Messenger - Vol. 3, No. 4, Page 13 Summer 1994 Spring Sports update Springtime was an impressive season for Delaware athletic teams. Of the eight Blue Hen spring sports, three teams captured North Atlantic Conference titles, seven posted .500 or better records, two set school records for wins in a season and two others appeared in the national Top 20 voting throughout the season. Three UD men's teams captured NAC titles, as the men's lacrosse team won its third straight crown, the men's outdoor track and field team was NAC champion for the second straight year and the Blue Hen baseball team captured its second regular season title in three years before losing in the NAC tournament. Men's lacrosse The men's lacrosse team continued to steamroll through the North Atlantic Conference in 1994, claiming its third straight undefeated NAC title and making a serious run toward the NCAA tournament before falling just short. Bob Shillinglaw's squad posted an 8-6 record (4-0 in NAC play) and was ranked in the Top 20 all season long, moving as high as No. 12 at mid-season-the team's highest national ranking since 1986. The team played a grueling schedule as 10 of its 14 opponents were ranked in the Top 20. The Hens knocked down nationally ranked Army, Rutgers, Vermont and Massachusetts, but a late season 16-15 loss to nemesis Penn State shattered any post-season hopes. Men's outdoor track and field The men's outdoor track and field team took an unusual route to winning its second straight NAC title this spring. After the Hens finished second at the annual NAC championships May 7 at Northeastern, UD head coach Jim Fischer did some rechecking of the final results. His math showed the Hens winning the league title. Three days later, after NAC officials reviewed the situation, the Hens were declared champions. The NAC title capped another solid season for the Blue Hens, who competed in eight other meets during the spring. Senior Brian D'Amico had a stellar season, winning the NAC discus title and placing eighth at the IC4A championships in the same event to earn All-East honors. In addition, UD long distance runners set school records in the 4 x 800-meter relay, distance medley relay and 4 x 1,500-meter relay. Baseball Head baseball coach Bob Hannah has been coaching for 30 years and his 1994 squad may have been one of his best ever. Thanks to a pitching staff that ranked among the national leaders in earned run average all season, the Hens set a school record for wins in a season with a 41-13 slate. Along the way, the team won the NAC regular season title with a 20-4 mark but was knocked out of the NAC post-season tournament and a subsequent trip to the NCAA tourney, with losses to Hartford and eventual champion Northeastern. In mid-April, the team also won its second Liberty Bell Classic title in three years as the top Division I team in the Philadelphia area and gave Hannah his 800th career win late in the season. The UD pitching staff was among Hannah's best, finishing with 32 complete games, seven shutouts and a 2.53 ERA. Softball It was an up and down season for the Blue Hen softball team, but still one that was among the best in UD history. The Hens, under the guidance of veteran head coach B.J. Ferguson, won a school record 23 games in a 23-21 season and placed third in the NAC regular season with a 4-4 mark. However, the season ended with the Hens being eliminated in two games at the NAC tournament hosted by Delaware in early May. Team members set over 20 individual and team offensive records during the campaign. The Hens batted .289 as a team and averaged five runs per game. Jennifer Ballier, who went 9-7 with a 1.55 ERA, pitched the first perfect game in UD history vs. Delaware State University early in the season. Women's lacrosse After several off years, the women's lacrosse team returned to prominence this spring. Backed by enthusiastic first-year head coach Denise Wescott and high scoring senior Jenn Rinnander, the Hens finished the year with a 10-7 mark, the highest win total since 1989, and a final No. 12 national ranking. The Hens, who moved as high as No. 6 in the poll early in the season, posted a 7-1 home record and gained key wins over the likes of James Madison, Richmond and Lehigh. Rinnander, who capped an outstanding career by being named second team All-American, led the nation in scoring as she hit the back of the nets 52 times and dished out 25 assists for 77 points. Women's outdoor track and field The Blue Hen women's outdoor track and field team, backed by a strong group of distance runners and weight throwers, captured its second straight fourth-place NAC championship finish under head coach Sue McGrath-Powell. The long distance duo of freshman Tara Pointin and sophomore Chris Rolleri teamed up to provide some impressive performances. Pointin became only the second UD woman to win two events at a NAC championship as she captured the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs May 7 at Northeastern. The next week, she earned All-East honors by placing seventh in the 10,000 meters at the ECAC championships. Rolleri won the NAC 10,000-meter crown while placing second in the 3,000 meters. She was 11th at the ECAC championships in the 10,000 meters. Men's golf Sophomore Todd Milligan led the way for the Delaware men's golf team as the Hens produced another successful season under the tutelege of head coach Jim Kent. Although the Hens did not compete in a dual meet for the first time in school history, the team did compete in tournaments at Loyola (19th), James Madison (5th), Penn State (14th) and Princeton (12th). Milligan led the Hens in all but one tournament during the season, with a 76.83 stroke average that included earning All-NAC honors for the second straight year and a top 10 District II ranking for much of the spring. The Hens capped the year by placing 11th out of 18 teams at the Eastern Intercollegiate Golf Association District II championships, also named the Scotty Duncan Memorial in memory of Delaware's longtime golf coach. Men's tennis A new face was at the helm, but the Blue Hen netters kept on winning in 1994, their fifth straight winning season, this year under head coach Laura LeRoy. LeRoy, Delaware's all-time winningest women's player and the current UD women's coach, became the first woman ever to coach a UD men's team when she took over this spring for C. Roy "Doc" Rylander, who retired after 41 years as head coach. The Blue Hens posted an impressive record of 10-7, which included notable wins over Lafayette, Towson State and Drexel, and placed sixth at the NAC championships April 23-24 at Vermont. -Scott Selheimer