2000-01 YEAR IN REVIEW
Fall Sports
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Lynchburg won the conference championship for the second consecutive year. The Hornets blitzed the men's field placing six runners in the top 10 spots and finished with 23 points. Roanoke finished second with 73 points, while Eastern Mennonite ended the day in third place with 89 points…Only one runner from the conference advanced to compete in the NCAA meet held in Spokane, Wash. EMU’s Andrew Jenner qualified and finished 178th with a time of 27 minutes, 16 seconds...Lynchburg's Nate Bonovitz was named ODAC Runner of the Year, while his coach, Dr. Jack M. Toms took home Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season...Bonovitz ran a championship time of 26:52 to lead all runners.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Washington and Lee won the conference title for the third time in six years and seventh time overall…Two runners from the conference advanced to compete in the NCAA meet held in Spokane, Wash. Roanoke's Casey Smith qualified and finished 27th with a time of 18 minutes, 34.9 seconds. Smith was also named the conference's Runner of the Year as well as making the All-American Squad. W&L’s Burke Duncan finished 124th with a time of 19 minutes, 32 seconds...Washington and Lee head coach Emily Pulsifer was named the Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
FIELD HOCKEY
Eastern Mennonite won the conference championship with a 3-0 decision over #3 seeded Lynchburg College and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Royals lost in the second round to Lebanon Valley, 4-0. They finished the season 17-5 overall...Eastern Mennonite’s Sara Nissley was named Player of the Year as she led the ODAC in scoring and goals with 3.14 points per game while tallying 29 goals and eight assists...Vixen head coach Jen Crispen was named the Coach of the Year after leading Sweet Briar to a 5-3 conference record and 14-6 overall…Sadie Garnache-Poirier, also from Sweet Briar, grabbed the conference Rookie of the Year award. She led the Vixens to their first ODAC Semifinal appearance since 1995. Garnache-Poirier’s shutout of Randolph-Macon in the quarterfinals was her ninth of the season, an SBC record. She finished her first collegiate season ranking fourth in the conference with a 1.41 goals against average. She also recorded a .843 saves percentage while making 177 saves and only allowing 33 goals.
Emory & Henry won the conference championship with a 5-1 ODAC record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament by way of the ODAC automatic berth, losing to Western Maryland 38-14 in the first round of the championship bracket. The Wasps finished the 2000 season 8-2 overall...Bridgewater, who also finished with a 5-1 conference record, defeated Washington and Jefferson in the first round of the NCAA tournament, 59-42. The Eagles then fell to Trinity of Texas, 47-41 in overtime…W&L’s Marc Watson was named Player of the Year as he completed the season ranked second in the conference in both rushing with 132.5 yards per game and scoring with 8.6 points per game. In addition, Watson finished first in the ODAC in all-purpose yardage with an average of 199.7 per game. He had a season league-leading 281 yards rushing on October 14 versus Hampden-Sydney. Watson was named the ODAC Football Offensive Player of the Week on two occasions this season...Eagle head coach Mike Clark was named the conference Coach of the Year as he led BC to a school record 10-2 season.
MEN'S SOCCER
Washington and Lee captured the conference title with a 1-0 win over #3 seed Virginia Wesleyan. The Generals received the bye and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. W&L defeated Frostburg State, 4-1 in the second round before dropping a 1-0 decision to Christopher Newport in the South Regional Finals. The Generals finished the season 19-2…VWC also advanced to the post season tournament, losing to host Greensboro, 3-2. The Marlins completed the season 12-6-3 overall...Virginia Wesleyan forward Vinnie Sciullo was named ODAC Player of the Year as he completed the season second in the conference in scoring with 1.78 points per game. In addition, he led the ODAC in goals per game with .78...Washington and Lee’s Rolf Pirian was named Coach of the Year after leading the Generals to their best season in school history. They finished ODAC play at 8-1…Roanoke’s David Lechtrecker was selected as one of two Rookies of the Year. He finished the season with seven goals and 1.22 points per game. W&L’s Philip Miller was named the other Rookie of the Year as he finished 2000 with 1.10 points per game including nine goals and five assists.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Lynchburg won the conference title game with a thrilling 3-2 triple overtime victory over #3 seeded Washington and Lee. The Hornets moved on to the NCAA Tournament and hosted the Southeast Regional at Shellenberger Field, defeating Beaver College, 9-0. In the process, LC established two new national records. Their nine goals were the most scored in a Division III Tournament game and the nine-goal margin of victory was the largest margin ever…LC dropped a heartbreaking double overtime game versus Salisbury State, 2-1 to conclude their season. Lynchburg completed the season 19-4-2 overall...Hornet midfielder Kristen Kowit was named Player of the Year for the second straight season as she scored nine goals and had four assists for 22 points in 2000. From her midfielder position, she helped lead the Hornets to a flawless 11-0 conference record...Washington and Lee’s Jan Hathorn was selected by her peers as the ODAC’s top coach after leading the Generals a 12-6 overall record and third place in the ODAC at 8-3.
VOLLEYBALL
Bridgewater won the conference championship with a 3-2 victory over #1 seeded Washington and Lee. The Eagles then went on to the NCAA Tournament, by way of the ODAC automatic bid. BC lost in the first round, falling to Savannah A&D...W&L's Lindsay Ruckert was named Player of the Year for the second straight season as she led the ODAC in hitting percentage (.268) and finished third in the conference in kills with 3.05 per game. She helped the Generals finish 8-2 in the ODAC and 20-10 overall...Lynchburg head coach Marie Lewis was named the ODAC Coach of the Year for a second straight year as she led the Hornets to a 8-2 conference record and 17-10 overall…Washington and Lee outside hitter Kristin Shelton won the conference Rookie of the Year award. Shelton, who died in a tragic automobile accident on October 22nd, helped lead the Generals to 10 straight victories and was among the conference leaders in hitting percentage and kills per game throughout the season.
Winter Sports
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Hampden-Sydney won the conference championship after knocking
off #1 seed Roanoke College, 90-83 in the tournament final.
Both HSC and RC advanced to the NCAA DIII Tournament with Hampden-Sydney
defeating Gettysburg in the first round, 60-52 before bowing out to the eventual
National Runner-up William Paterson University in the second round, 84-65.
Roanoke defeated the Savannah College of Art & Design in the first
round, 70-62 and then lost to Christopher Newport, 84-54 in the second round.
The Maroons finished the season 22-7 overall while the Tigers were 24-5.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Guilford won its first conference title by defeating the
number four seed, Emory & Henry College in the tournament final, 64-55.
Guilford, the tournament’s #2 seed, then advanced to the NCAA DIII
Tournament boasting a 20-4 record. The
Quakers faced Meredith in the first round, defeating them 80-57.
GC then traveled to Hardin-Simmons in Texas where they were defeated
106-77. Guilford finished the
season 21-5 overall.
SWIMMING
Washington and Lee won the conference championship at
the ODAC/Atlantic States Invitational in Radford, Va. Sophomore Blair Huffman was named ODAC Swimmer of the Year
and Atlantic States Swimmer of the Meet after winning seven events in the
three-day invitational. Sophomore
Kelli Austin also picked up a first-place finish in the 100 Freestyle (55.36),
while freshman Mandi Kimble placed second in the 200 Backstroke (2:16.82).
Sweet Briar College finished in second place, while Randolph-Macon
followed in third. No ODAC swimming
student-athletes were selected to participate in the NCAA Swimming
Championships.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Several ODAC student-athletes competed in the NCAA DIII Championships. Eastern Mennonite’s Laura Rosenberger captured her second national title in as many years in the pole vault as she vaulted 11’10.5” breaking the facility record. Roanoke College senior track & field star Casey Smith finished second in the 5,000-meter race, earning her All-American status. She ran a 17:06.99 and in the process set a new Roanoke College record. She was just over seven seconds off the championship time of 16:59.07 which was run by Maggie Hanson of Hamilton College. Bridgewater’s Melissa Baker was also named an All-American for her fifth place finish in the 400 meters.
Spring
Sports
BASEBALL
Bridgewater won the conference championship with a 5-4,
10-inning decision over defending champion Virginia Wesleyan College.
The Eagles advanced to NCAA play and were seeded #6 in the South
Regional, which was held in Lynchburg, Virginia.
BC lost its first two games played in the tournament against #1 seeded
Emory University and #2 seeded Christopher Newport University.
GOLF
Guilford College won the conference championship for the fifth
time in the past ten years. The
Quakers were then invited to the NCAA Tournament in Weldon Spring, Mo. where
they finished in second place with a four-day total of 1163 just one stroke
behind national champion Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Guilford junior Andrew Biggadike
shot even par on the back nine and freshman David Patterson was one
over down the stretch to keep the Quakers in contention in the final round.
GC tied a school record with three All-America honorees.
Biggadike fired a one-over 72 in the final round for a four-day 285 and
earned All-America honors for the second straight year with a third-place
result. Patterson, who shot the tournament's low round (68) in the third
round, followed with a 74 final round and received second team All-America
laurels. His four-day 291 ranked 10th in the 120-player field and seventh in
Guilford history. Junior Savio Nazareth carded a three-over 74 to finish
18th at 295 and earned third-team All-America honors.
MEN’S LACROSSE
Hampden-Sydney won the conference title by defeating
top-seeded Washington and Lee in its last regular season game.
The Tigers defeated the Generals, 12-11 to advance to the national
tournament. Hampden-Sydney hosted
Denison in the first round of the NCAAs, but fell 10-5 to finish the season 11-4
overall.
SOFTBALL
Roanoke College won the conference championship with a 7-6 win
over Virginia Wesleyan College in the tournament final.
The Maroons advanced to the NCAA DIII Tournament and hosted the Atlantic
Regional at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Virginia.
RC won the regional and served as the Atlantic Region Rep in the
tournament’s championship round held in Wisconsin.
The Maroons won their first game against North Central (8-0), but lost
the final two games Central (3-1) and Wheaton (4-1) and were eliminated from the
double-elimination bracket. They
finished the season 42-11 overall.
MEN’S TENNIS
Washington and Lee won the conference championship for the
sixth consecutive year and 21st in the ODAC’s 25 years.
The Generals advanced to the NCAA Atlantic South Regional defeating
Swarthmore, 4-1 before losing to Washington College, 4-0.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Washington
and Lee won its 11th consecutive conference championship with a
perfect 72 team points. The
Generals advanced to the NCAA Atlantic South Regional defeating Salisbury State
(9-0) and Mary Washington (8-1). W&L
then advanced to the NCAA Division III team championships in Texas.
The Generals were defeated by Trinity of Texas (7-2), which knocked them
out of the NCAA Championships for the second straight year. Two players remained in Texas as junior Melissa Hatley and
sophomore Erika
Proko
competed in the NCAA individual championships in singles and doubles.
Proko advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to Elena Blanina of
Methodist College in the quarterfinal round.
In the first round, Proko upset the tournament's sixth seed, Sheree
Schwartz of Pomona-Pitzer, 7-5, 6-2, and then defeated Amherst's Stephanie Fong
in round two, 6-4, 6-2. Hatley was
defeated by Lauren Gerlach of Denison, 7-5, 6-2, in the first round. Hatley
finished her season with a 23-8 record. The
duo also competed in the first round of the doubles championships and fell to
Lizzie Yasser and Abbe Ulrich of Trinity, 6-2, 6-2. Proko and Hatley ended their
doubles season with a record of 23-9.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Lynchburg College won the conference title and eight ODAC student-athletes advanced to the national championships held at Millikin University. Lynchburg’s James Goss was named the NCAA Division III Male Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year while Hornet head coach Dr. Jack M. Toms was named the Men’s South/Southeast Region Coach of the Year. Goss also was named the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year at the national competition. Goss completed the meet with all-america honors in the decathlon (5th place finish) and long jump (6th place finish).
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Lynchburg College won the conference title and six ODAC student-athletes advanced to the national championships held at Millikin University. Roanoke College’s Casey Smith won the 10,000 meters to give her the national title while Eastern Mennonite’s Laura Rosenberger defended her national championship in the pole vault with a vault of 12-0. Rosenberger has won four national pole vault titles (2 indoor, 2 outdoor) in her first two years at the collegiate level. Roanoke College senior Casey Smith won the national championship and earned All-America status by finishing first in the 10,000 meters at the national meet. her time of 35:05 was over one minute better than the second place finisher. She was also named All-America for her performance in the 5,000 meters, which she finished third in 17:06.40. Lynchburg had several athletes advance to the championships but none advanced into the finals. LC's Megan Wiseman competed the heptathlon in 14th place. Bridgewater's Melissa Baker finished eighth in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.75.