May 5, 2008

A-10 Spring Sports Honor Roll

Baseball Player of the Week
Andrew Guerra - Saint Louis
Sophomore, 2B, 6-0, 175 lbs.
Dallas, Texas/Jesuit Prep HS
Guerra batted .571 (12-for-21) with four doubles, three homers and 11 RBI over five contests...scored ten runs and added two walks...had a pair of three-hit performances and went 4-for-4 at Richmond on May 4...his 20 doubles are a Saint Louis single-season record.

Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Nick Greenwood - Rhode Island
Sophomore, LHP, 6-1, 175 lbs.
Southington, Conn./Xavier HS
Greenwood tossed the first complete-game shutout for Rhode Island this season as he held Saint Joseph's to three singles on May 3 in the Rams' 2-0 win...fanned a career-high 13 and did not issue a walk...marked his third double-digit strikeout performance of the season...leads the A-10 with 82 strikeouts in 74.2 innings pitched.

Baseball Rookies of the Week
Sean Kennedy - La Salle
Freshman, LHP, 6-4, 195 lbs.
Vineland, N.J./Sacred Heart HS
Kennedy hurled his first career complete game on May 3 as La Salle downed St. Bonaventure, 6-1...scattered eight hits and walked three...improved to 3-2 on the season.

Cory Tilton - Charlotte
Freshman, OF, 5-10, 147 lbs.
Cary, N.C./Green Hope HS
Tilton earns his second A-10 Rookie of the Week honor after collecting six hits in 13 at-bats with five runs scored and five RBI...went 3-for-4 with three runs scored on May 3 in Charlotte's 7-1 win over Fordham...is batting .316 on the season.

Softball Player of the Week
Carly Normandin - Massachusetts
Sophomore, Outfield, Gardner, Mass./Gardner HS
Normandin hit 6-for-9 (.667) with two doubles and four RBI with an .889 slugging percentage in three games on the week...had the game-winning two-RBI double in a 2-1 win over second-place St. Bonaventure on May 4...hit 5-for-6 in the series as UMass swept the second-seeded Bonnies...leads the team in RBI (36), triples (3), and slugging (.616)...second Player of the Week honor.

Softball Pitcher of the Week
Brandice Balschmiter - Massachusetts
Junior, Pitcher, Newark, N.Y./Newark HS
Balschmiter went a perfect 2-0 on the week while tossing back-to-back no-hitters against Boston College and second-seeded St. Bonaventure ...threw a no-hitter while striking out eight in a complete game 9-0 shutout win over Boston College on Apr. 30...followed that with another no-hit shutout, the seventh no-hitter of her career, in a 11-0 (5) win while striking out seven against SBU on May 4...finishes the regular season having pitched 71 consecutive scoreless innings, 11th most on the NCAA Div. 1 all-time list...holds the nation's lowest earned run average at 0.53....ninth Pitcher of the Week honor, breaking her own record for Pitcher of the Week awards in a season.

Softball Rookies of the Week
Erin Kelly - Saint Louis
Freshman, Pitcher, River Forest, Ill./Fenwick HS
Kelly picked up a win and a save in her three appearances last week...struck out five and allowed just two runs, only one earned, in nine innings of work...her win came in a 9-6 victory at Dayton on Mary 5 which helped the Billikens secure a berth to the A-10 Championship.

Kara Morenus - St. Bonaventure
Freshman, Catcher, Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads HS
Morenus posted a .417 average at the plate over the past week and helped the Bonnies to a series sweep over Rhode Island on May 2-3 with five RBI during the two-game set...registered her team-leading fifth and sixth multiple RBI games of the season with two and three runs batted in during back-to-back games against the Rams...also added three doubles to her club-best nine on the season...leads the Brown and White with 22 RBI...batting .333 in A-10 action...first Rookie of the Week honor.

Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year
Allison Furstenburg - Richmond
Junior, Attack, Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central Region HS
Furstenburg leads the top-seeded Spiders in goals scored with 53, which is second in the A-10...also ranks second in the league in points per game (4.65) and goals per game (3.12)..points per game total is seventh in the nation...named A-10 Player of the Week on March 31...boasts 14 multi-goal games in 17 contests and has scored at least one goal in every contest this year.

Lacrosse Midfielder of the Year
Mandy Friend - Richmond
Junior, Midfielder, Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy
Friend earned Co-Offensive Player of the Year honors last season...garners the league's first-ever Midfielder of the Year award...enters the Atlantic 10 Championship with 51 goals and 35 assists for 86 points on the season, ranking her first in the league in total points and second nationally...a three-time A-10 Player of the Week honoree...on the Tewaarton Award watch list...ranks third in the league in goals and second in assists...leads Conference in ground balls per game (3.17)...a two-time All-American...making her third appearance on the A-10 All-Conference first-team.

Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year
Eboni Preston - St. Bonaventure
Senior, Goalkeeper, New Windsor, Md./Westminster HS
Preston earned All-Conference second-team honors as a junior and is making her first appearance as a first-team honoree...leads the Conference in saves (170), saves per game (12.0) and save percentage (54.1)...leads the nation in saves per game while ranking second nationally in save percentage...had double-digit saves in 11 contests, including six A-10 contests.

Lacrosse Rookie of the Year
Anne Ryan - Richmond
Freshman, Midfield, Darien, Conn./Darien HS
Ryan enjoyed an outstanding rookie season for Richmond and is the second player from Richmond in three years to earn the top rookie honor...two-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week...fifth on her team in goals scored (20) and ground balls (24)...one of Richmond's top one-on-one defenders from her center midfield position...has six multi-goal performances on the season.

Lacrosse Coach of the Year
Bonnie Rosen - Temple
Second Season
Rosen guided Temple to the program's league-leading eighth A-10 regular season title and a No. 2 seed in the upcoming Championship...helped the Owls to their best start since 2002 and finished the regular season with 11 wins, the most victories since 2004...1993 graduate of the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science degree in education, Rosen was a four-year, two-sport athlete, playing both lacrosse and field hockey for the Cavaliers.

Men's Tennis Most Outstanding Performer
Doug Matthews - Xavier
Junior, Maineville, Ohio/Kings HS
At first singles and doubles, Matthews helped lead the Musketeers to the A-10 title on Apr. 4-6 at Club 4 Life in Monroeville, Pa...Matthews did not lose a singles match throughout the Championship, earning a victory over Felipe Acosta of Saint Louis (6-0, 6-1) before clinching the title against George Washington's Mustafa Gencsoy (6-4, 3-6, 6-4)...teamed with sophomore Chris Herringer to go 3-0 at first doubles, defeating Saint Louis (8-4) and Charlotte (9-7), before securing a crucial doubles point against George Washington (8-6) in the championship match.

Men's Tennis Most Outstanding Rookie
Yan Levinski - George Washington
Freshman, Melbourne, Australia/Brighton Grammar School
Levinksi garnered Most Outstanding Rookie honors after winning all three of his doubles matches paired with teammate Salyer at the A-10 Championship...the duo posted second flight wins against Rhode Island (8-2), St. Bonaventure (8-3) and Xavier (8-6)...in singles, Levinski held a lead in his first two matches against No. 2 opponents from URI and SBU, but did not finish either match.

Men's Tennis Coach of the Year
Eric Toth - Xavier
First Season
Toth was named Coach of the Year after guiding Xavier to its first-ever A-10 men's tennis title and a subsequent automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament...entering the Championship as the second seed, the Musketeers captured three 4-0 victories, starting with Saint Louis, then Charlotte and finally top-seeded George Washington en route to the title..it was Toth's first season as head coach after serving as an assistant at XU for ten years.

Men's Golf Medalist
Rob Chappell - Dayton
Junior, Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller HS
Chappell earned Dayton's first-ever individual medalist honor shooting an 11-under (64-73-68) at the Atlantic 10 Championship on May 2-4... Chappell's 205 total score helped the Flyers secure a second place finish at the Championship, the best in the program's history...second career tournament win...in round three, Chappell bounced back after a bogey on his first hole to net five birdies in the remaining 17 holes...marks the third consecutive time that a player shot a 68 on the final day of play to merit top honors.

Men's Golf Most Outstanding Rookie
Chris Woeste - Dayton
Freshman, Kettering, Ohio/Alter HS
Woeste tied for eighth overall thanks to a final round of 68 at the Atlantic 10 Championship on May 2-4...he carded scores of 70 and 76 in the first two rounds and netted a birdie and an eagle on holes eight and 10...after recording back-to-back bogeys on 11 and 12, Woeste recovered to birdie three of his last five holes...Woeste is just the fifth UD golfer to place in the top ten at the A-10 Championship.

Men's Golf Coach of the Year Jamie Green - Charlotte Fifth Season Green earned his third-straight Coach of the Year honor after Charlotte captured its third title in three years at the Atlantic 10 Championship on May 2-4...with the win, the 49ers earned their fourth straight NCAA Tournament bid...Charlotte shot a three-under par 285 to finish at -27, 837, and top runner-up Dayton by 23 strokes.

Women's Tennis Most Outstanding Performer
Dina Senkina - Temple
Junior, Moscow, Russia/#1071
Senkina helped lead the Owls to their first title in five years at the 2008 Atlantic 10 Women's Tennis Championship, held Apr. 18-20 at the Club 4 Life in Monroeville, Pa....went undefeated during the Championship with a 1-0 record in singles and 3-0 record in doubles matches. At first singles, she garnered a 6-3, 6-3 win against Pamela Duran of Richmond in the semifinals. In doubles, Senkina teamed with fellow first-team All-Conference selection Elyse Steiner to earn victories over Charlotte (8-3), Richmond (8-4) and Xavier (8-1).

Women's Tennis Most Outstanding Rookie
Zena Williams - Duquesne
Freshman, Bellaire, Texas/American School of Bangkok
Williams, a native of Bellaire, Texas, finished 1-0 at first singles while also posting a 3-0 second doubles record at the A-10 Championship...partnered with junior teammate Rebecca Poole, a member of the All-Conference second-team, to register doubles matches victories against Saint Joseph's (8-2), Xavier (8-2) and Saint Louis (8-5).

Women's Tennis Coach of the Year Jill Breslin - Temple First Season Breslin earns her first Coach of the Year award for leading the Temple to its fourth-ever A-10 title. The Championship's second seed, Temple registered wins over Charlotte (4-0), Richmond (4-1) and Xavier (4-0) en route to capturing the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Men's Outdoor Track and Field Most Outstanding Track Performers
Darius Law - Charlotte
Freshman, Raleigh, N.C./Southeast Raleigh HS
Law sprinted to victories in both the 200-meter (21.83) and 400-meter (48.08) dashes at the Atlantic 10 Championship on May 3-4...led Charlotte to a third-place finish.

Steven Rendall - La Salle
Junior, Deptford, N.J./Gloucester Catholic HS
Rendall was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer at the A-10 Championship (May 3-4) after taking both the 110-meter (14.53) and the 400-meter (53.50) hurdles...both times were personal bests and his 400-meter hurdles time is the fastest in the Conference this season.

Most Outstanding Rookie
Darius Law - Charlotte
Freshman, Raleigh, N.C./Southeast Raleigh HS
Law sprinted to victories in both the 200-meter (21.83) and 400-meter (48.08) dashes at the Atlantic 10 Championship on May 3-4...led Charlotte to a second-place finish.

Men's Outdoor Track and Field Most Outstanding Field Performer
Ryan McCarthy - Rhode Island
Senior, Worcester, Mass./St. John's HS
McCarthy defended his titles in two events, claiming gold in the shot put (52-3.25) and javelin (209-0) at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 3-4...became the first-ever three-time recipient of the of the honor...also finished second in the discus (153-5)...led URI to its second straight title.

Men's Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year
John Copeland - Rhode Island
30th Season
Copeland was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the fifth time after Rhode Island seized its second straight men's title at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships (May 3-4)...it marked the seventh title in eight seasons for the Rams, as they edged runner-up Charlotte, 224-206.

Women's Outdoor Track and Field Most Outstanding Track Performer
Lamarra Currie - Charlotte
Sophomore, Apex, N.C./Apex HS
Currie captured gold in the 100-meter (11.55) and 200-meter (24.11) dashes at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships (May 3-4)...lead the 49ers to their third consecutive title.

Women's Outdoor Track and Field Most Outstanding Field Performer
Sarah Thornton - Rhode Island
Senior, Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties HS
Thornton became the first four-time winner of the discus event (153-8), while also placing second in the hammer throw (198-6) and was tabbed the Most Outstanding Field Performer at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships (May 3-4)...also placed fifth in the shot put (40-11 3/4)...URI finished tied for second in the 12-team field.

Women's Outdoor Track and Field Most Outstanding Rookie
Ebonie Cunningham - Charlotte
Freshman, Raleigh, N.C./Southeast Raleigh HS
Cunningham claimed gold at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships (May 3-4) in the 400-meter dash (55.77) as the 49ers won their third straight Conference title.

Women's Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year
Bob Olesen - Charlotte
Fifth Season
Olesen was named the women's Coach of the Year for the third time in as many years after leading the 49ers to their third consecutive Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships (May 3-4)...the 49ers amassed 203 points en route to victory, while Dayton and Rhode Island tied for second with 110.5 points apiece.