I don’t like to play favorites, but…
I just completed my seventh year at Covenant and have seen some outstanding teams during those years. Having been around Covenant for a long time (17 years to be exact), and having researched each program’s history extensively, I can safely say that the past few years have been some of the most successful for the department as a whole.
That success has made certain teams and their runs pretty memorable for me as the SID. Now, I enjoy all of my teams and love covering them and being around the athletes and the coaches, but these few teams stand out as unique and part of the grander history of Covenant College athletics.
2017 Volleyball
This team was absolutely loaded and had arguably the best season in program history. In my seven years, it’s the best Covenant team I’ve witnessed.
Covenant went 25-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the first team in department history to win a NCAA Tournament contest (we became full Division III members in the 2013-14 academic year).
They went undefeated at home and undefeated in conference play. They were down 2-0 in the conference tournament championship match and came all the way back to win it in five. They were down 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and came back to win the match in five. They had an All-American and two All-Region players. They had a 17-match winning streak, which broke the program record and tied an all-sport record at Covenant.
Above all that, this team featured some of the nicest players and coaches. They treated me very well, but more than that they treated my wife and my then 3-year old so well. They adored my kid and loved having him around on a couple of road trips. It was a complete family atmosphere with a team full of talented ladies that showed the example of how to be successful and be followers of Christ.
That year was not fluke with the program, either. Before that run and after it, the team has constantly been not only successful on the court (currently four straight conference regular season titles), but also feeling like a part of my family.
2013 and 2014 Baseball
My first year as a full-time SID was in 2012-13. In the spring of 2013, the baseball team put together its winningest season and made it to the NCCAA World Series for the first time (also its first national tournament appearance). One year later, the Scots were back at it with their first conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.
Between those two seasons, I was able to travel with the team both times it made it to those national tournaments. Being a lifelong baseball fan, it was cool to me to have one of my first really good teams as an SID be a baseball one.
The head coach (who is still here) has been a family friend for years after he came to Covenant to restart the program in the mid-2000s. I played high school baseball with a couple players on these two teams.
It was fun to be a part of the success of the program after seeing it come from nothing just eight years prior and then suffer through the growing pains of a new program in its first two seasons.
Both volleyball and baseball teams I mentioned are two of the programs at Covenant that do things the right way. Being a part of this department is something special as everyone strives to pursue excellence on the field, classroom, and in their walks with Christ.
These volleyball and baseball teams stick out in my memory, but they are just two of the many teams, moments, players, and coaches that have left a lasting memory on me. Looking forward to many more memories in the future!