UMSL Tritons Athletics Year in Review 2015-16 With another year in the books, it's time to take a look back at some of the moments that made 2015-16 so memorable.
The Tritons successfully defended their Arch Cup title to open the 2015-16 season. The team victory was also the first of a school record six claimed by UMSL during the year. Additionally, the Tritons would go on to place in the top four in 12 of their 14 events, which included two runner-up finishes.
Sophomore Stefaniya Ivanova fired a school record three-under par 141 on her final 18 holes en route to claiming medalist honors at the Gilda's Club Laker Fall Invitational, hosted by Grand Valley State. She shot rounds of 71 and 70 to help the Tritons to the tournament win with a team score of 610 (308-302), seven strokes better than runner-up Grand Valley State in the 13-team field.
Senior setter Lindsay Meyer recorded her 3,000th career assist at Drury despite the Tritons falling to the hosts, 3-1. Meyer is just the second player in program history to record more than 3,000 career assists and 1,000 career digs. She graduated third all-time in program history with 3,566 assists and fifth with 1,287 digs.
Senior midfielder Jon Huelsman earned First Team All-GLVC honors for the second straight year, while senior forward Tyler Collico repeated as a second team selection. Huelsman led the Tritons with eight goals, including four game-winners, and added two assists. During his three-year career at UMSL, Huelsman totaled 57 career points (24 goals, nine assists), which ranks ninth on the career charts. His 24 goals are seventh best all-time.
Collico scored four goals and tallied a pair of assists during the season. In four-years at UMSL, Collico accumulated 48 points (19 goals, 10 assists) and graduates tied for 13th on the all-time scoring list. He also ranks fourth with 159 career shots and tied for ninth with 72 career games played.
Under the direction of second-year head coach Wendy Dillinger, UMSL earned the program's first NCAA Tournament bid since 1983. The Tritons finished the 2015 campaign with a 12-5-4 record, which included a runner-up finish in the GLVC Championship Tournament. The 12 wins equaled the program's most wins since the 2007 team finished 12-7-3, while the Tritons' 8-3-4 GLVC record equaled the program's most league wins along with the 2000, 2005 and 2006 teams.
The Tritons knocked down a school record 20 three-pointers in a 114-58 victory over Robert Morris-Springfield. UMSL shot 55.6 percent (20-of-36) from long range and added 36 assists on 45 field goals, the second most in a single game in program history. Brandon Marquardt recorded six three-pointers.
It took two overtimes, but in the end, UMSL defended its home court with a 61-60 win over Truman State to wrap up the non-conference schedule. Redshirt sophomore Jordan Fletcher hit the first of two free throws with 1:37 to play in the second overtime for the lead and the final score as the Tritons outscored the Bulldogs, 7-6, in the final extra five minutes. Ironically, UMSL and Truman State then played to another overtime game 20 days later in Kirksville, Mo., with the Bulldogs taking that contest, 78-73, in a GLVC contest.
UMSL inducted four former student-athletes, one coach and one team into the Sports Hall of Fame. The class of 2016 inductees include: Allyson DeFosset (softball), Josh Morgan (baseball), Dennis Spitzer (baseball), Dale Westerholt (baseball), the 1968-69 men's basketball team and Denise Silvester (former volleyball coach).
Diogo Dias gave the UMSL men's swimming program its first GLVC champion by winning the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 49.33. Dias would go on to qualify for the 2016 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships in that event, while also earning entry in the 50, 100 and 200-yard freestyle races as well as the 100-yard butterfly.
The UMSL tennis teams opened their spring seasons with a pair of wins over nationally ranked Newman. The men defeated the then No. 34 ranked Jets, 5-4, while the women picked up a 7-2 victory over the then No. 45 ranked Jets.
UMSL closed out the regular season with an 81-66 win at Maryville to ensure itself a spot in the GLVC Tournament. The Tritons received 17 points from senior Brandon Marquardt, who went 5-of-7 from three-point range, while also breaking the single season record in that category. Marquardt finished the season with 89 long balls, bringing his two-year career total to 143, fifth most in program history. Marquardt also set records for three-point shooting percentage, both during the season (48.1) and during his career (47.2).
The Tritons baseball team gave head coach Jim Brady his 800th career victory on March 12 as they defeated Minnesota-Crookston, 20-8, to wrap up a week long spring trip to Florida. Entering the season, Brady ranked 15th among NCAA Division II active coaches for the most career wins and was 41st all-time in career victories – both at 790. He is now 819-633-5 (.564) with 31 years under his belt. The win over Minnesota-Crookston also gave UMSL a 9-1 start to the season.
Senior All-American Hannah Perryman put her name atop another NCAA Division II career record, breaking the all-time strikeouts mark at Truman State in the second game of a GLVC doubleheader. Perryman graduated with 1,725 career strikeouts and also left with NCAA career records for perfect games (9) and strikeouts per seven innings (12.1).
With the 37th overall pick, UMSL senior pitcher Hannah Perryman became the first NCAA Division II player ever selected in the National Pro Fastpitch Draft by the Akron Racers. Perryman is playing for Tritons head coach Brian Levin, who is in his third season as field manager for the Racers.
The Tritons defended their Great Lakes Valley Conference championship by defeating Indianapolis, 4-1, in the match play final, to capture their second straight conference championship. UMSL advanced to the championship match with a 4-1 win over Illinois Springfield in the morning's semifinals. The Tritons finished first in stroke play, posting a 54-hole school record team score of 863, carding rounds of 290, 283 and 290.
UMSL wrapped up its season with its seventh straight NCAA Regional bid. The Tritons won three tournaments in 2015-16 and also recorded seven top-three finishes.
The Tritons earned their third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost a 5-1 decision to Grand Valley State. UMSL posted a 17-6 record during the year, with all six losses coming to ranked opponents. The Tritons were ranked No. 45 in the final ITA DII National Poll.
