Tradition of Excellence

2006-2007 Highlights

Football
The Captains ended their season on a high note: they won the USA South and secured a bid into the NCAA playoffs; they won the USA South Sportsmanship Award; Coach Matt Kelchner was named Coach of the Year; and 13 players were named to USA South’s All-Conference Team. The Captain’s finished with an 8-3 record. 

Men’s Soccer
CNU’s nationally ranked men’s soccer program quickly fell into form. Their success on the field was reflected in the NSCAA South Region Poll—they ranked seventh and wound up capturing the USA South Regular Season title. They finished the year 14-4-2. Five players were selected to First Team All-USA South and two to Second Team All-USA South.

Women’s Soccer
Ranked seventh in the NSCAA South Region poll, CNU went on to advance to the USA South championship match, where they captured their third conference tournament championship in a row. They finished with a 13-6-1 record. At season’s end, six CNU players received USA South All-Conference Honors, and four earned All-State Honors.

Volleyball
The Lady Captains volleyball team got off to a remarkable start. They were ranked sixth in the NCAA South Region poll, swept two USA South matches and tied Averett for the regular season title. CNU advanced to the USA South Semifinals and earned a ticket to the USA South Championship. Though they eventually lost to Averett, the team won numerous All-Conference awards. They ended their season with a 27-10 record.

Men’s Basketball
Ranked 18th in D3hoops.com’s pre-season top 25 poll, the Captains captured the CNU Invitational title. Thanks to sophomore Mark Blasingame - who at one point led the nation in blocked shots - CNU was second in the country in blocks per game. Their defense and stellar offense led the Captains to the USA South semifinals. The squad ended their season with a 15-11 record and had three players were named to the USA South All-Conference team.

Women’s Basketball
The women’s basketball season be can summed up with two words: hot streak. The Lady Captain’s netted tremendous success this season, reaching eight straight wins at one point and capturing the program’s 500th win. They reached the second round of the NCAA tournament before concluding their season with a 21-9 record and three players named
All-Conference.

Field Hockey
For nearly a month, the Lady Captains went undefeated in eight consecutive games. CNU went on to overpower six more opponents and gain entry to the NCAA tournament. CNU hosted the first round and advanced to the Sweet 16. For the first time in program history, they beat three-time defending national champion Salisbury. The Lady Captains eventually lost to Lebanon Valley in the Elite 8 but ended with a program-best 14-4 record.

Men’s Tennis
Picked to repeat as USA South Champions, men’s tennis created a racket at the start of the season. They hammered St. Mary’s of Maryland, 9-0, and Chowan, 9-0, among other key wins. Their success put them in the twelfth position on the polls. These wins brought CNU to the USA South Conference Tournament semifinal, where they lost to Methodist and ended the season with a 13-8 record. The doubles team of Eddie Glidewell and John Mook earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Women’s Tennis
After winning 21 straight games, the Lady Captains easily found their way into CNU’s record book. Their sensational season began with two commanding wins over Chowan and Mary Baldwin. In the following 19 games, the Lady Captains climbed up the national polls by shutting out 11 different teams. Though they eventually lost to Methodist in the USA South title game, the Lady Captains finished with a 21-1 record and received many player and team accolades.

Cross Country
The men and women’s teams found success early on by sweeping their first contest, the 9th Annual Marlin Invitational. Boths teams went on to win the USA South Championships. After advancing to the NCAA South/Southeast regionals, the men’s team finished in ninth place and the women’s team placed sixth. Junior Ashley Ezell was named USA South Women’s Runner of the Year; Freshman Amy Wampler was named Rookie of the Year; and Head Coach Keith Maurer was named Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year.

Cheerleading
Under the guidance of first-year Head Coach Erica Flanigan, CNU’s cheerleading squad found immeasurable success. The squad took first place at the Cheer Ltd Regional Cheer and Dance Competition, earning 266 out of 300 possible points. The win qualified them to compete with national teams in the Open College National Championship, marking the first time in 10 years a CNU team attended the tournament. The Lady Captains hard work paid off as their combined score of 227 points put them in second place.

Softball
After winning against numerous opponents early in the season, the Lady Captains found themselves ranked 10th in the nation. They celebrated by clinching the USA South regular season title. The team eventually earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament and ended their season 33-8 overall. Junior Janet Fairchild was named the USA South’s Pitcher of the Year and Head Coach Keith Parr was named Coach of the Year.

Baseball
Playing in what is probably the toughest Division III conference in the country, the Captains stayed in the hunt for the USA South regular season title until the final weekend. Six players were named to the USA South All-Conference team. The Captains finished the season with a 24-17 record, their tenth 20-victory season in the last 11 years.

Men’s Lacrosse
Under the guidance of new Head Coach Chris Swanenburg, CNU’s first-ever men’s lacrosse team is making their presence known. In their inaugural game, the squad beat Marymount in a highly competitive match. A thrashing 15-3 victory over Hood followed suit. Solid wins over Fontbonne and Medaille also helped keep the Captain’s season in gear. The team concluded it’s first season with a 4-9 record.

Women’s Lacrosse
Selected to finish first in the USA South Conference, the Lady Captains did just that. After losing their opener to highly ranked Salisbury, the squad let loose on Ferrum, winning 18-3, and NC Wesleyan, winning 20-1. The team went on to win four out of their following six games.  CNU won the USA south tournament championship and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament. They ended the year with a 12-5 record.

Golf
Kickstarting their season in the Lee Nissan-Barton College Intercollegiate, the Captains tied Charleston for fifth out of 14 with a two-day score of 631. During a three-day stint in the Jekyll Island Intercollegiate, CNU tied for 15th out of 24 with a combined score of 924. The golfers continued their success during the Marine Corps Intercollegiate, Emory Spring Invitational and USA South Championship.

Track and Field
The track and field season began when former CNU track coach Vince Brown was inducted into the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame. The program, which recently named the Freeman Center track after Brown, began its season with the CNU Holiday Open on December 3. Tyler Wingard, a former head track and field coach at Valparaiso University, was also appointed this year as CNU’s head track and field coach. In the indoor season, sophomore Rachael Clark won the national championship in the shot put.  Outdoors five Captains won All-American honors to run the program’s total to 461.

Sailing
In their first fall outing at Old Dominion University’s Riley Cup, CNU placed eleventh with 219 points. From the Hobart Fall Intersectional to the CNU Alumni Regatta, the sailing team continued to represent the university in true form. After a successful outing at OCN Central #1 during the spring season, the Captains placed first in the Colony Cup Regatta.

CNU Athletics History
The men’s basketball team has played in the NCAA tournament 9 out of the last 14 years, after winning 12 USA South titles in the past 15 years.

Women’s basketball has won 13 conference championships in the past 16 years and made 11 NCAA tournament appearances.

CNU baseball reached the final three in the 2002 NCAA series and was second in the nation in 2003.

The women’s track team has won 12 National Championships.

Head Volleyball Coach and CNU alumna, Lindsay Sheppard went from Player of the Year to Coach of the Year in just one season. There is no record of such an accomplishment by anyone else in college sports history.

CNU women’s tennis has had 16 All-Conference singles players and 4 All-Conference doubles teams in the past 3 years.

Men’s golf has played in 7 of the last 15 NCAA national tournaments, winning one individual National Championship.

The softball team has won 15 Conference titles and made 5 NCAA appearances.