200 Memories Central

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Welcome back to our celebration of 200 moments, memories, coaches and student-athletes from the history of Lycoming College athletics. In this 19th series of moments, we take a look at a new era for the football team, an NCAA scoring champion and one of the longest scoring streaks in NCAA history.
 
With no more ado, here are moments 181-190 in our series of 200:
 
181. Jessica Bennett, 2004-07 - The Lycoming College women’s soccer program experienced a renaissance of sorts in 2004, as the team won 12 games and experienced its first winning season in six years. The five-win improvement from 2003 was in no small part due to the freshman goalkeeper that season, Jessica Bennett. The rookie was absolutely tremendous in goal, making 99 saves and posting an .846 save percentage. She set school records with 12 wins in the season and a 1.11 goals against average, as the Crofton, Md., native earned First Team All-Freedom Conference honors. Bennett notched 108 saves as a sophomore and continued to start in each of her four seasons with the program, never posting a save percentage of lower than .750. As a senior, she posted a 1.14 goals against average and led the team to a 9-8 record in its first year in the Commonwealth Conference, wrapping up her career with second-team all-conference honors. In all, Bennett holds career school records for wins (32), goals-against average (1.59) and shutouts (17) and she also set a single-season mark with five shutouts, in both 2004 and 2005.
 
182. 2008 MAC Co-Champions – How do you replace a legend? Mike Clark ’93 had a tall order in 2008 when he took over the reigns of the football team from Frank Girardi, who retired after 36 years as the head coach. Even after a 3-7 record in 2007, Clark made it clear from day one that his expectations were to compete for league championships. Still, in the preseason poll, the Warriors were selected fifth in the eight-team MAC. It was going to be a long road to the top. A one-point loss to No. 18 Ithaca in the season opener didn’t make things much easier for Clark’s Warriors. But if ever there was an opponent that Lycoming fans love to beat, it’s Susquehanna, and thanks to a 42-carry, 229-yard, three-touchdown performance from Josh Kleinfelter, the Warriors rolled through the Crusaders, 28-16, for Clark’s first win. With the league’s top passing offense (207.2 yards per game) and a defense that allowed more than 20 points just three times, the Warriors began to roll through the conference schedule, starting with an upset of Albright, 23-13, in the second week of league play and continuing with a 10-7 win over No. 22 Delaware Valley on a muddy Saturday in October. In the final week of the season, the Warriors hosted Lebanon Valley and thanks to a 10-point fourth quarter, sealed with a 13-yard interception return by Jim Daley with 1:55 left, the Warriors clinched their first MAC title since 2003 with a 23-15 win. Lycoming finished 7-4 overall, falling to Hobart in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The honors rolled in for the team, as Clark earned the MAC and D3football.com East Region Coach of the Year awards. Eight players earned All-MAC honors, led by first team defensive back Nick Reese, offensive lineman Ted Geurds and wide receiver Ryan Wagaman.
 
183. Dan Cannon, 2008 – It took Dan Cannon a little while to get used to the collegiate game of lacrosse after growing up in Ontario, playing indoor lacrosse for most of his life before entering Lycoming College in 2004. In his first two years, he scored just 12 goals, but as a junior, with a new coach, Brian Anken, and a high-flying offensive style, Cannon transformed into one of the top players in the MAC. He posted 29 goals and 18 assists in a breakthrough junior year, finishing sixth in the league, setting up one of the most remarkable finales to a men’s lacrosse career in school history. He led all Division III players in points per game in 2008 with 5.69, notching 47 goals and 44 assists in 16 games played while leading the Warriors to a second-place finish in the MAC. His 91 points are still the second-most in a season in Lycoming history and helped him earn First Team All-MAC honors. He finished his career in the top 10 in school history in six statistical categories and he is in the top 10 in eight single-season categories. After the season, he played in the USILA North-South All-Star Game and was invited to the National Lacrosse League combine.
 
184. Mike Doherty, 2008 – When Brian Anken took over the men’s lacrosse program in 2007, he immediately got the help of one of the best specialists in school history. From Berlin, Md., Mike Doherty made a difference from the first whistle he heard to the last, winning faceoff after faceoff, giving the team nearly two times as many possessions off the draw than his opponents got. A starter from the time he entered Lycoming College, Doherty was key in turning the program around. After winning 53 percent of his faceoffs as a freshman, he led the team to a six-win improvement as a sophomore. At the circle, he was unstoppable, winning a school-record 68.8 percent of his faceoffs and picking up 11.06 groundballs per game (a school-record total of 177) to lead the nation. His faceoff percentage was third in the country. As a junior in 2009, he won 64 percent of his faceoffs, 15^th in the nation, and scooped up 8.3 groundballs per game, the ninth-most in the country, and he helped the Warriors finish first in the MAC’s regular season standings for the first time since 2001. As a senior, he won 67 percent in the circle, finishing eighth in the nation for his second top 10 finish, and scooped up 7.79 groundballs per game, 14^th-best in Division III. He also played with his brother, Matt, who was a freshman on the 2010 team. In all, Doherty earned two All-MAC citations and was named an Honorable Mention Inside Lacrosse.com Preseason All-American twice while the team won 36 games and reached the MAC playoffs three times. He finished his career ranked in the top five in school history in four career categories, including holding the all-time record for best faceoff percentage (.642).               
 
185. Rebekah Shipe, 2005-08 – Coming from Northumberland Christian, which graduates about 20 students per year, Rebekah Shipe may have been a bit overlooked before she joined the Lycoming women’s soccer team. That all changed, though, after her freshman year, when the forward tied for the Freedom Conference lead in scoring with 28 points. Earning first-team all-conference honors, Shipe finished third in the league in goals. It was just the beginning of one of the greatest careers in the history of the program, as she finished her career as the only player in school history to earn three all-conference awards. As a junior, after finishing fifth in the league in goals (11) and third in points per game (1.69), she earned Second Team All-Commonwealth Conference honors and duplicated the feat as a senior when she finished sixth in the league with nine goals. She also became the school’s all-time leader in points and goals during the season-opener as a senior, scoring twice against Mary Washington to surpass Donna Mongiello’s marks of 26 goals and 66 points. She finished her career holding school records for points (85), goals (34) and game-winning goals (9), while also being in the top five in four other career categories and eight single-season ones. She was named the Lycoming Female Athlete of the Year in 2008.
 
186. Matt Miller, 2008 – A strapping 197 pounds, Matt Miller entered his senior year in a battle for the starting slot with Troy Hansen. He finished it as a national champion. The Muncy, Pa., native was an underdog all season long after never finishing higher than third at any NCAA-qualifying tournament in his career. Still, the signs were there that he would break through as a junior, posting a 25-8 record, but an injury at the NCAA Regionals dropped him to fifth-place in the weight class. He entered his senior year with a 57-28 career record, making that final season all the more incredible. Miller, who struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, was even injured during a tournament in mid-December after pinning his first two opponents. He came back healthy after the holiday break and made an immediate impact at the Budd Whitehill Duals, pinning his opponent in the second period to give the Warriors an upset over John Carroll in the first round. He continued his hot stretch, winning three matches at the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Championships to join Chris Dahlheimer as the first Warriors to win ECWC Conference individual champions. He followed that by earning the No. 6 seed at the NCAA Championships and he won a stretch of three decisions to reach the national title match, where he faced defending national champion T.J. Miller of Wartburg. A first period takedown helped the Montgomery High School graduate take control and after riding T.J. Miller through the second period, he stayed on bottom in the third, but never gave up any points to win the ninth national title in program history, 2-0. He was named the ECWC Wrestler of the Year after completing the perfect 20-0 season. Since graduating, Miller has been a continual presence in the wrestling program, serving as both an assistant and volunteer assistant coach.
 
187. Megan Wallenhorst, 2005-08 – When rebuilding the Lycoming College women’s lacrosse team after a 5-10 season in her first year with the program, Kara Reber knew she needed a dynamic goal-scoring player. She found one in Rochester, N.Y. An attacker with a nose for the goal, Megan Wallenhorst made an immediate impact for the Warriors, leading the team with 41 goals as a freshman in 2005, setting the stage for things to come. As a sophomore, she earned her first of three straight All-MAC accolades and was named to the IWLCA All-Metro Region second team, as she finished 16^th in the NCAA Division III with 70 goals. During the season, she became just the third player in school history to reach 100 career goals, while also helping the Warriors to a school-record 14 wins and its only appearance in the MAC Championship game in school history. As a junior in 2006, she broke the school’s all-time goals mark set by Brenda MacPhail in 2001 and earned her first of two straight WomensLacrosse.com Third Team All-American honors, while helping the team to another 14-win season. As a senior, she finished her career by scoring 56 goals to help her leave the school with a record 276 points and 233 goals, while earning her third straight All-Metro Region honors and her first IWLCA All-American nod, being placed on the third team. Maybe most impressively, she stretched out a streak of 52 straight games with a goal from her sophomore to senior campaign, the fifth-longest stretch in Division III history. Wallenhorst wrapped up her career by joining teammate Kristina Peacock on the South team at the IWLCA North/South All-Star game, playing for Coach Reber. After helping the team to a 42-24 record during her career, she is still ranked first in school history in six career categories, including goals per game (3.58), game-winning goals (8) and draw controls (172).    

188. Andrea Cooper, 2005-09 – From the time she stepped on the Lamade Gym floor, Andrea Cooper was as dynamic a player as the women’s basketball program ever had. By the time she finished her career, 97 starts later, she was in the top 10 in school history in games played, 3-pointers made (116, third), blocked shots (115, third), points (1,148, sixth), 3-point field goal percentage (.314, eighth), free throws made (208, eighth), rebounds (503, eighth) and assists (190, 10^th). The 5-10 forward from Hollidaysburg, Pa., was instantly one of the team’s top players, leading the team in scoring and blocked shots in each of her four seasons. As a freshman, she finished in the top five in the Freedom Conference in both 3-point field goal percentage (.349, fourth) and blocked shots (1.58, third). By her junior year, she had developed into one of the most versatile players in the conference, finishing eighth in the league in scoring (11.0), sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (.323) and second in blocked shots (1.13) as she became the first player at Lycoming to earn First Team All-Commonwealth Conference honors. In 2008-09, she broke the school record for blocked shots in a game, swatting seven against Delaware Valley, and she became the eighth player in school history to cross 1,000 career points and the first since Lyndy LeVan crossed the plateau in 2002. Cooper wrapped up her career by earning Second Team All-Commonwealth Conference honors.
 
189. 2010 MAC Champions – A group of 10 freshmen made one of the biggest splashes in school history in 2010 when they helped lead the women’s swimming team to a surprising MAC title. From the opening gun, the team, led by 10^th-year head coach Jerry Hammaker, posted significant time drops across the board and all five relay teams earned First Team All-MAC honors and set school records. In the second event of the tournament, Lindsey Hunsicker, a freshman from Bethlehem, Pa., won her first of three conference titles, winning the 500-yard freestyle in 5:18.44, to set the tone for the team. On the second day, more conference titles came the Warriors’ way, with the 200-yard medley team of Caroline LeHota, Stacy Flick, Hunsicker and Randi Bosch won the 200-yard medley with a school-record 1:51.21. Hunsicker added a title in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:00.15, as the Warriors finished first, third and fourth in the event. Swimming with an injured knee, Flick also added a title in the 100-yard breaststroke, as she set a pool record for the Wilkes-Barre Catholic Youth Center, posting a time of 1:07.02. During the last day, the Warriors dropped into third place behind Misericordia and Albright heading into the last individual event of the meet, the 200-yard butterfly. Hunsicker won the race, her third title, freshman Hope Weber took second and freshman Elisa Becker took fourth, lifting the Warriors into first, needing only to avoid disqualification in the final relay, the 400-yard freestyle, to win the event. They did better than that, as the team of Flick, Bosch, Hunsicker and Ashley Tudgay smashed the school record with a time of 3:40.81, giving the team 616 points for the meet, 13 more than second-place Misericordia. In total, during the groundbreaking three days, the Warriors earned 10 First Team All-MAC honors and nine more second team accolades. Hunsicker earned the David B. Eavenson Award as the MAC Women’s Swimmer of the Year and  Hammaker was honored with the MAC Coach of the Year Award for the upstart effort.
 
190. Megan McIntyre, 2007-10 – From the time Megan McIntyre entered Lycoming College to the day she graduated, the attacker made an impact in every game she played. As a rookie in 2007, she scored 50 goals, becoming an immediate and welcome compliment to All-American Megan Wallenhorst, as she picked up Second Team All-MAC honors. The Baltimore native added 24 assists and helped the team reach the conference semifinals. As a sophomore, she crossed the 100-point mark and as a junior, she posted 38 goals and 29 assists, finishing fifth in the league in assists and earning all-conference honors again. She topped that as a senior, becoming the team’s top scoring option with the graduation of Wallenhorst, as she posted 75 points (47 goals and 28 assists), finishing in the top 10 in the league in assists, points and goals. She capped her career by picking up Second Team IWLCA All-Metro Region honors and led the Warriors to the league semifinals for the second time. McIntyre concluded her career with 256 points (156 goals and 95 assists), ranking her second all-time at Lycoming in points and helpers.
 
We hope you enjoyed our 19th look at 200 Memories. Stay tuned on Friday, May 11, as moments 191-200 will be released, with moments capturing the period from 2010-12, as we take a look at an Academic All-American tennis player, the first all-conference cross country runner in nearly a decade and a three-time MAC Champion swimmer.
 
As always, if you feel we missed an event or two that can be deemed a memorable moment or a memorable student-athlete, please share them. Tell us why they are special and any information you may have about that moment or person by contacting Sports Information Director Joe Guistina at guistina@lycoming.edu. Special addendums with your feedback will be released following the conclusion of the list in 2012.