Seahawk Sports: What You Missed
August 25, 2014
While many students are set free to enjoy a carefree summer break in early May, the same cannot be said for student-athletes.
The sports world at UNCW does not have a summer break. With that, here are some highlights from the Seahawks’ summer that you may have missed.
Baseball
Although the Diamond Hawks saw their hopes of a third-straight NCAA tournament appearance come to an end in the form of a 12-6 loss to William & Mary in the conference tournament, the team still finished with a record of 30-27.
Additionally, the Seahawks saw four of their own become selections in the 2014 MLB draft as Kelly Secrest (New York Mets, 10th round), Mat Batts (Minnesota Twins, 17th round), Christian MacDonald (Miami Marlins, 25th round), and Jordan Ramsey (New York Yankees, 32nd round) were all picked from UNCW.
Ramsey was the only non-senior of the group, and chose to return to the team for his senior year.
Swimming & Diving
After directing the Aqua Hawks to an unprecedented 13th straight CAA title, the only head coach the program has ever known, Dave Allen, announced his retirement after 37 years at the helm.
Allen founded the program in 1977-78 and led the team to 16 conference titles, 13 on the men’s side and three on the women’s, leading to him being named CAA Coach of the Year 15 times.
Under Allen’s leadership, UNCW produced 15 All-Americans, 155 conference champions, and 19 Eastern champions.
Replacing Allen at the helm of the program is Jason Memont.
Memont swam collegiately at the Rochester Institute of Technology before coaching at William & Mary and South Carolina, where he was the previous seven years before taking the position at UNCW.
Track & Field
The UNCW men’s outdoor track & field team captured their first CAA title since 2009, and 11th overall, winning eight events at the conference championship.
This was followed by the Seahawks sending Cody Love, Cam Walton, and Dylan Skinner to the NCAA Preliminary Regional in Jacksonville, Fla., where Skinner finished fourth overall in the 800 meters with a school record time of 1:48.27.
Men’s Tennis
Before finalizing the No. 23-ranked recruiting class for the upcoming year, the UNCW men’s tennis team capped their 2013 season by claiming their fourth CAA title.
The championship was the team’s second in a row and fourth in six years.
This propelled the No. 50 Seahawks into a first-round NCAA tournament match with No. 23 Penn State, where they fell 4-2.
Decorated player Rafael Aita also closed out his successful career, falling in the first round of the Men’s Tennis Singles Championship. Aita was a two-time CAA Player-of-the-Year for UNCW, becoming the team’s best player early in his career.
Women’s Tennis
The women’s tennis team was not to be outdone by the men’s team, as they captured their own CAA title as well- the program’s first.
The No. 1 seeded Seahawks’ 4-3 victory over No. 2 seed College of Charleston was won when CAA Player-of-the-Year Angie Sekely won her match 7-6, 6-3.
With the conference title in hand, UNCW also advanced to their first-ever NCAA tournament, but unfortunately were swept by No. 14 Clemson 4-0.