SSC 40 Great Moments: January 7th Edition
Nova Southeastern Rowing Earns National Sportsmanship Award
During the 2011 SIRA regatta Nova Southeastern University coxswain Courtney Berger and the Freshman-8 boat went to the aid of a Rollins College Student-Athlete, an act that earned Berger and the Sharks' boat Sunshine State Conference and National Sportsmanship Awards.
During the race, Berger and the crew noticed that a distressed rower had slumped over her oar and had severe difficulty breathing. The rower was not responding to verbal cues from her teammates, and officials were unaware of the dire situation.
Berger directed the 60-foot long Freshmen-8 boat to put herself in a position where she could jump into the Tar shell and lend aid. Once on the boat, she proceeded to hold the individual upright until they regained a normal breathing pattern. The NSU crew shouted words of encouragement and flagged down an official's launch to secure further assistance.
Joining Berger in the boat that day were Victoria Ciccone, Emily Harrington, Deonnah Findley, Jennifer McDaniel, Nicole Mesa, Heather Reese, Caitlin Mooney, and Dayna Triana.
The NCAA recognized Berger and the entire freshmen eight boat on two occasions. First, the entire boat received the 2011 Female Student-Athlete Sportsmanship Award, and then Berger was one of five individuals recognized by the NCAA committee with a sportsmanship award for the 2010-11 academic year.
"I am exceedingly proud of each and every girl in that boat," said former head coach John Gartin after the race. "Going to the aid of and tending to another rower in distress no matter the uniform color is something the rowing community would be very proud of. It really epitomizes how the rowers and the rowing community are always willing to lend a hand no matter the circumstances."
The Sportsmanship Award was given by the Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct (CSEC) to honor student-athletes who demonstrate acts of sportsmanship that have a positive impact on teammates, opponents, and fans.
Following Berger's recognition nationally by the NCAA, she was featured in the Sept. 12, 2011 edition of Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd.
"Sportsmanship is certainly one of our pillars of success within the department of athletics," NSU's Director of Athletics Michael Mominey said. "More importantly, however, is that civility and societal responsibility is one of the core values of our university. With Courtney receiving the national sportsmanship award, it further confirms that we have student-athletes who are not only committed to athletic excellence but overall excellence."
[Published: 1/7/16 / Edited: 3/17/20]
Daniel Parke of Rollins Surpasses NCAA Three-Point Record
On January 11th, 1997, Daniel Parke of Rollins College tied the University of Tampa's Bryan Williams' NCAA record streak of 79 consecutive games with a three-point field goal. On January 15th, 1997, Parke surpassed Williams to become the most consistent three-point shooter in NCAA basketball history.
February 13th, 1991, was a special day for Williams and Parke. During a conference game at Rollins College, Williams tied the record for consecutive games with a three-point bucket. Parke, a tenth-grader at the time, was in attendance to see the hot shooting All-American reach the mark.
''I remember they stopped the game to give him the ball and make an announcement,'' said Parke at the time of his record. ''I figured then he must be pretty good, but I don't think I understood what he had really done.''
Parke's streak began January 26th, 1994, in the 17th game of his freshman season at Barry College (now Barry University). Parke started 19 of 24 games that season, hitting at least one three-pointer in the last 11 games of the season.
"I hadn't really been aware of the streak until the beginning of this season,'' commented Parke. ''And then where I hit [the tying shot] - on the baseline in front of the visitors' bench - is exactly where he hit his.''
Parke's streak surged past 79 games and consummated at 93 games on February 28th, 1997. His 93 consecutive game mark is still tops in all three divisions, making him the most consistent three-point shooter in NCAA history.
Parke was a 1996 NABC All-American and a three-time All-Sunshine State Conference honoree, landing on the first team in 1996 and 1997. He is currently second on the Tars all-time points list with 2,029, fourth in field goals, first in three-point field goals and fourth in free throws.
Bryan Williams was a first-team USA Today/Basketball Gazette All-American in 1990. He was also a second-team NABC All-American in 1990 and third team Basketball Times All-American in 1990 and 1991. A three-time All-SSC selection, Williams was also named to the All-South Region on three occasions. Among career leaders, he ranks third in UT history in scoring with 2,195, first in three-pointers made, first in three-point percentage, first in steals, and first in steals average.
[Published: 1/7/16 / Edited: 3/17/20]
Florida Southern College provided a clean sweep at the 1998 Sunshine State Conference Cross Country Championships, held at Wickham Park in Melbourne, Florida. The Moccasins, coached by SSC Hall of Famer Buck Dawson, took the top five positions in the men's race and top seven positions in the women's race.
It is the only time that a Sunshine State Conference member institution has posted a perfect score of 15 on both the men's and women's side. Junior Gary Crossan won the 10K race with a time of 33:55. Sophomore Michelle Solan was the victor in the 6K race with a time of 23:15. The 6K distance was newly introduced to the championship in 1998.
On the men's side, the 1997 individual champion, Jason Chagoya, followed Crossan across the finish line. Hennie Schoeman, Josh Fuller, and Paul Norby rounded out the Florida Southern stacked Top-5. Also, finishing in the Top-10 was Tommy Vars at No. 8. Crossan would repeat as SSC champion in 1999, while Norby would go on to be the 2000 individual champion.
Alli Tatangelo finished second to Solan in 1998 but would go on to be the individual champion in 1999 and 2000. Rebecca Clark, Kristy Vignali, Taryn Peters, April Booe, and Emily Vale finished in order from third to seventh. Janie Kevas rounded out the Moccasin's Top-10 dominance with a ninth-place finish. Booe was crowned as an individual champion in 1997.
Led by Tatangelo, FSC repeated their perfect score on the women's side in 1999. Before 1998, North Florida registered three perfect women's scores (1993, 1994, 1995), and Central Florida tallied the only other perfect men's score (1981). No perfect scores have been achieved in the men's or women's championship since 1999.
Florida Southern holds 16 SSC men's titles and seven women's titles since cross country became a sponsored sport in 1980.
[Published: 1/7/16 / Edited: 3/17/20]
SSC Captures Seven National Titles in One Academic Year
Known as "The Conference of National Champions," the Sunshine State Conference is familiar with success. But what happened from December 2014 to May 2015 blew past the expectations of anyone in the league.
A year that will go down in the record books, seven SSC teams took home national championship trophies in 2014-15. Marking the first time in conference history that seven national championships have been won in a single academic year, besting the previous high of six titles in 2012-13
The SSC became the first Division II conference to win seven national championships in one academic year since the California Collegiate Athletic Association did so in 1988-89. The CCAA still holds the overall D-II record with eight championships in 1981-82.
It began at the 2014 NCAA Division II Fall Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. Lynn University men's soccer and University of Tampa volleyball took home titles on the same day (December 6). Next, in late March, Florida Southern College won the university's and SSC's second title in Men's Basketball.
Spring 2015 was ripe with action. Barry University boasted national championships in men's tennis and women's rowing. Tampa secured its second national title of the year after a legendary run secured the baseball program's seventh national championship. Lastly, Nova Southeastern University men's golf concluded their dominant season by hoisting the trophy for the second time in program history.
"As a longtime member of the Sunshine State Conference, I'm very proud of the outstanding performances of our teams and individuals at the highest level of competition for NCAA Division II members," said Bill Jurgens, Florida Tech Athletics Director & Chairman of the SSC Athletic Directors Council. "I'm equally proud that academically our conference finished among the top three in Division II in Academic Success Rate. It was truly an outstanding year for the Sunshine State Conference and its member institutions, who all contributed to the overall success."
Of the seven programs to win National Titles for the SSC in 2014-15, only Barry rowing were first-time champions. Since 1989, the SSC has won multiple titles every year except for 2002-03 when Rollins women's golf hoisted the only title. The SSC has now totaled 94 national championships in its history.
Along with the seven titles, SSC teams were able to capture four national runner-up trophies in women's soccer (Rollins), women's golf (Rollins), women's tennis (Barry), and men's golf (Lynn) and SSC athletes collected eight individual national titles and eight individual national runner-ups.The list of individual achievements can be seen,
here.
NOTE: The SSC reached the same mark during the 2018-19 academic year.
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[Published: 1/7/16 / Edited: 3/17/20]
About the 40 Great Moments Campaign
The "40 Great Moments" campaign was created to bring attention to the athletic excellence, academic excellence, community engagement, and sportsmanship that has made up the Sunshine State Conference over the last 40 years. Moments were nominated by current and former student-athletes, coaches, administrators, alumni, and fans. The final 40 moments were decided upon by a vote of conference Sports Information Directors. The "40 Great Moments" campaign concluded during the Summer of 2016.
View all 40 of the SSC's Great Moments, here.