The activity on the Coker campus is picking up at an amazing speed this week. The student leaders came in over the weekend for training. Today, the resident assistants are coming in and later in the week the Commissioners will be here. The Fall athletes come in on Saturday. This last, prompts the copying of a news release this morning by Coker College's sports information:
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August 8, 2012
HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The National Soccer Coaches Association of America
and Continental Tire recently announced the NCAA Division II Men's
Preseason Rankings, and the Coker College Cobras come in at No. 18.
"This is the first year in the history of the program that we have
been ranked nationally in preseason, and it is a testament to the effort
of the players," Coker head coach
Paul Leese said. "I am proud of what we have achieved in such a
short period of time, but it is vital that we do not ease off and think
we have reached a set goal.
"There are many deserving teams in the top 25 and it will take a
tremendous effort to still be there by the end of the season. That's our
challenge this year, and I know that we will have the support of
everyone at Coker as well as the Hartsville community."
Coker had a historic season in 2011, reaching the Division II
regional tournament. The team lost in the second round, 2-1, to Mars
Hill College. The Cobras finished the regular season ranked No. 5 in the
nation, won the Conference Carolinas regular season
and tournament titles, and ended with a record of 18-3.
The success of the season led to a laundry list of postseason awards. Seven Cobras received all-conference honors. Juniors
Carlos Recinos,
Rommel Fondin and
James Sweeney, along with sophomore
Atticus Lum and freshman
Fernando Bedoya, were named first team all-conference. Sophomore
Stephen Scrivens was a second team all-conference selection and
Recinos was named conference player of the year and head coach Paul
Leese was named coach of the year.
Juniors
Alan Cuevas and
Noah Lascell, along with sophomores
Niko Tirkkonen,
Tyler Staub and
Brendan McCarron, were named to the Conference Carolinas All-Tournament Team, with Lascell taking home tournament MVP honors.
In addition, Recinos, Bedoya and Sweeney were named to the Daktronics
All-Southeast Region first team. Recinos, Bedoya, Sweeney, along with
Fondin and Lum, were named to the NSCAA All-Southeast Region first team.
Bedoya was also selected as an NSCAA/Continental
Tire Third Team All-American.
In addition to their on the field accolades, these athletes were scholars in the classroom. Sweeney, Staub, Lascell and
David Pent were academic all-conference selections. Sweeney and
Staub were also named to the Capital One Academic All-District Team, and
Sweeney was named to the Capital One Academic All-American First Team
and was named the Conference Carolinas men's soccer
scholar athlete of the year.
The NSCAA/Continental Tire College Rankings are an indicator of
week-to-week status of qualified programs. The first regular-season poll
will be released Sept. 4. For more information about the NSCAA College
Rankings, visit
www.nscaa.com/rankings/college.
Based in Kansas City, Kan., the National Soccer Coaches Associatoin
of America is the largest soccer coaches' organization in the world.
Since its founding in 1941, the NSCAA has grown to include more than
30,000 members who coach both genders at all levels of the sport. In
addition to a national rankings program for colleges and high schools,
NSCAA offers an extensive recognition program
that presents nearly 10,000 individual awards every year. The NSCAA
fulfills its mission of coaching education through a nationwide program
of clinics and week-long courses, teaching more than 7,000 soccer
coaches each year.
For more information, contact
Chris Dougherty, manager of athletics media relations, at 843-383-8018 or
cdougherty@coker.edu.
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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional
success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a
practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and
discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom.
Coker is ranked among the "Best Colleges" in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as
The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is
within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources
of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.
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