December 2011
We have concluded one of the most successful fall sports campaigns in the history of Old Dominion University, finishing ranked 19th nationally in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings, one spot below Villanova, one spot above UVA and tied with Indiana and Wake Forest for overall fall success. As we head into the holidays, there is much for which Monarch fans should be thankful!
Team Success
Three of four fall teams advanced to NCAA post season play. Our young football program entered its first season of CAA competition, picked to finish 10th ahead of 11th pick Towson in the pre-season media and coaches conference poll. By the end of the regular season and with a 9-2 record, ODU had swept in state CAA rivals William and Mary, JMU and Richmond, and added victories over Hampton and Norfolk State, making ODU clearly one of the best football teams in the Commonwealth of Virginia this year. Coach Bobby Wilder's Monarchs earned our program's first FCS playoff bid and a convincing win over cross-town rival Norfolk State propelled us into the second round against six-time FCS national champion Georgia Southern and a thrilling offensive showing, despite the tough 55-48 loss. The post season honors continue for the football program, and congratulations are due to Coach Wilder on earning Coach of the Year recognition from College Sports Madness, and to Ronnie Cameron and Jonathan Plisco on their All American honors.
Coach Beth Anders led the field hockey program to its 17th NCAA Final Four appearance this year, after being ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of the year. The Lady Monarchs captured the CAA crown, then downed Ohio State and Duke in the NCAA tournament, to advance to the semifinals against Maryland. Coach Anders was named the CAA Coach of the Year, while Emma Batten, Kati Nearhouse and Stephanie Kratzer earned All American honors and Kelsey Smither was named the National Freshman of the Year. Old Dominion will host the 2012 and 2013 NCAA national championships in field hockey at the Powhatan Sports Complex. Stay tuned for ticket information on this event in the spring.Our men's soccer team, under the leadership of 15-year head coach Alan Dawson, advanced to the NCAA tournament for the eighth time in the last 10 years, defeating Liberty on penalty kicks in the first round. Despite a second round loss at Indiana, Coach Dawson's Monarchs have advanced to the second round in each of their last eight NCAA tournaments. All American Yannick Smith is a finalist for the prestigious Herman Award in college soccer, and earned All American honors.
In head to head competition with rival William and Mary in the Optima Health Challenge, our teams lead the race for the cup by a score of 30-20, with wins in football, men's soccer and field hockey to date.
Our winter sports are well under way, as men's basketball has posted big wins over Big East member South Florida, East Carolina of Conference USA and a key road league win over Northeastern, while battling national power Kentucky for 40 minutes in a nationally televised game. The Missouri Tigers come to Norfolk on Dec. 30 as potentially the second highest ranked team to play the Monarchs in the Ted, followed by the CAA home opener on Jan. 5 with George Mason. We will welcome back our Monarch and Lady Monarch basketball alumni the weekend of Jan. 14 and 15 for the Hofstra games and hope you can join us as we salute many of our former great players.
ODU has been selected to host the NCAA Women's Basketball first and second round, on March 17 and 19. I hope many of you will support this event with the purchase of tickets. All session tournament books are on sale now and we ask your help in filling up the Ted to ensure that future NCAA events return to our campus.
The wrestling Monarchs upset eight-time NCAA champion Iowa State on Nov. 20 in front of a record crowd of 1,526 fans, and our men's swimming team is off to a great start with only one loss to date, with senior Arni Arnason owning the nation's 8th fastest 100 breaststroke time this season.
ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Congratulations to 10 student athletes who graduated during our December commencement exercises on Dec. 17. Joining the ranks of new alumni are Stephanie Kratzer of field hockey, golfer, Kelsey Williams from women's soccer, swimmers Mikael Ramvkist, David Skorupa and Allyson Nold, Sarah Geary of lacrosse, Joanna Dobrowolska of women's tennis and Ryan Jensen and Ronnie Cameron of football, who earned his MBA degree. Several of our student athletes were recognized as CoSIDA district Academic All Americans for their performances in the classroom and on the playing fields, including Jonathon Plisco of football, and Jocelyn Weidner and Amber Cook of women's soccer.
Thank you to our fans, donors and sponsors
For the third consecutive year, Monarch fans helped us sell out every home football game, including our FCS playoff game with Norfolk State. We now have a 21-game sellout streak and look forward to adding six more sellouts next season. Our playoff game outdrew the other three FCS first round games combined - quite a statement from our 12th Monarchs - and we added more than 800 people to our football waiting list the week of the Norfolk State game. There are now over 3500 people waiting to purchase football season tickets.
The men's basketball program has sold out the lower bowl of the Ted for the first time in the venue's 10-year history. We are on schedule to break our all time attendance mark set last year, with advance sellouts already for our William and Mary game on Jan. 28 and VCU on Feb. 11. Be on the lookout for information on CAA men's and women's tournament tickets that should arrive in your mailboxes in early January. The deadline for men's tournament books in the ODU block is Feb. 10!
We are on track to break last year's ODAF annual fund numbers of $2.69 million thanks to donations from over 2,600 ODAF members, and complete 2011 with over $5 million in gifts and endowment support for athletics. Our athletic fund raising team, led by Mark Benson, has also been successful in getting us nearly half way toward our $8 million goal needed to break ground on our new basketball practice facility, as well as raising nearly $500,000 for renovations for the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex which will be completed during 2012 season. We have pleased to report that we have received $2.5 million in capital gifts in the month of December to support basketball, baseball and football projects.
We will host our 34th annual ODU Baseball Clinic, which supports our baseball scholarship fund, at the Virginia Beach Field House on Saturday, Jan. 21 from 9 a.m. to noon, and the GTI Systems Inc., Meet the Stars banquet on Friday, Jan. 20 at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside, featuring Hall of Famer Jim Rice. Youth in grades 1-8 can register for the clinic online at www.beachfieldhouse.com, and banquet tickets can be purchased by calling our athletic ticket office at 683-4444.
And, a big thanks to Old Dominion University Sports Properties and our corporate partners whose sponsorship support has enhanced our football and basketball game experiences and contributed more than $1.9 million in gross revenue for athletics this year.
Our success in 2011 is due to the support of all of you, and on behalf of the entire ODU athletic staff, coaches, and student athletes, we thank you and wish you a very happy new year. Go Monarchs!a