1. Women’s soccer captures second title

NCAA Division II women’s soccer has a two-time national champion for the first time since 2001, and the honor belongs to Grand Valley State University.

The Lakers cruised to a 4-0 win against the University of California-San Diego in the National Championship game to wrap up the team’s domination of the NCAA tournament. GVSU outscored opponents 17-0 in its five playoff games.

“We sure were playing well,” said Head Coach Dave DiIanni. “At the end of the year, you want to peak. You want to play as best as you can as you go on. Soccer is a game about momentum, and when you get on a run, you get that momentum and you’re feeling good about it, it’s difficult to stop that.”

Junior midfielder Erin Mruz, junior defender Megan Brown, senior forward Jaleen Dingledine and sophomore forward Kayla Addison all notched goals for the Lakers as they became the university’s first repeat champions since football captured titles in 2005 and 2006.

“We’ve had high expectations from last year to this year, and it’s nice to see that we can exceed those expectations and standards,” sophomore goalkeeper Chelsea Parise said. “It’s hard to do back-to-back. It was a harder struggle this season. It feels great to be able to get it done.”

2. Women’s cross country wins first National Championship

With a heart-wrenchingly close second-place finish at last year’s nationals on their minds, the Grand Valley State University women’s cross country dominated the field at the 2010 National Championships in Louisville, Ky.

GVSU scored 66 points at the meeting, topping second place Western State Colorado for the program’s first national title in its 12 years of existence.

“Twelve years seems like a long time,” said Baltes. “We’ve had a lot of great student athletes come through to lay the groundwork- the foundation- a lot of great assistant coaches and great administration. It’s not a one-person, one-team entity, it’s a total commitment from everyone involved … I’m thankful that we got this one today.”

Senior Katherine McCarthy led the Lakers across the line with a time of 21:10.6 for fourth place overall in the field of 187 runners. Senior Megan Maceratini (21:34.3) was next in for GVSU followed by junior Rebecca Winchester (21:50.9), senior Kylen Cieslak (21:56.9), junior Julia Nowak (22:01.0), sophomore Monica Kinney (22:03.6) and junior Jessie Vickers (22:09.0).

3. Four teams represent GV at championship festival

No school was better represented at the NCAA Division II National Championships Festival than Grand Valley State University.

The Lakers sent four teams – women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, women’s cross country and men’s cross country – to the event, which was held the first week of December in Louisville, Ky.

Women’s soccer and women’s cross country both took home National Championships, while the men’s cross country emerged with a third-place finish. Women’s volleyball fell in the opening round of the championship tournament.

With four teams in Louisville, the athletes became each other’s fans. The stands at the volleyball match were filled with GVSU fans.

“It was cool that all the fall sports are down here,” said senior volleyball player Krysta Kornack. “We had a huge crowd and that pumped us up. We had about half the bleachers.”

Division II is the only one of the three NCAA divisions to host a multiple championship festival. Bellarmine University hosted the 2010 version of the celebration.

4. Football captures 6th-straight GLIAC title, 10th-straight playoff appearance

Grand Valley State University’s football team remained a NCAA Division II powerhouse in head coach Matt Mitchell’s first season.

Mitchell set a school record with 11 wins in his first campaign, and the Lakers captured a record sixth-straight GLIAC Championship. GVSU also became the only team in the country to qualify for the playoffs in each of the last 10 seasons.

With the outright conference title and a guaranteed playoff spot on the line, the Lakers toppled Saginaw Valley State University 28-7 in the annual Battle of the Valleys matchup.

“That’s why you come to Grand Valley – to win,” said senior running back Justin Sherrod.

The team remained successful despite a new head coach and a multitude of new players at key positions.

“It was important in kind of a little bit of a transitional year that we keep up the reputation this program has,” said Mitchell. “The bottom line is that we’re used to making the playoffs, this is 10 years in a row that we’ve made it, and keeping the conference championship here – the outright conference championship here – that was important in this first year.”

5. Women’s soccer goes undefeated at home with no goals allowed

Trying to score on Grand Valley State University’s women’s soccer team at home was as futile as running into a brick wall.

In 15 total home games, the Lakers did not allow opponents a single goal. As a result, GVSU posted a perfect 15-0 home record, using the dimensions of Laker Field to its advantage.

“Our field is the best field in the conference in our opinion,” said sophomore forward Ashley Botts. “It’s nice and big where we can let our game play the same way we practice.”

Through 15 games, home and away, the Lakers allowed just three goals. GVSU allowed only five goals all season, and set an NCAA Division II record for shutouts in a season with 21.

“To other teams, it can be kind of intimidating,” said sophomore goalkeeper Chelsea Parise. “They ask, ‘Oh, they’ve only let three goals in, how are we going to beat this defense? How are we going to score?’ It’s a statement that we want to put out to other teams that we’ve only let in three, and we’ll play tough.”

6. Women’s tennis grabs GLIAC title and GLIAC tournament

For the first time since 1980, the Grand Valley State University women’s tennis team claimed top honors in the GLIAC.

The Lakers knocked off Saginaw Valley State University Oct. 19 to finish the year with a perfect 12-0 record. GVSU had finished second in the conference in 2009, behind 2010 runner-up Northwood University.

GVSU received a balanced attack throughout the season en route to the conference title.

“We beat a pretty good team (in Saginaw Valley), and it feels good to finally win the GLIAC Championship,” said senior Darylann Trout. “We have always come so close (to the title), so as a senior it’s exciting to finally win.”

Less than a week later, GVSU wrapped up the GLIAC tournament by downing Northwood 5-1 in the final round. It the team’s first GLIAC tournament victory in three decades.

“Getting to this point has been a gradual process,” said head coach John Black. “Northwood won a lot of titles, but we have just gotten better as a team every year to get here.”

7. Football drilled by Augustana College in playoffs

After easily disposing of the Colorado School of Mines in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs, the Grand Valley State University football team ran into a formidable opponent in Augustana College.

On the road in Sioux Falls, S.D., the Lakers turned the ball over six times and committed nine penalties in a 38-6 loss at the hands of the Vikings.

GVSU’s lone touchdown came on an 87-yard kickoff return by sophomore Chris Crawford in the third quarter. The Lakers drove deep into Augustana territory multiple times but turnovers stalled the offense.

“Lot of credit goes to Augustana,” said head coach Matt Mitchell. “Their defense was as advertised, and we struggled with our offense versus their defense. We had too many miscues. Too many penalties; too many turnovers. Too many things that will cost you games, and when it’s this type of playoffs, that stuff happens.”

Augustana went on to lose to the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the third round of the playoffs.

8. Volleyball posts 17-match win streak

Grand Valley State University’s women’s volleyball team picked a great time to peak during the heart of the 2010 season.

The Lakers did not drop a match from Sept. 26 to Nov. 13, a span of 17-straight victories. During the team’s run, GVSU rose from being unranked to being the No. 13 team in the country.

“We’ve been going on a streak, and we’re starting to peak,” said senior middle blocker Rebeccah Rapin after the Lakers won their 15th straight match. “I think that we’re starting to get more comfortable with each other and we’re coming together at the right moment.”

After inconsistency marred the 2009 season, the streak defined how consistent the Lakers were in 2010.

“We’re really comfortable with each other out on the court, and everyone is willing to make sacrifices to attain our goals as well,” said senior setter Meghan Scanlon. “It really has been the team working towards a common purpose.”

Hillsdale College snapped the streak by besting the Lakers in a 3-2 thriller in the GLIAC tournament finals. Ironically, the Chargers were the last team to defeat the Lakers before the streak started.

9. 131 Showdown announced

A new wrinkle has been introduced into the rivalry between Grand Valley State University and Ferris State University.

GVSU Director of Athletics Tim Selgo announced at a press conference Oct. 27 the two schools, which are separated by less than 70 miles, will play a basketball doubleheader at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids on Jan. 29.

The games will be the first time the schools have met at a neutral site during the regular season.

“We, being Grand Valley, have wanted to bring basketball games to downtown Grand Rapids here at Van Andel Arena for some time now,” said Selgo. “We were just waiting for the right opportunity and the right timing.”

The women’s teams will tip off at 6 p.m. followed by the men’s teams at 8 p.m. Amway is sponsoring the match up, dubbed the “131 Showdown” in honor of the interstate separating the schools, and a portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the Van Andel Institute as part of the Community for a Cure Purple Game, which supports cancer research.

10. Soccer loses in GLIAC for first time since 2006

Before the Grand Valley State University women’s soccer team captured its second consecutive National Championship, one of the biggest shockers of the season was a 1-0 loss to Northern Michigan University on Sept. 19.

The defeat was GVSU’s first defeat in GLIAC play since 2006, making it the only conference loss for any members of the 2010 team.

“All credit goes to Northern Michigan today. They are a very difficult team to play against, especially on their home field because they are sound defensively and work extremely hard for one another,” head coach Dave DiIanni told GVSU’s Athletics website after the loss. “I think it is important for our team to figure out what we want out of this season and once that happens, work on being consistent with our energy, focus and leadership.”

The Lakers had many scoring opportunities but could not capitalize.

“We just couldn’t score,” said senior midfielder Kristen Eible. “Their best shot on goal was the goal that went in during overtime. We held possession for the majority of the game, and in the final third we were just unable to finish.”

HONORABLE MENTION

Volleyball defeats Concordia

Grand Valley State University’s women’s volleyball team opened the season in the best way possible with a 3-0 sweep of Concordia University-St. Paul on Sept. 3.

Concordia-St. Paul was the reigning NCAA Division II National Champion and had won a Division II-record 75 straight matches.

Lacrosse inks first-ever recruiting class

Women’s lacrosse, the next sport set to reach varsity level at Grand Valley State University, announced the signing of its first class of recruits Aug. 18.

The Lakers signed 20 student-athletes for the newly added program. GVSU is scheduled to begin competition during the spring of 2012.

Football falls to Michigan Tech

The ghost of Michigan Technological University running back Phil Milbrath haunted the Grand Valley State University football team on Halloween weekend.

Milbrath rushed for 293 yards and two touchdowns as the Huskies knocked off the No. 1 Lakers 20-17.

“There’s going to be a lot of coulda, woulda, shouldas on this thing,” said head coach Matt Mitchell.