UNG softball win streak reaches 4
Press Release February 13, 2022
PRESS RELEASE
DAHLONEGA – The No. 5 University of North Georgia softball team continued its unbeaten start to the home schedule with a pair of run-rule wins Saturday at the Captain D’s Surf ‘n Turf Classic at Haines & Carolyn Hill Park at Lynn Cottrell Park.
GAME 1 – #5 UNG 10, D&E 2 (6 inn.)
The Nighthawks wasted no time getting on the board Saturday morning, scoring a pair in the first on back-to-back doubles from Madison Simmons and Mallory Parker. North Georgia added three more in the second, using a Jolie Lester double and a Simmons triple to push the score to 5-0.
After a Gracie Mixson double and savvy base running put the Nighthawks up 7-0 after four, Davis & Elkins scored a pair in the fifth on a Lilly Saucedo single up the middle. North Georgia ended the game in the sixth, scoring three off singles from Sadye Johnson, Hannah Forehand and Haley Cummings.
Tybee Denton (4-0) earned the win, going three innings and fanning four.
Delaney Heaberlin
GAME 2 – #5 UNG 12, #22 TAMU-C 1 (5 inn.)
North Georgia struck first in the second inning, using singles from Georgia Blair and Forehand to take an early 2-0 lead. The Nighthawk offense then exploded in the fourth inning, plating 10 runs, highlighted by two homers by Forehand in the inning.
Texas A&M – Commerce scored a run in the bottom of the fourth, but that was all they could muster.
Delaney Heaberlin (2-1) got the win, scattering a run and two hits through four innings.
NOTES
– Forehand is the only player in the last decade of North Georgia softball to hit two homers in the same inning.
NEXT UP
North Georgia will wrap up the Captain D’s Surf ‘n Turf Classic with a doubleheader against Florida Southern tomorrow starting at 12 p.m.
UNG Cross Country finishes 6th at NCAA Southeast Regional
Press Release November 8, 2021
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The University of North Georgia cross country team finished sixth at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Southeast Regional Saturday morning.
This is the eighth straight regional UNG has earned a top 10 finish in the regional race and the ninth time overall.
Queens won the regional with 25 points, besting Wingate by 18 points. Anderson finished third, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne who won a tiebreak over Flagler for the fourth spot.
Claire Mills finished in 38th place with a 6K time of 23:13.0. One second behind her in 39th was Devin Helms, while Emily McBridy finished in 23:17.0, good for 42nd. Elissa Oliver (23:17.8, 43rd) and Karmen LeRoy (23:24.2, 50th) rounded out the scoring five for UNG.
UNG student from Cumming named to U.S. Cyber Team
News October 18, 2021
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – A University of North Georgia (UNG) senior from Cumming, Taylor Hitt, is one of 25 competitors drafted Oct. 5 for the inaugural U.S. Cyber Team. He is the lone team member from Georgia.
The U.S. Cyber Team will take part in the International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICSC) June 14-17 in Athens, Greece. The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, along with other regional and international organizations, is hosting the international event.
“It’s still sinking in that I made the team,” Hitt said. “I knew this was going to be a challenge, but the cybersecurity courses at UNG and the activities with our CyberHawks student club set me up for success.”
The competitors underwent a cybersecurity aptitude evaluation, interviewed with multiple coaches, trained weekly in cybersecurity skills, and competed in an advanced cyber challenge.
Those 60 had advanced from the U.S. Cyber Open, held from May 28-June 11, that included a wide variety of games such as cryptography, networking, web applications and reconnaissance.
“You have to put in the daily two or three hours of more training on cyber challenges to be ready for the competition,” Hitt said. “The smartest people make these tasks even tougher than what they see in their field. If you can do challenges well, you’re ready for real-world problems.”
Dr. Bryson Payne, UNG professor of computer science and coordinator of student cybersecurity programs, is one of the coaches for the U.S. Cyber Team. “It means a lot to have a UNG student on the U.S. Cyber Team,” Payne said. “It keeps UNG on the map in cybersecurity at the highest level of competition. This is also a great next step for Taylor to help launch his career.”
In addition to technical proficiency, Hitt showed teamwork, mentorship and leadership skills throughout the competitions, Payne said.
UNG softball draws fourth seed in NCAA tourney
Press Release May 24, 2021
DAHLONEGA – The second-ranked University of North Georgia softball team, fresh off winning the Southeast Regional crown, was tabbed as the fourth seed in the NCAA Division II Softball Championship bracket Sunday and will take on No. 24 Biola at 3:30 p.m. EDT Thursday afternoon.
Biola comes into the tournament at 22-14 and champions of the West Regional in their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Out of the PacWest Conference, the Eagles defeated top-seeded Concordia to punch their ticket to Denver.
The winner of Thursday afternoon’s game will take on either No. 1 Augustana or No. 9 Valdosta State Friday afternoon after they were named the first and eighth seeds in the tournament, respectively. The two losers will play in an elimination game Friday evening.
On the other side of the bracket, Saint Anselm was the No. 2 seed, Grand Valley State the No. 3, West Texas A&M the No. 6 and West Chester the No. 7 seed.
Live coverage links as well as ticket information will be announced in the coming days.