Women lead the way for Phoenix Athletics
One minute, one basket, one defensive stop – that’s how close the Phoenix women’s team came to pulling an upset at Iowa State and advancing to the Sweet 16. For a group that didn’t expect an NCAA Tournament bid, they left no doubt they belonged in the field and defeated a strong ACC team, Virginia, in the opening round. The team finished 28-5, rose as high as No. 14 in the coaches’ poll — the program’s highest ranking ever — and placed two players on the national Division I scholar-athlete academic team.
Other news from 2009-10
- Athletics Director Ken Bothof concluded a national search for our new men’s basketball coach in April and hired assistant Brian Wardle. Last year’s team finished 22-12, reached the second round of the College Basketball Invitational post-season tournament, and surprised many with their December victory over 20th-ranked Wisconsin, the first Green Bay victory in that series;
- The UW-Green Bay men’s soccer team went 14-3-3 and received the program’s first NCAA berth since 1983. They lost a close one, 2-1 at Notre Dame, in the opening round;
- Senior student-athlete Santiago Ocariz was named Male Athlete of the Year for the Central Collegiate Ski Association and finished in 10th place in the NCAA National Skiing Championship, the best-ever showing by a Phoenix skier;
- The Phoenix women’s swimming and diving team won its sixth consecutive Horizon League championship this spring;
- The Athletics Department continued to explore new revenue streams, transitioning to pay-per-view for most nonconference home games. Regular Horizon League games in both men’s and women’s basketball games remained free-access.
