Fresno State Athletics
A Top 10 Bulldog Look Back at 2011
12/31/2011 12:00:00 AM | General
Dec. 31, 2011
FRESNO, Calif. - As Fresno State Athletics turns the page on a successful 2011 to what will be an exhilarating 2012 for Bulldog student-athletes, coaches and staff, here is a look back at ten of the most significant accomplishments by the 'Dogs over the past 365 days.
10. Ortiz & Saunders Named Newcomers of the Year - READ FULL FEATURE
Fresno State freshmen softball player Brooke Ortiz and football player Jalen Saunders were honored as the recipients of the George Ilg Memorial Award in April at the annual Night of Champions ceremony. The award recognizes their academic and athletic achievement and service to the community as newcomers to the Bulldogs' program in April. Ortiz hit a team-high .315 and helped lead Fresno State to its nation-leading 30th straight NCAA Tournament. Saunders caught 30 passes during his freshman campaign in 2010 and helped sparked the 'Dogs to a Humanitarian Bowl appearance.
9. Academic Progress Rates Continue to Rise - READ FULL FEATURE
Fresno State's most recent Academic Progress Rate multi-year score as a department jumped to an all-time high of 975 out of 1000 points, up 30 points from three years ago. For the second straight year since the NCAA adopted the APR program, all of Fresno State's sports programs met the NCAA APR standards and none of the sports programs received APR penalties. There was improvement nearly across the board in the multi-year year rates as 15 of 18 Fresno State sports either surpassed or maintained last year's scores.
8. Ceremonial Groundbreaking Held for Meyers Family Sports Medicine Center - READ FULL FEATURE
In early October, Fresno State Athletics held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Meyers Family Sports Medicine Center. The initiation of the $6 million capital project symbolizes the Bulldogs' strong commitment to create and continually enhance the best possible "student-athlete experience" at Fresno State. The ceremony featured a preview of the unique and essential facility developed for preventative medicine, nutritional counseling, physician examination, injury treatment, on-site x-ray and rehabilitation services. The center will serve as a cornerstone of Fresno State's "Student-Athlete Village," designed to centralize several student-athlete support functions, including sports medicine, academic counseling, strength and conditioning, nutrition education, and equipment services within a single secure location.
7. Boeh Introduces Three New Head Coaches
2011 marked the beginning of three new exciting chapters for the Bulldogs with the arrival of Tim DeRuyter (football), Jessica Pausewang (lacrosse) and Rodney Terry (men's basketball) as Fresno State head coaches. Here are links to their hiring announcements:
• DeRuyter: December
• Pausewang: August
• Terry: April
6. Aquatics Center Opens - READ FULL FEATURE
Fresno State made a big splash with the completion of the brand new Aquatics Center. The Bulldogs held a ceremonial dedication for the facility in October and hosted the center's first event the next day when Fresno State beat Fresno Pacific. The facility provides the swimming and diving team a permanent home for practice and competitions on campus. The complex also serves as an aquatics teaching venue for the Kinesiology department offering aquatics-related classes: swimming for beginners, water aerobics, lifeguarding and more.
5. Bulldogs Graduate at Record Rates - READ FULL FEATURE
At Fresno State, graduation is its top priority for all student-athletes and the 'Dogs earned degrees at a record 57 percent for those who joined the Bulldog family during the 2004-05 academic year - the latest available figure released by the NCAA in October. At 57 percent, the record-setting six-year federal graduation rate is six percentage points higher than the 51 percent by the general Fresno State student body for the same time period. It also far surpassed the previous four years by Bulldog student-athletes, improving from 50 percent for 2003-04, 45 percent for 2002-03, 49 percent for 2001-02 and 51 percent for 2000-01. The six-year federal graduation rate is the percentage of all student-athletes receiving athletics aid, who enter during an academic year and graduate within the six-year window.
4. Softball Remains National Standard, Reaches 30th NCAA Tournament - READ FULL FEATURE
The Fresno State softball team continued its run as the nation's only program to qualify for all 30 NCAA Tournaments. As one of the premier softball programs in the country, Fresno State has appeared in 12 of 30 NCAA Women's College World Series. The Bulldogs won the 1998 national championship, finished as the national runner-up four times (1990, '89, '88 and '82), third three times (1997, '92, and '91) and tied for fifth four times (1999, '94, '87 and '84).
3. Lee & Battles Named 'Dogs of the Year' - READ FULL FEATURE
Senior Katie Lee and junior Eric Battles were named the two "Bulldogs of the Year" during Fresno State Athletics' fourth annual "Night of Champions" Gala in April.
Katie Lee started all 23 games during her senior campaign and anchored the Bulldog defense that recorded nine shutouts. The defender recorded three assists and scored her first career goal against Utah State in the WAC Tournament, it was also the game-winning goal. She tallied a total of five points on the year. Lee also recorded a career-high six shots this season. For her performance at the 2010 Western Athletic Conference Tournament, Lee was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament as the Bulldogs collected their second title in three years. Off the field, Lee held a perfect 4.0 grade point average through the honors Civil Engineering program and twice was been named CoSIDA Academic All-District. She also made history by becoming the first women's soccer player to earn Academic All-American honors.
Eric Battles is a two-time member of the academic All-WAC team in 2009 and 2010. Battles, a native of Fresno, also earned second team All-WAC honors as a freshman in cross country. As a sophomore, Battles was named an Emerging Scholar by the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Eric competed in five of the six cross country races this past season with his best result of sixth place coming at the Nevada Twilight 6K, the top finisher for Fresno State. In track and field, Battles has the top time for the Dogs in the 1,500 meter this season with a time of 3:53.58. When he's not tearing up the track, Eric is active in the Big Heroes/Little Heroes program helping the youth of our community and a SAAC vice president. He's on track to graduate in three and a half years and has a 3.94 GPA.
2. 'Dogs Bring Home WAC Championships
Baseball (READ FULL FEATURE)
The winning legacy continued for Fresno State baseball in 2011. The Bulldogs won their fifth Western Athletic Conference Tournament Title and NCAA automatic berth in the past six years. The Dogs, who also won the regular season WAC title, defeated Hawai'i 15-4 in the championship game improving their tournament record to 22-3 since 2006.
Women's Basketball (READ FULL FEATURE)
The Bulldogs defeated rival Louisiana Tech 78-76 in the 2011 Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship game at Orleans Arena and earned his fourth straight trip to the Big Dance. Jaleesa Ross, who had passed Melvin Ely as the school's all-time leading scorer (male or female) earlier in the year, was named the WAC-Tournament MVP for the third time in her career and Bree Farley delive>red the game-winner in the final seconds to stun the Lady Techsters.
Men's Tennis (READ FULL FEATURE)
The then 42nd-ranked Fresno State men's tennis team won its first Western Athletic Conference title under head coach Jay Udwadia after the Bulldogs defeated then-No. 52 New Mexico State, 4-1. The Dogs responded from losing the doubles point with winning the first four single matches to finish. Fresno State later advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Women's Tennis (READ FULL FEATURE)
The then 72nd-ranked Fresno State women's tennis teams captured its ninth Western Athletic Conference Title in the past ten seasons with an exciting 4-3 thrilling win over tournament host Boise State. The Bulldogs started strong by winning the doubles point and Laura Pola won a nail-biting, three-set battle with Sonia Klamczynska, 7-5, 6-7 (8-10), 7-5, to give the Bulldogs their WAC Championship and automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament.
J'Quya Moncur-Blue (READ FULL FEATURE)
In the women's shot put, Fresno State sophomore J'Quyra Moncur-Blue earned the title with a heave of 14.73m (48-04.00) at the 2011 Western Athletic Conference Championships in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Moncur-Blue was also named the Outstanding Field Performer for the championships and advanced to the NCAA Championships.
1. Bulldogs Extend Nine-Year WAC Cup Dominance - READ FULL FEATURE
With its unwavering commitment to premier athletic competition and academic performance, Fresno State remained the top performing program throughout the nine years of the Western Athletic Conference Commissioner's Cup after a strong second-place finish (89.50 points) in the 2010-11 standings. This is the ninth year of the WAC Commissioner's Cup and the Bulldogs have finished in the top half of the standings in all nine seasons. Since the 2002-03 academic year when the Cup race started, Fresno State has scored a WAC-best 769.0 points for an average of 85.44 points per academic year. The Dogs rank first among the current WAC institutions with an average finish of 2.33 and are one of three schools to win the Cup twice.
We Are Your Team! -- The Bulldog Foundation supports student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition and in life "Beyond the Game." This mission is accomplished through the cultivation of individual and business relationships throughout the San Joaquin Valley and the Red Wave. Philanthropic donations can be made by calling 559-278-7160.
Players Mentioned
