Mondrach, Bankson and Harrer Also Honored
BEREA, OHIO — Baldwin-Wallace College junior men’s basketball forward Tori Davis (Elyria/ Open Door Christian School) has been named as the 2005-2006 D III News Division III Player of the Year, senior women's basketball point guard Nikki Altenweg (Perry) was named as a D III News Division III All-American and freshman guard Amanda Mondrach (Parma/ Holy Name) was named to the All-Freshman Team. In addition, men's basketball Head Coach Steve Bankson and women's basketball Head Coach Cheri Harrer both were named as conference Coach of the Year.
Davis is the first Yellow Jacket men's or women's basketball player to ever be tabbed as the Division III Player of the Year. He additionally was named as a d3hoops.com Division III second-team All-American.
Davis, who led the Ohio Athletic Conference in scoring with a single-season school-record 23.4 points per game also had career-highs of 8.5 rebounds per game, 54 assists and 23 steals. He also shot 64.4 percent from the floor and 73.6 percent from the foul line in leading the Yellow Jackets to a school-record 25 victories, a 25-5 overall record, to the OAC regular season and OAC Tournament titles and into the second round of the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
Earlier this week (March 14), Davis was named as the 2005-2006 Great Lakes Region Player of the Year and as a first-team All-Great Lakes Region selection. It was the second straight year that d3hoops.com has honored Davis as an All-Region choice. Three years ago, as a freshman, Davis was tabbed to the d3hoops.com All-Freshman team.
Davis highlighted his junior campaign with a career-high 44 points and canned 20-of-26 shots from the floor in a thrilling 113-108 double overtime victory against then second-ranked The College of Wooster. He also scored 37 points against Muskingum College and had 63 blockred shots this season — one shy of his own school single-season mark. Davis will enter his senior season with 1,626 career points which ranks eighth all-time at B-W, 705 rebounds (sixth) and 174 blocked shots (second).
In addition to his d3hoops.com accolades, Davis was the Most Valuable Player at the Wooster Tournament and the OAC Tournament MVP. He was the OAC Mike Gregory Player of the Year and a first-team All-OAC choice for the second straight year. Davis made the All-OAC squad for the third season overall (second-team pick as a freshman).
Altenweg was named as an honorable mention All-American by D III News and earned the same accolade from the WBCA (Women's Basketball Coaches Association) on its prestigious Kodak All-American squad. She ended her career as a three-time All-OAC and Academic All-OAC player and was a d3hoops.com All-region selection. Altenweg led the team in three statistical categories including scoring (10.4 points per game), assists (86) and steals (78). She stands third all-time in school history in steals with 237 and assists with 356. Altenweg also had 898 career points and 331 career rebounds.
Mondrach has made an immediate impact as a freshman for the Yellow Jackets. She was second on the team in scoring with 10.0 ppg., grabbed 3.0 rpg., passed for 49 assists, made 29 three-pointers and had 24 steals. She was a honorable mention All-OAC selection.
Cheri Harrer is the winningest women's coach in B-W history with 328 career victories and has a 328-119 overall record in 16 seasons. She has coached her teams to six OAC regular season titles, four OAC Tournament titles and nine appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including three teams that reached the "Elite Eight". Harrer has coached B-W to 10 straight seasons with 20 or more victories.
Steve Bankson is the winningest basketball coach in school history with 390 victories and a 390-304 record in 26 seasons at the College and a 42-year career mark of 671-418 overall. He led B-W to a school-record 25 wins this winter, a 25-5 overall mark and a school-record .833 winning percentage. His team was the first in school history to win both the OAC regular season and OAC Tournament titles in the same season. Bankson has led his team to five OAC Tournament titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances, including each of the last two seasons.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, please call B-W Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple at 440-826-2327, FAX him at 440-826-2329 or e-mail him at kruple@bw.edu.
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