University of Delaware Office of Public Relations The Messenger Vol. 5, No. 2/1996 1995 Fall Sports Recap FOOTBALL Overall record: 11-2, 8-0 Yankee Conference; Yankee Conference Champions Head coach: Tubby Raymond Captains: Larry McSeed, Shannon Trostle In a career that spans 30 years as head football coach, Tubby Raymond has had few teams more exciting, or more successful, than the 1995 Blue Hens. The team posted an 11-2 record, captured its fifth Yankee Conference title with an undefeated mark of 8-0, was named ECAC Team of the Year and Lambert Cup Eastern champion and advanced to the NCAA I-AA playoffs for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Starting out the season 9-0, before falling to I-A Navy Nov. 11 in Annapolis, the Hens bounced back with a 24-19 win over Rhode Island that clinched the Yankee title and overwhelmed highly regarded Hofstra 38-17 at Delaware Stadium in the first round of the playoffs. However, the season ended a week later as No. 1 ranked McNeese State handed the Hens a 52-18 defeat at Lake Charles, La. The Hens, ranked near the top of the national leaders in rushing, total offense, scoring offense and scoring defense, were No. 6 in the final Sports Network I-AA Top 25 poll and never dropped lower than 12th the entire season. Individually, junior quarterback Leo Hamlett of Northfield, N.J., enjoyed an outstanding season, passing for 2,086 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushing for 756 yards and 10 touchdowns. Named the ECAC Player of the Year and the Yankee Conference Offensive Player of the Year, he will enter the 1996 season as one of the top players in I-AA. Senior offensive linemen Shannon Trostle of Gettysburg, Pa., and Steve Archibald of East Petersburg, Pa., were named second- team All-Americans by the Sports Network, while junior safety Kenny Bailey of Harrington, Del., was named first-team All- American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). In all, five Blue Hen players earned first-team All-Yankee honors as Hamlett, Archibald, Trostle, sophomore linebacker Ralph D'Angelo of Warminster, Pa., and sophomore safety Dorrell Green of Capitol Heights, Md., were honored. Raymond was named the AFCA I-AA Region I Coach of the Year. Fourteen starters, seven on offense and on defense, will return next season. FIELD HOCKEY Overall record: 11-8, 4-4 North Atlantic Conference Head coach: Carol Miller Captains: Kim Lockbaum, Lauren Baugher Despite a rocky start, the field hockey team was one of the hottest in the nation by the close of the 1995 season. The Hens, who narrowly missed out on a second straight NAC playoff bid with a 4-4 conference mark, won their final seven games of the season to finish with an 11-8 record for a third straight winning season under head coach Carol Miller. After starting the season 1-5, the Hens caught fire and posted a record of 10-3 over the second half of the season, giving them strong momentum heading into 1996. Leading the Blue Hens were senior co-captains Lauren Baugher of Feasterville, Pa., and Kim Lockbaum of Glassboro, N.J. Baugher, a senior midfielder, was the Hens' second leading scorer with 10 goals and 11 assists and earned first-team Collegiate Field Hockey Coaches Association All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors. She had four game-winning goals and 27 career goals. Lockbaum, a four-year starter in the nets, set five school records during her career and was named second-team All-Mid Atlantic Region in 1995, when she posted five shutouts and a .853 save percentage. She leaves Delaware with record career shutouts (22) and career saves (669). Also leading the Hens were top scorer Melissa Hefner of Sellersville, Pa., a junior who scored 14 goals and four assists and was named second-team All-NAC and second-team All-Mid Atlantic Region, and senior Marcie Tobin-Fraser of Voorhees, N.J., who was second-team All-NAC and second-team All-Mid Atlantic Region. Kelly Cawley of Fleetwood, Pa., was one of the top freshmen in the NAC with eight goals. VOLLEYBALL Overall record: 25-13, 7-0 North Atlantic Conference (2nd at NAC finals) Head coach: Barbara Viera Captains: Nikki Brassell, Emily Rome It was another banner year for head coach Barbara Viera and her Blue Hen women's volleyball team in 1995. Viera earned her second straight NAC Coach of the Year Award and went over 600 career wins. The Hens posted a record of 25-13, the team's fourth straight 20-win season, and captured the NAC regular season. However, the Hens missed out on their first ever NCAA tournament bid as they fell to host Hofstra 3-1 in a championship game Nov. 19 in Hempstead, N.Y. The Blue Hens won the University of Pennsylvania Invitational Sept. 8-9 and finished second at the Delaware Invitational Oct. 20-21 at the Bob Carpenter Center and at the Forrestal Classic at Navy Nov. 3-4. Individually, senior co-captains Emily Rome of Chanhassen, Minn., and Nikki Brassell of Germantown, Md., capped outstanding careers, while junior Karen Kunselman of Dover, Pa., proved to be one of the NAC's premier players. Kunselman, who led the Hens with 373 kills, a NAC leading .416 kill percentage and 132 blocks, also was named first team All-NAC as well as first team All-District I. Brassell and Rome, both GTE/CoSIDA District II All-Academic selections, each earned All-NAC honors with Rome named to the first team and Brassell to the second team. Rome collected 246 kills, 234 digs and 86 blocks for the season and finished as Delaware's all-time block leader with 460 and ranked No. 2 on the all-time kill list with 1,245. Brassell, who led the team in assists for the fourth straight season with 1,189, finished her career with a UD record 4,620 assists. WOMEN'S SOCCER Overall record: 11-8, 4-2 North Atlantic Conference Head coach: Scott Grzenda Captains: Katie Nietubicz, Stephanie Schoening, Julie Mastromonaco For the second straight season, the women's soccer team advanced to the championship game of the NAC playoffs. Unfortunately, in a match with national power Hartford, the Hens suffered a 3-0 setback in overtime. But, it was another successful fall for head coach Scott Grzenda, whose squad posted a 9-7 overall record (4-2 in NAC play) for the team's third straight winning season. Grzenda's young and talented team was led by junior midfielder Beth Hatt of Downingtown, Pa., an Academic All- American candidate who was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association All-Mid Atlantic Region team for the second straight year, after scoring 11 goals and dishing out eight assists. Sophomore Beth Gregory of Mechanicsburg, Pa., had another solid season as forward, leading the team with 13 goals and five assists and earning NSCA third-team All-Mid Atlantic Region honors. Other standouts for the Hens were junior defender Katie Nietubicz of Havre de Grace, Md., who was named first-team All- NAC; and senior defender Julie Mastromonaco of Basking Ridge, N.J. and freshman forward Michelle Loux of Chalfont, Pa., who were both named to the NAC All-Tournament team along with Nietubicz and Hatt. Loux was the team's third leading goal scorer with seven. Junior Melissa Kulp of Herndon, Va., had another solid year at goalkeeper, posting eight shutouts and a 1.19 goals allowed average. MEN'S SOCCER Overall record: 5-11-2, 1-6-2 North Atlantic Conference Head coach: Marc Samonisky Captains: Dan Schultz, Brian Gunter, Steve Meldrom The men's soccer team showed remarkable improvement in 1995 with a record of 5-11-2, after a disappointing 1-17 mark the previous season. Head coach Marc Samonisky closed his third season with great optimism for the future. The Hens won five contests, including a key win over Georgetown, a 1994 NCAA tournament participant, in the season opener. The Hens also posted wins over Virginia Military Institute, UMBC and Richmond and defeated Hofstra in their final game of the season for their first NAC victory since 1991. Of the Hens' 11 losses, four were by one goal. Among the standouts for the squad were sophomore Brad Phillips of Glenmore, Pa., who led the team with 13 points on six goals and one assist; freshman Cole Gillespie of Worthington, Ohio, with three goals and two assists; and sophomore Brian Gunter of Bel Air, Md., with three goals and two assists. Junior Steve Meldrom of Elkton,Md., and Jeff Anderson of Wallingford, Pa., the team's only senior, provided solid leadership. Defensively, freshman goalkeeper Joaquin Hurtado of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, started 17 games and posted a 1.86 goals against average and two shutouts. WOMEN'S TENNIS Overall record: 12-1 overall, 2nd place at NAC Championships Head coach: Laura LeRoy Captain: Kate Brune Head coach Laura LeRoy's women's tennis squad breezed through the competition, posting a near-perfect 12-1 dual record and finishing second, behind powerful Boston University at the North Atlantic Conference Championships. LeRoy, who was named NAC Coach of the Year for the second straight season, led her team to its best dual record since the 1987 squad went 12-3. After opening the season with a 4-0 mark, the Hens were edged by Bucknell 5-4. Delaware then won its final eight matches. At the NAC championships, Blue Hen players advanced to the finals in five of the six flights, losing to players from Boston University in each match. Rebecca Fearins of Wantage, N.J., was second at No. 2 singles, St. Joseph's transfer Cindy Pilipczuk of Flourtown, Pa., was runner-up at No. 3 singles, Lisa Fry of Milford, Del., was second at No. 4 singles, Megan Zusi of Sea Girt, N.J., was second at No. 5 singles, and the team of Jane Kratz of Blooming Glen, Pa., and Jenn Carbonara of Elizabethtown, Pa., placed second at No. 1 doubles. The Blue Hens' No. 1 singles player, Kate Brune of Indianapolis, was third. For the season, the Blue Hens won 55 of 71 singles matches and 31 of 35 doubles match. WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY Overall record: 10-0; NAC Champions Head coach: Susan McGrath-Powell Captains: Sarah Cowles, Murphee Hayes Led by the trio of Sarah Cowles of Newark, Del., Tara Pointin of Trenton, N.J., and Chris Rolleri of Skaneateles, N.Y., the Delaware women's cross country team posted a perfect 10-0 dual meet season and captured its third North Atlantic Conference title in four years. Sue McGrath-Powell, was named NAC Coach of the Year for the second straight year. Cowles won the individual title at the event, covering the course in 18:19, defeating the nearest competitor by eight seconds. Pointin, who led the team in four races during the season, finished third overall at the NAC meet while Rolleri was fourth and Katie Guarracino of New Windsor, N.Y., was seventh. In addition to the 10-0 dual meet slate, the Hens placed third at the Fordham Invitational, sixth at the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh, seventh at the Lafayette Invitational and eighth at the ECAC District II championships. MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY Overall record: 7-1, 3rd place at NAC Championships Head coach: Jim Fischer Captains: Mike Brogan, Barry Pollack, Brian Rubin Led by Barry Pollock of Newark, Del., who placed ninth at the NAC meet, the Hens finished third as a team behind Boston University and New Hampshire in the team standings. In addition to the dual record, Delaware placed second at the Fordham Invitational, sixth at the Boston College Invitational, ninth at the Lafayette Invitational, 14th at the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh and 20th at the IC4A championships. Individually, Pollock led the Hens in four races during the season, including a sixth-place finish at the Fordham Invitational. The Hens also received solid contributions from sophomore Zach Chupa of Wilmington, Del., who was the Hens' top finisher in two races; freshman Jeremy Muratore of Tenafly, N.J., who was 11th at the NAC championships; junior Brian Rubin of Suffern, N.Y., who was 15th at NAC; and freshman Dave Geesaman of Harrisburg, Pa., who was 18th at NAC.