Summer 2007 - Hood College

Summer 2007Hood Magazine 7Cross CountryThe men’s and women’s cross country teamsparticipated in nine meets during the fall andrewrote numerous records in the process.Freshman standout William Andrews set thestandard in the men’s 8,000 meters with a timeof 27:31 and, in all, five Blazers broke the 30-minute barrier this season. On the women’sside, sophomore Danielle Sgro was Hood’s topfinisher in every competition and broke thewomen’s 6,000 meter record with a clockingof 23:43, lowering the previous record by 28seconds. For the third consecutive year, thewomen’s squad was recognized by the U.S.Track and Field and Cross Country CoachesAssociation as one of the top academic squadsin Division III. The Blazer women were ranked24th out of 375 Division III schools with a3.526 cumulative grade point average. Themen’s team also earned this distinction for thefirst time in their four-year history.Men’s BasketballThe 2006-07 season was a year of firsts for theHood men’s basketball team. The Blazers postedtheir first 20-win season with a record of 21-8; competed in the Capital Athletic Conferencefor the first time; won their first-ever CAC contestover Gallaudet University Nov. 29; capturedtheir first CAC regular season crown with aleague mark of 12-4; and earned the program’sfirst at-large bid to the NCAA tournament byvirtue of their strong nonconference scheduleand their appearance in the CAC championshipgame. Head coach Tom Dickman won multiplecoach-of-the-year awards from the CAC,PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland andD3Hoops.com for his squad’s accomplishments.Junior center Jesse Gutekunst was selected asthe PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland Player ofthe Year and was named to the all-conferencefirst team and the all-region first team.Sophomore Ryan Junghans joined Gutekunston the all-league first team and was named tothe all-region second team. Additionally, Hood’strio of seniors, who were the only four-yearplayers remaining from the original class of 13in 2003-04, were all recognized at the SeniorStudent-Athlete Banquet. Sean Robine was therecipient of the Most Outstanding Student-Athlete Award, Darnell Edmonds (picturedbelow) was chosen as the winner of theScholar-Athlete Award and Justin Junghansearned the Coaches’ Award.newsWomen’s BasketballIn a season plagued with adversity, the Blazerwomen’s basketball team came up short ofqualifying for their final Atlantic Women’sColleges Conference tournament and settledfor a fifth-place finish in the league standings.The team lost its top two scorers from a yearago, was forced to shuffle its lineup frequentlydue to injuries and finished with a record of5-18. Senior Dana Shook (pictured above) andfreshman Jennifer Willison were named to theall-AWCC second team. Shook finished hercareer in third place on Hood’s all-time threepointchart with 101 treys and is eighth all-timein scoring with 763 points. Willison was Hood’sleading scorer (14.2 points per game) andrebounder (8.5 rebounds per game).Field HockeyThe defending conference champion Blazerssecured the No. 2 seed in the 2006 AtlanticWomen’s Colleges Conference tournament butdropped a pair of heartbreaking one-goal decisionsin the semifinal and consolation rounds.Hood posted a 3-12 overall record and a 2-2AWCC mark. The victories came via shutout atThomas Athletic Field. Junior Justina Miller,sophomore Crystal Parker and freshman BrandyNoel earned all-AWCC first team plaudits, whilefour other players, junior defender ChristaLundskow, freshman midfielder Lauren Perzan,sophomore forward Julie Schnitzker and juniorforward Christina Woody, represented Hoodon the 2006 National Field Hockey CoachesAssociation Division III National AcademicSquad.GolfThe men’s golf team competed in a pair of invitationalsduring the spring. Senior JustinJunghans sported an average of 91 in the twocompetitions while classmate Ben Snyder carriedan average of 105.5. On the women’s side,freshmen Stephanie Hearn and Jessica Neaseboth traveled to Gettysburg, Pa., as individualcompetitors in the Gettysburg Invitational.2006-07 Season RecapMen’s LacrossePlaying one of the toughest schedules in NCAADivision III, the Blazers set numerous individualand team records in their third season of varsitycompetition. Junior midfielder Jason Andersonpaced the Blazer offense with 18 goals whilejunior attack Will Oconis racked up 12 assistsand won 73 face-offs for Hood. Oconis was alsorecognized as an Academic All-District II selectionby ESPN The Magazine and the CollegeSports Information Directors of America. Juniorgoalkeeper Sam Hofmann made 251 saves inHood’s 15 games and was ranked among thenational leaders in save percentage during thespring.Women’s LacrosseFor the second time in three years, the Blazersadvanced to the championship game of theAtlantic Women’s Colleges Conference tournament.Despite falling to the College of NotreDame (Md.) in the title game, the Blazers finishedwith an overall record of 4-9 and pickedup some impressive post-season accolades.Sophomore attack Liz Rakowski was lauded asthe AWCC Co-Most Outstanding Player whilefreshman midfielder Brandy Noel earnedNewcomer of the Year honors. Three otherBlazers were named to the all-conferenceteams, including first-team selections LaurieBurrier and Jayme Frost, while goalkeeperLauren Lieb took home her third straight honorablemention certificate. Burrier finished hercareer as Hood’s all-time assists leader with 35.Lieb heads into her senior season ranked secondall-time at Hood in career saves with 294.Senior Melissa Olson received the Kim ServedioMemorial Award at the Senior Student-AthleteBanquet for her sincerity, selflessness andoptimism.Men’s SoccerThird-year head coach Brian Wall continued tobuild a solid soccer program in Frederick as theBlazers won eight games for the secondstraight year. Hood registered its first-everCapital Athletic Conference victory with a 4-0blanking of Gallaudet University Sept. 30. TheBlazers also scored an impressive 2-1 triumphover local rival Frostburg State University. Hoodqualified for the 2006 CAC tournament andtook on nationally ranked York College in theopening round. The stellar Blazer defense limitedthe potent Spartan offense to just threegoals as rookie keeper Shawn Fernholz turnedaway six shots in the contest. Junior ShaneMcCarrick was one of four defenders named tothe 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II Second Team by the College SportsInformation Directors of America. Additionally,senior Ben Snyder was the recipient of theTrustees Award at the Senior Student-AthleteBanquet for his outstanding leadership.