Missy Gregg, the Christian Brothers scoring machine who refused to let knee injuries slow her productivity, is the first player to earn back-to-back NSCAA/adidas National Player of the Year honors.
Gregg closed her career at CBU with NCAA single-season and career records for goals scored and points. She is among the seven players announced as winners of the college awards for NCAA and junior college play. The NAIA Players of the Year will be announced next week. The honorees join Alecko Eskandarian of the University of Virginia and Aly Wagner of Santa Clara University, the NCAA Division I Players of the Year who were announced last month as recipients of the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy.
Joining Gregg as an NCAA Division II honorees from men's play was Mounir Tajiou, a forward from Southern New Hampshire University. In NCAA Division III, honors went to Hayden Woodworth, a midfielder from Messiah College, and Leah Cornwell, a goalkeeper from William Smith College. Selected from the junior college ranks were Jordan McKee, a defender from Yavapai College for men's Division I; Eric Zegle, a forward fro Dutchess Community College for men's Division III; and Kim Jents, a forward from Long Beach Community College for women's play.
Biographical information on each of the winners follows.
NCAA Division II
Men: Mounir Tajiou, F, Sr., Southern New Hampshire University
Tajiou led SNHU to a record of 20-3-2 and its first appearance in the NCAA Division II championship game since 1989. He led the Northeast-10 Conference in scoring for the second consecutive year. His 24 goals in as many games and 11 assists gave him 59 points, ranking him third in the nation in scoring. He had a career-best outing of four goals in SNHU's 6-1 win over Assumption. He concluded his two-year stint at SNHU with 40 goals and 17 assists for 97 career points in only 42 games. A native of Stockholm, Sweden, he already held a law degree from Stockholm University before enrolling at SNHU. He also holds a master's degree in international business and is completing a second master's in business administration.
Women: Missy Gregg, F, Sr., Christian Brothers University
Gregg becomes the first player, male or female, to repeat as an NSCAA/adidas National Player of the Year. After posting NCAA single-season records for goals (73) and points (156) as a junior, she faced the challenge of coming back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. She responded by ringing up 62 more goals and 131 more points as she carried Christian Brothers to the Division II national title, despite of suffering a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in the second round of the post-season. A two-time Honda Woman of the Year nominee, she recently was named the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Female Amateur Athlete of the Year. Including her first two years of collegiate play at the University of Dayton, Gregg concludes her career with a total of 180 goals and 394 points, both NCAA records.
NCAA Division III
Men: Hayden Woodworth, M, Sr., Messiah College
Woodworth led the Falcons to their second national championship in 2002 after missing most of his junior season with a fractured cheekbone. An NSCAA/adidas All-America as a sophomore in 2000, he led the Falcons to their first national title that season, earning Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year honors. As a freshman, he was the league's Rookie of the Year in 1999 and concluded his career as a four-time all-conference selection, three-time All-Region player two-time NSCAA/adidas All-America.
Women: Leah Cornwell, G, Sr., William Smith College
A three-time first-team all-conference honoree, Cornwell leaves William Smith as one of the program’s most decorated players. A two-time NSCAA/adidas All-America, she was a four-year starter in goal, racking up a career record of 62-15-5. Leading the Herons through two penalty kick shootouts on the way to the NCAA Semifinals in 2002, she allowed just 12 goals prior to the NCAA Tournament and one score in the first three tournament games. She was a two-way player in two post-season shootouts, knocking home both her scoring chances while stopping two opponents’ shots. As a senior, she had a 16-4-3 record with 71 saves against 16 goals allowed, an .816 save percentage. For her career Cornwell had an .849 save percentage, giving up only 56 goals while making 315 stops, including 36.5 shutouts.
Junior College
Men's Division I: Jordan McKee, D, So., Yavapai College
McKee played in all 50 games in his two-year career at Yavapai, anchoring a defense that helped the Roughriders to a 46-3-1 record and a ranking of No. 1 in the nation in the final NSCAA/adidas poll for 2002. He led the team to the NJCAA title game the last two years, claiming the title last season. The Arizona Conference Player of the Year, he also earned Region I Player of the Year and was Most Valuable Player of the 2002 NJCAA National Tournament, held in Tyler, Texas.
Men's Division III: Eric Zegle, F, So., Dutchess Community College
A two-time NSCAA/adidas All-America, Zegle led the nation in scoring in 2002 with 28 goals and 17 assists in his 17 games. The Region 15 Player of the Year, he was noted for his ability to overcome double- and triple-teaming by consistently choosing the best option, whether it was to finish the scoring threat himself or to step up a teammate for a goal.
Women: Kim Jents, F, So., Long Beach Community College
Jents closed out her career at Long Beach by rewriting her own record for single-season goals and matching her freshman-year total of 85 points. She leaves LBCC as the career record-holder in goals scored (67) and total points (170). A two-time NSCAA/adidas All-America, she also holds the LBCC single-game goals record, recording six in a match against Los Angeles City College as a freshman.