As one looks back at 2007 . From a first national championship to first regional championship, there were plenty of highlights from the past year as we venture into 2008.
So, what were biggest memories at the college in the past year? Well, here are the top 10 events that stood out this past year.
10) The WNCC men’s soccer team also had a nice season earning the most wins, eight, in school history since the programs first year in 2003. The team had some fantastic finishes at the end of the season, defeating Garden City in double overtime 3-1 before defeating Western Wyoming 1-0 in the last minute of the regional playoffs.
9) This is a fitting place to put the Cougar volleyball team’s ninth Region IX title in nine years just because of all the nines. Plus, there will be even bigger events to come on the list for the volleyball team later on. But if one looks at it this way, if the Cougars would not have won their ninth straight regional title, they wouldn’t be national champions. Anyway, was there any doubt that they wouldn’t win. This team went through regionals winning all three matches, defeating Lamar and then Northeastern Junior College twice without dropping one game. And they did it without Region IX Libero of the Year Nayka Benitez, who was hospitalized with a kidney infection.
8) When WNCC hired men’s basketball coach Brian Joyce in May, they were looking for someone to bring back that winning tradition that WNCC once had. Joyce had plenty of success at Northeastern Junior College before coming to WNCC and brings plenty of excitement. So far this year, though, the team is just 9-7, but look for good things in 2008 and many years to come.
7) The WNCC women’s basketball team put together another top season finishing the season at 27-2. The team went through the regular season with just one loss, falling to Casper on the road. They then lost out on a chance to host regionals by beating Casper at Cougar Palace by four points, which pushed the regional tourney to Casper. WNCC then lost to Casper title game which ended its four-year hold on the championship.
6) The WNCC women’s soccer team is back after being suspended in 2005. Yes, this fall, the women’s team finished with double-figure wins, claiming 10 victories on the season (10-7-2) before falling to nationally-ranked LCCC in the regional title game. It was only the second time in school history that the team earned double-digit wins – the first year was 2003 when they went 19-1. The Cougar women outscored their opponents 58-48, while playing much of the season with a team that resembled a MASH unit. These girls hung tough and put together a nice season, including winning three in a row twice.
5) Soriana Pacheco became only the second player in school history to be a national player of the year after leading the Cougar volleyball team to the national championship. Pacheco, a sophomore who is headed to Kansas State University, was tabbed the AVCA junior college player of the year. She also earned NJCAA first team all-American honors for a second straight year, made the NJCAA all-tournament team for a second straight year, was a Region IX all-region and all-tournament selection, and set a couple of school records in the process. The last time a Cougar athlete was player of they year was in 1995 when Bernard Garner was NJCAA men’s basketball player of the year after helping the team to a third place finish at nationals. Pacheco was also tabbed the Omaha World Herald Nebraska Junior College captain of the all-Nebraska JUCO team that was announced last week.
4) WNCC sophomore Phillips Orta signs with the New York Mets. Yes, Orta signed a six-figure contract with Major League Baseball’s Mets. He reported to the minor leagues shortly after signing and is in process of moving up the farm-system ranks. Orta spent two seasons at WNCC after being drafted by the Mets after his freshman year.
3) The WNCC softball team has been taking steps to getting that first regional title. Last May, this freshman-dominated team almost achieved that goal before falling to Otero Junior College in the if-necessary game of the Region IX tournament. Yes, the if-necessary game, as WNCC fought back through the loser’s bracket and defeated Otero, which was the first time they have defeated the Rattlers at regionals, to force the extra game. The team finished with a school record 36-21 and had several all-region players. Jessica Ventoza also signed with Division 1 Washington over the summer.
2) WNCC baseball coach Mike Jones came to WNCC in 2001 to start up a baseball program. It took just six seasons before the Cougars brought home a Region IX title in May as they beat Trinidad State Junior College in two championship games. The team then hosted the district tournament, in which they fell to Central Arizona College and Western Nevada Community College (the other WNCC) to finish the season at 30-29. It was a banner year for Cougar baseball with a regional title and a player that signed a major league contract.
1) National Championship. Of course this has to be No. 1 because the Cougars are now No. 1 in the country. The Cougar volleyball team, behind ninth-year head coach Chris Green, brought home the schools first national title in November with a four-game win over Miami Dade College. Many of the players said that one of the reasons they won the title was because they did not have one easy match at nationals and knew what it took to win. Take the semi-final match against Salt Lake Community College. The Cougar fans thought the team was beat. Even some of the Cougar players thought so. But, this band of champions came back. Down by a score of 18-10 in the second game, they fought back to win that game 31-29. They then won games four and five 30-24 and 15-12 to earn their second trip into the national championship game. The team then went on to take down national power Miami Dade College, a team that has won nine national titles, by the scores of 30-27, 30-24, 21-30, 30-22. The team placed three players on the all-tournament team in Aida Bauza, Soriana Pacheco and Fatima Balza. Bauza was also tabbed the tournament’s MVP, while coach Chris Green was the coach of the tournament.
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