OTTERS CONTINUE TO STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE
CSUMB As our Otter student-athletes and coaches kickoff fall practices next week, Cal State Monterey Bay Department of Athletics has set the bar high for the 2009-10 season by focusing on four goals built around the Otter Athletics’ motto of "Building Champions, One Victory At A Time.
CSUMB Athletics had its most successful season in 2008-09 since making the move to NCAA Division II. The softball program brought home CSUMB’s first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) tournament championship. A few weeks earlier, men’s golfer Ricky Stockton won the CCAA Tournament Championship. The men’s basketball team, picked 10th in the preseason conference polls, made it to the CCAA tournament finals after defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills in the first round and an overtime semi-final victory against Cal Poly Pomona, the eventual NCAA Division II national runner-up. The softball team, men’s golf team and women’s golf team all made regional tournament appearances in 2009.
Not only did the Otters perform in competition, they also did well in the classroom. Dana Andrews, a four-year women’s basketball starter who was the first CSUMB player to past the 1,000 point milestone, was selected to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team. She also received CSUMB’s Outstanding Senior Scholar-Athlete Award after achieving a 3.66 cumulative GPA in business. Sophomores Nikki Smart and Chloe McRae along with junior Sarah Ford were named to the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Academic All-American Team.
"We are very excited about the things that are going on here at CSUMB Athletics in the classroom and in our respective venues of competition," said CSUMB Director of Athletics Vince Otoupal. "We are proud of what we have done but we are not satisfied."
"This past year, we did not have 4.0 accumulative Grade Point Average for the Athletic Department nor did all of our teams go undefeated." Otoupal said. "We have set some Big Hairy Audacious Goals for our teams but they are attainable."
Goals for 2009-2010:
Achieve a 3.2 cumulative GPA
50 or more Student-Athletes Earn CCAA All-Academic Awards
10 or more Student-Athletes Earn Other Academic Awards
Win Five Team Championships (League or Tournament)
"These goals, when we reach them, will be new records for the CSUMB Athletics Department," Otoupal said. "When we do reach these goals we will set new goals to challenge ourselves. This is how we get better; by continuously striving for new heights."
"What Vince has is a vision that is well within the reach of the department for any great leader challenges himself and those around them to achieve greatness," said head softball coach Andrea Kenney. "These goals motivate me to work harder, in an effort to take the next step towards greatness in the classroom and on the field."
"My fellow Otters and I will work hard to achieve these goals this year," said junior men’s basketball player Warren Freeman. "We will represent CSUMB Athletics as champions."
