Transcript Average goals per game for the women’s lacrosse team in 2008.

Average goals per game for the women’s
lacrosse team in 2008. The Mules led the
Centennial Conference and ranked 15th in
Division III in scoring offense, shattering the
previous school record of 13.87 goals per game.
15.50
Five Mules scored at least 30 goals, led by Ruth Morrongiello with 41.
The high-octane offense, which scored 20 goals
three times and set a school record with 16
assists in a game vs. Haverford, led Muhlenberg
to a school-record 11 wins and the program’s
first-ever CC playoff berth. A year after going 2-7
in the CC, the Mules were 5-4 in league play to
earn the fifth seed in the CC playoffs.
The scoring dropped a bit in 2009 (to 14.21 goals
per game), but the team improved to 6-3 in the
CC, earning the third seed in the playoffs, and
received votes in the national Division III poll for
the first time ever.
15
Career goals scored by soccer standout
Billy Dalton (2005-08). Dalton also had
12 assists, leading Muhlenberg in scoring
as a junior and senior. The central midfielder
was named to the All-Centennial Conference
team three times and the All-Mid Atlantic
Region team once.
Dalton was one of nine Mules in the decade to
be named a team captain three straight years.
Jenn Risley (women’s basketball, 2000-02) was another
three-year captain, earning All-CC honors two of those
years. Brad Scheller (men’s tennis, 2001-03) was a firstteam All-CC doubles player.
The other three-year captains were
Bill Snow (men’s golf, 2007-09), John
Westendorf (men’s lacrosse, 200305), Jesse Kirschenbaum (men’s
tennis, 2006-08), Mackenzie Parke
(women’s tennis, 2002-04), Julie
Lauro (volleyball, 2003-05) and Bill
Holsinger (wrestling, 2000-02).
14-6
Score of two important wins
for the men’s lacrosse team.
After being discontinued in 1980, men’s lacrosse
was reinstated as a varsity sport in 2003. In their first
game back, the Mules defeated Centenary, 14-6, as
John Westendorf (right) scored seven goals.
The fledgling program found
the sledding a little tougher
in the Centennial
Conference. The Mules
went 1-25 in their first 26
CC games, with the lone
win coming against Ursinus,
which also started its program in 2003. In 2006,
Muhlenberg scored its first win against an
established CC team, defeating Franklin & Marshall
by the same 14-6 score. Galen Marsh (left) scored
four goals, including three in the Mules’ 8-0 run to
open the game.
13-0
Start for the women’s basketball team in
2001-02. In Muhlenberg College athletics
history, only the 1990 field hockey team
(14-0) got off to a better start.
The most impressive of the 13 wins was a
79-66 defeat of Scranton, at the time
ranked ninth in Division III. The win
propelled the Mules to a No. 8 national
ranking, which remains the highest in
program history.
Muhlenberg ended the season 21-4, setting
a school record for wins (since broken).
Susan Marchiano led the team in points
(15.0) and rebounds (9.2) per game as well
as field-goal percentage (.574), steals and
blocked shots.
12-6¼
School- and Centennial Conference-record height in
the pole vault for Alex Faust, the women’s field
athlete of the decade.
Faust, currently a senior, won the pole vault at the CC
Championships both indoors and outdoors each of her
first three years, adding more than two feet to the
school records. Her best height came outdoors at the
2009 Swarthmore Last Chance Meet. In Faust’s next
competition, she finished seventh at the NCAA
Championships to earn All-America honors.
Faust has also won three gold medals at the CC
Championships in the 400 meters and holds school
records in the 55 (indoors), the 200 (both) and the 400
(both). She was named Most Outstanding Performer
for field events at the 2007 CC indoor meet.
12-for-12
Shooting performance by Jeff Stewart in the
second game of his career, against Elms in the
2003 Scotty Wood Tournament. He tied the
school record for shooting accuracy in a game,
set in 1984-85.
Stewart finished his three-year career ninth on
the Mules’ all-time scoring list with 1,345 points.
His career scoring average of 18.42 points per
game is just a hair shy of the school record of
18.43. Stewart earned All-Centennial
Conference honors all three years, making the
first team in 2005-06, when he led the league in
scoring, rebounding and blocked shots.
11
Wins without a loss
against Centennial
Conference opponents
for the men’s soccer
team in 2003. After
going a perfect 9-0 in
the regular season, the
Mules defeated Gettysburg and Johns Hopkins in the CC playoffs to win
their fourth CC title. Since the CC started a championship tournament in
2001, Muhlenberg is the only team to go 11-0, outscoring all opponents,
en route to the title.*
The Mules went on to defeat Gordon in a shootout in the first round of the
NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 6 Stevens Tech in the second
round. They finished the year with a record of 17-5-1 (the most wins for
the program since 1994) and were ranked as high as 16th in Division III.
* Technically, Johns Hopkins matched the Mules’ 11-0 record in 2002. The Blue Jays won both of their tournament matches on
penalty kicks, and in 2002 only shootout wins went in the books as wins rather than ties. Had it been any other year, Hopkins’ record
vs. CC opponents would have been 9-0-2.
10:01.59,10:00.7
0
School-record times in the distance
medley relay for men’s indoor track.
In 2003, the DMR team of Will Elson, Ben
Phillips, Josh Cohen and Brian Cash (top) ran
10:01.59, the fastest time in Division III that year.
That record was considered unbreakable, but in
2009 the foursome of Peter Rice, Stuart Udis,
David Chorney and Bobby Torphy (bottom) did
even better.
Both relay teams earned All-America honors by
placing at the NCAA Championships, the 2003
team fifth and the 2009 quartet fourth.
9
Uniform number worn by Tara
DeMarzo, the softball player who
was critically injured in a car
accident in November 2005.
The entire campus community,
particularly the athletes,
mobilized in support of their
fellow student, participating in a
series of fundraisers that brought
in thousands of dollars.
The DeMarzo family was just one of many beneficiaries
of the Mules’ compassion during the decade. Other
community service events included a charity volleyball
match to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina, the
wrestling team’s “Take Down Cancer” program,
National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the
“Dream to Read” program, charity 5Ks and
marathons run by the baseball and lacrosse
teams, the volleyball team’s “Digging for a Cure,”
the men’s soccer annual clinic for special needs
youths and many, many more.
9-8
Score of the men’s lacrosse “playoff” win at
Ursinus in 2008. It wasn’t officially a playoff
game – it was the last game of the regular
season – but the winner got to advance to
the Centennial Conference playoffs and
the loser had its season end.
For Muhlenberg, every CC game was like
a playoff game after an 0-3 start in the
league. With no margin for error, the Mules
reeled off an eight-game winning streak, capped by the
9-8 victory against Ursinus. Mike Brown broke a 7-7
tie midway through the fourth quarter to put
Muhlenberg ahead to stay and in the playoffs three
years after going 0-8 in the CC.
Although the Mules lost their first official playoff game,
they finished the season 10-5 and received votes in the
national poll for the first time in program history.
8
All-Centennial Conference nods (seven first
team) in the decade for Joshua Carter, the
co-male athlete of the decade.
In football, Carter made the All-CC first team as a
wide receiver and as a kick returner in both 2000
and 2001. In baseball, he made the All-CC first team
as an outfielder in 2001 and 2002 and as a pitcher
in 2002 as well as the second team as an outfielder
in 2000. He was CC player of the year in football in
2000 and in baseball in 2002.
Carter was a three-time All-America kick returner in
football, setting a Division III record for career yards
on punt returns and the school record for career
receiving yards and all-purpose yards.
He hit .348 in baseball, setting school records for
career runs, hits, doubles and stolen bases. The
baseball player of the decade also won 15
games on the mound and tossed what is believed
to be the only no-hitter in program history at
Western Maryland in 2002.
8-0
Final score of the infamous “Mud
Bowl” football game at Moravian in
the last game of the 2002 regular
season.
The pictures pretty much tell the story, except that
it was very cold too. You don’t get this effect on
artificial surfaces. In 2008, the Mules did not play
any of their 11 games on grass.
The win wrapped up a 9-1 regular season for the
Mules, who didn’t need help from the weather to
stop the other team’s offense: this was their third
shutout in four weeks. The offense, which came in
averaging 39.4 points per game, was slowed
down quite a bit but did enough to get the “W.”
7
Innings in the two no-hitters by Muhlenberg
pitchers in the decade.
The baseball no-hitter was by Joshua Carter
(slide 8) in the first game of a doubleheader at
Western Maryland in 2002. Carter walked five
and struck out eight, one with the bases
loaded in the fifth. The Mules won 4-0.
Alyssa Bruckner pitched the softball team’s
first no-hitter since 1990 at home against
Dickinson in 2009, in the second game of a
twinbill. She walked one and struck out five,
including the last two batters of the game with
runners on second and third and the Mules
leading 3-0. Bruckner allowed only one ball to
be hit out of the infield and did not let a runner
past first base until the seventh inning.
6
Things the football team needed to happen on
the last day of the 2004 regular season to make
the NCAA Tournament. They all did.
Muhlenberg defeated Moravian, 28-14, and got
Centennial Conference wins by Johns Hopkins
(vs. McDaniel), Dickinson (vs. Ursinus) and
Franklin & Marshall (vs. Gettysburg). That left
the CC with an unprecedented five-way tie for
first place. To win the complicated strength-ofschedule tiebreaker, Muhlenberg also needed a
win by Union (vs. Rensselaer) and a loss by
Rochester (vs. Hobart).
The favorable outcomes put into the NCAAs a Mule squad that led Division III
in total defense, allowing 195.5 yards per game, and ranked in the top five in
scoring defense, rushing defense and pass efficiency defense. Leading the
defense that was without peer was linebacker Ryan Peer, who made a teamleading 71 tackles and was named CC defensive player of the year.
5
Trips to the NCAA Championships for David
Chorney, tying the College record for all
athletes set by Tyler Cathey (1999-2002,
wrestling and football).
Chorney was part of the cross country team that
competed in the NCAAs in 2006 and qualified as
an individual in 2007 and 2008. He was a
member of the distance medley relay team that
earned All-America honors at the 2009 national
indoor track and field meet and qualified
outdoors later that year in the steeplechase.
Chorney was named Most Outstanding
Performer for track events at the 2009
Centennial Conference Indoor Championships
after winning gold medals in the mile and the
DMR. He graduated in 2009 with 10 school
records in track and field, six individually and
four with relay teams.
School- and Centennial Conference-record
number of sacks by Dan McCall in a 2003
game at Ursinus. He tied another CC record
with six tackles for loss in the game.
McCall set a school record with 10½ sacks that
season and finished his career with a schoolrecord 22½. He was named CC defensive
player of the year and a first-team All-American
by Football Gazette in his senior year of 2005,
when he led the conference in sacks (7½) and
tackles for loss (14½) and tied a school record
with four fumble recoveries, two of which he
returned for touchdowns.
McCall is one of a select group of players
voted to the All-CC first team three times,
despite changing positions from defensive
end to linebacker as a senior. He capped his
career by making two tackles and
recovering a fumble for Team USA at the 2005
Aztec Bowl in Mexico.
5½
4
Career wins in the NCAA Tournament for
Amy Schmidt (2003-06), the women’s
tennis player of the decade. Invited to
the NCAAs in both 2005 and 2006, she
won one match the first time and three the
second, reaching the national semifinals
before losing to the eventual national
champion. Schmidt earned All-America
honors both years.
Schmidt’s overall career record was 114-26,
including a remarkable 65-7 singles
record. She was a
two-time Centennial
Conference player of
the year and seventime All-CC selection.
Schmidt also
was a two-time
All-CC midfielder
in soccer. She is
the female
athlete of the
decade.
3
Times on the All-Centennial Conference first team for
Lauren Boyle (2006-09), the women’s basketball
player of the decade.
Boyle was the first Muhlenberg player and one of just
eight in the first 16 years of the CC to be voted to the
first team three years. She is one of three in CC
history with 1,500 points, 400 rebounds and 250
assists in a career.
The first two-time All-American in program history,
Boyle finished her career second on the Mules’ alltime list with 1,505 points. She averaged 14.2 points in
13 career postseason games and led the team to
three CC championships in her four seasons.
2
National ranking for the football team for one week
in 2008, the highest Division III ranking ever for
any Mule team in any sport.
The Mules were 7-0 and had won 18 consecutive
regular-season games at the time of their ranking.
They finished the year 9-2 and ranked 20th after
winning their second consecutive outright
Centennial Conference championship.
Linebacker Matt Rathbun was one of the stars of
the team, leading the CC with 16½ tackles for loss
and setting a school record with 164 yards on
interception returns. He was named CC defensive
player of the year and a third-team All-American.
1
National ranking early in the 2005-06 season for Matt Loesch, the wrestler of
the decade. Loesch was ranked fourth in the preseason poll and moved up to the
top spot without competing: Of the three wrestlers ranked ahead of him, one
changed weight classes, another was ineligible and the third was upset. Loesch
got a late start because he was with the football team in the fall.
Once he got on the mat, Loesch proved he was one of the best in Division III. He
earned All-America honors three times at 197, finishing fourth in 2005 and sixth in
2006 and 2007 at the NCAA Championships. His fourth-place finish is the highest
ever by a Mule wrestler. A four-time Centennial Conference champion, Loesch
finished his career with a 90-16 record, including a 40-0 mark against CC foes.
0
Losses in “perfect seasons” for 2009 women’s basketball and 2007
football, the women’s and men’s teams of the decade.
The basketball team became the first in
Centennial Conference history to go
undefeated in the CC regular season
(18-0) and postseason (2-0). The
Mules won their third CC title, reached
the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA
Tournament for the first time ever and
ended with a record of 26-4.
The football team became the first in
the 106-year-history of the sport at
Muhlenberg to have a perfect regular
season. The Mules won their first
outright CC championship and
advanced to the Round of 16 in the
NCAA Tournament. They wound up
with a record of 11-1 and were ranked
eighth in the final Division III poll.
Whew!
There it is … the Muhlenberg Athletics Decade in Review. During the course of
compiling the information, several things became apparent:
1. Uniform styles and colors changed quite a bit during the last 10 years.
2. Digital photos are much easier to deal with than the prints and negatives we were
dealing with at the start of the decade.
3. Muhlenberg Athletics had an outstanding decade full of notable individual and
team accomplishments. Every effort was made to be as all-inclusive as possible,
but still there were some achievements and tremendous athletes left out.
Everyone associated with Muhlenberg Athletics, whether they be fans, alumni,
parents, coaches, support staff or, most importantly, student-athletes, can take a
great deal of pride in the success of the Mule programs.
4. Those muddy football uniforms might never come clean.
What will the next decade hold? Only one thing is certain: if it happens in Mule
athletics in the “tens,” you can read about it here on the Mule Web site.
Special thanks to Bill Johnson, who was with Muhlenberg the entire decade and took
many of the great photos that were used in the slide shows.