2017 Georgia State Panthers football team

American college football season

2017 Georgia State Panthers football

Cure Bowl champion

Cure Bowl, W 27–17 vs. Western Kentucky

Conference| Sun Belt Conference
Record| 7–5 (5–3 Sun Belt)
Head coach|

* Shawn Elliott (1st season)

Offensive coordinator| Travis Trickett (1st season)
Defensive coordinator| Nate Fuqua (1st season)
Home stadium| Georgia State Stadium

Seasons

<- 2016

2018 ->

2017 Sun Belt Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team |  | W |  | L |  |  |  |  | W |  | L |
Troy \+  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 11  | - | 2  |
Appalachian State \+  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 9  | - | 4  |
Arkansas State |  | 6  | - | 2  |  |  |  |  | 7  | - | 5  |
Georgia State |  | 5  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 7  | - | 5  |
New Mexico State |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 7  | - | 6  |
Louisiana |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 7  |
Louisiana–Monroe |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 8  |
Idaho |  | 3  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 8  |
South Alabama |  | 3  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 8  |
Coastal Carolina *  |  | 2  | - | 6  |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 9  |
Georgia Southern |  | 2  | - | 6  |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 10  |
Texas State |  | 1  | - | 7  |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 10  |

* \+ - Conference co-champions
* * – Ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules

The 2017 Georgia State Panthers football team represented Georgia State University (GSU) in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led by first-year head coach Shawn Elliott. The season marked the first in which they played in the newly acquired Georgia State Stadium, a renovated Turner Field with artificial turf and a 22,000 person capacity. The season was the Panthers' fifth in the Sun Belt Conference and eighth since starting football. The Panthers finished the season 7–5, 5–3 in Sun Belt play to finish in fourth place. They received an invite to the Cure Bowl, where Georgia State defeated Western Kentucky for the Panthers' first bowl win in program history.

## Offseason[edit]

### 2017 NFL Draft[edit]

See also: 2017 NFL Draft

Panthers picked in the 2017 NFL Draft:

Round  | Pick  | Player  | Position  | Team

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|
|
|

6  | 209  | Robert Davis | WR  | Washington Redskins

### Recruits[edit]

As of December 21, 2016, the Panthers have a total of 20 recruits committed. Eight are three-star recruits.

Back | B |  | Center | C |  | Cornerback | CB |  | Defensive back | DB

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Defensive end | DE | Defensive lineman | DL | Defensive tackle | DT | End | E
Fullback | FB | Guard | G | Halfback | HB | Kicker | K
Kickoff returner | KR | Offensive tackle | OT | Offensive lineman | OL | Linebacker | LB
Long snapper | LS | Punter | P | Punt returner | PR | Quarterback | QB
Running back | RB | Safety | S | Tight end | TE | Wide receiver | WR
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes  Name  | Hometown  | High school / college  | Height  | Weight  | 40‡ | Commit date

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Chris Sibilia
OT | Suwanee, GA | North Gwinnett High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)  | 290 lb (130 kg)  | –  | Jul 19, 2016
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 68
Connor Robins
OT | Saint Augustine, FL | Pedro Menendez High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)  | 330 lb (150 kg)  | –  | Jan 21, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 71
Jack Walker
QB | Madison, MS | Madison Central High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)  | 210 lb (95 kg)  | –  | Jan 18, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 72
Jaylon Jones
S | Dacula, GA | Dacula High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)  | 180 lb (82 kg)  | –  | Jan 15, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Jalen Jackson
G | Loganville, GA | Grayson High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)  | 300 lb (140 kg)  | –  | Jan 20, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 73
Pat Bartlett
C | Newtown, PA | Council Rock High School North | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)  | 305 lb (138 kg)  | –  | Jan 15, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 73
Chris Bacon
S | Atlanta, GA | Westlake High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)  | 181 lb (82 kg)  | –  | Jan 15, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Roger Carter
TE | Blythewood, SC | Blythewood High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)  | 245 lb (111 kg)  | –  | Jan 29, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 69
Tamir Jones
WR | Norcross, GA | Norcross High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)  | 194 lb (88 kg)  | –  | Feb 1, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75
Kerryon Richardson
CB | West Columbia, SC | Airport High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)  | 160 lb (73 kg)  | –  | Dec 15, 2016
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Trajan McQueen
LB | Charlotte, NC | West Mecklenburg High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)  | 215 lb (98 kg)  | –  | Jan 16, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Camryn Johnson
WR | St. Matthews, SC | Calhoun County High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)  | 205 lb (93 kg)  | –  | Feb 1, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Dontae Wilson
DT | Jefferson, GA | Jefferson High School  | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)  | 295 lb (134 kg)  | –  | Jan 30, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Victor Heywood
LB | Hoschton, GA | Mill Creek High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)  | 195 lb (88 kg)  | –  | Oct 31, 2016
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Deandre Applin
S | Milledgeville, GA | Georgia Military College | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)  | 195 lb (88 kg)  | 4.89  | Feb 1, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Jalen Wade
LB | Milledgeville, GA  | Georgia Military College  | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)  | 225 lb (102 kg)  | –  | Jan 15, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Malik Sumter
DT | Irmo, SC | Dutch Fork High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)  | 284 lb (129 kg)  | –  | Jan 21, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 68
Jhi'Shawn Taylor
LB | Cordele, GA | Crisp County High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)  | 210 lb (95 kg)  | –  | Jan 20, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Kevin Kwapis
OT | Council Bluffs, IA | Iowa Western Community College | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)  | 315 lb (143 kg)  | –  | Jan 30, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Hardrick Willis
DE | Jonesboro, GA | Mundy's Mill High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)  | 230 lb (100 kg)  | –  | Jan 22, 2017
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 124 247Sports: 99 ESPN: 101

*   * Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
* In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

*   *   *   *   * "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 9, 2017.

## Coaching and support staff[edit]

Name  | Position  | Consecutive season at
Georgia State in current position

|
|

Shawn Elliott | Head coach | 1st
Travis Trickett | Offensive coordinator, quarterback | 1st
Nate Fuqua | Defensive coordinator, outside linebackers | 1st
Chris Collins | Assistant coach, safeties | 1st
Skylor Magee | Assistant coach, defensive line | 1st
Trent McKnight | Assistant coach, wide receivers | 1st
Sam Shade | Assistant coach, cornerbacks | 1st
Josh Stepp | Assistant coach, running backs, tight endss | 1st
Cedric Williams | Assistant coach, offensive line | 1st
Rusty Wright | Assistant coach, inside linebacker | 1st
Ben McLane | Graduate assistant, offense | 2nd
Steve Wojcikowski | Director of football operations | 1st
Scott Holsopple | Head strength and conditioning coach | 2nd
Bob Murphy | Associate AD, sports medicine and nutrition | 2nd
Tim Davis | Equipment manager | 2nd
Reference:[1]

## Schedule[edit]

Georgia State announced its 2017 football schedule on March 1, 2017. The 2017 schedule consisted of 6 home and away games in the regular season. The Panthers hosted Sun Belt foes Troy, South Alabama, Appalachian State, and Idaho, and traveled to Coastal Carolina, ULM, Georgia Southern, and Texas State. Georgia State did not play two Sun Belt teams this season, Louisiana and New Mexico State.[2] The team played three non–conference games, one home game against Tennessee State from the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), and two road games against Penn State from the Big Ten and Charlotte from Conference USA.

The scheduled home game against Memphis was canceled when the AAC bought out the contract between the schools for $1.1 million to reschedule a conference game between Memphis and UCF that was canceled during the second week of the season due to Hurricane Irma.[3][4]

Date| Time| Opponent| Site| TV| Result| Attendance

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August 31| 7:00 p.m.| Tennessee State*|

* Georgia State Stadium
* Atlanta, GA

| ESPN3| L 10–17| 24,333
September 16| 7:30 p.m.| at No. 5 Penn State*|

* Beaver Stadium
* University Park, PA

| BTN| L 0–56| 102,746
September 23| 6:00 p.m.| at Charlotte*|

* Jerry Richardson Stadium
* Charlotte, NC

| Peachtree TV| W 28–0| 11,029
October 7| 6:30 p.m.| at Coastal Carolina|

* Brooks Stadium
* Conway, SC

| ESPN3| W 27–21| 15,991
October 14| 5:00 p.m.| at Louisiana–Monroe|

* Malone Stadium
* Monroe, LA

| ESPN3| W 47–37| 12,578
October 21| 2:00 p.m.| Troy|

* Georgia State Stadium
* Atlanta, GA

| ESPN3| L 10–34| 15,388
October 26| 7:30 p.m.| South Alabama|

* Georgia State Stadium
* Atlanta, GA

| ESPNU| W 21–13| 12,125
November 4| 3:00 p.m.| at Georgia Southern|

* Paulson Stadium
* Statesboro, GA

| ESPN3| W 21–17| 18,722
November 11| 4:00 p.m.| at Texas State|

* Bobcat Stadium
* San Marcos, TX

| ESPN3| W 33–30| 14,017
November 25| 2:00 p.m.| Appalachian State|

* Georgia State Stadium
* Atlanta, GA

| ESPN3| L 10–31| 13,154
December 2| 2:00 p.m.| Idaho|

* Georgia State Stadium
* Atlanta, GA

| ESPN3| L 10–24| 14,163
December 16| 2:30 p.m.| vs. Western Kentucky*|

* Camping World Stadium
* Orlando, FL (Cure Bowl)

| CBSSN| W 27–17| 19,585

* *Non-conference game
* Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

Schedule source:[5]

## Game summaries[edit]

### Tennessee State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Tigers | 3  | 7  | 7  | 0 | 17
Panthers  | 0  | 3  | 0  | 7 | 10

See also: 2017 Tennessee State Tigers football team

* First game at Georgia State Stadium.

### At Penn State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Panthers  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0 | 0
Nittany Lions | 14  | 21  | 14  | 7 | 56

See also: 2017 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

### At Charlotte[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Panthers | 0  | 14  | 0  | 14 | 28
49ers  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0 | 0

See also: 2017 Charlotte 49ers football team

### At Coastal Carolina[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Panthers | 14  | 7  | 0  | 6 | 27
Chanticleers  | 0  | 7  | 0  | 14 | 21

See also: 2017 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team

### At Louisiana–Monroe[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Panthers | 13  | 13  | 14  | 7 | 47
Warhawks  | 10  | 0  | 14  | 13 | 37

See also: 2017 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football team

### Troy[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Trojans | 7  | 14  | 10  | 3 | 34
Panthers  | 3  | 0  | 0  | 7 | 10

See also: 2017 Troy Trojans football team

### South Alabama[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Jaguars  | 0  | 3  | 3  | 7 | 13
Panthers | 7  | 7  | 0  | 7 | 21

See also: 2017 South Alabama Jaguars football team

### At Georgia Southern[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Panthers | 7  | 0  | 7  | 7 | 21
Eagles  | 7  | 3  | 7  | 0 | 17

See also: 2017 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

### At Texas State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Panthers | 10  | 3  | 10  | 10 | 33
Bobcats  | 7  | 7  | 3  | 13 | 30

See also: 2017 Texas State Bobcats football team

### Appalachian State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Mountaineers | 0  | 10  | 14  | 7 | 31
Panthers  | 0  | 7  | 0  | 3 | 10

See also: 2017 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team

### Idaho[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Vandals | 7  | 7  | 3  | 7 | 24
Panthers  | 7  | 3  | 0  | 0 | 10

See also: 2017 Idaho Vandals football team

* This was the Vandals' final game as an FBS member for the foreseeable future. Idaho football will downgrade to FCS, joining the school's other sports in the Big Sky Conference for 2018 and beyond.

### vs Western Kentucky–Cure Bowl[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Hilltoppers  | 7  | 3  | 0  | 7 | 17
Panthers | 10  | 3  | 7  | 7 | 27

See also: 2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team and 2017 Cure Bowl

## Roster[edit]

2017 Georgia State Panthers Football

Quarterback

* 2 Jaquez Parks –  junior (6'1, 205)
* 7 Conner Manning –  senior (6'1, 205)
* 10 Ruggiero DeLuca –  junior (6'3, 225)
* 11 Aaron Winchester –  junior (6'2, 190)
* 16 Joshua Shim –  freshman (6'0, 205)

Running back

* 1 Kendrick Dorn –  senior (6'0, 205)
* 5 Tra Barnett – sophomore (5'10, 180)
* 8 Taz Bateman –  junior (5'8, 190)
* 17 Glenn Smith – senior (6'1, 200)
* 23 Darius Stubbs – sophomore (5'10, 200) *
* 24 Anthony Valverde –  junior (5'10, 205)
* 25 Kyler Neal –  senior (5'11, 215)
* 28 Demarcus Kirk –  junior (6'0, 206)
* 43 Deandre Bowman –  freshman (5'10, 180)
* 48 Maurice Lauchner –  junior (5'9, 205)

Wide receiver

* 4 Jawan Nobles – sophomore (6'3, 180)
* 6 Jonathan Ifedi –  freshman (6'0, 195)
* 14 Devin Gentry – sophomore (5'10, 190)
* 15 Todd Boyd – senior (5'11, 185)
* 18 Penny Hart –  sophomore (5'8, 180)
* 80 Matlin Marshall –  freshman (5'9, 190)
* 82 Chancellor Triplett – senior (6'0, 180)
* 85 Eric Elder –  freshman (6'0, 185)
* 86 Bryson Duckworth –  freshman (6'4, 215)
* Bryan Hypolite –  junior (5'11, 180)

Tight end

* 46 Jacob Nesmith –  senior (6'3, 270)
* 49 Brandon Hamilton –  senior (6'2, 230)
* 84 Bill Teknipp –  senior (6'4, 245)
* 88 Ari Werts – junior (6'4, 225)
* 89 Michael Kouassi –  freshman . (6'4, 220)

Placekicker

* 93 Brandon Wright –  sophomore (5'10, 180)
* 98 Jeff Hollingsworth –  freshman (5'7, 175)

|  |

Offensive Lineman

* 56 Alex Stoehr – G – senior (6'2, 299)
* 60 Jaylen Fareed – OL –  senior (6'1, 310)
* 63 Davis Moore – OL –  senior (6'4, 299)
* 65 Shamarious Gilmore – OL –  freshman (6'3, 285)
* 69 Lucas Johnson – OL – junior (6'4, 285)
* 70 Chris Sibilia – OL – freshman (6'7, 292)
* 72 Gabe Mobley – OL –  junior (6'2, 280)
* 73 Nick Meyer – OL –  freshman (6'5, 260)
* 74 Sebastian Willer – OT –  senior (6'5, 285)
* 76 Hunter Atkinson – OT –  sophomore (6'5, 285)

Defensive Lineman

* 5 Mackendy Cheridor – DE –  senior (6'5, 275)
* 30 Javonte Lain – DE – sophomore (6'2, 230)
* 50 Jamal Paxton – DL –  junior (6'0, 280)
* 53 Terry Thomas – DL – sophomore (6'3, 265)
* 62 Will Cunningham – DL –  senior (6'2, 270)
* 68 Mitchell Shea – DL –  junior (5'10, 225)
* 91 Julien Laurent – DL –  senior (6'4, 310)
* 92 DeQueszman Kelley – DL –  senior (6'0, 295)
* 95 Marterious Allen – DE – junior (6'2, 270)
* 99 Clifford Amazan – DL – sophomore (6'2, 320)

Punter

* 48 Oliver Holdenson –  sophomore (6'1, 210)

|  |

Linebacker

* 3 Ed Curney –  sophomore (5'11, 225)
* 13 Charlie Patrick – sophomore (6'0, 225)
* 32 Malik Ricks – senior (6'1, 235)
* 33 James Traylor – senior (6'3, 230)
* 34 Niemus Bryant –  junior (6'0, 220)
* 39 Chase Middleton – junior (6'2, 235)
* 42 Trey Payne –  senior (6'0, 225)
* 44 Michael Shaw –  junior (6'4, 230)
* 59 Deshaun Faltz –  senior (6'1, 215)
* T.J. Arnold –  freshman (6'0, 210)
* Warren McWilliams –  senior (6'0, 210)

Defensive back

* 9 Cedric Stone – CB – sophomore (5'10, 185)
* 10 Chandon Sullivan – CB – senior (5'11, 195)
* 16 Jerome Smith – CB –  junior (5'10, 180)
* 20 Bryan Williams – S –  senior (6'3, 212)
* 21 Antreal Allen – CB – senior (5'11, 190)
* 22 Trey Chapman – DB –  freshman (5'11, 190)
* 26 Kendrec Grady – S –  freshman (6'2, 215)
* 28 David West – DB –  sophomore (6'1, 185)
* 29 B.J. Clay – CB – senior (6'0, 190)
* 30 Kyndall Phillips – DB –  sophomore (6'0, 190)
* 31 Ronald Peterkin – S –  junior (6'0, 185)
* 35 Leander Howard – DB –  freshman (5'10, 180)
* 36 Khai Anderson – CB –  sophomore (5'10, 185)
* 40 Remy Lazarus – DB –  freshman (6'0, 190)
* 41 Blane Cannon – DB –  freshman (5'9, 170)

Long snappers

* 54 Daniel Zeigler –  senior (6'5, 240)
* 66 Seth-Patrick Holman – junior (5'11, 200)

[6]

## References[edit]

1. ^ 2017 Georgia State Panthers Football Media Guide
2. ^ "Complete 2016 Football Schedule Announced" (Press release). Georgia State University Department of Athletics. March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
3. ^ "MEMPHIS CANCELS SEPT. 30 FOOTBALL GAME AT GEORGIA STATE". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
4. ^ Culpepper, JuliaKate E. "Memphis cancels game at Georgia State". ajc. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
5. ^ "2017 Georgia State Panthers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
6. ^ "2017 Roster". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved February 28, 2017.

* v
* t
* e

Georgia State Panthers football

Venues|

* Georgia Dome (2010–2016)
* Center Parc Stadium (2017–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Georgia Southern

Culture & lore|

* Pounce
* "Fight Panthers"

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

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*[v]: View this template
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*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
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