Quartet of USCB athletes earn weekly honors from Sun Conference

Four USC Beaufort athletes were honored as the Sun Conference’s Players of the Week in their respective sports, including a sweep of both awards in baseball.

John Gora was named Pitcher of the Week after holding St. Thomas to five hits in a complete-game victory Friday, with Thomas Estopare joining him as Player of the Week. In addition, golfer Franzi Knoetsch won her third weekly honor this season and Brandon Gourdine was the men’s track athlete.

Estopare produced stellar numbers across the board last week, going 10-for-20 over five games with a homer, six runs scored, five RBIs and three stolen bases. Gora’s performance against St. Thomas lowered his ERA to 0.67, ranked No.2 in NAIA.

Knoetsch tied for third at last week’s Golfweek NAIA Invitational in Florida, helping the Sand Sharks finish fourth in a field that included six teams in the latest NAIA rankings. The sophomore now has four consecutive top-10 finishes, including two wins.

Gourdine broke his own school record in winning both the 110 hurdles and 400 hurdles at the Savannah State Tiger Twilight meet last Wednesday. His time of 14.71 seconds in the 110 hurdles also met the “A” qualifying standards for this season’s NAIA national championships.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 7:28 PM with the headline "Quartet of USCB athletes earn weekly honors from Sun Conference."