(Interesting Notes about Patriot athletics)

-      A pair of former Francis Marion University women’s basketball players recently took new positions in the college coaching profession. Former Patriot (1996-2000) Jennifer Brabson was recently named assistant coach at Mars Hill College. Brabson is the only player in FMU history to amass 2,000 points, 700 rebounds, 200 assists, and 200 steals. She was a two-time All-American, three-time All-Region selection, and four-time All-Conference nominee. Mars Hill is coming off its most successful season in history, a 25-6 campaign that saw the Lady Lions advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight…………Former Patriot (1982-86) Annette Alston has been named an assistant coach at Radford University. Alston previously served as an assistant coach at Samford University, University of North Alabama, Charleston Southern University, and Coastal Carolina University. Alston, a native of Murrells Inlet, was a member of Francis Marion’s 1986 NAIA national championship squad, and along with her twin sister, appeared in Sports Illustrated during the fall of 1982. Radford is a member of the NCAA Division I Big South Conference.

 

-      Recent Francis Marion University graduate and former Patriot volleyball player Jen Michael has been named the graduate assistant volleyball coach at Armstrong Atlantic State University. Michael was a four-year letterwinner on the Patriot volleyball team and also participated on the Francis Marion cross country and track and field squads. She earned the B.S. degree in mathematics this past May, graduating magna cum laude, and received the Secondary Education Award at the university's 2002 Academic Awards Day program. The Canal Fulton, Ohio, native joins an AASU program that has advanced to the NCAA Division II national tournament each of the past two years.

 

-      A pair of former FMU pitchers recently joined new teams in the Northern League professional organization. Left-handed pitcher Nat Stoner was traded from the Sioux City Explorers to the Sioux Falls Canaries, while righty Sam Greco signed with the Adirondack Lumberjacks. Stoner, a native of Scottsbluff, Neb., played two seasons at FMU (2000 and 2001), and served as a student assistant this spring. He spent last summer with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, but was traded to Sioux City in March. He helped Sioux City to the Northern League Central Division first-half title, before being dealt to Sioux Falls. He owns a combined 1-1 mark in 21 games (all in relief) with a 2.57 earned run average and 22 strikeouts in 28 innings. Greco, who also played the 2000 and 2001 seasons at Francis Marion, spent the 2001 summer campaign with the New Jersey Cardinals of the New York Penn League. Greco is a native of Albany N.Y.