Fall Frosty Awards Nominees: Female Athlete of the Year

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Posted: Jan 01, 2022

From now until Jan. 2, the Carson-Newman Athletic Communications Department will debut the Frosty Award nominees for the fall semester. These are the fall nominees for Female Athlete of the Year. Jan, 2 we'll unveil the candidates for Male Athlete of the Year.

The ninth annual Frosty Awards will take place May 3 and honor athletic excellence in Carson-Newman's athletic department.

Categories:

Female Athlete of the Year

Julia Wheeler (Volleyball)

As one of the top outside hitters in the region, Julia Wheeler was named to the AVCA's first-team all-region roster. The redshirt-sophomore closed out the season with the 28th-most kills in the entire country finishing with 417, good for a 3.45 average per set. Wheeler is the ninth player in program history to earn the laurel from the AVCA and first since Morgan Ballard was touted in 2018. She is the first outside hitter to take home the plaudit since Rachel Harper in 2014. All told she is the 11th player to be named all-region by any publication. For the year, the outside hitter recorded 14 double-doubles tacking on 2.75 digs per set and 34 aces. With 1,309 attacks, a mark that is fifth on the program's single-season list, she is in the top 10 nationally in swings leading the Eagles in the area 26 times including in each of the final 15 matches of the year.

Rachel Strayer (Cross Country)

Rachel Strayer returned to the cross country course for the first time in almost two years, finishing third in her first race back. The senior from Murfreesboro was the leading finisher for the Eagles in every single race, culminating in a 19th place finish at the 2021 SAC Championships and a third team All-Conference honor. Strayer helped lead the women's cross country team to a seventh place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional, the team's highest finish since 2005. With her 18th place regional finish, Strayer became the first ever Carson-Newman cross country runner to win three straight All-Region honors.

Jente Kuper (Soccer)

Jente Kuper finished her 2021 campaign as a second-team All-SAC selection. The Germany native started in 16 of the 17 matches for the Eagles in 2021. Kuper netted the game-winner in C-N's massive comeback over the Tusculum Pioneers, her lone goal on the season. She also compiled three assists on the season, including a pair of assists in C-N's first win of the season against Belmont Abbey. Kuper finished 2021 with the seventh-most individual points for C-N with five.

Kailee Morgan (Swimming)

In four of her five event appearances, Kailee Morgan has dominated both the women's 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke. She was recognized for her efforts as she was named the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Female Swimmer of the Week in early November. The honor, the first in Morgan's C-N career, came after Morgan won both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke against Milligan. Her top event showing came during the UT Invitational from Knoxville to wrap up the fall season. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Morgan swam a prelims time of 1:01.76 which sits as the fourth-fastest event time by an Eagle. She followed up her prelims outing with a finals finish of 1:01.27 to not only finish 12th overall but secure the second fastest event time in program history. Morgan also secured the second-fastest time for the 200-yard breaststroke with her time of 2:15.23, gathering her an 18th place finish overall.

Nellie Bryneus (Soccer)

Nellie Bryneus finished her first season from Mossy Creek as an All-SAC third-team selection. Made 16 starts and appearances in her debut season. Bryneus netted the second-most goals for C-N with six, including scoring a goal only 33 seconds in against Anderson. This was the first time an Eagle had scored in the first minute since September 2019. Bryneus compiled a team-leading four assists, including one on the game-winner against Newberry. Fired off 50 shots, second-most on the team, with 25 shots on goal to lead the team in that regard.

Sydnee Duncan (Soccer)

Sydnee Duncan wrapped up her first season along the banks of Mossy Creek as an All-SAC third-team selection. Duncan made 17 appearances with 13 spots in the starting XI for C-N. Led the team with eight goals, eighth-most in the SAC. Compiled a hat trick against Coker, becoming the first Eagle to score a hat trick since October 2018 as well as becoming the first Eagle to compile six points in a match since September 2018. Gathered four total game-winners, including a SAC leading three game winners against Mars Hill, Newberry, and Coker. Tied for the team lead with 16 points to go along with the fourth-most shots with 36 and second-most shots on goal with 18.

Ana Carla Resende (Tennis)

After finishing the 2021 fall campaign with an overall record of 11-3, Resende received her highest national ranking since becoming an Eagle. Thanks to her efforts on the court, the Brazil native is ranked eighth nationally for all Division II women's singles players, which is the highest ranking for any SAC athlete this season and the highest ranking for an athlete under head coach Jim Frederick. Her top-10 placement is also the highest in Resende's career after she rose as high as #42 during last season. Ana Carla also received the distinction of being tabbed the number two women's singles player in the Southeast region for DII, one of the hardest regions in all DII women's tennis. Her three losses this fall came against the likes of #1 Deniz Khazan from Barry, #6 Luisa Hrda from Flagler, and #27 Prinkle Singh from the University of Charleston. Her spot in the national top-10 came as a result of Resende's effort and performance at the 2021 ITA Cup. As one of the 16 athletes selected, Resende would defeat opponents from Dallas Baptist University and the University of Indianapolis to secure a spot as an ITA Cup semifinalist. In the semifinals, she went up against Khazan but was not able to secure the win.

Braelyn Wykle (Basketball)

After leading the SAC in scoring to produce an All-American campaign in 2020-21, the junior has not skipped a beat once again pacing the league 19.3 points per game making 45 percent of her shots from the field. The newly-minted 1,000-point scorer has been in double figures in every game with at least 14 in every contest. Wykle has seven 20-point scoring affairs including at least 21 in five of the last seven outings. With an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly three to one, the Greeneville, Tenn. native is top 15 in America in the area. Wykle also ranks in the top 50 nationally in trifectas, made field goals and made foul shots. Known for her scoring prowess, she has had at least three assists in eight of 12 contests. Wykle's season high in scoring is 25 points in 23 minutes of play helping the Lady Eagles throttle Mars Hill 101-62 on Dec. 15.

Lindsey Taylor (Basketball)

To understand the value of the junior post player, look no further than the fact that when she scores in double figures the Lady Eagles are 9-0. When she is held to single digits, C-N is 0-3. Taylor wrapped up the first semester with 15 points per game adding six rebounds. For her efforts over the first two months of the year, she has been named the South Atlantic Conference's Player of the Week twice. The post player is top 10 in the nation in field-goal percentage making 65 percent from the field with nine double-digit scoring nights and three with at least 20. Among her season highlights, Taylor put up 26 points and 11 rebounds in a 94-68 road win over Tusculum on Nov. 17. Her best performance of the year to date came on Dec. 8 at UVA Wise where she scored 27 points on 12-for-14 shooting with eight rebounds despite being suspended by the conference for the first half of the game.

Maeve Cummins (Golf)

Maeve Cummins led a young Lady Eagles golf squad this fall. The Lady Eagles only finished outside the top 3 once in the fall slate thanks to consistent performances and scoring from Cummins. Her average Fall score of 73.6 would help the Lady Eagles rank 15th in the nation.

Watch List: Meredith Ginn (Swimming), CJ Jensen (Swimming)