Quiriti, McCullough named Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month for October

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University goalkeeper Alejandro Quiriti and tennis player Annie McCullough have been named the Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month for October.

Quiriti compiled a 6-1-1 record during October for the Pioneer men's soccer team, with a 0.49 goals against average and a .840 save percentage. Quiriti had five shutouts in eight starts, and conceded just four goals during the month as Tusculum surged toward the South Atlantic Conference Championship.

The Mar del Plata, Argentina native started the month with back-to-back shutouts over Carson-Newman (1-0) and Newberry (2-0), followed by a 2-1 overtime win over eventual SAC regular-season champion Lenoir-Rhyne. Quiriti then made four saves in a 0-0 draw at Anderson in a preview of the SAC title match, before taking his only loss of the month in a 2-1 setback at Lincoln Memorial.

Quiriti came back with two more shutout wins over Mars Hill (2-0) and Coker (6-0), then tallied three saves as Tusculum beat Wingate 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the SAC Championship tournament in their final match of the month.

For the season, Quiriti has an 11-5-1 record with nine shutouts and a 0.87 goals against average. He has made 47 saves in his 17 starts for a save percentage of .758. Quiriti's nine shutouts are the third-most in a single season in program history, and his 10 career shutouts rank fifth all-time at Tusculum.

McCullough was unbeaten in both singles (6-0) and doubles (7-0) as the Pioneers finished up their fall schedule with competitions at Western Carolina and Georgia Gwinnett.

In the Western Carolina Invitational, McCullough had straight-set wins at number-one singles against players from Division I Western Carolina and Presbyterian. She also teamed with twin sister Caitlin McCullough for three wins at flight one of doubles, with a win over North Carolina A&T in addition to victories over Western Carolina and Presbyterian. The McCulloughs won 18 games to six by their opponents in the three matches.

The Belfast, Northern Ireland native then won the singles "A" draw championship and teamed with Caitlin for the doubles title at the Grizzly Open, hosted by defending NAIA champion Georgia Gwinnett. Seeded fifth in the draw, McCullough went 4-0 to win the championship, needing 10-point tiebreaker victories in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.

Along the way, McCullough defeated two players from Division I Alabama State to move into the semifinals, where she knocked off the top seed from Georgia Gwinnett before beating NAIA 11th-ranked Henar Munoz in the final. The McCulloughs had an easier path to the doubles title, defeating opponents from West Georgia and Alabama State before beating Tusculum teammates Emilie Hansen and Amber Lackey in the semifinals. The duo then beat the sixth-ranked NAIA doubles team in the finals to win the title.

The Tusculum Student-Athlete of the Month Award is sponsored by Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar of Greeneville.  The Applebee's Student-Athlete of the Month Award honors one male and one female student-athlete each month from an in-season sport during the 2018-2019 academic year, recognizing their hard work, effort and performance.

2018-2019 Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month