Meredith Athletics Continues to Grow

Meredith College athletics has had many successes through the years and is continuing to grow. Currently Meredith fields athletic teams in basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Since joining the USA South Athletic Conference in 2007-08, Meredith is the only single gender institution to win USA South championships with soccer earning a tournament championship in 2008 and tennis in 2009. Cross Country earned the women’s conference title three consecutive years beginning in 2013, and volleyball earned the tournament crown in 2016 and 2018. Lacrosse has collected six consecutive USA South conference tournament championships during the program’s seven-year existence.

This past year Meredith athletics added two new sports funded through gifts from Meredith trustees and other donors. Their support made it possible for golf to move from a club team to a varsity level sport in fall 2019 and in fall 2020, Meredith will add a field hockey team.

The golf team is being coached by Jimmy Hamilton, a certified PGA professional. A golf instructor at Wildwood Green Golf Club since 2012, Hamilton now directs The Golf Academy, while still conducting private lessons and junior programming aimed at long term player development. He was recently named a top ten golf instructor in North Carolina by Golf Digest.

Meredith College Athletic Director Jackie Myers also announced the addition of Courtney Hexter to the Avenging Angels athletics staff. Hexter will direct the College’s new field hockey program playing a number of regional teams this fall. Hexter returned to coaching in 2012 with a local club program and joined the Durham Academy staff in 2013 as a coach for both field hockey and lacrosse.

Other accomplishments this past year include:

• ­Women’s volleyball secured the 2018 USA South Conference Championship title and the Coach of the Year award.
• Women’s soccer hired new coaching staff: head coach Jen Grubb and assistant coach Kirstie King, ’19.
• Highly-decorated player Holly Hite, ’19, and Coach Lauren Scott led Meredith lacrosse to its sixth consecutive tournament championship and fourth consecutive regular season title.
• Field Miller was hired as the new Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach. Miller will serve as the College’s second track & field coach heading into the fifth year of the Avenging Angels sports program and will direct Meredith cross country in the program’s 10th season of competition.

As Meredith athletics continues to grow, upgrades to facilities are taking place. Last summer the turf playing surface was replaced at the Athletic Field and Track Complex. The complex opened in September 2009 and is home to Meredith’s soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, track and field, and cross-country teams. Weatherspoon Gym was also renovated with several upgrades. Thanks to donor support the College is able to accomplish upgrades and additional resources for our athletic teams.

Recently Meredith honored those who have given to the Athletic Field and Track Complex by installing a sign to recognize our donors and highlight other naming opportunities still available. We are pleased to honor the contributions of the following donors:

Joyce A. Causey, ’55, named the track.
The Irwin Belk Foundation named the home dressing room.
Maureen O’Connor named the Meredith bench.
C. Ed Vick, Jr. named the public announcement system.
Coca-Cola Bottlers, Inc. named the concession area.
Mary Stuart Alderman, ’71, and Anne Parker Phillip, ’66, named the South Goal Area, in memory of their mother Margaret Weatherspoon Parker, ’38.

Other naming opportunities available for consideration at the Athletic Track and Field Complex:

• Soccer Complex
• Soccer Field
• Field House
• Scoreboard
• Stands
• Lighting System
• Press Box
• Visitor Dressing Room
• Watering System
• Visitor’s Bench
• Equipment Room
• Officials’ Dressing Room
• Coaches’ Office
• North Goal Area

If you are interested in supporting naming opportunities, please contact Cindy Godwin, associate vice president for institutional advancement, at godwinc@meredith.edu or (919) 760-8206.

Our student-athletes and coaches appreciate the support they receive from alumnae, friends, and the campus community. We also invite you to be a member of our Avenging Angels Club, the giving society of Meredith Athletics. Give online at meredith.edu/support.