Matt Watts named Nova Southeastern men’s soccer coach
Nova Southeastern athletic director Michael Mominey announced Thursday that Matt Watts has been hired as coach of the Sharks’ men’s soccer team.
“Matt is an impressive young man who has a vision, the passion and the mind-set to bring our men’s soccer program back to national prominence,” Mominey said. “We are all excited to work with him and provide the resources in which to do so. Coming to us as a proven head coach from two highly respected [Division II] athletic programs, we know he will fit right into our culture of the student-centered approach that we so deeply believe in.”
Watts will join the NSU coaching staff after very successful stints over the past five years as the coach at two prominent South Region contenders, Alabama-Huntsville and Delta State. As he has demonstrated before, Watts will be looking to turn around the Sharks’ men’s soccer program that has finished below .500 the past four seasons.
women’s basketball
▪ St. Thomas 72, Webber International 63: Host St. Thomas (5-7, 5-1) defeated Webber International (11-7, 6-2) in a Sun Conference matchup.
Jamesha Willis scored 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting, going 3 of 6 from beyond the arc to pace the Bobcats. Supavadee Kunchuan recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Samara Auguste and Katie Rienas each scored 10 points.
St. Thomas, playing with just six players, opened up its lead after halftime, outscoring the Warriors 21-8 in the third quarter.
The Bobcats return to Sun Conference action on Saturday when they travel to West Palm Beach to face Keiser University.
Barry athletics
The seventh class of the Barry University Athletics Wall of Honor will be inducted on April 25.
The five student-athletes inducted, representing the cream of the athletic crop at Barry, earned a total of 12 All-America commendations and 15 Scholar All-America honors.
In addition, one administrator will receive meritorious service commendation for her leadership in athletics.
The 2016 student-athlete inductees are Fernanda Brino (volleyball), Thomas Hipp (men’s tennis), Emelie Karlsson (women’s soccer), Patrick Rittenauer (men’s tennis) and Greta Trotman (women’s tennis). Dr. G. Jean Cerra, former dean of the School of Human Performance & Leisure Sciences and director of athletics, received meritorious service commendation.
swimming and diving
The Nova Southeastern men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are ranked fourth and ninth, respectively, in the third College Swimming Coaches Association of America/TYR Top 25 Poll for Divisions II.
From the previous poll in mid-December the men have held steady at the No. 4 spot, while the women were passed by Lindenwood to fall to No. 9. However, both teams finished the regular season strong, taking home victories in their last regular-season meet against Florida Southern and combining for eight individual and two relay NCAA B-Standard times.
This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Matt Watts named Nova Southeastern men’s soccer coach."