June 29, 2004
ATLANTA–The Georgia Tech athletics program concluded the 2003-04 school year with an all-time best 31st place finish in the annual NACDA Director’s Cup standings, which measure overall athletics success based on each sport’s finish in the NCAA Championships.
Led by Top 10 finishes in four different sports, Tech totalled 560.5 points to easily outdistance its previous best showing of 45th place in 1993-94.
“We’re extremely proud of our student-athletes and coaches, who have worked so hard to be successful,” said Tech Director of Athletics Dave Braine. “Our goal is for each of our sports to be in the Top 25 in the country, and each year we get closer to realizing that goal.
“Everyone knows about the tremendous success that our men’s basketball program enjoyed this year, but the 2003-04 year was a great overall success for Georgia Tech athletics.”
The Rambling Wreck men’s basketball team, which advanced all the way to the NCAA Championship game, is one of four Tech programs that recorded Top 10 finishes, along with golf (5th), volleyball (5th), and baseball (9th) while women’s track and field placed 15th and softball 17th. Tech also scored points in men’s and women’s swimming, and men’s and women’s tennis.
Georgia Tech is one of just three schools in the nation that won a football bowl game and at least one game in the men’s basketball and baseball NCAA Tournaments in 2003-04, and Tech is the only school that won a bowl game, an NCAA basketball regional and an NCAA baseball regional.
The Director’s Cup is presented annually by the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the United States Sports Academy and USA Today. Stanford won the overall competition for the 10th straight year.
For the complete standings, visit NACDA.com.
Scores are calculated based on the finishes by each school’s top 10 men’s sports and top 10 women’s sports. Georgia Tech only fields 17 sports and can score points in a maximum of 15 sports because indoor and outdoor track cannot both be counted. With 560.5 points, Tech averaged 37.4 points per sport.
2003-04 GEORGIA TECH HIGHLIGHTS
GENERAL HIGHLIGHTS
* School-record 31st-place finish in the NACDA Director’s Cup standings; previous best was 45th place in 1994
* Fifteen of 17 sports advanced to postseason play in 2003-04
* Georgia Tech is one of just three schools in the nation that won a football bowl game and at least one game in the men’s basketball and baseball NCAA Tournaments in 2003-04, and Tech is the only school that won a bowl game, an NCAA basketball regional and an NCAA baseball regional
* Men’s basketball, volleyball, women’s swimming and women’s track teams recorded their best seasons ever
* Men’s basketball team captured the nation with its stunning run to the NCAA Championship game for the first time
* Volleyball team won a school-record 34 matches and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight
* Sophomore Chaunte Howard won two track NCAA titles, winning the indoor and outdoor high jump, and the women’s track program recorded a best-ever 15th-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships
* Golf team recorded its fourth top-five NCAA finish in the last five years
* Football team set a school-record by earning its seventh consecutive bowl game
* Five ACC Player of the Year winners: Kele Eveland (volleyball), Chaunte Howard (indoor track, outdoor track), Brendon Mahoney (indoor track, outdoor track)
* Four ACC Rookie of the Year winners: Reggie Ball (football), Ashlee Kidd (indoor track & outdoor track) and Roberto Castro (golf)
* Three Academic All-Americas (Kele Eveland, volleyball; Erin Voeltz, softball; Brendon Mahoney, track & field) and nine Academic All-District honorees (Kele Eveland, Lauren Sauer, Hal Higgins, Marvin Lewis, Steven Blackwood, Erin Voeltz, Nick Thompson, Brendon Mahoney, Shanta Smith)
* Three Atlantic Coast Conference Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholars (Kele Eveland, Hal Higgins, Marvin Lewis), and one NCAA Postgraduate Scholar (Kele Eveland)
* A school-record and league-high eight student-athletes named to the ACC All-Academic football team
* Georgia Tech won the inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference Sportsmanship School of the Year Award
* Christened two outstanding athletic facilities with the new-and-improved Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field and the fully-enclosed Georgia Tech Aquatic Center
FOOTBALL
Record: 7-6 Overall, 4-4 ACC (T-4th)
* Earned a school-record seventh consecutive bowl berth
* One of only 11 schools in the nation to play in a bowl game each of the last seven years
* Thrashed Tulsa, 52-10, in the Humanitarian Bowl to regain the nation’s best bowl-game winning percentage at 65.6 percent (21-11 record)
* Recorded one of the most memorable victories in school history with a 17-3 triumph over 17th-ranked Auburn in the opening of the new Bobby Dodd Stadium at Grant Field
* Freshman quarterback Reggie Ball was named ACC Rookie of the Year
* Placed six players on the all-Atlantic Coast Conference team
* Placed a school-record eight players on the Academic All-ACC team
VOLLEYBALL
Record: 34-4 Overall, 15-1 ACC (1st) * ACC Tournament runner-up
NCAA Elite Eight * Final Ranking: 8th
* Enjoyed the most successful season in Tech history with a school-record 34 wins, a berth in the NCAA Elite Eight and a final national ranking of No. 8
* Playing in its fourth straight NCAA Tournament, Tech defeated Alabama A&M, Florida A&M and California before falling to Hawaii in the regional final
* Opened the season with a 23-match winning streak and climbed to No. 4 in the national polls
* Senior Kele Eveland, the ACC Player of the Year, became the first first-team all-America volleyball player in Tech and ACC history; Lynnette Moster was named third-team all-America, while Alexandra Preiss and Lauren Sauer were honorable mention all-Americas
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Record: 28-10 Overall, 9-7 ACC (T-3rd)
NCAA Runner-up * Final National Ranking: No. 3
* Recorded the most successful season in school history, winning a school-record 28 games and reaching the NCAA Championship game for the first time
* Captured the nation with team work, tenacious defense and unselfish play
* Defeated Duke for the first time since 1996, snapping the Blue Devils’ 41-game winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium; also ended Wake Forest’s 24-game home winning streak
* Began the season with a school-record 12-0 start
* Junior B.J. Elder was named to the all-ACC second team and Jarrett Jacket made the third team
* B.J. Elder also named honorable mention all-America (AP), All-District 4 by the USBWA, All-District 5 by the NABC and one of the final 20 candidates for the Wooden Award All-America team.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Record: 14-15 Overall, 5-11 ACC (8th)
* Began a new era under first-year head coach MaChelle Joseph
* Senior Fallon Stokes capped a standout career by earning second-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference for the second straight year; finished seventh on Tech’s career scoring list
* Senior Alex Stewart earned honorable mention all-ACC recognition
* Recruiting class, which includes four players, has been ranked as high as fifth in the nation
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
ACC: 6th * NCAA South Region: 7th
* Kyle Rabbitt finished fourth in the NCAA South Region Championships,earning all-region honors for the second time in his career. He advanced to the NCAA Championships, where he finished 125th overall as he became Tech’s first NCAA individual qualifier since 1994
* Kyle Rabbitt (4th) and Brendon Mahoney (25th) earned all-region honors at the NCAA South Region Championships
* Team posted five top-five finishes
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
ACC: 8th * NCAA South Region: 10th
* Senior Katie Griffin earned all-region honors for the second time in her career with a 22nd-place finish at the NCAA South Region Championships, where the team placed 10th
* Team posted four top-three finishes, including first place at the Clemson Invitational
* Eight different runners finished among the top 10 in races this season
MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING
ACC: 5th (392 points) * NCAA: 35th (2 points)
Record: 4-7 Overall, 2-3 ACC
* Finished among the Top 35 at the NCAA Championships for the fourth consecutive season, tallying a 35th-place finish with two points
* Sophomore Sam Morgan garnered All-America honors in the 1500-meter freestyle, becoming only the third all-America swimmer in school history
* Christened the new Georgia Tech Aquatic Center
All-America: Sam Morgan, 1500-meter free (15th)
All-ACC: Ryan Bishop, 400 IM (3rd)
WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING
ACC: 6th (282 points) * NCAA: 33rd (7 points)
Record: 4-7 Overall, 1-4 ACC
* Made great strides in the program’s third season, scoring points at the NCAA Championships for the first time
* Placed 33rd at the NCAA meet with seven points
* Freshman Vesna Stojanovska became the first women’s swimmer to earn All-America honors with a 10th-place finish in the 200-meter butterfly at the NCAA Championships
* Stojanovska set school records in the 200 free, 500 free and 1000 free
* Tech swimmers and divers broke 13 school records
All-America: Vesna Stojanovska (200-meter fly)
WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Indoor – ACC: 2nd (109 points) * NCAA: T-21 (10 points)
Outdoor – ACC: 2nd (146 points) * NCAA: T-15th (14 points)
* Enjoyed the best year in the program’s history with a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships
* Runner-up finishes at both the ACC Indoor and Outdoor Championships
* Runner-up finish in the team standings at the 2004 ACC Indoor Championships for the second straight year; the Jackets have finished first or second at the last three ACC indoor meets
* Sophomore Chaunte Howard won the National Championship in the indoor high jump, just the second NCAA title ever by a Tech female
* Chaunte Howard was named the ACC Most Valuable Performer for both indoor and outdoor track. At the ACC Indoor Championships, Howard won the high jump and earned all-ACC honors in the triple jump and long jump. She topped that performance at the ACC Outdoor Championships by again winning the high jump, then finishing second in the long jump and third in the triple jump and the 100-meter hurdles for a total of 30 points
* Freshman Ashlee Kidd was named ACC Rookie of the Year for both Indoor and Outdoor track. She won the indoor 400 meters, then swept the ACC titles in the 200 and 400 meters at the ACC Outdoor Championships
* The Jackets won two indoor conference titles and nine all-ACC citations for indoor track, then captured five outdoor titles and 13 all-ACC awards
* Three individuals competed in the NCAA Indoor Championships, including Howard, who won the long jump; Shanta Smith, who finished 14th in the triple jump; and Kidd, who placed 16th in the 400 meters
* Shanta Smith named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District III team
* Assistant coach Nat Page named the 2004 Mondo Women’s Jumps/Multi Events Coach of the Year by the United States Track Coaches Association
Indoor All-America: Chaunte Howard (high jump, 1st)
ACC Indoor Champions: Chaunte Howard (high jump), Ashlee Kidd (400)
Indoor All-ACC: Chaunte Howard (high jump, long jump, triple jump), Ashlee Kidd (400), Shanta Smith (triple jump), Dana Rogers (60mH), Lauren Reimer (pentathlon), Andriane Lapsley (60m), Amandi Rhett (60m)
Outdoor All-America: Chaunte Howard (high jump, 1st); Amandi Rhett (100, 200, 4×100) 4×100 relay (6th/Dana Rogers, Andriane Lapsley, Ashlee Kidd, Rhett)
ACC Outdoor Champions: Chaunte Howard (high jump), Ashlee Kidd (200 & 400), Amandi Rhett (100m), Lauren Reimer (heptathlon)
Outdoor All-ACC: Chaunte Howard (1st high jump, 2nd long jump, 3rd triple jump, 3rd 100H), Ashlee Kidd (1st 200 & 1st 400), Amandi Rhett (1st 100m, 2nd 200), Lauren Reimer (1st heptathlon), Alexandra Van Heuven (third heptathlon) Dana Rogers (2nd 100H), Shanta Smith (2nd 400), Simone Parker (3rd discus), Brandy Depland (2nd triple jump) 4×100 relay (3rd/Rogers, Lapsley, Williams, Rhett)
MEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Indoor- ACC: 5th Indoor (72 points)
Outdoor – ACC: 4th (103 points)
* Placed fifth at the ACC Indoor Championships, the program’s third straight top-five finish; then finished fourth at the ACC Outdoor Championships
* Claimed three individual ACC titles and seven all-ACC citations at the ACC Indoor Championships, and five titles and seven all-conference performances at the ACC Outdoor Championships
* Senior Brendon Mahoney, the ACC champion in the 800 meters and mile, was named ACC Indoor Track Most Valuable Performer for the second time in his career; he also won a pair of titles at the ACC Outdoor Championships in the 800 and 1500 meters and was named the ACC Most Valuable Performer for Outdoor Track
* Montrell Person won the ACC title and placed 12th at the Indoor NCAA Championships in the 60-meter hurdles; outdoors, he won the ACC title in the 110 meter hurdles
* Senior Brendon Mahoney named a second CoSIDA Academic All-America
* Sent Brendon Mahoney, Michael Massey and Montrell Person to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, with Mahoney and Person earning all-America honors
ACC Indoor Champions: Brendon Mahoney (800, mile), Montrell Person (60mH)
Indoor All-ACC: Brendon Mahoney (800, mile), Montrell Person (60mH), Michael Massey (high jump), Holt McPherson (long jump), Kyle Rabbitt (3000) and Zeb Sion (shot put)
ACC Outdoor Champions: Brendon Mahoney (800, 1500), Montrell Person (110H), Zeb Sion (shot put), Marcus Cantey (javelin)
Outdoor All-ACC: Brendon Mahoney (1st 800, 1st 1500), Montrell Person (1st 110H), Zeb Sion (1st shot put), Marcus Cantey (1st javelin), Michael Massey (2nd high jump)
Outdoor All-America: Brendon Mahoney (1500), Montrell Person (110H)
GOLF
ACC: 3rd * NCAA: 5th
* Placed fifth at the NCAA Championships, Tech’s fourth top-five finish in the last five years
* Nine Top Five team finishes in 13 events, including two tournament titles (Gary Koch/Cleveland Golf Invitational and Taylor Made/Waikoloa Intercollegiate)
* Earned their 18th NCAA bid in the last 20 years
* Five different individuals have been the team’s top finisher in this year’s 13 tournaments
* Junior Nick Thompson earned third-team all-America honors, while junior Chan Wongluekiet and freshman Roberto Castro were honorable mention all-America selections; Tech has had at least one all-America player (third-team or higher) in 13 of the last 14 years
* Nick Thompson was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District III team, while Thompson and Chan Wongluekiet were named All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America
* Placed three players on the all-Atlantic Coast Conference team in Nicholas Thompson, Chan Wongluekiet and Roberto Castro
* Freshman Roberto Castro named ACC Rookie of the Year
* Return their top six players for next season, with three freshmen coming in for next year
SOFTBALL
Record: 47-19, 5-5 ACC
Final National Ranking: No. 22/No. 23
* Earned their third consecutive NCAA berth, achieving a No. 3 seed for the first time in school history, and finished third in regional play
* Averaged nearly 46 wins over the last three seasons
* The Tech pitching staff set school records for earned run average (0.97), shutouts (29), strikeouts (536), strikeouts per 7 innings (8.65), lowest opponent batting average (.171), complete games (48), fewest hits allowed per game (4.2) and consecutive scoreless innings pitched (45.0)
* Senior All-American shortstop Tara Knudsen finished her career as the Tech and ACC career leader in home runs. She became the first Tech player to play softball professionally as she was the No. 1 pick in the supplemental draft of the National Pro Fastpitch League by the New England Riptide.
* Junior pitcher Jessica Sallinger earned third-team all-America honors, becoming the third all-America player in Tech history. She finished eighth in the nation in strikeouts per game (10.3), ninth in wins (31) and 16th in ERA (0.82).
* Recorded their first ever win over a Top-10 opponent, defeating then No. 9 Louisiana-Lafayette, 4-1, on Feb. 8, and then defeated No. 10 Georgia in the NCAA regional
* Advanced to the ACC Championship game for the second time in three years
* Placed three players on the all-ACC team in pitcher Jessica Sallinger, shortstop Tara Knudsen and designated hitter Liz Bartle
* Senior pitcher Erin Voeltz named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America third team
BASEBALL
Record: 44-21, 18-5 ACC * NCAA Atlanta Regional champions
* Earned their 19th NCAA Tournament bid in the last 20 years, earning the No. 4 national seed in the NCAA Field of 64
* Won an NCAA Regional for the third time in the last five years with three straight victories
* Won a school-record 20 straight games, including 17 in a row to close the regular season and capture the ACC regular season title for the fifth time
* Placed three players on the all-ACC first team (Eric Patterson, Micah Owings and Brandon Boggs) and three on the second team (Andrew Kown, Steven Blackwood, Clifton Remole)
* Steven Blackwood named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District III first team
* Eric Patterson named third-team all-America by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America
* Ten current players, a Georgia Tech and ACC record, selected in the Major League Baseball Draft
MEN’S TENNIS
Record: 15-8, 5-3 ACC (4th)
Final National Ranking: No. 32
* Earned their fourth straight NCAA berth and sixth in the last seven years
* Senior Scott Schnugg also earned selection to the NCAA Singles Championship and won his first-round match
* Final Individual Rankings: Scott Schnugg 47th in singles; Jose Luis Muguruza 128th in singles; Scott Schnugg and Marko Rajevac are 36th in doubles
* Four players had at least 10 singles wins in dual-match play
* All-ACC: Scott Schnugg
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Record: 12-11, 4-4 ACC (T-4th)
Final National Ranking: No. 40
* Earned their fifth straight bid to the NCAA team championships
* Defeated Alabama in the first round of the NCAA Championships, winning a first round NCAA match for the fourth time in five years
* Had nine wins over ranked teams
* Sophomore Kelly Anderson (final national rank, No. 83) had the team’s best individual record at 15-4
* Sophomore Lyndsay Shosho (final national rank, No. 68) became the second Tech female to earn a berth in the NCAA Singles Championship
* All-ACC: Kelly Anderson, Lyndsay Shosho
* Sophomore Kelly Anderson named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District III At-Large team
