Athletic and Academic Prowess
Foremost among the noteworthy victories of Eagle athletes was their academic prowess; a record 191 student-athletes earned a 3.0 or better grade-point average in the spring semester.
Leading this success with 3.7 grade-point averages were the Scholar-Athletes of the Year: Mary Elizabeth Fulco ’05 of the women’s soccer team and Nate Hathaway ’05 of the men’s tennis squad. A four-year starter as goalie, Fulco led the Eagles to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. The team advanced further each year, culminating in an NCAA tournament quarterfinal appearance. Meanwhile, Hathaway earned All-America honors in tennis. Coupled with junior teammate Paul Bristow, the pair won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association regional tournament and advanced to the third consecutive NCAA national championship appearance for the men’s tennis team.
Garnering well-deserved recognition for the University, the Eagles won the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) All-Sports Award for the fourth straight year, and the 11th time in the 14-year history of the league. Conference titles were awarded for women’s soccer, men’s cross country, men’s and women’s swimming, women’s basketball, baseball, men’s and women’s tennis, and women’s track and field.
The sports surprises this year came from two women’s teams. With nearly an entirely new starting lineup, the Eagles field hockey team won 15 games. Junior Brynn Maguire scored 22 goals, ranking her among the top offensive threats in the nation. Then, after a losing season in 2003-04, head women’s basketball coach Deena Applebury led the team to a school-record 23 victories this past season. Her Eagles took home the CAC Championship for the first time and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament – all with just one senior in the playing rotation. Look for more years of Eagle dominance in women’s basketball.
The spring season was highlighted by the baseball team, which ranked fifth in the nation and won the CAC Championship for the second time in three years; and men’s tennis, which ended the year ranked in the top 10 nationally for the third straight year after advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals. The men’s lacrosse team defeated fifth-ranked Washington & Lee University, women’s lacrosse achieved a ranking of 11th in the nation, women’s tennis continued its strong tradition with an NCAA Tournament appearance, and the rowing team produced an All-American athlete for the third year straight.
Individually, UMW athletes excelled at the highest level. Six were named All-America and many more were selected to all-region and all-conference teams, making the 2004-05 season one for the record books at Mary Washington. Alumni and fans all over the world can listen online to UMW athletic events play-by-play by going to http://athletics.umw.edu.