2003-04 Sports Wrap Up

Men's and Women's Cross Country

Individually, the Lady Raiders had four runners earn All-OAC status, including Kristen Koelling (2nd/23:00), Dara Ford (6th/23:21), Elena Hoellein (7th/23:23) and Kate Steklachich (9th/23:41). Koelling also earned Cross Country/Track Academic All-OAC status while Hoellein was a Cross Country/Track Honorable-Mention Academic All-OAC recipient.

Lady Raider head coach Deana Fresenko was named the Ohio Athletic Conference's Women's Coach of the Year and named the Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year for the second time in the past three years (2001 & 2003).

On the men's side, Mount Union's Chris Paulett took the OAC individual crown (25:33) while Ryan Hochstetler (2nd/25:41) earned All-OAC status. Ryan Price and Paulett also earned Cross Country/Track Academic All-OAC honors.

Football

Individually, the Raiders had 15 players earn 2003 All-OAC status and two season-ending Special Award honorees - including senior/offensive tackle Larry Kinnard, the Mike Gregory Award winner as the OAC's Most Outstanding Lineman, and wideout Randell Knapp, the Ed Sherman Award winner as the conference's Most Outstanding Receiver.

The Raiders also had eight individuals earn All-American status, including First-Team selections Kinnard, senior/offensive lineman Bob Bradley, and senior/linebacker Shaun Spisak. Knapp and senior/defensive tackle Antoine Dillard earned Second-Team honors while senior/defensive back Mike Miller and senior/outside linebacker Anthony Frate each earned Third-Team status. Senior/offensive lineman Brent Miller earned All-American Honorable-Mention honors.

Men's Soccer

Gill, Inniger and senior/defender Matt Painting each earned Academic All-OAC status in 2003. Gill also earned CoSIDA Academic Second-Team College Division All-American status and was named Mount Union's Clyde A. Lamb Award recipient as the College's most outstanding male student/athlete in 2003-04.

Women's Soccer

The Purple Raiders (8-9-2, 5-3-1 OAC) finished fourth in the regular season and advanced to the OAC Tournament for the sixth time in school history and first time since 1996.

Junior/defender Owen Crosland earned First-Team All-Conference honors. Sophomore/midfielder Amber Knoll and sophomore/forward Laura Bandy each earned Second-Team All-OAC status. Senior/forward Jessica Gordon and junior/midfielder Cara Russo earned Honorable-Mention All-OAC status. Gordon, who led the Purple & White with eight goals and 18 points overall, was also named Mount Union's Clyde A. Lamb Award winner as the College's most outstanding female student-athlete in 2003-04.

Third-year head coach Scott Langone was named 2003 OAC Co-Coach of the Year. It was also the first time since 1996 that both Raider soccer teams competed in the season-ending conference tournament in the same year.

Volleyball

Individually, sophomore/outside hitter Jess DiCarlo became the first Mount Union volleyball player to earn Division III All-American status by earning 2003 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Honorable-Mention All-American honors. DiCarlo also earned First-Team All-OAC status in ?03. Senior/setter Katie Snyder earned Second-Team All-OAC honors while junior/outside hitter Kris Barker earned Honorable-Mention All-OAC status.

Head coach Sandy Douglas, who completed her 18th year at the helm, surpassed the 300-career win plateau this fall with 305 total career victories.

Men's Basketball
Mount Union's men's basketball team (18-10/11-7 OAC in 2003-04) finished sixth in the OAC during regular season play and second overall in conference tournament action in 2003-04. The Purple Raiders were led by three All-OAC performers - Second-Team All-Conference selection Brad Gerard (11.7 ppg), Honorable-Mention All-OAC pick, senior/post Rob Paulauskas, (11.5 ppg/3.3 rpg) and Honorable-Mention All-Conference selection, junior/forward Chris Blakely (8.7 ppg/5.7 rpg).

Gerard and Paulauskas also earned Academic All-OAC status in 2003-04. Overall, the Raiders have posted three consecutive 18 wins seasons and have had eight seasons of .500 basketball or better in the last nine years of play.

Women's Basketball
The Purple Raider women's basketball team (4-22, 1-17 OAC/10th) placed two players on this year's All-OAC Basketball team. Junior/forward Ashley Bourdeau (18.4 ppg/8.2 rpg), a three-time All-OAC selection, earned First-Team All-Conference honors in 2003-04. She became only the eighth player in school history to reach the 1,000 point plateau and only the third to do it in three years. Bourdeau also earned Great Lakes Region Third-Team honors. Sophomore/forward Lisa Dubinsky (11.5/6.0 rpg) was a 2003-04 Honorable-Mention All-OAC selection. Sophomore/guard Kyla Hogan earned Academic Honorable-Mention All-OAC honors this season.

Wrestling
Mount Union's wrestling team (8-14/1-5 OAC in 2003-04) placed sixth overall at the OAC Championships this season. Individually, sophomore Richie Schmock earned All-OAC status by finishing runner-up at 125 pounds. Schmock was also named an Academic At Large Honorable-Mention All-OAC recipient in 2004. Raider dual match leaders on the year included Sean Connelly, at 141 pounds (25-8), Ed Shutty at 133 pounds (22-4), Doug Jones at 157 pounds (20-9) and Schmock at 125 pounds (18-19).

Men's & Women's Swimming
The Raider men's swim team (2-8, 0-4 OAC) and the Lady Raider swimmers (1-9/0-4 OAC) both placed fifth overall at the OAC Championships this winter. Individually, senior Eddis Singleton was named the OAC Men's Swimmer of the Year for the third time ('01, '03, '04) as he won three individual events including the 50 free, 100 free and 100 back. Singleton was a perfect 12-for-12 in winning individual OAC titles during his four-year career. He also became a six-time All-American and three-time National Champion overall by taking first in the 50 free (20.39) and fourth in the 100 free (46.12) at Nationals. Singleton took the top spot in all of Division III in the 50 free three times (2002, 2003, 2004) during his career. He placed fifth in the 50 free as a freshman in 2001. He took third at Nationals in the 100 free in 2003.

On the women's side, Sarah Buford placed second in the 400 yard I.M. (4:49.46) while Mary Buford finished third (4:52.66). Sarah Buford also placed second int he 1650 free (18:15.10) while Anne Marie LaScola finished third in the 50 free (25.77). The top three individual finishers and top two relay teams in each event earn All-Conference status.

Men's & Women's Indoor Track
Mount Union's men's indoor track team placed second (142.5 points) one-half point out of first at the OAC Indoor Track Championships in 2004. The Raider women's track team placed seventh (52 pts) overall at OACs.

On the men's side, the Raiders produced five individual conference champions, including double-winner Ryan Hochstetler in the 1,500 meters (4:01) and 5,000 meters (15:07), Johny Biacofsky in the 55 meter dash (6.49), Beau Livengood in the 500 meters (1:06.36) and Eric Belancic in the high jump (6-07). Hochstelter in the 1,500 meters, Biacofsky in the 55 meter dash and Ryan Garro in the 800 meters all competed at Nationals. Head Coach John Homon earned the 2004 OAC Men's Indoor Coach of the Year honors - the seventh time he's earned this honor while at Mount Union.

On the women's side, freshman Raina Keppler was the individual champion at the conference meet in the 400 meter dash (1:01.31). She also anchored the 4x400 meter relay squad of Stephanie Borowy, Jen Farrell and Erin McCauley to a third place finish (4:15.22). The top three finishers at OACs earn All-Conference.

Men's Golf
The Purple Raiders men's golf team placed sixth overall (670 strokes) at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships in 2004. Individually, Mount Union's Kyle Romig earned All-Conference status by placing seventh overall (158 strokes) at OACs. The Raiders' Justin Rush was 12th (163 strokes) at the conference championships.

Women's Golf
Mount Union's women's golf team finished fourth overall (822 strokes) at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships in the spring of 2004. Individually, the Lady Raiders had three top-20 finishers, including Marie Karebsbach (12th), Amanda Hirschauer (18th) and Kristi Karlen (20th).

Men's Tennis
Mount Union's men's tennis team (13-8/7-2 OAC) finished third overall in conference during the regular season in 2004. The Raiders' Ryan Ruthsatz and Kyle Moreland each earned Second-Team All-OAC honors for their play this spring while Jon Caporale earned Honorable-Mention status. Ruthsatz competed at #1 singles and #1 doubles while Moreland split time at #2 and #4 singles, along with competing at #2 doubles. Caporale competed at #3 singles and #3 doubles. The Purple Raiders have now posted five consecutive 10+ win seasons.

Women's Tennis
The Lady Raider tennis team (11-9, 5-4 OAC), which finished fifth overall in the OAC during regular season play, set a school-record with 11 wins this spring. Individually, Eleni Halkias earned Second-Team All-OAC status while playing at #1 singles and #2 doubles, and Mari Ishikawa was an Honorable-Mention All-OAC pick, competing at #2 singles and #1 doubles. Aimee Rankin earned Academic At Large Honorable-Mention All-OAC status in 2004.

Softball
Mount Union's softball team (25-16/11-7 OAC) finished third in the OAC during regular season play and second overall in conference tournament action in 2004. Individually, junior/third baseman Ronda Barth (.408 BA/6 HRs/35 RBI) earned Second-Team All-Conference status while freshman/catcher Crystal Thomas (.352 BA/3 HRs/26 RBI) was named the Bob Jordan Award Recipient as the top rookie in the OAC this spring. Barth and Thomas also earned NFCA All-Central Region Second-Team honors while junior/outfielder Erin Myers was a Third-Team selection.

Infielder Amy Polomsky was an Academic All-OAC Honorable-Mention selection in 2004. Raider head coach Sandy Douglas eclipsed the 400 win total (402 career victories/19 years) while the Raiders posted their 12th season of 20+ wins or more.

Baseball
The Purple Raider baseball team (16-16, 10-8 OAC) finished the 2004 season riding a season-best six-game winning streak while taking fifth overall in conference. Statistically, Mount Union was led by First-Team All-OAC & First-Team All-Mideast catcher Sam Simmerman, who led the squad in hitting (.375 BA), hits (39), runs scored (25), doubles (15), home runs (3), total bases (67), RBI (24) and slugging percentage (.644). Hurler Tyson Smith (4-3), who earned Honorable-Mention All-OAC status in 2004, and pitcher Cedric Haynes (4-1), led the Purple & White with four wins each.

Men's & Women's Outdoor Track & Field

Mount Union's men's team took second (124.75 points) while the Lady Raiders placed fifth (80 pts) at the Ohio Athletic Conference Outdoor Track Championships in 2004. Individually, the Raiders' Ryan Hochstetler earned the OAC's Jim Wuske Award as the Most Outstanding Male Runner at the conference meet. He won two individual titles ' the 1,500 meters (3:58.76) and a meet record setting first place finish in the 5,000 meters (14:34.02). Other conference champions included Justin Rodhe in the discus throw (155-06), Eric Belancic in the high jump (6-07.00) and Matt Cole in the 110 meter hurdles (15.00).

Nick Saluppo placed second in the 100 meter dash (11.06) and third in the 200 meter dash (22.47). Andrew Blake was second in the shot put (49-11.75) while teammate Justin Archer placed third in the shot (49-11.25). Luke Moore also earned All-OAC status by finishing third in the triple jump (43-05.25), as did Matt Espanola and his third place finish in the javelin (177-11).

Ryan Price and Chris Paulett also earned Cross Country/Track Academic All-OAC honors.

Hochstetler earned All-American status in the 5,000 meters (5th/14:57.76) as well as Rodhe in the discus (8th/164-7).

On the women's side, Ashley Kohler was second in the discus (140-07), Kelly Hammond took second in the 10,000 meters (40:04.02) and Susan Pilarski was third in the javelin (119-05). Kristen Koelling also earned Cross Country/Track Academic All-OAC status while Elena Hoellein was a Cross Country/Track Honorable-Mention Academic All-OAC recipient.

The top three finishers at OACs earn All-Conference status.