Nova Sweeps Regional Athlete & Coach of the Year Awards

As might be expected when the program executes a double-triple (team championship + individual champion + individual runner-up for both men and women) at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, Villanova today swept the USTFCCCA awards for regional Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year.

Division I Regional Athletes and Coaches of the Year Announced

By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA

Mid-Atlantic

Marcus O’Sullivan, Villanova After lying low from major competitions for much of the season, O’Sullivan’s Wildcats pounced on the post-season competition with Big East and Mid-Atlantic Region titles. In his 16th season as the head coach of the men’s program, O’Sullivan guided freshman Patrick Tiernan to individual titles at both meets as the Wildcats won the Mid-Atlantic over Princton, 34-60, and the Big East over Providence, 36-49. Year Men 2012 Patrick Henner, Georgetown 2011 Patrick Henner, Georgetown 2010 Steve Dolan, Princeton 2009 Patrick Henner, Georgetown 2008 Patrick Henner, Georgetown

Mid-Atlantic

Gina Procaccio, Villanova Procaccio, in her 14th season as the head coach of the women’s program at Villanova, guided her Wildcats to arguably the biggest upset of the regional championships weekend as they defeated No. 4 Georgetown, 31-35, for the Mid-Atlantic title. Winner Emily Lipari and runner-up Nicky Akande led four finishers in the top eight as the previously unranked Wildcats took the team title. Her squad finished fourth at the Big East Championships. Year Women 2012 Beth Alford-Sullivan, Penn State 2011 Gina Procaccio, Villanova 2010 Gina Procaccio, Villanova 2009 Gina Procaccio, Villanova 2008 Sean Cleary, West Virginia

Mid-Atlantic

Patrick Tiernan, Villanova Tiernan, a freshman from Toowoomba, Australia, continued a strong 2013 campaign with a Mid-Atlantic Region title, completing the 10K course at Lehigh in 29:36.90. His time was just over six seconds faster than runner-up teammate Sam McEntee, leading the Wildcats to the team title and an NCAA Championships berth. The individual crown came on the heels of a Big East title and is his third of the season. Year Recent Winners 2012 Travis Mahoney, Temple 2011 Donn Cabral, Princeton 2010 Ayalew Taye, Georgetown 2009 Andrew Bumbalough, Georgetwon 2008 Andrew Bumbalough, Georgetown

Mid-Atlantic

Emily Lipari, Villanova Lipari, a senior from Greenvale, N.Y., defeated defending champion — and now-teammate — Nicky Akande by .05 seconds to claim the Mid-Atlantic Region title. She completed the 6K course at Lehigh in 19:52.65, leading the Wildcats to an upset of No. 4 Georgetown for the team title, 31-35. This was her second win of the year, and she finished runner-up at the Big East Championships. She also posted top-10 showings at both the Paul Short Run and the Pre-National Invitational. Year Recent Winners 2012 Nicky Akande, Villanova 2011 Sheila Reid, Villanova 2010 Sheila Reid, Villanova 2009 Sheila Reid, Villanova 2008 Francis Koons, Villanova