Teaming Up For Central Oklahoma Habitat For Humanity
Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity scored big when it came to attracting women university student athletes from the greater Oklahoma City area to volunteer in August. COHFH Chair and CEO Ann Felton Gilliland said the influx of women university student volunteers included OCU women’s basketball. “These young women athletes and their coaches wore their school colors and were ready to work helping limited-income individuals and families build their future Habitat homes,” Felton Gilliland said. “It is always inspiring when local universities and colleges encourage their student athletes to volunteer for Habitat. They not only assist people in need—they also learn valuable new skills getting the job done.” OCU Stars Head Women’s Basketball Coach Kris Seigenthaler said one of the OCU program’s mottos is to “leave your legacy,” which fit in perfectly when it came to her squad volunteering on a home build in northeast Oklahoma City. “We’ve really had a blast volunteering for Habitat for the past two summers,” Seigenthaler said. “We are really challenging our players to leave their legacy by being servant leaders in the community and by giving to people who don’t have a lot.”
Eli Davis Named NAIA Pitcher of the Year
Senior Eli Davis capped another dominating season at OCU by being named to the NAIA Baseball All-America first team and the NAIA Pitcher of the Year.
Davis was fantastic on the mound in the spring, finishing first in the country in wins (12), second in games started (16) and leading the nation with 103.1 innings pitched. He struck out 137 batters, averaging 11.93 per game and faced 378 total batters in his 17 total appearances. Davis allowed only 11 doubles, three triples and one single homerun while tallying a batting average of .196 and an ERA of 1.83. Davis tossed six complete games for the Stars and shutout the opposition once.
He was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year and all-conference first team for the second year in a row. In two years with the Stars, Davis was 22-3 on the mound with a 1.67 ERA and 232 strikeouts.
Competitive Dance Team Wins Nationals
OCU captured the NAIA dance team performance championship in the National Dance Alliance College Nationals in April in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Stars bested the competition with a score of 90.40. They collected their fifth NDA title after winning the 2011 large dance title, 2013 NAIA large dance championship, 2016 NDA Division III hip hop title and 2016 NAIA small dance championship. OCU took the NAIA dance championship in 2014.
Women’s Golf Team Third in Nation, Tyrrell Wins Championship, Kamas Golfer of the Year
On the strength of a final-round +1 (72), OCU freshman MaKayla Tyrrell won the NAIA women’s golf individual national championship in May. As a team, the Stars finished third in the tournament after a final-round of 308.
For the week, Tyrrell was 10-over (294), three strokes ahead of the field at TPC at Deer Run. The Southlake, Texas, native stayed at or near the top of the leaderboard through all four rounds. Sophomore Maddi Kamas finished in a tie for 14th with a 306 on the par-71 course. Both were named to the all-tournament team.
Kamas also was selected as the NAIA Women’s Golfer of the Year as chosen by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association. She is now a two-time NAIA First-Team All-American. Kamas was twice named NAIA Golfer of the Week, Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Year and the individual medalist at the SAC tournament.
Stars Win More Conference Championships
In the spring semester, OCU athletic teams won Sooner Athletic Conference championships in five sports. Women’s golf, women’s outdoor track and field, softball and men’s wrestling. Additionally, each of those teams qualified for national tournaments along with women’s wrestling, men’s golf, men’s outdoor track and field, competitive cheer, competitive dance, STUNT, men’s rowing and women’s rowing.
