Contact:             Doug Aiken
                           (714) 997-6900

Release Date:   August 19, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

Tereschuk Earns National Coach of the Year Honors

ORANGE – On the heels of Chapman’s first Division III baseball championship, the American Baseball Coaches Association has named the Panthers’ first-year head coach Tom Tereschuk as the Division III national coach of the year. He was also honored as the West Region coach of the year after a 30-10 regular season record and following the Panthers’ defeat of George Fox University (Ore.) for the West Region championship.

Despite never having coached baseball at the collegiate level, Tereschuk guided the Chapman baseball team to its first NCAA national championship since 1968 and its first Division III championship since the university-wide transition in 1994. His success came the old fashioned way from pitching and defense as the Panthers led the nation (Divisions I, II and III) with a 1.96 team ERA and ranked ninth in Division III in fielding percentage. Chapman finished the season 39-12 and needed to win – and did – twice on both the final days of the regional tournament (vs. George Fox) and the World Series (vs. Christopher Newport, Va.) in order to clinch both.

Success and accolades have followed Tereschuk nearly everywhere he’s gone. Before arriving at Chapman last summer, he served as head coach at nearby Villa Park High School for four years, winning two CIF Southern Section championships. He was honored as CIF-SS Coach of the Year in 2000, and led the team to the CIF playoffs in all four of his years.
 

Chapman Water Polo Posts Impressive Numbers in the Classroom

ORANGE – Chapman’s men’s and women’s water polo teams have been in and out of the Division III water polo rankings over the past few seasons with varying degrees of success. But one thing that has been consistent has been their national rankings in the classroom. That didn’t change this summer when the American Water Polo Coaches Association listed the top team GPA’s in the country for both men and women, Divisions I, II and III.

Chapman’s women had its best showing since the program was born in 1998. The Panther women with an impressive 3.49 team GPA ranked second in the country, behind only Macalester (Minn.) and its 3.57 mark. Among the women’s teams below Chapman: Harvard (Conn.), Princeton (N.J.), Stanford and Cal Berkeley. Nine players from Chapman’s team were honored with individual awards ranging from Excellent (3.20-3.40) to Outstanding (3.71-4.00), led by three – Christina Lyon (Walnut/Walnut High), Teri Bartel (Kingsburg/Kingsburg High) and Jody Martinovich (Costa Mesa/Costa Mesa High) – who posted higher than 3.90 averages.

The Chapman men are no strangers to the top-five in this poll and in 2002-03 they ranked fourth in the country with a 3.33 team GPA, with six players earning individual academic honors. The Panthers posted their highest ranking in 1999-2000 when they were tied for third.
 

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