When both the men’s and women’s basketball teams lost their first-round games in the NCAA Division III postseason tournament on March 4, the focus for the squads began to shift from the 2010-2011 season to what the teams will be able to accomplish during the offseason.
The men’s team loses seniors Brad Cookson, Nick Jones, Robby Meeh, Drew Moore and Scott Restoff. Jones, Moore and Restoff started almost every game for the Gorloks this season, while Meeh was often the first player to come in off the bench.
Jones and Moore averaged 11 and 9.7 points per game, respectively, while Restoff recorded 5.2 ppg and Meeh scored 4.8 ppg.
The team returns 11 players from the varsity roster, including junior Willie Trimble, who was named an All-Conference first team member. Trimble averaged a team-high 15.2 points per game in his first season at Webster.
Also returning is freshman Jarrod Huskey and sophomore Cody Bradfisch. Huskey scored 9.3 ppg, while Bradfisch chipped in with 8.3 ppg. Huskey hit a team-best 59 percent of his field goal attempts for the season, while Bradfisch was a sharpshooter from beyond the arc, nailing 54 percent of 3-point tries.
Meanwhile, the women lose one of the program’s best all-time players in Katy Meyer. Meyer averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds for the Gorloks this season. She leaves Webster on a high note, as she was named a finalist for the prestigious Josten’s Trophy in early March.
The only other seniors on the roster are Barissa Ford and Molly Zehner. Ford has one year of athletic eligibility left after suffering a season-ending injury early in the season. Zehner scored 3.6 ppg and shot 46 percent from the field.
Not counting Ford, the Gorloks have 13 players returning for next season. Sophomores Maggie Zehner, Tori Fenemor and Airyn Miller all played major minutes for Webster, as did junior Megan Willett and freshman Kaliann Rikard.
Coach Jordan Olufson believes that if everyone comes back and buys into the team’s system, the squad has a chance to improve on what they accomplished this past season.
“I told them that I want everybody back; I want to build on this,” Olufson said. “The future is bright, but nothing is guaranteed. We do all the things — working hard, lifting in the summer and working out like a champion — we’ll be here (in the NCAA tournament). With this team and the talent, adding a recruiting class, the sky’s the limit for this program.”
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