Wykle became the program's first underclassmen to be an All-American since 1982. The SAC Player of the Year is one of two Lady Eagles to win the league's top honor outright after producing the top single-season scoring average in school history with 22.7 points per game, good for fifth in the nation.

Other Finalists: CJ Jensen (Swimming), Ana Carla Resende (Tennis), Shannon Smith (Softball)

Past Winners:

2014: Kelli Hensley (Softball)

2015: Rachel Harper (Volleyball)

2016: Margaret Stansberry (Swimming)

2017: Lauren Wade (Women's Soccer)

2018: Lauren Wade (Women's Soccer)

2019: Averi Williams (Women's Soccer)

2020: Kayla Marosites (Basketball)

2021: Braelyn Wykle (Basketball)

Team of the Year - Women's Swimming

VIDEO: Team of the Year Finalists

The women's swimming program tied the best overall team performance in school history with a ninth place finish at the NCAA national championship meet. The team finished with 186 team points and nine different All-American swims. n regular season action, the Eagles only suffered one defeat at home all season, to Wingate, while outscoring opponents 926-418 over the course of all five home meets.

Other Finalists: Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Men's Track

Past winners:

2014: Men's Soccer

2015: Volleyball

2016: Volleyball

2017: Women's Soccer and Softball

2018: Women's Soccer

2019: Women's Soccer

2020: Volleyball

2021: Women's Swimming

Comeback of the Year - Football at UVA Wise

VIDEO: Comeback of the Year Finalists Video

Christian Erwin drilled a game-tying 49-yard field goal attempt with a half minute to play in regulation to force overtime and won the game with a 44-yard kick to win the game as Carson-Newman prevailed 40-37 in four overtimes over UVA Wise. Carson-Newman trailed by 10 with 13:28 to play in the fourth quarter. Rhe Cavaliers were moving down the field when a fumble recovered by Frank Lee gave the Eagles some life. On the very next play, Trey Mitchell linked up with DeQuan Dudley for an 89-yard passing strike, the third-longest completion in school history. That play and a 57-yard TD pass to JJ Lewis set the stage for Erwin's late-game theatrics.

Other Finalists: Women's Basketball at Coker, Softball v. King, Baseball v. Newberry

Past winners:

2014: Women's Basketball and Whitney Kyle at Newberry

2015: Women's Golf at the SAC Championships

2016: Men's Basketball at Newberry

2017: Women's Tennis v. Newberry

2018: Volleyball v. Anderson

2019: Women's Basketball at Newberry

2020: Softball at Tusculum

2021: Football at UVA Wise

Female Performance of the Year, CJ Jensen - Swimming

VIDEO: Female Performance of the Year Finalists Video

Jensen broke the school record in the women's 200-yard butterfly and gathered six All-American honors over the three-day event. She won individual All-American honors in the women's 200-yard butterfly, women's 200-yard individual medley, and the women's 400-yard individual medley. She was also part of the All-American women's 200 and 400-yard medley relays along with the women's 800-yard freestyle relay team.

Other finalists: Kailee Morgan (Swimming), Hayden Barton (Volleyball), Braelyn Wykle (Basketball)

Past Winners:

2014: Tiana Mills (track and field)

2015: Kristen Pickett (Volleyball)

2016: Alli Webster (Softball)

2017: Elizabeth England (Golf)

2018: Maggie Melhorn (Swimming)

2019: Haris Price (Basketball)

2020: Kayla Marosites (Basketball)

2021: CJ Jensen (Swimming)

Upset of the Year - Women's Tennis v. #18 Queens

VIDEO: Upset of the Year Finalists Video

For the first time in program history, Carson-Newman defeated the Queens Royals. Queens entered the contest ranked 18^th in the ITA poll. C-N was anchored by senior Abby Reis who claimed the final match point for the Eagles from number six singles by a 6-3, 6-4 result, giving C-N the overall 4-3 win. The loss was just one of two for the Royals on the year. It marked C-N's first win over a ranked team in more than a decade.

Other Finalists: Baseball v. #7 Catawba, Baseball v. #11 Tusculum, Women's Basketball at #7 Tusculum

Past Winners:

2014: Men's Basketball v. #7 LMU

2015: Men's Basketball v. #1 LMU

2016: Women's Basketball v. #6 Columbus State

2017: Baseball v. #15 Catawba

2018: Baseball v. #2 Belmont Abbey

2019: Baseball v. #9 Newberry

2020: Baseball v. #1 Tampa

2021: Women's Tennis v. #18 Queens

Male Newcomer of the Year, Joseph Oreva - Track and Field

VIDEO: Male Newcomer of the Year Finalists Video

Joseph Oreva wasted little time in etching his name in the history books for Carson-Newman Track & Field. The freshman out of Port Harcourt, Nigeria shattered a 44 year old school record in the men's indoor long jump with a jump of 7.75 meters at the ETSU Invitational. Just eight minutes later, Oreva broke his own record again with a jump of 7.84 meters, a mark that was number one in all of Division-II for the entire indoor track season and earned him SAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Week honors. Despite battling a heel injury, Oreva finished with All-American honors at the 2021 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships with a fourth place finish.

Other finalists: Denilson Cyprianos (Swimming), Matt Parkinson (Baseball), Isaiah Kyle (Track)

Past Winners:

2014: Ross Frame (men's soccer)

2015: Tanner Stepp (Track and Field)

2016: Kevin Snead (Track and Field)

2017: Shaun Jones (Basketball)

2018: Dillon Cate (Baseball)

2019: Mike Wroth (Baseball)

2020: Braxton Westfield (Football)

2021: Joseph Oreva (Track and Field)

Male Performance of the Year, Tripp Davis - Men's Basketball

VIDEO: Male Performance of the Year Finalists

Tripp Davis became the sixth player in Carson-Newman men's basketball history to score more than 40 points in a game and tied Chris Jones and Mike Ogan for the third most points in a game in school history. He dropped 44 points in a key in-region win over Benedict. The senior also knocked down 18-of-19 free throws to finish behind Chris Jones for the second most free throws taken and made in school history.

Other Finalists: Brayden Coe (Baseball), Jake Wright (Baseball), Raphael Lima (Swimming)

Past Winners:

2014: De'Andre Thomas (football)

2015: Charles Clark (Men's Basketball)

2016: Andrew Hall (Men's Golf)

2017: Charles Clark (Men's Basketball)

2018: Tom Forster (Men's Golf)

2019: Tom Forster (Men's Golf)

2020: Tom Forster (Men's Golf)

2021: Tripp Davis (Men's Basketball)

Play of the Year - Charlie Brown, Micah Genter and Matt Parkinson (Baseball)

VIDEO: Play of the Year Finalists

Charlie Brown got his hose and Matt Parkinson held on for a 400-foot putout against Tusculum

Other Finalists:Theo Hardenby Ohrwall (Men's Soccer), Joseph Oreva (Track and Field), Ren Dyer (Men's Basketball)

Past Winners:

2014: Rachel Harper (volleyball)

2015: Rurik Pereira (Men's Soccer)

2016: Zack Pangallo (Men's Basketball)

2017: Jake Headrick (Men's Golf)

2018: Tanner Stepp (Track and Field)

2019: Devon Moore (Tracak and Field)

2020: Braxton Westfield (Football)

2021: Charlie Brown, Micah Genter and Matt Parkinson (Baseball)

Female Newcomer of the Year, Lindsey Taylor - Women's Basketball

VIDEO: Female Newcomer of the Year Finalists

In her debut campaign at Mossy Creek, Taylor earned first-team all-conference laurels. The post player posted double digits a dozen times. She shot 62 percent from the field to rank sixth in Division II. Her seven double-doubles were top 25 in America. Her best game of the year came at Mars Hill in January as she scored 33 points and chipped in 10 boards.

Other Finalists: Skylar Boshers (Basketball), Katie Eakes (Softball), Kate Zander (Soccer)

Past Winners:

2014: Combined male and female newcomer of the year was presented to men's soccer's Ross Frame

2015: Elizabeth England (Women's Golf)

2016: Jules Herrity (women's soccer)

2017: Lauren Wade (women's soccer)

2018: Kayla Marosites (women's basketball)

2019: Allison Rager (Softball)

2020: Kaina Roehrkasse (Volleyball)

2021: Lindsey Taylor (Women's Basketball)

Coach of the Year, Chuck Benson - Men's Basketball

VIDEO: Coach of the Year Finalists

Chuck Benson was the South Atlantic Conference's Coach of the Year. The Eagles were coming off a 10-18 season a year ago and missed the South Atlantic Conference tournament for the first time in program history. The Eagles were picked ninth in the league';s preseason poll. But Carson-Newman exceeded expectations, winning the SAC tournament and making the NCAA Tournament as a four seed with a 16-6 record. The .727 win percentage is the second-best of Benson's career.

Other Finalists: Jordan Taylor (Swimming), Jim Frederick (Women's Tennis), Tom Griffin (Baseball)

Past Winnners:

2014: Richard Moodie (men's soccer)

2015: Vickee Kazee-Hollifield (Softball)

2016: Richard Moodie (women's soccer)

2017: Vickee Kazee-Hollifield (Softball)

2018: Simon Duffy (Women's Soccer) and Mike Mincey (Women's Basketball)

2019: Simon Duffy (Women's Soccer)

2020: Stephen Lyons (Men's Soccer)

2021: Chuck Benson (Men's Basketball)

Male Freshman of the Year, Ren Dyer - Basketball

VIDEO: Male Freshman of the Year Finalists

Dyer has done things no other freshman has done in Carson-Newman basketball history. The programs's first SAC Freshman of the Year. Dyer became the first Eagle freshman with seven straight double-digit scoring efforts and the only freshman with three double-doubles in his first season at Mossy Creek. He dropped 20 in the SAC title win over Queens and was second on the team in steals and blocks.

Other Finalists: Sterling Melancon (Track), Tyler Bowens (Basketball), Theo Hardenby Ohrwall (Men's Soccer)

Past Winners:

2014: No award given

2015: No award given

2016: Carson Wise (football)

2017: Tom Forster (Golf)

2018: Devon Moore (Track and Field)

2019: Matt George (Swimming)

2020: Christian Shouse (Track and Field)

2021: Ren Dyer (Basketball)

Female Freshman of the Year, Macey Hughes - Softball

VIDEO: Female Freshman of the Year Finalists

Macey Hughes became the first C-N freshman to receive all-league laurels since the 2018 season. Hughes hit .367 this year with eight doubles, two triples and four home runs while driving in 26. The freshman has peaked at the right time heading into conference tournament play. She tallied hits in nine of her last 11 games, including a seven-game hitting streak from March 27 – April 12. A frequent clutch hitter, Hughes tallied a walk-off RBI single against King in her second career game and a top of the seventh go-ahead home run against Wingate

Other Finalists: Lilly Ebner (Soccer), Sierra Still (Beach Volleyball), Hayden Barton (Volleyball)

Past Winners:

2014: No award given

2015: No award given

2016: Varin Ness (women's soccer)

2017: Lacie Rinus (Softball)

2018: CJ Jensen (Swimming)

2019: Maeve Cummins (Golf)

2020: Manon Compagner (Swimming) and Braelyn Wykle (Basketball)

2021: Macey Hughes (Softball)

Team Performance of the Year, Men's Basketball v. Queens

VIDEO: Team Performance of the Year Finalists

Carson-Newman used an 11-0 second half run to outpace top-seeded and 17^th-ranked Queens and lay claim to its fourth SAC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship 88-79. Carson-Newman scorched the nets to the tune of 56.1 shooting – the second-best shooting performance in SAC title game history – while limiting Queens to 35.1 percent shooting after halftime. The Eagles turned a one-point halftime deficit into the nine-point win.