With the conclusion of the decade imminent, CU Athletics will be posting a series of articles on cugoldeneagles.com and posts on social media highlighting the major storylines, successes, and reviews of the past ten years in Cornerstone Athletics.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Since the turn of the decade, Cornerstone Athletics has introduced eight new sports, including the recently announced Men's Volleyball program that will begin competition in the 2020-21 academic year.
Men's Tennis
First season: 2011-12
Highlights: Dan Erickson was the program's first head coach of both the Men's and Women's tennis programs. The team's record improved over each of the first four seasons, peaking with an impressive 18-7 showing in 2014-15.
Austin Hendrick ended his playing career at CU as the all-time leader in wins with 119 (56 as singles, 63 doubles) before taking over the reins as head coach in the summer of 2018.
Women's Tennis
First season: 2011-12
Highlights: After a difficult few seasons following the launch of the program, the Golden Eagles have posted winning records in each of the last two seasons, including an impressive 14-6 record in 2018-19. Current juniors
Marissa Menichini (Hooker) and sisters
Amanda VerHulst and
Nicole VerHulst are the top three in program history in individual wins, despite only entering their third season as Golden Eagles. Cornerstone alum
Elijah Yi, who was an all-conference player on the Men's Tennis team from 2012-16, is entering his third season as head coach.
Women's Golf
First season: 2011-12
Highlights: In the spring of 2016,
Taylor Dean recorded a hole-in-one in her first collegiate tourney. The 2019 team shot a program-best 352 at the Battle for Blackthorn in South Bend, Indiana, where
Katrina Goebel also set a program record with an 18-hole score of 81 in the WHAC Jamboree at Twin Lakes Golf Club.
Baseball
First season: 2013
Highlights: The program's first head coach David Mitroff used his resources to bring in players from across the nation to be the first class of Golden Eagle baseball players since the program restart. One of the program's original assistant coaches,
Chuck Lowitzki is entering his fourth season at the helm of the team.
The program saw its first winning season in 2017-18 when the Golden Eagles went 25-23. As the 6th seed in the 2019 WHAC Tournament, the team earned the program's first postseason victory with a 3-2 victory over Lawrence Tech.
Three-time WHAC Gold Glove winner at 2nd base Jon Stewart highlights the list of six different Golden Eagles who have earned a WHAC Gold Glove award since 2013.
Zach Bohl (1B, 2016) and Aaron Krupansky (SS, 2019) are the program's two National ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove winners.
Krupansky and pitcher Collin Young of the 2019 team joined pitcher Ben Sheckler (2016) as the program's only First Team All-WHAC recipients.
Cheerleading
First season: 2015-16
Highlights: While not a competitive sport, the cheer team has supported the basketball teams on the sidelines for the past five years.
Kristine Parker is entering her second season as the coach of the cheer team. Parker has developed the program by recruiting gymnasts and cheerleaders throughout the Midwest.
Men's Bowling
First season: 2015-16
Highlights: Dan Ribbink, who was the program's first signee, concluded his career in the spring of 2019 as one of the program's leading bowlers.
Chris Slagter, who has coached the team since its inception, is in his fifth season as head coach. Slagter's son,
Nicholas Slagter, came onto the Cornerstone scene strong in the fall of 2019, earning the program's first ever WHAC Bowler of the Week accolades just a couple weeks into his collegiate career.
Women's Bowling
First season: 2015-16
Highlights: Lily Whitford, the program's first signee, earned all-conference honorable mention as a freshman in the inaugural 2015-16 season.
Kourtney Rigterink earned all-conference honorable mention as a sophomore in 2017-18 and second team honors as a junior in 2018-19. Slagter, who also coaches the men's team, is in his fifth season at the helm of the program.
Men's Volleyball
First season: 2020-21
Highlights: To be determined!
"We're excited to launch men's volleyball and provide a new opportunity for more student athletes to be a part of the Cornerstone community," stated Director of Athletics
Aaron Sagraves in the November 2019
press release.
