West Virginia University DEPARTMENT OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS 2007-08 Annual Report Table of Contents Mission Statement 1 Message from Director of Athletics Ed Pastilong 2 Year in Review 3 Individual Awards 4 Red Brown Cup 12 Fred Schaus Cup 13 Baseball 14 Men’s Basketball 16 Women’s Basketball 18 Cross Country 20 Football 22 Gymanstics 24 Rifle 26 Rowing 28 Men’s Soccer 30 Women’s Soccer 32 Men’s and Women’s Swimming 34 Tennis 36 Track 38 Volleyball 40 Wrestling 42 Development Council/Corporate Partners 44 Staff IBC Mission Statement The WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics: a: Subscribes to high standards of academic quality as well as breadth of academic opportunities. b: Strives in its athletics program for national excellence and prominence. Accordingly, the recruitment of student-athletes and emphasis on and support of athletics are national in scope. c: Recognizes the dual objective in its athletic program of servicing the University community and the general public. d: Believes in offering extensive opportunities for varsity intercollegiate athletics for men, women and minorities. e: Sponsors football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s gymnastics and women’s soccer at the highest feasible level of competition. f: Believes in scheduling all athletic contests primarily with other Division I institutions as a reflection of the goal of maintaining an appropriate competition level in the sports program. g: Is committed to financing the athletics program from private revenues generated by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. All revenues supporting athletics shall be controlled by the institution. h: Considers the physical, mental, social and academic well-being of the student-athletes paramount. The WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics shall conduct its program consistent with the letter and spirit of the NCAA. The mission of the Department is and shall always remain compatible with the mission of WVU. The West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics fully subscribes to and will conscientiously abide by the rules, regulations and statutes of those organizations and agencies having jurisdiction over the conduct of its athletics program. Specifically, the WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will adhere to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Principles of Conduct of Intercollegiate Athletics set forth in the NCAA Be a Mountaineer Constitution and all regulations thereto in its then applicable by laws. 1 Dear Friend of West Virginia University Athletics, The 2007-08 athletic season continued what has been a Golden Era for Mountaineer Intercollegiate Athletics. On-and-off the playing fields our student-athletes turned in spectacular performances. On behalf of the entire from the department, I am pleased to present you this Annual Report. Message This report will highlight a year of outstanding accomplishments by our teams, student-athletes and coaches that led to a 30th-place finish in the U.S. Sports Academy Director’s Cup, our best finish ever, and the second-best DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS finish among all BIG EAST schools. The fall season saw our football team win its fourth BIG EAST Championship in the last three years and it won its third straight New Year’s Day bowl win with a convincing victory against Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The team finished in the top 10 for the third-straight year (the first time that has happened in school history). Women’s soccer continued its run of excellence with its eighth-straight NCAA berth, advancing to the NCAA Tournament’s “Elite Eight” for the first time in program history. The women’s soccer team also won the BIG EAST tournament for the first time in school history and finished No. 7 nationally. The cross country team won its first-ever BIG EAST Championship, placed ninth at NCAAs, its highest-ever finish, and had two first-team All-Americans. Men’s soccer made its third consecutive NCAA appearance and finished the year No. 13 in the country. Winter saw the men’s basketball team record 26 victories (third-most in school history) en route to a BIG EAST Tournament semifinal appearance and its third “Sweet 16” appearance in the last four seasons. The women’s basketball team advanced to its second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance after a 25-win season, the second-most wins in school history, and a BIG EAST Tournament semifinal appearance. Swimming and Diving set 14 school and three BIG EAST records at the BIG EAST championship and Kevin Donohue became the first individual male swimmer in school history to garner individual All-America accolades. Wrestlers Jared Villers and Kurt Brenner won EWL titles while gymnastics won its sixth EAGL title and advanced to its 30th postseason appearance in 31 years. Rifle finished sixth at the NCAA tournament with two All-Americans and coach Jon Hammond was named the GARC Coach of the Year. Indoor track boasted two BIG EAST champions and Marie-Louise Asselin and the distance medley relay team were named first team All-Americans. In the spring, baseball’s Jedd Gyorko was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year after helping the Mountaineers post a 35-win season. He and Tyler Kuhn were named All-Americans. Success wasn’t limited solely to the fields of play as soccer’s Ashley Banks and Pat Carroll, football’s Reed Williams and basketball’s Alex Ruoff were named Academic All-Americans. More than 375 Mountaineer student- athletes earned a spot on the Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll, while more than 100 Mountaineers were named BIG EAST Academic All-stars. In closing, I want to thank you for your continued support of the WVU intercollegiate athletic program. It provides the foundation for our student-athletes’ success in the classroom and on the field. For that, we are sincerely grateful. Sincerely, WVU’s 30th-place finish in the U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup was its best finish ever. Ed Pastilong Director of Athletics West Virginia University 2 Year in Review TEAM Record 1 Fiesta Bowl Championship Baseball .................................................................35-21 Men’s Basketball ................................................26-11 1 EAGL Tournament Championship (NCAA “Sweet 16”) Women’s Basketball ..........................................25-8 (NCAA 2nd round) 1 BIG EAST Regular-Season championship Cross Country .......................BIG EAST Champions (9th NCAA) 1 Conference Coach of the Year Football ...................................................................11-2 (BIG EAST Champions/Fiesta Bowl Champs) 2 BIG EAST Tournament Championships Gymnastics ........................................................23-8 (EAGL Champions/NCAA Regionals) Indoor Track .........................................7th BIG EAST 5 ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans Outdoor Track ......................................8th BIG EAST Rifle ........................................................................8-3 9 ESPN/CoSIDA Academic (6th at NCAA Championships) All-District selections Rowing ...................................................8th BIG EAST Men’s Soccer .................................................. 14-6-2 10 Major individual award winners (NCAA “Sweet 16”) Women’s Soccer ..............................................18-5-2 (BIG EAST Champions/NCAA “Elite 8”) 13 First team All-Americans Men’s Swimming and Diving .............................2-4 (4th BIG EAST) 28 Conference event championships Women’s Swimming and Diving ........................3-4 (3rd BIG EAST) 39 All-Conference honorees Tennis ....................................................................14-8 Volleyball .............................................................16-14 Wrestling ...............................................................8-5 (3rd EWL) 3 Individual Awards ALL-AmericaNS First Team Second Team Marie-LOUISE ASSELIN KERI BLAND AMANDA CICCHINI KEVIN DONOHUE BRANDI ESKEW GREER barnes Cross Country and Indoor Track Cross Country Women’s Soccer Swimming Rifle Women’s Soccer (3k and DMR) Indoor Track Outdoor Track Third Team Karly HAMRIC LAFE KUNKEL APRIL ROTILIO STEVE Slaton Ryan Stanchek ASHLEY BANKS Indoor Track Rifle Indoor Track Football Football Women’s Soccer 4 ACADEMIC ALL-AmericaNS ASHLEY BANKS pat carroll NICK DELIC Women’s Soccer Men’s Soccer Men’s Swimming ALEX RUOFF REED WILLIAMS Men’s Basketball Football 5 Individual Awards MAJOR AWARD WINNERS ASHLEY BANKS Carolyn BLANK BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Year BIG EAST Championship Most Hermann Trophy Semi-finalist Outstanding Defensive Player KILEY Harris Darris NICHOLS BIG EAST/Aéropostale Female Scholar BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Year institution winner Sportsmanship Award 6 KIM BONILLA MEG BULGER NICK DELIC JEDD GYORKO BIG EAST Championship Most BIG EAST Women’s Basketball BIG EAST/Aéropostale Male Scholar BIG EAST Rookie of the Year Outstanding Offensive Player Sportsmanship Award Athlete of the Year institution winner Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American TED TALKINGTON Pat WHITE REED WILLIAMS ANDY WRIGHT BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Scholar Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP/BIG EAST Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year Athlete of the Year Offensive Player of the Year West Virginia Amateur Athlete of the Year Alabama Amateur Athlete of the Year 7 Individual Awards CONFERENCE EVENT CHAMPIONS Kayla ANDREWS Marie LOUISE-ASSELIN KERI BLAND KURT BRENNER BIG EAST 100 Free Champion BIG EAST 3,000m Indoor Champion BIG EAST 1,000m Indoor EWL Champion - 184 pounds Champion