UD teams score big in 2007

The year 2007 will be remembered as one of the most storied in the rich history of University of Delaware athletics, with four teams invited to NCAA Division I championship tournaments.

The Fightin’ Blue Hens football team reached the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision title game, and the Colonial Athletic Association champion men’s lacrosse team reached the national semifinals. Also, the CAA champion volleyball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, while the women’s basketball team reached the NCAA tournament first-round game but was knocked out in the opening round.

FOOTBALL

Led by Head Coach K.C. Keeler, the football team went 11-4 and overcame difficult circumstances in the championship tournament to reach the title game, where the Hens fell 49-21 to three-time champion Appalachian State University. Appalachian State had brought the Football Championship Subdivision national prominence with an early season victory over the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

“It’s been an amazing journey,” Keeler said of the 2007 season after the title game, which was played in Chattanooga, Tenn., site of UD’s 2003 national championship. “This loss doesn’t change the way I feel about this team and these guys. We overcame a lot of obstacles to get here, and it was a great season.”

The Hens opened their season with four straight wins before falling at New Hampshire. They rebounded with a three-game winning streak, including an epic 59-52 victory over the bowl-bound U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, before ending the season with consecutive losses to Colonial Athletic Association rivals Richmond, in five overtimes, and Villanova.

They were among five CAA teams selected to the NCAA championship tournament field, joining Massachusetts, James Madison, New Hampshire and Richmond, and drew Delaware State University as a first-round opponent. With national media attention for the first game between the two Diamond State football teams, the Hens won easily, 44-7.
UD then played two tough Gateway Conference opponents on the road, knocking off No. 1-ranked Northern Iowa University 39-27 and No. 4-ranked Southern Illinois University 20-17, to reach the championship game.
The 2007 Hens were led by senior running back Omar Cuff, senior quarterback Joe Flacco and senior offensive lineman Mike Byrne.

Cuff, who was selected to several All-America teams, finished the season with UD single-season records of 1,945 yards, 35 rushing touchdowns and 39 total touchdowns. He also set UD career records for touchdowns in a career (73) and rushing touchdowns in a career (65).

Flacco capped a brilliant season for the Hens, completing 331 of 521 passes for a school-record 4,263 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also established school career records with 595 completions and 11 300-yard passing games. He threw for over 200 yards 13 times during the 2007 campaign, and was named an All-America and the Eastern College Athletic Conference player of the year.

Byrne, also an All-America selection, led an outstanding offensive line that paved the way for Cuff and provided Flacco time to find open receivers. He was a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation’s Draddy Award, givento the nation’s top scholar-athlete.

The 2008 football team will open play Aug. 30 at the University of Maryland of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

MEN'S LACROSSE

The men’s lacrosse team enjoyed the finest season in UD history, reaching the national semifinals and being awarded the 2007 Henry Ciccarone Award by the Touchdown Club of Annapolis as the team of the year.
Head Coach Bob Shillinglaw’s team went 13-6 and won the CAA championship, outscoring Towson University 10-7. The Hens upset the host University of Virginia 14-8 in the first round of the NCAA tournament and defeated the University of Maryland Baltimore County 10-6 in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, the Hens drew Johns Hopkins University and fell 8-3 before more than 52,000 fans at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. It was the largest crowd ever to see a UD team compete. Johns Hopkins went on to win the national championship.

“I thought our kids played hard for four quarters all year, and today was no exception,” Shillinglaw said after the game. “I thought both teams battled it out, but their goalkeeper played exceptionally well and closed the door on us. Obviously, Hopkins has an outstanding defense.”

UD’s Alex Smith, one of the greatest face-off specialists in collegiate history, was named the CAA player of the year and was a second team All-America selection by the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. Smith took 311 of 430 draws, for a .723 winning percentage. He went on to earn Major League Lacrosse rookie of the year honors as a member of the Rochester Rattlers.

In addition to Smith, first team All-CAA selections were Dan Deckelbaum, who had 27 goals and 8 assists; Jordan Hall, an honorable mention All-America who had 26 goals and 12 assists; Adam Zuder-Havens, who led the team with 35 goals and 11 assists; and defenseman Rob Smith, who had 5 goals and 52 ground balls. Curtis Dickson and Kevin Kaminski were named to the conference all-rookie team.

VOLLEYBALL

The volleyball team also had the finest season in UD history, finishing with a record of 31-5 and a CAA championship. In the conference final, the Hens defeated Hofstra University 3-1.

Head Coach Bonnie Kenny’s team went on to defeat Princeton University, the Ivy League champion, 3-1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament before falling to host St. John’s University 3-1 in the second round.

“It’s emotional, because it’s been an absolutely stellar season,” Kenny said after the loss to St. John’s. “I am proud of the team, I am proud of the program, and I am proud of the administration who helped get this program to where it is.St. John’s was a little better than we were tonight, but we’re not that far away.”

Three Hens—seniors Colleen Walsh and Megan Welch and sophomore Stephanie Barry—were selected first team All-CAA, with Walsh named the player of the year, Welch the setter of the year and Barry the defensive specialist of the year. Also, Barry was the first UD player ever to be named honorable mention All-America by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Walsh finished the season with 564 kills, the highest total by any player in the CAA in the last four years, and 4.34 kills per game. She had a UD-record 1,856 kills for her career.

Welch had 1,714 assists and 13.18 assists per game, both tops in the CAA, and Barry had 831 digs, a new UD record, and 63 service aces, also most in the conference.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

In women’s basketball, Head Coach Tina Martin led the UD team to another outstanding season in 2006-07. The Hens finished 26-6 and earned an NCAA tournament bid, falling 69-58 to host Michigan State University in the first round.

“Our three seniors did a tremendous job of leading us,” Martin said of the season after the loss to Michigan State. “It’s one of the best teams we have ever had. I’m really proud of the progress we have made as a program. The fact that we went up against a Big 10 school and pushed them to the limit says a lot.”

Tyresa Smith was named the CAA defensive player of the year and was selected in the second round of the Women’sNational Basketball Association (WNBA) draft by the Phoenix Mercury. She was later signed by the Detroit Shock. For the Hens, she averaged 19.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

The team featured two other key seniors, Chrissy Fisher, a third team All-CAA selection, and steady point guard Alena Koshansky. Fisher scored 13.3 points per game and grabbed 7.8 rebounds per game, and Koshansky had 106 assists.

The Hens, who served as host to the 2007 CAA championship tournament, did so again in 2008, with the event held March 13-16 at the Bob Carpenter Center.