NSU Horizons Spring/Summer 2009

scoreboard 2008–2009: A Banner Year By Jeff Kelley and Colleen O’Connell W omen’s soccer player Hayley Oligane was named the 2009 James Farquhar Award winner. Recipients of this award exemplify excellence in scholarship, service, and leader- ship. NSU’s staff and faculty members select a graduating senior to receive this honor. “Hayley is the epitome of a student-athlete and the kind of person we covet at NSU,” said Mike Goodrich, head coach of women’s soccer. “I will always cherish the contributions Hayley made, not just on the soccer team, but on the NSU campus as a whole.” Oligane has been successful on the soccer field and in the classroom during her four years at NSU. As a junior, she was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Region First-Team. Additionally, she was named to the ESPN the Magazine /CoSIDA Academic All-District First-Team that same year. Oligane had a breakout season as a sophomore, scoring seven goals and notching three assists while gaining an All-Sunshine State Conference Honorable Mention. She is currently one of only four players in NSU women’s soccer history to record at least three goals in a single game. In the classroom, Oligane has also had much success. Entering the winter 2009 semester, she carried a 3.96 grade point average and was named to the Dean’s List seven times. In April 2008, Oligane took first place in the Undergraduate Student Symposium sponsored by NSU’s Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. Her studies involved genetic research on aquatic animals, specifically the development of testing to identify the endangered Small- tooth Sawfish. Oligane is a biology major in the Dual Admission program with the College of Osteopathic Medicine. SPRING SPORTS OFF TO A FANTASTIC START n Baseball NSU’s baseball team was number 10 nationally in the Collegiate Baseball Division II rankings released on March 23, with a record of 25 wins and 6 losses. Highlighting the Sharks’s season was a 21-2 start, which included a school record 13-game winning streak. During that streak, NSU posted wins over then-nationally ranked Valdosta State and West Chester. Three players have been recognized among the Sunshine State Conference’s weekly honors. Senior Michael Fiers was selected as the Pitcher of the Week on February 9. Junior outfielder J.D. Martinez was named Player of the Week on both February 16 and March 2. Junior Miles Mikolas received the team’s latest honor on March 23 as the SSC’s Pitcher of the Week. Martinez and Fiers are also among the nation’s leaders in sev- eral categories according to the NCAA statistics of games played through March 22. Martinez leads the nation in total bases (105) and is one of two people with a nation-leading 47 runs scored. Fiers is one of seven pitchers to have a nation-leading seven wins on the season. He is also the top pitcher in strikeouts (86) and strikeouts per nine innings (13.65). n Softball NSU’s softball team has made a splash on the national scene in the first half of its 2009 season. The Sharks have been ranked as high as number two in the Division II Top 25 Poll. Meanwhile, junior Dani Caron was selected as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II National Pitcher of the Week on February 25, marking her as the first player under Lesa Boneé, head coach, to receive national weekly honors. Junior Lauren Lopez has been honored twice by the Sunshine State Conference as Player of the Week. Lopez, who has been stellar in her debut season with the Sharks, was the SSC’s Player 34 horizons Hayley Oligane, James Farquhar Award winner