Each of EMU鈥檚 sports was represented on the ODAC All-Academic Team except for men鈥檚 volleyball, which competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference.聽 The CVC will also release an all-academic team later this summer.

The full ODAC All-Academic Team eclipsed 1,000 student-athletes for the sixth consecutive year and set a new high-water mark for conference honorees for the third year in a row.聽 With representatives from each of the 17 ODAC institutions (including Catholic University for football only, Greensboro College and Notre Dame of Maryland University for swimming only, and Shenandoah University for field hockey and track & field only), 1,350 student-athletes earned recognition on the 2011-12 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.聽 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聽. 聽Don鈥檛 forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook (click聽) and follow聽聽on Twitter.

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

Nels Akerson – Cross Country
Elizabeth Alderfer – Cross Country
Laura Beckler – Women’s Soccer
Bradley Billings 鈥� Baseball
Jennifer Blankenship – Women’s Basketball
Rachel Breeden 鈥� Softball
Carol Brinkley – Field Hockey
Bethany Crouse – Women’s Soccer
Mary Beth Danaher – Field Hockey
Jenessa Derstine – Field Hockey
Erica Detweiler – Women’s Soccer
Allison Eanes – Cross Country
Katie Eckman – Cross Country
Ryan Eshleman – Men’s Soccer
Jonathan Estrada 鈥� Baseball
Daniel Friesen – Men’s Soccer
Lynae Fry – Women’s Volleyball
Jessica Goertzen – Women’s Volleyball
Naomi Good – Women’s Soccer
Bethany Hench – Field Hockey
Brooke Hensley 鈥� Softball
Jordan Hollinger – Men’s Soccer
David Hooley – Men’s Soccer
Phillip Jordan 鈥� Baseball
Rachel Kennel – Women’s Soccer
Justin King 鈥� Baseball
Lanae Kreider – Women’s Soccer
Valerie Landis – Field Hockey
Mattie Lehman – Women’s Volleyball, Softball
Owen Longacre – Men’s Basketball
Jenna Longenecker – Field Hockey
Becca Longenecker – Field Hockey
Mark Mast – Men’s Soccer
Thomas Millary – Cross Country, Track & Field
Michelle Miller – Women’s Soccer
Katarina Napfel 鈥� Softball
Peter Nelson – Cross Country
Cara Paden – Women’s Soccer, Track & Field
Jesse Parker – Cross Country, Track & Field
Stephanie Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Andy Richter 鈥� Baseball
Sara Ritchie – Women’s Volleyball
Bryce Shank – Men’s Soccer
Jacob Shank – Men’s Soccer
Amber Shelly – Women’s Soccer
Aaron Sloan – Track & Field
Kayla Smeltzer – Women’s Volleyball
Raquel Stoltzfus – Women’s Soccer
Scotty Tiosso – Men’s Soccer
Jon Trice 鈥� Baseball
Keri Weaver – Cross Country
Kori Wenger – Women’s Soccer
Taylor Wenger – Women’s Soccer
Camille Williams – Field Hockey
Roberto Wingfield – Cross Country
Bianca Ygarza – Women’s Basketball
Andrew Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Marla Young – Women’s Basketball
Kelsey Zook – Women’s Soccer
Michelle Zook – Field Hockey
Marla zumFelde – Women’s Basketball

presented the awards, which are based on academic achievement, athletic contribution, Christian commitment, leadership, campus involvement and service, as the culmination of the evening.

Richter, a major with a 3.64 GPA, was a four-year pitcher for the baseball team and plans to work in a sales or marketing position.聽 He was consistently on the Old Dominion Athletic Conference All-Academic Team and EMU鈥檚 Dean鈥檚 List.聽 Besides baseball, his campus life was filled with leadership on , EMU Royals Society and the .聽 He also volunteered at numerous places off campus.

鈥淵ou are not an athlete just when you鈥檙e in season 鈥� you鈥檙e an athlete year round,鈥� Richter explained in how he balanced his demanding schedule at EMU.聽 鈥淏aseball provided me with the discipline I needed to enjoy a busy, but incredibly rewarding college career.鈥�

Young, a captain with the women鈥檚 basketball team, was also on the Dean鈥檚 List and ODAC All-Academic Team, holding a 3.71 GPA with a major in and minor in .聽 She was a four-year member of Royals Society, helping with prospective students, as well as being a member of the .聽 Young was also a youth leader at her church and volunteered with a local food bank and the fall back-to-school backpack drive.

鈥淏eing a student-athlete has taught me to be mentally and physically strong in seemingly impossible situations,鈥� said Young, who suffered a long-lasting shoulder injury her freshman season.聽 鈥淕od used basketball as the framework that I could grow in my relationship with Him, share my talents with others, and now go on to pursue a career in physical therapy.鈥�

The Athletic Department staff also voted for Athlete of the Year winners.聽 Mitchell Leap (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) claimed the men鈥檚 honor with Bianca Ygarza (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) taking the women鈥檚.

Leap led the men鈥檚 soccer team in scoring for the fourth straight season, netting ten goals, which was also third-best in the conference.聽 He had five game-winning goals and was named All-ODAC First Team.聽 Leap graduates fourth in EMU history with 35 career goals and fifth with 80 career points.聽 Ygarza was a dynamic presence as a power forward for the basketball women, earning a spot on the All-ODAC First Team as a sophomore.聽 She led EMU with 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and was second in the ODAC in field goal percentage and free throws.

Also at the banquet, Newcomer of the Year Awards were given to Jenessa Derstine (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock) in field hockey and Justin Rodriguez (Miramar, FL/Pace) in baseball.

Derstine, an attacker for the Lady Royals, led the team with 29 points this year.聽 She scored ten goals and assisted on nine others.聽 Her speed helped ignite EMU鈥檚 offense and landed her on the All-ODAC Third Team.聽 Rodriguez batted .374 with 28 runs and team highs of four homeruns and 41 RBIs.聽 His RBI total was third in the ODAC during the regular season and the third baseman was named All-ODAC Second Team.

As part of the dinner and banquet, four seniors gave short reflections on their time playing a sport at Eastern Mennonite: Valerie Landis (Quakertown, PA/Quakertown) from field hockey, Justin King (Lititz, PA/Warwick) from baseball, Pete Nelson (Harrisonburg, VA/Christopher Dock) from track and cross country, and Brent Yoder (Sarasota, FL/Sarasota Christian) from soccer.

King uniquely talked about playing four years of a collegiate sport even though the experience was not living up to the ideas he had beforehand.

鈥淚 have learned a lesson I would have not chosen to learn on my own, because it was painful,鈥� said King.聽 鈥淭hrough the ups and downs, the wins and losses, I have had to rely on God as my source of hope and strength when I was weak, discouraged, or overwhelmed.聽 The Apostle Paul says it best in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, 鈥楾hree times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.聽 But he said to me, 鈥楳y grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.鈥欌�欌��

Landis was the lone senior on the field hockey team this fall and stepped into a leadership role which was not natural to her.聽 She said that will help her as she leaves college.

鈥淚 recognize that I am going to be a new member of a completely different team after graduation,鈥� Landis explained. 聽鈥淲hat I have learned over the past four years is that I can鈥檛 let my age or lack of experience hinder me from being responsible or taking initiative. 聽God has granted each of us the experience of being part of a team and it is my hope that we are able to leave this community as an athlete and a graduate and apply those interpersonal skills learned on either the court or field and apply them in the next stage of life, appropriately and meaningfully.鈥�

Dr. Ronald Stoltzfus, Faculty Athletic Representative, and Dr. Nancy Heisey, Undergraduate Academic Dean, presented the Academic Achievement Awards to each team鈥檚 individual with the highest GPA.聽 Those awards went to: Richter and Brad Billings (Selinsgrove, PA/Selinsgrove) in baseball, Jennifer Blankenship (Bassett, VA/Bassett) in women鈥檚 basketball, Owen Longacre (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) in men鈥檚 basketball, Nels Akerson (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) in men鈥檚 cross country, Alli Eanes (Harrisonburg, VA/Westmont Hilltop) in women鈥檚 cross country and track, Jenna Longenecker (Lancaster, PA/Conestoga Valley) in field hockey, Bryce Shank (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) in men鈥檚 soccer, Erica Detweiler (Hickory, NC/Fred T. Foard) in women鈥檚 soccer, Aaron Sloan (Ooltewah, TN/McCallie School) in men鈥檚 track, and Kendall Garber (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) in men鈥檚 volleyball.

The evening included a special mention of , a senior student worker with the athletic events staff, who had passed away from cancer just a week prior to the banquet.

Against the Quakers, who entered on an 11-game winning streak and the last remaining team without a loss in conference play, Eastern Mennonite closed on a 24-11 run over the final 12:13.聽 With both team playing their second contest in less than 24 hours, Guilford simply ran out of gas against the athletic and deeper Royals.

The visitors led by as many as five in the back-and-forth game.聽 But with the Quakers on top 39-36, (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) got loose down low for a layup.聽 After a pair of GC turnovers, senior (Fishersville, VA/Wilson Memorial) banked in a triple from the top of the key and the women picked up steam.

Another quick 5-0 spurt pushed EMU up 46-41.聽 The teams traded points before the Royals clamped on the defense, holding the Quakers scoreless for a key stretch of 4:28.聽 Suddenly the women led 56-45 with less than four minutes to play.

The worn-out Guilford women could get no closer than eight points the rest of the way, as Eastern Mennonite coasted out to the 10-point win.

(Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) was 6-for-9 from the floor and led the women with a career high 14 points and nine rebounds.聽 Ygarza had a double double with 11 points and 11 boards.

(Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) also scored 11, while (Bristow, VA/Brentsville District) added a game high six assists.

After allowing their opponents to shoot 52% from the floor in the first half, the Royals limited GC to just 36% in the second.聽 Baltimore was key, as she did much of the work in limiting the Quakers’ Jazlyn Gibbs (Greensboro, NC/Southeast Guilford) to just two second-half points.聽 Gibbs had 17 in the first.

“Keyla did a great job limiting Jazlyn Gibbs,” EMU Coach Kevin Griffin said.聽 “It’s hard to single out a player or two, but I thought she and Shakeerah had great games.”

The Royals forced Guilford into 20 turnovers and had a 41-36 edge in rebounding.聽 The women also ripped out 19 offensive boards.

“I felt we really played hard,” said Griffin.聽 “Not that we don’t in other games, but we really did today.聽 To limit Guilford to 50 points is really impressive.”

The effort also showed at the free throw line, where EMU took 26 charity tosses compared to just 14 for the Quakers.

Eastern Mennonite moves to 11-1 with the win.聽 Both teams are now 8-1 in the ODAC, just a half game behind first-place Virginia Wesleyan, which is 9-1 in league play.

The Royals now start meeting conference teams for a second time, as they travel at Hollins next Tuesday.聽 EMU won the previous matchup 67-40 on Dec. 3.

The win pushes Eastern Mennonite women to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the ODAC.

After EMU got the first bucket of the game, the Hornets took over and led by as many as ten in the first half at 25-15.聽 Sophomore (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) then canned a three pointer to start the women on their comeback.

Lynchburg got a bucket but (Fishersville, VA/Wilson Memorial) nailed a triple and (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) followed with a three-point play to slash the lead to three points.聽 An offensive putback and another layup capped a 13-2 run as the Royals took the lead for the first time since the opening minute.

The Hornets settled down and retook the edge, heading into halftime on top 38-37.

EMU pushed the tempo to start the second and skipped back in front.聽 A Young layup made it 58-52 with 12:28 to play.

The visitors slowed the game down, but couldn’t get their offense going.聽 With 3:49 remaining, the Royals called a timeout.聽 The defense then earned back-to-back steals to quickly balloon the lead to 73-64.

Lynchburg got within three after a three-point play with 1:38 to go, but the Royals forced three straight turnovers and turned each into a score to ice the 81-72 decision.

Coach Kevin Griffin said the Hornets’ record is deceiving.

“That’s the best 1-8 team in America,” he said.聽 “They execute well, they play really hard, and have a bunch of kids that can shoot the ball.”

Both teams hovered around 40% in shooting for the game, but EMU earned the win by getting to the free throw line in the second half and forcing turnovers down the stretch.聽 The Royals were 17-27 from the line compared to just 5-9 for Lynchburg.聽 The women also had a 19-11 edge in turnovers.

Ygarza led a balanced attack with her second straight double double 鈥� 19 points, 13 rebounds and three steals.

“Bianca was amazing tonight, especially with no turnovers,” Griffin said.聽 “But I thought it was big that we had five kids in double figures.聽 In the first half Marla was the spark for us.聽 In the second Raiven was the spark.”

Young hit a pair of three pointers in the first and finished with 10 points and three assists.聽 (Pulaski, VA/Pulaski) had 11 points and three steals, all in the second half.

(Bristow, VA/Brentsville District) had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.聽 Rheinheimer finished with 10 and (Portsmouth, VA/Forest Park) added nine counters.

Katie Crump led Lynchburg with 16 points.聽 Shannon Allan charted 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The women, now 8-1 for the season, have a week off before traveling to Washington & Lee next Tuesday.

After the women scored the first four of the game, they used an 11-2 run to spark to a 15-8 lead.聽 But the Eagles then clamped down on defense and held EMU scoreless for nearly six minutes.聽 The home team rattled off 14 straight to go ahead 22-15.

The two played evenly into halftime, with BC holding a 31-25 edge at the break.

The opening minutes of the second were rough on the Royals, as the Eagles pushed their lead to the biggest of the game at 39-27.

But Eastern Mennonite’s tempo started to wear down BC and with the deficit at 44-32, the comeback began.聽 (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) finally knotted things up at 46-46 with a layup with 7:07 remaining.聽 (Fishersville, VA/Wilson Memorial) canned a three pointer, EMU’s first, on the next possession, giving the women their first lead since the first half.

(Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) drilled a big three and (Swoope, VA/Buffalo Gap) put in a bucket to push the edge to 56-49 with 3:13 to play.

The women then forced BC into a number of tough shots down the stretch as the lead never got below six.聽 Rheinheimer made 4-of-6 free throws to help ice the win.

Ygarza was a personal wrecking ball, as she charted a double double with game highs of 18 points and 15 rebounds.聽 She also had seven steals and three assists.

Rheinheimer was clutch down the stretch and finished with nine points.聽 Young had seven points and Lamneck added six with five rebounds.聽 (Pulaski, VA/Pulaski) was good for six rebounds and three steals.

Eastern Mennonite effectively reversed the shooting percentages from the first half, holding the Eagles to just 28% in the final 20.聽 Neither team shot particularly well, with EMU coming in at 37% and BC at 36%.聽 The Royals had the biggest edge at the free throw line, going 13-20 compared to 7-13 for Bridgewater.

The women harassed Jessica Mullen to an 8-for-22 shooting night, as she led the home team with 17 points and six steals.

It was a key win for the Royals, who improve to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.聽 EMU is the lone undefeated team left in the league, and rest atop the ODAC standings with Guilford at 2-0.

Next up is a home date with traditional power Roanoke on Wednesday.聽 The Maroons have struggled to a 0-3 start.

“We have the talent to compete,” he said, “but I think seven of the top eight teams (in the ODAC) have three or four starters back which will make it incredibly difficult.聽 I think Randolph-Macon is a clear cut favorite and I don’t know after that.聽 I think if we can foster some confidence early we can be very dangerous by the end of the season.”

The Royals were 15-11 last year including fifth in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference at 13-7.聽 That team was mostly underclassmen.聽 Griffin returns four of his end-of-the-season starters and thinks the experience his players gained in 2010-11 will benefit them this year.

“The returners do have confidence even though we are young again,” he said.聽 “They recognize that a couple things have to happen:聽 if we play really hard and if we play smart, we have enough talent to beat people.聽 Last year we had some success when certain kids began to realize, ‘not only can I compete here, but I can succeed.'”

Two of Eastern Mennonite’s returning starters received ODAC awards in 2010-11.聽 Junior (Swoope, VA/Buffalo Gap) earned All-ODAC Honorable Mention honors while averaging 10.0 points and 8.1 rebounds. 聽Fellow front-liner (Myerstown, PA/ELCO) took over a starting role late and was named All-ODAC Honorable Mention and ODAC Rookie of the Year.聽 She averaged 12.0 points and 6.2 rebounds.

EMU did lose leading scorer Danielle Rittenhouse (13.6 PPG) who did not return to school.聽 Sophomores (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) (8.2 PPG) and co-captain (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) (6.8 PPG) will also help fill the scoring void.

“What we’re hoping is that work ethic and experience translates into more success,” Griffin said.聽 “Just because you’re a year older doesn’t mean you’re a year better.聽 But those four did a lot last year, so the expectations have been raised for them.聽 They can’t do what they did last year, they need to do more.”

A lot will also be expected from the lone senior, (Fishersville, VA/Wilson Memorial), although it might not show up in a box score.

“She has leadership,” said Griffin of his other co-captain.聽 “She has integrity.聽 She is respected for her knowledge when she speaks.聽 She is highly respected for how she carries herself off the basketball floor: in the classroom, on the weekend.聽 Our kids view her as a moral leader as well as a basketball leader.”

The other returners all bring unique strengths to the team.聽 (Richmond, VA/Highland Springs) started 14 games at point guard and was second on the team with 49 assists.聽 (Orange, VA/Orange County) played all 26 games last year and was a lock-down defender.聽 (Bassett, VA/Bassett) played in 22 games and displays a continual positive intensity.

The incoming recruits obviously bolster EMU’s depth, but will also push some of the starters.

“Collective we feel that group of freshmen has a pretty high basketball IQ as well as their talent, so when things break down they can make plays and play basketball,” he said.聽 “We are going to have a hard time figuring out who plays.聽 We have a lot of good pieces and we’ll have to figure out the role of each piece.”

The Royals were third in the ODAC scoring 69.2 points per game, and Griffin hopes his added depth will allow him to push the tempo more this year.

“The style will be faster,” he said, “so we’re hoping it frees the kids up to play to exhaustion and free up more minutes for other kids.聽 Some of our returners played a lot of minutes last year, but we’re hoping to balance that a little more.”

Another area Griffin hopes to improve is forcing turnovers and turning that into scoring.聽 The women were ninth out of eleven ODAC teams in steals and had a -0.35 turnover margin.

“I think we’ll be better at it simply because we have more kids that can handle the ball well,” he said of turnovers.聽 “I know that we’re young but I feel like the group that we have will hopefully value the ball more and in turn create more havoc in a game whereby we can benefit from causing other people to not take care of the ball or creating turnovers.”

The women won’t have much time to prepare for the 20-game ODAC slate.聽 After hosting a season-opening classic on Nov. 18-19, Eastern Mennonite hits the road to take on Randolph-Macon on Nov. 22.聽 The Royals also travel to Bridgewater and host Roanoke in November, pitting them against the ODAC’s top three teams from last year in the season’s first five games.

The classic will be two of the Royals’ 14 home games in their 24-game schedule, which was released today.聽 EMU hosts York (NY), Stevenson and Mary Baldwin at the classic, playing Stevenson at 8:00pm on Nov. 18 and York at 4:00pm on Nov. 19.聽 MBC will play the other team beforehand each day.

After the season-opening weekend, the women jump right into their 20-game Old Dominion Athletic Conference slate, playing at last year’s champion, Randolph-Macon, on Nov. 22.聽 The tough start continues with a Nov. 28 game at Bridgewater, which tied R-MC for the regular crown, and then a Nov. 30 hosting of Roanoke, which finished third.

The Royals play five of their eight pre-Christmas games at home, wrapping up with a non-conference contest with Shenandoah on Dec. 17.

Lynchburg comes to Harrisonburg on Jan. 3 to start the 2012 half of the schedule.聽 The women play seven home games in the month of January, including rival Bridgewater on Jan. 24.

The final home game of the year is Feb. 11 when Virginia Wesleyan visits.聽 Eastern Mennonite then closes with games at Randolph, Emory & Henry and Guilford.聽 The ODAC Tournament starts Feb. 23.

The Royals finished 15-11 in 2010-11 with a 13-7 mark in the ODAC, making the conference tourney for the tenth straight year.

…

Read more…