2007 Media Guide - Tribe Athletics - College of William and Mary

2007 William and Mary Gymnastics Academic AtmosphereMatt Elson was one of seven Tribe gymnasts to earn CollegeGymnastics Associate Academic All-American honors afterthe 2006 season. Elson, an ‘06 graduate, is one of manyshining examples of ‘true’ student-athlete ideal that has beenthe trademark Cliff Gauthier’s program for over three decades.A distinct educational advantage at the Collegeof William and Mary is that students actually have fullfledgedprofessors, not graduate students or teaching assistants,as instructors for their courses. Since the Collegeprides itself on its teaching faculty, it is quite common tohave a department’s chairman or top researcher teachingundergraduate courses, even at the freshman introductorylevel. William & Mary’s size, prevalent educational atmosphere,and student to faculty ratio of 12-1 give studentsthe opportunity to talk to professors in both formal andinformal situations beginning with unique freshman seminars.This in turn, leads to a stimulating, successful educationalenvironment. Tribe gymnasts come to learn as wellas have an enjoyable, well-rounded college experience.William and Mary’s prestigious undergraduate programstresses a broad-based exploration of courses beforehaving students declare a major area of concentration atthe end of their sophomore year. Some gymnasts chooseto pursue degrees in the sciences to take advantage ofthe undergraduate opportunity to work closely withsome of the nation’s finest professors in biology, physics,and chemistry. Others take advantage of the outstandingundergraduate business program or study internationalrelations at the renowned Reves Center for InternationalStudies.With help from a mentoring professor there is alsothe option of designing an interdisciplinary major to meetyour special needs. This enables William and Mary the flexibilityto offer majors, such as biomechanical life science,not usually found at universities with only 5500 undergraduatestudents. Some of our gymnasts have majored inphysics, chemistry or computer science to prepare for advanceddegrees in a specific engineering field. They havefound that they can earn a masters degree in engineeringin six years, which parallels the amount of time it takes toget a masters by attending a university that offers an undergraduateengineering degree. In general, most WilliamTeam FinishesThe following is the Tribe’s final National AcademicTeam ranking since 1991:1991—1st1992—1st1993—5th1994—2nd1995—13th1996—6th1997—6th1998—13th1999—3rd2000—2nd2001—2nd2002—1st2003—2nd2004—4th2005 – 6th2006 – 3rdIndividual FinishesCollege Gymnastics Association Academic All-Americans Since 1990Dan Krovich—90, 91David Williams—90, 91Randy Jewart—90, 92Marc Lim—90, 91, 92, 93Rick Mansfield—91, 92,93, 94Lance Hoffman—92Nate Carr—94Matt Holecko—95, 96, 97Scott McCall—95, 96, 97Rob David—95Paul Davee—96Steve Dvoranchik—96Bobby Feinglass—97, 98,99, 00Adrian Eissler—99, 00, 01Darren Lewis—99Mike Niederhauser—99Craig Wetmore—99, 00,01, 02Mike Spies—00, 01, 02, 03Billie Jamison—01Nyker Sheldon—01, 03, 04Mike Turns—01, 02Jesse Danzig—02, 03Mike Powell—02, 03, 04Matt Roosevelt—02, 03, 04Alan Palesko—03, 04Chris Renjilian—03, 04, 05Ben Carter – 05, 06Aaron Ingram – 05, 06Chuck Portz – 06Matt Elson – 06Mike Zielinski – 06Andrew Hunt – 06(2nd-Team)Jeff Jaekle – 06(2nd-Team)and Mary gymnasts stick with traditional majorsand graduate in four not five years.The College’s Williamsburg campus is oneof the most historic and beautiful in the country.You can still take classes, like Thomas Jeffersondid, in the famous Sir Christopher Wren Building,the oldest academic building in the United States.It anchors one end of the campus and is part ofColonial Williamsburg’s famous 173-acre Historicarea, which features a re-creation of the life andtimes of the 1700’s. This combination of Williamand Mary and Colonial Williamsburg provides fora unique and stimulating educational setting.There are plenty of diversions in the immediatearea which include Busch Gardens, Water Country,Yorktown, Jamestown, the Williamsburg PotteryFactory, several major outlet malls, championshipgolf courses and the ever present deli’s. The surf atVirginia Beach is one hour away while downtownRichmond is only 45 minutes. Driving to Washington,DC or the Blue Ridge Mountains takes approximately2 1⁄2 hours.The College of William and Mary has a nationaland international reputation for its academicquality. Time magazine has referred to The Collegeas, “Probably the most selective of the ‘PublicIvies’. The Williamsburg, Va., school offers an idyllicresidential campus, small classes and a superbplacement record.” There is a true “personal” atmosphereat William and Mary where students areknown for their active involvement in many campusand community activities.The pre-med, pre-law and accounting majorswho as a group score right at the top on admissionand certification tests are constant examples ofWilliam and Mary’s academic quality. William andMary students opting for advanced degrees alsoattain outstanding scores on the GRE’s for graduateschools. Many of our undergraduate studentsdo honors projects or research that leads to professionalpresentations or publications. This level ofachievement generally occurs only on the graduatelevel at most other universities. Over the last30 years, 23 of the 24 W&M gymnasts who appliedto medical school were accepted.William and Mary requires that all undergraduatesdevelop good writing and verbalcommunication skills regardless of major. Thiscertainly enhances your ability to move up in thecareer of your choice. Quite frankly, a degree fromWilliam and Mary has long-term career benefitsand clearly puts you at the head of the pack.www.TribeAthletics.com2007 Media Guide19