Allegheny College Athletics

2010-15: The Tradition Continues

Paterson Ascends to All-American
Jensen Paterson began an incredible lacrosse career for the Gators in 2008, earning her first of four All-NCAC First Team honors after scoring 44 goals during her first season for the Blue and Gold.  Paterson earned her first All-Region honor with a second team notation her sophomore year, earning a spot on the All-Region First Team in 2010.  In 2011, Paterson became the first All-American in the history of the Allegheny program after earning a spot on the IWLCA All-American Third Team, concluding a season that saw Paterson additionally earn the NCAC Player of the Year award to go along with All-NCAC and All-Region First Team honors.  Paterson set a program record with 12 points on three goals and nine assists against Medaille on March 15, 2011, scoring a program-record 112 points and 74 goals during her senior season, ending her career with an NCAC record 300 points on 221 goals and 79 assists.

Dishong Named Pitcher of the Year
In 2010, Matt Dishong became the first Gator in 10 years to be earn NCAC Pitcher of the Year honors after going 5-3 on the year with a 2.65 ERA, four complete games, 72 strikeouts and a shutout.  Alongside Dishong was Matt Stahl, who batted .500 on the year, the second highest total in program history.  Stahl earned a spot on the NSCAA All-Region Second Team.

Gators Charge Back Under Luteran
The 2010-11 Allegheny women's tennis team posted the highest single-season winning percentage since the 2001-02 season with a 13-9 overall record, as the Blue and Gold finished third at the NCAC Tournament under the leadership of head coach Jared Luteran.  Luteran earned United States Tennis Association (USTA) Allegheny Mountain District College Coach of the Year Award to conclude the return to form for the Gator women’s tennis program.

Gators Chomp the NCAC
After placing first at six invitationals during the 2010-11 regular season, the Gator women’s golf team wins the inaugural North Coast Athletic Conference championship, topping second-place Wittenberg by a whopping 98 strokes over the four-round event.  The Gators produced each of the top four individual finishers at the conference championship, with Hannah Schonau-Taylor being named the NCAC Golfer of the Year after taking home medalist honors with a four-round total of 326, three shots ahead of teammate Lauren Hammell, while Liz Blyth (332) finished third and Sarah Vorder Bruegge (338) fourth.  The Gators then qualified for their sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III Championships, finishing sixth, led by Blyth, who turned in a three-round total of 242 to take sixth individually.

Liz Lights It Up
In 2010, freshman Liz Blyth became the first women’s golfer in Allegheny program history to earn Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-America honors, after she placed 10th individually at the NCAA Division III National Championships, while posting a season stroke average of 83.1 and turning in four top-10 finishes.  In 2011, she repeated the feat, and remains the lone player in program history to earn two WGCA All-America nods. During her sophomore campaign, Blyth had a stroke average of 82.60, finished sixth at the NCAA Division III championship, and turned in seven top-10 finishes.

A Mile Monster
2011 Allegheny grad Tony Dipre remains as one of the most heralded milers in the history of the North Coast Athletic Conference.  After finishing as runner-up at the NCAC Indoor Championships in the mile in both 2008 and ‘09, Dipre won the conference championship in the event in each of his final two years with the Gators, being named the NCAC Indoor Mid/Distance MVP as a junior in 2010, before setting a new conference mark in the 1,500 with a winning time of 4:11.42. A two-time All-American, Dipre finished seventh in the mile at the 2009 NCAA Division III Championships, before taking third a season later.  In 2011, he passed on an opportunity for his third indoor All-American honor in the mile to instead take part in the distance medley relay, where he ran the anchor leg to lead Allegheny to first place and the NCAA National Championship.

Butler the Bomber
The latest in a long string of dominant Allegheny throwers, 2012 graduate Lauren Butler stands as one of the most highly-decorated.  A shot put and javelin specialist, Butler earned a total of 14 All-NCAC honors, 10 NCAC titles, and four All-America accolades.  She won the NCAC indoor shot put title in all four of her seasons, being named the NCAC’s Indoor Field MVP in each of her final three years.  During the outdoor season, she captured conference championships in the shot put in both 2010 and 2012, while adding runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2011, but it was her javelin throwing that truly made her stand out.  Butler won the NCAC javelin championship in all four of her seasons, while earning three All-America honors in the event, finishing sixth at the 2009 NCAA Championships, eighth in 2010, and seventh in 2012.  During her senior season of 2012, Butler was named the NCAC Outdoor Field MVP after her clean sweep of shot put and javelin.
 
Fast Start Pays Dividends
The 2010 Gator women’s soccer squad opened up the season in impressive fashion under head coach Mike Webber, as they posted an 11-0-3 record heading into the final month of the season.  After suffering their first defeat, the Gators closed  out the regular season with a pair of wins, before advancing past the opening round of the NCAC playoffs via penalty kicks against Wooster.  Despite being edged 1-0 in the NCAC title game by Denison, the Gators earned their third at-large berth into the NCAA Division-III playoffs, where they dropped a tight 2-1 decision to Washington – St. Louis.  Following the season, the Gators were well-represented with postseason honors.  Freshman defender Alison Buzzard, junior keeper Emily Karr, and senior midfielder Abby Silvester were all First Team All-NCAC honorees, with Buzzard being named the conference's Newcomer of the Year.  Karr, who remains the program's record holder in career shutouts (43), posted an 0.48 goals-against average and posted 12 shutouts, while Silvester netted a team-best nine goals.

Voyer-Colbath Continues the Scoring Trend
Following the precedent set by 2011 graduate Jensen Paterson, Kiah Voyer-Colbath was another illustrious scorer for the Gator women's lacrosse team.  The 2009 NCAC Newcomer of the Year, Voyer-Colbath made a huge impact, earning a pair of IWLCA All-West Region accolades to compliment four All-NCAC selections, which included a pair of first team designations, in addition to the NCAC Player of the Year honor in 2012, the second consecutive year that an Allegheny student-athlete earned the honor.  Voyer-Colbath currently ranks third on the all-time scoring list with 196 career goals, and is fourth on the all-time points list with 232 career points.  Voyer-Colbath additionally produced two of the top six scoring seasons in program history, netting 68 goals in 2011 before scoring 75 the following season.

Cole Slams Into the Record Books
A Livonia, Michigan native, Patrick Cole entered Allegheny as a member of a six-member freshman class.  Four years later, he would leave Allegheny as the most decorated tennis player in men's program history.  The first four-time All-NCAC Singles designee in program history, Cole started his career by earning NCAC Newcomer of the Year accolades after racking up 18 wins during his first season in singles play.  Cole would leave the program as the record holder for most single season singles (26, 2013-14) and doubles (25, Tyler Triolo, 2013-14) victories, the most combined single season (51, 2013-14) and career (161) wins along with career records for most singles (83) and doubles (78) victories.  Cole was also lauded for his accomplishments off the court, earning CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District, NCAC Scholar Athlete of the Year and ITA Division III Central Region Arthur Ashe Jr. honors during his career.

Fantastic Four
Having established itself as a track and field powerhouse throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s, Allegheny added its third NCAA track and field championship on March 11, 2011, as the Gator foursome of Mike Vlah, Taylor Throckmorton, Andrew Mahone, and Tony Dipre teamed up to win gold in the distance medley relay at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships.  With the Gators in the middle of the pack following the first two relay legs, Mahone surged to fourth place over the final 75 meters of the 400-meter leg, before giving way to Dipre for the 1-mile leg.  In a back-and-forth final dash, Dipre took over first place with 500 meters remaining and didn’t relinquish the top spot for the remainder of the race.  The Allegheny quartet finished in a time of 10:00.12, exactly one second ahead of second-place Wisconsin-Whitewater.   

Sustained Success
Under head coach Jeff Groff, the Gator women’s golf team qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in each of its first seven seasons of existence, with six top-10 finishes.  Through the 20014-15 season, the Gators remain  one of just seven teams to appear in seven or more consecutive D-III women’s championships.

It's All Over
Between 2011 and 2014, Bobby Over put together the finest career by an Allegheny distance runner in Gator history.  In cross country, Over was a three-time All-American, three-time regional champion, and two-time NCAC individual champion.  At the 2011 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship, Over earned his first career All-American honor, placing 17th, and then came back with a vengeance a year later to finish second overall, mere seconds from winning the D-III title.  His cross country career closed with a ninth-place finish at the 2013 NCAA Championships.  In indoor track & field, Over was a two-time NCAC champion in the 5,000 (2012, 2013), earning NCAC Most Valuable Performer honors at the 2013 NCAC Indoor Championships, while he earned All-America honors that same season with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships in the 5,000.  His outdoor track career was equally impressive, culminating with a dominant 2014 senior campaign.  That season, he earned NCAC MVP honors after winning the conference championship in both the steeplechase and the 5,000, setting a new conference mark in the latter event.  He then went on to earn All-America at the 2014 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships by taking third in the steeplechase in a school-record time of 8:56.46.  

Costanzo's Millenium Generation
The tenure of current Allegheny head coach Kate Costanzo has been marked by several Gators hitting the 1,000-point plateau over the last five seasons. A total of four Gators have obtained the milestone over the last four seasons, started by Jill Gregory ’11 during her senior season, as Gregory, finished her career with 1,193 points. The following year, Heidi Goeller ’12 obtained the total during her final season at Allegheny, hitting the mark in her final contest to finish with 1,002 career points. Daryl Ford ‘13 closed out her career with 1,082 points as Emma Pellicano ’16 became the newest member of the exclusive club in the final game of the 2014-15 season, as the 2012-13 NCAC Newcomer of the Year closed out her junior season with 1,016 total points.

2012 Season One of Milestones for Gator Gridders
The 2012 season saw the Gator football team earn a pair of noteworthy victories.  On Sept. 22, the Gators made the long trek to Crawfordsville, Indiana to take on a powerful Wabash squad, which was ranked seventh nationally and hadn’t suffered a home loss since the 2009 campaign.  After jumping out to a 10-0 first quarter lead, the Gators saw the Little Giants storm back to take a 17-10 advantage midway through the third quarter.  The Gators’ Tyler Smith scored with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the Allegheny defense was up to the task, preserving the tie heading into overtime.  in the extra stanza, Smith ran four times for 21 yards to advance the ball inside the Wabash 10, where kicker Ryan Mong hit a 28-yard field goal to make the score 20-17.  On the subsequent drive, the Gators held Wabash to just seven yards, and their fourth-down, 28-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right to clinch the win for the Gators.
 
Six weeks later, Allegheny captured another historic victory with a 13-0 shutout at Hiram in the Nov. 15 season finale.  The win marked the 500th in the history of Allegheny football, which at the time made the Gators one of just 35 teams to achieve at least 500 wins.
 
Comeback Kids
After finishing 7-21 in 2011, the 2012 Gators went on to execute one of the biggest single-season turnarounds in NCAA history, finishing 27-11 overall and 12-4 in the NCAC to win the conference’s regular season title.  The Gators swept the NCAC major awards, as freshman Caitlin Nealer was named the NCAC Pitcher of the Year, shorstop Stephanie Fort the NCAC Player of the Year, and Sandra Sanford the NCAC Coach of the Year.  Nealer won 23 games in the circle with a 0.99 ERA and 192 strikeouts, while Fort batted .378 and led the NCAC with nine homers and 15 stolen bases.  The bulk of the team returned for the 2013 season, and the Gators went on to win the NCAC tournament championship and advance to the regional finals, falling one game away from a trip to the World Series

A Clean Sweep
Taking over as the head cross country and track and field coach in 2010, Brent Wilkerson has helped the Gators remain near the top of the standings throughout his five-year tenure.  In 2012, the Gator men's cross country team made it a clean sweep of the conference's awards.  Junior Bobby Over was named the NCAC Runner of the Year after taking first at the conference championship with a three-second victory.  Logan Steiner was the first freshman finisher at the NCAC race, taking third overall to earn NCAC Newcomer of the Year Awards.  Wilkerson completed the trifecta by being named the NCAC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.  Over went on to win his second of three Mideast region championships, before taking second at the National Championship to earn All-America honors, while Steiner picked up All-Region accolades after finishing 17th at the Mideast championship.  

Lichina Shuts the Door
John Linchina ended his four-year Gator soccer career (2010-13) with 21 shutouts, a program record, while earning four All-NCAC honors throughout his career.  In the 2012 season, Lichina rattled off four consecutive shutouts from September 2nd to 12th, the last of which came in a 1-0 blank sheet against Point Park, giving Lichina the program mark in career clean sheets.

A White Hot Career
Upon graduating in 2014, Oliver White established himself among the all-time greats in the rich history of Allegheny golf.  White is the owner of three of the 10 lowest single-season scoring averages in program history, highlighted by a 74.2 averaged during his junior campaign of 2012-13, while he graduated with an average of 75.36, also one of the top-10 marks in program history.  Shooting 72 or under in 21 different rounds for his career, White was the individual medalist at four different tournaments, highlighted by a two-day total of 140 (69-71) to capture the 2014 Edward Jones Shootout at Carnegie Mellon.  White earned four All-NCAC honors, and finished in the top-10 at the NCAC championship in each of his final three seasons, while he was named the NCAC Dick Gordin Men’s Golfer of the Year following his 2013-14 senior campaign.
 
In addition to his success at the conference level, White was a three-time All-Region and PING All-American, while additionally earning Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-American Scholar designation in both 2013 and 2014.  White was also twice selected to compete in the Patriot All-American Invitational, with a field comprised of golfers from all three NCAA classifications who had been named PING All-America.  

Softball Surges
A season after winning the NCAC regular season championship, the 2013 Allegheny softball team had its most successful season in over a decade.  Entering the NCAC tournament as the fourth and final seed, the Gators picked up an 8-0 victory over top-seeded DePauw on the opening day of the tourney, before topping #2 Wittenberg 8-1 in the second game of the day.  After falling to Wittenberg in their third game of the tournament, the Gators exacted revenge by winning the NCAC title with a 3-2 win over the Tigers in the championship game.  The Gators were then seeded sixth entering the Angola Regional, but rattled off three straight wins to open the tournament, highlighted by a 10-1 thrashing of Aurora that put Allegheny into the championship series against Anderson.  The Ravens, however, swept the Gators in two games to end the team's magical run.  Four Gators earned All-NCAC plaudits, led by second baseman Sadie Stuart, who set a program record with 11 home runs and a .682 slugging percentage, while classmate Caitlin Nealer set a conference record by striking out 276 batters.   
 
A Breath of Fresh Air
During the 2012-13 year, Allegheny’s long and storied athletic tradition was met with invigorating youth, as Allegheny saw three different student-athletes earn the distinction of being named the NCAC Newcomer of the Year.  In the fall, freshman Logan Steiner earned the honor in men’s cross country, as he finished third at the NCAC Championships with a time of 26:26.20 to help the Gators win the team title.  In the winter, Emma Pellicano earned the honor in women’s basketball, as she averaged 10.0 points and 5.1 rebounds in helping lead the Gators to the conference semifinals.  Baseball’s Joe Killian completed the trifecta in the spring, as he earned All-NCAC honors after batting .364 with two home runs, 11 doubles, and 29 RBIs.

Hughes Makes Immediate Impact
The current Allegheny women's lacrosse coach, Ashley Hughes ’08 led the squad to the most successful season in program history during her first season at the helm in 2014, making the statement that the Gators were one of the quickest rising programs in the region.  Closing out the year with a 15-2 overall record, Allegheny started the season with a program-record 10-game winning streak before rattling off a 7-1 record in conference play.  Then-sophomore McKenzie Bell, an All-NCAC and All-Region First Team selection during the season, set the program single season assist mark with 74 assists on the season, which helped the sophomore become the career assist leader by surpassing the previous record of 80, held by Paterson, and finish the year leading the nation with 4.63 assists per game. 

A Hex-centennial Celebration for Sheehan
The longest tenured head coach at Allegheny, Bridget Sheehan has led the Gator volleyball team since 1986, and ranks among the nation's winningest coaches.  Sheehan hit the 500-win plateau on September 16, 2005, as Allegheny upended Piedmont College in three sets, to kick off the 2005 campaign with a 9-3 mark.  Dropping Maryville (Tenn.) in a dramatic, five-set classic earlier in the day, the Gators used the momentum to help Coach Sheehan to the milestone, aided by a team-high 11 kills scored by Lindsey Tupman.  Traci Stoner, the 2004 American Volleyball Coaches’ Association (AVCA) All-Great Lakes Newcomer of the Year, recorded a squad-high 28 assists.  In 2014, the Gators kicked off the Allegheny Bicentennial celebration in historic fashion, as the Gators upended Waynesburg, 3-0 in their season-opener on August 30 at the Saint Vincent Challenge to award coach Sheehan her 600th career win.  Sheehan is one of 27 coaches that have surpassed the 600-win plateau, and is the only NCAC coach to ever surpass the total.

A Return to Championship Form
The 2013-14 seasons saw the Allegheny women’s soccer program return to NCAC prominence, as the squad followed a 2013 NCAC Tournament Championship with the 2014 NCAC regular season crown.  In 2013, freshman Jessie Thiessen emerged as one of the best players in the NCAC with a stellar debut, closing out the season with a 11-6-4 record to finish as the 2013 NCAC Newcomer of the Year and All-NCAC First Team selection, while head coach Michael Webber earned his first NCAC Coach of the Year accolade.  On November 9th, 2013, Allegheny upended Wittenberg, 2-0, to win its first ever NCAC Tournament championship in front of an inspired crowd at Robertson Complex, advancing to the NCAA playoffs for the fourth time in program history.  The following season, the Gators used a 15-7-0 record to win the regular season crown, ending the season with another major award as senior Jaymee Wallace was named the 2014 NCAC Defensive Player of the Year, while Thiessen finished second in the conference in points (27), goals (9), and assists (9) en-route to a second straight First Team All-NCAC accolade.  Despite falling in the NCAC championship match to Kenyon, the Gators received an at-large berth into the NCAA postseason, their third national appearance in five seasons.

Stunning Comback Nets Gators Historic Win
On April 12, 2015, the Gator women's tennis team defeated Kenyon, 5-4, upending the Ladies for the first time since the 1984-85 season.  Defeating Kenyon for the first time under the leadership of head coach Jared Luteran, Allegheny took an early, 2-1 advantage after doubles play before Kenyon swept the first three singles matches to take a 4-2 lead, on the doorstep of clinching the match against the Gators.  Junior Sloane Prince kicked off the comeback with a win at third-flight singles, as classmate Mikaela Pope followed suit with a second-flight win that tied the contest.  Junior Andrea Brush completed the historic comeback with a comeback, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory at fourth-flight to seal the win.