NJCAA Region 8 Notebook: March 12

Photo courtesy of Pensacola State College Athletics
Photo courtesy of Pensacola State College Athletics
Posted: Mar 12, 2024

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida College System Activities Association has released its weekly coaches' polls and announced its Weekly Awards.

March 11, 2024, Coaches' Polls

Region 8 Weekly Awards (for games March 4-10)

  • DI Baseball Player of the Week: Danny Ramirez, Seminole State
  • DI Baseball Pitcher of the Week: Mack Estrada, Northwest Florida State
  • DI Softball Player of the Week: Kiara Beltre, Seminole State
  • DI Softball Pitcher of the Week: J'dah Girigorie, Indian River State
  • DII Baseball Player of the Week: Daniel Villafane, Palm Beach State
  • DII Baseball Pitcher of the Week: Brady Ellison, Florida State College at Jacksonville
  • DII Softball Player of the Week: Princess Arredondo, St. Johns River State
  • DII Softball Pitcher of the Week: Amy Bak, Lake-Sumter State
  • Women's Tennis Player of the Week: Yoana Dudova, Hillsborough
  • Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week: Ana Paula Fallas Cruz/Zuzanna Michalska, Palm Beach State

Visit Region 8 Player of the Week HQ to read more about this week's honorees.

Winter Sports Updates

  • Men's Basketball
    • Division I: The FCSAA Men's Basketball Championship tips off on Wednesday at Northwest Florida State College. All games can be seen on the FCSAA Digital Network. For complete tournament information, including tickets, visit the Tournament website.  
    • Division II: Florida State College at Jacksonville knocked off Snead (Ala.) State Community College, 72-69, to win the Gulf South District Championship. The BlueWave, who will making its first-ever appearance in the NJCAA Tournament, will find out its seed in the 20-team field on Tuesday. 
    • The FCSAA announced the Class of 2024 inductees to the Men's Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday.
  • Women's Basketball
    • Division I: The FCSAA Women's Basketball Championship tips off on Thursday at Northwest Florida State College. All games can be seen on the FCSAA Digital Network. For complete tournament information, including tickets, visit the Tournament website.         
    • Division II:  Palm Beach State College lost to Coastal Alabama Community College-North, 70-66, in the Gulf South District Championship Game. The Panthers, who are now 24-6, will find out if they received an at-large bid to the NJCAA Tournament on Tuesday.
    • The FCSAA announced the Class of 2024 inductees to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday.
  • Swimming & Diving

Spring Sports Updates

  • Baseball
    • Division I: Gulf Coast State College remained No. 1 in the NJCAA DI Poll while Pensacola State College moved up to No. 4. Northwest Florida State is No. 17 and Florida SouthWestern, No. 18.  
    • Division II: In the first regular season NJCAA DII Poll, Pasco-Hernando State College is No. 10 while St. Johns River State College is No. 14.
  • Softball
    • Division I: Region 8 still has eight teams in the NJCAA DI Poll, including Northwest Florida State, Florida SouthWestern and Indian River State at Nos. 2-4, respectively. The College of Central Florida moved up two spots to No. 6 while Gulf Coast State stayed at No. 9. Seminole State College (No. 13), Chipola College (No. 18) and Eastern Florida State (No. 19) are also ranked. 
    • Division II: St. Johns River State moved up one spot to No. 17 in the NJCAA DII Poll.
  • Men's Golf: Eastern Florida is currently in fourth place after two rounds at the Glenlakes Invitational in Alabama.
  • Women's Tennis: Hillsborough picked up a Region 8 over St. Petersburg before dropping its first match of the season against NCAA opponent Fairleigh Dickinson.
  • Men's Tennis: Eastern Florida State has won two of its three matches at the Tyler National Invite, including a 9-0 sweep of nationally-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast.

For more Player of the Week coverage, follow the FCSAA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at "TheFCSAA."