2018 Dallas Athletics Banquet Held on Sunday
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas Athletics celebrated its fifth annual banquet held at the Hagger University Center on campus Sunday night. Each coach for 14 NCAA affiliated programs that competed this academic year were able to speak on behalf of their teams, and recognize the accomplishments of the team and individuals.
Headlining the year were national and conference accolades by Spencer Levi (men’s basketball), Eric Haigh (men’s soccer), and Nat Kajiwara (men’s soccer). Michelle DeCoud (women’s basketball) etched her name in the top-five of several all-time categories for the program, including shattering 1,000 career points.
Men’s soccer produced a top-five winning percentage in program history (4th, .737) and the best record in the SCAC since joining (10-2-2). The team ended No. 4 Trinity University’s NCAA Division III record of 47 straight home wins, and went on to play the nationally ranked foe in its first ever SCAC Championship. David Hoffmann continued to build his resume as the all-time winningest coach at UD with 140 wins.
Men’s basketball head coach Jarred Samples eclipsed 100 career wins this year, and became just the second coach of the program to reach triple-digits. He led the Crusaders to a tie for second in a competitive conference this year with an 8-6 record. That win total for league games also was the most for the program.
Diana Hassink (women’s track & field) won the SCAC Shot Put and broke her own school record a second time this spring.
Golf and men’s lacrosse posted some of the best marks in program history, as two coaches in their second seasons at the helm demonstrated growth with young squads. Robby Evans highlighted the year with a school record 65 at the Alamo City Classic, which led him to a tournament win. Jacob Wade capped off a strong spring with a spot on the All-SCAC First Team at the Conference Championship.
There were also several other records and milestones achieved throughout the year.
Dallas boasted a total of 274 participating student-athletes in 2017-18 for an all-time most. 37% of the student-athletes posted a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Towards the conclusion of the program, Dr. Thomas Jodziewicz presented the 2017-18 UD Scholar-Athlete Award. Claiming the honor for the third consecutive year was Trae Hampton (men’s soccer) with a 3.982 GPA. A Biochemistry major and concentration in Spanish, Hampton is the third student-athlete since its inception in 1983-84 to receive the accolade all three years eligible. Theresa Smart last managed the feat from 2008-2011. Hampton intends to study his doctorate at Texas A&M University in Biochemistry.
Complete list of University of Dallas Scholar-Athlete of the Year Recipients can be found here.