Dickey Hightower Named Head Softball Coach

Wesleyan College has hired Dickey Hightower to take over as head coach of the Pioneer softball program.

A coaching veteran with over 30 years experience in the sport, Hightower has coached every level from ASA youth teams to Division I college programs. Having spent the last five seasons as the head coach at Heritage High School in Conyers, Ga., he previously spent a number of years on staff as an assistant coach at Georgia State University. While coaching the Panthers, he primarily served as the infield and hitting coach, while also developing the schedule, assisting in recruitment and performing field maintenance.

"Coach Hightower's Division I experience will provide the leadership and expertise our softball program needs to achieve the goals we have set for this year and for our future,” remarked Wesleyan athletics director Patty Gibbs. “His experience working with women's softball makes him an ideal coach for Wesleyan College. His emphasis on player development will benefit our students and provide our team with a competitive advantage over other programs. We are delighted to have a coach of his caliber working with our athletic program and our softball team."

One of the highlights of his coaching career came when he was asked to be the head coach of a team designed to compete against the U.S. Olympic team just prior to the 1996 Olympic Games, which was the first time softball was included as an Olympic team sport. He compiled a team of Division I college athletes from across the state of Georgia and competed against the Olympic team twice in the month leading up to the Games.

“I would like to thank Ms. Gibbs and Wesleyan College for giving me the opportunity to come to the school and begin the process of building a competitive softball program,” states Hightower. “With the caliber of softball being played in the state of Georgia, there are more than enough quality players interested in getting a great college education here at Wesleyan and who also want to be involved in establishing a winning tradition. Our number one focus will be to recruit exceptional, academic-minded young ladies with outstanding character but also with the talent on the softball field to make Wesleyan a force in the Great South Athletic Conference.”

“The journey starts right now. First, we build the foundation with the young ladies presently at Wesleyan. Next January, we start working on the fundamentals that will translate into more competitive results on the field. Secondly, we will start an aggressive recruiting campaign by attending travel ball and high school games and telling players about the opportunities they have by coming to Wesleyan. With a combination of hard work on the field and the softball talent in the surrounding areas, there is no reason to believe we will not start becoming successful over the next few years.”

Wesleyan opens the 2012 season on February 11 when the Pioneers travel to Bluffton, S.C., to take on USC Beaufort.

Wesleyan Closes Out Fall Semester With Loss to Maryville

MACON, Ga. - Wesleyan College fell victim to a second half surge by Great South Athletic Conference power Maryville College in a 63-29 loss at Porter Gymnasium.

The Pioneers (0-4, 0-3 GSAC) kept the game within single digits for most of the first half. However, the Lady Scots (3-2, 1-0 GSAC) found their shooting touch in the second half to break open the game.

Senior captain Bre Solmone scored a team-high six points and added seven blocks for Wesleyan. Erinn Williams and La Joi Battle also each contributed six points. Maryville played 14 people with Tayler Smith hitting all five of her shots on the way to a game-best 11 points.

Wesleyan will take an extended break between semesters before returning to action on January 4 at GSAC foe Huntingdon College.

Piedmont Spoils Home Opener for Wesleyan

MACON, Ga. - League leader Piedmont College spoiled the home opener for first-year head coach Mike Walton and Wesleyan College 60-26 in Great South Athletic Conference action at Porter Gymnasium.

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The Lions (5-0, 2-0 GSAC) extended their season-opening win streak to five games by limiting the Pioneers (0-3, 0-2) to just 18% shooting from the floor for the game.

Senior Erinn Williams and newcomer Lindsay Haggerty each scored a team-high seven points for Wesleyan. Sada Wheeler finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for Piedmont.

The Pioneers wrap up the first semester by hosting perinneal league leader Maryville College. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00pm at Porter Gymnasium.

Haggerty Leads Wesleyan Basketball in GSAC Opener

LaGrange, Ga. - The Wesleyan College basketball team opened Great South Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night, losing to LaGrange College by a score of 97-59.

The Pioneers were led by junior transfer Lindsay Haggerty, who tallied her second straight double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds.  Freshman La Joi Battle pitched in 15 points in her first action of the season, while senior Erinn Williams added 13.

Depth and a hot-hand by LaGrange proved to be too much for Wesleyan to overcome.  The Panthers were 12-29 from beyond the arc and had seven players score in double digits.

Wesleyan makes its home debut on Friday night when they take on GSAC frontrunner Piedmont College at 6:00pm in Porter Gymnasium.

Ten Wesleyan Student-Athletes Honored as Academic All-Conference

Macon, Ga. - Ten student-athletes from Wesleyan College who participated in either soccer, volleyball or cross country this fall were named to the Great South Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference team this week.

Athletes named to this team must be a sophomore or older and maintain a 3.25 grade point average or higher.

The soccer team led the way this fall with five team members qualifying for the honor.  Senior Azea Mustafa, junior She-Marie Steadman and sophomores Anna Jones, Stephanie Rarick and Charly Harris were all recognized for their academic standing.

Seniors Alaina Avera and Anna Plue, junior Katie McIntosh and sophomore Rebecca Navarre were members of the volleyball team who qualified for the honor, while junior Aditi Dey and once again Azea Mustafa were recognized from the cross country team.

Women's Soccer Closes Out 2011 at LaGrange

LAGRANGE, Ga. - The Wesleyan College women's soccer team put the finishing touches on the 2011 campaign with a 6-0 loss at Great South Athletic Conference rival LaGrange College.

Freshman goalkeepr Abby Stephens added eight saves in the loss, running her season total to 199. She will likely complete the year ranked in the top-10 among NCAA Division III goalkeepers in total saves this season.

The match marked the final contest for senior captains Azea Mustafa and Cheyenne Foster.

Wesleyan Cross Country Matches Program Best Finish at GSAC Championship

Chattanooga, Tenn. - Led by top finisher Christina Mayfield, the Wesleyan College cross country team matched the best finish in program history at the 2011 Great South Athletic Conference championship ahead of Salem College, Spelman College and LaGrange College.

On a brisk morning where the temperatures were in the high 30s at race time, Mayfield wrapped up the 6K-course with a time of 28:42, finishing in 17th place overall.  For her efforts, she was named to the GSAC All-Freshman team.

The championship was hosted by GSAC newcomers Covenant College who finished the race in the top slot.  However, due to their provisional status, the Scots were not eligible to win this year's championship, which in turn went to runner up Piedmont College.  The Pioneers finished fifth overall in the results that included Covenant, but after removing the Scots, Wesleyan will show up fourth in the final conference standings.

The race winner was Covenant's Tera Woods, who finished the course in 25:10.

Other Pioneer finishers included Maria Vasquez (27th - 30:58), Turhonda Williams (28th - 31:05), Kaitlyn Rentz (30th - 31:17), Azea Mustafa (41st - 32:02), Sable Phillips (45th -32:55) and Aditi Dey (56th - 35:08).

On the men's side, Huntingdon College took home the 2011 crown.