Easley, Souza, Rombaut, Czerski cop top athlete awards
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 24, 2010 11:09 PM
MOC Sports Information
MOUNT OLIVE -- Senior point guard Kendrick Easley and tennis standout Jessica Souza received the outstanding male and female student-athlete of the year awards during the 2010 MOC athletics awards banquet.
Senior outside hitter Christiaan Rombaut and senior infielder Allison Czerski collected the male and female scholar athlete-of-the-year awards.
A first-team All-American, Easley emerged the Trojans' all-time leading scorer with 2,261 points and repeated the Conference Carolinas men's basketball player of the year. The Norfolk, Va., native helped lead MOC to its third consecutive regular-season conference championship, the season-ending tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.
Easley played in the annual East-West All-Star game at the Elite Eight tournament in Springfield, Mass.
Souza, who hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil, earned all-Conference Carolinas honors this season and posted a 7-2 record in league play at No. 1 doubles. She helped the Trojans claim a share of the 2009 regular-season conference title and a runner-up finish in the conference tournament.
A psychology major, Souza has a 3.88 grade-point average.
Rombaut earned the inaugural Conference Carolinas men's volleyball player-of-the-year award, and helped the Trojans capture both the regular-season and tournament championships -- the first-ever in program history. A Nova Scotia native, Rombaut ranked among the league's top five players in kills, service aces, blocks and hitting percentage.
He set a single-match school record for kills (26) and ranks among the nation's top 30 in kills, aces, blocks and hitting percentage. Rombaut is a Conference Carolinas All-Academic selection and has a 3.75 GPA as a history major.
Czerski, who hails from the Palmetto State, picked up all-tournament honors during the 2009 Conference Carolinas tournament. This season, the three-year starter at third base ranked third on the team with 21 RBI and recorded a .952 fielding percentage with just eight errors in 166 chances.
The Charleston, S.C. native and english major, is a two-time Conference Carolinas All-Academic selection and serves as secretary of the Mount Olive Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
The Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year award recognizes leadership, sportsmanship, athletics accomplishment and academic achievement. Meanwhile, the Scholar Athlete of the Year Award recognizes academic and athletics excellence. The student-athlete must be a junior or senior (athletics eligibility with a minimum one academic year in residency) to be eligible for the award.