Four CCU players named Associated Press All-Americans

Four Coastal Carolina football players have been named Associated Press All-Americans. Senior quarterback Tyler Thigpen was named to the first team, while junior wide receiver Jerome Simpson, senior safety Quinton Teal and senior offensive lineman Brad Poston were honored on the second team. These are the first AP All-Americans for the program and mark a Big South record for a single year.

AP All-American Tyler Thigpen.

Thigpen, who was also an American Football Coaches Association All-American, the Big South Conference Offensive Player of the Year and finished seventh in the balloting for the Walter Payton Award, is ranked second in the Football Championship Subdivision with 329.3 ypg of total offense, while being fourth nationally with 274.7 passing yards per game. The first-ever Big South player to be nominated for the Payton Award, he set nine Conference season records in 2006 in total offense (3,952), total offense per game (329.3), passing yards (3,296), touchdown passes (29), passing yards per game (274.7), passing efficiency (167.42), 300-yard passing games (5), 300-total yard games (9) and rushing yards by a quarterback (656).

Simpson, also a First Team All-Big South selection, set the school records in receptions, yards and touchdowns with 54 catches for 1,077 yards and 16 touchdowns. He currently ranks 11th in the nation in yards per game (89.8) and 26th in scoring (7.64) as well as setting the league record for touchdown receptions in a season (16). Simpson was named Offensive Player of the Week twice this season and scored at least one touchdown in 11 out of 12 contests this year, including five touchdowns in Big South play and a streak of seven consecutive games. He also is Coastal's career leader in receptions (119), yards (2,024) and touchdown receptions (33).

Teal, another two-time First Team All-Big South selection, is the league's all-time interception leader with 17 and leads the conference in single-season picks, this time tying with four, which ranks him 48th in the nation. He led the league with 13 passes defended and had 81 tackles, ranking second for Coastal and 12th overall in the league. He posted a career-best 13 tackles in the win over Liberty, including one tackle for loss and an interception that ended a LU scoring drive.

Poston, who was a two-time First Team All-Big South selection, started all 12 games for the Coastal offensive line that blocked for an offense that set a new Big South record for passing yards and passing touchdowns. He has graded out at least 70 percent in all 12 games this year and has been the only player in Coastal history to start all 45 games since the program's inception in 2003.

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Van Den Berg named Third Team Academic All-America

Kevin Van Den Berg

The Coastal men's soccer team's junior forward, Kevin Van Den Berg of Grand Rapids, Mich., was named to the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Third Team as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in November 2006. Van Den Berg is majoring in both business management and finance and has a cumulative grade-point average of 3.86. He was named to the 2006 Big South All-Academic Team and to the Dean's List in 2005. He is also a Wall Fellow.

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Chants win Big South title, selected to play in Division I championships

Coastal scored 28 unanswered points to come back and defeat Charleston Southern, 31-17, to capture the outright 2006 Big South Conference football championship with a perfect 4-0 record. The Chanticleers finish the regular-season at 9-2 and have won or shared a League-record three consecutive Big South championships.

Following this win, the Chants were selected to play No. 1 Appalachian State for the opening game of the 2006 NCAA Division I Championship, marking their first appearance in the competition. Coastal battled but could not overcome a hot start by the defending national champs, losing 45-28 in the first round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship, Nov. 25.

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Men's golf team finishes historical fall season

The Coastal men's golf team has concluded its most successful fall season ever, including the highest ever rankings by the team and an individual in the history of the program.

College golf uses four major barometers for rankings the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, the Golf Coaches Association (GCAA) of America/Bridgestone Coaches' Poll, the Golfstat ratings and the GolfWorld Coaches' Poll. At press time, Coastal Carolina is No. 6 in the GolfWeek/Sagarin Performance Ratings Index; No. 7 in the Golfstat ratings; No. 9 in the GCAA/Bridgestone Coaches' Poll of Nov. 16; and No. 11 in the GolfWorld Coaches' poll. The Chants were ranked as high as No. 4 in the GolfWeek rating, the highest ever for any sport at Coastal Carolina or in the Big South Conference. Coastal is also the top ranked team in District 3 North by GolfWeek, the first time the squad has ever been the top team in one of the top three districts in the nation.

The Chants posted top five finishes in each of their four team events in the fall, including taking home the team title at the Coca-Cola Duke Classic in Durham, N.C., Oct. 8 and 9. Coastal led through 36 holes and dominated the final round, posting the best round of the tournament with a 281.

Senior Dustin Johnson continues to make his mark on the national stage individually. He was named the Midseason National Player of the Year by GolfWorld and to the 2007 Ben Hogan Award Watch List by Colonial Country Club and the Friends of Golf. According to the GolfWeek/Sagarin Performance index, he was ranked as the top player nationally one time during the season. Dustin Johnson is first golfer in Big South Conference and school history, to ever achieve this top individual ranking. The two-time All-American and two-time Big South Player of the Year is currently ranked sixth in the GolfWeek/Sagarin collegiate ratings and 36th in the Golfstat Cup individual ratings among all levels of collegiate golf.

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Hoke finishes collegiate career with high honors

Josh Hoke

Coastal Carolina football's Josh Hoke of Statesville, N.C., was named to the ESPN The Magazine Football Academic All-American First Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He is the first CCU athlete ever to earn the First Team honors twice in his career.

The senior kicker, who graduated in December 2006, was a 2005 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team selection and has been a I-AA Athletic Directors All-Academic honoree the past two seasons. He graduated with a 3.98 grade point average in communications. A two-time First Team All-Big South kicker as well as All-Eastern Region selection, he is the Big South Conference's all-time leader in scoring with 297 points and field goals with 40. The 2006 Big South Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year, he had a streak of 85 consecutive PATs made, dating back to the 2005 season, snapped earlier this year, but he still has made 49 of 50 on the year. He finished third in the Big South with 79 points after leading the league in scoring the last two years. Hoke has also been on the President's List (4.0 semester GPA) in eight of nine semesters and on the Big South Presidential Honor Roll three times.

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Viellehner earns cross country All-American honors

Julia Viellehner

Julia Viellehner of Winhoring, Germany, became the first ever cross country runner from Coastal and the first female in the Big South to be named to the NCAA All-American Team.

The wind and the mud couldn't slow Viellehner down as she finished in 11th place with a time of 21:06, which was also the top freshman finish in the NCAA Cross Country Championship held in Terre Haute, Ind. The 6K race fielded 255 runners with the top 30 runners earning All-American honors. Viellehner finished strong despite having a fellow runner step on her foot, causing her shoe to come off within the first 1,000 meters. She ran the remaining 5,000 meters with one cleat and one sock.

"It was really muddy and difficult without one shoe," said Viellehner, "and I knew everyone would notice but I just pretended that it was on and kept running."

"We're really proud of Julia," said Alan Connie, head coach of the program. "This is our first cross country runner for Coastal to earn All-American status and the first female in the Big South. It says a lot about our program and was a great way for Julia to end the season."

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