Brielle Spencer Awarded Big South Graduate Fellowship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Recent High Point University women’s soccer graduate Brielle Spencer was announced as a recipient of the Bob McCloskey Insurance Big South Conference Graduate Fellowship by the conference on Monday. Spencer graduated HPU in the spring with degrees in Mathematics and Physics and a perfect 4.0 GPA.

“This is yet another great response to the hard work that Brielle has put in during her four years at HPU,” High Point women’s soccer head coach Marty Beall said. “It’s fantastic that so many other people are seeing what we saw each and every day. I am proud of all of her accomplishments and honored that I was able to coach her for three years.”

Spencer, who was announced as one of four winners of the Big South’s Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence on May 2, concluded her career as a two-time Big South Women’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree. The central defender helped High Point win two Big South championships and make two NCAA Tournament appearances during her four-year career. She started 81 of 86 career matches, logged 7,223 career minutes and tallied one assist during her time with the Panthers. Spencer was part of a defensive unit that allowed just six goals in Big South play in 2011 and posted seven shutouts (six in Big South action). She has been accepted into High Point University’s graduate school where she plans to pursue a Master’s of Arts in teaching secondary mathematics. Spencer will also serve as a volunteer assistant with the women’s soccer program while she completes her degree.

During her time at High Point, Spencer has been a three-time member of the Big South Presidential Honor Roll and a four-time Millis Scholar-Athlete. She was one of two recipients of the Big South’s Sunbelt Rentals Scholarship earlier this year, and was also named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District Team during her senior season. Spencer is a two-time recipient of High Point’s Tobias Scholar-Athlete Award, which is given annually to HPU’s top female scholar-athlete.

Spencer has been involved with the HPU Odyssey Honors Club since 2008, as well as Alpha Chi and Kappa Delta Pi honor societies since her junior year. In addition, Spencer was a founding member and secretary of the HPU Physics Club, has been a member of both the HPU Math Club and Teachers of Tomorrow club since 2009, and has served two years on the High Point Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). A member of High Point’s chapter of the National Society of Leadership and Success since 2009, Spencer has made the Dean’s List all four years while spending time volunteering as a skill instructor at youth soccer clinics as well as a mentor with the High Point Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. Spencer has also served as a tutor, assisted with local disaster relief efforts, and fundraised for March of Dimes.

“I want to congratulate Ms. Spencer for her outstanding undergraduate career and selection for this prestigious honor,” Big South Commissioner Kyle B. Kallander said. “The entire Big South family is proud of her accomplishments and we wish her the best in her graduate studies. We also are gratified by the support of McCloskey Insurance for this worthy award.”

Bob McCloskey Insurance, a Big South Corporate Partner, will award $2,000 to Spencer for her graduate studies on Thursday evening, May 31 as part of the Conference’s Spring Awards Dinner and Hall of Fame Banquet in Hilton Head, S.C. The Big South Conference Graduate Fellowship Program was established by the League in the Fall of 2005 as a means of recognizing the academic excellence of Big South Conference student-athletes who intend to pursue postgraduate studies upon graduation from a Big South Conference institution.