Mocs year in review
Fall sports
The football team went from an 1-11 record in 2008 to 6-5 under first-year coach Russ Huesman, whose return to his alma mater brought new energy and interest to a program that had totaled just three wins the previous two seasons.
Adding to the excitement was the arrival of quarterback B.J. Coleman, a former McCallie School star who transfered to UTC after two years at Tennessee.
The Mocs set a record for season ticket sales at Finley Stadium and went 4-4 in the Southern Conference, their best record in the league since 1998. Huesman was voted the SoCon coach of the year, senior end Josh Beard was the defensive player of the year, senior Craig Camay was the kicker of the year and several other Mocs earned all-conference honors.
“Going from 1-11 to 6-5, that’s a heck of a turnaround, and we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Coleman said after the season. “We’re not complacent — we’re not very satisfied with where we’re at — but we’re defintiely proud of how we continued to fight.”
That fight was evident in the home finale against The Citadel. Needing a win to secure the program’s first winning season since 2005, UTC won 31-28 after falling behind 21-0.
The men’s cross country team finished fourth at the SoCon meet and the women were sixth. The women’s soccer team won its first five games but finished the season 7-8-1. In volleyball, the Lady Mocs struggled with a very young team, finishing 12-17.
Winter sports
The UTC women’s basketball team highlighted the winter season, running its streak of SoCon regular-season titles to 11 and earning its eighth tournament title in 10 seasons.
The Lady Mocs did so despite a very young team that had its share of struggles during the regular season.
“We started off slow — our record wasn’t very good at the beginning — but toward the end we came together more and I think all of us grew up,” freshman Kayla Christopher said after the season. “I know I grew up a lot as the season went on.”
Senior forward Shanara Hollinquest was named SoCon player of the year for the second straight season. She was joined on the all-conference team by fellow senior Jenaya Wade-Fray, while Christopher made the all-freshman squad.
The UTC men tied for third in the SoCon North Division with a roster that bore little resemblance to the one that reached the NCAA tournament a season earlier. Twelve players started games for the Mocs, who lost their last eight SoCon road games.
“Men’s basketball had a young team and did kind of what I expected: good at home, erratic on the road,” athletic director Rick Hart said.
The wrestling team continued its winning ways under new coach Heath Eslinger, capturing a sixth straight SoCon regular-season title and stretching UTC’s conference-match win streak to 30. Mocs filled five of the 10 spots on the all-conference team.
The men’s and women’s indoor track teams finished in seventh place at the conference meet.
Spring sports
The softball team cruised to its fourth straight SoCon title, finishing the regular season with a four-game lead in the standings. The Lady Mocs were the top seed in the conference tournament, played at Frost Stadium, but dropped their first two games.
Three Lady Mocs — Tia Blosser, Tiffany Baker and Lyndsey Stiles — were named first-team all-conference and Frank Reed was the coach of the year.
The men’s and women’s golf teams both had strong regular seasons and advanced to NCAA regionals.
The women’s team won its first SoCon championship and coach Colette Murray was named SoCon coach of the year. In the NCAAs, playing with just four players, the Lady Mocs finished in 18th place in the East Regional.
“Our main goal for the season was to win the Southern Conference, and we did that,” Murray said afterward. “We can’t be too disappointed.”
The men’s team, which was briefly ranked No. 1 in the country in the fall, won a tournament and finished second in three other events. However, the Mocs placed a disappointing seventh in the SoCon championships. In the NCAA Southwest Regional, UTC placed 12th.
Sophomore Stephan Jaeger was named the SoCon player of the year.
The UTC tennis teams struggled, with the women going 9-12 and the men 5-15.
The last UTC athlete competing during the year was distance runner Anneli Uys, who qualified for the NCAA East Regional in the 1500-meter run. The senior was a two-time SoCon champion in the 800 and 1500 and was named the league’s female track athlete of the year.
High points
* The football team opened the Huesman era with a 30-13 win over Glenville State in front of 14,002 fans at Finley Stadium.
* The women’s basketball team had to work for it, but the Lady Mocs won their 11th straight SoCon regular-season title and eighth tournament crown in the past 10 seasons.
* The softball team went 19-5 in the SoCon and cruised to its fourth straight conference championship.
* The wrestling team, under new coach Heath Eslinger, won its sixth consecutive SoCon regular-season title and remained unbeaten in league matches since 2004.
Low points
* After winning the SoCon regular-season title in convincing fashion, the softball team, playing at home, managed one run in two games and was the first team knocked out of the conference tournament.
* After a solid regular season, the men’s golf team finished seventh at the SoCon tournament and 12 at the Southwest Regional, failing to qualify for the NCAA Championships at The Honors Course.
* The Lady Mocs had an 18-point halftime lead over Oklahoma State in the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, but couldn’t hold off the Cowgirls in the second half.
Low and high
The leaving and returning of Lady Mocs coach Wes Moore deserves its own category. His departure for East Carolina on April 25 was an extreme low point — for about 72 hours. His decision three days later, two days after he was introduced as ECU’s new coach, to return to UTC was, of course, a high point for a program that he’s turned into a SoCon powerhouse.