SDSU's Telford, NDSU's Anderson Named April Athletes of the Month

5/7/2013 12:00:00 AM

ELMHURST, Ill. - The Summit League named South Dakota State baseball player Daniel Telford (Newmarket, Ontario) and North Dakota State women’s golfer Amy Anderson (Oxbow, N.D.) as its Male and Female Athletes of the Month for April.

Telford records his first career Athlete of the Month award after leading South Dakota State to a 7-4 record during the month and 6-4 mark in league games. The senior went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a career-high six RBI and three runs scored in a 14-11 win at Fort Wayne on April 12. On April 6, he belted a three-run homer in a 5-4 win over North Dakota State and went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored in a 10-3 win at Oakland on April 14. Telford reached base in all 11 games played during the month and had a hit in 10 of those games. The Summit League Player of the Week on April 15, he had six multi-hit games and four multi-RBI games during April while leading the Jackrabbits to second place. For the month, Telford batted .528 (19-of-36) with 16 RBI, nine runs scored, four doubles, four home runs and three walks. He also had a .972 slugging percentage and .564 on-base percentage during the month.

Anderson earns her third career Athlete of the Month honor after capturing the league championship title for a record third consecutive year. The senior had a 72.88 stroke average while placing first in all three tournaments during the month. At the Kangaroo Invitational, she shot a 2-under-par 214 to break former San Jose State and current LPGA golfer Juli Inkster’s Division I record of 17 wins, according to Golf World. She followed that with a 2-over-par 146 to win her fourth-straight Creighton Classic and captured the league title held April 22-24. A two-time Golfer of the Week in April, Anderson earned Championship MVP honors for the third consecutive year and was named first team all-league and to the all-tournament team for the fourth-straight season. On the year, Anderson has a 72.79 average heading into the NCAA Regionals, has won five tournaments this season and placed first or second in all six spring tournaments.

Also nominated for the Men’s Athlete of the Month: Clay Hathaway, Fort Wayne, baseball; Jason Jaruvang, IUPUI, tennis; Casey Orgon, North Dakota State, track & field; Evan Bowser, Oakland, golf; Cory Buckley, Omaha, baseball; Jeff Mettler, South Dakota, track & field.

Also nominated for the Women’s Athlete of the Month: Miranda Kramer, Fort Wayne, softball; Rachel Zajac, IUPUI, track & field; Brittni Hutton, Oakland, track & field; Sami Spenner, Omaha, track & field; Allie Daly, South Dakota, softball; Brooke Garner, South Dakota State, track & field; Sammy Marshall, Western Illinois, softball.

ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
Entering its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 144,000 at nine universities, four of which are located in top 58 U.S. metro populations (Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Omaha). Member institutions include: Fort Wayne (Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), Kansas City (University of Missouri-Kansas City), Omaha (University of Nebraska Omaha), North Dakota State University, Oakland University, the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University. Previously known as the Mid-Continent Conference, The Summit League rebranded in 2007 and has since produced 54 All-Americans, 37 Academic All-America selections and seven NCAA Championships. For more information about the league and its history, visit www.thesummitleague.org to "See The Summit" or follow on Twitter @thesummitleague.

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