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Division II Championships
DII Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Men’s team standings 1st: Abilene Christian, 108.5 2nd: St. Augustine’s, 102 3rd: Ashland, 55 Women’s team standings 1st: Abilene Christian, 76.5 2nd: Adams St., 55 3rd: Lincoln (Mo.), 54 Sweeps once were a habit for Abilene Christian’s men and women in Division II outdoor track and field, and maybe the Wildcats are thinking in those terms again, now that the women have returned to the victory podium after an eight-year absence. The Wildcat women won their first team championship since 2000 and joined in the school’s first sweep of the men’s and women’s team titles since 1999 – but seventh in the history of the championships. Meanwhile, a one-two finish in the decathlon gave Abilene Christian the head start it needed to hold off Saint Augustine’s in a high-scoring duel for the men’s team title. In the women’s meet, freshman distance runner Winrose Karunde’s meet-record victory in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, following her win in the 10,000-meter run, spurred the Wildcats to a 21.5-point victory over runner-up Adams State. Abilene Christian also claimed event titles from Linda Brivule in the javelin throw and Keva Wilkins in the 400-meter dash in bouncing back from a 10th-place finish at the Division II indoor championships in March. For the men’s team, Camille Vandendreissche successfully defended his decathlon title after rallying from more than 500 points behind on the event’s second day, and teammate Chris Pounds finished second to spark the Wildcats to their seventh straight team crown and 18th overall. The Wildcats clinched the title in the next-to-last event, the 5,000-meter run, when Amos Sang finished seventh to give Abilene Christian an insurmountable lead entering the 1,600-meter relay. The Wildcats collected another six points in the final race, which Saint Augustine’s won, to finish with 108.5 points.
Semifinals NYIT 11, Limestone 8 Le Moyne 11, Bryant 2 Championship NYIT 16, Le Moyne 11 The NYIT Bears, trailing after the first quarter to the nation’s best defense in Le Moyne, fought their way back to a 16-11 win for their fourth Division II men’s lacrosse title May 25 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. After a quick exchange of goals made it 1-1 midway through the first quarter, Le Moyne scored three consecutive goals on its way to a 5-2 lead after the period. The momentum quickly shifted as the second quarter opened, as sophomore Austin Carino and junior Keith Henderson scored in the first minute for NYIT. The Bears then scored the last four goals of the half and headed to the locker room with a 9-7 lead. Le Moyne, the two-time defending champion, pulled within one goal for the final time a minute into the fourth quarter, but NYIT scored four consecutive goals – including two from Ryan Amengual – to close out the game and claim its first title since 2005. Henderson earned most outstanding player honors after netting five goals. Le Moyne’s seniors, including Nick Gatto, Mike MacDonald, Brian Cost, Tom Donahue and Alex Bily, ended their four years with two national championships and a 62-5 record.
Championship Mount Olive 6, Ouachita Baptist 2 It’s amazing how five runs in the first inning can settle the nerves of a starting pitcher. Mount Olive’s Casey Hodges was the beneficiary of the early run support, and he made sure the lead stood up as the Trojans downed Ouachita Baptist, 6-2, to capture the Division II Baseball Championship in Sauget, Illinois, May 31. Hodges was already familiar with the Ouachita Baptist lineup since he faced it in the opening round of the championship. But a five-run outburst before he took the mound was more important. The Trojans’ rally, which was aided by an error with two outs, was spearheaded by a two-run single by Jason Harrison and a three-run double off the bat of Dylan Holton. “It’s a pitcher’s best friend,” Hodges told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “All my nerves were gone after the first inning.”
Team Results 1st: Western Wash., 20 2nd: UC San Diego, 15 3rd: Dowling, 8 Western Washington captured its fourth straight title with a perfect score June 1 at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma in Gold River, California. The Vikings swept the Eights and Fours grand finals to post a perfect score of 20. UC San Diego, national runner-up for the second straight year, tallied 15 points. Dowling and Nova Southeastern were third and fourth in the final team standings. Western Washington streaked through the preliminary heats for the Eights and Fours, winning each by more than 17 seconds to claim automatic bids to the finals, in which the margin of victory for the Vikings was more than 13 seconds in both races. John Fuchs, head coach at Western Washington, said he felt as if his team had an advantage after the first heat, but knew each team would compete hard for the win. “We didn’t take anyone for granted,” said Fuchs. “I think after the heats, we felt like if we raced our race, we would win.”
Team Results 1st: West Fla., 292-275-276-286 – 1,129* 2nd: North Ala., 290-281-284-274 – 1,129; and St. Edward’s, 284-285-286-274 – 1,129 Individual standings 1st: Jeff Goff, S.C. Aiken, 67-71-70-70 – 278* 2nd: Jude Eustaquio, Fla. Southern, 63-74-73-68 – 278 *Won playoff on first extra hole West Florida’s Argonauts captured the Division II Men’s Golf Championships team title in dramatic fashion May 17 at the Division II National Championship Festival in Houston, winning a three-team playoff on the first hole over North Alabama and St. Edward’s. The chase for medalist honors also went to an extra hole, as Jeff Goff of South Carolina Aiken beat Florida Southern freshman Jude Eustaquio for the title. It was the first time in the 46-year history of the championships that either the team or individual titles had been decided in a playoff. In the team race, West Florida, North Alabama and St. Edward’s all finished regulation play at 9-over par. West Florida began the day in good position to win with a four-shot lead after three rounds, but St. Edward’s and North Alabama both rallied from 12 strokes back to force the tiebreaker. The chase for the individual title was just as exciting, as seven players finished within one stroke of each other. Goff and Eustaquio tied in regulation at 2-under par for the tournament. But Goff parred the first playoff hole to win the title, only the second for South Carolina Aiken in school history.
Team Results 1st: Rollins, 293-301-293-294 – 1,181 2nd: Nova Southeastern, 292-295-300-301 – 1,188 3rd: Grand Valley St., 314-296-308-303 – 1,221 Individual Results 1st: Joanna Coe, Rollins, 71-73-68-75 – 287 2nd: Heather Burgner, Fla. Southern, 70-74-74-73 – 291 3rd: Cristina Gugler, Rollins, 73-74-73-76 – 296 The Rollins Tars returned to the top of Division II women’s golf with a dominating performance in the final round. The Tars shot a combined 6-over-par 294 to distance themselves from Nova Southeastern by seven strokes. Rollins trailed its Sunshine State Conference rivals by seven heading into the third round but tied the race heading into the fourth. The team title is the fifth in the last six year for the Tars, whose four-year reign was interrupted last year by Florida Southern. Rollins also captured the individual crown, as freshman Joanna Coe cruised to a four-stroke win, becoming the third Rollins golfer to win medalist honors (Charlotte Campbell won back-to-back titles in 2003-04). Coe recorded scores of 71, 73, 68 and 75 to finish at 1-under-par 287, four shots ahead of Heather Burgner of Florida Southern. Rollins’ team title was the ninth straight for a member of the South region. The tournament was played as part of the Division II National Championships Festival in Houston.
Championship Humboldt St. 1, Emporia St. 0 Humboldt State, after surviving a 17-inning, 1-0 marathon against Lock Haven to reach the championship game, replicated the score in just the required seven innings against Emporia State to win its second title May 17. The tournament was part of the Division II National Championships Festival in Houston. Natalie Galletly, who won the thriller against Lock Haven with a 17th-inning single, homered in the first inning against Emporia State to give pitcher Lizzy Prescott all the support she needed against the Hornets, who were making their second championship-game appearance. Prescott, named the tournament’s most outstanding player, won four games, allowed only one run and fanned 52 batters, including a championship-record-tying 21 in the Lock Haven game. The Lumberjacks also played Lock Haven earlier in the tournament, ending in an extra-inning, 2-1 Humboldt State win. Semifinals C.W. Post 9, Adelphi 4 West Chester 17, Limestone 9 Championship West Chester 13, C.W. Post 12 After four consecutive losses in the national championship game, West Chester avenged last year’s eight-goal defeat at the hands of C.W. Post by outlasting the Pioneers May 17 with a 13-12 victory in a game played as part of the Division II National Championships Festival in Houston. The contest was played at a breakneck pace and featured the most goals in any championship game. After the teams combined for 18 goals in the first half, West Chester scored three goals in the first eight minutes of the second half to take a 13-9 lead. C.W. Post attempted a late run despite being down one player for six of the final nine minutes, as Taryn Crimi netted a goal with 3:28 remaining to bring the score to 13-11. Mallory Poole scored a free-position goal with two seconds remaining, but it was too late to complete a comeback. West Chester’s Jackie Baker was named the most valuable offensive player of the championship by totaling 12 goals and two assists. Her 14 points left her one short of the all-time tournament record for points, set by former Golden Ram attacker Kathleen Sheehan in 2004.
Semifinals Barry 5, Drury 3 Armstrong Atlantic 5, West Fla. 1 Championship Armstrong Atlantic 5, Barry 0 Undefeated and top-ranked all season, Armstrong Atlantic State clinched the first Division II men’s tennis national championship in school history with a 5-0 victory over fifth-ranked Barry May 17. The win also gave Armstrong Atlantic State a rare double, becoming only the second institution to win the Division II men’s and women’s tennis crowns in the same season. BYU-Hawaii accomplished the feat in 2003. Armstrong Atlantic State’s women won their fourth Division II title with a 5-2 win over Lynn earlier the same day. Armstrong Atlantic State’s men, who posted a 31-0 mark this year, started quickly by sweeping the three doubles matches. In the singles matches, both teams won three first sets. Tim Johannsen of Armstrong Atlantic State, ranked sixth in singles, then completed a 6-2, 6-3 win over 15th-ranked Patrick Rittenauer at No. 1 to make the team score 4-0. Barely three minutes later, 50th-ranked Christian Bergh clinched the Pirates’ victory with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Roman Werschel at No. 5 singles. Armstrong Atlantic State’s title came in its first appearance in the championship match. It also is the Pirates’ first NCAA championship in a men’s sport.
Semifinals Lynn 5, Valdosta St. 2 Armstrong Atlantic 5, BYU-Hawaii 1 Championship Armstrong Atlantic 5, Lynn 2 Armstrong Atlantic State posted a convincing 5-2 victory over Lynn May 17 at the Division II National Championships Festival in Houston. The Pirates swept the doubles matches, including a dramatic win from Gabriella Kovacs and Iuliia Stupak over Lynn’s Victoria Weltz and Alexandra Schunk in a tiebreak, 9-8 (8-6). Weltz and Schunk fought off three match points at 8-7 to force the tiebreak, but on the fifth match point, Stupak stung a cross-court overhead to propel the Lady Pirates to the 3-0 advantage. Stupak, who hasn’t lost a singles match in three years, used the momentum from the dramatic doubles victory and dominated Weltz, 6-0, 6-1. Her victory gave Armstrong Atlantic State a 4-2 lead with two players on the verge of earning the clinching fifth point. Freshman Alida Muller-Wehlau and sophomore Kovacs each held 5-1 leads in their respective second sets. Both players had championship point at the same time, and the freshman won the race. As a light rain was falling, Muller-Wehlau claimed the championship for her squad with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Katerina Jiskrova at No. 3 singles. The Division II outdoor track and field championships were characterized by close finishes, and Abilene Christian won enough of them to sweep the men's and women's team titles. Matt Brown/NCAA Photos
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