SEPTEMBER 26 UPDATE
Who’s The Smartest Team?
Columbia, Mo. -- The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announces the
winners of the academic Top 10 Awards, based on cumulative team grade-point
averages submitted by NFCA member head coaches for the 2001-2002 academic
year. (Press release September 26)
Top 10 winners are recognized in five college categories (NCAA Divisions I,
II and III; NAIA and junior college) and two high school divisions (weighted
scale and non-weighted scale). Below are lists of the Top 10 winners from
each division.
NCAA Division I
SCHOOL TEAM GPA HEAD COACH
1. Detroit Mercy 3.539 Bob Wilkerson
2. Southeast Missouri State 3.468 Lana Richmond
3. St. John's 3.424 Melody Cope
4. Southern Illinois 3.390 Kerri Blaylock
5. Coastal Carolina 3.377 Jess Dannelly
6. Saint Louis 3.354 James Molloy
7. Northwestern 3.319 Kate Drohan
8. Cleveland State 3.317 Julie Jones
9. Kent State 3.306 Karen Linder
10. Canisius 3.300 Michael Rappl
NCAA Division II
SCHOOL TEAM GPA HEAD COACH
1. Findlay 3.691 Ron Ammons
2. Mississippi Univ. for Women 3.590 Rita Higginbotham
3. Central Missouri State 3.516 Rhesa Sumrell
4. Ferris State 3.474 Keri Becker
5. Newberry 3.460 Erica Graham
6. Adelphi 3.444 Kate Whalen
7. Pace 3.430 Claudia Stabile
8. Southern Arkansas 3.398 Kevin Blaskowski
9. Missouri-Rolla 3.381 Dave Burwell
10. South Dakota 3.365 Kim Zarling
NCAA Division III
SCHOOL TEAM GPA HEAD COACH
1. Maryville (Mo.) 3.495 Charlie Kennedy
2. Elmhurst 3.469 Lori Brown
3. Messiah 3.460 Amy Weaver
4. Saint Mary of the Woods 3.450 Mandy Neal
5. Baldwin-Wallace 3.444 Thomas Spencer
6. Martin Luther 3.433 Barbara Leopold
7. Russell Sage 3.379 Timothy Jeavons
8. Hope 3.374 Karla Wolters
9. Buena Vista 3.372 Marge Willadsen
10. Salisbury 3.366 Margie Knight
NAIA
SCHOOL TEAM GPA HEAD COACH
1. Indiana Tech 3.630 Brenda James
2. Evangel 3.520 Jerry Breaux
3. Thomas 3.490 Thomas Macera
4. Oklahoma Baptist 3.424 Pam Fink
5. Goldey-Beacom 3.415 Jerry Grasso
6. Cumberland (Tenn.) 3.347 Junior Hawkins
7. William Woods 3.330 Tracy Gastineau
8. Oklahoma City 3.315 Phil McSpadden
9. Tiffin 3.310 Brian Campbell
10. Bethel (Ind.) 3.304 Adam Roorbach
Junior College
SCHOOL TEAM GPA HEAD COACH
1. Neosho County CC (Kan.) 3.660 Jeff Dabney
2. Briarcliffe College (N.Y.) 3.650 Ken Passante
3. Parkland College (Ill.) 3.392 Chuck Clutts
4. Vernon College (Texas) 3.350 John Blair
5. Utah Valley State College 3.347 Todd Fairbourne
6. Johnson County CC (Kan.) 3.292 Frank Barnes
7. Daytona Beach CC (Fla.) 3.290 Chuck Baylor
8. Waldorf College (Iowa) 3.266 Denny Gilbertson
9. Pensacola JC (Fla.) 3.202 Brenda Pena
10. Blinn College (Texas) 3.200 Rick Church
High School (Weighted Scale)
SCHOOL TEAM GPA HEAD COACH
1. Morton HS (Ill.) 4.108 Stacey Whitcomb
2. Metro Christian Academy (S.C.) 4.059 Tanya Cerar
3. Belleville West HS (Ill.) 3.904 Robert Yagge
4. Shawnee Mission South HS (Kan.) 3.848 Shaun Henry
5. Mount Zion HS (Ill.) 3.846 Greg Blakey
6. Cape Fear HS (N.C.) 3.844 Lin Wheeler
7. Adlai E. Stevenson HS (Ill.) 3.821 Larry Friedrichs
8. H.B. Plant HS (Fla.) 3.807 Sallie Scudder
9. St. Francis De Sales HS (Ohio) 3.799 Leah Fickell
10. Bell HS (Fla.) 3.775 David Halter
High School (Non-Weighted Scale)
SCHOOL TEAM GPA HEAD COACH
1. Hopkins HS (Minn.) 3.843 Anne Campbell
2. Louisville Mercy Academy (Ky.) 3.810 Tony Needy
3. Allen Cnty-Scottsville HS (Ky.) 3.749 Rick Roberts
4. West Monroe HS (La.) 3.740 Amy Daigle
5. Harborfields HS (N.Y.) 3.724 Ginny Nixon
6. Union HS (Utah) 3.714 LoaKay Bowthorpe
7. Spring Valley HS (Wis.) 3.698 Earl Gunderson
8. Westview HS (Ariz.) 3.681 Damon Watson
9. Sycamore HS (Ohio) 3.679 Debbie Klemt
10. Bucyrus HS (Ohio) 3.651 Terry Warner
Commitments
Baugh, Sami. C, Phoenix Storm, to Univ of Iowa
Hughes, Lauren. PA Blazing Angels, to St. Joseph’s
Planck, Kassy. P, So Cal Vipers Gold, to LaVerne Univ
Barber. Megan. P, So Cal Vipers Gold, to Texas El Paso
Lara, Annette. UT, So Cal Vipers Gold, to Menlo College
DiPietro, Beth. P,3rd, Tampa Mustangs, to Auburn\
Hollister, Darlene. SS, Tampa Mustangs, to Iowa Univ
Zick, Missy. OF,IF, Tampa Mustangs, to Univ of Florida
How High?
Lara Rodriguez, a VA Redbirds player, just raised her SAT to 1420 and will take it again to try for an even higher score.
On This Day in History
Actually, quite momentous. George Gershwin would be 104; Rhapsody in Blue lives on. Roger Maris hit his 60th on this day in 1961. The Beatles released "Abbey Road." Marty Robbins birthday; his rendition of "El Paso" is a country/western classic. This day in 1960 marked the first Kennedy-Nixon debate, the starting point of the downhill slope for RMN. In 1957, West Side Story opened on Broadway and it portrayed an aspect of NYC most of us new arrivals had not seen. In 1820, Daniel Boone died. Soul singer Bessie Smith died in 1937. This will age you: Olivia Newton John is 54 today; don’t think of how old you were when you first saw Grease. Even worse, Beverly Hillbilly Donna Douglas is 69. If Murder Inc’s Albert Anastasia could have gotten out of that barber’s chair, he would be 100 today. For the intellectuals among you, celebrate today by reading one chapter each of birthday boys Moses Mendelssohn and Martin Heidegger.
Off with Steve Case’s Head
Until 3pm today, SPY had two AOL accounts, with 4 screen names: one receiving, one used mainly for sending SPY material, and two mostly for storage. I made a simple inquiry about a double-charge on one account, secured a rebate and hung up. Then, I discovered that this woman had, in AOL terminology, put "reverse spin" on all but my main account: rfxjhesse. All material on the other accounts was in the ether because AOL software does not allow retrieval of email addresses once "spun" but those addresses can never be used again. I had backed up a good deal of material but I have lost an unknown quantity of email which I had shifted to other accounts. If I’ve missed you, just send it again. After 4 hours on the telephone, and simultaneously on line with their billing department, I got a new, once-again separate account for publishing SPY. If I am ever made lord of the universe, Steve Case will be a weevil on the Trans-Alaska pipeline. If you ever worked the oil patch, you know that’s hard labor. I did it.
End