Sports

Gardner-Webb won its first-ever Big South women’s basketball regular-season championship, and has earned the No. 1 seed in this week’s Advance Auto Parts Big South Women’s Basketball Championship, it was announced today by the League office. All games of the 2010 Advance Auto Parts Big South Women’s Tournament will be played at the Millis Center on the campus of High Point University. The Lady Bulldogs posted a 15-1 record in Big South play. To learn additional information about the other teams in the Advance Auto Parts Big South Women’s Basketball Championship, please click here.

Gardner-Webb redshirt senior catcher Ty Boyles has been named to the prestigious 2010 Johnny Bench Award Watch List, released this week by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. The award, which began in 2000, is given annually to the nation’s top college baseball catcher. Boyles (Ararat, N.C. / Surry Central HS) has emerged as one of the nation’s best as a result of an unmatched work ethic and tremendous production at the plate. The 5-foot-9, 185-pounder is coming off a career year that saw him bat .309 with a career-high 15 home runs, 54 base hits and 45 RBI in 47 starts. (more)

In less than a month, one of the most exciting tournaments in the sports world will begin. College basketball fans across the nation will tune into the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to watch their favorite teams, the country’s best players, or to see a Cinderella team pull off the upset.

But according to the NCAA beware of Bracket Challenges and Don't Bet On It. To learn more about this read the NCAA's March Madness Sports Wagering Newsletter. This newsletter explains the consequences and the potential signs of gambling during these events. (more)

The Gardner-Webb women’s basketball team continued to receive votes in the ESPN/USA Today Top-25 Coaches’ Poll and also moved up another spot in the Digital Sports Daily NCAA Women’s Basketball Top-25 rankings this week. For the eighth straight week, and the 12th week overall, the Lady Bulldogs received votes in the ESPN/USA Today Top-25 Coaches’ Poll tallying a total of 15 votes for the second straight week. The 15 votes is the most that the Lady Bulldogs have every received in the national top-25 poll. The Lady Bulldogs made its debut in the Digital Sports Daily NCAA Women’s Basketball Top-25 rankings five weeks ago at the No. 25 spot. Since then, the Lady Bulldogs have remained in top-25, moving up one spot each week. (more)

February 2010 Newsletter: In this issue of GWU Wrestling News, news and notes from the desk of head coach Dick Wince, a recap of the East Regional Duals, and look back at this year's Senior Night.

Also, if you haven't done so already, consider joining the Wrestling 100 Club to support GWU Wrestling.

Use the following link to view the 2009-2010 schedule . For more information on the 2009-2010 wrestling team, visit GWUSports.com.

Mandy Ward (Senior), Softball: Mandy Ward was 1-2 with a run scored and a walk on Saturday February 27th, versus Mount St. Mary’s at the Seahawk Classic hosted by UNC-Wilmington. Ward, a senior from Charlotte, NC came to GWU from Butler High School where she earned all-state honors during her senior season and was two-time all-conference selection. Mandy also led her high school to a state championship her senior season. During her first two seasons at Gardner-Webb, Ward would start in all of the team’s games. Bounced back from off-season surgery to see action at both catcher and designated hitter during the 2009 season in which she was named to the Big South Second-Team All-Conference Team. Mandy, whose older sister, Joanna, also played on the Gardner-Webb softball team, is majoring in Biology.

Gardner-Webb (24-3, 13-1 Big South) made history in its last victory back on Monday night and will look to continue to add wins to its already record setting season this Saturday afternoon, as the Lady Bulldogs will host the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern at 3 p.m. It is Senior Day for the women’s basketball team, as prior to the tip-off, Gardner-Webb will recognize its three seniors – Meranda Burnett, Sherika McLean and Margaret Roundtree. Charleston Southern (15-11, 7-6 Big South) is coming off a tough loss at Liberty, which snapped its four-game winning streak. Saturday afternoon is Senior Day, as a trio of seniors in Meranda Burnett, Sherika McLean and Margaret Roundtree will be recognized prior to their final home game in a GWU uniform. (more)

Gardner-Webb's Roman Piftor has been named The Crons Brand Freshman of the Week for matches played Feb. 15-21, as announced by the Big South Conference. Piftor, a freshman from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, came up big for the Runnin' Bulldogs last week in their match against The Citadel. His straight-set victory over Derek Dickey (6-3, 6-4) was crucial, as it gave Gardner-Webb the deciding point for the 4-3 victory. This is the second time that Piftor has received this award this year. Gardner-Webb will return to action this Sunday as they take on USC-Upstate in Spartanburg, SC at 2:30 PM. (more)

Gardner-Webb's Erica White has been named The Crons Brand Freshman of the Week for matches played Feb. 15-21, as announced by the Big South Conference. White, a freshman from Charleston, WV, posted wins in both of her singles matches, while going 1-1 in doubles play last week against Appalachian State and East Carolina. Against the Mountaineers on Feb. 18, White defeated Ellie Linsell (6-2, 6-4) at the No. 1 singles spot and teamed with Kasey Ellis to knock off their doubles opponent (8-6) as GWU took the 6-1 victory. In the match against East Carolina, she did not lose a point in singles play as she defeated Audrey LePottier, 6-0, 6-0. (more)

The Gardner-Webb women’s basketball team continued to receive votes in the ESPN/USA Today Top-25 Coaches’ Poll and also moved up another spot in the Digital Sports Daily NCAA Women’ s Basketball Top-25 rankings this week. For the seventh straight week, and the 11th week overall, the Lady Bulldogs received votes in the ESPN/USA Today Top-25 Coaches’ Poll tallying a record high 15 votes. The 15 votes, which is three more votes than last week’s results, is the most that the Lady Bulldogs have every received in the national top-25 poll. The Lady Bulldogs made its debut in the Digital Sports Daily NCAA Women’s Basketball Top-25 rankings four weeks ago at the No. 25 spot. Since then, the Lady Bulldogs have remained in top-25, moving up one spot each week. (more)