Anderson's Mollenhauer and Queens' Raftis Receive 2019-20 South Atlantic Conference Presidents Award

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Alexy Mollenhauer from Anderson and Anthony Raftis from Queens have been selected as the recipients of the 2019-20 South Atlantic Conference Presidents Award, the Conference office announced today. 

The highest individual honor presented annually by the South Atlantic Conference, the Presidents Award is voted on by the league's Faculty Athletic Representatives and to be eligible, student-athletes must exemplify excellence in athletics, academics and community service. Further, to be nominated for this prestigious award, the individual must have been honored as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year during the year in one of the league's 20 sponsored sports.

"Alexy and Anthony are exceptional examples of the term student-athlete, achieving success in the classroom and on the court and track," said South Atlantic Conference Commissioner Patrick Britz. "We are honored to recognize them with this prestigious award, and we are even more proud to have them represent the South Atlantic Conference."

Mollenhauer, a senior guard, has a perfect 4.00 GPA in English/Secondary English education. She has earned numerous accolades, both on and off the court, in her final season with the Trojans.  In the classroom, she was a 2019-20 a CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II Women's Basketball First Team selection, a CoSIDA Academic All-District® honoree, as well as being a four-time Dean's List selection. She was named the 2020 SAC Women's Basketball Elite 20 winner and was a four-time SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll selection.

On the court, she was named SAC Player of the Year and SAC Female Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season and was a first team All-SAC selection. She was named D2CCA Southeast Region Player of the Year for the second time, was a D2CCA First Team All-American, and WBCA First Team All-American. The five-time SAC AstroTurf Player of the Week earned United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) National Player of the Week honors on Feb. 4, 2020 and became the first player in Anderson program history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for their career. She led the conference in both scoring (19.7 ppg.) and rebounding (12.4 rpg.) during the 2019-20 season.

"There really are no words to express how much Alexy has meant to this program," said Anderson head women's basketball coach Jonathon Barbaree. "Everyone can read about the numbers, records, and awards, but it goes so much deeper than that. Alexy has always been much more than a basketball player to us and I think this award captures some of that sentiment. Alexy's faith in her Lord and Savior drives her to be the best she can be. She is always the first to volunteer to work in her community and with her church, giving back with all of her heart. She has done an excellent job representing our conference and Anderson University on and off the court."

A native of Lindale, Texas, Mollenhauer is active on and off of the court in the Anderson community. She has served in Hope Kids at Hope Fellowship Church for the last four years. She volunteers at two schools, Calhoun Academy of the Arts and Nevitt Forest Elementary, reading to the elementary students. Mollenhauer has also participated in Martin Luther King Jr. Day service project for the past two years and has helped with numerous girls basketball summer camps hosted at Anderson.

Raftis, a senior sports management and math major from Kent, Washington, has a 3.87 GPA. He is a member of the Royal Society, is a SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll selection and is a United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team. 

"We are really proud of Anthony and all his accomplishments," said Queens head men's and women's cross country coach Tom Scott. "His hard work as both a student and an athlete is commendable and speaks highly of his character.  Anthony sets a high standard for Queens track and field and cross country, and gives his teammates a great standard to aim for. We are excited to follow his future successes!" 

On the cross country course, Raftis led the Royal men's team to their third consecutive SAC Men's Cross Country Championship in 2019, finishing fourth overall and earning first team All-SAC honors. He also led his team to the 2019 NCAA Southeast Region title, finishing third overall at the regional meet. He earned SAC AstroTurf Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week honors twice during the 2019 season and was named InterCon Queens Male Student-Athlete of the Month in September 2019.

An active member of the Queens community, Raftis is the President of Rotaract Club, a community service organization, where he has logged over 100 community hours in 2019. He is also chair of the Queens Campus Union Board.

2019-20 SAC Presidents Award Women's Finalists

Nicole McMillen, Tusculum
Abbey Frail, Wingate

2019-20 SAC Presidents Award Men's Finalists

Luke Gibson, Newberry
Kensho Yoshikoshi, Carson-Newman
Connor Baroniunas, Wingate

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