Those honored from ²ÝÝ®ÉçÇø were:

 (Hickory, N.C./Fred T. Foard), Sr., Women’s Soccer – Defender, Environmental Sustainability, 3.95 GPA.  Detweiler helped solidify the back row on the soccer team, starting all 19 games for a team which posted five shutouts.  She scored one goal and added two assists.  Detweiler also was named CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District and earned EMU’s President Award, which is the highest honor an EMU student-athlete can receive.

 (Elkton, Va./Spotswood), Sr., Softball – Shortstop, Nursing, 3.63 GPA.  Hensley was a four-year starter at shortstop for the Royals, very effectively balancing an All-ODAC and All-Region career on the field with EMU’s tough nursing major in the classroom.  She batted .306 this year 21 RBIs and a team-best 25 runs.  Hensley graduates with EMU records for career hits (186), career singles (129) and career assists (367).

 (Parkesburg, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), Sr., Women’s Volleyball – Middle Hitter, Nursing, 3.81 GPA.  Kennel also successfully balanced the demands of a sport and the nursing major.  On the court, she led the Royals in a resurgent year with 217 kills.  Kennel was second on the team with 2.19 kills and 0.52 blocks per set.

 (Sterling, Ill./Sterling), Jr., Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Congregational Ministry, 3.91 GPA.  Transferring in from Hesston College this year, Landis had a slow start in the fall recovering from an injury, but was hitting his stride by the end of cross country season.  He grabbed All-Region status by running a PR of 26:17.69 at the regional meet, and then broke a program record in the track season.  At the ODAC indoor meet, Landis set EMU’s record in the 5000m, crossing in 15:41.94.  He is also second in the outdoor 5000m (15:25.08) and third in the indoor 3000m (9:06.57).

 (Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area), Sr., Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Liberal Arts, 3.93 GPA.  Rittenhouse was part of the distance medley relay team which broke an EMU record and won gold at the ODAC Championships with a time of 13:17.17.  She also landed at No. 8 in the EMU history books in outdoor 5000m (19:29.20) and No. 9 in the indoor mile (5:47.15).

 (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite), Jr., Men’s Soccer – Keeper, Accounting/Economics, 3.95 GPA.  Completing his second season as EMU’s starting keeper, Yoder made 78 saves in 17 games.  He twice tied his career high with 10 stops in a game and was named to the All-Cialella Classic Team for his play at a tourney the second weekend of the season.

To earn VaSID Academic All-State honors, a student-athlete must have achieved at least a 3.25 grade point average and be at least a sophomore.  Each school in the state is allowed six nominees.

VaSID is comprised of sports information or athletics communications professionals from intercollegiate institutions throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Membership is open to any individual affiliated with one of the state’s institutions at the NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, USCAA and community college levels, provided that individual’s area of responsibility lies within the realm of sports information.

Earlier this year spring Allman, who played games at first base, second base and DP, earned EMU’s first-ever All-Atlantic Region First Team award.  She led Eastern Mennonite’s softball team in nine offensive categories, including her .422 batting average, eight homeruns and 46 RBIs.  For a player with a powerful .724 slugging percentage, she also had an impressive .507 on-base percentage.  Allman was also one of just two Lady Royals to finish the year with more walks than strikeouts (17 to 11).

At the end of the 2012-13 school year, Allman was named the EMU Female Athlete of the Year, as voted on by the university’s athletic department staff.  She also took a spot on the All-ODAC First Team after finishing in the top ten in the conference in nine categories.

Allman finishes her eligibility with five program records: homeruns in season (9), RBIs in a season (46 – tied with Hall of Honor member Karla Alderfer), career homeruns (31), career RBIs (151) and career walks (52).

The Lady Royals closed the 2013 season in the ODAC Tournament, qualifying for the league’s tourney for the eighth straight year under Coach J.D. McCurdy.  They finished with a record of 21-19.

Ygarza, who was named All-ODAC First Team earlier this year, helped lead a very balanced Royals team to their best ever ODAC finish at 15-1, and just the second NCAA Tournament berth in program history.  She was second on the team with 9.6 points per game and first with 7.0 rebounds.  Ygarza led Eastern Mennonite in free throws as well, hitting 80-of-121 tosses.

She finished in the top 23 in the ODAC in 12 different categories.  During the year, Ygarza scored a season-high 19 points to go with seven rebounds against nationally-ranked Messiah College.  She also had 15 points, including the game-winning offensive put-back with 1.3 seconds left, in an upset of then nationally-ranked Mary Washington.

The Royals finished the 2012-13 campaign with a record of 21-7 overall after a loss to Marymount (Va.) in the NCAA Tournament.  The women had a program-best 14-game winning streak snapped in the ODAC Championship game and finished with the fourth-most wins in EMU history.

VaSID is comprised of sports information or athletics communications professionals from intercollegiate institutions throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Membership is open to any individual affiliated with one of the state’s institutions at the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, community college and independent levels, provided that individual’s area of responsibility lies within the realm of sports information.

Eshleman, a four-year starter at defender for the Royals, holds a 3.81 GPA with a double major of biology and philosophy and theology with a minor in English.  He is an honors program student at Eastern Mennonite and has also been named to numerous other academic teams over his four years: Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) All-Academic Team, Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) Academic All-State Team and National Soccer Coaches Athletic Association Scholar All-Region Team.

On the field, EMU’s senior has started all 77 games possible in his career.  He has helped the Royals to 18 shutouts since his freshman year (including six this fall) and has also scored a goal with two assists.  He was named All-ODAC First Team in 2011 as well as VaSID All-State First Team.  (The 2012 all-conference awards have not yet been announced.)

Eastern Mennonite ended their 2012 campaign with a 2-1 loss to top-seeded Roanoke in the ODAC Tournament Quarterfinals.  The men finished 8-11-1 overall, including 5-6 in league play.

This season, Ygarza increased her scoring and rebounding averages from 6.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in 2010-11 to team highs of 14.5 and 7.3, respectively.  Unselfishly coming off the bench as a co-captain, Ygarza also finished second in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference with a 58.0 field goal percentage and 116 free throws.  She was also in the top 12 in field goals, free throw percentage and steals.

Ygarza notched six double doubles this year.  She scored a career high 29 points against Emory & Henry, and also had 15 rebounds and seven steals in a game against rival Bridgewater.  In the ODAC Tournament, Ygarza broke program and ODAC records by going 10-for-10 from the floor against Roanoke.

She was also named All-ODAC First Team, All-State Honorable Mention by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and All-Region Third Team by D3hoops.com.

Eastern Mennonite finished the season with a record of 22-4, the second best record in program history.  They Royals also tied for first in the ODAC with a league mark of 17-3.

Meanwhile, Marymount University’s Kaitlyn Fischer has been named the VaSID College Division Women’s Basketball Player of the Year.  Sarah Seipp of Virginia Wesleyan has earned Rookie of the Year, while University of Mary Washington’s Deena Applebury garnered Coach of the Year honors.

Fischer averaged 17.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season for the Saints. She shot .419 behind the arc and .860 from the free throw line, leading Marymount to a 14-13 record.

Seipp averaged 14.6 points and 5.2 rebounds this season for Virginia Wesleyan. She helped lead the Marlins to a 22-6 overall record, including a 17-3 mark in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, and was the ODAC Rookie of the Year.

Applebury led Mary Washington to a 30-1 record, advancing the NCAA Tournament sectional final before the Eagles lost their first game of the season.  Applebury was the CAC Coach of the Year and was a finalist for WBCA National Coach of the Year honors.

For more information, visit the Virginia Sports Information Directors website at .  The complete All-State Team is listed below.

2011-12 VaSID Women’s Basketball All-State Teams
Player of the Year: Katelyn Fischer, Marymount
Coach of the Year: Deena Applebury, Mary Washington
Rookie of the Year: Sarah Seipp, Virginia Wesleyan

First Team
Katelyn Fischer, Marymount
Katie Wimmer, Mary Washington
Tesla Akers, Ferrum
Jenna McRae, Mary Washington
Jessica Mullen, Bridgewater

Second Team
Kristen Keith, Ferrum
Bianca Ygarza, Eastern Mennonite
Nicole Baker, Southern Virginia
Rebecca Bolton, Washington & Lee
Taylor Wieczorek, Randolph Macon

Lee was also named All-Region Second Team and All-ODAC Second Team.

She was second for the Lady Royals this spring with a .405 batting average, and led the team with 35 runs, 10 stolen bases and a .750 slugging percentage.  She added eight homeruns, 12 doubles and 29 RBIs.  As a pitcher, Lee led Eastern Mennonite with a 12-5 record with a 2.25 ERA.

In her final season, Lee established program records with 27 career homers and 141 career runs.  She also helped the team break program records with 49 longballs and a .542 slugging percentage.

She was also named VaSID All-State First Team in 2011.

EMU finished 27-13 this spring, tying last year’s club for the second-most wins in program history.

For more information and the full list of all-state award winners, visit .

Forward (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) earns his first All-State First Team award after being named to the Second Team in both 2008 and 2009.  The senior scored 10 goals this fall, which was third-best in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, and had 23 total points, tied for second in the ODAC.  He had five game-winning goals during the regular season, which led the league.  Leap leaves the EMU program fourth in Career Goals with 35 and fifth in Career Points with 80.

Fellow senior (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) dominated the midfield to earn his All-State First Team nod.  Chico had three goals and one assist.  He also scored the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Virginia Wesleyan, which was the men’s first win over the powerful Marlins since the 1998 ODAC Championship Game.

(Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) was named First Team as a defender.  The junior was a key ball-controller in the back line and routinely beat opposing forwards to long passes before pushing the ball up on offense.

All three players were also named All-ODAC First Team earlier this fall.

In 2009, EMU put two men on the All-State First Team.  In 2008, four Royals were honored by the VaSID, with all of them on the Second Team.

The Royals tied with Roanoke for the best ODAC record during the regular season and also tied the program mark for most ODAC wins in a season with seven.  They were upset in the conference semifinals by Lynchburg, 2-1.

Christopher Newport University swept the top player awards with the release of the 2011 College Division Men’s Soccer All-State Team, as voted on by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID). Senior forward Brian Lybert earned the Player of the Year honor for the second straight year and his teammate Jalon Brown was voted Rookie of the Year. Voted the State Coach of the Year was Randolph College’s Bryan Waggoner, who led the WildCats to the round of 16 in the NCAA Division III tournament.

Lybert, the 2011 USA South Player of the Year, led the Captains to a 17-1-1 record and a No. 1 national ranking in the polls during the regular season for the third straight year. Lybert finished his career at CNU as the program’s all-time leader in assists. This past season he ranked third in the nation in assists per game and sixth in the nation in total assists with 13.

Brown started every game for the Captains in his first season and earned first-team USA South honors. He scored 11 points during the season on four goals and three assists.

Waggoner led the WildCats to an 18-5 overall record and the college’s first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in any sport.  Randolph advanced to the NCAA round of 16 in just the fifth year of the program’s existence.

Christopher Newport led the voting with seven picks on the All-State team, including four First-Team choices. Eastern Mennonite, Hampden-Sydney and Randolph College placed three players each on the All-State team. Lybert and Hampden-Sydney’s Nick DeProspero were repeat selections on the First Team.

COACH OF THE YEAR, Bryan Waggoner, Randolph
PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Brian Lybert, Christopher Newport
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Jalon Brown, Christopher Newport

FIRST TEAM
F – Brian Lybert, Christopher Newport             
F – Corey Sindle, Randolph
F –  Mitchell Leap, Eastern Mennonite
M – Jalon Brown, Christopher Newport           
M – Nick DeProspero, Hampden-Sydney       
M – Drew Claytor, Roanoke
M – Kevin Chico, Eastern Mennonite
D – Sean Moriarity, Christopher Newport
D – Ryan Eshleman, Eastern Mennonite
D – Curran Blackwell, Hampden-Sydney        
GK – Justin Wolfe, Christopher Newport

SECOND TEAM
F – Winston Mattheisen, Christopher Newport
F – Brian White, Roanoke
F – Josh Smith, Southern Virginia
F – Bryan Wharton, Hampden-Sydney
M – Nick Cornell, Randolph
M – Kevin Gorman, Bridgewater
M – Brian Sims, Mary Washington
M – Steven Farmer, Christopher Newport
D – Josh Thrower, Averett
D – Basil Richter, Washington and Lee
D – Will Wolf, Randolph
D – David Hass, Christopher Newport
GK – Michael Releford, Lynchburg
(tie in voting for final forward and defender spot)

Junior (Souderton, PA/Christopher Dock) earned an All-State award for the first time after being named All-ODAC First Team earlier this fall.  She was a key cog in the midfield and finished third on the team with eight goals and dished out two assists.  Santiago had three-game winning goals, including in overtime against Bridgewater in the ODAC Quarterfinals.

Attackers (Telford, PA/Souderton) and (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock) were also named to the All-State Second Team.

Bencsik led the Lady Royals with 11 goals and was tied for third in the ODAC during the regular season.  She had four game-winning scores and was second for EMU with 24 total points.

Derstine led Eastern Mennonite with 29 points in her freshman season.  She had a team-high nine assists and was second with ten goals.  The speedy Derstine was also fourth in the ODAC in points.

EMU ended the year at 10-11, falling to eventual champion Lynchburg in the ODAC Semifinals.

Lynchburg College swept the top awards with the release of the 2011 College Division Field Hockey All-State Team, as voted on by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID). Junior Shelly Milks earned the Player of the Year Award, Katie Kline was the Rookie of the Year and Enza Steele was the Coach of the Year.

Milks, a first-team National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-American, was also named the All-South Region Player of the Year.  Earlier this off-season, Milks was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Player of the Year for the second year in a row and was also the ODAC Scholar Athlete of the Year. She tallied 10 goals and added eight assists, while helping the LC defense allow just nine goals all season.

Kline, also the ODAC Rookie of the Year, burst onto the scene this year with 11 goals, nine assists and 31 points, placing third on the team in all three categories.

Steele, the 2011 ODAC Coach of the Year, takes home her second-straight All-State Coach of the Year Award after LC went 19-2. The Hornets ended its 2011 season ranked fourth in NCAA Division III and LC advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Quarterfinal after earning the program’s sixth-straight ODAC crown.

2011 College Division All-State Field Hockey Team

Player of the Year: Shelly Milks, Lynchburg College
Rookie of the Year: Katie Kline, Lynchburg College
Coach of the Year: Enza Steele, Lynchburg College

First Team:
Attack:
Morgan Jones, Mary Washington
Katie Kline, Lynchburg
Lindsay Leonard, Lynchburg

Midfielder:
Caitlin Cahill, Christopher Newport
Lisa Charney, Mary Washington
Shelly Milks, Lynchburg

Defender:
Amy Abernathy, Mary Washington
Jennifer Bateman, Bridgewater
Brianna Milne, Christopher Newport
Amanda Wain, Lynchburg

Goalkeeper:
Tiffany Frye, Lynchburg

Second Team:
Attack:
Nicole Bencsik, Eastern Mennonite
Janessa Derstine, Eastern Mennonite
Carrie Jacobs, Randolph-Macon
Lauren Seal, Randolph-Macon

Midfielder:
Caitlin Baker, Mary Washington
Kristina Morris, Lynchburg
Adriana Santiago, Eastern Mennonite

Defender:
Shelby Judkins, Christopher Newport
Melanie Tenney, Lynchburg
Amber VanHorn, Shenandoah

Goalkeeper:
Jamie Dowling, Christopher Newport

²ÝÝ®ÉçÇø head coach Richard (Rich) McElwee has been selected as “coach of the year” in voting by the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID) for the 2004 College Division All-State Women’s Basketball Team.

McElwee led the EMU Lady Royals to a 25-4 mark and into the sectional semifinals of the NCAA Division III national tournament. The Royals were this year’s Old Dominion Athletic Association regular season champions and the league’s tournament champions, marking the first time a head coach has won the tournament in his first season at the helm.

EMU sophomore Laura Ludholtz from Mt. Crawford, Va., was named to the VaSID women’s basketball first team. Ludholtz scored 16.0 points and grabbed 8.2 rebounds a game for the Royals.

EMU sophomore Carrie Grandstaff, Luray, Va., received VaSID second team honors.