Women’s Soccer
Jessie Ayers ’15 joined an exclusive list of CC women’s soccer players when she was named a second-team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Ayers became the 14th Tiger to be honored by the NSCAA, the first since Robyn Neigel, Karla Thompson, and Cissy Wafford were recognized in 1990. Ayers and forward Brittney Lyman ’13 were all-Central Region selections.
Ayers, who was tabbed Conference USA Midfielder of the Year for the second year in a row, and Lyman were first-team all-league selections. Midfielder Madison Whitehead ’14 was named to the second team, while defender Kecia Morway ’14 earned third-team honors. Geoff Bennett, who guided CC to a share of the program’s first regular-season championship and its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2006, was chosen Coach of the Year by his peers. Midfielder Alexis Long ’16 earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team.
The Tigers finished the season with a 14-4-5 record after dropping a 3-1 decision at the University of Denver in the first round of the national playoffs.
Men’s Soccer
Midfielder Kyle Buchwalder ’13, defender Nick Lammers ’13 and forward Daniel Wright ’13 earned spots on the 2012 Capital One Division III Academic All-America Team, marking the first time in school history that three teammates received the nation’s most prestigious academic award in one season. Buchwalder, a second-team selection for the second consecutive year, became the fifth Tiger to earn the distinction multiple times. He joins Deborah Nalty ’84 (women’s basketball in 1982 and ’84), Heather McGuire ’94 (volleyball in 1992 and ’93), Brett Sterling ’06 (hockey in 2005 and ’06) and Jordan DeGayner ’12 (swimming in 2011 and ’12). Wright, who also was named to the second team, and Lammers, a third-team selection, were honored for the first time.
CC won three of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference’s top four awards and had a record seven players earn spots on the all-conference teams. Forward Matt Fechter ’13 was named Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, sharing the award with Southwestern University’s Evan Perkins. Lammers was tabbed Defensive Player of the Year, while Horst Richardson garnered Coach of the Year award. Joining Fechter and Lammers on the first team were Buchwalder, goalkeeper Forrest Marowitz ’13 and midfielder Ben Glass ‘14. Wright and midfielder Sean Parham ’14 were named to the second team.
Richardson was named West Region Coach of the Year by the NSCAA for the fifth time after guiding the Tigers to a 14-5-3 record and the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Volleyball
Colorado College swept Trinity University, 25-23, 25-20, 26-24, to win its third straight SCAC playoff title and earn the program’s 15th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Outside hitter Laura Goldsmith ’13 was named tournament MVP, while setter Kate Squires ’13 and outside hitter Kristen Liberty ’15 earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
Outside hitter Emily Phillips ’16, the SCAC Freshman of the Year, and Goldsmith were named First-Team All-Conference, while right-side hitter Courtney Birkett ’16 was a second-team selection. Rick Swan earned Co-Coach of the Year honors after leading CC to a share of the regular-season championship. Phillips also was named the 2012 West Region Freshman of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, and was an honorable mention all-region selection.
The Tigers finished the season with a 23-10 record after falling to the University of Puget Sound in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Men’s Cross Country
Nick Hall ’15 became CC’s fourth consecutive SCAC champion by completing the 8K course on the University of Dallas campus in 26 minutes and 48 seconds. Max Marinelli ’13 (26:48), and sophomore Graham Frank ’15 (27:22), who claimed fourth and fifth, helped the Tigers finish second in the team standings. The trio was joined by Will Richmond ’15 (28:18), who finished 12th, as all-SCAC performers.
Hall, who claimed 14th individually and qualified for nationals with a personal-record 8K time of 24:58.55, led Colorado College to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Division III West Region Championships in Independence, Ore. Frank (25:33.44) and Marinelli (25:38.67) also earned all-region honors by finishing among the top 35.
Women’s Cross Country
Jamie Peng ’16 finished sixth and Nikki Steinsiek ’13 took seventh individually, leading Colorado College to a second-place finish — its highest ever — at the 2012 SCAC Championships. Peng, who was named the league’s Rookie of the Year for her 6K effort of 24:18, paced a group of four Tigers earning all-conference accolades.
Joining her and Steinsiek (24:24) in that distinction were Erin Morrow ’15 (24:49) and Mary Wang ‘13 (25:17), who claimed 10th and 12th, respectively.
Morrow took 10th individually to lead the Tigers to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Division III West Regional Championships in Independence, Ore. She completed the 6-kilometer course in school-record 21:41.48. Peng (22:24.79) and Steinsiek (22:31.68) joined Morrow as all-region selections. Morrow posted a 6K time of 22:44.90 to finish 96th in a field of 277 runners in her debut at the NCAA Division III Championships.