2004-05 TCU Athletics Year in Review
6/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
June 20, 2005
After yet another tremendously successful year for Horned Frog sports in 2004-05, new athletics director Danny Morrison's first order of business will be to make room in the TCU trophy case. On top of numerous individual achievements and seven runner-up conference finishes, TCU athletics collected three league championships on the year.In their final year as members of Conference USA, TCU student-athletes bid farewell by taking home all-conference accolades in every conference sport. In total, TCU boasted 89 Horned Frogs named to an all-conference team, 34 athletes of the week and eight athletes of the month.
In only its fourth year as a member of C-USA, TCU was honored with 21 student-athletes named to a C-USA All-Decade Team, including C-USA Women's Golfer of the Decade Brooke Tull.
The most recent success for TCU athletics in 2004-05 came from the Horned Frog baseball team. After picking up a school-record 41 wins and finishing second in the regular-season standings, the Frogs battled to a share of the conference championship with Tulane.
Pacing the team was District VII Player of the Year Lance Broadway. A finalist for the Roger Clemens Award and the Xanthus Dick Howser Trophy, Broadway's number of choice in 2005 was 15. The junior picked up a school record 15 wins before being drafted 15th overall in the first round by the Chicago White Sox, making him the highest draft pick in TCU baseball history.
Joining Broadway in the draft were teammates Kyle Dahlberg, Stuart Musslewhite and Shawn Ferguson, all selected by the Baltimore Orioles. The Frogs also had five players earn a spot on an All-C-USA Team.
Earlier in the spring, the Lady Frog basketball team made its fifth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance after picking up its second C-USA Tournament title in three years. Finishing the regular season 20-9, the Lady Frogs earned the No. 4 seed for the C-USA Tourney and marched through higher-seeded opponents to capture the conference trophy. The Lady Frogs' final record was 23-10, their fifth 20-win season in a row.
The Lady Frogs were led by senior standout Sandora Irvin. The C-USA Player of the Year earned various individual honors before being selected third overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA draft. Irvin's other awards included: Creamland Dairies Collegiate Basketball Award of Excellence, Kodak/WBCA All-America Team, AP All-America First Team, USBWA All-America Team, and C-USA First Team and All-Decade Team.
Not to be outdone, the men's basketball team had arguably the strongest finish by a TCU sports team last year. With a difficult schedule that included 19-of-35 games played against teams that made postseason appearances, the Frogs fought their way to a 21-14 record, the 10th 20-win season in school history. Led by third-team All-C-USA senior point guard Corey Santee, the Frogs played late into March and reached the quarterfinals of the NIT for the third time in TCU history.
In a record-setting year, the women's tennis team produced four all-conference performers and earned a second-place conference finish. Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Senior Player of the Year Story Tweedie-Yates became the first women's tennis player in school history to advance to the NCAA Singles Championship quarterfinals.
Tweedie-Yates and doubles partner Ana Cetnik also became the first Horned Frog doubles team to reach the NCAA semifinals. Under the direction of ITA Southwest Coach of the Year Dave Borelli, Tweedie-Yates and Cetnik were named ITA All-Americans and C-USA First-Team members. Tweedie-Yates' accomplishments in the classroom were equally impressive, as she was tabbed a CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team honoree.
On the men's side of the net, the Frogs featured C-USA Player of the Year Fabrizio Sestini. Ranked 32nd in singles and 18th in doubles, Sestini was named to the C-USA All-Decade Team and First Team. His doubles partner Rafael Abreu was a third-team All-C-USA selection.
Perhaps no team has been more dominant during TCU's time in C-USA than the men's golfers. Following the leadership of C-USA Coach of the Year Bill Montigel, the Frogs marched to their school-record fifth consecutive league title, never allowing another team to capture the C-USA crown during their tenure in the conference.
Three Frog golfers were given all-conference kudos, including C-USA Golfer of the Year and third-team PING All-American J.J. Killeen. David Schultz closed out his TCU career in style, sharing the individual C-USA Championship title with teammate Colby Beckstrom. Schultz was also named to the All-Conference Team, as well as the All-Decade Team along with former golf standouts Adam Rubinson and Adam Meyer.
On the ladies tee, the Horned Frogs put together a second-place conference finish in 2005. Three golfers were named to the All-Conference Team including first-team selection Camille Blackerby. Catherine Matranga and D'Rae Ward were second-team honorees.
The H20 Frogs did more than keep their heads above water in the 2004-05 season. The men won their fourth straight conference invitational tournament and finished the dual season with a 7-3 record. The women went 11-2 in dual competition, good for second place in the conference. C-USA honored the H20 Frogs by naming three swimmers to the All-Decade Team and 22 swimmers to the All-Conference Team. Among those swimmers was senior Aimee Moreau, who earned five All-C-USA awards in addition to being named to the All-Decade Team.
Pacing the Frogs on the cross country course was Mary Kinyanjui. The Kenya native earned C-USA First Team and All-Decade Team honors after leading the women to a second-place conference finish. Kinyanjui defended her individual conference title as well as her South Central Regional championship.
First-year head coach Darryl Anderson led the Flyin' Frogs to second-place conference finishes in both men's indoor and men's outdoor competitions. The team also garnered some attention from C-USA officials, who named 15 indoor and 16 outdoor track student-athletes to the All-C-USA Team. In addition, two Frogs were named to the indoor All-Decade Team, while three Frogs made the outdoor squad.
First-team All-C-USA student-athlete Dominika Szabo propelled the volleyball team to a second-place conference finish in 2004. The Frogs only allowed single digits in the loss column, as they compiled a 23-9 record. The 23 wins set the school record for most wins in a season.
On the gridiron, the TCU football team featured nine all-conference players including two who will take their shot at the NFL this fall. The Miami Dolphins selected C-USA First Team offensive guard Anthony Alabi in the fifth round of the draft. Fellow first-teamer Cody McCarty will join former TCU sensation LaDanian Tomlinson in San Diego after the Chargers signed McCarty as a free agent. Marvin Godbolt rounded out the Frogs on the All-Conference First Team. Two former Frogs, Nick Browne and Bo Schobel, were named to the C-USA All-Decade Team.
After 19 seasons at the helm of the women's soccer program, David Rubinson resigned after the team went 6-11-1 in the 2004 season. Senior Jessi Moore was named to the C-USA Second Team for the second straight year, becoming the first player to earn all-conference accolades in back-to-back years since 1998. On March 9, Dan Abdalla, former UNLV head coach, was named head coach of the program and will lead the Frogs into the Mountain West in 2005.
First-year coach Karen Monez led an extremely young women's rifle team in 2004. The Frogs split into two squads, purple and white, and finished fourth and fifth respectively at the NRA Sectionals in Colorado Springs, Colo. Emily Conway finished a team-high 10th at the sectionals and shot the Frogs to a first-place finish against UAB.
Players Mentioned
