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Rockhurst University Athletics

Top 20 GLVC Highlights

General

Part I: Hawks got off to a fast start in the GLVC from 2005 to 2009

Oh my, how time flies when you're competing for championships and trophies. Rockhurst University recently completed Year 20 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with plenty of hardware and plaques. Only half of the 14 schools remain in the GLVC since the Hawks begin competition in the conference in 2005.

Over the past 20 years since joining the GLVC, the Hawks have captured 14 GLVC Tournaments, won 24 GLVC regular season championships and collected 19 GLVC Player of the Year awards. Rockhurst teams have also played in 46 NCAA Division II tournaments and produced 42 All-Americans since 2005.

Over the next four weeks, we are going to take a trip down memory road and take a look at the Hawks' Top 20 GLVC highlights. Today, we start off chronologically beginning with their first five years in the GLVC from 2005-09.

2005 Men's Soccer
The Hawks got off to a fast start in their first year in the conference. Rockhurst, picked fourth in the preseason poll, finished second in the regular season standings behind Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The Hawks posted GLVC Tournament wins over Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T) and Northern Kentucky to earn a spot in the title game. Rockhurst scored a 1-0 overtime victory over Quincy in St. Louis to bring home their first GLVC trophy.

Led by legendary head coach Tony Tocco, Rockhurst finished 18th in the country with a 15-5-1 record after falling to Truman State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hawks were led by a pair of freshmen forwards in Haggai Leboo and Tom Heinemann, who combined for 30 goals. Leboo scored 19 goals and was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year. Senior midfielder Cody Anderson earned All-American honors.
2005 MSOC Champs

2007 Men's Basketball
In just their second year in the GLVC, the Hawks became an NCAA national tournament squad for the second time in school history under head coach Bill O'Connor. Rockhurst won six of eight games late in the season, including an upset win over fifth-ranked Southern Indiana on Senior Night, to secure a top eight regional ranking.

The 17-12 Hawks fell short by six points against Southern Indiana in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Findlay, Ohio. Four players averaged double-figure scoring to lead the Hawks. Aaron Hill, John Torson (see below), Joey Deas and Kevin Martin combined for 50 points a game. Torson collected All-GLVC honors.
John Torson

2008 Men's Soccer
The Hawks opened the season with an 11-0-1 record and quickly became a Top 10 team in the country. Rockhurst won the GLVC regular season title with a 10-0-2 league record and picked up its second GLVC Tournament title with a 2-0 win over Northern Kentucky in the championship game at Bourke Field. Five days later, the season ended with a disappointing shootout loss at home to 16th-ranked Lewis.

Rockhurst ended up as one of the top defensive teams in the country. The 16-1-4 Hawks posted 15 shutouts and only allowed 10 goals led by senior goalkeeper Chad Becker, who was a first team All-American. Tom Heinemann and Kyle Samuelson combined for 18 goals while also grabbing All-GLVC and All-American awards.
2008 MSOC Champs

2009 Men's Basketball
For the second time in three years, the Hawks got hot late in the season to earn another invitation to the NCAA Tournament. Coach Bill O'Connor's squad finished second in the GLVC West Division with a 13-4 league record. The Hawks won their first-round game by one point over Kentucky Wesleyan in the GLVC Tournament in Evansville, Indiana when senior forward Alden Smith hit a jump shot with three seconds left.

Junior guard Aaron Hill (see below) led the 19-11 Hawks with a 20.0 scoring average. Hill was named the GLVC Player of the Year and earned All-American honors after sitting out the previous season with a knee injury. Smith joined Hill on the All-GLVC team as he averaged 14.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. O'Connor was voted the GLVC Coach of the Year by his peers.
Aaron Hill

2009 Men's Tennis
The Rockhurst men's tennis pulled off the upset of the year at the 2009 GLVC Tournament in St. Louis. The 31st-ranked Hawks revenged a regular-season loss to Drury to surprise the top-seeded Panthers by a 5-1 score. The same two teams met in the third round of the NCAA Tournament with Drury winning the rubber match, 5-4.

Argentinian Arturo Baravalle and New Zealander Victor Klintcharov led the 20-8 Hawks while earning All-GLVC honors. Twin brothers Zach and Ben Newell of Topeka, Kansas were one of the top doubles teams in the country. Carolina Mayorga-Perry received the first of her two GLVC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year awards.
2009 GLVC Champs
 
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