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2010 Media Guide This is WKU Softball This is www.wkusports.com 1 WKU Softball Western Kentucky University Western WKU – A Leading American University with International Reach – was founded in 1906 and offers 88 academic majors and 57 academic minors. WKU has been the fastest growing university in the state of Kentucky for 12 consecutive years, as its enrollment has increased more than 30 percent during this time (from 14,500 to 19,785). Approximately $300 million in campus construction has been completed since 1998, $150 million is currently under- way and $200 million more is scheduled to be completed by 2012, meaning WKU will have undergone $650 million dol- lars of renovations and new construction in the first 15 years of President Dr. Gary Ransdell’s tenure. 2 www.wkusports.com 2010 Media Guide Bowling Green Bowling Green is the headquarters for national- ly recognized companies such as Fruit of the Loom, the GM Corvette Plant, Camping World and Holley Performance Products. Located within 600 miles of nearly half of the U.S. population, Bowling Green serves as the industrial, health care, business and trade hub for a 10-county area and is home to 39 parks and 15 golf courses. www.wkusports.com 3 WKU Softball • WKU will be one of 120 institutions eligible for in the 500 freestyle. He also broke the Sun Belt a conference championship and bowl bid at the Conference record in the 1,650 freestyle. Football Bowl Subdivision level (I-A) in 2009. WKU football graduated 29 players in 2008-09, • WKU’s women’s indoor track and field team fin- and offensive lineman Greg Ryan signed a free ished the season tied for 30th in the nation, the agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens. highest ranking in the program’s history. Valerie Brown and Janet Jesang earned All-American hon- • Men’s basketball became one of only 14 schools ors: Brown finished 3rd in the nation in the 400 Championship Effort in NCAA history with 1,600 all-time wins. WKU meter dash, while Jesang finished 8th in the nation had four conference player-of-the-week honors this in the 5,000 meters. Brown also anchored the year, a school single-season record. WKU earned an 4x400-meter relay team – with teammates Miaie NCAA Tournament win for the second consecutive Williams, Samantha Smith, and Alecia Brown – season, defeating Big Ten runner-up Illinois 76-72 that finished 11th in the nation. before falling 83-81 to 10th ranked Gonzaga and finishing with a 25-9 record. • WKU’s men’s and women’s outdoor track teams earned Sun Belt Conference titles. The women’s • Orlando Mendez-Valdez was named the Sun track program has now captured 11 consecutive Belt Conference’s Player of the Year and Male titles, winning every cross country, indoor and out- Student-Athlete of the Year, and A.J. Slaughter door title dating back to 2006. earned second-team all-conference honors. Slaughter also was named Sun Belt Conference • Gavin Smellie and Janet Jesang earned All- Tournament Most Outstanding Player, while American honors at the NCAA Outdoor National Janet Jesang Mendez-Valdez and Sergio Kerusch also were Championships. Smellie finished fifth in the nation in named to the all-tournament team. Lady Toppers the 200-meters, while Jesang finished fifth in the Arnika Brown (first team) and Kenzie Rich (third 5,000 meters. Smellie becomes the 12th WKU track 2008-09 WKU CHAMPIONSHIP EFFORT team) also earned all-conference honors. and field athlete to earn multiple all-America honors. • WKU has won 19 of the last 36 Sun Belt • Janet Jesang was the Sun Belt Conference indi- • WKU baseball earned the program’s first ever Sun Conference team titles dating back to the start of vidual cross country champion and became the first Belt Conference regular season championship, first- the 2007-08 year. The 53 percent conference title WKU cross country performer to earn All- ever at-large NCAA Tournament berth and were success streak is the highest percentage in the nation American honors since 1992 after placing 13th in ranked 23rd nationally by Collegiate Baseball and during this period. the NCAA Championships. Patrick Cheptoek fin- Baseball America. WKU posted a pair of NCAA ished second in the conference on the men’s side. Tournament wins over Big 12 tournament runner-up • WKU’s athletic teams have won 65 Sun Belt Missouri and another victory over SEC regular season Conference championships (regular season and/or • Women’s soccer posted a final record of 15-2-4 co-champion Mississippi to match the program’s total tournament) this decade. with a Sun Belt record 14 shutouts, finished the NCAA wins over the previous 89 seasons. regular season tied for second in the conference and • WKU won team championships in nine reached the conference tournament championship • WKU also had a school record six baseball play- sports in 2008-09. The Hilltoppers claimed the game for the first time in program history. Five ers drafted in the 2009 Major League Baseball ama- men’s basketball (regular season and tourna- players earned all-conference honors (Morgan teur draft (Wade Gaynor, 3rd round by Detroit ment), women’s swimming, women’s indoor Thomas, Kellie Walker, Rachel Friedman, Libby Tigers; J.B. Paxson, 13th round by Los Angeles and outdoor track, men’s and women’s cross Stout, Kristin Cocchiarella). Dodgers, Chad Cregar, 15th round and Terrence country, men’s outdoor track and baseball titles Dayleg, 22nd round by Florida Marlins; Matt while also winning the women’s volleyball tour- • WKU’s volleyball program earned its second Ridings, 25th round by Washington Nationals, nament championship. consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament after Evan Teague, 35th round by Toronto Blue Jays). winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. • WKU had eight Sun Belt Conference coach of Megan Argabright and Julia Noe each earned All- • WKU softball posted a 32-17 mark and third the year honors in 2008-09: Erik Jenkins (men’s America honors, and Argabright became the first place finish in the Sun Belt Conference. Tyra Perry cross country, men’s outdoor track, women’s female in WKU history to earn All-American hon- was named conference co-coach of the year, and indoor and outdoor track), Michelle Scott ors four times. Argabright, Noe and Brittany seniors Terri Ellingsworth and Ryan Rogge earned (women’s cross country), Bruce Marchionda Bowen also earned all-conference honors. all-conference honors. (women’s swimming), Tyra Perry (softball) and Chris Finwood (baseball). • Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving com- Sun Belt Conference Championships In Last 10 bined to set 21 school records at the 2009 Sun Belt Years (Regular Season and Tournament) • WKU had six Sun Belt Conference student-athletes Conference Championships as the women’s pro- WKU 65 UALR 17 named player of the year for their respective sport: gram captured its second consecutive conference Middle Tennessee 38 Arkansas State 11 Valerie Brown — Indoor Track, Matt Hightower — championship. Claire Donahue finished 19th in South Alabama 32 Florida International 11 Baseball (Pitcher), Janet Jesang — Women’s Cross the nation in the 200 yard butterfly, while finishing Louisiana-Lafayette 31 Florida Atlantic 5 Country, Mandhla Mgjimima — Men’s Outdoor 23rd in the 100 yard butterfly. Sean Penhale fin- Denver 23 Troy 5 North Texas 19 Louisiana-Monroe 3 Field, Orlando Mendez-Valdez — Men’s Basketball, ished 24th in the nation in the 1,650 freestyle, New Orleans 3 Gavin Smellie — Men’s Outdoor Track. while breaking the school record and finishing 30th 4 www.wkusports.com 2010 Media Guide Championship Effort 2008-09 ACADEMIC CHAMPIONSHIP EFFORT • WKU student-athletes in the university’s 19 sports are majoring in 76 different programs. • For all 438 WKU student-athletes, the overall cumulative average GPA is 3.0. Male student-athletes have an average cumulative GPA of 2.82, while female student-ath- letes have a cumulative 3.17 average. Ten of the university’s athletic teams have a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or better. • 78 student-athletes graduated in 2008-09 - 31 in December commencement cere- monies and 47 additional in May. They received degrees in 31 separate majors and comprised at least one person from all 19 sports. • WKU’s women’s volleyball team was honored by the NCAA for posting a multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) in the top 10 percent of all NCAA women’s Division I volleyball teams. The WKU volleyball team was one of only five teams from all sports in the state of Kentucky to receive the top 10 percent honor and was also one of only four Sun Belt Conference teams honored. • The men’s tennis program, with a 3.35 cumulative grade point average, was named WKU’s men’s scholar team of the year, while the soccer program earned the female scholar team of the year with a 3.37 GPA. • Women’s golfer Victoria Sansom was named female scholar-athlete of the year, while men’s golfer Matt Sherertz picked up male scholar-athlete of the year honors. • Sophomore baseball catcher Matt Rice was named third-team Academic All-America by CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine, and 11 additional student-athletes were named Academic All-District in 2008-09. Orlando Mendez-Valdez TWO-YEAR PERIOD SECOND TO NONE 2008-09 CHAMPIONSHIP EFFORT COUNTDOWN WKU’s 19 total team championships over the last two years (2007-08, 2008-09) 15 wins for women’s soccer in 2008 to set WKU record, are more than any school from one of the 11 BCS Conferences (I-A) during this including conference record 14 shutouts by freshman period.