May 12, 2008

Contact:   Bill Giduz

Students selected mathematics teacher Rob Whitton as their "Most Valuable Professor" for the past school year.

Davidson athletics celebrated its successes at an annual banquet on May 6. A crowd of student athletes, coaches, and administrators enjoyed a buffet dinner, and coaches from each of the college's 21 Division 1 teams presented awards.

 The ceremony also included several special recognitions. Student members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee presented a "MVP" (Most Valuable Professor) award to longtime adjunct professor of Mathematics Rob Whitton.

 Swimmer Lindsey Martin '11 won the Helen DeVane Carnegie Award for outstanding freshman athlete. Soccer player Nancy Haskell '08 won the Susan K. Roberts Award for outstanding dedication and contribution to intercollegiate athletics. Basketball player Thomas Sander '08 won the Thomas Sparrow Award for his outstanding contribution to Davidson athletics. Runner Brenna Burns '08 won the Rebecca Stimson Award as the top female athlete of the year, and basketball player Jason Richards '08 won the Tommy Peters Award as the top male athlete.

The full list of winners for individual teams is available on the athletics Web site.. 

Coach Caroline Brown and Assistant Coach Avi Kigel (back, l-r) with standout tennis players (back) Meredith Skeeters, and (front l-r) Kim Whelan and Kelsey Linville.

But the celebration wasn't limited to individual athletes, as Athletics Director Jim Murphy pointed out toward the close of the program. Murphy said all of Davidson's 384 varsity athletes had reasons to celebrate a season of big wins, all-conference players, national awards, and nominations to academic honor rolls. He closed the evening with a litany of superlatives for each team-evidence that the college continues to help students excel in the classroom and in sport. The list of accolades includes:

Women's Cross Country
Named All-Academic Team by U.S. Cross Country Coaches Association, finished ninth at NCAA Regionals (first top-10 finish in program history), finished ranked ninth in U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Southeast regional poll

Baseball
Wins over Wake Forest, Columbia, Yale and Georgetown

Men's Cross Country
USCCCA All-Academic for 10th straight year

Field Hockey
Won its first tournament game since 2000

Football
Finished ninth in the final Sports Network FCS mid-major poll; 38 Wildcats were named to the Pioneer Football League Academic Honor Roll

Women's Soccer
Finished ranked 10th in the final National Soccer Coaches Association regional poll; 10 shutouts tied the school record; earned Women's College Team Academic Award from the NSCAA for the 13th consecutive year (team GPA of over 3.0); tied school record with 14 wins; advanced to the semifinals of the SoCon tournament for the eighth time in program history; took home College of Charleston Tournament title with wins over Vanderbilt and LSU

Men's soccer coach Matt Spear with award-winning players (standing l) John Bassett and (seated) Robby Hoak.

Men's Soccer

Three players named to the Academic All-Southern Conference team

Women's Basketball
Tied school best for home wins with 10; set two single-season team records

Men's Basketball
Recorded a perfect 20-0 Southern Conference regular season; SoCon Regular Season and Tournament Champions; 10th berth in NCAA Tournament; tied school record for wins with 29; fourth straight 20-win Season; nation's longest winning streak of 25 consecutive contests; advanced to the Elite Eight with upset wins over Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin; finished the 2007-08 season ranked ninth nationally

Volleyball
Three players named to the Academic All-Southern Conference team

Women's Swimming and Diving
2008 Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association champions

Men's Swimming and Diving
Finished second in the inaugural Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Championship

Swimmer Lindsey Martin '11 won the outstanding freshman award.

Women's Swimming and Diving

Scored most points in program history at the 2008 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships

Men's Track and Field
Finished fourth for the third straight year, its highest finish ever, at Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships

Women's Tennis
Reached the SoCon tournament finals for third time in past four years

Men's Tennis Ranked for the first time in school history

Lacrosse
Set school records for most wins in a single season with 11 and longest winning streak in a single season at six straight

Golf
Two top-10 finishes during the spring season

Wrestling
Three wrestlers finished in the top three of their respective weight classes at Southern Conference Championships

Wrestling coach Bob Patnesky and assistant coach Joe Privitere (back l-r) with outstanding team members (back) Sam O'Hair and (front l-r) Vitaly Radsky and Ben Altman.

Fourteen teams posted multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in the country in their respective sports.  This places Davidson in the top 10 in the country for number of teams and percentage of total sports.

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,700 students. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country.

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Posted By: Bill Giduz