UTC'S ANDERSON, MARTIN NAMED SOCON ATHLETES OF THE MONTH

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball player Alex Anderson and wrestler Aaron Martin were named Southern Conference Athletes of the Month for January for their respective sports, the league office announced Thursday.

The 149-pounder helped the Mocs go 9-1 in the month as a team as UTC set a school record with 11 straight wins to start the season.  The Mocs also improved their national ranking to a school-best No. 15 in January.  Martin's national ranking during the month has ranged from No. 14 and reached a career-best No. 10 in the NWCA/InterMat poll.

Not only did Martin go undefeated in the month of January, he shut out four opponents and recorded three pins in the process.  The senior from Pataskala, Ohio, won all nine matches in the month, including two Southern Conference duals.

Martin began the month not allowing his opponent a single point with three consecutive shutouts, blanking Derek Kipperberg of Oregon State, 7-0; Northern Iowa's Ryan Osgood, 2-0; and American University's Damian Swietlik, 4-0.  He also produced a stretch of three pins in five matches, winning by fall in matches against Gardner-Webb, Eastern Illinois and UNC Greensboro.

Anderson led the Lady Mocs to a 7-2 overall mark in January and a share of the lead in the Southern Conference standings.  She averaged a double-double for the month with 22.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.  From the floor, she was 78-of-147 (.531) and was 42-for-59 (.712) from the free throw line.

The junior forward dished out 22 assists, had 17 steals and recorded 15 blocked shots.  She was twice named the league's Athlete of the Week and is the only six-time winner in SoCon history.

This marks the second consecutive league Player of the Month honor this season for the Stone Mountain, Ga., native.  She also earned the honor in December.

The Lady Mocs have three games remaining in the regular season beginning with a matchup this Saturday at 5 p.m. against the College of Charleston at the McKenzie Arena.  The wrestling team will close out the regular season Sunday at No. 2 Missouri in Columbia, Mo., at 1 p.m.