April 27, 2004
NORFOLK, VA.-Field Hockey senior Angie Loy (Loysville, PA.), and junior pitcher Justin Verlander (Goochland, VA.) were named Athletes of the Year by the OldDominion University Alumni Association. Men's tennis senior Niklas Oskarsson (Halmstad, Sweden), and field hockey senior Cora Gerardi (Frederica, DE. ) were named 2004 Jack Wilkins/James Howard Scholar Athletes of the Year at the annual Old Dominion University Athletic honors Banquet and Hall of Fame induction which was held at the Ted Constant Convocation Center Tuesday night.
Angie Loy is a two-time first team All-American, and was the CAA Player ofthe Year and tournament MVP. Loy completed her senior campaign leading the ODULady Monarchs with 24 goals, 21 assists, and 69 total points which ranked her secondnationally. She is also a three-time NFHCA Academic All-American and helped lead the Lady Monarchs to their eighth straight CAA title, and a record 23 straight trips to theNCAA Tournament. Loy is currently a member of the U.S. National squad.
Justin Verlander has already been selected CAA Pitcher of the Week twice andNational Player of the Week. The 6-5 junior righthander is Old Dominion's and the CAA's all-time strikeout king with 384. Last summer, Verlander helped lead teamUSA to the silver medal at the Pan Am games with a 5-1 record. Currently Verlanderleads the CAA in strikeouts with 108 in 75 innings and his 12.8 strikeouts per gameranks him third nationally.
The Jack Wilkins/James Howard Scholar Athletes of the Year are presented tothe male and female senior athletes with the highest cumulative grade point averages.Both Howard and Wilkins were instrumental in the formation of the Intercollegiate Foundation in 1965.
Cora Gerardi served as a reserve on the CAA championship field hockeyteam and scored a goal in the upset win over eighth ranked Princeton. A majorin speech pathology, Cora also earned All-Academic honors by the National FieldHockey Coaches Association for the second straight year. She will graduate with a 3.89grade point average.
Niklas Oskarsson compiled a 13-9 singles record which included a 4-2mark in Fall tournament play. He is 10-7 in doubles at the No.l spot with Izak vanDer Merwe, and has helped guide the Monarchs to a top 60 ranking. The Monarchsreached the finals of the CAA Championships last weekend. Niklas will graduatewith a 3.68 grade point average in international business.
Old Dominion University also inducted five former athletes into the school'sSports Hall of Fame. They included: Roger Randall (wrestling), Matt Quatraro (baseball), Samantha Salvia (field hockey), Petey Sessoms (basketball), and Charlie Smith (basketball- deceased).
In addition to the above, the Most Valuable Players from each sport wererecognized. They are as follows:
2003-04 TEAM MVP'S
BaseballTBA (after completion of season)Men's BasketballAlex Loughton (Perth, Australia)Women's BasketballShareese Grant (Virginia Beach, Va.)Field HockeyAngie Loy (Loysville, PA.)Men's GolfChristopher Kline (Hampton, VA.)Women's GolfAshley Davis (Ontario, Canada)Women's LacrosseSuzanne Wosczyna (Phoenixville, PA.)Men's SailingJack Kerr (Redmond, WA.)Women's Sailing Anna Tunnicliffe (Perrysburg, OH.)Men's SoccerTrevor McEachron (Woodbridge, VA.)Women's Soccer Shibaughn Stevens ( Penfield, NY.)Men's Swimming Nathan Tschohl (Chesapeake, VA.)Women's SwimmingLauren Timby (Rochester, NY.)Men's TennisIzak van der Merwe (Kempton Park, South Africa)Women's Tennis Nataly Cahana (Quiriat Bialik, Isreal)WrestlingDerrell Lorthridge (Wilmington, DE.)