鈥淚 am pleased that the conference recognizes student-athletes for their focus on fair play and sportsmanship,” explained ODAC Commissioner Brad Bankston.听 “The conference prides itself on positive sportsmanship and encouraging student-athletes to lead by example. 听Each one of the honorees has been selected by the coaches in recognition of their conduct in the arena.听 My hat is off to these student-athletes – thanking them for the example they set for all of us.鈥�

The ODAC has a rich tradition in promoting fair play and good sportsmanship in each sport across the league.听 The character of the conference鈥檚 student-athletes on and off the field is a representation of not only the individuals and teams, but also the institutions they play for.

Eastern Mennonite鈥檚 selections to the ODAC Sportsmanship Teams are listed below:

Baseball –听
Basketball (Men) –听
Basketball (Women) –听
Cross Country (Men) –听
Cross Country (Women) –听
Field Hockey –听
Golf (Men) –听
Golf (Women) –听
Indoor Track & Field (Men) –听
Indoor Track & Field (Women) –听
Outdoor Track & Field听 (Men) –听
Outdoor Track & Field听 (Women) –听
Soccer (Men) –听
Soccer (Women) –听
Softball –听
Volleyball –听

All of EMU鈥檚 ODAC-sponsored sports were represented on the All-Academic Team.听 Men鈥檚 volleyball competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference and is not eligible for the ODAC team.

The ODAC All-Academic Team eclipsed 1,000 student-athletes for the eighth consecutive year and set a new high-water mark for conference honorees for the fifth year in a row.听 With representatives from each of the 17 ODAC institutions (including Catholic University for football only and Greensboro College and Notre Dame of Maryland University for swimming only), 1,558 student-athletes earned recognition on the 2013-14 ODAC All-Academic Team.

Eligibility for the ODAC All-Academic Team is open to any student-athlete that competes in a conference-sponsored sport, regardless of academic class.听 He or she must achieve at least a 3.25 grade point average for the year to be considered for an ODAC All-Academic Award.

For more information, visit the ODAC鈥檚 home on the Internet at听. 听Don鈥檛 forget to become a fan of the ODAC on听听and follow听听on Twitter.

The entire list of Royals named to the ODAC All-Academic Team is listed below.听听

EMU’s ODAC All-Academic Team
Elizabeth Alderfer – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Kayley Argenbright – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Jordan Aylor – Softball
Becky Barrett – Women’s Basketball
Trey Barrett – Men’s Basketball
Tyler Brenneman – Men’s Soccer
Carol Brinkley – Field Hockey
Jonathan Bush – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Lauren Campbell – Softball
McKenna Carter – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Hannah Chappell-Dick – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Robert Cook – Men鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Melissa Cox – Field Hockey
Nicolette Cuevas – Softball
Hannah Daley – Field Hockey
Mary Beth Danaher – Field Hockey
Patty Danaher – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Paige DeBell – Field Hockey
Tyler Denlinger – Men鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Jenessa Derstine – Field Hockey
Erica Detweiler – Women’s Soccer
Katie Eckman – Women鈥檚 Cross Country
Mariah Foltz – Softball
Daniel Friesen – Men’s Soccer
Erica Garber – Women鈥檚 Track & Field
Carlos Garcia – Men鈥檚 Track & Field
Abi Gardner – Field Hockey
Jessica Goertzen – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Naomi Good – Women’s Soccer
Joe Hall – Baseball
Rebecca Hardy – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Derek Harnish – Men’s Soccer
Bethany Hench – Field Hockey
Ryan Henschel – Baseball
Brooke Hensley – Softball
Morgan Hill – Women’s Soccer
Jordan Hollinger – Men’s Soccer
David Hooley – Men’s Soccer
Brendan Jeschke – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Viktor Kaltenstein – Men’s Soccer
Brianna Kauffman – Field Hockey
Rachel Kennel – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Louise Krall – Field Hockey
Lanae Kreider – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Jacob Landis – Men鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Jordan Leaman – Men鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Parker Leap – Men’s Soccer
Mollie Lehman – Field Hockey
Jake Lind – Men’s Soccer
Lexi Link – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Mariah Martin – Field Hockey
Tim Martin – Men鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Dilmer Martinez – Men鈥檚 Soccer
Mark Mast – Men’s Soccer
Saralyn Mast – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Brad Matthias – Baseball
Brittany McDonaldson – Women’s Golf
Macson McGuigan – Men’s Soccer
Chris Miller – Men鈥檚 Track & Field
Katie Miller – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Austin Mumaw – Men’s Soccer
Jonathan Nisly – Men鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Ian Norris – Baseball
Nora Osei – Women’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball
Jolee Paden – Women鈥檚 Cross Country
Jesse Parker – Men鈥檚 Cross Country
Hannah Patterson – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Dylan Polley – Men’s Soccer
Alicia Poplett – Women’s Soccer
D Probst – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Casey Racer – Softball
Jess Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Steph Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Krista Rittenhouse – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Kyle Salladay – Baseball
Juni Schirch – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Caleb Schlabach – Men’s Golf
Chanel Shands – Women鈥檚 Basketball
Jacob Shank – Men’s Soccer
Kayla Smeltzer – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Molly Smith – Softball
Nicole Smith – Softball
Ashten Spencer – Women’s Soccer
Mandy Stowers – Field Hockey
Ryan Thomas – Men’s Soccer
Shannan Thompson – Women’s Basketball
John Toney – Men’s Golf
Londen Wheeler – Men鈥檚 Track & Field
Camille Williams – Field Hockey
Alex Wynn – Men鈥檚 Track & Field
Bianca Ygarza – Women’s Basketball
Alena Yoder – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Andrew Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Chris Yoder – Men鈥檚 Basketball
Michelle Zook – Field Hockey
Marla zumFelde – Women’s Basketball

Guilford College hosted the three-day tournament at the Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover, N.C., with the women playing on the par 72 Jackson Course.听 It had been a two-day event last year, but the conference added the third day to run concurrent with the men’s ODAC Championships.

McDonaldson had her best day on Sunday, carding an 80, which was her second lowest round of the year. She was tied for third after that first day, just three strokes off the lead. The increasingly wet conditions on Monday and Tuesday slid her back slightly, with scores of 86 and 87 giving her a total of 253 (+37).

Randolph-Macon’s Olivia Bowling won her second straight ODAC individual title, finishing at 227 (+11) to top the field of 18 golfers. The Yellow Jackets also had the team win at 1019 (+155). Bridgewater and Washington and Lee had the only other full teams at the tournament.听 Besides Eastern Mennonite, Hollins also sent individuals.

Coach Wendell Eberly said his golfers are excited to see what year two holds in store.

“The year of experience is good because the golfers know what to expect when they go to a tournament,” Eberly explained. “They can relate this to the new golfers, but experience is the best way of knowing how to deal with the pressures of tournament play.”

While officially a spring sport with a national championship in May, the men’s and women’s golf teams also play a few events in the fall. The ODAC Championships are April 27-29 at the Rock Barn Golf Club in Conover, N.C.

After a year of seeing the status of golf in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, Eberly is continuing to point his teams to the basics.

“There are some really good golfers in the ODAC,” he said. “In order to improve you need to practice, but you also need to play as many tournaments as possible.”

Although the men’s squad must replace a couple of scoring seniors, both the men and women return their No. 1 golfer.

On the men’s side, sophomore Josh Alderfer (Faber, Va./Nelson County) had a round average of 81.7 last year with a low round of 77. He also had one top ten finish. Eberly expects him to be one of the top golfers in the ODAC in his second season. Freshman Mark Shaner (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) will be EMU’s No. 2 golfer, and he is a good golfer who will only get better with experience on the collegiate level.

Caleb Schlabach (Millersburg, Ohio/Hiland), who averaged 86.7 with a low round of 81 as a freshman, and senior Zach Bowles (Staunton, Va./Robert E. Lee) expect to round out the top four, with classmate John Toney (Buckingham, Va./Buckingham County) playing at the No. 5.

“Caleb did well as a freshman and continues to improve his game. His ball striking is excellent, and he is close to posting low scores,” said Eberly. “Zach is new to the team this year but has posted some low scores at Heritage Oaks. With some tournament experience he should be able to score in the low 80s. And John was on the team last year, but only went to one tournament. He is also a good ball striker and just needs more experience in tournament play.”

Senior Joel Murray (Hesston, Kan./Hesston) (88.2 in 2012-13) is also on the team, but will just fill in when needed during the fall. He will be off campus during the spring season on his cross cultural.

In their first year as a program, the Royals finished eighth out of ten teams at the ODAC Championships. While Eberly knows challenging the top programs in the league at this point would be a surprise, he does expect his men to challenge for a higher finish in the ODAC. They also want to limit the number of double and triple bogeys per round.

Brittany McDonaldson (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) was the lone woman on the team last year, but she will be joined by junior Savanna Lester (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) in 2013-14. McDonaldson averaged 90.1 a round last year with three top ten finishes in five tournaments. She took sixth at the ODAC Championships to earn ODAC All-Tournament Team status as a freshman.

“Brittany is a really good golfer and has a lot of tournament experience,” said Eberly. “She has worked hard on her game this past summer and should be able to improve on her sixth place finish at the ODACs. Savanna is new to the game but has made big improvement since last spring. Just playing in some tournaments and getting experience should improve her game.”

The goals for the women are to improve throughout the year and for McDonaldson to earn a top three finish at the ODAC Championships in April.

Even with the experienced golfers he returns, Eberly expects a slow start to this year as the new players get accustomed to the college game. The men have four tournaments slated for this fall, with the women playing in three, and each will add more in the spring.

All of EMU鈥檚 ODAC-sponsored sports were represented on the All-Academic Team.听 Men鈥檚 volleyball competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference and is not eligible for the ODAC team.

The ODAC All-Academic Team eclipsed 1,000 student-athletes for the seventh consecutive year and set a new high-water mark for conference honorees for the fourth year in a row.听 With representatives from each of the 17 ODAC institutions (including Catholic University for football only and Greensboro College and Notre Dame of Maryland University for swimming only), 1,459 student-athletes earned recognition on the 2012-13 ODAC All-Academic Team.

Eligibility for the ODAC All-Academic Team is open to any student-athlete that competes in a conference-sponsored sport, regardless of academic class.听 He or she must achieve at least a 3.25 grade point average for the year to be considered for an ODAC All-Academic Award.

The entire list of Royals named to the ODAC All-Academic Team is listed below.

Nels Akerson – Cross Country, Track & Field
Elizabeth Alderfer – Cross Country, Track & Field
Sonja Anderson – Field Hockey
Kayley Argenbright – Women’s Basketball
Trey Barrett – Men’s Basketball
Ruthie Beck 鈥� Softball
Jennifer Blankenship – Women’s Basketball
Jessica Blanks – Field Hockey
Carol Brinkley – Field Hockey
Jonathan Bush – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Hannah Chappell-Dick – Cross Country, Track & Field
Hannah Clemmer – Cross Country, Track & Field
Melissa Cox – Field Hockey
Nicolette Cuevas 鈥� Softball
Mary Beth Danaher – Field Hockey
Patty Danaher – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jenessa Derstine – Field Hockey
Alli Eanes – Cross Country, Track & Field
Katie Eckman – Cross Country
Ryan Eshleman – Men’s Soccer
Jonathan Estrada 鈥� Baseball
Daniel Friesen – Men’s Soccer
Chantelle Garber – Field Hockey
Jessica Goertzen – Women’s Volleyball
Naomi Good – Women’s Soccer
Patrick Graber – Cross Country, Track & Field
Derek Harnish – Men’s Soccer
Bethany Hench – Field Hockey
Ryan Henschel 鈥� Baseball
Brooke Hensley 鈥� Softball
Jordan Hollinger – Men’s Soccer
David Hooley – Men’s Soccer
Holly Jensen – Women’s Soccer
Brianna Kauffman – Field Hockey
Janna Kaufman – Women’s Soccer
Rachel Kennel – Women’s Volleyball
Lanae Kreider – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jonathan Leaman – Men’s Golf
Parker Leap – Men’s Soccer
Mattie Lehman – Women’s Volleyball
Mollie Lehman – Field Hockey
Rachel Lehman – Women’s Volleyball
Lexi Link – Women’s Volleyball
Owen Longacre – Men’s Basketball
Karla Martin – Women’s Volleyball
Katie Martin – Women’s Volleyball
Phillip Martin – Track & Field
Ian Mast – Men’s Soccer
Mark Mast – Men’s Soccer
Saralyn Mast – Cross Country, Track & Field
Brittany McDonaldson – Women’s Golf
Thomas Millary – Cross Country
Katie Miller – Women’s Volleyball
Michelle Miller – Women’s Volleyball
Kaitlyn Morris 鈥� Softball
Austin Mumaw – Men’s Soccer
Joel Murray – Men’s Golf
Dan Nafziger – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jolee Paden – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jesse Parker – Cross Country, Track & Field
Hannah Patterson – Track & Field
Alicia Poplett – Women’s Soccer
Jess Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Steph Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Sara Ritchie – Women’s Volleyball
Krista Rittenhouse – Cross Country, Track & Field
Adriana Santiago – Field Hockey
Meghan Schaefer – Cross Country
Juni Schirch – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jacob Shank – Men’s Soccer
Aaron Sloan – Track & Field
Kayla Smeltzer – Women’s Volleyball
Aaron Springer – Cross Country, Track & Field
Andre Swartzentruber – Men’s Golf
John Toney – Men’s Golf
Alena Yoder – Women’s Volleyball
Andrew Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Kegan Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Tyler Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Michelle Zook – Field Hockey

The six honorees are: senior (Fork Union, VA/Louisa County) from men鈥檚 track & field,

junior (Miami, FL/Doral Academy) from baseball, junior (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) from softball, sophomore (Harrisonburg, VA/Broadway) from women鈥檚 track & field, freshman (Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) from women鈥檚 golf, and senior from (Keezletown, VA/Spotswood) men鈥檚 golf.

The 2013 ODAC/StellarOne Sportsmanship Teams are awarded to each of 11 spring sports sponsored by the conference.听 This marks the fourth year the league has recognized these fine student-athletes for their excellence in sportsmanship.

“The conference prides itself on positive sportsmanship and encouraging student-athletes to lead by example,” said Brad Bankston, commissioner of the ODAC. “Each one of the honorees has been selected by the coaches in recognition of their conduct in the arena.”

The ODAC has a rich tradition in promoting fair play and good sportsmanship in each sport across the league.听 The character of the conference鈥檚 student-athletes on and off the field is a representation of not only the individuals and teams, but also the institutions they play for.

鈥淎ll of us at StellarOne Bank are excited to be an official corporate sponsor, touching the lives of so many in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference,” said Angela Ross, chief branding officer for StellarOne.

In recent years however, women have started picking up clubs and taking a crack at the sport with some serious success (we’re not talking Rene Russo in the movie, “Tin Cup,” here).

Harrisonburg’s female golfing phenom and recent Harrisonburg High School graduate Brittany McDonaldson is one of these golfing girls. When she graduated this past spring, Brittany was the only female to play golf at HHS in the history of the program.

“They had a men’s team, and I just played on the men’s team. At first, [the guys] didn’t really know what to think about me, but after a while I became one of the boys,” said McDonaldson.

She has been playing with the boys since she was a kid; in fact it was her father who sparked her interest in the game.

“My dad started playing and had me caddy for him, and I liked it. I wanted to play myself, so I got into First Tee,” explained McDonaldson. First Tee is a local program that couples golf lessons with life skills and, through her participation, she moved from caddy to golfer.

Her experience as the only female golfer at HHS will come in handy this fall when McDonaldson starts as the sole female golfer on the brand new 草莓社区 . She’s not too concerned about being the only girl on the squad so far.

“From high school, I was the only girl there, too; I’m kind of used to it,” she said.

If EMU hadn’t added a golf program for the upcoming year, McDonaldson may have looked elsewhere to keep playing the game she loves. Luckily, this fall both McDonaldson and the university golf program will start their freshman year.

, who will be coaching both the men’s and women’s golf teams, explained how important it is to add the golf program.

“We’re hoping this program will bring the student athlete to EMU that wouldn’t compete in another type of sport … We’re hoping there are students that will consider [EMU] now who wouldn’t have otherwise,” Eberly explained.

McDonaldson said EMU was attractive for two reasons.

“[EMU] was getting a women’s golf team, and they have a really good ,” said McDonaldson.

She followed in her father’s footsteps with golf, but it will be her mother’s profession she’ll pursue. “My mom is a nurse, so I’ve been around it. I like taking care of people,” she explained.

“Brittany is a very good student, she’s going to go into the nursing program, she’s very intelligent and a good golfer,” Eberly said.

As the only female golfer on the team, the , which EMU belongs to, must score Brittany a bit differently. Typically for tournaments five players compete, with the top four scores compiling the total. A one-player team will change the process.

“I’ll just have to play as an individual,” she explained.

McDonaldson doesn’t seem concerned; she’s used to standing as the only female on the green, but Eberly is hoping to fill five remaining slots on the team.

The golf program will call Heritage Oaks its home green and McDonaldson’s no stranger to the course; she works there and it’s her favorite in the area. She uses the course to keep sharp in the off-season.

“I mainly hit balls every day and play a few times a week,” she said.

McDonaldson has no plans to retire her clubs after school, saying, “I’ll definitely keep playing after college.”

Courtesy Daily News Record, July 10, 2012