Murray State University Athletics
2009-10 Year in Review: A Championship Performance
7/1/2010 10:09:41 AM | General
Murray State won an unprecedented six regular-season or tournament championships in the Ohio Valley Conference during the 2009-10 school year, a high-water mark for any one year in school history.
Add to that five NCAA Tournament appearances, and the sports year was one for the record books.
The winning started in the fall when the women's soccer team won the OVC Tournament at host Morehead State. The Racers started with a pair of 1-0 victories over Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State before taking the championship, 4-0, over Tennessee Tech, the largest margin of victory for an OVC title game. Sophie Hargreaves was named MVP of the tournament and Danielle McMurray earned Co-OVC Freshman of the Year honors.
The MSU Rifle team continued the winning when they hosted and won the OVC Championship. The victory helped the team advance to the NCAA Tournament where they saw Emily Quiner finish fourth in air rifle. She was also named OVC Air Rifle Athlete of the Year.
The MSU men's basketball team had a dream season in which they posted their first win in the NCAA Tournament since 1988 when Danero Thomas hit a buzzer shot to beat Vanderbilt in San Jose, Calif. The Racers took eventual national runner-up Butler to the buzzer before their season finally came to a close. MSU won both the OVC regular season and tournament titles and posted a school and league record 31 wins. The team also tallied a school record 17-game winning streak, which was tied for best in the nation when it ended. Freshman Isaiah Canaan was named MVP of the OVC Tournament. To add the finishing touch to a remarkable season, the Racers were handed the OVC Team Sportsmanship Award and the OVC Academic Achievement Award upon the season's conclusion. The Racers are part of a select group of programs that sustain remarkable streaks of consecutive winning seasons. MSU's streak is 23, the fourth-best in the nation.
In the spring, the MSU golf teams double-dipped in winning both the OVC women's and men's championships. For the women's team it was their second straight and league-best eighth title. The men's team won the OVC title for the fourth time and first since 1991. Senior Nick Newcomb was the individual winner for the second time in three seasons.
MSU's Alan Lollar (Rifle), Billy Kennedy (Basketball), Velvet Milkman (Women's Golf) and Eddie Hunt (Men's Golf) were all voted by their peers as OVC Coach of the Year.
MSU student-athletes also had numerous individual accomplishments during the 2009-10 school year.
In baseball, Wes Cunningham had the best hitting season in 'Breds history, was named the OVC Player of the Year and was drafted by the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball. He was also named Academic All-America by ESPN The Magazine and earned three all-america nods. Cunningham was chosen as a second team pick by Ping !Baseball and earned third team honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers and Louisville Slugger. MSU freshman Brandon Elliott was the second member of the baseball team to earn all-america honors when he was named to the Ping !Baseball Freshman All-America Team.
Racer Football saw Austen Lane named OVC Defensive Player of the Year, as he was also selected to The Sports Network All-America Team and finished sixth in voting for the Buchanan Award, which is given to the best defensive player in the nation. Lane was also recently drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. The selection in the fifth round makes Lane the highest drafted player in the history of Racer football.
Kayleah Sauer was named OVC Defensive Player of the Year for the MSU volleyball squad.
In all a total of 41 student-athletes earned 49 All-OVC honors for MSU in the 2009-10 season.
A year after winning the OVC Commissioner's Cup, the Racers finished a respectable second in the 2009-10 season.
The Racers had 10 different teams finish fourth or better in OVC competition.
Before MSU's OVC Commissioner's Cup win in 2009, MSU had previously won eight OVC Men's All-Sport Championships (with the last coming in 1991) and four OVC Women's All-Sport Championships (with the last also coming in 1991).
Murray Moving Forward -- Facility Upgrades
Several important facility projects-enhancements were completed in 2009-10 as new video boards and a new floor were installed in the Regional Special Events Center.
The video boards took an already great game atmosphere at the RSEC to another level as the Racers' men's team went undefeated on the brand new court with a 15-0 record.
The MSU softball program played its first season at newly renovated Racer Field as the City of Murray partnered with MSU Athletics to provide a home field for Racer Softball.
Locker room renovations for track and softball were completed in 2009-10 and new scoreboards were installed for volleyball and softball.
The former basketball court from the RSEC has been refurbished, painted and installed at Racer Arena to enhance the volleyball facility.
MSU Celebrates Classroom Success
Murray State student-athletes were again at the front of the line in academics.
MSU had 173 student-athletes with a GPA of 3.0 or better, with 72 having a GPA of 3.5 of better and 28 earning a perfect 4.0.
MSU had 112 student-athletes recognized for academic achievement, 43 received their diploma and MSU student-athletes continue to post graduation rates and cumulative GPA's (over 3.0) that outpace the general student-body.
“It is my goal to see every student-athlete leave Murray State with a championship ring on one hand and a degree in the other,” said Director of Athletics Allen Ward. “It's about winning championships and succeeding in the classroom, and in that regard, 2009-10 was a remarkable year.”
