Basketball Teams Sweep Annual Centennial Conference Sportsmanship Awards

LANCASTER, PA – The Washington College men’s and women’s basketball teams have swept the male and female Centennial Conference Sportsmanship Awards. The Shoremen and Shorewomen were chosen among student-athletes and teams across the conference’s 12 men’s and 12 women’s championship sports and will now be placed on the ballot for the NCAA National Sportsmanship Awards this summer.

The Shoremen were recognized for their role in the story of Gettysburg senior Cory Weissman, who scored one point in his only collegiate start three years after suffering a stroke, while the Shorewomen were lauded for their outstanding work with their “adopt a teammate” program.

On February 12th, the Shoremen were playing at Gettysburg College during the Bullets’ Senior Day. Weissman had suffered his stroke after his freshman season, during which he had played sparingly and had not scored a point. While Weissman worked hard to return to the court and remained a part of the team in the ensuing seasons, he had not been cleared for full contact. The Shoremen’s head coach, Rob Nugent, and Gettysburg head coach George Petrie devised a plan to start Weissman on senior day. He was announced as a starter before the game, to loud applause from all fans and from both team benches.  Immediately after Washington won the opening tip, Washington senior Kevin Breslin (Hagerstown, MD/St. Maria Goretti) handed Weissman the ball. Weissman promptly rolled the ball out of bounds and was subbed out of the game to another round of applause.

If the story ended there, it would have been inspirational enough. However, the Bullets built a large lead late in the game and Petrie made the decision to reinsert Weissman into the contest with less than a minute to play. In the final seconds of the game, Nugent called a timeout to instruct his players to foul Weissman on Gettysburg’s ensuing inbounds play. Washington assistant coach Robert Hughes quickly alerted Petrie of what the Shoremen intended to do so that Weissman would receive the inbounds pass.

After alerting the officials, Washington freshman Sean Flanigan (Wilmington, DE/St. Mark’s) lightly fouled Weissman on the ensuing inbounds as planned. Weissman went to the line and the entire gym held its collective breath in support. The first shot missed badly. Weissman took the second shot and – swish – nothing but net. The entire gym, both benches, and the players from both teams already in the game erupted in applause and tears. Weisman had scored his first – and only – collegiate point and the Washington College men’s basketball team reminded everyone that sportsmanship is alive and well. The story garnered international attention, including features on ESPN and National Public Radio.

The story behind the Shorewomen’s award, while not as headline-grabbing, is equally inspirational.  Cindy Felton is a local Chestertown woman with special needs. Since joining the women’s basketball team on one of its team-bonding events at a local horse farm, she has practically become a member of the team. The Shorewomen’s head coach Megan Duran and assistant coach Mercedes Van Wagner pick Cindy up from her home and bring her to the team’s home games. During games, Cindy is as much a part of the team as any player or coach.

“Cindy is one of our biggest fans and we love having her in the locker room and on the bench at our games,” says sophomore Kelly Mitchell (Laurel, MD/Academy of the Holy Cross).

The team also includes Cindy in other team functions and sometimes brings her with them when they attend other Washington College athletic events.  “You would think Cindy was a Washington College student the way she cheers the other teams on,” adds sophomore Michaila Hatty (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti).

The Shorewomen have spent some time teaching Felton some basic basketball drills, which she has taken back to the Kent Center recreation basketball league she participates in.

Sophomore Liz Warkala (New York, NY/Marymount School of New York) notes that Cindy “benefits from being with our team and interacting with all of us because she is a part of the family,” but Cindy has no doubt had her own impact on the Shorewomen.

“Cindy is not the only person who benefits from her being a part of our family, notes Hatty. She has such a love for life that I think anyone can benefit from.”

The success of the Shorewomen’s work with Felton has prompted Duran to encourage other teams at the College to explore the possibility of starting their own “adopt a teammate” partnerships.

Tait Honored with Maryland Top 100 Women Scholarship

BALTIMORE, MD — Washington College senior women’s basketball and tennis player Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) was announced as the 2012 winner of The Daily Record’s Maryland’s Top 100 Women scholarship during an event at Baltimore’s Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on Monday, May 7th.

The Daily Record’s annual list of Maryland’s Top 100 Women was created to recognize outstanding achievement by women as demonstrated through professional accomplishments,community leadership and mentoring. The scholarship winner is chosen from students nominated by Maryland colleges and selected by “The Circle of Excellence” – women who have been among Maryland’s Top 100 Women three or more times.

Tait was honored for her all-around achievement in the classroom, on the court, and in the community.  In basketball, she was named to the 2012 All-Centennial Conference first team (after being named honorable mention in 2010) and to the 2012 D3Hoops.com All-Region third team. A point guard and team captain, she was a three-time All-Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll qualifier for basketball and holds the school records for career assists, career free throws made, and free throws made in a single season, and shares the school record for assists in a single game. This spring, she also joined the women’s tennis team, playing the sport competitively for the first time. She was recently named the female winner of the College’s Eldridge Eliason Award, which honors outstanding student-athletes.

A Business Management major and Deans List student, Tait is the president of Washington College’s chapter of the Sigma Beta Delta business honor society and was named a Middendorf Scholar. Middendorf Scholarships are awarded each year to just three to five students based on overall academic standing and outstanding leadership skills.

Tait has also shown leadership in the community. During her sophomore year, she helped initiate an effort to bring a special needs member of the Chestertown community to the campus for various athletic events and create relationships between this person and members of Washington College community. Shared Opportunity Service (SOS), located two short blocks from campus, is a non-profit organization that provides food, clothing, school supplies, child care, and parent mentoring for families in Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties that could otherwise not afford it. As a junior, Meghan adopted SOS as a charity for her entrepreneurship class. With the help of the Student Events Board, she organized a corn-hole tournament with all proceeds going directly to SOS.

Washington College Presents Annual Athletic Awards

The Washington College Athletics Department held its annual athletic awards ceremony last week, honoring the top student-athletes for the 2011-12 academic year.  This year our team’s Most Valuable Player went to senior guard Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) and Most Improved Player went to sophomore forward/center Latisha Pledger (Chesapeake, VA/Indian River). Tait also received The Eldridge Eliason Award which is a departmental award that goes to  The senior male student and female student who, with scholastic standing in the upper half of the class, has accomplished the most in the field of athletics.

Tait Named Third-Team All-Region by D3Hoops.com

BLOOMINGTON, MN — Washington College senior guard Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) has been named to the All Mid-Atlantic Region third team by D3Hoops.com. Tait is the first player in Washington College women’s basketball history to earn All-Region honors.

Tait, a 2012 All-Centennial Conference first-team selection, had an outstanding overall senior season at point guard for the Shorewomen, averaging 10.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. She led the conference in assists per game for the third straight season, finished ninth in the conference in rebounding, finished 11th in the conference in steals per game, and finished 16th in the conference in scoring.  She also finished second in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.70. Her eight double-doubles this season were the most of any guard in the conference and she recorded the season’s only triple-double by a Centennial Conference player.

The Shorewomen won their final five games this season to finish 16-9, tying their program record for wins in a season.

Three Shorewomen Hoopsters Land on Centennial’s Academic Honor Roll

LANCASTER, PA — Senior co-captains Sally O’Donnell (Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) and Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) and sophomore forward Erin Fitzgerald (Greensboro, NC/Bishop McGuiness)represent the Washington College women’s basketball team on the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll for winter sports. To be named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must be a sophomore, junior or senior; a starter or key reserve on his or her team; and carry at least a 3.40 cumulative grade-point average. A key reserve is defined as a reserve who appeared in at least 50% of his or her team’s contests.

O’Donnell and Tait, both Business Management majors, each earned the distinction for the third year in a row, while Fitzgerald, a Biology major, makes the list in her first year of eligibility.

Tait Named to All-Centennial Conference First Team

Washington College senior guard Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) has been named to the All-Centennial Conference first team for women’s basketball in a vote conducted by the conference’s head coaches. Tait is the second Shorewoman to ever be named first-team all-conference, joining Elise Conway in 2008.

Tait, who was an All-Centennial honorable mention a year ago, had an outstanding overall senior season at point guard for the Shorewomen, averaging 10.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. She led the conference in assists per game for the third straight season, finished the season ninth in the conference in rebounding, finished the season tied for 10th in the conference in steals per game, and finished the season 16th in the conference in scoring.  She also finished the season third in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.70. Her eight double-doubles this season were the most of any guard in the conference and she recorded the season’s only triple-double by a Centennial Conference player.

The Shorewomen won their final five games this season to finish 16-9, tying their program record for wins in a season.

Warkala Named to All-Sportsmanship Team

Sophomore forward Liz Warkala (New York, NY/Marymount School of New York) has been named to the Centennial Conference All-Sportsmanship Team for winter sports as the representative from the Washington College women’s basketball team.

Each Centennial Conference member institution was permitted to nominate one student from each winter program who exemplifies the best in sportsmanship. Nominations were submitted by the athletic departments or head coaches.