The Illinois College women’s team did not record a team score at the MWC Championships as only four members   of the team ran, but Ashlyn Haage ’20 had a very solid year overall, running a time in the 4K at UIS that put her   into the program record book.

 After losing many key players due to injury during the course of the season, the Illinois College men’s soccer team   closed out 2018 with a record of 5-12-1 (2-6-1 MWC). Ryan May ’19 tied for the team lead in both goals and assists   in his final year with the team, recording three goals and two assists. He was a 2018 Second Team All-MWC   selection.

 The Illinois College women’s soccer team doubled their overall and conference win totals in 2018, finishing with an   overall record of 6-12 (2-7 MWC). Katie Elmore ’21 made a big impact in her first year on the team, ending with   seven goals and four assists.

 The IC women’s tennis team overcame tons of adversity this season to finish with a 5-9 overall record. After losing   their head coach just before the beginning of the season, the Lady Blues battled, often with just four players, to wins   over Beloit, Blackburn, Fontbonne, Greenville and Knox. Sally Hixson ’20 and Kalisa Goertz ’21 also won   consolation championships at Nos. 2 and 3 singles at the MWC Championships. 

The Illinois College football team regrouped after a 0-3 start to end at 4-6 overall in 2018. The Blueboys celebrated the 1,000th game in program history with a 63-20 blowout of Beloit, and also notched victories over Cornell, Grinnell and Macalester on the season. A total of 10 players ended up on an All-MWC South

Division team, including First Team selections for Glen Gibbons Jr. ’21, Zach Heren ’20, Carter Hilley ’21 and Logan West ’19. 
After competing in six tournaments throughout the fall, the Illinois College women’s golf team took fourth place at the MWC Championship on Oct. 5 and 6. The tournament was originally scheduled to be a three-day, 54-hole event, but bad weather forced the cancellation of the final round. Madi Peyton ’21 earned All-MWC honors by finishing in a tie for ninth place individually. 

The Illinois College volleyball team ended the 2018 season with an overall record of 22-7, including a 6-3 mark in the Midwest Conference. The win total for the Lady Blues was the most since 2003, when the team won 25 times in a 37-match schedule. The last team with a better record in a 29-match schedule was all the way back in 1996, when Illinois College won an MWC title with a record of 23-6. 

By virtue of their 6-3 record against conference foes, the Lady Blues advanced to their first MWC Tournament since 2006. IC gave Cornell College, the No. 1 seed and host of the MWC Tournament, everything it could handle in the MWC semifinals. The Rams eventually outlasted the Lady Blues in four marathon sets, winning 32-30, 30-28, 24-26, 25-18.

Illinois College made Sherman Gymnasium a fortress this season, ending with a record of 9-0 at home. Along the way, the Lady Blues experienced only one dropped set. Eight of the nine matches ended in 3-0 sweeps, while IC took out Lake Forest in four sets to clinch its spot in the postseason conference tournament. 

At the conclusion of the season, Illinois College had three players named to an All-MWC team. Juniors Elizabeth Ganley ’20 and Ali Pankey ’20 were First Team All-MWC selections, while fellow junior Maddie Ramsey ’20 earned a Second Team All-MWC spot.
Ganley, a setter for the Lady Blues, became the 10th player in program history to record more than 1,000 assists in a season. With one year left to play, her 2,904 career assists rank fourth all-time for the Lady Blues. Likewise, Pankey, an outside hitter, has put herself in the record books with one season left to play. She will go into her senior season needing just 27 kills for 1,000 in her career. Her 973 kills thus far have her in seventh place on the Illinois College all-time kills list.