Scoreboard
Borleke Trophies
Basketball player Justin Artis ’11 and tennis players Elise Otto ’11 and Etienne Moshevich ’11 are winners of the 2011 Borleske Trophies, which are given annually to the top male and female athletes on campus. The trophies, awarded by a vote of the Whitman coaching staff, recognize athletic ability and accomplishments, leadership and sportsmanship qualities, and contributions to the campus as a whole.
Moshevich helped the men’s tennis team post a remarkable 68-0 regular season record against Northwest Conference (NWC) opponents over four seasons, each of which ended with Whitman collecting a conference championship banner and advancing to the NCAA Division III national championships. Despite chronic injuries, Moshevich twice earned ITA All-American honors.
Artis played a critical role the past two seasons in resurrecting a long dormant men’s basketball program. The only senior on last winter’s team, Artis led Whitman to its best season in 25 years. Whitman won a school-record eight straight games at one point, knocked off previously unbeaten and top-ranked Whitworth, and made the NWC playoffs for the first time in 11 years.
Otto capped each of her four seasons by earning spots on the All-NWC First Team. Conference coaches also named her NWC Sportswoman of the Year at the end of her senior season. She finished her Whitman career with more than 130 victories in singles and doubles. She earned ITA All-American honors in two of her last three seasons on campus.
Outstanding Performances
A total of nine student athletes received annual Outstanding Performer awards this spring in a vote of the Whitman coaching staff.
Senior class winners were Kristen Ballinger ’11 (cross country) and Cooper Crosby ’11 (soccer). Junior class winners were Jenele Peterson ’12 (basketball) and Conor Holton-Burke ’12 (tennis).
Sophomore class winners are swimmers Katie Chapman ’13 and Paul Chang ’13. Volleyball player Jillian Davis ’14 won the women’s award for the first-year class while Josh Duckworth ’14 (basketball) and Andrew La Cava ’14 (tennis) shared the men’s honor.
Men’s Tennis
Conor Holton-Burke ’12 was named NWC Player of the Year for a men’s tennis team that won its fourth consecutive NWC championship and earned its fifth straight berth in the NCAA Division III national championship field. He is the seventh Whitman player to snare the top prize in the last 11 years and was joined by Etienne Moshevich ’11 and Andrew La Cava ’14 on the eight-man All-NWC First Team. Jeff Tolman ’13 earned a spot on the All-NWC Second Team.
Whitman, after extending its NWC regular season winning streak to 78 matches, lost to Wisconsin-Whitewater in the second round of the national tournament. Both Holton-Burke and Moshevich were twice named NWC Student-Athlete of the Week for men’s tennis.
Women’s Tennis
Elise OttoElise Otto ’11 was voted to the All-NWC First Team for a fourth consecutive season. Conference coaches also picked Otto as their Sportswoman of the Year this spring. She was joined on the All-NWC First Team by Alyssa Roberg ’13, who received that honor for the second time in two seasons. Kate Kunkel-Patterson ’13 received Honorable Mention.
The women’s team finished third in the final regular season standings after dropping narrow decisions to both Linfield and Whitworth. Otto was twice named NWC Student Athlete of the Week, giving her five such awards for her career; Roberg won the award once this spring.
Women’s Golf
Katie Zajicek ’14, who earned All-NWC Honors by winning the Spring Classic, led the Whitman women to the best season in program history. With a roster of six first- and second-year players, Whitman finished second at the NWC Championship Tournament to nail down second place in the final season standings.
Zajicek also was named NWC Student Athlete of the Week for women’s golf after winning the Spring Classic by six strokes. It was the first-ever victory for a Whitman woman in one of the NWC’s three primary tournaments.
Baseball
Erik Korsmo ’11 was named to the All-NWC Second Team as a designated hitter. Second baseman Jay Richards ’11, along with utility player Aaron Cohen ’14 and shortstop Cam Young ’14, received Honorable Mention.
Richards and left-handed pitcher Jake Nelson ’12 were named NWC Players of the Week in mid-March after Whitman swept a doubleheader from Lewis & Clark. Richards was picked as that week’s top position player after he collected six hits in nine at-bats while Nelson tossed a complete-game three-hitter in one of the games.
Men’s Basketball
Add one more major award for a men’s basketball team that enjoyed its best season in two-plus decades this winter before falling just short of a berth in the NCAA Division III national championships. Shortly after the last Whitman Magazine went to print, the D3Hoops.com website named Josh Duckworth ’14 as its West Region Rookie of the Year. Duckworth, Whitman’s second-leading scorer during the season, scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds in sparking the Missionaries to a thrilling comeback victory over previously undefeated and No. 1-ranked Whitworth.
Coach Honored
Skip Molitor, who coached the men’s basketball team for 14 years before stepping down after the 2007-08 season, was honored in April by the National Association of Basketball Coaches with its Outstanding Service Award. Molitor is assistant athletic director and women’s golf coach.