Athletics Front Page

Liz Schnelle

By Steven Wright

ADA — Senior middle hitter Liz Schnelle has been named an American Volleyball Coaches Association First Team All-American for the second consecutive season.

This also marks the third straight time she has earned All-America honors, as Schnelle was named AVCA Third Team All-America as a sophomore in 2007.

Otanicar / Connor

By Steven Wright

ADA — Junior Dan Otanicar and sophomore Dustin Connor have both been earned Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference accolades.

For both players, this is the first time they have earned the award.

Otanicar was named Academic All-OAC, while Connor was named Honorable Mention Academic All-OAC.

Otanicar played in 14 of Ohio Northern's 22 games and was second on the team with nine goals. He was also second on the team with 22 points and was tied for fourth on the team with four assists.

Sanders / Pisut / Albert

By Tim Glon

ADA — Five Ohio Northern student/athletes were named Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference in women's soccer for 2009 in voting conducted by the league's 10 faculty advisors.

Schnelle / Decima

By Steven Wright

ADA — Seniors Liz Schnelle and Liz Decima have both been named to the 2009 Volleyball Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference team in voting conducted by the OAC faculty representatives.

Schnelle earned Academic All-OAC, while Decima earned Honorable Mention Academic All-OAC.

For Schnelle, this is the third consecutive season that she has been named Academic All-OAC, as she has already been named CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine First Team Academic All-District earlier in the year.

Sanders - Albert

By Tim Glon

ADA — Ohio Northern senior Kaitlin Sanders and junior Chelsea Albert were named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America in women's soccer for 2009 in voting conducted by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Sanders was a First Team Academic All-America pick, while Albert was a Third Team Academic All-America honoree.

Sanders, a midfielder, is making her second appearance on the squad after earning First Team honors last season.

Chad Coward

By Tim Glon

ADA — Ohio Northern sophomore safety Chad Coward was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Football Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts in ONU's 52-14 victory at Wilmington on Saturday.

Coward blocked a punt and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, giving the Polar Bears a 21-0 lead.

He also recorded six tackles in the contest.

This season, Coward was second on the team with 73 tackles. He also had two interceptions, three PBUs, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

By Tim Glon

ADA — The Ohio Northern football team remained at No. 13 in the 11th weekly D3Football.com poll on Sunday despite being left out of the NCAA Division III Playoffs earlier in the day.

Northern also cracked into the American Football Coaches Association poll for the first time this season at No. 21 last Monday.

The Polar Bears (8-2 overall, 7-2 Ohio Athletic Conference) were ranked No. 13 in the D3Football.com poll last week and wrapped up their season with a 52-14 victory at Wilmington on Saturday.

Kyle Meyer

By Tim Glon

| Box Score |

ADA — The Ohio Northern men's basketball team opened its 2009-10 season with a close 55-53 setback to Hanover (Ind.) Sunday afternoon at the ONU Sports Center. 

The Polar Bears fall to 0-1, while the Panthers improve to 1-0.

By Steven Wright

ADA - The Ohio Northern football did not earn an at-large bid to compete in the 2009 NCAA Division III Football Championship as announced on ESPNews Sunday afternoon.

The Polar Bears ended the season ranked No. 13 in the D3Football.com poll and No. 21 in the American Football Coaches Association poll.

In the Ohio Athletic Conference, Northern finished the season with a 7-2 record and in a tie for second place with Otterbein.

ONU won its final seven games of the season to finish with an 8-2 overall record.

Liz Schnelle

By Steven Wright

| Box Score | Tournament Site |

HOLLAND, Mich. - The No. 5 Ohio Northern volleyball took Set 1, but Hope (Mich.) defeated the Polar Bears 3-1 in the Great Lakes Regional Championship Saturday evening at the DeVos Fieldhouse.

The Polar Bears end their season with a 30-4 record, while the Flying Dutch improve to 33-3.