Wesleyan Magazine: Summer 2006

News & Events

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Marlin Athletics

There was plenty of buzz about Marlin Athletics this year, thanks to the 2006 national championship men’s basketball team. But the Marlin hoopsters weren’t the only ones to break ground during the 2005-06 season, as Marlin Athletics posted a total winning percentage of 71.1% to finish the year as the most successful athletic program in the state of Virginia for the second time in three years.

The Marlins’ 19 athletic teams compiled an incredible record of 220 wins, only 88 losses and two ties to place first in the College Division of the annual survey conducted by the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association. Virginia Wesleyan outdistanced all other Division II, Division III and National Association of Intercollegiate Association (NAIA) teams in the state and even posted a better winning percentage than Old Dominion University (67.2%), who ranked first among DI schools.

Virginia Wesleyan College’s best season ever in intercollegiate athletics also earned the Marlin athletic program the runner-up spot in the final standings for the 2006 Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s (ODAC) Commissioner’s Cup. Recently renamed the Dan Wooldridge Overall Sports Champion Cup, the award is presented annually to the ODAC member that compiles the highest point total based on finishes in the 22 leaguesponsored sports. The Marlins’ stellar overall 220-88-2 record was highlighted by a 106- 33-1 record in ODAC competition.

Every Virginia Wesleyan athletic team that keeps a win-loss record had a winning record during the 2005- 06 season to mark the best overall record in school history. It was also the first time in College history that at least one team from each season made it to the NCAA tournament: men’s and women’s soccer advanced in the fall, men’s basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring.

Fall sports posted a 65-27-2 overall record, highlighed by NCAA tournament apperances for men’s and women’s soccer and a program record second straight 19-win season in volleyball.

The men’s basketball Marlins broke new ground for the College’s athletic program, winning the 2006 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball National Championship title. Led by junior forward Brandon Adair – the program’s first-ever first team All-American and National Player of the Year as named by the NABC – the Marlins set program records for points, defense, rebounds and assists.

Women’s basketball enjoyed the most successful season since the 1993-94 season with a program-record 14 regular-season victories highlighted by a 10-game winning streak.

Softball finished 27-14 overall for their 23rd winning season in 25 years of competition. Marlin teams have averaged an impressive 24 wins per season through 25 seasons.

The baseball Marlins won 14 of their last 18 games, highlighted by an 8-3 win over top-seeded, No. 5-ranked nationally Salisbury University in the opening game of the NCAA South Region tournament. In addition, the Marlins tallied the program’s 700th victory.

It was double vision for Marlin tennis as doubles action paved the way on the courts. The men’s standout duo of junior Jeff Zenisek and sophomore Jeff Caudill claimed Virginia Wesleyan’s first doubles championship in ODAC history. The women’s duo of junior Lisa Fanney and junior Caroline Place led the women’s tennis team to the best tournament showing ever, with Fanney taking runner-up honors in singles and the duo placing second in doubles.

Men’s lacrosse received a vote in the national rankings shortly before tournament time during the 2006 season – a season in which the Marlins finished one win shy of the season victory record.

Women’s lacrosse tallied the second-best overall record in the nine-year history of the program and finished the season with a fifth consecutive winning record. The Marlins also finished 7-1 in the ODAC for the third consecutive year, qualified for the ODAC semifinals for the fifth straight season and advanced to the title game for the second time in three years.

Senior David Wheeler set the tone for the Virginia Wesleyan golf team, becoming the fourth Marlin golfer in four years to receive second-team all-conference honors. Overall, Virginia Wesleyan recorded a 674 in the tournament to finish in front of Roanoke College, which carded a 687.

The Marlins proved they are winners not only on the fields, courts and tracks but off them as well, as illustrated by the 2006 ODAC Sportsmanship Award, given to the Marlin baseball team.

Sports in Review: Spring 2006

BASEBALL

(24-22 overall, 12-6 ODAC, third place regular season, first place tournament, third place region)

The baseball Marlins finished third in the NCAA South Regional Tournament after winning the 2006 ODAC championship title – the sixth conference title for the program and the third in four years. It was the 10th consecutive winning season for the Marlins, highlighted by 14 victories in the team’s last 18 games.
ODAC HONORS: Junior Ricky Allred, junior Matt Hudgins, sophomore Dan Sellers, first team; senior Zach Baker, senior Brent Vuyovich, second team; junior Erik Nguyen, honorable mention; Nick Boothe, coach of the year; Vuyovich, scholar-athlete of the year; VWC Marlins, team sportsmanship award
ALL-SOUTH HONORS: Vuyovich, second team; Allred, Hudgins, Sellers, honorable mention
ACADEMIC HONORS: Vuyovich, ESPN The Magazine /CoSIDA Academic All-District first team; Vuyovich, ESPN The Magazine /CoSIDA Academic All- America first team

SOFTBALL

(27-14 overall, 13-5 ODAC, third place regular season, fourth place tournament)

The Marlins tallied their best record since 2000 with a 27-14 overall record. Senior pitcher Becky Sowell tied the ODAC single-season record for strikeouts and finished her career as the ODAC’s all-time leader in strikeouts with 435. Head Coach Conrad Parker retires as the winningest coach in program history with a final record of 217 wins and 156 losses.
ODAC HONORS: Sowell, pitcher of the year; Sowell, sophomore Mandy Nixon, first team; sophomore Bree Strain, honorable mention
ALL-ATLANTIC REGION HONORS: Nixon, second team
ALL-VIRGINIA HONORS: Sowell, Nixon, first team

MEN’S LACROSSE

(9-5 overall, 2-4 ODAC, fifth place regular season)

The 2006 Marlins finished one win shy of the Virginia Wesleyan season victory record and as one of only four Marlin teams to record nine or more wins in a season.
ODAC HONORS: Senior Dan Hofmeister, second team

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

(14-4 overall, 17-1 ODAC, second place regular season, second place tournament)

The Marlins tallied the second-best overall record in the nine-year history of the program. A total of seven Marlin athletes were honored by the ODAC with postseason awards – the highest total of women’s lacrosse players to be honored in one season in the history of the program.
ODAC HONORS: Sophomore Jillian Boyd, senior Kristen Jehl, senior Laura Wallace, first team; junior Chrissy Clancy, rookie Ashley Sippel, second team; rookie Bethany Adomanis, honorable mention; Jehl, scholar-athlete of the year; Sippel, rookie of the year
ALL-CHESAPEAKE REGION: Boyd, Wallace, first team
ACADEMIC HONORS: Jehl, ESPN The Magazine/ CoSIDA Academic All-America first team

MEN’S TENNIS

(17-2 overall, 5-2 ODAC, third place tournament)

The Marlins finished third with a program-record 69 points in the 2006 ODAC Tournament, where junior Jeff Zenisek and sophomore Eric Caudill claimed the No. 1 doubles and compiled a 21-2 record – the best overall record in College history.
ODAC HONORS: Freshman Steven Wright, rookie of the year; John Brinkman, coach of the year; Zenisek, Caudill, first team doubles; Zenisek, Caudill, second team singles; Wright, second team singles
ACADEMIC HONORS: Caudill, ESPN The Magazine/ CoSIDA Academic All-America first team

WOMEN’S TENNIS

(17-2 overall, 5-2 ODAC, fourth place tournament)

Junior Lisa Fanney took the runner-up spot in singles and teamed with junior Caroline Place for a runnerup finish in doubles as the Marlins scored a programrecord 67 points to place fourth in the 2006 ODAC Tournament. Virginia Wesleyan enjoyed its best showing ever in the tournament in doubles, as all three tandems finished in the top four. The 17-2 overall record is the best regular-season showing in the program’s 24-year history, highlighted by a 13-match winning streak.
ODAC HONORS: Fanney, Place, second team doubles; Fanney, second team singles

GOLF

(Seventh place tournament)

Senior David Wheeler became the fourth Marlin golfer in four years to receive second team allconference honors as the Virginia Wesleyan golf program place seventh in the ODAC. Tournament. Wheeler paced the Marlins with a 155, placing him 12th among the top 20 finishers. Overall, Virginia Wesleyan recorded a 674 in the tournament.
ODAC HONORS: Wheeler, second team

OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD

(Men: sixth place tournament; Women: sixth place tournament)

Senior Pat Fulgham became Virginia Wesleyan’s first track and field athlete to medal in an ODAC championship event by placing third in the long jump with a distance of 21 feet, 4 inches and fourth in the discus with a throw of 117-3. It was a strong showing for the Marlins overall as the team recorded eight new program records, including two in men’s relays. For the women, sophomore Valeria Nuesa broke her own record in the 100 with a time of 13.54, rookie Ashley Roane rewrote her own mark in the 5,000 run with a time of 20:02 and rookie Ashley Ladyman passed her own best in the discus with a throw of 102-06.
ACADEMIC HONORS: Junior Mark Banks, ESPN The Magazine /CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 first team

Sports in Review: Winter 2006

MEN’S BASKETBALL

(30-3 overall, 17-1 ODAC, first place regular season, tournament and NCAA)

The men won the ODAC championship title for the second consecutive year and went on to win the 2006 NCAA Division III men’s basketball national championship – the first national title for any program in Virginia Wesleyan history. Their run was highlighted by a 28-game winning streak – the longest current streak in the nation.
ODAC HONORS: Dave Macedo, coach of the year; junior Brandon Adair, player of the year; Adair, first team; sophomore Ton Ton Balenga, second team
ALL-SOUTH HONORS: Adair, first team
ALL-AMERICA: Adair, first team
NABC HONORS: Macedo, coach of the year; Adair, player of the year

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

(17-9 overall, 14-6 ODAC, third place regular season, fourth place tournament)

The Marlin women posted the best record since the 1993-94 season with a program-record 14 regular-season victories highlighted by a 10-game winning streak – the second longest in program history. The Marlins advanced to the quarterfinal round of the ODAC tournament.
ODAC HONORS: Stephany Dunmyer, coach of the year; sophomore Heather Phillips, second team

INDOOR TRACK

(Men: sixth place tournament; Women: sixth place tournament)

Sophomore Damien Woodley placed fourth for the men in the 200m dash at the ODAC meet with a time of 23.21 and sixth in the 400m dash with a time of 52.07. In addition, the distance medley relay team of junior Mark Banks (1200m), rookie Josh Smith (400m), Woodley (800m) and rookie Brandon Spaulding (1600m) placed fifth with a time of 11:33.31. On the women’s side, sophomore Valerie Nuesa placed fifth in the 55m dash with a time of 7.72 and rookie Ashley Roane placed fourth in the 5000m run with a time of 20:15.18.

Trio of Academic All-Americans

This year marks the first time in Virginia Wesleyan history that three Marlin athletes have been named to the ESPN The Magazine/ CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large first team.

Senior Brent Vuyovich was named to the prestigious 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first team baseball squad, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

He was the fifth Virginia Wesleyan student- athlete to receive seven CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in the past five years and the first Marlin baseball player to earn the lofty accolade.

The Academic All-America honor became a possibility for Vuyovich after he was selected to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 first team, selected from nominees from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. It was the second consecutive first-team academic alldistrict award for Vuyovich, who is the second baseball player in Virginia Wesleyan history to receive the honor twice.

The 2006 Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s (ODAC) Scholar-Athlete-ofthe- Year in baseball, Vuyovich graduated magna cum laude in the spring as a liberal arts management program major. He was the 2006 co-recipient of the L.A.M.P. Outstanding Senior Award, was named to the Sigma Beta Delta honor society for business, management and administration and was the male recipient of the College’s W. B. Shafer, Jr. Scholar-Athlete Award for the second consecutive year.

Vuyovich’s academic accomplishments were complemented by his impressive efforts on the baseball field, where he was a threeyear starter for the Marlins. One of the top outfielders to ever play for Virginia Wesleyan, he contributed to the Marlins’ ongoing success that hit a school-record tenth consecutive winning season this spring. The season was highlighted by an ODAC championship for the Marlins, the third in four years and sixth in 10, as well as sixth trip to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) South Region tournament.

A 2006 ODAC All-Tournament team member and second team All-ODAC honoree for the season, Vuyovich finished the season with a team-leading 73 hits, becoming the first Marlin player to surpass the 70-hit total in a season. His 73 hits broke the previous record of 67 set by Robbie Moose in 1997.

Virginia Wesleyan senior Kristen Jehl also received first-team ESPN The Magazine/ CoSIDA All-America honors. Jehl was also named an National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, making her the first student-athlete in the College’s history to receive the highly prestigious award.

Jehl is one of only 29 women from all divisions of the NCAA to receive the $7,500 award. Overall, 15 women from Division I colleges and universities received the fall award, five from Division II and nine from Division III.

Postgraduate awards are presented annually by the NCAA to 29 men and 29 women in each of the fall, winter and spring seasons, honoring excellence in athletics and academics. All recipients must have completed eligibility in the sport they are nominated and must excel in the classroom.

Jehl, a fall recipient, completed her fourth year with the field hockey team, which finished 13-6, and posted a 4.0 grade point average for the semester as a double major in criminal justice and sociology.

The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship tops the list of Jehl’s accomplishments at Virginia Wesleyan. Athletically, she has helped the field hockey program to a 55-22 record in four years, she finished a third year with a lacrosse program that has compiled a 36-9 record in that span and played one season of softball in her first year at the College. Academically, Jehl maintained a 3.93 cumulative grade point average, highlighted by perfect 4.0 efforts in three of the last four semesters, and has been a Dean’s List honoree every semester since she enrolled at Virginia Wesleyan.

Jehl is the recipient of the Fred W. Beazley Endowed Scholarship and has also received the 2004-05 College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America recognition and 2005 ODAC women’s lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades.

Sophomore tennis standout Eric Caudill was the third Marlin to receive first-team ESPN The Magazine/ CoSIDA All-America honors.

Caudill was the only sophomore to earn first-team status and one of only two to receive the Academic All-America At-Large award. He compiled a 4.0 GPA as a liberal arts management program major – one of five honorees to record a 4.0.

On the court, Caudill earned a 23-3 overall singles record and was part of a 21-2 doubles team that became the first Marlin duo to win an ODAC flight championship, taking the No. 1 title over Washington and Lee University. His 23-3 singles record included a 21-1 dual match mark, an 18-1 flight record at No. 2 and a 10-1 showing against ODAC opponents. Caudill is only the second player in program history to record more than 20 singles wins.

The man who spotlights Marlin student athletes’ awards has won a few of his own

Virginia Wesleyan College Sports Information Director Joe Wasiluk received two awards in the Fred S. Stabley Sr. writing contest sponsored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Wasiluk’s article on basketball player Ton Ton Balenga (“Balenga Finds Extended Home, Family and Future at Virginia Wesleyan”) placed first in District III in the athlete personality profile competition and his article on the Marlins’ volleyball victory at Lynchburg College (“Words From Bench Spark Virginia Wesleyan Volleyball to Victory at Lynchburg”) placed second in event review. District III includes all colleges and universities in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

The awards bring Wasiluk’s total of CoSIDA writing awards to nine during his five years as the Virginia Wesleyan sports information director. Overall, he has received 25 writing awards from CoSIDA, 17 of which were first-place honors, including his time as sports information director at Ohio’s Kenyon College. Wasiluk has also received nine CoSIDA awards in brochure/game program competition, placing among the top three nationally five times.