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Debra Gore-Mann begins her fourth year as the Executive Director of Athletics in 2009-10. In her third year as A.D., the University of San Francisco won the 2008-09 West Coast Conference Men's All-Sports Award. The honor marked the second time in school history that USF has won the award. The Dons also finished second in the annual Commissioner's Cup, falling a point and a half shy of winner San Diego. The second place finish marked the highest finish in USF history. "The 2008-09 year was an extraordinary year in so many ways for USF Athletics," said Gore-Mann. "We had a strong year thanks to our fall sports teams performing well and the rest of our teams taking advantage of the momentum that started with men's soccer and volleyball. Our spring sports teams then added to their accolades, propelling us into second overall in the WCC standings. It was truly a collective effort by coaches, staff and student-athletes that we achieved so much last year. We hope to be able to capture the title outright in the near future". San Francisco won the Men's All-Sports Award thanks to first place finishes by the Dons' men's golf and men's soccer programs. The two league championships marked the first time since 2005-06 that the Dons earned two men's championships in a year - also the only other time the Green and Gold captured the league's Men's All-Sports Award. USF led the Men's All-Sports standings with 35.5 points, followed by Gonzaga (31.0), Loyola Marymount (29.0) and San Diego (28.0). Upon the completion of the baseball season, San Diego ended the year with 64.0 overall points, slightly edging out San Francisco (62.5) for the Commissioner's Cup. The 2008-09 year proved to be a successful one for the USF Athletic Department as seven of its athletic programs advanced to their respective NCAA Tournaments. By virtue of winning WCC titles, men's soccer and men's golf earned automatic bids to the postseason, while women's volleyball and women's golf earned at-large bids to the post season tournament after finishing second in league standings. Men's and women's track and field, cross country and women's tennis each had individuals from their programs selected to compete in the national postseason. During 2008-09, USF also claimed many of the West Coast Conference's top honors, landing three Player of the Year accolades, three Coach of the Year honors and a Freshman of the Year nod. Conor Chinn (MSOC), Danielle Cvitanov (WGolf), and Jennifer-Lee Heinser (WTEN) were named the conference's top athlete in each of their sports, while Ganbileg Bor was named men's cross country Freshman of the Year. On the coaching side, men's golf head coach Gary Nelson, men's soccer head coach Erik Visser and women's golf head coach Ria Quiazon were named the WCC Coach of the Year for their respective sports. San Francisco also added 20 First Team All-West Coast Conference honors to its list of 2008-09 accomplishments. Earning the honors were Carly Babin (VB), Bor (XC), Michelle Born (XC), Dane Braunecker (BB), Chinn (MSOC), Cvitanov (WGolf), Alix Gombos (VB), Heinser (WTen), Diana Hong (WGolf), Drew Johnson (BB), Domingo Jojola (MGolf), Zach Kim (BB), Dior Lowhorn (MBB), Sarah Mandala (VB), Doug Murray (BB), Derek Poppert (BB), Shay Rollins (WBB), Jeff Russell (MSOC), Christina Stockton (WGolf), and Tommy Tu (MTEN). With the conclusion of the 2008-09 academic year, the West Coast Conference announced the eighth annual Commissioner's Honor Roll, which recognizes those student-athletes that possess at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. USF placed 96 student-athletes on the 2008-09 list with 14 earning Gold Honors, 15 earning Silver Honors, and 67 earning Bronze Honors. Women's soccer had a department high four student-athletes earn gold honors, highlighted by 2009 College of Arts and Sciences Valedictorian Anika Steig. "In addition to USF's athletics performances last year, we are equally proud of our student-athletes and their academic excellence," said Gore-Mann. "This season we saw a renewed commitment to academics from several teams which was reflected in the overall increases in team GPAs and APR scores. In addition, we are most proud of our graduated senior and goalkeeper, Anika Steig, who was selected as class Valedictorian. The Politics major and Peace and Conflicts minor's accomplishments in the classroom were so impressive when one couples it with the commitment Anika made to being a student athlete. Anika was our second class valedictorian after Tavo Hall (BB) who was selected in 2007. Our alumni, staff and administration can take pride in USF Athletics commitment to developing both students and athletes who represent our institution with distinction and honor." Gore-Mann was named Athletics Director at the University of San Francisco July 21, 2006, and is the first female Director of Athletics at USF and just the third overall in West Coast Conference history. At USF, Gore-Mann serves as the Executive Director of the university's athletic program, which features seven women's and seven men's sports teams, including basketball, golf, tennis, track/field and cross country; soccer, volleyball, and baseball. USF's athletic staff includes more than 30 full and part-time coaches and administrative and support personnel who provide services to about 240 student-athletes. At Stanford, Gore-Mann served as Senior Associate Athletic Director for Finance and Operations from 1999-2005 and most recently served as Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Relations and Senior Women's Administrator. She shared financial responsibility for the more than $50 million annual Stanford Athletic Department budget and shared management of 34 sports. Gore-Mann served as Senior Project Manager on the recent Stanford Stadium renovations and served as the lead negotiator on the Cardinal all-school apparel contract with Nike, Inc.. Prior to her tenure at Stanford, Gore-Mann worked in the corporate sector for Bechtel Enterprises, Inc (1993-99), Morgan Stanley & Co. (1987-92) and Raychem Corp (1982-85). Gore-Mann is married to former USF varsity basketball player Anthony Mann, who was a member of the 1985-86 "Return to Basketball" squad and has a daughter, Quinci. |
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