093_HR0289
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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to congratulate the Lewis University
4 Flyers Men's Volleyball team on winning the NCAA national
5 title at The Pyramid in Long Beach, California on May 3,
6 2003; and
7 WHEREAS, The Flyers became the first NCAA Division II
8 school and the first school from the Midwest Intercollegiate
9 Volleyball Association (MIVA) to win the men's NCAA
10 volleyball championship; and
11 WHEREAS, The championship is the first NCAA major
12 national title for schools from the Chicago area since Loyola
13 University won the 1963 basketball championship; and
14 WHEREAS, The Flyers won the championship with a dramatic
15 3-2 5-set victory (42-44, 30-27, 30-27, 23-30, 15-12) over
16 the number one seeded Brigham Young University Cougars; and
17 WHEREAS, Lewis was ranked number four in the nation
18 coming into the tournament; and
19 WHEREAS, Lewis advanced to the Championship match with a
20 victory over Pepperdine, the number two team in the nation,
21 in the NCAA semifinals; and
22 WHEREAS, Under the leadership of Head Coach Dave Deuser,
23 Assistant Coach Ryan McNeil, and Student Manager John
24 Sullivan, the team ended the season with an impressive 29-5
25 record, including victories over Penn State, Loyola, UCLA,
26 Stanford, and Ohio State; and
27 WHEREAS, The members of the team are: Enrique Escalante,
28 Jose Castellano, Alex Karjavine, Weyni Johnson, Jeff Soler,
29 Matt Mueller, Ryan Stuntz, Fabiano Barreto, Gustavo Meyer,
30 Kevin Miller, Brandon Sisk, Marco Quintana, Greg Pochopien,
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1 James Elsea (Captain), and Jose Martins (Captain); and
2 WHEREAS, Ryan Stuntz, Fabiano Barreto, and Gustavo Meyer
3 were named to the all-NCAA tournament team and Meyer was
4 chosen as the tournament's most valuable player; and
5 WHEREAS, Meyer finished with 21 kills, Barreto had 18
6 kills, Stuntz had 15 digs, and Martins had 55 assists for the
7 Flyers in the Championship match; and
8 WHEREAS, In its ten year history, the men's volleyball
9 team has been incredibly successful, reaching the national
10 semifinals three times, losing to UCLA in 1996 and 1998; and
11 WHEREAS, Lewis University, which began as an aeronautical
12 school, is a Catholic and Lasallian university where aviation
13 continues to be a hallmark program; therefore, be it
14 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15 NINENTY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
16 we congratulate the team members and coaches of the Lewis
17 University Men's Volleyball Team on winning the NCAA national
18 title; and be it further
19 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20 presented to University President Brother James Gaffney, FSC
21 and to each of the coaches and members of the team as a token
22 of our respect and an expression of our esteem.