The end of 2011 marked the close of a successful year for the Bobcats and area high school teams. And while the collegiate sports calendar begins in August and ends in June, the start of a new year is a good time to look back and see what defined 2011.
The Post will count down the top 20 stories from high school and college sports in the Athens area, five events at a time. Here are numbers 20 through 16.
20. Ohio women's basketball rebounds from disappointing season
Coming off a 9-22 season, coach Semeka Randall knew her team would improve. The Bobcats lost only two seniors, and all seven of their freshmen and sophomores saw significant playing time during the 2010-2011 campaign. The 22 losses tied a program record for most defeats in a season.
The 2011-2012 campaign has begun much better than any other under Randall. The team ended the non-conference schedule with a 7-7 mark. A year ago, the team was 4-10 after 14 games. Part of the credit for the improvement goes to the team's maturity after getting through a tough year, but the Bobcats also added a talented recruiting class that was ranked among the best in the conference.
19. Bobcat volleyball misses the NCAA Tournament
For the first time since 2002, the NCAA volleyball tournament did not include Ohio. The Bobcats had appeared in the Big Dance eight straight years, and they assembled another impressive campaign in 2011. Ohio finished the year 23-10, including a 13-3 MAC record, and sat atop the MAC East at year's end. The NCAA Tournament included four bids to MAC West schools but none to the Bobcats or any other MAC East program. Missing the tournament was a disappointing end to a season in which Ohio celebrated a "Decade of Dominance."
18. Strauss picks up 100th career win
It probably took her a little longer than she had hoped, but soccer coach Stacy Strauss finally notched win No. 100 with the Bobcats.
Ohio defeated Bowling Green on Oct. 16 to help Strauss reach the milestone. That proved to be the team's final win of the year. Strauss has coached the Bobcats for 12 seasons and won Mid-American Conference titles in 2001 and 2004.
17. Ohio football claims MAC East title behind Weller's five field goals
No Bobcat kicker had ever made five field goals in one football game, but Matt Weller changed that in a dramatic comeback win for Ohio. Weller nailed his fifth field goal as time expired to give the Bobcats a narrow 29-28 win against Bowling Green on Nov. 16. In the process, Ohio wrapped up its third MAC East title in six years.
Weller's final score of the season — the game-winning extra point against Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl — gave him 123 points on the year, which is a new single-season team record.
16. Women's golf team notches highest GPA in Division I
The 2010-2011 school year was one filled with high scores for the Bobcats — in the classroom, that is.
Ohio's cumulative grade-point average of 3.83 was tops among all NCAA Division I women's golf programs. Only Lee University of the NAIA had a better team GPA among all universities in all divisions of competition.
Six Bobcats were named National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholars. No other school had that many players honored for their grades by the NGCA.
