2002-03 HIGHLIGHTS
- NCCU snapped a 12-game losing skid to rival North Carolina A&T State University with a dramatic come-from-behind 33-30 overtime victory in the ninth annual Aggie-Eagle Classic at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, NC. Donnie Pippen's 2-yard dive into the end zone in the extra session sent the Eagle fans into a frenzy and provided NCCU with its first win over the NCAA Division I-AA Aggies since Sept. 3, 1988.
- NCCU senior Katerina Glosova capped an incredible collegiate running career by winning her fourth consecutive CIAA Women's Cross Country Championship on Oct. 24 at Hagan-Stone Park in Greensboro, NC.
- NCCU freshman outside hitter Porche' Williams was voted as the 2002 CIAA Women's Volleyball Rookie of the Year, topping a group of six Lady Eagles to receive conference recognition, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association announced Nov. 11. A native of Long Beach, CA, Williams ended the regular season with a team-high 491 kills and 99 service aces, and was second on the Lady Eagles with 265 digs. Williams was named CIAA Rookie of the Week six times during the 2002 campaign, and once received CIAA Player of the Week honors.
- NCCU head coach Ingrid Wicker was selected as the 2002 CIAA Women's Volleyball Coach of the Year, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association announced Nov. 12. Wicker, now in here ninth season as head coach, guided the Lady Eagles to 30 victories, the most in Lady Eagle volleyball history. NCCU also advanced to the CIAA Championship Match after placing fifth in the division a year ago.
- NCCU sophomore Chanda Powell gained her first indoor conference championship title by winning the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.77. Powell also placed third in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 2.75 inches to receive all-CIAA recognition.
- NCCU junior guard Tiona Beatty scored a career-best 33 points to lead the Lady Eagles to a 70-64 come-from-behind victory over heavily-favored Virginia Union University at McLendon-McDougald Gym in Durham, NC. The NCCU upset snapped a five-game losing skid and provided seven-year Lady Eagle head coach Joli Robinson with her 100th career victory.
- NCCU head coach Phil Spence was named the 2003 CIAA Men's Basketball Coach of the Year during the conference's awards banquet on Feb. 25. After winning nine games a year ago, Spence guided the Eagles to 16 victories and the CIAA Western Division Championship.
- NCCU senior guard Shawn Ray has been voted to the 2002-03 Daktronics, Inc./CoSIDA NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Atlantic All-Region Second Team. A First Team All-CIAA selection and member of the 2003 CIAA All-Tournament Team, Ray finished the regular season as the only player in the conference to be ranked in each of the major statistical categories (eighth in scoring, 16th in rebounding, seventh in assists, fourth in steals, and 12th in blocked shots). He also placed third in free throw percentage, fifth in assist/turnover ratio, 11th in 3-point field goal percentage, 14th in 3-point field goals made, and 13th in offensive rebounds. During his senior campaign, Ray amassed 530 points (18.9 ppg), 165 rebounds (5.9 rpg), 104 assists (3.7 apg), 65 steals (2.3 spg) and 22 blocked shots (0.8 bpg), leading the Eagles to the CIAA Western Division title.
- NCCU sophomore Chanda Powell earned her second All-America honor of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the third of her young career by placing third in the women's 60m hurdles with a season-best time of 8.70. On Friday, the Durham, NC native finished sixth in the women's long jump.
- For the second consecutive year NCCU senior sprinter Jason Smoots has been named the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, while NCCU head coach Michael Lawson also repeated as the Southeast Regional Men's Indoor Track Coach of the Year, as selected by the U.S. Track Coaches Association (USTCA). On Saturday, Smoots won a national title in the men's 60-meter dash at the 2003 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, becoming the first three-time winner of the indoor sprint in Division II history (dating back to 1985). Earlier this season, Smoots placed fourth at the USA Indoor Track Championships as the only collegiate athlete to advance into the 60m finals (March 1), set a new meet record en route to a 60-meter dash victory at the Armory Invitational in New York, NY (Feb. 15), captured his third-consecutive individual title at the CIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Newport News, VA (Feb. 9), and defeated Allen Johnson, a gold medalist at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, en route to a first place finish in the 60-meter dash during the Tar Heel Classic in Chapel Hill (Jan. 25). A native of Gadsden, Alabama, Smoots now has six national championships to his credit, including three indoor (2001 55m, 2002 60m, 2003 60m) and three outdoor (2001 100m, 2002 100m, 2002 4x100m relay). Lawson, in his 14th season as head coach at NCCU, has now received four USTCA coach of the year awards since 2001.
- NCCU senior pitcher Jennifer Jones threw a perfect game en route to a 9-0 victory in the first contest of a CIAA doubleheader versus Livingstone College at Kelsey-Scott Park in Salisbury, NC on Friday (March 28). Jones, a transfer from North Carolina A&T out of Louisburg, NC, struck out 12 of the 15 batters she faced for her second no-hit effort of the season.
- NCCU's 4x400-meter relay squad edged rival Saint Augustine's College to captured NCCU's lone conference title at the 2003 CIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Irwin Belk Complex in Charlotte, NC. NCCU's foursome of Austin Hogan, Detric Branch, Ryan Rutherford and Brian Hope posted a winning time of 3:14.50, holding off the Falcons at the finish line by three one-hundredths of a second.
- NCCU took advantage of three errors in the second inning to plate the decisive runs in a 4-2 upset victory over No. 1 seed Shaw University in the opening round of the 2003 CIAA Softball Championship at Hornets Nest Park in Charlotte, NC.
- NCCU women's tennis rookie Crystal Thomas rallied from one set down to claim the CIAA Championship at No 2. singles. Thomas lost the first set 6-2, but captured the next two sets 6-1, 6-3 for the upset victory. doubles upset JCSU.
- NCCU senior sprinter Jason Smoots became the first Eagle to win the college men's 100-meter dash at the prestigious Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, PA, when he edged Dabryan Blanton of Oklahoma.
- NCCU's women's basketball and men's golf programs earned the CIAA Team Academic Award in their respective sport, presented to the team with the highest grade point average in the conference.
2002-03 CONFERENCE / REGIONAL / NATIONAL HONORS
Football
Scheldon Connor - Second Team All-CIAA
Brian Burke - Second Team All-CIAA, CIAA All-Rookie Team
Jeff Jeffries - CIAA All-Rookie Team
Andre Cannon - CIAA All-Rookie Team
Women's Volleyball (Team placed second at CIAA Championship)
Ayana Wright - First Team All-CIAA
Mandie Blackburn - First Team All-CIAA
Cherie Wilson - First Team All-CIAA
Porche' Williams - CIAA Rookie of the Year, CIAA All-Tournament Team
Brenda Brown - CIAA All-Rookie Team
Ariel Germain - CIAA All-Rookie Team
Women's Cross Country (Team placed third at CIAA Championship)
Katerina Glosova - CIAA Champion, NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association Women's South Atlantic Region Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Kennisha Moten - All-CIAA
Men's Cross Country (Team placed third at CIAA Championship)
Andre Atchison - All-CIAA
Women's Bowling (Team placed second at CIAA Championship)
NeClea Coleman - All-CIAA
LaKrystal Horne - All-CIAA
Men's Basketball (CIAA Western Division Champions)
Shawn Ray - First Team All-CIAA, CIAA All-Tournament Team, Second Team All-South Atlantic Region
Charles Nickens - CIAA All-Rookie Team
Men's Indoor Track & Field
Jason Smoots - 60m CIAA Champion, 60m NCAA Division II Champion, Southeast Region Male Athlete of the Year
Andre Atchison - All-CIAA 5000m
Women's Indoor Track & Field
Chanda Powell - 60m hurdles CIAA Champion, All-CIAA long jump, NCAA All-American 60m hurdles and long jump
Softball
Jennifer Jones - First Team All-CIAA, CIAA All-Tournament Team
Taheisha Wilder - Second Team All-CIAA, CIAA All-Rookie Team
Candace Spruill - CIAA All-Rookie Team
Odessa Perry - CIAA All-Rookie Team
Jameka Little - CIAA All-Rookie Team
Women's Tennis (Team Placed Third at CIAA Championship)
Crystal Thomas - CIAA Champion No. 2 singles
Men's Golf
Steve Wright - CIAA Rookie of the Year
Women's Outdoor Track & Field
Chanda Powell - All-CIAA 100m hurdles
Carmen Williams - All-CIAA javelin throw and high jump
Men's Outdoor Track & Field
Austin Hogan - CIAA Champion 4x400m relay
Detric Branch - CIAA Champion 4x400m relay
Ryan Rutherford - CIAA Champion 4x400m relay
Brian Hope - CIAA Champion 4x400m relay
Steven Enoch - All-CIAA long jump
Cheerleading
Aja Mills - All-CIAA (Football)
Nikki Rucker - All-CIAA (Football)
Krystle Coles - All-CIAA
2002-03 TEAM RECORDS
SPORT CIAA Won-Lost Pct. | Overall Won-Lost Pct.
Women's Volleyball 14-2 .875 | 30-18 .625
Football 2-5 .286 | 4-6 .400
Women's Basketball 6-10 .375 | 8-19 .296
Men's Basketball 10-6 .625 | 16-13 .552
Softball 12-8 .600 | 13-12 .520
Men's Tennis 7-5 .583 | 8-8 .500
Women's Tennis 10-4 .714 | 11-6 .647
2002-03 NCCU ATHLETICS AWARD RECIPIENTS
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
ANDRE ATCHISON, Men's Cross Country
KATERINA GLOSOVA, Women's Cross Country
PORCHE' WILLIAMS, Women's Volleyball
LAKRYSTAL HORNE, Women's Bowling
LUIS GEORGE, Football (Defense)
LAWRENCE FULLER, Football (Offense)
JASON SMOOTS, Men's Indoor Track & Field
CHANDA POWELL, Women's Indoor Track & Field
SHAWN RAY, Men's Basketball
TIONA BEATTY, Women's Basketball
JENNIFER JONES, Softball
KRYSTLE COLES, Cheerleading
JASON SMOOTS, Men's Outdoor Track & Field
CHANDA POWELL, Women's Outdoor Track & Field
STEVE WRIGHT, Men's Golf
DENNIS WILSON, Men's Tennis
CRYSTAL THOMAS, Women's Tennis
TEAM'S HIGHEST G.P.A.
????, Men's Track & Field/Cross Country
KATERINA GLOSOVA, Women's Cross Country
CHRISTINA HARRIS, Women's Track & Field
CHERIE WILSON/TERRI KILTS, Women's Volleyball
RHONDA LEE, Women's Bowling
LAWRENCE FULLER, Football
CURTIS KNIGHT, Men's Basketball
ADIJA BEATY, Women's Basketball
????, Softball
????, Men's Tennis
????, Women's Tennis
????, Men's Golf
????, Cheerleading
OTHER AWARDS
TAMMY HASKILL, Student Athletic Trainer of the Year
JASON SMOOTS, Training Room Junkie Award
Faculty Athletic Council Award
- Presented to the team with the highest grade point average
Men's Golf
Dr. LeRoy T. Walker Medallion of Honor
- Presented to the Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year
JASON SMOOTS, Men's Track
JENNIFER JONES, Softball
