2005
Tachikara/AVCA Division III Region Coaches of the Year for Women's Volleyball
Announced
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The following coaches
have been selected by their region as Tachikara/AVCA Region Coach of the Year.
Each of the honorees will represent their region on the Tachikara/AVCA National
Coach of the Year ballot. The awards will be officially presented at the
Tachikara/AVCA Coach of the Year and Victory Club Awards banquet in Long Beach,
Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 15, at the 2005 American Volleyball Coaches
Association Annual Convention.
Tachikara, the sponsor of the AVCA Coach of the Year program, can be found on
the world wide web at www.tachikara.com.
Tachikara/AVCA Division III Central Region Coach of the Year
Rich Luenemann, Washington University in St. Louis
2005 Record: 33-1, 11-1 University Athletic Association
Washington University in St. Louis, ranked third nationally with one loss in the
regular season finale, has posted an 11-1 record against teams currently in the
CSTV/AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll. Washington U. is 1-1 against
top-ranked Emory, 1-0 versus second-ranked Juniata and 2-0 against fourth-ranked
New York University. The Bears earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III
Tournament after finishing second at the University Athletic Association
Championship. The Bears won their first 33 matches of the season, the
third-longest winning streak in program history. Washington U. is making its
19th-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including a spot in the
championship match the past three seasons. Luenemann has been named Tachikara/AVCA
Division III Central Region Coach of the Year three times (2000, 2003 and 2005),
along with Tachikara/AVCA Division III National Coach of the Year in 2003. He
recorded his 800th-career win this season.
Tachikara/AVCA Division III Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year
Pam Briggs, Capital University
2005 Record: 32-4, 10-2 Ohio Athletic Conference
Capital, which shared the top spot in the Ohio Athletic Conference Preseason
Poll with Ohio Northern, has climbed to 20th in the current CSTV/AVCA Division
III Coaches Top 25 Poll with a school-record 32 victories. The Crusaders are 4-0
against current nationally ranked teams. Capital, with six starters back from
2004, won 20 straight matches between Sept. 9 and Oct. 20. Briggs earned her
third Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award this season. Capital has
recorded its second 30-win season under Briggs’ leadership, surpassing a 30-9
mark recorded by the 2002 squad. The Crusaders enter the NCAA Division III
Tournament for the first time on an eight-match win streak, including the Ohio
Athletic Conference Tournament championship. Prior to this season, Capital had
only been ranked nationally one week, a number-14 placement on Sept. 11, 1996.
Briggs, the winningest volleyball coach in school history, holds a 277-156
overall record and 71-45 mark in the OAC.
Tachikara/AVCA Division III Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year
Mark Birtwistle, Eastern University (Pa.)
2005 Record: 30-5, 12-0 Pennsylvania Athletic Conference
Eastern enters the NCAA Division III tournament as the 25th-ranked team in the
CSTV/AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll. Eastern began the year with a
program-record 22-0 start and climbed as high as 19th in the national poll. The
Eagles won their first four tournaments of the year. Eastern has picked up wins
over regionally ranked opponents SUNY Cortland, Johns Hopkins, Lebanon Valley,
Gettysburg, MIT and Tufts. Eastern captured its ninth consecutive PAC Tournament
title en route to its seventh NCAA Division III Tournament appearance where the
Eagles have advanced to the ‘Sweet 16’ the past two seasons. The Eagles’ have
five losses on the season, and four have been to teams currently in the national
poll (second-ranked Juniata, fourth-ranked New York University, seventh-ranked
Wisconsin-Whitewater, 21st-ranked Elmhurst). Birtwistle, who also earned the
Tachikara/AVCA Division III Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year in 2002, has
compiled 355-career victories.
Tachikara/AVCA Division III Midwest Region Coach of the Year
Brian Schaefer, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
2005 Record: 35-4, 7-1 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Schaefer, in his first full season as head coach, has led Wisconsin-Oshkosh to
its 10th NCAA Division III Tournament berth. UW-Oshkosh has posted a 4-3 record
against current top 25 teams and is ranked eighth in the CSTV/AVCA Division III
Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Titans split a pair of matches with seventh-ranked
Wisconsin-Whitewater and 11th-ranked Wisconsin-Eau Claire, while winning single
matches against 13th-ranked St. Thomas (Minn.) and 22nd-ranked
Wisconsin-Platteville. The Titans have improved from 22-11 last season to 35-4
this year after being picked seventh in the WIAC Preseason Poll. UW-Oshkosh, on
pace for the fewest losses in school history, reached the 30-win plateau for the
first time since 2001 en route a share of the WIAC regular season title with a
7-1 mark. Wisconsin-Oshkosh has won five regular season tournaments in 2005.
Schaefer took over as interim head coach for 16 matches last season and was
named to the post permanently this past summer.
Tachikara/AVCA Division III New England Region Coach of the Year
Candice Parent, Colby College
2005 Record: 34-3, 10-0 New England Small College Athletic Conference
Parent led the Mules to their first-ever NESCAC title and a first-time bid into
the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Mules clinched the NESCAC regular season
title with a 10-0 record and rolled through the conference tournament with three
straight sweeps, including a 3-0 victory over Tufts in the NESCAC title game. In
its only match-up with a top 25 team, Colby gave second-ranked Juniata all it
could handle forcing the Eagles to four games. Parent led Colby to a 14-match
improvement over last season as the team finished 21-10 in 2004. Colby returned
five starters and its main libero from 2004, in addition to eight letterwinners.
The Mules gained a five-match improvement in the NESCAC as the 2004 team was
5-5. This is Parent’s first Tachikara/AVCA Division III New England Region Coach
of the Year honor.
Tachikara/AVCA Division III New York Region Coach of the Year
Ed Caesar, New York University
2005 Record: 32-7, 8-4 University Athletic Association
Caesar led the Violets to a 32-7 record and a number-four ranking for the last
five weeks in the CSTV/AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll. NYU hasn’t been
ranked lower than sixth all season and has moved back into the fourth position.
The Violets scored wins over 21st-ranked Elmhurst and 25th-ranked Eastern (Pa.).
Of NYU’s seven losses, six of have been against ranked teams. Five of those
losses came to the top-three ranked teams in the country. The Violets earned the
number-one seed in the New York Region for the NCAA Division III Tournament. NYU
has won the NYSWCAA tournament three consecutive years. NYU returned four
starters and nine letterwinners from last year’s NCAA Tournament semifinalist
team. This is the second time that Caeser has been named Tachikara/AVCA Division
III New York Region Coach of the Year.
Tachikara/AVCA Division III South Region Coach of the Year
Jenny McDowell, Emory University
2005 Record: 30-5, 11-1 University Athletic Association
McDowell led Emory to a 30-5 season, the eighth 30-win season in her tenure.
Emory won 19 straight matches and 57 consecutive games from Sept. 9 to Oct. 11.
The Eagles held a top-five ranking the entire season and are currently ranked
number one for the first time in school history. Emory posted a 3-2 record
against teams ranked in the top 25. The Eagles most impressive win of the season
came in the UAA title game when they downed previously undefeated Washington
(Mo.) 3-0. The Eagles also played well against North Alabama, ranked fourth NCAA
Division II, before losing in four tightly contested games. Emory, which
returned four starters and 15 letterwinners from 2004, will be making its 11th
consecutive NCAA Division III tournament appearance, as the Eagles host the
South Regional. This is the second straight year McDowell has been honored as
the Tachikara/AVCA South Region Coach of the Year. She holds 308-84 overall
record.
Tachikara/AVCA Division III West Region Coach of the Year
Steve Rupe, Whitworth College
2005 Record: 20-3, 15-1 Northwest Conference
Rupe led the Pirates to a 20-3 record and a Northwest Conference Championship.
The Pirates split against 18th-ranked Linfield this season, which was
Whitworth’s only conference loss of the season. The Pirates snapped Linfield’s
season-opening 11-match win streak. Of Whitworth’s three overall losses, two
came to nationally ranked teams. The Pirates were ranked in the CSTV/AVCA
Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll for most of the season and currently hold their
best ranking in school history at 15th. Whitworth closed out the season winning
16 of its final 17 matches. The Pirates will be making their third NCAA Division
III tournament appearance the last five years as they host the West Regional.
This is the first time Rupe has been named Tachikara/AVCA Division III West
Region Coach of the Year. Rupe is 120-57 since taking over the Whitworth program
in 1999.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The following coaches
have been selected by their region as Tachikara/AVCA Region Coach of the Year.
Each of the honorees will represent their region on the Tachikara/AVCA National
Coach of the Year ballot. The awards will be officially presented at the
Tachikara/AVCA Coach of the Year and Victory Club Awards banquet in Long Beach,
Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 15, at the 2005 American Volleyball Coaches
Association Annual Convention.
