FPU athletes earn regional, national honors for performance on the field and in the classroom

Sunbirds were no strangers to the winner's circle in 2000-2001, as a record 16 Fresno Pacific University athletes earned 31 awards from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC).

Five who stood out from even this group of over-achievers were Chrisie Gregory, Teresa Kamps, Annie Taylor, Mesha Wimer and Orlando Ramirez. This group also earned an array of university awards.Gregory and Teresa Kamps shared FPU's 2002 Sunbird of the year award. Kamps was also named the university's outstanding scholar athlete for the second year in a row. Taylor was honored as outstanding senior, while Wimer and Ramirez were each named outstanding freshmen.

Chrisie Gregory, a junior distance runner from Fresno, finished third in the fall GSAC championship and led the Sunbirds to second in the NAIA regional championship. She became FPU's first cross country NAIA All-American honoree with her 24th place finish at the national championships, where she led the Sunbirds to a program-best eighth in the team competition. In the spring she became only the second Sunbird female national champion when she won the 3,000 meters at the NAIA indoor nationals. A mathematics/secondary education major with a 3.78 grade-point average, Gregory earned NAIA All-America Scholar Athlete honors in both cross country and track and field.

Teresa Kamps (basketball), a senior forward from Ripon, gained national recognition and rewrote the Sunbirds record book during her career. She is one of a handful of players named to the All-GSAC team in each of her four seasons. In all she broke 15 FPU records. She was named the GSAC player of the year this season when she led the Sunbirds to the conference championship, a program-best 14th ranking and a trip to the NAIA nationals. Kamps is the first Sunbird, and only the second GSAC athlete, to amass more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She was named to the NAIA All-America second team this season after gaining honorable mention the two previous seasons. Kamps, a business finance and marketing major with a 3.93 grade-point average, made the NAIA All-America Scholar Athlete team for the second consecutive season.

Annie Taylor (basketball), a center from Visalia, averaged 11.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game this season and owns the Sunbird single-game rebound record of 22. A liberal studies major with a 3.59 grade-point average, Taylor was named to the NAIA All-America Scholar Athlete team for the second consecutive year. Taylor also competed four seasons as a thrower in track and field.

Mesha Wimer (volleyball), a middle blocker from Sanger, was named GSAC freshman of the year and to the NAIA All-American second team. She is only the second Sunbird volleyball freshman to earn NAIA All-America honors. Wimer led GSAC with a .443 attack average as well as 1.57 blocks per game. She was named to the all-tournament team at the NAIA national championships.

Orlando Ramirez (soccer), a striker from Fresno, started each of the Sunbirds' 18 matches his freshman season. He led in scoring with seven goals and eight assists for 22 points. Ramirez, son of head soccer coach Jaime Ramirez, broke the FPU single-match assist record with four and was named to the all-GSAC squad.

2001-02 NAIA ALLAMERICA/SCHOLAR ATHLETE AWARDS

Joe Aiello - Basketball Senior Fresno

  • Scholar Athlete

Ben Bogdanof - Track & Field Sophomore Fresno

  • All American - decathlon
  • All American honorable mention - javelin

Richard Brazil - Track & Field Senior Norco

  • All American - hammer

Maurecia Clark - Basketball Junior Santa Maria

  • Scholar Athlete

Fabricio Codeceira - Soccer Frosh Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  • All American honorable mention

Kristin Fairley -Cross Country and Track & Field Senior Clovis

  • Scholar Athlete - track
  • Scholar Athlete - CC
  • All American - track
  • All American - CC

Lin Gao - Volleyball Sophomore Shen Yang, China

  • First team All American

Chrisie Gregory - Cross Country and Track & Field Junior Fresno

  • Scholar Athlete - track
  • Scholar Athlete - CC
  • All American - track
  • All American - CC

T.J. Jennings - Basketball Junior Sacramento

  • Scholar Athlete

Teresa Kamps - Basketball Senior Ripon

  • Scholar Athlete
  • All American second team

Roberto Lopez - Cross Country and Track & Field Junior Lemoore

  • All American - CC
  • All American - track

Annie Sippel - Track & Field Junior Lemoore

  • Scholar Athlete
  • All American

Annie Taylor - Basketball Senior Visalia

  • Scholar Athlete

Jennifer Toler - Cross Country and Track & Field Junior Fresno

  • Scholar Athlete - CC
  • All American - CC
  • Scholar Athlete - track

Kari Weinmann - Track & Field Junior Bakersfield

  • Scholar Athlete - weight
  • All American - weight

Mesha Wimer - Volleyball Frosh Sanger

  • Scholar Athlete
  • All American

Author

Wayne Steffen
Associate Director of Publications and Media Relations

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