2020-21-year-in-review

2020-21 Webber Athletics Year in Review

6/1/2021 4:20:00 PM

BABSON PARK, Fla. (June 1, 2021) – The 2020-21 Webber International University athletics season will not only be remembered as the year as the Warriors made it through and competed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was also a year that marked a change in leadership for Webber athletics as Brad Niethammer officially began his post as the Warriors' new Director of Athletics.

Throughout the year, Webber started five new sports programs, won two Sun Conference Regular-Season Championships, and had 39 all-conference student-athletes, 42 academic all-conference members, 25 conference player of the week awards, four conference Freshman of the Year, three conference Coaches of the Year, two conference Players of the Year, one conference Pitcher of the Year, one conference Pair of the Year, two All-Americans for bowling and two All-American honors in track & field.

The five new athletics programs at Webber that began their first season of competition in 2020-21 were men's and women's lacrosse, women's flag football, Esports, and the club men's beach volleyball team.

In addition, 2020-21 saw 10 coaches begin their first season as head coach at Webber, including Gabriel Rutledge (men's basketball), Lindsay Corbett (cheerleading), Kyle Jensen (Esports), Luke McHardy (fishing), Jeffrey Melesky (women's flag football), Stuart Winsby (men's and women's golf), Chris Burdick (men's lacrosse), Destinee Johnson (women's lacrosse), Trey Heath (men's and women's tennis), and Caleb Wisecarver (men's and women's track & field).
 
Men's Soccer
Webber's most successful sport in the Fall was men's soccer. In his 14th season as head coach of the Warriors, Neil Cockburn helped guide his team to its first postseason win since 2006. The Warriors finished the season 8-9 overall, including three matches in the Spring, and finished in fourth place in The Sun Conference standings at 4-6. It was the Warriors' most conference wins and best finish in the conference standings since they had last made the postseason in 2013. Other season highlights for Webber men's soccer included defeating Crooked Lake rival Warner University 3-1 in the TSC quarterfinals, beating Warner twice by a score of 2-0 during the regular season to claim the Crooked Lake Cup for the second season year in a row, upsetting nationally-recognized Southeastern University 2-1 at home after a game-winning save in the final five seconds of the match by senior goalkeeper Alex Marciulonis, and senior forward David Negrin Ruiz being named both TSC and NAIA Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week following his hat trick against Ave Maria. Marciulonis and Negrin Ruiz were joined by Andy Obregon and Eric Longhorn on the All-Sun Conference Second-Team while Obregon also earned TSC Freshman of the Year and Longhorn and Jay Skelcher-Maxwell were both named to the TSC All-Tournament Team.

Women's Cross Country
Another highlight from the Fall for Webber was senior Kendal Clark earning First-Team All-Sun Conference honors and securing her second straight trip to the NAIA National Championships in cross country. Clark finished in sixth place at the TSC Championships with a time of 20:05.3, and was then 221st at nationals with a time of 20:20.21. Clark, who is second on the Warriors' top-10 all-time list for women's cross country, became the first Lady Warrior to compete in back-to-back appearances at nationals since Juline Brice in 2009 and 2010. Academically, Clark was the lone Warrior to earn academic all-conference for cross country this season, and she also earned the USTFCCCA All-Academic Award for cross country.

Women's Basketball
The winter sports season for the Warriors was highlighted by the women's basketball team, which finished the season 17-11 overall and 12-8 in The Sun Conference, finished the regular season in third place in the TSC standings, defeated Florida Memorial University in the TSC quarterfinals for the second year in a row, and advanced to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. It was the Lady Warriors' second national championship appearance in the 10-year tenure of Head Coach Grady Morrell, and was the program's fifth appearance at nationals in its history. It was also Webber's seventh appearance in the conference tournament under the leadership of Coach Morrel. Following the regular season, seniors Paris Copeland and LeAndra Franklin were each named First-Team All-Sun Conference while junior Amaya Small was named to the second-team and also earned a spot on the TSC All-Tournament Team.

Softball
One of the most exciting Webber teams to watch all season long was the Warriors' softball team, which went 15-9 in The Sun Conference during the regular season to claim its first regular-season conference championship since 2012. In addition to putting four players on the all-conference first-team, Mary-Margaret Maggard was named TSC Player of the Year, Emma Maitland earned TSC Pitcher of the Year, and Head Coach Kristy Burton was the TSC Coach of the Year. The Warriors finished the season 30-24 overall, but fell against the College of Coastal Georgia in the TSC Tournament Championship. Abigail Thompson joined Maitland and Maggard on the TSC All-Tournament Team as well.

Women's Beach Volleyball
The first regular-season championship of the year for Webber came from the Warriors' women's beach volleyball team, which captured the inaugural Sun Conference Beach Volleyball Regular-Season Championship. The Warriors finished the season 9-5 overall, were 4-1 in TSC matches during the regular season, and earned the No. 1 seed for the first ever TSC Beach Volleyball Tournament. The duo of Hannah Tannone and Penny Gwynn was named the TSC Pair of the Year while Head Coach Jessica Gehrke-Hauptmann was named TSC Coach of the Year. At the American Volleyball Coaches' Association Small College Beach National Championship, the No. 4-seeded Warriors went 2-0 during Pool Play before finishing in third place overall.

Women's Flag Football
Arguably the most successful of all of Webber's new sports to begin competition during 2020-21 was the Webber women's flag football team. After winning the first ever collegiate varsity women's flag football game 52-0 over Midland University and scoring the first ever touchdown in the history of women's varsity flag football with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Sierra Harris to RayGene Garner in the first quarter of that game, the Warriors went on to finish the season 10-4 overall, and were 6-2 in The Sun Conference during the regular season to take second place in the league standings. Harris was named TSC Co-Player of the Year, Head Coach Jeffrey Melesky was named TSC Co-Coach of the Year, and Garner was named TSC Co-Champion of Character. Earning All-Sun Conference awards for the Warriors were Harris (offense), Garner (offense and defense), Kayla Burrows (offense and defense), and Breaza Robinson (defense) as Webber collected a league-high six all-conference honors. Webber also had the only two academic all-conference players (Garner, Dayne Ford) among all teams from the conference. At the first ever NAIA Women's Flag Football Finals, the Warriors went 2-0 during Pool Play before falling in the national semifinals to the eventual national champion.

Men's Lacrosse
Another new team that finished its first season of competition with success on the field was the Webber men's lacrosse team, which ended its inaugural season 3-7 overall, 3-4 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference and 3-2 in home games. Webber clinched a spot in the AAC Tournament after finishing the regular season tied for fifth place in the conference standings. All three of the Warriors' wins during their first season came at home on the Warrior Turf Field as they defeated Point University 21-6 for the first win in program history, earned the first win in program history over a team receiving votes in the national coaches' poll with a 12-9 victory over St. Andrews University, and then defeated Montreat College 16-9 to earn their third win at home in a row and clinch their bid to the postseason. In the end, Chase Jackson was named AAC Freshman of the Year.

Men's Indoor and Beach Volleyball
In what was its fourth season as a varsity NAIA program and was it third year as a member of the Mid-South Conference, the Webber indoor men's volleyball team had arguably its best season in program history. The Warriors finished the season 12-11 overall and 9-7 in conference play, set new program-bests in both overall wins and in conference wins, tied for sixth place in the conference standings, and earned the No. 5 seed for the conference tournament, where they upset No. 4-seeded Life University 3-1 for the first postseason win in program history. Earlier in the season, Webber defeated Life, which was ranked No. 14 in the NAIA at the time, by a score of 3-2 at home to earn what was its first ever win over a nationally-ranked team. Webber then defeated its Crooked Lake rival Warner University 3-1 at home on Senior Day. It was the Warriors' second win in program history over the Royals, and was Webber's first win over Warner during the tenure of Head Coach Carlos Jimenez. Chris Ludwig and Gunter Perea Quevedo were both named Second-Team All-Conference while Daniel Hermida earned Honorable Mention All-Conference. Additionally, the inaugural Webber men's beach volleyball team boasted the nationally-recognized pair of Chris Ludwig and Peyten Young, who were the top-seeded team in the country and have both been nominated for the USA Beach Collegiate national team.

Men's and Women's Golf
During what was the first season for Webber golf under new Head Coach Stuart Winsby, Alberto Uriach and Hannah Revell were both named All-Sun Conference for men's and women's golf, respectively, while Uriach also became the first Warrior to compete at the NAIA Men's Golf National Championship since 2016. Uriach finished in the top-15 golfers in all of the NAIA, tying with four others for 15th place out of 156 total golfers in the field. At the TSC Championship, Uriach finished in 10th place, and during the regular season, he finished in the top-10 in all five tournaments and had four top-five finishes as well.

Men's and Women's Track & Field
Competing in its first season under the guidance of new Head Coach Caleb Wisecarver, Webber track & field had one conference champion (Garrett Palmer) and two other all-conference performers (Lauren Brown, J'nai Taylor) at the inaugural Sun Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship meet, and then had one conference champion (Jade Hines) and four other all-conference performers (Alexandrea Gaetz, Brown, Taylor, Palmer) at the TSC Outdoor Track & Field Championship meet. Five national qualifying marks and three new school records were also set at the outdoor conference championship as Hines broke the Webber school record in the women's long jump, Palmer broke the record in the men's long jump, and Yeltsin Mora did so in the men's 100 meter dash. Hines competed in the long jump at both the indoor and outdoor national championships this season, and also at outdoor nationals, Mora again broke the school record and reached All-American status in the 100 meter dash while the Webber men's 4x100 meter relay team of Jordon Murrell, Stevenson Blount II, Garrett Palmer, and Mora also finished as All-Americans.
 
Other Highlights
  • The Webber baseball team (28-24 overall, 14-10 TSC) finished tied for third place in the TSC regular-season standings and earned the No. 3 seed for the conference tournament. Bryce McDonald was named TSC Freshman of the Year while he, Rey Rodriguez and Norberto Navarro were each named Second-Team All-Sun Conference as well. Last but not least, Webber put three players (Luis Acevedo, Dominique Collie Jr., Rougie Odor) on the TSC Gold Glove Team, which was the most players on the team from all schools in league.
  • The Webber men's bowling team won five tournaments during the regular season and won the ITC Sectionals in Smyrna, Tennessee. Then at the Intercollegiate Team Championships in Wyoming, Michigan, the Warriors finished qualifying in second place before eventually being eliminated during round three of bracket play. Allen Wolstenholme Jr. was ultimately named both National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association (NCBCA) Rookie of the Year and Second-Team All-America on the men's side while Taishaye Naranjo of the Webber women's bowling team was also a Second-Team All-American.
  • After ranking first after the semifinals, the Webber cheerleading team finished in third place in the Open All Girls Division at the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) College Nationals.
  • Last but not least, the Webber Esports team earned its first win in program history by defeating Rutgers University 3-0 in the game of Rocket League. On the final night of the season, the Warriors defeated the University of Akron 3-1 and finished with four wins overall
Academic Awards
Webber had 17 teams with at least one academic all-conference award winner, and had nine with multiple such winners. The teams with the most were women's soccer, football and softball with six apiece.
Women's Soccer – 6
Football – 6
Softball – 6
Women's Volleyball – 3
Women's Beach Volleyball – 3
Women's Lacrosse – 3
Baseball – 3
Men's Soccer – 2
Women's Flag Football – 2
Women's Cross Country – 1
Men's Basketball – 1
Men's Indoor Track & Field – 1
Women's Indoor Track & Field – 1
Men's Outdoor Track & Field – 1
Women's Outdoor Track & Field – 1
Men's Lacrosse – 1
Women's Golf – 1

Best Conference Finishes
In addition to regular-season championships for softball and women's beach volleyball, Webber saw five teams finish in the top-three of their respective conference races. Women's flag football finished in second place, women's basketball finished in third, and baseball tied for third place.
Softball – T1st
Women's Beach Volleyball – T1st
Women's Flag Football – 2nd
Women's Basketball – 3rd
Baseball – T3rd
Men's Soccer – 4th
Women's Indoor Track & Field – 4th
Men's Lacrosse – T5th
Women's Volleyball – T5th
Football – 6th
Men's Indoor Track & Field – 6th
Women's Cross Country – 6th
Women's Golf – 6th
Women's Outdoor Track & Field – 6th
Men's Volleyball – T6th
Men's Golf – 7th
Women's Soccer – 7th
Women's Lacrosse – T7th
Men's Cross Country – 8th
Men's Basketball – 9th
Men's Outdoor Track & Field – 9th

Warrior Farewells
Webber International University athletics would like to say thank you and recognize three coaches that announced their retirements this season. Head Golf Coach Nancy Nichols retired after 31 years at Webber, including 13 as the athletic director and 28 as the golf coach. Head Football Coach Kelly Scott stepped down after spending the last 19 years at Webber, including the last 15 as head coach of the Warriors. Head Track & Field Coach David Andrews stepped down as head coach of the Warriors after six years leading the program.
 
A recap of the awards Webber International University received throughout the 2020-21 athletics season are below:

Conference Players of the Week:  Cody Braden (football), Kayla Burrows (women's flag football), Joseph Burton (football), Colton Cormier (football, three times), LaRee Crockett (women's beach volleyball), Shymara Dykes (women's beach volleyball), RayGene Garner (women's flag football), Kris Goettert (men's basketball), Penny Gwynn (women's beach volleyball), Sierra Harris (women's flag football, three times), Jade Hines (women's outdoor track & field), Alohnna-Elyse Lee (women's outdoor track & field), Mary-Margaret Maggard (softball, twice), Emma Maitland (softball), Jaylon Myles (men's basketball), David Negrin Ruiz (men's soccer), Breaza Robinson (women's flag football), Kayla Swinson (softball), Hannah Tannone (women's beach volleyball), Jessica Terry (women's beach volleyball), Kiersten Tisdale (women's volleyball, twice), Brianda Valdez (women's beach volleyball)

NAIA National Players of the Week: David Negrin Ruiz (men's soccer)

Conference Games of the Week: Women's Volleyball at Warner University (9/16/20, W 3-2), Women's Volleyball vs. Ave Maria University (10/3/20, L 0-3), Men's Soccer vs. (RV) Southeastern University (10/14/20, W 2-1), Men's Soccer at No. 22 Keiser University (10/24/20, L 0-3), Women's Basketball vs. Thomas University (11/17/20, W 78-49), Women's Basketball vs. St. Thomas University (12/3/20, L 73-77), Women's Basketball at No. 16 Southeastern University (1/9/21, L 51-75), Women's Basketball at St. Thomas University (1/30/21, L 56-68), Women's Basketball vs. Keiser University (2/6/21, W 51-49), Baseball at Thomas University (2/26/21-2/27/21, W 10-2, W 10-4, W 11-9), Baseball at No. 2 Southeastern University (3/19/21-3/20/21, L 1-3, W 5-3, L 2-5), Baseball at No. 18 St. Thomas University (4/16/21-4/17/21, L 8-9 (12), L 4-7, L 7-10)

Academic All-Conference: Traevontae Batie (football), Natalie Bartek (women's soccer, women's lacrosse), Mateo Celaya (men's soccer), Alycia Celia (softball), Kendal Clark (women's cross country, women's indoor track & field, women's outdoor track & field), Frederick Curry Jr. (football), Malia Domingo (women's soccer, women's lacrosse), Ty English (baseball), Kelsea Friend (softball), Dayne Ford (women's soccer, women's flag football), Harlie Ford (women's soccer), RayGene Garner (women's flag football), Joshua Given (football), Nicky Greene (women's soccer, women's lacrosse), Sabrina Hebding (softball), Svenja Koenig (women's volleyball), Hunter Lonadier (men's basketball), Jordon Murrell (men's indoor track & field, men's outdoor track & field), David Negrin Ruiz (men's soccer), Tanner Peacock (football), Trent Peacock (football), Summer Simpson (women's soccer), Reynold Rey (men's lacrosse), Cassidy Roberts (softball), Alyssa Rodriguez (softball), Lucia Rodriguez Zapico (women's golf), Elijah Stimmell (football), Hannah Tannone (women's beach volleyball), Jessica Terry (women's volleyball, women's beach volleyball), Abigail Thompson (softball), Brianda Valdez (women's beach volleyball), Svetlana Varkentina (women's volleyball), Matthew Wiseman (baseball), Sean Whalen (baseball)

All-Conference: Victoria Atkinson (softball, first-team), Lauren Brown (women's indoor track & field, women's outdoor track & field, pole vault), Kayla Burrows (women's flag football, offense and defense), Paris Copeland (women's basketball, first-team), Colton Cormier (football, first-team), Joe Ebel (football, second-team), Rasheem Etienne (men's basketball, second-team), LeAndra Franklin (women's basketball, first-team), Alexandrea Gaetz (women's outdoor track & field, 100 meter hurdles), RayGene Garner (women's flag football, offense and defense), Sierra Harris (women's flag football, offense), Daniel Hermida (men's volleyball, honorable mention), Jade Hines (women's outdoor track & field, long jump), Svenja Koenig (women's volleyball, second-team), Eric Longhorn (men's soccer, second-team), Chris Ludwig (men's volleyball, second-team), Mary-Margaret Maggard (softball, first-team), Emma Maitland (softball, first-team), Alex Marciulonis (men's soccer, second-team), Bryce McDonald (baseball, second-team), Jaylon Myles (men's basketball, second-team), Norberto Navarro (baseball, second-team), David Negrin Ruiz (men's soccer, second-team), Andy Obregon (men's soccer, second-team), Garrett Palmer (men's indoor track & field, men's outdoor track & field, long jump), Trent Peacock (football, second-team), Gunter Perea Quevedo (men's volleyball, second-team), Hannah Revell (women's golf), Breaza Robinson (women's flag football, defense), Rey Rodriguez (baseball, second-team), Amaya Small (women's basketball, second-team), Kayla Swinson (softball, first-team), J'nai Taylor (women's indoor track & field, women's outdoor track & field, long jump), Alberto Uriach (men's golf)

Conference Players of the Year: Penny Gwynn (women's beach volleyball, pair of the year), Sierra Harris (women's flag football), Mary-Margaret Maggard (softball), Emma Maitland (softball, pitcher of the year), Hannah Tannone (women's beach volleyball, pair of the year)

Conference Freshman of the Year: Chase Jackson (men's lacrosse), John Mangarillo (football), Bryce McDonald (baseball), Andy Obregon (men's soccer)

Conference Coaches of the Year: Kristy Burton (softball), Jessica Gehrke-Hauptmann (women's beach volleyball), Jeffrey Melesky (women's flag football)

Conference Champions of Character Award: Colton Cormier (football, Champions of Character Team), RayGene Garner (Co-Champion of Character), Kaitlyn Patterson (women's lacrosse, Champions of Character nominee), Reynold Rey (men's lacrosse, Champions of Character nominee), Peyten Young (men's volleyball, Champions of Character nominee)

All-Tournament Team: Eric Longhorn (men's soccer), Mary-Margaret Maggard (softball), Emma Maitland (softball), Jay Skelcher-Maxwell (men's soccer), Amaya Small (women's basketball), Abigail Thompson (softball)

All-Region: Mary-Margaret Maggard (softball, NFCA All-Region II Second-Team), Emma Maitland (softball, NFCA All-Region II Second-Team), Kayla Swinson (softball, NFCA All-Region II Second-Team)

Individual Conference Champions: Jade Hines (women's outdoor track & field, long jump), Garrett Palmer (men's indoor track & field, long jump)

Team Conference Champions: Softball (Regular-Season Champions), Women's Beach Volleyball (Regular-Season Champions)

All-Americans: Stevenson Blount II (men's outdoor track & field, NAIA All-American in the men's 4x100 meter relay), Yeltsin Mora (men's outdoor track & field, NAIA All-American in the men's 100 meter dash) and the men's 4x100 meter relay, Jordon Murrell (men's outdoor track & field, NAIA All-American in the men's 4x100 meter relay), Taishaye Naranjo (women's bowling, NCBCA Second-Team All-America), Garrett Palmer (men's outdoor track & field, NAIA All-American in the men's 4x100 meter relay), Allen Wolstenholme Jr. (men's bowling, NCBCA Second-Team All-America, NCBCA Men's Rookie of the Year)
 
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