Division III Region Coaches of the Year
2009 AVCA Division III Region Coaches of the Year
LEXINGTON, Ky. (November 12, 2009) - The following coaches have been selected by their regions as AVCA Region Coaches of the Year. Each of the honorees will represent his/her region on the AVCA National Coach of the Year ballot. The awards will be officially presented at the Jostens Coaches Honors Luncheon in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday, Dec. 17, at the 2009 American Volleyball Coaches Association Annual Convention.
AVCA Division III Central Region Coach of the Year
Rich Luenemann, Washington University in St. Louis
2009 Record: 28-4, 10-1 University Athletic Association
Despite graduating two AVCA All-Americans a year ago, Rich Luenemann once again has the Washington University in St. Louis Bears in the mix for a national championship. Entering their 23rd consecutive NCAA Tournament, Luenemann's squad touts a 28-4 record, including a 10-1 mark in the University Athletic Association, where they finished runners-up to defending national champion Emory. The Bears, currently ranked No. 4 in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll, host Webster in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday. Wash U. has played a very difficult national schedule, facing seven schools that are currently ranked in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll, posting a 5-2 record in those matches, which includes a sweep of the nation's current No. 1 team Juniata. Luenemann is in his eleventh season as the head coach of Washington University in St. Louis, and this honor marks the fifth AVCA Division III Central Region Coach of the Year award for him (2000, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009).
AVCA Division III Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year
Kate Witte, Ohio Northern University
2009 Record: 27-3, 7-2 Ohio Athletic Conference
After guiding the Polar Bears to their fourth consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference tournament championship, Kate Witte has Ohio Northern back in a familiar place - the NCAA Tournament. With the berth, ONU will now be making it's 26th postseason appearance in the last 29 seasons. Entering NCAA Regional action this weekend, Witte's squad has racked up an impressive 27-3 record and currently holds down the No. 5 spot in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Polar Bears have faced a daunting schedule in 2009, squaring off against nine different teams who are currently ranked in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll and have compiled a 9-2 record in those matches. Witte's team has appeared on the poll every week of the season, reaching as high as No. 4 and never falling lower than No. 7. In her 19th season as the Polar Bears' mentor, Witte has now earned her fifth AVCA Division III Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year Award (1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2009).
AVCA Division III Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year
Peter Letourneau, Frostburg State University
2009 Record: 30-4, 10-0 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference
Fifth-year head coach Peter Letourneau has led his Frostburg State University team to its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009, earning an automatic berth after capturing the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference tournament crown. The Bobcats are riding an 11-match win streak entering their NCAA Regional quarterfinal match-up against No. No. 23 Eastern University and have put together a 30-4 record on the season, including a perfect 10-0 mark in AMCC action. Letourneau reached two significant personal milestones this season, earning his 100th career victory with a win over Franciscan on Oct. 14. Letourneau topped that achievement one match later when he became the winningest coach in FSU history with a sweep of D'Youville on Oct. 17. This is the first time Letourneau has earned AVCA Division IIII Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year honors.
AVCA Division III Midwest Region Coach of the Year
Brian Schaefer, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
2009 Record: 35-2, 8-0 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Brian Schaefer's University of Wisconsin Oshkosh team won 29 consecutive matches to begin the season, propelling the Titans to the top spot in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll, its first such ranking in school history. Going 8-0 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play this season, the Titans won the tenth conference title in program history and sported a perfect WIAC mark for the first time since 1990. The Titans have held the top spot in the AVCA Coaches Poll for five weeks, and are currently tied for the No. 2 spot heading into this week's first-round NCAA Tournament matchup with St. Norbert. Schaefer, who won his third WIAC Coach of the Year in 2009, and second in a row, has compiled a 185-28 in just six seasons at the helm of the Titans. This AVCA Division III Midwest Region Coach of the Year honor is the third for Schaefer, having won the award in 2005 and 2008 as well.
AVCA Division III New England Region Coach of the Year
Terry Condon, University of Massachusetts Boston
2009 Record: 29-4, 7-0 Little East Conference
In her fifth season at the helm of the UMass-Boston program, Terry Condon has mentored the Beacons into once of the best squads in the New England region. In 2009, Condon guided the Beacons to a 29-4 record, which marks the best start to a season in program history. The Beacons are currently riding a school-record 16-match win streak and captured their first-ever Little East Conference Tournament championship with a 3-1 win over Plymouth state on Nov. 7. That victory also earned Condon's squad its' first-ever berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament, where it will take on Westfield State in the opening round this weekend. Condon, who has more wins than any other coach in program history, has now earned her first AVCA Division III New England Region Coach of the Year honor.
AVCA Division III New York Region Coach of the Year
Ed Caesar, New York University
2009 Record: 28-9, 6-5 University Athletic Association
In his eighth season as head coach of New York University, Ed Caesar has led the Violets to a 28-9 overall record and a 6-5 record in the highly-competitive University Athletic Association, a league which boasts two of the top-five teams currently ranked in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll - Washington-St. Louis and defending national champion Emory. Consistently starting four freshman (including the libero) and three sophomores, Caesar's youthful squad, which doesn't carry a single senior on its roster, earned an at-large berth in the upcoming NCAA Division III Tournament. The Violets, who ended the regular-season as the top-ranked team in the New York Region, will host Polytechnic Institute in the NCAA Regional quarterfinals this weekend, marking the program's 6th trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last eight years. This is the fourth time Caesar has earned AVCA Division IIII New York Region Coach of the Year honors (2003, 2005,2006, 2009).
AVCA Division III South Region Coach of the Year
Hannah Long, Southwestern University
2009 Record: 33-3, 15-0 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Hannah Long's Southwestern University team comes into this week's NCAA Tournament riding a 31-match win streak, dating back to early September. After rolling through Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season play with a 15-0 mark, the Pirates won all three matches in the conference tournament, securing the program's first outright SCAC Championship title since 1997. With a 33-3 overall record going into their first-round NCAA Tournament matchup against Dallas, Southwestern has been ranked in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll all season, coming in at No. 12 for the past four weeks. In just her sixth season as head coach, Long's Pirates have won at least 25 matches each year, and have five consecutive seasons of 30 or more victories. Long was named the SCAC Coach of the Year in 2009, her third such honor in just six seasons, and has a 191-44 record at the school entering this week's play. This is her first AVCA Division III South Region Coach of the Year honor.
AVCA Division III West Region Coach of the Year
Mari Burningham, University of Redlands
2009 Record: 22-5, 12-2 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
After leading the University of Redlands to the 2009 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship, Mari Burningham leads the Bulldogs to the third NCAA Tournament appearance in their history, and the second in her six-year tenure. Turning around a team that went 12-15 a year ago, Burningham's squad is 22-5 going into the NCAA Tournament, which includes a 12-2 SCIAC mark, setting a school record for conference wins, eclipsing the previous victory mark by three. Redlands, which has won nine of its last ten matches, will host Chapman in the first round of the tournament Thursday. Burningham is now 90-67 in her first stint as a collegiate head coach, with a 50-34 mark in conference play. This is the first AVCA Division III West Region Coach of the Year honor for her.
