Guilford College Sports News: Seven Quakers Earn Nereus C. English Athletic Leadership Award

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Seven Guilford College student-athletes have earned the Nereus C. English ’26 Athletic Leadership Award, as announced by Interim Director of Athletics Dr. Sharon Beverly. The recipients of the college’s top athletics honor included Natalie Conrad, Calyn Davis, Zachary Evens, Abigail Horchar, Carolyn O’Halloran, Christian Ritter, and Brennan Sweeney.

Conrad lettered all four seasons as an outfielder for the Quakers and departs as one of the top hitters in school history. A team captain, she owns school standards for triples in a season (6, 2019) and career (11), and ranks eighth among the Quakers’ career batting average leaders (.381). The four-year starter also stands among the school’s top base stealers with 27 career thefts, Guilford’s fifth-highest total. Conrad enjoyed her finest season as a junior when she hit a team-high .430 with a homer, six triples, and 11 stolen bases in 13 attempts. Her 41 runs scored led the team and ranked fifth in school history. Conrad had 58 hits, third-best all-time at Guilford. She earned 2019 Second Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) honors and ranked among the league leaders in batting average (3rd), hits (3rd), runs (5th), triples (1st), and total bases (6th). Conrad also earned first-team college division all-state honors from the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) in 2019.

In addition to her on-field exploits, Conrad won the ODAC’s 2019 Softball Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award and was a two-time Academic All-District selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America. The three-time Academic All-ODAC selection made the dean’s list and Guilford Student-Athlete Honor Roll in each of her seven semesters. She also earned All-America Scholar-Athlete recognition from the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association (NFCA) in each of her three seasons. The health science and biology double major is a certified nursing assistant and will attend nursing school after graduation.

Davis helped the Guilford women’s basketball team to a 17-10 overall record and an appearance in the 2019-20 ODAC Championship game. The sophomore guard has started in all 53 games of her career so far. This year she ranked third on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg) and had a team-high 48 three-pointers. Her 39% three-point shooting percent ranked third in the ODAC and is the fifth-best percentage in school history. She enters her junior year with 101 career trifectas which is ninth-best in school history. The business administration and mathematics double-major was named to the 2018-19 ODAC All-Academic Team. Davis has been named to the Guilford Student-Athlete Honor Roll and dean’s list three times and received the 2019 James McCoy Scholarship from the North Carolina CPA Foundation.

Evens was a fixture in the Quakers’ lineup despite missing half of his junior campaign to study in Australia. He consistently ranked among Guilford’s top golfers and leaves ranked fifth among the school’s career leaders with a 74.3 stroke average in 72 rounds. Evens burst on to the scene with a 75.0 stroke average in 2016-17, which ranked second on the team and helped him to the first of two straight First Team All-ODAC commendations. His best statistical campaign was in 2017-18 when he averaged 73.5 strokes per round, 16th-best in Guilford history, and placed 11th or higher in seven events. That same season, Evens earned PING honorable mention All-America, All-South, and was named a semifinalist for the Division III Nicklaus National Player of the Year.

Evens is a dean’s list business administration and economics double major. He appeared on two Academic All-ODAC teams and was a seven-time member of Guilford’s Student-Athlete Honor Roll. Evens won Guilford’s Courtney Award for academic excellence in management three times and also earned the school’s 2018 Alden Award for academic excellence.

On the field, Horchar was a midfield mainstay for the Quakers, appearing in all 55 games (39 starts) in four seasons with the Guilford women’s lacrosse team. She notched 65 goals and 25 assists for 90 career points, which ranks 25th in school history. Horchar also contributed 64 ground balls, 38 draw controls, and 36 caused turnovers. In 2019, she scored a career-high 30 goals and 15 assists. Horchar was in the midst of one of her best seasons this spring with 24 points, 17 goals, 11 ground balls, and 10 caused turnovers. She recorded multi-goal efforts in six of the Quakers’ seven games.

The chemistry major is a three-time Academic All-ODAC selection, and was named to both the Guilford Student-Athlete Honor Roll and dean’s list six times. She was named the 2020 ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Women’s Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Last spring the Honors Program student received Guilford’s Charles A. Dana Scholarship for academic excellence and leadership potential, and the Ljung Scholarship for excellence and service in chemistry. Horchar also served on Guilford’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and competed with Guilford’s women’s swimming team in 2019-20.

Carolyn O’Halloran was a four-year member of the women’s swimming team and helped the Quakers move in the right direction as the team went 8-3 overall in dual meets and recorded the program’s first invitational victory with a win in the Pacer Invitational this season. She owns program records in the 50, 100, 200, and 500 freestyle, and was a member of the 200 medley relay team that posted the program standard at the 2020 ODAC Championships. The education studies major and psychology minor earned ODAC All-Academic honors three times. She also is a seven-time member of the Guilford’s Student-Athlete Honor Roll and a two-time dean’s list student.

Ritter made her presence felt all over the court in 102 career contests for the Guilford women’s volleyball team. She recorded 845 career kills and stands second in school history in both digs (1,550) and digs per set (4.09). The two-time All-ODAC pick ranks fourth in school history with 131 career service aces. A two-time Guilford Student-Athlete Honor Roll member, she served as a resident advisor and Sister-to-Sister participant. The sociology major helped the Quakers to their first ODAC tournament win since 1997 and was named to the 2019 NCCSIA College Division All-State Volleyball Team for her efforts.

Sweeney appeared in 57 contests with 27 starts as an attacker and midfielder for the Guilford men’s lacrosse team. He amassed 76 goals and 78 assists for 154 points in four seasons, plus 61 ground balls and five caused turnovers. This season he led the Quakers with 22 goals and stood second on the team in assists (17) and points (39). As a junior, he paced the squad in points (67), goals (38), and assists (29), all of which represent career highs. Sweeney leaves with his name etched several times in the program record books as he is 10th in career points, sixth in career assists, and tied for fifth in assists in a single game (6). The exercise and sport sciences and health sciences double major is a seven-time member of the Guilford Student-Athlete Honor Roll and six-time dean’s list student. Sweeney is also a three-time ODAC All-Academic honoree and served on Guilford’s SAAC.

A native of Thomasville, N.C., Nereus C. English graduated from Guilford in 1926 but maintained close contact with the college after graduation. His loyalty and genuine interest in its students led to the creation of the English Endowment Fund and the Nereus C. and Mae Martin English Scholarship Fund in 1965. With his brother, the late T.R. English, he provided funding for Guilford’s English Hall dormitory in 1957. In 1962, Nereus English received the Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Guilford College Alumni Association. Since Guilford first presented the honor in 1977, 237 students have received the English Award.