Athletics

CHAMPIONS AGAIN! Tigers Claim Women’s Volleyball 2020-21 CACC Title

For the second time in three seasons, the Holy Family University women’s volleyball team brought back a championship banner to hang in the Campus Center Gymnasium after defeating top-seeded Georgian Court University, 3-1, in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship match on March 20. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the traditional 2020 fall season was canceled and pushed to an abbreviated spring season.

Carly Covington ’21 was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player as she totaled 18 kills and 19 digs while hitting at a .341 clip in the championship match. She was joined on the All-Tournament team with Camille Johnson ’21, Tayana Bennett ’22, Morgan Silks ’22, and

Allyssa Hartney ’23.

The championship victory improved the women’s volleyball team’s record in the CACC Tournament to 15-11 as the Tigers now own two championship banners (2020-21 and 2018). Holy Family has been in the CACC Tournament finals six times in the program’s 18 years of existence.

The women’s volleyball team finished the abbreviated Spring season with an 8-1 overall record and a 5-1 mark in conference play. Over the last three seasons, the Tigers own a win-loss record of 64-17 to go along with three straight appearances in the CACC Tournament finals and two trips to the NCAA Tournament.

40 Student-Athletes Inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma

40 Holy Family University student-athletes were inducted into the Pennsylvania Psi Chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society, for the 2020-21 academic year. The honorees were officially inducted during a virtual ceremony in March.

“We are extremely proud of our student-athletes earning this prestigious honor especially during an academic year that was unlike any other,” said Robin Arnold, associate director of Athletics. “Our studentathletes had to adapt to many changes not only on the field of play but most importantly in the classroom. The hard work and dedication to their studies is evident and I congratulate each and every one of them for this wonderful achievement.”

Chi Alpha Sigma recognizes college studentathletes who receive a varsity letter in their sport, achieve junior academic standing or higher after their fifth full-time semester, and earn a 3.4 or higher cumulative grade point average.

Chi Alpha Sigma is the only non-profit organization that was established to recognize college student-athletes who excel both on and off the field of competition. Chi Alpha Sigma provides outstanding student-athletes with an opportunity to become connected within a fraternal association that aligns their educational and athletic successes for a lifetime.

Women’s Soccer Ranked 16th in Final National Rankings

The Holy Family University women’s soccer team finished the 2020-21 spring season ranked 16th among NCAA Division II teams on the final regular-season rankings released by United Soccer Coaches, sponsored by Verizon. The Tigers were previously ranked 18th before the final rankings were announced.

The women’s soccer team finished the spring 2020-21 season in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship game. The Tigers were edged by city rival Thomas Jefferson University, 2-1.

The Tigers finished the campaign with a 5-1-1 overall record and were 4-0-1 in conference play to claim the regular-season title and top-seed in the CACC Tournament.

The women’s soccer team has appeared in 22 consecutive CACC Tournaments and is now 31-11-3 in the postseason since joining the conference in 1999. The Tigers have appeared in 13 CACC Championship games in the program’s history.

This season the Tigers had five players earn All-CACC honors, including

Hannah Derby ’21, Kait Findlay ’22, Hannah Florentino ’23, Brianna Pudlo

’21, and Jacqueline Ziegler ’22. Derby was also tabbed the CACC Defensive Player of the Year, and Pudlo garnered Goalkeeper of the Year honors.

The women’s soccer team is scheduled to open the 2021 season on Thursday, September 2 at home versus West Chester University in non-conference action.

MIKE NANCE/PHILADELPHIASPORTSDIGEST.COM

Track & Field Recognized with All-Region Honors

Holy Family University had six student-athletes from the men’s and women’s track & field teams earn All-Region honors for the 2021 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field season as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) in May. Top-five individuals in each event from each region earned All-Region honors, in addition to each of the members of the top-three ranked relay team.

On the men’s team, Isaiah Whaley ’23 became just the second Holy Family University track & field athlete to earn All-Region honors as he was recognized for his performance in the 400-meter dash. Whaley finished with the fifth-best time in the East Region after recording a personal-best time of 49.46 seconds at this year’s Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championships. His personal-best time was good enough to win the event and, in the process, bring home All-CACC honors.

On the women’s team, five student-athletes earned All-Region honors marking the first time in program history that Holy Family University has had All-Region selections in women’s track & field. Nyoki Jones ’22 and Korryn Braxton-Young ’23 earned All-East Region honors in individual events, while the 4x400-meter relay team of Jones, Kai B. Lash ’22, Desiree Draper ’23, and Ariel Salkey ’24 were also recognized.

Covington Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District® Team

Carly Covington ’21 was named to the 2020-21 Academic All-District® Women’s Volleyball Team, selected by CoSIDA. The Academic All-District® program recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. As a First-team Academic All-District® honoree, Covington advances to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® ballot. Covington boasts a 3.67 cumulative grade point average and is a Neuroscience major. She’s a two-time Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) All-Academic selection and was among 40 Holy Family student-athletes inducted into the Pennsylvania Psi Chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma for the 2020-21 academic year.

Covington ranks fifth all-time at Holy Family with 1,173 kills and is eighth all-time with 1,186 career digs. She is one of four student-athletes in program history that has recorded over 1,000 kills and digs in a career.

Covington is the first Holy Family University women’s volleyball student-athlete to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District® honors since former standout Sarah (Ambach) Schild ’14 earned the award in 2013. Ambach was a three-time Academic AllDistrict® selection and was named an Academic All-American® in 2013.

Jones earned All-East Region honors in both the 400-meter dash and the 400-meter hurdles. She finished first overall in both events at the CACC Championships. Jones won the 400-meters with a time of 57.72 seconds to rank fifth-best in the region. In the 400-meter hurdles, she ranked tied for third in the region after recording a school-record time of 1:04.36 at the Philadelphia Metropolitan Collegiate Invitational. Jones nearly duplicated her record time at the CACC Championships as she won the event in 1:04.92.

Braxton-Young’s school-record distance of 40’6” (12.34m) in the shot put earned her All-Region honors as she finished the season tied for fifth-best. She set the new standard at the Osprey Twilight hosted by Stockton University in April. At the CACC Championships, Braxton-Young finished second overall in the shot put to earn All-CACC honors.

The Holy Family University 4x400-meter relay team finished with the second-best time in the East Region this season behind only Adelphi University (3:55.12). The Tigers recorded a time of 3:58.33 at the CACC Championships to win the event and in the process earn All-CACC honors. It also set a new CACC Championship record in the 4x400. Holy Family, Adelphi, and Southern Connecticut State University were the only three relay teams to record a time under four minutes in the event this year.

MIKE NANCE/PHILADELPHIASPORTSDIGEST.COM

32nd Annual

GOLF CLASSICGOLF CLASSIC

Providing financial support to Holy Family University students

Monday, September 13, 2021

Philmont Country Club Huntingdon Valley, PA

One of Montgomery County’s premier golf courses

To register, be a sponsor, or for more information, please visit holyfamily.edu/golf or contact Christina Bender at 267-341-3017 or cbender@holyfamily.edu.