The 2007-08 academic year marks the 25th anniversary of women’s championships in the Southern Conference, and to celebrate the occasion, the Southern Conference is spotlighting individuals who have been named to the league’s 25th Anniversary teams.

Martina Veiglova (2001-03) of Georgia Southern, the 2004 Southern Conference Female Athlete of the Year, finished her career as one of the most decorated volleyball players in Southern Conference history. In her three seasons at GSU, Veiglova was a three-time all-SoCon first team selection and was named the league’s Player of the Year in 2002 and 2003. The native of Bratislava, Slovakia also earned all-tournament accolades all three seasons while being honored as the Tournament MVP in 2003 and was selected as the Southern Conference Player of the Week a record nine times.

In the classroom, the volleyball standout graduated a 3.58 grade point average while majoring in hotel and restaurant management with a minor in business. She was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District III Team and earned TIAA-CREF Student Athlete of the Week and TIAA-CREF Student Athlete of the Month honors.

In addition to her Southern Conference awards, Veiglova was named to the AVCA All-Region team and was designated Honorable Mention All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), making her one of two SoCon volleyball players at that time to ever receive this honor. She finished her senior season ranked sixth nationally in kills per game.

Veiglova remains as the league’s all-time record holder for kills in a season (764) and kills per game average for a season (5.83).

Playing under head coach Kerry Messersmith, Veiglova led the Eagles to two SoCon tournament titles and one runner-up finish to go along with two shared regular season championships. Georgia Southern was 49-9 in SoCon play during Veiglova’s tenure while notching an impressive 75-29 overall record.

After serving as an assistant coach under Messersmith at Georgia Southern, Veiglova has returned to Bratislava where she currently lives and works outside of volleyball.

The following Georgia Southern student-athletes join Veiglova on the Southern Conference’s 25^th Anniversary Teams:

Sharon Mitchell (1996-99, 2000-01), Basketball – three-time all-SoCon; 1,000-point scorer

Anita Buggins (1995-98), Tennis – two-time SoCon Player of the Year; undefeated all four years in league play

Abby Bloom (2005-present), Cross Country – Set the GSU 6K record in 2005

Nicole Brown (2003-07), Indoor Track & Field – 2006 SoCon Field Athlete of the Year; multiple league titles

Nicole Brown (2003-07), Outdoor Track & Field – First GSU athlete to compete at NCAA Championships

Tara Chaisson (1996-99), Soccer – Remains the SoCon’s all-time leading scorer; 1999 league Player of the Year

Shanita Black (2003-06), Softball – 2006 Player of the Year and Tournament Most Outstanding Player