A Tradition of Excellence: Eight Straight Winning Seasons of 10 or More Wins
The Baldwin Wallace University women's soccer team has recorded at least 11 victories in eight straight seasons, including a school-record-tying 14 wins in 2013. The Yellow Jackets also have qualified for the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament in 10 of the past 12 seasons and advanced to the OAC Championship Game in 2005 and 2014.
"Our goal every year is to win the OAC title, advance to the NCAA Division III National Tournament and ultimately win a Division III national title," said second-year Head Coach Jim Wojtkun, who served as the assistant coach for 11 seasons before being promoted in the summer of 2017.
"We have continued to build our program with the goals of the OAC and NCAA titles in mind while also making sure that both the academic and athletic experience of our student-athletes is a quality experience," said Wojtkun.
The Yellow Jacket women's program claimed an OAC title and undefeated OAC record (9-0) in 1992 under the direction of Dan White. White's Yellow Jackets set the school-record for wins in 1997 with a 14-5-2 slate. That mark was equalled in 2013.
Wojtkun Wants to Take the Program to the Next Level Academically and Athletically
"Traditionally our women's soccer program has been solid," said Wojtkun. "Now, we are looking to take it to the next level and are looking for young women who want to make that commitment."
In addition to being solid on the soccer field, Wojtkun's team also excels in the classroom. The Yellow Jackets have earned recognition eight consecutive years for Team Academic Achievement and were awarded the Team Ethics Award of Merit by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Taking Pride in the Philosophy of the Women's Soccer Student-Athlete
That commitment has stayed strong in his first two seasons as head coach as eight Yellow Jackets earned Academic All-OAC honors and Rachel Bender '19 received both first-team CoSIDA/ Google Cloud Division III Academic All-District 7 and second-team CoSIDA/ Google Cloud Div. III Academic All-America accolades in 2017. BW had a program-record 10 student-athletes named Academic All-OAC in 2018.
"We are extremely proud of our men's and women's soccer student-athletes and tradition of academic excellence," said Wojtkun. "It tells both parents and the women we are recruiting that we are seeking excellence in all areas. We hope that is a favorable trait.
"Rachel Bender graduates as arguably the best all-around offensive player in the history of our program," said Wojtkun. "That will be a big loss because she exemplified the philosophy of the student-athlete.
"Rachel excelled on the field as the OAC Forward of the Year in 2017 and led off the field with a 3.94 grade average in the classroom. We are extremely proud of all eight of our Academic All-OAC student-athletes from 2017, and we set a program record with 10 being named in 2018. We look forward to having many more."