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| Vol. 18, No. 35 | June 24, 1999 |
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| Vol. 18, No. 35 | June 24, 1999 |
UD lacrosse coach Bob Shillinglaw, lacrosse player John Grant and baseball right fielder Kevin Mench have all received top national honors in their sports this year.
Shillinglaw, who has coached lacrosse at UD for 21 seasons, was named Division I Coach of the Year by the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. He also received the award during his first season at UD in 1979.
The lacrosse team posted a 14-3 record in 1999, a UD record for wins, and captured the American East title, with Shillinglaw honored as America East Coach of the Year.
The Blue Hens went on to play in the 1999 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) lacrosse tournament, defeated only by this year's national champion, the University of Virginia.
Shillinglaw, whose career record is 170-157, the most wins of any UD lacrosse coach, also has been named head coach of Team USA for the USA vs. Canada World Cup series, scheduled on July 14 and 16 with the title game if necessary, scheduled July 17, at Johns Hopkins University's Homewood Field in Baltimore. The series will be broadcast live on select Fox SportsNet regional channels, and tickets may be purchased through Ticketmaster.
Grant, who led the nation in scoring with a UD record of 110 points on 56 goals in 1999, was named the NCAA Division I Player of the Year and also won the Lt. Col. J.I. Turnbull Award as the nation's outstanding attackman.
From Peterborough, Ontario, Grant also was named America East Player of the Year and was the second player in UD history to earn first team All-American honors.
Shillinglaw and Grant will be on different sides for the World Cup, with Grant playing for Team Canada.
The Wilmington News Journal hailed their achievements in an editorial June 15, headlined "Two lacrosse awards top banner year at UD," calling them the "top collegiate honors in the United States."
Mench was chosen National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Northeast Region Player of the Year and was named to the NCBWA All-American second team. He also was voted third team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Magazine.
He also was named America East Player of the Year for the second time in a row, the first player in the 10-year history of the conference to win the award for a second time.
Mench batted .373 with 19 home runs and 70 RBIs. He ended the season in third place on all-time NCAA slugging percentage list at .875.
His success during the second half of the season helped the Blue Hens rebound from a 12-game start of 1-11 to go on to 35-25 for the season and play in the NCAA tournament for the second season in a row. 
