20th NCAA Skiing Title Highlights 2008-09 DU Athletics’ Season
The University of Denver celebrated its 11th season of Division I athletics with its 20th NCAA Skiing Championship and No. 54 ranking in the Directors’ Cup for overall athletic excellence. The Pioneers ranked No. 1 in the Front Range, Sun Belt Conference and NCAA I-AAA.
In addition, the Pioneers made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, and claimed five conference championships, 11 All-America honors and nine coaches of the year honors.
The Pioneers also had an outstanding year in the classroom. DU won its ninth consecutive SBC Graduation Rate Award and tennis player Benny Althaus was the male recipient of the SBC Postgraduate Scholarship for superior academic achievement. Three Pioneers (Taryn Hemmings, Annette Aksdal and Tyler Ruegsegger) earned Academic All-America accolades.
Antje Maempel was a two-time NCAA Nordic skiing champion and led the Pioneer ski team won their unprecedented 20th NCAA title with a dominant performance. The hockey team made its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and posted its eighth consecutive 20-win season, while the men’s basketball team won 15 games and was the youngest team in the nation under second-year head coach Joe Scott.
The DU gymnastics team made its 11th consecutive NCAA Regionals appearance and All-America Jessica Lopez was a finalist for the prestigious Honda Award for Gymnastics. Swimming sensation Blake Worsley led the Pioneers to their first Sun Belt Conference championship and added a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships with a DU record time in the 500 freestyle. The women’s swimming and diving team placed second at the SBCs and Michele Lowry advanced to the NCAA Championships. The DU men’s soccer team captured its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title and advanced to its first NCAA Tournament, while DU women’s soccer team claimed its third consecutive SBC title and advanced to its third consecutive NCAA Tournament.
The women’s golf team continued its dominance with its sixth consecutive SBC title, eighth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and school-best, fifth-place finish at nationals. Espen Kofstad claimed SBC medalist honors and helped the men’s golf team to its seventh consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and the women’s tennis team advanced to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament. Kaetlyn Murdoch earned SBC freshman of the year honors for the women’s basketball team, which won 16 games under first-year head coach Erik Johnson. The DU women’s volleyball team captured the SBC West Division for the second consecutive season.
Tierney and Wurtzman Join DU Family
DU added two head coaches to its family this past springs. We DU hired the legendary Bill Tierney of Princeton to lead our men’s program and former DU men’s tennis assistant coach Jeremy Wurtzman to guide our women’s tennis team. Tierney guided Princeton to six national championships and an incredible 272-93 collegiate coaching record. More importantly, Tierney demands a lot of his student-athletes on the playing field, as well as in the classroom, and is the perfect coach to take our program to the next level. Wurtzman returns to DU after helping the Ohio State men’s tennis program to the national championship match against USC. Wurtzman is a rising star in the coaching profession and we welcome him back to DU. DU also welcomes Chris Brann, who was named Director of Women’s Basketball Operations on July 2.
Wills Leads Team USA
Congratulations to DU women’s lacrosse volunteer assistant coach Devon Wills and Team USA. Wills was named Player of the Match in the United States’ 8-7 victory over Australia in the championship of the 2009 Federation of International Lacrosse World Cup.
Westerman and Lam Shine at Colorado State Open
Our men’s tennis coaches have had a busy summer. In addition to recruiting, DU head coach Danny Westerman and assistant coach Chris Lam claimed the doubles title at the Denver City Open in June. Westerman and Lam also went head-to-head in the quarterfinals of the top singles bracket and former Pioneer Mallory Voelker claimed her second consecutive women’s singles title.
