Athletic Accomplishments
Athletics at Virginia Wesleyan College 1968-69 -- Intercollegiate competition begins for VWC in men's basketball and men's tennis 1969-70 -- Virginia Wesleyan begins competition in golf and men' s soccer 1970-71 -- Tom Meyers and Jim Ragan become the first Virginia Wesleyan men's soccer players to earn all-conference honors, both honorable mention in the Dixie Conference 1973-74 -- Pete Withers became the first men's basketball player to earn All-America honors, named to the NAIA honorable mention group 1973-74 -- Baseball begins competition and starts its history with a championship season, finishing 16-11 overall and 12-4 to finish first in the Dixie Conference, coached by Steve Stocks; Gene Hassel, Rick Ezell, Earl Jordan and Bruce Zirkle were VWC's first all-conference honorees in baseball 1976-77 -- Virginia Wesleyan won its first conference title in men's soccer, finishing 7-0-0 in the Dixie Conference 1976-77 -- Virginia Wesleyan begins competition in women's basketball 1977-78 -- Men's basketball wins its first Dixie Conference championship and qualifies for the first time under the leadership of Coach Don Forsyth 1978-79 -- Gary Cummisk became VWC's first conference champion in men's cross country, placing first in the Dixie Conference championship race 1978-79 -- VWC wins its first championship in women's basketball, finishing 19-4 and placing first in Division II VAIAW, led by coach Wendy Larry 1978-79 -- Baseball, under the leadership of Marvin Townsend, posts its first 20+ win season (21-12) and qualifies for the first time for the NCAA post-season tournament 1978-79 -- Men's basketball produces its first 20+ win season (23-60), won the Dixie Conference title, and advances to the NCAA tournament, led by Coach Don Forsyth 1979-80 -- Women's basketball, coached by Susan Walthall, posts the program's first 20+ win season, finishes 20-3 overall 1980-81 -- Scott Barlow becomes VWC's first No. 1 singles champion in men's tennis, winning the Dixie Conference title 1981-82 -- Virginia Wesleyan begins intercollegiate competition in softball and posts winning seasons for the first 20 years of competition 1981-82 -- Bill Willard becomes the first Marlin golfer to claim medalist honors in the Dixie Conference championship competition 1981-82 -- Sharon Walden becomes the first women's basketball player to earn all-conference honors, named to the Dixie Conference's second team 1982-83 -- Virginia Wesleyan begins competition in women's tennis 1982-83 -- Chip Friedman and Tony Benjumea combined skills to become VWC's first men's tennis champions in doubles, winning the No. 2 flight in Dixie Conference competition 1982-83 -- Carole McCraw, Brenda Smith, Buddy Barlow, Teresa Kemp, Theresa Ringer and Amy Simpson became the first VWC softball players to earn all-conference honors, all in the Dixie Conference 1983-84 -- Women's basketball earned its first berth in the NCAA Division III championship tournament under the leadership of coach Mike Dunavant; the Marlins finished 20-9 overall and placed first in the regular season standings of the Dixie Conference 1984-85 -- Virginia Wesleyan begins intercollegiate competition in women's soccer, after two years as a club team; Cheryl Chatfield, Alison Fletcher, Rose Flynn, Carol McGraw and Cheryl Morgan become the first VWC women's soccer players to earn all-conference honors, all in the Dixie Conference 1985-86 -- Women's basketball sets a program record with 24 wins in 29 games; the Marlins qualify for the NCAA DIII national championship tournament 1985-86 -- Women's softball sets a program record with 39 victories in 45 games, won its first Dixie Conference title, and advanced to the NCAA DIII championship tournament for the first time, under the guidance of coach Jack Jordan 1989-90 -- Lara Wilson, Allison Ayers, April Joynes, Diana Krell and Patty Uzenski become the first VWC women's soccer players to earn All-ODAC honors 1989-90 -- Mike Jahn becomes the first VWC golfer to earn All-ODAC honors, named to the first team 1989-90 -- Anna Bowers, Tabitha Williams, Kim Adams, and Tamela Powell become the first VWC softball players to earn All-ODAC honors 1989-90 -- Virginia Wesleyan begins competition in men's lacrosse 1989-90 -- Mike McFarland, Andy Walker and Mike Benne become the first Marlin men's soccer players to earn All-ODAC honors, all named to the first team 1989-90 -- Stacy Carr becomes VWC's first All-ODAC women's basketball player, named to the first team; Shannon Koutas becomes the first VWC player to earn national Freshman All-America honors 1990-91 -- Virginia Wesleyan wins its first ODAC championship in men's soccer and earns its first berth in the NCAA DIII national championship tournament 1990-91 -- Women's softball wins its first ODAC championship, finishing 29-9 overall, under the leadership of coach Tom Palombo 1991-92 -- Virginia Wesleyan begins competition in field hockey 1991-92 -- Scott Holava becomes the first VWC men's lacrosse player to earn All-Conference honors, named to the second team in the ODAC 1992-93 -- Mike McFarland becomes the first VWC men's soccer player to be named the NCAA DIII Player of the Year 1993-94 -- Baseball recorded a 23-game winning streak, the longest in VWC history; Gary Sasser, Matt Sinnen and Glen Pizzanello were VWC's first All-Americans in baseball 1993-94 -- Bobby Fox becomes VWC's first men's tennis player to compete in the NCAA DIII men's national championship tournament in singles, and the first Marlin to earn All-America honors in the sport; also the Marlins' first No. 1 singles champion in ODAC tournament competition 1994-95 -- Monica Saltarelli and Bobbi Losee becomes the first VWC field hockey players to earn all-conference honors in the ODAC 1994-95 -- Tom McGurty becomes the first VWC men's lacrosse player to earn All-America honors, named to the honorable mention group 1995-96 -- Monica Saltarelli becomes the first VWC field hockey player to earn All-America honors, named to the national third team 1996-97 -- Baseball posted the program's first 30+ win season (31-12), and won its first Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament tile, led by coach Nick Boothe 1997-98 -- Roxanne Coderre became the first VWC women's lacrosse player to earn all-conference honors, named to the All-ODAC second team 1998-99 -- Virginia Wesleyan begins competition in women's lacrosse 1998-99 -- Jason Nickerson becomes the first VWC men's basketball player to earn NCAA Division III All-America honors, named to the third team 1999-2000 -- Meagan DiCave becomes the first VWC women's lacrosse player to earn All-America status, named to the third team as a rookie 1999-00 -- Brooke Cheetz, Cameron Mealy and Victoria Scavo become the first VWC women's tennis players to earn All-ODAC honors 2001-02 -- Meagan DiCave becomes VWC's first national scoring champion in women's lacrosse, averaging 7.17 points per game 2002-03 -- Baseball sets a program record for victories with 34 (34-9) and swept the ODAC regular season and tournament titles, led by coach Nick Boothe 2002-03 -- John Tomasheski , men's tennis, becomes the first VWC student-athlete to be named CoSIDA Academic All-America for three consecutive years 2003-04 -- Virginia Wesleyan begins competition in women's volleyball and has posts eight consecutive winning seasons since 2003-04 -- Women's soccer, guided by coach Jeff Bowers, posts its first 20+ win season (20-2-3) and finishes undefeated for the first team in ODAC competition; the Marlins also became the first women's soccer team to advance to the NCAA DIII national championship tournament 2003-04 -- Julia Green becomes the first VWC women's soccer player to earn All-America status, named to the second team 2003-04 -- Virginia Wesleyan wins its first ODAC championship in field hockey, finishing 9-0 in the league and 18-2 overall, under the leadership of coach Kim-Michael Mertes; the Marlins also qualify for the first time for the NCAA DIII national championship tournament; Chrissy Clancy becomes the first Marlin field hockey player to be named to the National Rookie Team 2003-04 -- Anne Marie Nash becomes the first VWC women's lacrosse player to earn All-America status from three groups in the same season, named to the third team by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association, Womenslacrosse.com, and Inside Lacrosse 2004-05 -- Virginia Wesleyan begins competition in track and field 2004-05 -- Lauren Heltsley and Jen Perkinson become the first VWC volleyball players to earn All-ODAC honors, both named to the second team 2005-06 -- Men's basketball posted its first 30+ win season (30-3), wins the ODAC championship and gives VWC its first national championship in any sport, finishing 5-0 in the NCAA DIII tournament; Brandon Adair was the first men's basketball player to be named the National Player of the Year 2005-06 -- Eric Caudill and Jeff Zenisek combined talents to become VWC's first No. 1 doubles champions in men's tennis, winning an ODAC championship 2006-07 -- Virginia Wesleyan women's soccer finished 18-4-4 overall, 8-1-2 in the ODAC and wins its first ODAC tournament championship; the Marlins also become the first women's soccer team to advance to the NCAA DIII Final Four tournament 2006-07 -- Eric Caudill and Jeff Zenisek repeat as ODAC doubles champions and become the first VWC duo to compete in the NCAA DIII national championship tournament 2007-08 -- Women's basketball finished first in the regular season standings of the ODAC for the first time in program history, guided by coach Stephany Dunmyer; the Marlins finished as ODAC tournament runners-up; Heather Phillips becomes the first women's basketball player to earn All-America honors 2009-10 -- Sean Whitson becomes the first VWC cross country runner to qualify for the NCAA DIII championship race 2010-11 -- Sean Whitson becomes the first VWC cross country runner to win the South/Southeast Regional championship 2010-11 -- D.J. Woodmore becomes VWC's first National Rookie of the Year in men's basketball 2011—Women's softball named ODAC Champions and advance to the NCAA DIII tournament |
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