As we prepare to usher in a new year, it's time to reflect on 2014, which by many measures will be remembered as the best yet for University of South Carolina Beaufort athletics. The Sand Sharks claimed numerous team and individual accolades as USCB continued to establish itself as one of the top athletics programs in The Sun Conference and the NAIA. Here are some of the highlights of the past year:

• Cooke Claims Two Crowns

Freshman Alan Cooke made a big splash in his first full calendar year at USCB, earning his first collegiate victory at the SCAD Spring Invitational in February and following it up with an individual title at the Thomas Fall Invitational in September. 

• Cook Twirls Another No-No

Kristy Cook continued her outstanding USCB softball career with a terrific junior season, going 15-7 with a 1.84 ERA, but the highlight of her campaign was her sixth career no-hitter April 2 against Columbia College. Cook allowed only one baserunner — on an error — and struck out two in the gem. 

• Sanborn Crowned HR Queen

Mariaha Sanborn continued her assault of softballs during her junior campaign at USCB, hitting seven home runs while batting .408 and slugging .692. Her fourth home run of the season came March 13 vs. St. Francis (Ind.) and made her USCB's all-time home run leader. Her 27 homers are nine more than any other active player on the roster, and she still has a season to add to the total. 

• Layman Picks Up Top Pitcher Honors

A USCB softball hurler earned Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year honors for the second straight year, as sophomore Ashlie Layman succeeded teammate Kristy Cook in winning the award. Layman went 18-2 with a 2.21 ERA and 128 strikeouts and was one of six all-conference selections for the Sand Sharks. She was joined on the first team by Taylor Triplett, Mariaha Sanborn, Alexandria Simmons and Sammi Shaffren, while Shelby Zipperer earned honorable mention.

• Track & Field Cleans Up At TSC Championships

The USCB track & field team's impressive season culminated with a record-breaking performance at the Sun Conference Championships, where the Sand Sharks claimed 16 all-conference honors, 10 school records and two individual titles. Melissa Carder led the way with three all-conference performances while Brandon Gourdine and Joyce Miller had two apiece, and Miller and Ty'Chelle Freeman won individual titles with Freeman setting a meet record in the shot put. 

• Six Sand Sharks Earn All-America Honors

USCB's success on the national stage revealed itself in the form of unprecedented individual accolades in 2014, as six Sand Sharks earned NAIA All-America honors — one more than USCB's previous high of five in 2013. Joyce Miller (marathon) and Ty'Chelle Freeman (shot put) were named track & field All-Americans, while Brian Langley (men's golf) and Taylor Triplett (softball) earned second-team honors in their sports and Alan Cooke (men's golf) and Samantha O'Donnell (women's golf) were third-team selections.

• Armstrong Named Inaugural 'JTU' Winner

Sand Shark Baseball star Erik Armstrong was named the first winner of the Jane T. Upshaw Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete award at the USCB Athletics awards banquet in April. Armstrong played 172 games in his four-year career at USCB and finished with a .285 batting average and is the school's all-time leader in home runs (13), hit by pitches (27) and sacrifice flies (14) while ranking in the top five in runs (105), hits (169), doubles (41), RBIs (117), total bases (257) and walks (62). He also was a three-time selection to the Sun Conference All-Academic Team (2012-14), a two-time NAIA-Daktronics Scholar-Athlete (2013-14) and a CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District selection (2013).

• Heesch Getting It Done in Minors

Former USCB pitcher Michael Heesch overcame a spring training setback to enjoy an outstanding 2014 campaign in his third season in the Chicago Cubs organization. Heesch underwent an emergency appendectomy during the last week of spring training, delaying the start of his 2014 season, but the left-hander rebounded to have a great year pitching out of the bullpen. He finished the season with 25 appearances, going 4-1 with a 2.03 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings. Most of those appearances came at Single-A Kane County, but Heesch was called up to Triple-A Iowa for one day and threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out four.

• Sand Shark Nation Becomes #TeamRubino

The USCB community rallied around one of its own in 2014, as assistant softball coach Danny Rubino was diagnosed in July with signet ring cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Coach Rubino's colleagues have been by his side throughout his treatment, and athletics director Quin Monahan and head softball coach Laura Heberling have spent countless hours in hospitals supporting him. Heberling also is selling #TeamRubino T-shirts to raise money to help Coach Rubino with his medical expenses. Coach Rubino had surgery to remove the tumor in December and is undergoing further treatment as he begins his recovery.

• USCB Hosts 'Monster' Sand Shark XC Invitational

Sand Shark cross country coach Larry Kimball outdid himself again in 2014, overseeing the continued growth of the Sand Shark XC Invitational presented by Mortgage Network into one of the premier small-college races in the country. More than 40 teams from throughout the Southeast participated in this year's event, including several of the top NAIA and NCAA Division II teams from the region. In all, 650 runners (347 women, 303 men) completed the race, making it the largest sporting event ever hosted by USCB. 

• Sand Shark Soccer Finishes With Flourish

After enduring numerous injuries and several close losses, the USCB women's soccer team delivered its best performances of the season in October, winning its final three regular-season games to clinch a playoff spot. The clincher was a 3-2 win over St. Thomas, a team that had outscored the Sand Sharks 20-0 in three previous meetings. Two Sand Shark standouts were rewarded for their efforts, as senior goalkeeper Chelsie Mummert earned second-team All-Sun Conference honors and freshman defender/midfielder Karen Pimentel received honorable mention.

• Women's Golf Goes Back-To-Back

The USCB women's golf team won its first team title since March 2010 with a one-shot victory at the Chick-fil-A Collegiate Invitational in October, then followed it up with a 27-shot romp two weeks later at the Columbia College Fall Invitational. The outstanding fall campaign earned the Sand Sharks a No. 8 spot in the preseason rankings, their highest since they were No. 7 in March 2012. 

• Men's Golf Rises During Fall

The USCB men's golf team posted two runner-up finishes in four tournaments this fall, including one at the 21-team NAIA Fall Preview at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. The solid showing earned the Sand Sharks a No. 13 ranking in the preseason poll, matching their highest ranking since they were sixth in April 2012. 

• XC Excels On National Stage

The Sand Shark cross country team took four runners to the NAIA National Championships in 2014 — matching the largest number of qualifiers in school history — and enjoyed unprecedented success at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan. Senior Anthony Vecchio posted the best finish at nationals in program history, placing 44th in the 8K men's race, while sophomore Betsey Douglas (63rd) and seniors Joyce Miller (80th) and Melissa Carder (116th) also ran strong races in the women's 5K.

• Mia Hamm Teaches The Beautiful Game At USCB

An exciting year ended with a bang when three U.S. soccer superstars — Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini-Hoch — brought their Team First Soccer Academy to USCB for a three-day camp in December. The first event held on USCB's new recreation fields, the camp drew young soccer players from throughout the Southeast, and USCB's newest facility drew rave reviews from the campers and instructors alike, providing a positive experience for all involved.