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Royals Close a Successful Winter Season
Winter brought several shining moments for the Eastern Mennonite University athletic teams in the 2005-06 season.
Men's Basketball
Men’s basketball entered the season with high expectations under third-year head coach Kirby Dean, picked to finish fifth in the conference. The Royals had qualified for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament for the first time in three years the previous season and returned 93 percent of the team’s scoring from that squad.
The team stumbled out of the gate to a 4-4 overall record and 1-3 in the ODAC. Then team later sat at 3-7 in the conference before reeling off a three-game winning streak against Hampden-Sydney, Roanoke and Lynchburg.
At 6-7, the Royals still had a shot at finishing as high as third, but the season ended with five straight losses to send EMU to the ODAC Tournament as the #8 seed. The Royals bowed out in the first round with a hard-fought 75-72 loss to eventual champion Virginia Wesleyan.
Several individual accomplishments highlighted the season, including senior forward E.J. Arrington (Staunton, Va.) and junior forward Jason Sager (Edinburg, Va.) each scoring their 1,000th career points early in the season. Sager finished fourth in the ODAC in scoring, led the conference in rebounding, and earned First Team All-Conference for the second straight season. With one season remaining, he ranks ninth all-time at EMU in points (1,299) and fifth all-time in rebounds (689). Arrington ends his career 11th in points (1,233), 12th in assists (211), and 10th in rebounds (585).
Korey Whiting
Sophomore Korey Whiting (Stafford, Va.) experienced a break-out season, finishing seventh in the conference in scoring, 15th in rebounds, and first in steals. He was named Second Team All-Conference, earned ODAC Player of the Week once and set a new EMU record with a 12-for-12 free throw performance against Roanoke.
While the men finished three spots below their preseason prediction, the EMU women exceeded expectations by three spots. The Lady Royals, guided by first-year head coach Kevin Griffin, were picked seventh and finished the season fourth in the ODAC. EMU started the season winning the EMU Loyal Royals Tip-Off Classic, but started just 1-3 in the ODAC. However, a six-game winning streak followed shortly thereafter by a three-game streak put EMU solidly in fourth place in the conference.
Women's Basketball
However, like the men’s team, the women had a rough ending to the season. The team dropped five of its last six, the lone win being a home victory over Guilford. Three weeks later, the Quakers earned the fifth seed in the ODAC Tournament and a rematch with the Lady Royals. Guilford clicked on all cylinders in the quarterfinal match-up, handing EMU a 71-47 loss.
Amanda Renalds
It was a disappointing ending for EMU’s two seniors, Amanda Renalds (Bridgewater, Va.) and Stephanie Mathews (Woodstock, Va.). Renalds earned Second Team All-Conference honors while Mathews was an Honorable Mention selection. Renalds leaves EMU ranked third all-time in points (1,405), fourth in rebounds (715), and 16th in steals (106). Mathews ends her career sixth in scoring (1,213), 11th in assists (204), second in steals (201), and second in rebounds (895), just 20 behind career leader Ann Wenger (’88). Renalds was named ODAC Player of the Week twice for the second consecutive season.
Indoor Track and Field
The indoor track and field teams struggled through several key injuries and illnesses but persevered to have several strong individual performances. Senior Megan Mlinarchik (Broadway, Va.) represented EMU in the NCAA Championships for the second straight season after winning the high jump at the ODAC Championships and finishing second in the pole vault. It was her 3.50 meter vault earlier in the season that sent her on to the national competition. She was also named the ODAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
EMU finished fourth out of six teams in the women’s competition at the ODAC Championship. In addition to Mlinarchik’s strong performance, Renalds won the shot put competition, just one day after being eliminated from the ODAC women’s basketball competition. Teammate Dominique Hull (Bealeton, Va.) was right behind in second place.
The EMU men had a strong showing at the championship meet with a second place overall finish. Junior Jeremy Webster (Yorktown, Va.) led the way by winning both the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes. Sophomore Luke Yoder (Wellman, Iowa) finished fourth in the 400 and second in the 800-meter run. EMU also won the 4x400-meter relay. Freshman Nathan Turner (Elkton, Va.) also performed well in his first ODAC meet, winning the shot put and placing third in the weight throw.
