Horizons Fall 2015

42 NSU HORIZONS T he cheering never seems to stop at NSU, where the Sharks’ athletic program has won an astonishing seven national titles—all during the past seven years. It’s an unprec- edented run for NSU, which became an NCAA Division II school in June of 2002. All of the national championships—four in women’s golf, two in men’s golf, and one in women’s rowing—have come under the leadership of Michael Mominey, M.S., director of Athletics. But despite all that winning, Mominey does not lose sight of the athlet- ics department’s top priority. “I want to win more than anybody,” said Mominey, who was hired in January 2002. “But we are, first and foremost, edu- cators, building leaders for tomorrow.” Athletics leaders are abundant on the NSU campus, many of them hired by Mominey to coach Sharks sports teams. That includes Ryan Jamison, M.B.A., who was recently named the Division II Men’s Golf Coach of the Year after leading NSU to the 2015 national championship. Other top NSU coaches include LeAnn Freeland, M.S., who has led the women’s basketball team to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament three years in a row; Amanda Brown, B.S., 2005, M.A., 2010, who led the women’s golf team to a fifth-place showing at the national tournament; Hollie Bonewit-Cron, M.S., who coached her swimmers to six individual national titles; and Greg Brown, M.B.A., who led the baseball team to a school-record 39 wins and a berth in the NCAA South Region playoffs. In addition, three NSU athletes were selected in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft. Ryan Jamison received the most votes in a Miami Herald online poll ranking South Florida’s best coaches. LeAnn Freeland ranked fourth and Amanda Brown also placed in the poll “There’s a great energy in our athletics office,” said Greg Brown, the 2015 Sunshine State Coach of the Year. “All our coaches know the amount of blood and sweat it takes to develop a program,” he said. “I’ve been here five years, and I’ve seen the ‘Shark Com- munity’ grow. …We are all learning together. We are supporting each other and taking great pride in wearing a Sharks uniform.” n BY WALTER VILLA Seven Is the Magic Number for NSU Sharks NSU champions include, from top, baseball, women’s basketball, men’s golf, and swimming teams.