HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Wallace State’s men’s tennis program is the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) champion for the fourth consecutive season.
The Lions swept through the ACCC Tournament in Mobile over the weekend, remaining undefeated against all conference opponents during the regular and postseason.
Wallace State freshman Ryan Wang, of Brisbane, Australia, was named the 2022 ACCC Player of the Year and Tim Garner was named the Men’s Coach of the Year.
Wang, Sebastian Gamez, Massimo Caliendo, Tristian Du Plessis, Muntingh Hamman and Marco Kalbermatten each earned singles victories for the Lions. Wallace State swept doubles behind Wang and Hamman; Gamez and Caliendo; and Du Plessis and Alex Rainer.
Other members of the men’s team are Hudson Harden, Ethan Howard, Leonardo Dos Santos and Vinnie Aragao.
“These guys care about tennis and pull for each other. I always see them putting in extra hours on the court. There’s not much I have to say for this group to get motivated. They love to compete and love to perform, and that’s one reason they’re conference champions,” Garner said.
Wallace State’s men finished seventh at the national championship last season.
Meanwhile, Wallace State’s women’s team finished as the ACCC Tournament runner-up.
The Lady Lions had Martina Paillet, Natalia Barron, Halle McCrory and Micah Oldacre each earn singles victories.
The Lady Lions’ roster is also made up of Kaitlyn Daniel, Erianna Irvin, Italia Jones, Anna Knepper and Breanna Vann.
Both teams advance to the NJCAA Division I Tennis National Championship. The Lady Lions will compete in Tucson, Ariz., on May 7-11, and the Wallace State men will play for a national championship on May 16-20 in Tyler, Texas.
No. 3 Wallace State softball sweeps Shelton State
Wallace State’s starting pitching trio of Leigh Kirby, Bailee Hall and Josie Thompson limited Shelton State to only three runs over four games during a four-game sweep against the Bucs.
Kirby tossed a pair of complete-game shutouts, recording a combined 19 strikeouts and surrendering only four hits as the Lions (46-2, 23-1) clinched the ACCC North Division championship.
Bailee Hall twirled a one-hit shutout, striking out 18 batters, and Josie Thompson was the winning pitcher in the third game of the series with a complete-game effort of her own.
Sophomores Harper Niblett and Felicity Frame continue to wreak havoc at the top of the lineup.
Niblett went 9-for-15 with her first homer of the season, eight RBIs, four stolen bases and four runs scored.
Niblett leads the ACCC with a .503 average. She’s added 48 runs scored and 37 stolen bases.
Frame is second in the league in hitting at .493. She’s second in the ACCC with 56 steals and added a conference-best 59 runs scored.
Sarah Beth Brake hit a solo homer in the series finale for Wallace State, while Maddie Carton had a pair of RBIs in the series opener. Jaiden Farnetti scored four runs throughout, adding two RBIs.
Wallace State, coached by A.J. Daugherty, closes the regular season this week, hosting Calhoun on Thursday, beginning at 2 p.m. at Bobby McCracken Stadium.
Wallace State baseball drops series to Shelton State
Wallace State dropped a conference series to rival Shelton State over the weekend.
The Lions (27-17, 13-11 ACCC) won the second game of the series, 10-8.
Freshman catcher Dan Stewart finished with five singles, an RBI and three runs scored in the series, while Colson Lawrence had four hits and scored two runs.
Abner Benitez was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored in the victory.
Ben Arnett had four hits and three RBIs throughout, while Austin Roberts had four hits and two RBIs.
In the win against the Bucs, Will Varmette was the winning pitcher for Wallace State. Ridge Raper earned the save.
Next up for the Lions is a conference series vs. Calhoun. The four-game set begins in Decatur on Thursday and wraps up in Hanceville on Saturday.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit www.athletics.wallacestate.edu or the athletics Facebook page at www.wallacestate.edu/athleticsfb.
