There have been some incredible moments and historic achievements during the 2012 fall and winter sports seasons and with the New Year right around the corner it's time to commemorate those achievements by ranking them. Disagree with the order or want to mention a teammate that was forgotten? Tweet @thielathletics, or comment at the bottom of the page with your own list and/or any snubs that were missed. Most importantly though, have a happy new year and go Tomcats!

1. Taylor records 3.5 sacks at Thomas More to become school's all-time sack leader (10/13/12)
The Tomcat defense was historic (not to mention dominate) in the PAC in 2012 and the All-American from Girard, Pa. was a main reason why. Tim's 3.5 sacks against the Saints gave him the all-time record for sacks in a career by a Tomcat and cemented his future Thiel Hall of fame candidacy.

2. Barzak breaks all-time career kills record
Anytime that you break a school career record it's a big deal. In 37 years of women's volleyball at Thiel nobody can say they've had more kills in a career than Kelly Barzak had in her four years in Greenville, with the historic moment coming in the Tomcats 3-0 win over Westminster on October 25th.

2t. Barzak scores 20 points in loss to Hiram (11/25) to make her the first Tomcat to ever record 1,000 kills and 1,000 points.
This was too close to call and thus shares the honor, as Barzak once again achieved a major milestone. The Warren, Ohio native became just the 12^th member of the 1,000^th point club, and the first since 2006, with her fourth point of the game. In doing so she also became the first Tomcat ever to record both 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career points.

3. "The Play"
The Play etched its way into Tomcat football lore on Sept.21 when Thiel broke a 24-game losing streak on a touchdown that was scored on a broken play. Kicker Cody McClelland scooped up the errant snap and found all-conference tight end Berend Grube in the back of the endzone for the decisive score in Thiel's 21-14 overtime victory over Geneva. The play was named d3football.com's play of the week and garnered over six thousand YouTube views.

4. Tomcat volleyball hands Thomas More its only PAC loss of 2012 on Senior Day
The Saints came into the October 27th match having lost just four SETS in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play all season and sporting an undefeated (15-0) PAC record. The Tomcats needed to win their remaining two matches in order to secure one of two first-round byes in the PAC playoffs, meaning they needed to defeat both Thomas More and Waynesburg in what were the final home matches for the five seniors- Chelsea Meister, Megg Andrews, Ashley Donnelly, Kelly Barzak and Alyssa Chine.  The Tomcats, trailing 2-1 after three sets found a way to push the PAC leading Saints to a fifth and final set. Not to be denied, Thiel won the set, 15-11, to hand Thomas More their first, and only, conference loss of the season. Shortly after, the Tomcats defeated Waynesburg in straight sets, 3-0 and clinched the second seed in the PAC playoffs.

5. Steinmetz sets school record at 6k in just her freshman year
Again- any time you break a school record it's a big deal. Especially if you do so in just your first season, as Steinmetz did. Steinmetz, running at the Oberlin College Inter-Regional Rumble, posted a time of 23:12.6 besting the old record of 24:09 set by then freshman Tiffany Blosser at the PAC Championship on November 1, 2008.

6. The Tomcat men's basketball team starts 6-0 for the first time in program history.
In the 96-year history of men's basketball at Thiel, no team has ever started a season with six straight wins. That, however, changed this season, as the 2012 Tomcats rattled off six (technically seven) consecutive victories.

7. Jake Lowry injures MCL mid-match against Seton Hill, continues wrestling and defeats 2011 JUCO all-American 9-8
One of the gutsiest performances by a Tomcat to date, Lowry was in control over Dylan Bushby of Seton Hill before an unusual knee injury sent Lowry to injury timeout. In obvious pain on the mat, Lowry managed his way back to his feet, hobbling back to the center circle for yet another referee's position. Just another day for Lowry who outlasted Bushby on a bad knee, defeating him in overtime, 9-8. After a brief stint of rehab Lowry ran his record to 8-0 on the year with a win by technical fall over Ezekial Stroupe of Washington and Jefferson College on December 8.

8. Heim pins seventh ranked heavyweight in DIII with signature "heimlock"
Maybe the most surreal moment of the fall/winter 2012 season came when freshman Blake Heim disposed of Mount Union's Nick Terifaj in just 48 seconds. What made it so remarkable was how quickly Heim had Terifaj locked into the “heimlock”, as evidenced by the hush that came over the Beeghly gym faithful- as if they didn't quite know what they had seen and/or how to react. Terifaj was left to plead for an injury time from the official who wasn't having any of it and counted him pinned at the 48 second mark. Heim improved to 13-4 on the season with the win.

9. Harvey beats the buzzer as Tomcats beat Clarion on November 11, 2012
Sure it was technically just an exhibition. But anytime a DIII school defeats any DII school it deserves considerable mention- especially if it comes on a buzzer beater which was the case when Anthony Harvey drained a game-winning step back jumper from inside the three-point line as time expired to give the Tomcats a 61-59 win over Clarion.

10. Fennick kicks an extra point and scores a goal on the same day
Taking a page out of Bo Jackson's playbook, Jon Fennick began a wet and rainy October 27^th by putting on his shoulder pads and dressing in the Tomcats final home football game of 2012- a 26-13 loss to Bethany College. The freshman from New Castle, Pa. went 1-for-2 on extra point attempts, and made a 36-yard field goal that was negated due to a roughing the kicker penalty on the Bison. Some four hours later, Fennick traded out his football pads for soccer cleats and scored Thiel's lone goal in a 4-1 loss to Geneva.

11. McCaskill scores 38 in win over Geneva
Kamran McCaskill scored a career-high 38 points on a remarkable 17-for-20 shooting in a 91-79 win over PAC foe Geneva College on November 28, 2012. His 38 points were the most by a Tomcat since February 15, 2006, when Damien Williams put up 42 points against Westminster College.

12t. Women's tennis wins first PAC match since 1999
On September 14th, the Tomcat women's tennis team defeated the Bethany Bison, 5-4 behind Elizabeth Moir and Sandy Rodeheaver. Moir picked up her third win of the season with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Amber Ridings at number four singles, while Rodeheaver posted a 6-0 win over Jordan Jones at number five singles. The duo teamed up at number three doubles to defeat Jones and Deanne Gamble 8-4 and, in doing so, helped the Tomcats to their first PAC victory since September 14, 1999.

12t. Women's Soccer defeats Chatham to win multiple PAC matches for first time in over five years
Emily Skebo recorded three points, assisting on Danielle Lukaszewicz goal in the 36^th minute and scoring a goal of her own in the 89^th minute to lead Thiel to a 3-0 win over the Chatham Cougars. The win, coupled with a dramatic 2-1 overtime victory over Bethany College earlier in the season, gave the Tomcats multiple conference victories in the 2012 season- the first time they have done that in over five years.



Honorable mention (in no particular order)

1. Point guard Kayla Welty plays 80 consecutive minutes in back-toback games for Thiel women's basketball team
   Though it didn't crack the top 12, Welty deserves recognition for having played 40 straight minutes in back-to-back games on back-to-back nights for the Tomcat women's basketball team over Thanksgiving break. The freshman point guard scored five points and dished out two assists in Thiel's November 24^th against Carnegie Mellon, and dished out another five assists the following night in a 62-57 loss to Hiram College.
   
   
   2. Tomcat women's volleyball team advances to PAC finals for 3rd time in 4 years
   While the outcome of the championship game wasn't as hoped, the Tomcats returned to the PAC finals for the third time in four years with a 3-1 win over Bethany College on November 2 in the conference semis.
   
   
   3. Chine joins 1,000 kill club in loss to Bethany

            Alyssa Chine became just the sixth Tomcat to record
1,000 career kills with her 13 kills in a 3-1 loss to Bethany on October 11^th.