GREENSBORO, N.C. — Guilford College honored its top student-athletes Tuesday night at a year-end ceremony in Dana Hall. Six award winners nominated and selected by the school’s athletic department were recognized at the ceremony. Guilford alumnus and former Wake Forest University and University of South Carolina men’s basketball coach Dave Odom ’65 addressed the group. Now an assistant to Guilford President Kent Chabotar, Odom won over 400 games as a head coach at college’s basketball’s highest level.
Two students shared the Jack Jensen Ideal Student-Athlete Award named for Guilford’s former golf and basketball coach: Tobi Akinsola (Cary, N.C./Word of God Christian Academy (Bethany)) of the basketball team and softball captain Morgan Andrews (Pittsboro, N.C./Chatham Central). Akinsola won Guilford’s prestigious English Athletic Leadership Award this year and was an honorable mention All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) selection. An undersized center at 6-3, 190 pounds, he was second on coach Tom Palombo’s unit in scoring (10.6 ppg.) and ranked among the league’s best rebounders. He recently was accepted into graduate school at North Carolina State University to study accounting and is regularly on Guilford’s Student-Athlete Honor Roll.
Andrews hit .328 with a team-leading and career-high 39 runs batted in as coach Dennis Shores’ catcher this past season. The three-year starter stands among the Quakers’ career leaders in putouts (538), runs batted in (87) and doubles (25). She is a two-time Academic All-ODAC selection, a five-time member of Guilford’s Student-Athlete Honor Roll and a Bonner Scholar. Andrews serves as a resident advisor and is an active member of Guilford’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Senior T.C. Anderson (Cary, N.C./Green Hope) received the Richard Joyce Sportsmanship Award. The basketball team captain earned a spot on the ODAC’s 2010-11 Men’s Basketball Sportsmanship Team and led the Quakers in steals and assists as a senior. Consistently one of Guilford’s top defenders, Anderson helped the Quakers to a 96-23 career record with three NCAA Tournament appearances and two ODAC titles.
Classmate Courtney Kozar (Laurens, S.C./District 55), collected Guilford’s Best Female Athlete Award. Also a 2011 English Athletic Leadership Award honoree, Kozar played starting roles on two Quakers’ teams. As a three-year starting outfielder for the softball team, she recently concluded a brilliant career as the Quakers’ all-time leader in batting average (.389) and on-base percentage (.455). Kozar, who hit .402 with 11 stolen bases as a senior, also holds school season marks for stolen bases (12) and runs scored (41). She concluded her volleyball career last fall ranked eighth in school history with 770 kills and 10th in kills per set (1.96). The four-year letter winner was named to the ODAC Volleyball Sportsmanship team and represented coach Emily Gann’s Quakers on the Averett Cougar Classic All-Tournament squad.
Kozar’s volleyball teammate, junior Mary Moody (Asheboro, N.C./Asheboro), received the George Wynne Most Improved Student-Athlete Award. She started her junior year as a defensive specialist, but returned to her natural outside hitter’s position and helped the Quakers close out their best season (16-13) since 1995. Moody ranked second on the team with 392 digs, the sixth-highest total in school history, and over four times the total of her freshman season. She had the best hitting percentage (.170) of her career in 2010 and also set personal bests in assists, service aces and total blocks.
Kyle Wooden (Stillwell, Kan./Sun Valley (N.C.) of the baseball team wrapped up his stellar career last week as the Quakers’ all-time leader in batting average and slugging percentage (.699). Thanks to a school-record and nation-best .514 batting average in 2009 and his ODAC-leading .467 average this year, the first baseman will graduate with a .436 batting average in 115 career games. He matched the school record with 17 doubles this year and collected the 2011 ODAC Baseball Player of the Year Award. Wooden helped coach Nick Black’s ’02 team to its first ODAC Tournament berth since 2006.