Editor's Note: "From The Desk Of" is a four-part series by athletics director Joe Kimball. In the series, Kimball will touch on subjects of interest to current and former student-athletes, alumni, fans and parents. The overall goal of the series is to keep the Mercyhurst College athletics community connected with the day-to-day operations of the department.
Issue 1: September 1
Hello all!
I hope you have enjoyed a wonderful summer and are as excited as we are about the 2010-11 academic year. This past season was one of our best years for both academic and athletic success. Some of the headlines included our women's rowing varsity 8 national championship, defeating five-time defending champions Western Washington in the process. Also, our women's ice hockey team advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four for the second consecutive season.
What makes these accomplishments even more exciting is that rower Bethany Brun and hockey standout Vicki Bendus both won the NCAA Elite 88 Award, given annually to the student-athlete with the highest grade point average at each of the NCAA's 88 championships. Both finished with a 3.93 GPA, with Brun a double-major in religious studies/sociology and Bendus a biology/pre-med major.
Bendus was also named the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner, titling her the best Division I women's ice hockey player in the country for the first time in the Lakers' program.
Engage. Enrich. Envision. -- The Campaign for Mercyhurst College. If you haven't read about the newest fundraising efforts, please take a moment to visit envision.mercyhurst.edu.
With 24 varsity sports representing 25 percent of the student body and over a third of the students participating in our intramural programs, investing in our athletic facilities is essential to the future success of Mercyhurst, and we have developed an eight-year strategic plan to enhance our athletic facilities.
Some initiatives identified in the athletics strategic plan include:
Relocation of and enhancement of the baseball field,
Relocation of and enhancement of the softball field,
Locker rooms for teams which do not currently have any locker room space (baseball, softball, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, field hockey, men's and women's cross country and men's and women's tennis,
Storage space for our athletic teams.
The success of our teams has been impressive, and we want to make sure everyone knows the success of 2009-10. Below is a chart detailing the incredible achievements from 2009-10.
2009-10 By The Numbers
24 varsity sports (12 men, 12 women)
58.7 winning percentage (273-190-8)
1 National Championship (NCAA II Rowing, Varsity 8)
12 teams selected to respective NCAA Tournament
20 teams qualified for respective conference tournament
63 All-Conference selections
13 All-America selections
2 Coaches of the Year
2 Players of the Year
2 Rookies of the Year
326 Mercyhurst Scholar-Athletes
233 PSAC Scholar-Athletes
2 PSAC Top 10 Winners
83 Members of the National College Athlete Honor Society, Chi Sigma Alpha, Pi Chapter
2 NCAA Elite 88 Award Winners
2 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-Americans
7 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District First Team
2 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Second Team
2 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Honorable Mention