SSC 40 Great Moments: February 4th Edition
Stories on this page:
Students First | Three Sharks to the Show | Rollins Women's Lacrosse Takes Steps to Cure Cancer | Tampa Makes Florida Lacrosse History
For seven consecutive years, the Sunshine State Conference was rated the top academic NCAA conference in Division II. Each year from 2007 to 2014, at the NCAA convention, the SSC earned the distinction based on a metric called Academic Success Rate (ASR).
ASR is a tool used by the NCAA to measure the academic progress of student-athletes competing within the NCAA. The NCAA developed the Division II ASR at the request of college and university presidents who believed the federal graduation rate was flawed.
"Speaking on behalf of the SSC Faculty Athletic Representatives, it's a wonderful testament to the emphasis SSC institutions have put on student first, athlete second," commented Dr. Eileen McDonough, Barry University Faculty Athletic Representative and Chair of the SSC FAR's. "Athletes believe that as well."
According to the most recent Academic Success Rate for the incoming class of 2008 reveals that 72 percent of Division II student-athletes graduate within six years of initial enrollment. The SSC averaged an ASR of 85.6 percent over the seven-year reign.
"The emphasis on academics came over time, and now that we have it, I don't think we'll let it go," said McDonough. "Presidents, FAR's, Athletic Directors, and Coaches have investment. It's about balance, but we want them to graduate."
Following the seven-year stint as the top conference, the SSC achieved an 85% Academic Success Rate in 2015. The SSC currently sits second in Academic Success Rate among the 24 Division II conferences.
[Published: 2/4/16 / Edited: 3/18/20]
The 2009 MLB Draft debut in prime-time television on the MLB Network, live from Secaucus, New Jersey. An expanded three-day event that saw 16 SSC athletes drafted, including three future major leaguers from Nova Southeastern University.
Each year the Sunshine State Conference has many athletes taken in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft. The middle day of the draft, Wednesday, June 10, saw three NSU Sharks come off the board who would make it to "The Show."
The first selection, pitcher Miles Mikolas, was the earliest NSU player ever taken, in the seventh round and as the 204th overall player, by the San Diego Padres. Mikolas would eventually become the third-ever Shark to be called up to an MLB roster, debuting on May 5, 2012, for the team that drafted him, the Padres.
He would go on to appear in 25 games, all in relief, for the 2012 Padres, sporting a 3.62 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings. After appearing in two games the next season for the Padres, Mikolas took a circuitous route through Pittsburgh to the Texas Rangers, where he was a fixture in the 2014 rotation.
After the 2014 season, Mikolas went to Japan and played for the Yomiuri Giants, where he pitched 145 innings totaling 107 strikeouts while throwing four complete games, two shutouts, and a 1.92 ERA for a 13-3 record. In December of 2015, Mikolas signed a new two-year deal with the Giants.
Next, J.D. Martinez went in the 20th round to the Houston Astros as the 611th overall pick. Martinez went on to become the first Shark to appear in a big-league game, making his debut on July 30, 2011, with the Astros. He would bat .274 overall on the season, with six home runs and 35 RBI in just 53 games played.
Over the next two seasons, Martinez appeared in 199 games for the Astros with 18 combined homers and 91 RBI. Though the team released him during the 2014 Spring Training season, two days later, Martinez was signed by the Detroit Tigers.
Martinez appeared in 281 games for the Tigers in his two seasons with the club, amassing 307 hits, 178 RBI's, and 61 home runs. In 2015, Martinez appeared in his first Major League Baseball All-Star game and won an American League Silver Slugger Award. Currently, Martinez is in contract talks with the Tigers.
The final Shark picked was Mike Fiers, who was selected in the 22nd round at 676th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers. After Martinez, Fiers would be the next NSU alum to make it to the Majors, pitching a scoreless ninth inning for the Brewers and striking out two Colorado Rockies on Sept. 14, 2011.
Fiers would make 56 starts and a total of 71 appearances for the Brewers in his five years with the club. He went 21-28 over that time with an ERA of 3.66 and a WHIP of 1.238. On July 30, 2015, Fiers was traded to the Houston Astros. In ten games, he went 2-1 with an ERA of 3.32 in 62 1/3 innings pitched for his new post-season bound team.
The highlight of Fiers' 2015 season came when he struck out Los Angeles Dodgers Third Baseman Justin Turner to secure his first career no-hitter and complete game. Fiers struck out ten Dodgers while only walking three on 134 pitches thrown. Fiers made his post-season debut in the 5th inning of game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series verse the Kansas City Royals. Fiers is set to break camp with the Astros in Kissimmee this spring.
"These young men are tremendous representatives of not only Nova Southeastern University and our baseball program but for the Sunshine State Conference," remarked Mike Mominey, former Nova Southeastern University Baseball Coach and current Director of Athletics. "J.D., Mike, and Miles have continued to recognize and appreciate where they came from, which serves as an affirmation that we are doing the right things as coaches and educators at NSU.
[Published: 2/4/16 / Edited: 3/18/20]
Rollins Women's Lacrosse Takes Steps to Cure Cancer
On Saturday, November 22, 2014, the Rollins women's lacrosse team participated in the "St. Jude Give Thanks Walk" for the fourth consecutive year. The Tars walk in honor of former Rollins standout Mo Imel's younger sister, Keeley.
Keeley was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer, at the age of 14. After a year of St. Jude treatments, Keeley returned home to Ellicott City, Md. where she was in remission for almost two years.
After having a brain tumor removed at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md., Keeley received radiation and chemotherapy at St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, TN. Keeley received three months of radiation and four rounds of intense chemotherapy, bone marrow transplants, stem cell, and countless other procedures.
In those two years, Keeley became an icon and spokesperson for St. Jude. Her mission became raising awareness about St. Jude's and giving back to the place that had saved her life. In her senior year of high school, however, Keeley was faced with devastating news, her cancer had returned. For the remainder of her senior year, Keeley took chemo before going to school, while regularly visiting St. Jude's for check-ups. Keeley was able to graduate from high school while becoming an inspiration to everyone around her.
On April 1, 2012, Keeley was finally relieved of all her pains.
Since her passing, the Rollins women's lacrosse family continued Keeley's mission of raising awareness and, during last year's walk, for the third year in a row, were named the top fundraising team in Orlando. Rollins accounted for over $15,000 in 2013, over twice as much as they raised in 2012. Eighty-seven cents of every dollar donated went straight to the hospital.
About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Since opening 50 years ago, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has changed the way the world treats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. No family ever pays St. Jude for the care their child receives and, for every child treated there, thousands more has been saved worldwide through St. Jude discoveries.
The hospital has played a pivotal role in pushing U.S. pediatric cancer survival rates from 20-80 percent overall and is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted to children. It is also a leader in the research and treatment of blood disorders and infectious diseases in children. St. Jude was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, who believed that no child should die in the dawn of life.
[Published: 2/4/16 / Edited: 3/18/20]
Tampa Makes Florida Men's Lacrosse History
Although collegiate lacrosse is a relatively new sport to Florida, Sunshine State Conference teams have already made waves. Men's lacrosse officially became a Sunshine State Conference sport in July 2013, but member schools have fielded squads since 2006.
In the first year of SSC competition and their third year as a program, the University of Tampa men's lacrosse became the first NCAA program from Florida to advance to the Final Four.
"This achievement is a shining moment for the conference and our program as a whole. Our success at such an early point in our program's history is a real testament to the countless hours of hard work and dedication that our players and coaching staff put in day in and day out.," commented Head Coach, Rory Whipple. "We're honored to represent the University of Tampa and the Sunshine State Conference on a national level and look forward to maintaining the high level of success and the expectations that come along with being the premier Lacrosse program in the State."
On May 18th, 2014, the Spartans squared off with Mercyhurst in the Division II South Region Semifinals. The victor would be a national semifinalist, and the loser was headed home.
Both teams started the game with strong defensive efforts with the game remaining scoreless until ten minutes into the opening period. Tampa struck first as Matt Bilak netted his first of a career-high five goals. The two teams traded goals, and the Spartans held a 5-4 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, Tampa took advantage of a Lakers foul and scored a man-up goal five minutes into the third quarter. The Lakers responded, scoring back-to-back goals to even the score at 6-6 with 6:05 remaining. The score remained tied until 39 seconds when Bilak scored another man-up goal to give Tampa the 8-7 edge after three-quarters of play.
The Spartans won the opening faceoff of the final period, and on their possession, Nick Ferriero connected with Connor Whipple for a goal to extend the lead to 9-7. Two minutes later, Cory Becker netted an unassisted goal for Mercyhurst to cut the lead to 9-8. The score remained 9-8 until the 2:37 mark when Whipple found Mike Morris for a goal to give Tampa a 10-8 lead. Both teams scored one more time for the 11-9 final.
Whipple finished the game with two goals and an assist, while Morris, Bobby Calhoun, and Kyle Hemrick each tallied two points apiece. Ferreiro went 15-19 on faceoffs and picked up five ground balls.
The Spartans backline of Larry Gress, Marty Heyn, and Nate Tembi combined for seven ground balls while limiting the Lakers attackers to five goals. Andrew Failla made seven of his twelve saves in the second half. Riley Piper tied for the team-high with five ground balls.
The Spartans never trailed in the game and advanced to the NCAA National Semi-Finals against Limestone. Tampa fell 14-10 in the Final Four matchup against the eventual national champion. Bobby Calhoun tallied a season-high three goals and three assists while Matt Bilak had two goals and an assist in the losing effort.
Tampa finished the season 16-3 overall, 5-0 in SSC Play. Conor Whipple earned USILA second-team All-America status, while teammate Jake Rooney was named to the third team. Whipple was named SSC Player of the Year, and his father Rory Whipple was named SSC Coach of the Year.
In 2015, the Spartans went 15-4 overall, 6-0 in SSC play. After winning the SSC tournament championship, Tampa fell in the national quarterfinals to Lake Erie.
Rollins College women's lacrosse made back-to-back trips to the NCAA Division II final four in 2012 and 2013. Women's lacrosse became a conference sponsored sport on July 1st, 2014.
[Published: 2/4/16 / Edited: 3/18/20]
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.