TIGER SPORTS
VOLLEYBALL
The Doane volleyball team earned a spot in the NAIA National Tournament - their first bid since 2005. The team ended the season with a 28-10 record and fourth in the GPAC. Doane went 2-2 at the national tournament, winning the Opening Round game at home over Bethel College before going 1-2 in pool play at Sioux City, Iowa.
The Tigers were very competitive in the matches they layed this year, falling in five of their matches in the fifth game. The win that marked the season a success and vaulted the Tigers into the national tournament was a five-game, come-from-behind victory over Hastings College in the Quarterfinal Round of the GPAC Tournament. Doane trailed 2-0 in the match but stormed back to win the game on an ace serve by NAIA All-American Chelsee Marvin.
Marvin was one of three senior leaders for the Tigers. Ashley Sluka earned All-GPAC honors while Amy Janky was named an NAIA Champions of Character recipient. The junior class also featured leaders in All-GPAC selections Jessy Livers and Emily Schwisow along with starter Ivie Speer. In total, five players earned All-GPAC honors as first-year Terra Andreasen received honorable mention. Academics were also a strong point for the Tigers as Marvin, Sluka, Livers and Schwisow were all named NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
FOOTBALL
A youthful tiger team continued to make big strides, finishing with a 4-7 record overall. Although the win total was the same as last year, Doane was a more competitive team in more games. The season was highlighted by a last-second field goal victory over William Jewell College in the Victory Sports Network (VSN) First Down Classic.
An individual highlight to the season was the play of All-GPAC performer Seth Styskal. Styskal finished the season with 1.5 sacks - a school record. He collected 3.5 sacks on senior day in the final game of the year.
Joining Styskal on the First Team All-GPAC list was Jake Ryba. Josh Warren was named to the Second Team list while eight players were named honorable mention. They were Selau Sunia, Pat Spangler, Ben Kosse, Hondo Fanning, Ryan Gruntorad, Dustin Groteluschen, Jamaal Chinn and Jake Wit. Antony Ritton was named an NAIA Scholar-Athlete for the Tigers.
MEN'S SOCCER
The men's team qualified for the GPAC post-season tournament for the first time since 2005 and posted a winning record for the first time since 2004. The Tigers, under second-year Head Coach Greg Jarosik, went 10-9 overall and 7-5 in the GPAC.
An eight-game win streak-a school record-propelled the Tigers early on. A rough final stretch saw the Tigers get shutout in the last three games of the year, including a 1-0 loss on a penalty kick in double overtime of the GPAC tournament.
Five players earned All-GPAC honors for Doane. Devon Strecker and Monday Akogwu received Second Team honors while Jace Peters, Sean Dougherty and Kyle Smith picked up honorable mention honors.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Women's soccer improved for the second straight year, finishing with an 11-7-1 record overall and 7-4-1 mark in the GPAC. Doane qualified for conference post-season play for the first time in five years.
Five players earned all-conference honors. Samantha Exstrom led the GPAC with 22 goals and was named First Team All-GPAC. Kelsey Bryant, Kayleen Stanek, Jordan Hedgecock and Sara Medina each collected honorable mention honors. Four players also excelled in the classroom. Senior Kelly Spencer earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors for the second time while Jaime Duggan, Bridget Koehler and Kelsey Kovar were named for the first time to the list.
MEAGAN BAUER NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
2008 graduate Meagan Bauer was named to the 2007-08 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American Team for track and field/cross country in the college division. More on Meagan's story.
CROSS COUNTRY
THE WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAM placed 20th in the 2008 NAIA National Championship Meet held in Kenosha, Wis. The women qualified for the national meet for the second time in three years.
Doane was balanced throughout the year as several runners led the way. The Top Seven was fairly consistent, led by seniors Clare Hoarty and Tiffany Bence. Fellow senior Kym Bennett, a 2007 All-American, missed most of the season due to an injury but came back late in the year to be a key contributor at the national meet. Juniors Viviana Arreola, Alex Conrin and Yadira Salazar were solid contributors as was sophomore Marysol Cazares.
Conrin was named an NAIA Scholar-Athlete for the Tigers while Arreola and Hoarty earned All-GPAC honors after placing in the Top 15 of the conference championship meet.
THE MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAM placed 25th in the 2008 NAIA National Championship meet after qualifying for the second time in three years. Three Tigers earned all-conference honors by placing in the Top 15 of the championship meet. Sufian Kimo, Paul Garcia and Edwin Ronoh were consistently the Top Three runners on the year. In addition to all-conference honors, Kimo earned All-American honors by placing in the Top 30 of the national meet.
Philip Rohde earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors as he boasts a minimum grade point average of 3.50 to earn the award. Other Tigers who were consistently in the Top Seven during the past year were Scott Ohlson, Holden Kaliff and Steve Jerina.