BGSU Seniors Leave Lasting Legacy

While 2020 will be remembered as the year the sports world stood still, BGSU’s senior class has left a lasting legacy apart from that. Over the course of four years (and sometimes five or more), those student-athletes who completed their eligibility in 2019-20 have set a standard for future classes to uphold.

The group has combined for 17 league championships or runner-up finishes and seven individual MAC titles. Programs such as Hockey and Women’s Soccer made long-awaited returns to the NCAA Tournament field, while other programs, like Men’s Basketball and Volleyball, have been rejuvenated during their careers. Below are summaries of each senior class among BGSU’s 18 teams.

Baseball

Outfielder Jake Wilson and right-handed pitcher Damon Egnor made up Danny Schmitz's final senior class, capping off 30 years as head coach of the Falcons. A freshman All-American and two-time All-MAC Defensive Team selection, Jake Wilson played in 145 games and finished his career with a .301 batting average. Egnor appeared in 55 games on the mound for the Falcons, racking up 54 strikeouts. In his final season of MAC play, Egnor was part of a pitching staff that allowed the second-fewest runs in league play. 

Men’s Basketball

One of the most successful senior classes in the program's recent history, Dylan Frye, Ethan Good, Michael Laster and Marlon Sierra set a new standard for BGSU Men’s Basketball. The four-man senior class went a combined 43-22 (24-12 MAC) over their final two years on campus, including a dominant home mark of 27-4. Led by Frye, the program's all-time leader in three-point field goals, the four-man class played huge roles in BGSU's run to the 2019 MAC Championship Game.

Women’s Basketball

The Falcons continued to lay the groundwork for a return to the top of the MAC in 2019-20, with four seniors leading the way. BGSU had not scored over 70 points per game in nearly a decade, but the ’19-20 Falcons scored 72.3 points per contest and ranked among the top-30 teams in the nation in both assists and assists per game. Caterrion Thompson, who missed all of the previous season due to injury, finished second on the team in scoring and was ranked among the MAC leaders in three-point field goals made per game, as well as overall field-goal percentage. Andrea Cecil missed the entire season due to injury, but scored almost 900 points in just three seasons as a Falcon. Cecil finished among the top-40 scorers in program history and is ranked 13th all-time in career free-throw percentage. Clare Glowniak gave the Falcons valuable minutes off the bench in 2019-20, shooting over 50 percent from the field and going 10-of-11 from the floor in a three-game stretch late in the season. Jane Uecker, like Glowniak, gave the Brown and Orange a spark off the bench, and Uecker received the program’s Great Teammate Award.

Men’s Cross Country

Men’s Coss Country had three seniors who contributed to the program’s rise as high as MAC runner-ups during their careers. Jonathan Voth was a MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete who competed in three MAC Championships, while Raymond Berling was a three-time Academic All-MAC selection. Kyle Hibinger also earned Distinguished Scholar-Athlete recognition and ran in two MAC Championships, including a 26th-place finish in 2018.

Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field

Allison Holahan, Stacey Wolverton and Daija Young completed their BGSU Athletics careers in 2019-20. Holahan was a Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and competed in numerous MAC Championships in both cross country and track & field during her career. Wolverton was the bronze medalist in the high jump at the 2018 MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, while Young qualified for the MAC Championships in three throwing events (shot put, weight throw and discus) throughout her time at Bowling Green.

Football

Fifteen members of the BGSU Football team took part in Senior Day activities when the Falcons demolished Akron 35-6. Team captains David Konowalski and Jack Kramer were anchors during careers that spanned three head coaches. The group is the first senior class under head coach Scot Loeffler, laying a foundation for future years.

Along with Konowalski and Kramer, seniors included Jamari Bozeman, Austin Dorris, Melvin Jackson, Davon Jones, Nico Lautanen, RB Marlow, Brandon Perce, Eldridge Salguero, Antonyo Sotolongo, Matt Tanner, Grant Tinnerman, Darius Wade and Jordan Wayne-Prather.

Men’s Golf

Nick Hofland was the lone senior on John Powers' 2019-20 squad. Hofland had a significant role within the program all four years on campus, and recently wrapped up his career by competing in all seven tournaments across his senior campaign. In his last appearance at the MAC Championships in 2019, the Ontario native led the way to a fifth-place finish, posting the second-best individual performance of the season for the Falcons. 

Women’s Golf

Jessica Madry served as head coach Stephanie Young's only senior in 2019-20. A key team leader and strong contributor on the course, Madry got better during each of her four seasons as a Falcon. She earned a three-stroke victory at the Shirley Spork Invitational in Ypsilanti, Mich., in 2018. Her performance led the way to a team victory for the Falcons, as well. In 2019, Madry recorded a hole-in-one at the par three No. 16 in the final round of the Dolores Black Falcon Invitational.

Gymnastics

Three seniors completed their careers in 2020 for the BGSU Gymnastics team. Jovannah East is one of only two BGSU gymnasts in program history to qualify for the NCAA National Championships. Taylor Worthington was a vault and beam specialist for the Falcons throughout her career, while Alex Johnston was a regular in the lineup as a freshman and sophomore before injuries limited her ability to compete over her final two seasons.

Hockey

BGSU Hockey saw four seniors depart the program following the 2019-20 season, all of whom played an instrumental role in returning the program to the NCAA Tournament at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, ending a 29-year drought. Leading the class was captain Alec Rauhauser, who became the program's 72nd player to reach 100 career points, concluding his career with the Falcons with 122 career points. Frederic Letourneau, an alternate captain, recorded a career-high 21 points during his senior campaign. Casey Linkenheld followed suit by setting a career-high 10 points with career-highs in both goals and assists with five each. Jacob Dalton rounded out the class by joining in on the career highs, setting his for goals in a season. 

Men’s Soccer

BGSU closed the 2019 season with an overall record of 13-7-1. The Falcons posted a double-digit win total for the first time since 2014 and just the second time since 1998. Senior goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia was named to the All-MAC First Team for the second time in his BGSU career, while classmates Chris Brennan and Charlie Maciejewski were named to the second-team as BG had a school-record six all-league selections. Tom Wrobel started 20 of the Falcons’ 21 matches on the back line, helping BGSU record shutouts in 10 of those 20 starts. Amandy Ayima rounded out the five-member senior class, and played in a total of 12 matches for the Orange and Brown.

Women’s Soccer

The 2019 Women’s Soccer senior class can make their case as arguably the finest in program history. Last season’s Falcons won both the MAC regular-season and tournament titles for the second consecutive year. Falcon seniors Hannah Dolfuss, Kathleen Duwve, Monica Florez, Maureen Kennedy, Rachel Muller and Chelsee Washington helped BGSU to an overall record of 49-28-8, a MAC regular-season mark of 29-13-2 and a 35-14-4 ledger in all games vs. MAC foes during their four seasons with the program. After Kristin Tveit joined that group a year later, the Falcons went 41-18-7 overall, 26-6-1 in MAC regular-season matches and 32-7-3 in all games vs. conference opposition. Duwve, Kennedy and Washington each were named to the All-MAC Team on multiple occasions, and Washington was the MAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2019, while Kennedy was a two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Kennedy became the first player in program history to be named a Senior CLASS Award All-American, and Washington was the first player in Falcon history to be selected in the National Women’s Soccer League draft.

Softball

The Falcons were off to a tremendous start in 2020, with an 11-6 record when the season was halted. BGSU’s five-member senior class included Madi McCoy, who hit 10 homers in just over a season with the program and was named to the Academic All-District Team, selected by CoSIDA, in 2020. Logan Everett led BGSU and was fourth in the league in RBI in 2020, with her total of 16 including four multiple-RBI games. Taylor Blevins, one of two fourth-year Falcons along with Everett, hit nearly .300 over her final two seasons and stole 28 bases in her career to rank among the top 12 players in school history. Evelyn Loyola, like McCoy a junior-college transfer, drove in 26 runs in just over a season with the program, and led BG with nine walks in 2020. The team’s fifth senior, Summer Callahan, joined BGSU in the 2019-20 academic year after playing three seasons at Michigan State. She was one of the team’s primary pinch-runners, scoring a run in four of her five pinch-running appearances.

Swimming and Diving

Talisa Lemke highlighted a four-member senior class for head coach Rickey Perkins. Lemke became the first Falcon to be recognized as a College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) All-American since 1991, and she was named to the Academic All-America Second Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Lemke broke her own school records on both the 1 meter and 3 meter boards, and she swept the diving events at the MAC Championships for the second-consecutive year, helping the Orange and Brown take fifth place. Fellow seniors Sarah Fergus and Michaela Ruddock joined Lemke on the Academic All-MAC Team, with Fergus named to the team in each of the three years she was eligible, and Ruddock earning the honor for the second-straight year. Meghan Burnard rounded out the senior class. In the final race of her career, Burnard posted her fastest time of the season by nearly 20 seconds, and her fastest career time by almost ten seconds, in the 1650 freestyle at the MAC Championships.

Tennis

Seniors Ayumi Sasaki and Marharita-Sophia Tavpash helped return Falcon Tennis to a position of formidable strength, both in the MAC and the region. BGSU won just two total matches in the two seasons before the duo arrived in Northwest Ohio. But after a 5-15 mark in their freshman campaign, Sasaki and Tavpash helped the Brown and Orange post a record of 30-22 over the next three seasons. Both seniors are ranked among the top-30 Falcons in career singles wins, with Tavpash just one win shy of the top 25 when the 2019-20 season came to an end. Tavpash is seventh all-time in doubles wins at BGSU, and is tied for 16th in overall victories.

Volleyball

Arguably one of the most successful classes in program history, five seniors led BGSU to a pair of MAC regular season championships and a 47-17 record in conference play over a four-year stretch. Isabelle Marciniak ended her career second in career assists at BGSU, earning MAC Freshman of the Year, MAC Setter of the Year and First Team All-MAC honors during her career. Jessi Holly appeared in almost 100 career matches, finishing with 629 kills, 98 blocks and 61 aces.

Twins Paulina and Victoria Iacobelli played critical defensive specialist roles during their careers. Victoria ranked second on the team in digs in 2017 before injuries limited her over the last two seasons, but Paulina played in 115 career matches with 868 career digs and 74 aces. Outside hitter Macie Linne was also hampered by injuries throughout her career, but was highly effective when she was in the lineup, recording 50 kills in 11 matches in 2018.