REVIEW COLUMN: A look back on the 2015-16 Central Michigan athletics season
It was just another year for Central Michigan athletics.
John Bonamego arrived as the head coach of the football team after coaching special teams in the NFL since 1999 and came in with no head coaching experience. He won his courageous battle with tonsil cancer and then won the hearts of fans and the community.
The team, inspired by deceased teammate Derrick Nash, won the Mid-American Conference West Division title.
Soon-to-be senior Cooper Rush threw for 3,848 yards to set the single-season program record, besting Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and CMU great Dan LeFevour.
The soccer team’s season ended in overtime to Buffalo after a goal by freshman Alexis Pelafas with two seconds remaining in regulation nearly salvaged a below .500 season.
Molly Pelowski followed in the footsteps of Cristy Freese and took over a field hockey program that struggled on the field, compiling a 2-15 record. Its first win — a 1-0, double overtime win at home against Missouri State — ended a possibility of a winless season in dramatic fashion.
Nate Ghena departed from the cross country team after a decorated career, but Head Coach Matt Kaczor has a foundation of underclassmen he can build upon.
The volleyball team missed the MAC Tournament for a third straight season. Even worse, Head Coach Erik Olson resigned after a complaint stating he “engaged in unprofessional behavior towards the athletes.”
With a new, vibrant young coach in Matt Gawlik and key returnees such as soon-to-be junior outside hitter Jordan Bueter and soon-to-be sophomore Jamie Wolffis, there is hope the conference tournament drought could be snapped next season.
The men’s basketball team, which was picked to finish first in the MAC West Division, finished with a first-round loss to No. 12-seeded Bowling Green in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament. Seniors guards Chris Fowler, Rayshawn Simmons and Austin Stewart and forward John Simons failed to reach the coveted NCAA Tournament — a tournament Head Coach Keno Davis has not coached in since 2007 at Drake.
In contrast, Head Coach Sue Guevara women’s basketball team won the hearts of CMU fans with a 22-11 season. Led by senior guard Da’Jourie Turner, a core of four underclassmen — forward Tinara Moore and guard Cassie Breen and freshmen guard Presley Hudson and forward Reyna Frost — and Guevara, the MAC Coach of the Year, the team was possibly a few seconds away from winning the MAC Tournament Championship game and reaching the NCAA Tournament. The team was projected to finish fifth in the MAC West Division preseason poll.
The wrestling team showed it was still “Borelli built,” a named coined after Head Coach Tom Borelli. The team was led by seniors Mike Ottinger (174 pounds) and Zach Horan (141 pounds), but it was freshman Justin Oliver — who went from preseason backup to seventh in the country at 149 pounds by the season’s end — who stole the show.
The gymnastics team, led by veteran coach Jerry Reighard, reached NCAA Regionals for the eighth consecutive season. Just as impressive, freshman Kasey Janowicz nearly set the all-around record — which has stood for 13 years and counting — on her way to winning MAC Freshman of the Year.
Steve Jaksa’s baseball team stands at 13-33, but the team can still reach the MAC Tournament.
Likewise, legendary softball coach Margo Jonker and her team sit at 24-25-1 and have clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament this spring.
The track and field team is gearing up for a push for the MAC Outdoor Championships title, headlined by a pair of throwers and captains in senior Cole Walderzak and junior Dylan Banagis.
The golf team shot a 94 over par at the MAC Championships, but there is optimism Cheryl Stacey’s squad will improve with more years of competition. The team improved its score by 81 strokes compared to last season's MAC Championships.
The 24 freshmen and one sophomore on the lacrosse team, another new athletics program, overcame a 13-goal blowout loss at Michigan in its first game in program history to win six games.
It was just another year for Central Michigan athletics, and the Central Michigan Life Sports reporters were thrilled to bring it to you. Here’s to more game-winners, crazy plays and championships in 2016-17.
