Freshman Kala Yoders capped her big rookie season by winning VaSID’s Rookie of the Year honor.
Eastern Mennonite women’s basketball player Kala Yoders (Myerstown, Pa./ELCO) has added another award as the result of her fine freshman season with the Royals. After helping EMU to a 15-11 season, Yoders was named the state’s Rookie of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID).
Yoders, already the ODAC Rookie of the Year and EMU Newcomer of the Year, was a big-time producer off the bench for a very young Eastern Mennonite team before earning a starting spot late in the regular season. The 5-10 forward averaged 12.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
She earned ODAC Player of the Week honors late in the season and finished the year among the top 15 in the ODAC in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. Yoders was also named All-ODAC Honorable Mention.
Christopher Newport University senior Chelsie Schweers became the first ever four-time VaSID College Division All-State Women’s Basketball Player of the Year after a vote by sports information directors around the state. Her head coach, Carolyn Hunter, grabbed Coach of the Year honors for the third straight year.
Schweers, the Division III National Player of the Year according to D3Hoops.com and SmallCollegeNews.com, is the first four-time VaSID Player of the Year in any sport. The senior Captain became CNU’s first ever four-time All-American, earning First Team honors by the WBCA and D3Hoops.com in 2010-11. The three-time USA South Player of the Year led the nation in scoring across all divisions, averaging over 25 points per game.
She finished her career ranked second in NCAA Division III history in scoring with 2,869 points and also topped the division in three-pointers made, one of just two players at any level to knock down over 400 treys. Schweers led the Captains to their first ever Final Four appearance, finishing third in the nation and she earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament team.
Hunter earned her third straight state Coach of the Year honors after one of the most successful seasons in Christopher Newport University history. Hunter guided the Captains to the school’s first ever regional championship and NCAA Final Four appearance in basketball, men’s or women’s. CNU finished the year 30-4 and with a third place finish overall. The Captains also won the USA South Championship for the third straight season.
2011 VaSID College Division All-State Women’s Basketball Team
Player of the Year: Chelsie Schweers, CNU
Coach of the Year: Carolyn Hunter, CNU
Rookie of the Year: Kala Yoders, Eastern Mennonite
First Team
Maame Amponsah, Marymount
Kristen Blalock, Va. Wesleyan
Jordan Burkholder, Bridgewater
Meg Ingram, Washington & Lee
Chelsie Schweers, Christopher Newport
Second Team
Amber Carter, UVA-Wise
Kristen Keith, Ferrum
Jessica Mullen, Bridgewater
Maggie Roy, Randolph-Macon
Ashley Washington, Averett