2015 SCAC WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL COACH OF THE YEAR: Rick Swan 
2015 SCAC WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Courtney Birkett ’16 
2015 SCAC WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Myca Steffey-Bean ’19 
2015 SCAC WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL BACKROW PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sophie Merrifield ’16
Volleyball Sweeps Conference Honors
The CC volleyball team swept all four of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference’s top individual honors after com-pleting the most successful regular-season in program history.
Courtney Birkett ’16 was named Player of the Year, Sophie Merrifield ’16 was selected Backrow Player of the Year, and Myca Steffey-Bean ’19 was tabbed Freshman of the Year. Rounding out the recipients was Rick Swan, who was voted Coach of the Year.
Birkett won the SCAC Player of the Year award after recording eight triple-doubles, which ranked third in the nation. Merrifield was honored as the SCAC Backrow Player of the Year after leading the Tigers with 663 digs and holds the school record with 2,490 career digs, which ranks second in SCAC history. Steffey-Bean became the fourth consecutive Tiger to be named SCAC Freshman of the Year, joining Emily Phillips ’12 and current teammates Abbe Holtze ’13 and Sarah Barker ’14.
Swan led CC to a program-best, regular-season overall mark of 33-2 as well as a perfect 14-0 SCAC record, the first undefeated regular-season champion since 2009. He guided the Tigers to their 18th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs this season.
Women’s Cross Country Defends Title
Leah Wessler ’17 captured her second consecutive SCAC Runner of the Year award and the CC women’s cross country team successfully defended its team title at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Champion-ships Oct. 31 at Stone Creek Golf Club in Sherman, Texas. Wessler, who was CC’s first-ever individual champion last season, became the first female runner to defend the SCAC title since Natalie Shaffer of DePauw University in 2003 and 2004 by covering the 6k course in 24 minutes, 8.2 seconds. CC won the meet by placing five other runners in the Top 10. Katie Sandfort ’17 (24.33.5), Leah Veldhuisen ’19 (24:35.5) and Allysa Warling ’19 (24.39.2) finished fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. Allie Crimmins ’17 (25:04.5) and Stefani Messick ’17 (25:28.9) finished ninth and 10th, respectively, to clinch the team title. In addition to the six runners who finished in the Top 10, Patty Atkinson ’17 and Corey Luna ’17 also earned all-conference honors by finishing 13th and 14th, respectively. The eight all-conference performers are the most ever by either the men’s or women’s cross country teams at CC.
Men’s Cross Country Takes Second Place
Four Colorado College men’s cross country runners earned all-conference honors after leading their team to a second-place finish at the 2015 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships in Sherman, Texas. Conor Terhune ’17 led the way for the Tigers with his second consecutive seventh-place finish at the conference meet. He covered the 8k course in 28 minutes, 43.8 seconds. Jacob Rothman ’16 followed in eighth place with a time of 28:48.8, while David Eik ’19 placed 10th in 29:26.6. Joining those three runners on the all-conference team was Tucker Hampson ’16 (29:53.6), who finished 14th.
Soccer’s Schweiss Leads Mountain West
Sarah Schweiss ’16, who struck for six game-winning goals in conference play, was voted Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference in a ballot of the league’s head coaches. Despite being the focus of every opponent’s defensive game plan, Schweiss led the Mountain West in total shots (89), shots per game (4.45), and game-winning goals (6) during the regular season. She also tied for second in goals (10) and finished fourth in points (22). Schweiss also was named the espnW National Player of the Week this season and earned Top Drawer Soccer’s Goal of the Week for her game winner at Air Force that clinched a spot in the 2015 Mountain West Championships.
Coors Field Hosts CC-DU Hockey for “Battle on Blake”
In just less than two months, in-state rivals Colorado College and the University of Denver will participate in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The schools will play an outdoor hockey game at Coors Field in Denver on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. Dubbed the ‘Battle on Blake,’ this will be the first collegiate hockey game ever played at Coors Field and marks the first time that CC and DU have faced off in an outdoor match.
The game will be played one week prior to the Colorado Avalanche hosting the Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field as part of the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series.
The two schools first played on Jan. 6, 1950, and have battled for the Gold Pan Trophy since 1993. The Tigers have hoisted the hardware 12 times in 23 years.
