The young Blue Hen baseball team gave retiring head coach Bob Hannah quite a final ride in 2000, posting a 37-20 record, winning a third straight America East conference title and advancing to the NCAA regionals for the fifth time in the last six years.

Backed by a pair of All-Americans in junior second baseman Andrew Salvo and sophomore pitcher Rich McGuire, the Blue Hens posted their seventh straight season with 30 or more victories.

The Hens swept through the America East Tournament with three straight wins to qualify for the NCAA regionals in Oklahoma City. There, the Hens fell to no. 1 seed UCLA in the opening round by a 13-12 score. Salvo, the America East Player of the Year, ranked among the national leaders with a .419 batting average and led the team with 31 stolen bases. McGuire, a sophomore righthander and the America East Pitcher of the Year, was 9-2 with a 4.08 earned run average.

Also leading the Hens were first team All-America East selections in third baseman Peter Maestrales (.354, 13 home runs, 54 runs batted in), out fielder Chris Kolodzey (.347, 11 HR, 70 RBI) and freshman catcher John Schneider (.320, 9 HR, 38 RBI).

Softball: 36-14, 18-6 America East (2nd place)

For the third straight season the Blue Hen softball team established a school record for wins in a season and made a strong run for the America East title. Head coach B.J. Ferguson's squad went 36-14 and placed second in the America East regular season standings with a mark of 18-6.

The Hens won their first game at the America East Tournament before falling to top seed and eventual champion Hofstra 2-1 in a marathon 20-inning game--the longest in Delaware history--in the second round. The Hens featured one of the nation's top pitching combinations as senior Kristi O'Connell, UD's Outstanding Senior Female Athlete of the Year, set virtually every school record, finishing with a 16-11 record, a 0.72 earned run average, and 170 strikeouts. Junior Susan Dugan was just as effective, setting a school record with a 20-3 record to go with a 1.04 ERA. The team ERA of 0.87 ranked among the top 10 in the nation all season long. All-America East designated player Lauren Mark once again led the Blue Hen bats as she hit .397 and knocked in 31 runs, while freshman outfielder Krissy Chrisztopulosz batted .307, stole seven bases and earned first team All-America East honors. Both Dugan and O'Connell were also named to the All-Region all-star team.

Men's lacrosse: 10-6, 4-1 America East; (tie, 1st place); America East Runner-Up

After losing 10 key players and National Player of the Year John Grant to graduation in 1999, head coach Bob Shillinglaw entered the 2000 season with no grand expectations. However, his youthful team surprised many, posting an impressive 10-6 record, tying for the America East regular season title and falling just one win shy of a second straight NCAA Tournament berth after losing to rival Hofstra in the America East title game.

The Blue Hens spent most of the season ranked among the top 15 nationally and posted impressive victories over Butler, Towson, and Hofstra during the regular season.

Junior Jason Lavey picked up much of the scoring slack, scoring 71 points on 28 goals and 43 assists to rank among the top players in the country. The Hens also got big efforts from All-America East defenders John Ciliberto, Jeff Krafft and Bryan Barrett, while freshman Ryan Metzbower led the team with 30 goals scored and was tabbed the America East Rookie of the Year. First-year starter Dave Mullen was solid in goal, allowing a stingy 8.10 goals per game to set a UD record and rank among the national elite. 

Women's lacrosse: 13-5, 5-1 America East (2nd place); NCAA Tournament participants

After narrowly missing NCAA tournament berths each of the last three seasons, the Blue Hens finally got over the hump in 2000 with one of the finest seasons in Delaware's women's lacrosse history. Head coach Denise Wescott's team posted a 13-5 record and was ranked as high as no. 7 nationally during the season, to earn the school's first NCAA tournament berth since 1984.

The Hens fell to no. 6 ranked Loyola, an eventual NCAA semifinalist, 14-4 in the opening round of NCAA play. Led by senior All-Americans Sarah Edwards (42 goals) and Christy Buck (23 goals) at midfield, the Blue Hens posted a key early season upset over then no. 2-ranked James Madison and upped their winning streak vs. unranked teams to 30 games.

A mid-season loss to conference foe Boston University snapped a 26-game conference winning streak that included three straight league titles. Edwards, who also earned Academic All-American honors, shared the team scoring leadership with junior Megan Fortunato (31 goals, 25 assists). Edwards, Buck, Fortunato, goalkeeper Laurie Tortorelli and defender Katy Hahn all earned All-Region honors as well.

Women's tennis: 15-5; America East Runner-up

Head coach Laura Travis' squad earned its eighth straight winning season and finished as league runner-up for the seventh consecutive year, once again falling to nemesis Boston University in the title match. Highlighting the season individually was the play of senior Erin Kamen, who posted a team-best singles record of 16-4 and upped her career record to 74-13, breaking the school record for singles wins previously held by Travis.

Another record breaker was senior Karen Greenstein who picked up her 56th career doubles victory, tying yet another UD standard. Other standouts included senior Kristin Wasniewski, who went 13-6 at no. 2 singles, freshman Jessica Wilkes who was 14-5 at no. 5 singles and sophomore Martine Street who was 11-1 at no. 6 singles.

Men's tennis: 11-13

The 1999-2000 Blue Hen squad finished under .500 with an 11-13 dual record, but several young stars established themselves during the campaign. The Blue Hens entered the America East Tournament as the no. 4 seed, but fell to no. 5 seed Vermont in the opening round and were eliminated from the tournament.

Freshman Lee Kennedy led the Blue Hens from his no. 2 and no. 3 singles positions, posting a team-leading record of 15-9 and also teaming with sophomore David Mouber for the team's best doubles record at 9-7.

Other top Blue Hen performers were Mouber (12-10), junior and first-year team member Myron Schwarcz (9-8), junior Jesse Leopold (8-12-1) and freshman Pat Seitz (4-6).

Golf: 3rd place, America East Championships

The Blue Hens competed in seven events during the spring, highlighting the season with a third-place finish at the America East Championships in May on Long Island. The Hens, who were led by veteran senior co-captain Mike Ladden, also placed fourth at the Scotty Duncan Memorial and sixth at the Towson Invitational Tournaments during the spring. Ladden, who led the team in stroke average for the third straight season with a mark of 77.48, posted his third straight America East Tournament top 10 finish with an eighth-place finish. Sophomore Terry Maguire carded a stroke average of 78.09 and won the Scotty Duncan Memorial medalist trophy, while freshman Eric Stepanian (79.48) was the Hens' top finisher at the conference tournament, with an impressive fourth-place showing.

Men's outdoor track and field: America East Champions

The Blue Hens capped an outstanding spring by capturing their first America East outdoor title since 1994. Head coach Jim Fischer, America East Coach of the Year, led his team to six first-place finishes. Senior distance specialist Mike DiGennaro led the gold medal quest as he posted an impressive double, winning both the 5,000 meters (14:44.67) and 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:13.15).

Other conference champions for the Blue Hens were Jamin Elliott in the triple jump (49-3 3/4), senior Tom Marando in the shot put (51-11 3/4), freshman Ben Thuma in the discus (151-10) and the 4 x 800 meter relay team of Troy Bockius, Mark Coyle, Joe Quigley, and Steve Greeley.

DiGennaro went on to place third in the steeplechase at the IC4A regionals to earn All-East honors. His finish was the highest for a UD athlete at the IC4A meet since 1993.

Women's outdoor track and field: 6th place, America East Championships

Delaware's trio of senior distance runner Caron Marra, senior weight thrower Caltha Seymour and sophomore high jumper Annemarie Quinn led the Blue Hens during 2000. Quinn was the Hens' lone conference champion. She jumped 5-6 1/2 to take the gold medal at the America East Championships and later placed 11th at the ECAC meet. Marra won four races during the spring and placed second at the America East meet in the 3,000 meters. She placed 19th in that event at the ECAC meet. Seymour, the conference indoor weight throw champion, was second in the hammer at the America East meet and 16th at ECAC. Junior Carol Oliveri also performed well, placing second in the pole vault at the America East Championships when she broke her own record with a leap of 10-10.

Women's rowing: 15 first place finishes

Coach Amanda Kukla's team was a consistent winner in the eight meets in which it competed in 2000, taking home 15 first-place finishes during the season.

Highlighting the season was a tie for second place in the team standings with Villanova at the season-ending Dad Vail Regatta in May and winning four races at the Occoquan Sprints in April.

Among the milestones established during the season were a school record in the novice heavyweight eights at Occoquan and new UD standards in the varsity heavyweight eight, varsity lightweight eight and novice fours set in a dual vs. William & Mary. Senior Gayle Dornan was the team's Most Outstanding Performer. * --Scott Selheimer