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James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Winter 2009 - Index

dUkeSTUrF
Fall teams: two
CAA champs
Playoff hopes and C A A players
of the year By Curt Dudley
FooTball: CAA Champs
Dramatic comebacks and
miraculous finishes helped
the dukes take the 2008
Caa Championship in early
november. at press time, the
dukes were poised for a run at the Football
Championship subdivision national title.
The dukes improved to 7-0 in league
play for the first time in the program’s history
and clinched the Caa crown with a
48-24 defeat of no. 12 William & Mary
at Bridgeforth stadium on nov. 15. The
victory was the dukes’ school-record
ninth straight and moved them one step
closer to another school mark, 10 wins in
the regular season.
during the regular season senior quarterback
Rodney Landers and sensational
return man scotty Mcgee, a junior, provided
highlights worthy of national attention
on esPn.
Mcgee’s second-half kickoff return for
99 yards and Landers’ 62-yard touchdown
run on the dukes’ first play in the third
quarter ignited a comeback that saw the
dukes beat three-time defending national
champion appalachian state, 35-32, at
Bridgeforth stadium
in midseptember.
Landers led a
63-yard scoring
drive over 2:22
and completed a
two-point conversion
pass to
tie Richmond at 31-all with 59
seconds to play at UR in october.
after the defense forced a
UR punt with 18 seconds to play,
Mcgee returned the football 69
yards for the winning score with
one second remaining.
at Villanova two weeks later with 1:01
remaining, Landers managed the clock and
drove the dukes from their own 34-yard
line to the VU 35. snapping the ball with
4.5 seconds left, his Hail Mary pass into the
end zone deflected off a pair of defenders
and into the awaiting arms of Bosco Williams
for the game-winner.
Field Hockey: CAA Champs
JMU took its third straight Caa title
by knocking out old dominion 1-0 on
nov. 9. Junior goaltender Kelsey Cutchins
repeated as Colonial athletic association
Player of the Year, and senior teammate
Melissa Walls was honored as the defensive
Player of the Year. The duo anchored
the nation’s top defense in nCaa division
i Field Hockey. Coach antoinette
Lucas earned Caa Coach of the Year laurels
for guiding JMU to a national ranking
of fourth at the regular season’s end
and to a program-best record of 18-2. at
press time, the dukes had drawn no. 12
University of Virginia to face in the first
round of nCaa tournament.
woMen’S Soccer
JMU beat georgia and host Wake Forest,
Junior cornerback
Scotty McGee of
Virginia Beach
entered the 2008
season with JMU’s
best career kickoff
return average
(31.6 yards).
Quarterback
Rodney Landers
(‘09) of Virginia
Beach led
the Dukes to
the top of the
rankings and
poised for a
championship
run in 2008.
both by 1-0 scores,
to advance to the
16-team nCaa tournament
for the third
time in team history.
Caa Player of the
Year junior Corky
Julien guided JMU to a tie for second place
in the regular season. Julien set a school
record by scoring a goal in nine consecutive
matches. another impressive mark fell
as sophomore Teresa Rynier entered postseason
play with a JMU-record 13 assists
for the season. The dukes completed the
regular season with an overall record of
12-6-2, 8-3 in the Caa. a season highlight
included a 1-0 home victory against
Penn state in a nationally televised game.
croSS coUnTry
Junior alison Parris placed seventh and
senior aspen Foster finished 12th to lead
the women’s cross country team to a second-place
finish among the nine teams
competing for the 2008 Caa Women’s
Cross Country Championships. This
year’s title race was hosted by george
Mason University. Parris covered the
6,000-meter terrain in 21 minutes and
46 seconds while Foster crossed the finish
line in 21:55. Both dukes earned all-
Caa honors.
woMen’S SwiMMing
and diving
The dukes left the blocks for one of their
best starts in recent years at 6-1 following
a Caa pod meet in early november.
Junior P.J. naber and sophomore Morgan
McCarthy provided strong returns among
the dukes’ swimmers. This year’s Caa
Championship Meet returns to george
Mason on Feb. 25-28. M
Stay up-to-date on the dukeS
JMU will host the 2009 CAA Women’s
Basketball Championship Tournament March 12-15.
photographs by cathy kushner (’87) WinTeR 2009
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