AMERICUS, Ga. -- Women's basketball guard Ava Jones, softball shortstop Lacey Rutledge and men's golfer Erik Fogel have been named the Georgia Southwestern State University Department of Athletics top performers for the month of March.
Jones, a 5-foot-7 junior from Carencro, La., averaged 20 points over two NCAA Championship games for the Lady Hurricanes, who became the first basketball team in school history to win a game in the national tournament. She shot 48.1 percent from floor and 92.3 percent from the free throw line over those two contests to be named to the Southeast Region All-Tournament Team. Jones, a first team All-Peach Belt Conference selection, finished the season ranked fourth in the PBC in scoring average (15.3), third in field goal percentage (51.2), third in steals per game (2.8) and 12th in assists per game (2.7).
Rutledge, a freshman from Monticello, Ga., hit .535 over 16 games with four doubles, a home run and nine runs batted in. The softball team posted a 12-6 record during the month, including a 7-2 mark in conference play. Rutledge started all nine PBC games and had at least one hit in each contest. For the month, she went 15-for-26 (.577) in conference games. Rutledge turned in a 3-for-3 performance in the series opener against Georgia College on March 19 and did it again a week later at USC Aiken. She currently ranks 13th in the PBC in batting average.
Fogel, a freshman from Stockholm, Sweden, finished in the top 20 of all three tournaments the ninth-ranked Hurricanes played in during the month of March. Over seven rounds, he posted a scoring average of 71.57. His best finish was a tie for seventh out of 90 golfers at the Hurricane Invitational.
GSW coaches nominate athletes and vote for the recipients of the award each month.