Dec. 22, 2007
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - A NCAA Division II national championship in women's rowing and a national runner-up finish in volleyball highlighted the 2007 calendar year for the Western Washington University athletics program.
The national rowing title was the Vikings' third straight, the first time that had been accomplished in any NCAA division since that sport's championship began in 1997. Lindsay Mann-King and Staci Reynolds were named Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association All-Americans and John Fuchs was the CRCA national co-Coach of the Year.
Western's volleyball team reached the national championship match in its first trip to the Elite Eight with a four-game semifinal win over No.4-ranked and host Washburn KS before a crowd of 2,015. The Vikings came within a point of sending the national title match with No.2 Concordia-St. Paul MN to a fifth game, having a 21-match winning streak end and finishing with a 26-5 record. Along the way, they took the Pacific Regional crown, the school's first, and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship.
Libero Courtney Schneider led the nation in digs per game for the second straight year with a national record average of 7.74, and also established a national career standard of 7.00. A first-team American Volleyball Coaches Association and second-team Daktronics All-American, she had a NCAA II tournament record 44 digs against Washburn and finished with respective season and career totals of 851 and 2,695, both school and GNAC records.
Volleyball's Diane Flick was one of four Western coaches to receive GNAC Coach of the Year honors in 2007. The others were Pee Wee Halsell in men's cross country, Travis Connell in men's soccer and Lonnie Hicks in softball. Flick also was the AVCA Pacific Region Coach of the Year.
Hicks got his 150th softball victory in a 5-2 win over Northwest Nazarene on Apr. 28 and women's basketball coach Carmen Dolfo notched her 350th triumph on Dec. 18 against Cal State Monterey Bay.
Western finished a school-best second at the men's cross country West Regional, advancing to nationals where it placed 11th, with redshirt freshman Bennett Grimes earning All-America honors. Grimes and GNAC Freshman of the Year Daniel Phillips led a group of four freshmen on a squad that won the GNAC title.
The Viking softball team won the school's first GNAC title and reached the West Regional, finishing with a 34-22 record, the win total being a school record. Jackie Quint was named GNAC Pitcher of the Year, posting an 18-11 record with a 1.97 earned run average, and catcher/designated player Liza Teichler, who hit .368, was the GNAC Player of the Year.
The men's soccer team had the school's biggest turnaround, finishing 13-6-1 after being 2-17-1 the previous year. Forward Gibson Bardsley scored 11 goals to earn GNAC Freshman of the Year honors
Mollie Stelmack averaged 15.7 points, becoming the first guard to lead the women's basketball team in scoring since 1984. She received Kodak/Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America honorable mention as she helped Western to an 18-10 record and the first round of the West Regional.
Western narrowly missed a second straight post-season appearance in women's soccer, finishing 13-6-1.
Monika Gruszecki was the national champion in the women's javelin with a toss of 145-8, and Anthony Tomsich finished fourth in the men's 1500 meters at the outdoor national track and field meet.
Tomsich also was a member of the men's distance medley relay with Sam Brancheau, Adam Neff and Erik Bies that placed second at the national indoor track meet.
Micheal Dean was the indoor track GNAC Male Freshman of the Year, and Tomsich was the outdoor track GNAC Male Athlete of the Year,
Football middle linebacker Shane Simmons led the North Central Conference and ranked fourth nationally in tackles with a 12.5 per game average. Picked to play in the Cactus Bowl, he helped the Vikings to the year's biggest upset, a 28-21 season-opening win at NCAA I-FCS UC Davis to open the Aggies' new stadium.
Jake Koppenberg, a transfer from Idaho, set a school record in men's golf by firing a 10-under par 62 to take medalist honors at the Grand Canyon Fall Invitational. Western also learned that it will host the 2009 NCAA II National Men's Golf Championships.
Guard Ira Graham is averaging 20.0 points in leading Western to a 7-2 start in men's basketball. Sarah Porter, the GNAC Freshman of the Year in women's cross country, led the Vikings in every race and competed at nationals.
