Southeast athletes hope to build on OVC near-misses

Southeast Missouri State University's 2003 football team failed to duplicate its magic from the previous season, although the Indians still fell just one victory short of the program's first-ever Ohio Valley Conference championship and playoff berth.

Southeast's women's basketball team had a strong debut season under coach B.J. Smith in 2003-2003, finishing second in the OVC for the first time and making its first-ever appearance in the OVC Tournament finals.

The Southeast women's track and field squad also had an impressive campaign, winning the OVC outdoor championship.

On the other hand, Southeast men's basketball suffered a second consecutive losing season after having a three-year run as one of the nation's more successful teams with a 62-28 record.

Those were just some of the notable experiences for Southeast athletics in 2003. Following is a look back:

Football

After going 8-4 in 2002 for the program's most wins since 1969, expectations were high for coach Tim Billings' Indians as they were selected OVC preseason favorites.

But things did not go exactly as planned. The Indians stumbled out of the gate by losing their first five games -- against a rugged schedule -- before recovering to win five of their final seven contests.

A home victory over Jacksonville State in the regular-season finale would have given the Indians a share of the OVC title and send them to the I-AA playoffs for their first post-season berth in school history. But the Gamecocks held on for a 22-17 triumph.

Southeast wound up 5-7 overall and 5-3 in the OVC to tie for third place. Three Indians made various All-American lists, including first-team senior center Eugene Amano. Junior tight end Ray Goodson and junior cornerback Dimitri Patterson were second-teamers.

Men's basketball

An 11-19 record made it consecutive losing seasons for coach Gary Garner's Indians. Southeast tied for seventh in the OVC at 5-11 and lost in the first round of the conference tournament.

Junior center Brandon Griffin set a school single-season rebounding record and sophomore guard Derek Winans led the squad in scoring for the second straight year.

Women's basketballSmith guided the Otahkians to their best-ever Division I season as they went 19-11, including a second-place 11-5 in the OVC. The campaign ended one victory short of the NCAA Tournament as Southeast fell to Austin Peay in the OVC Tournament championship game.

Junior guard Kenja White won the league's newcomer of the year award.

Baseball

Coach Mark Hogan's Indians went 31-20 -- marking the program's fourth consecutive season of at least 30 wins -- and finished a second-place 14-6 in the OVC, although they were eliminated from the conference tournament in three games.

Senior left-hander Tim Alvarez was the OVC pitcher of the year while senior second baseman Justin Christian won the league's rookie of the year award. Alvarez, who threw the first no-hitter in OVC Tournament history, made a pair of All-American lists, on the second and third teams, while Christian was a third-team All-American.

Senior shortstop Zach Borowiak was a 14th-round draft choice of the Boston Red Sox and Alvarez went to the San Francisco Giants in the 36th round.

Track

Coach Joey Haines squads continued to excel as the women won the OVC outdoor title and the men placed second. Haines was named the league's outdoor women's coach of the year.

The women narrowly missed capturing the OVC indoor title, finishing second, just 3 1/2 points out of first. The men were third indoors.

Southeast had a host of individual honors, including senior Shelton Scott qualifying for nationals in the long jump and triple jump. Several athletes qualified for regional competition.

In addition, senior Laura VanHoevelaak was a second-team Verizon Academic All-American for the second straight year.

Soccer

After winning the previous two OVC regular-season titles, coach Heather Nelson's Otahkians tumbled to fifth place as they went 10-5-5 overall and 4-3-1 in league play. Southeast lost to Samford on penalty kicks in the OVC Tournament semifinals.

Volleyball

Due in part to a brutal early schedule, coach Cindy Gannon's string of 14 straight winning seasons ended as the Otahkians went 11-19. Their 10-6 OVC record tied them for third place but they lost in the first round of the league tournament.

Softball

After compiling 19th consecutive non-losing records -- including 18 straight winning marks -- coach Lana Richmond's Otahkians were saddled with their second straight sub-.500 season as they went 17-29, including a fourth-place 11-9 in the OVC. Southeast finished third in the conference tournament.

Cross Country

Under first-year coach Eric Heins, the women finished third in the OVC meet and the men were fifth.

Gymnastics

The Otahkians went 8-13 and Ashley Godwin qualified for the NCAA regionals for the second consecutive season.

Coach Patty Stotzheim resigned after four seasons in charge of the program. Tom Farden, Stotzheim's assistant, was named interim coach.

Golf

Coach Carroll Williams' Indians struggled to an eighth-place finish at the OVC Tournament, then learned late in the year that their program was being dropped, effective after the 2005 season, due to budget cuts.

Tennis

The Otahkians went 4-11 and finished seventh out of nine OVC teams during Mike Stevens' first year as their coach -- then he abruptly resigned following the season.

Jay Pacelli, the former coach at Mississippi University for Women, was hired to replace Stevens.

mmishow@semissourian.com

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