The Ashland University athletic

department enjoyed success across the board in 2005-06. Whether it was team accomplishments or individual honors, the Eagles were recognized on the conference, regional and national levels. A review of some of the highlights from 2005-06 can be found below.

Football

Ashland finished 9-2 overall, 8-2 in GLIAC play. AU closed the season with a six-game winning streak and narrowly missed being invited to the NCAA Division II playoffs. Head coach Lee Owens, in his second season at the helm, was named the GLIAC coach of the year. Senior defensive back Devin Conwell earned first team all-conference honors for the second consecutive season and was named the GLIAC defensive back of the year. Tailback Jason Schwalm set a school single-season rushing record with 1,494 yards. He also set a school single-game record when he rambled for 292 yards on 45 carries against Wayne State. In addition to Conwell and Schwalm, AU’s other first team All-GLIAC picks were offensive lineman Blake Dickson, linebacker Brady Miller and defensive lineman Kyle Zelazny. AU was second in the nation in scoring defense (9.7 ppg.) and seventh in total defense (267.7 ypg.).

Volleyball

Sophomore outside hitter Mary Kate Glowe was an honorable mention All-America and a first team All-GLIAC choice. She had 617 kills, the third highest single-season mark in AU history. Glowe set a school record with 518 digs. Another sophomore, setter Lynsey Warren, joined Glowe on the All-GLIAC first team.

Men’s Golf

Coach Darrin Jones continues to build a deep and talented unit. At the Great Lakes Regional #3, sophomore Chris Robertson took medalist honors. The Eagles were second at the Ashland University Invitational, hosted by the Country Club of Ashland. At the GLIAC championships, the Eagles were eighth.

Men’s Soccer

The Eagles captured their first GLIAC men’s soccer title in 2005, finishing 6-2-2 in conference action. Overall, the Eagles were 11-5-2. AU brought home the conference championship by playing its best soccer in the season’s final weeks. Ashland was 7-1-1 in its final nine matches. The flurry earned AU mentor John Hall the GLIAC coach of the year award. Senior forward Dan Krispinsky and sophomore midfielder Elliot Bradbrook were named first team All-GLIAC. Bradbrook led the team in goals (11) and points (24). Krispinsky tied for second on the team in points (17). He had seven goals.

Women’s Soccer

As usual, the Eagles were one of the top programs in NCAA Division II. AU barely missed out on a ninth straight trip to the NCAA playoffs, finishing with a 12-4-1 record, 6-1-1 in GLIAC play. Senior forward Maria Manzo completed her career as one of the most prolific scorers in GLIAC history. In her senior season she had 20 goals and 2 assists, good for 42 points. Manzo and junior forward Caitlin Carducci were named first team All-GLIAC.

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country

A new era in AU cross country began in 2005 as Nick Cordes took over as the men’s coach and Leigh Daniel assumed control of the women’s program. Cordes is one of the most successful runners in AU history, finishing as the national runnerup in cross country in 2002. As for the Eagles in 2005, the men were fifth at the GLIAC championships and seventh at the regional meet. The AU women were sixth at the conference championships and placed 14th at the regional meet.

Women’s Tennis

The Eagles, with a lineup filled with underclassmen, were 4-9, 1-8 in GLIAC play. The head coach of the Eagles is Carl Leedy.

Women’s Golf

AU placed fourth at the GLIAC championships. Maggie Slonkosky was 17th at the conference championships and earned second team All-GLIAC laurels for the second consecutive year. Nicole Cespedes was 21st at the conference meet and Bridget Slonkosky was 22nd. The head coach of the Eagles is Pam Leonard.

Men’s Basketball

The Eagles featured one of the most productive players in the GLIAC in 2005-06 in senior center Justin Brown. Brown was named first team All-GLIAC and was a member of the GLIAC all-defensive team. He averaged 16.4 ppg., 9.9 rpg., and shot 61 percent from the field. Brown led the way as the Eagles finished 19-10, 10-7 in GLIAC play. The Eagles advanced to the GLIAC Tournament and won their first round tournament game against Mercyhurst, 90-77. The Eagles’ season didn’t end until the GLIAC semifinals when eventual champ Grand Valley State defeated them, 90-77.

Head coach Roger Lyons had five players average in double figures in scoring. Junior guard-forward Vahn Knight was good for 13.9 ppg., and shot 77 percent from the three-point line. Junior forward Greg Emmons averaged 12.8 ppg., 6.8 rpg., and moved into position to become AU’s next member of the 1,000-point career club.

Women’s Basketball

For the second time in school history, the Eagles were included in the NCAA Division II playoff field. Ashland’s final record was 21-11, 13-4 in GLIAC play. The Eagles won the GLIAC South Division championship for the fourth time in five years and won 20 or more games for the third consecutive season. AU played Grand Valley State in the GLIAC championship game. That contest, played on Grand Valley’s home floor, went to the Lakers, 76-58. GVSU ended Ashland’s season in the first round of the NCAA playoffs, 87-59.

Junior guard Amber Rall averaged 17.8 ppg., and put herself in position to become the school’s career scoring leader. Junior forward Catherine Portyrata averaged 12.0 ppg., and 5.8 rpg. Senior guard Dee Bethune averaged 10.2 ppg., and sophomore guard Lisa Graue developed into one of the top all-around guards in the GLIAC. She averaged 9.8 ppg., 7.8 rpg., and had a team-high 74 steals. Rall and Graue were first team All-GLIAC selections and Graue was a member of the league’s all-defensive team.

Wrestling

It’s not uncommon for the AU wrestling to have a large travel party at the national meet. That trend held true again in 2005-06 as six Ashland grapplers qualified for nationals. Two of those wrestlers came home with All-America honors. Senior Ryan Kirst was seventh at 197 pounds. This was his fourth trip to the national meet. Sophomore Mike Compton, in his first visit to nationals, was eighth at 125 pounds. Head coach Ray Kowatch and the Eagles were 19th in the final team standings.

The Eagles were fourth at the NCAA regional championships.

Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field

The Eagles took 10 student-athletes to the indoor track and field championships in Boston. Sophomore Bryan Vickers won the second national title of his career, leading the field in the shot. He set a meet record at 64-3.75. Senior Blake Dickson was fourth in that event and that made him a double All-America – earlier in the year he attained All-America status in football. Senior Jody Stewart was seventh in the 60 and as a team, the AU men were fifth.

The AU women finished 20th at nationals. Senior Natalie Coffey showed again that she was one of the most dominant throwers in the country, placing fourth in the shot and seventh in the weight throw. Sophomore Jen Tinney was eighth in the weight throw. Jud Logan was named the Great Lakes region men’s indoor track and field coach of the year and the GLIAC men’s indoor track and field coach of the year. This was Logan’s first year as AU’s head coach.

Men’s and Women’s Swimming

Junior Omar Fathallah was a one-man gang at the NCAA Championships. Fathallah competed in four events and earned All-America honors in all four races. He was eighth in the 50 freestyle, 11th in the 100 freestyle, 15th in the 100 butterfly and 13th in the 200 butterfly. He was the lone AU swimmer at the championships and his performance put the Eagles 23rd in the final team standings.

Both AU teams were recognized as Academic All-America units. The men had a team grade point average of 3.11 and the women’s team grade point average was 3.10.

Baseball

At the end of the season, it was hard to find a team playing as well as the Eagles. Ashland won the North Central regional championship and advanced to the NCAA Division II championships in Montgomery, AL. The Eagles won their first game there, knocking off Franklin Pierce, 14-4. In their next game there, AU lost in 13 innings to Cal State-Chico, 8-4. Chico went on to finish as the national runnerup. AU’s season came to a close against Franklin Pierce, 7-2. The Eagles were 1-2 at the championships and had an overall record of 47-17. Ashland was 23-9 in the GLIAC.

This season marked the third time in head coach John Schaly’s nine years at Ashland that the Eagles advanced to the NCAA Championships. AU has won 40 or more games five times under Schaly. The 2005-06 team finished one victory shy of the school single-season record for wins (48 in 2002). Second baseman Justin Randall, a junior, was the GLIAC player of the year and was named a second team All-America by the Baseball Coaches of America and a first team All-America by the College Baseball Writers of America. Junior infielder-outfielder Casey Jirsa was a first team Academic All-America (3.87 GPA as an accounting major) and a second team All-America. Junior pitcher Josh Davidson was 14-5. That win total was the second highest in school history. Davidson also set a school single-season record for innings pitched (111). Schaly was honored as the North Central region coach of the year.

Softball

AU sported a 35-21 record, 14-6 in GLIAC play. Junior outfielder Bree Beabout hit a team-high .374 and was a first team All-GLIAC choice. Junior shortstop Jill Allerding owned a .365 batting average with 6 homers and a team-high 33 RBI. On the mound, junior Jaime Williams was 23-11 with a 1.68 ERA. Williams had 276 strikeouts in 225 innings for head coach Sheilah Gulas. She pitched 28 complete games in 32 starting assignments. In addition to Beabout, Williams and senior outfielder Ashley Mayle were first team all-conference designees.

Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field

On the men’s side, sophomore Bryan Vickers was the national runnerup in the shot. His best throw measured 59-11.25. Another sophomore, Robert Klenk, was fourth in the hammer (196-6). The Ashland men were 20th in the final standings.