Sports Scene

2021 TIFFIN UNIVERSITY HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS

On October 1, 2021, Tiffin University enjoyed its 26th Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in the Heminger Center in conjunction with homecoming weekend. Seven deserving athletes and administrators were honored during the ceremony.

Dr. Phyllis Watts served as a faculty member for Tiffin University for 27 years, serving as Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Department. Dr. Watts worked tirelessly instructing numerous student-athletes while also serving as a Faculty Sport Sponsor. Her specific contributions assisted many students in achieving their degrees while also successfully competing in their respective sports. She also served as Faculty Athletic Representative for the University, handling administrative duties at both the institutional and conference levels.

Kelly (Rethman) Cline (2002-06) is one of the most accomplished women’s golfers in Tiffin University history. She is a three-time All American Mideast Conference selection who helped lead her team to two National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship appearances in 2003 and 2006. The Dragons won Region Championships in both of those seasons and were ranked as high as 18th in the NAIA in 2006. She is a nine-time medalist who still holds the school records for most wins (nine) and best finish percentage (83.9).

Tracy (Lehman) Greene (2005-07) is one of the most successful softball players in Tiffin University history. She is a NAIA All American who helped lead the team to the NAIA National Tournament in 2006 and 2007 in addition to winning the Region IX Championship both years. She is a two-time All National Independent, Region and Conference honoree. While leading the team to a ranking of 13th in the nation, she set season records for triples, RBIs and total bases while also posting a career record in slugging percentage. She finished with a career average of .404.

Chad Roberts (2004-08) is another standout for the cross country and track and field programs. He is a two-time All American, earning the honor in both the NAIA and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He finished sixth in the outdoor 5000 meters at the 2007 NAIA Championships, while also finishing 28th at the 2007 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. Chad is a three-time national qualifier (twice in the 5000 meters, once in cross country) who also won the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Championship in the 10,000 meters in 2007.

Kylene (Spiegel) Biggs (2005-09) is one of the top guards in Tiffin University women’s basketball history. She is a three-time All National Independent and two-time All Conference honoree. She also holds Tiffin University’s career assists record with 468 assists. She established season records for assists and assists per game while finishing fourth in career three pointers. She completed her career with 1105 career points.

Ty Blake (2007-10) is one of the most accomplished baseball players in Tiffin University history. He is an All Region standout who also earned three All Conference citations over his career. His offensive skill produced numerous career and season records. He set new career marks in runs, doubles, and hit by pitches, while also producing season records in runs, hits, and doubles. He finished second in career hits and total bases. Overall he ranks in the Top five in seven offensive categories.

Rhys Cannella (2007-10) is one of the top men’s soccer players in Tiffin University history. He is a First Team Daktronics NCAA All American who also earned 2009 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Offensive Player of the Year honors. He also landed two All Region and three All Conference honors during his career along with All Ohio distinction. He helped lead the team to the 2008 and 2009 GLIAC Tournament Championships.

MCMENEMY, CRACAS JOIN HEAD COACHING RANKS

Paige McMenemy has been named Head Softball Coach, while Michael Cracas takes over the reins of the women’s soccer program.

Prior to coming to Tiffin, McMenemy served as Assistant Coach at the University of Toledo since 2019, primarily working with the pitchers. While with the Rockets, McMenemy helped the team win its first Mid-American Conference Tournament title in program history. McMenemy is a 2018 graduate of Ashland University and split her collegiate playing career between Mid-American Conference member Akron and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference member Ashland. McMenemy's coaching history includes a combined six years of private pitching and hitting instruction, along with five years as a head travel softball

coach. Most recently (May 2018), McMenemy worked on the softball staff at Bo Jackson's Elite Sports in Hilliard, Ohio, where she was a camp instructor.

Cracas previously served as Head Coach for Hiram College, serving in that position for the last six seasons. Over Cracas's six years with the women's soccer program, the Terriers earned eight All-Ohio selections and 11 All-NCAC (North Coast Athletic Conference) selections, including the first two First-Team All-NCAC selections in program history. Cracas also coached the only two back-to-back All-Ohio selections in program history. Cracas's teams have also earned the United Soccer Coaches (USC) Team Academic award each year under his tenure, as well as five USC Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Awards dating back to 2015.

JACOB MILLER COMPETES AT US AMATEUR TOURNEY

Tiffin University Head Men’s Golf Coach Jacob Miller competed at the US Amateur Championships, the largest amateur golf event in the world.

On Monday, July 12 at TPC River's Bend in Maineville, Ohio, 84 players teed it up for a chance to qualify for the largest amateur golf event in the world, the United States Amateur Championships (US Am). With only two players getting through the qualifier, Miller punched his ticket. Miller posted a 36 hole total of +1,145 to finish solo in second place and secure his spot in the US Am.

The United States Amateur run by the United States Golf Association is arguably the largest, most prestigious amateur event in golf. There are roughly 10,000 players who try to qualify all around the world every year. The final field is made up of the top 312 amateurs who qualified for the event.

TU MAKE MARK IN D2, GMAC ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT HONORS

Tiffin University totaled 164 honorees in the Division 2 (D2) Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement awards. Tiffin University led the GMAC in honorees, outpacing Findlay's 142. Tiffin's 164 honorees ranked them 13th amongst all D2 institutions.

The Great Midwest Athletic Conference announced the 2020-21 Academic All-Conference Team as well, with a total school-record of 315 student-athletes from Tiffin receiving the honor.

Tiffin's 315 honors registered as the second-most among conference schools, trailing only Walsh's 346. A total of 2227 student-athletes earned recognition across the conference. In addition, 132 GMAC academic honorees boasted a 4.0 GPA, with Tiffin accounting for 45 of those (34 percent).

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM RANKS SIXTH IN NATION IN GPA

released the 2020-21 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls on Tuesday afternoon, and Tiffin women's basketball comes in tied for sixth in team GPA across all of NCAA Division II.

The Dragons posted a team GPA of 3.721 during the 202021 year, equalling Mercyhurst and Southwest Minnesota State for sixth on the DII list.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS SQUADS REACH LOFTY ACADEMIC HONORS

Tiffin University's men's tennis team led Division II with 15 ITA Scholar Athletes, as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced its annual All Academic Teams.

Earning Scholar Athlete status for 2020-21 were Nair Adi, Gabriel de Oliveira, Tom Blaquiere, Cyrille Colomb, Joe Gilman, Michael Gurtner, Austin Mohamedali, Matt Saunders, Ben Szarek, Matt Telford, Ryan Gase, Alex Thatcher, Hayden Parisien, Devon Paige and Hugo Chatras.

Tiffin University's women's tennis team was named an ITA All Academic Team, tying for the fifth-highest number of total honorees in Division II.

Overall the Dragons posted a 3.93 team GPA, landing 10 members to the Scholar Athlete squad. Garnering notice were Shea Foster, Anais Geslin, Jacqueline Kamps, Alessandra Maganuco, Anna Makhneva, Dominique Matich-Reynolds, Abbie-Jade Riley, Emily Sim, Juliette Sirgant and Bailey Young.

This marks the sixth consecutive year both teams have been honored by the ITA.

DRAGONS SEND THREE THROWERS TO US OLYMPIC TRIALS

The Tiffin University Men's Track and Field team had three athletes competing in the United States Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Juniors Nik Curtiss, Ralph Casper and alumni Coy Blair competed in the Shot Put at the Olympic Trials. The trio made up 1/8th of the total US team at the Trials. The top 24 throwers in the nation competed at the trials, with the top three landing spots on the US Olympic team.

Curtiss was the top finisher for TU, taking 17th place with a put of 18.92 meters. He was followed in succession by Casper in 18th place (18.59 meters) and Blair in 19th place (18.56).

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