Greenville, SC – The Converse Athletic Department has announced it has selected 5 Valkyries to be named Student-Athletes of the Fall Semester.  Normally, the Department will name a Student-Athlete of the Month but with the restrictions from Covid-19 this fall, Director of Athletics Jen Bell and her team wanted to make sure outstanding performances were recognized from a number of Valkyries.  While the fall has been different, Converse Athletics and its Student-Athletes have come together and supported each other.  That support has allowed teams to compete and the 5 Student-Athletes selected for this recognition have embraced "The Valkyrie Way", both on and off the playing fields.

The 5 Valkyries selected for this award are:

Sydney Grimes (Golf)
Entering her Sophomore year, Grimes had an impressive fall season.  Even though the Golf Team was only able to participate in 3 events, Grimes was consistently at the top of the leader boards.  At the King University Fall Invitational, in September, she finished in 2^nd place, carding a 74 (+3).  Grimes followed that up with a 7^th place finish at the Warrior Classic and then went on to shoot a 74 (+3), which was good enough to earn her first collegiate career victory, winning the Crusader Classic.
 
Victoria Fulton (Swimming)
Fulton, a Junior, from Annapolis, Maryland, started the fall season out finishing 3^rd in the 100-Yard Butterfly at the King Invite.  At Converse's next meet against Brenau University, she found her stride, finishing 2^nd in the 200-Yard freestyle, which was followed up by a 1^st place finish in the 100-Yard Butterfly.  However, Fulton would save her best performance of the fall against UNC-Pembroke setting a personal best time of 5:32.28, when she took 2nd place in the 500-Yard Freestyle.  She would cap off the day with two 1^st place finishes in the 200-Yard Freestyle and 100-Yard Butterfly.
 
Maria Belen Vendrell (Tennis)
On the second day of the ITA Southeast Regional, Sophomore Maria Belen Vendrell recorded her first two wins of the fall season.  While she fell in the first set 1-6 of her first match, Vendrell bounced back for the win 6-3, 10-1 over Lander's Lindsey Wiggins.  She would then go onto win the biggest match of the day by upsetting 5th seeded Kayla Vaughn from Belmont Abbey, 6-3 6-3.  Vendrell continued that momentum in the third and final day, as she fought back from a first set loss to win the match 4-6, 6-0, 10-8.  That win set up showdown in the ITA Southeast Regional Consolation Final against fellow teammate Valentina Aparicio.  She would go on to win the Final 6-0, 6-1. 
 
Lizzie Gilbert (Equestrian)
While Converse has only participated in a scrimmage against Lander University this fall, Lizzie Gilbert has shown her Senior leadership, guiding the Valkyries to a 61-43 victory.  She set the tone for the day winning her head to head challenge.  Gilbert also displayed that leadership as she helped the younger riders feel comfortable in the first competition of the season.  In addition, she showed her experience in the barn making sure the horses were ready for the day.  Coach Nowicki will look to rely on her as they prepare for spring competition.
 
Caroline Felkel (Cross Country)
In the only competition of the fall, Felkel, a Junior, helped lead Converse to a 2^nd place finish in a 5K race against Belmont Abbey, Southern Wesleyan and King University.  Throughout the entire race, she kept pace with many runners who were on last year's Conference Carolinas championship team.  As the race ended Felkel's top 10 finish was one of the main reasons the Valkyries were able to secure the runner-up spot.  She finished the day with an average mile of 6:59.1 and a final time of 21:43.5.