CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois volleyball head coach Chris Tamas announced the addition of Meredith Schamun (pronounced shah-MOON) as the programs new Associate Head Coach on Tuesday.

“We interviewed several great candidates and as the process went on, it was clear that Meredith’s experience as an assistant and head coach will help Illinois volleyball tremendously as we transition into the new era of college athletics,” Tamas said. “She has a vast recruiting background as well as a deep knowledge of X’s and O’s of our game. Her passion and drive for coaching and developing players will add our continued success here at Illinois.”

“I want to thank Head Coach Chris Tamas and Senior Associate Director Breanna Shamaila for this incredible opportunity,” Schamun said. “I’m honored to step into a program with a tradition of competitive success and a family atmosphere. From my first conversation with Coach Tamas, I knew Illinois volleyball aligned perfectly with my goals and passion for the game. I can’t wait to hit the ground running with Chris, Jen, Eli, and the rest of the Illini FamILLy!”

Schamun joins the Fighting Illini following a four-year stint at Penn. Most recently, she guided the Quakers to a successful 13-10 campaign with an 7-7 Ivy League record in 2024. The season included the Quakers’ first win over rival Princeton since 2015 and their first victory over Brown since 2019. Following the season, a pair of Schamun’s players received honorable mention All-Ivy recognition.

Schamun came to Penn from Villanova, where she helped the Wildcats to a 39-23 record in two seasons as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Schamun assisted Villanova to a pair of Big East Tournament appearances and a combined 23-13 record in league play. In 2019, the Wildcats were 22-9 overall and 13-5 in the Big East. That year, she guided the Wildcat offense which finished second in the league in hitting percentage and trained Villanova’s all-time assist leader.

Prior to arriving at Villanova, Schamun spent two seasons at Tulane as an assistant coach, helping the Green Wave to the highest RPI jump in the nation (157 spots) in 2016. Tulane had its first winning season in three years and finished fifth in the American Athletic Conference with Schamun on the sideline.

From 2014-15, Schamun was the director of volleyball operations at UCF, helping organize travel, scheduling and recruiting for the Knights, who won the conference title and reached the NCAA Championship field in 2014.

A highly decorated setter at Rice, Schamun was a four-year starter for the Owls. The Conference USA Setter of the Year in 2009, Schamun was a Conference USA Championship MVP, two-time All-C-USA First Team, AVCA All-Region and AVCA All-America honorable mention selection. She helped lead the Owls to a conference championship and two NCAA Championship berths, and finished her career as Rice’s all-time leader in assists with 5,190.­

Following her time with the Owls Schamun played professionally in Germany for a season.

Schamun graduated from Rice in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and policy studies for healthcare administration and earned a master’s from UCF in sport and exercise science in 2015.

Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina put two men’s golfers and a pair of women’s golfers on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) At-Large Academic All-District teams announced today by the organizing group. Catamount men’s golfers Andrew Korytoski and Jace Butcher are joined by women’s golfers Elizabeth Lohbauer and Sadler Miller on the At-Large Academic All-District team.
 
Miller is the first Catamount golfer to earn all-district at-large team plaudits in multiple seasons, collecting her second honor over the past two academic calendars. WCU women’s golf has had seven student-athletes recognized all-time, with Lohbauer and Miller joining Kayleigh Baker, Victoria Ladd, and Brie Mapanao from the 2023-24 season . WCU’s honorees also include Johanna Lundberg (3rd-team, 2003) and Brandy Andersen (2nd-team, 2004) as WCU’s honorees.
 
Butcher and Korytoski join former Catamount Pablo Hernandez (2023) as WCU’s only all-district at-large team selections.
 
The CSC Academic All-District® teams recognize student-athletes for their combined academic and athletic achievements. A combined 10 men’s sports – fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling – and a total of 12 women’s sports – beach volleyball, bowling, crew/rowing, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, and water polo – are all housed under the at-large category.
 
A maximum of six student-athletes from men’s sports and six student-athletes from women’s sports are eligible to be nominated by each school’s respective media relations or communications office.
 
Across The Southern Conference, 35 women’s student-athletes and 24 on the men’s side were recognized on Tuesday. Furman, Mercer, Chattanooga, VMI, and Wofford each had six women, followed by UNCG with three and WCU’s pair honored. Mercer and VMI had six apiece on the men’s team, followed by Furman with four, while Chattanooga, UNCG, Wofford, and WCU each had two.
 
Sophomore Andrew Korytoski spent seven of his nine seasonal appearances among the Catamount scoring five in 2024-25, averaging 75.37 over 27 combined rounds. A combined 25 of his 27 rounds were shot in the 70s or better, including a career-low round of 67 fired at the JT Poston Invitational in Waynesville. He led WCU with a season-low 54-hole score of 216 (74-70-72) at the fall-ending Furman Intercollegiate.
 
A product of  Cataula, Ga., Korytoski boasts a cumulative grade point average of 3.93 while majoring in integrated health sciences. He was listed on the 2023-24 SoCon Academic Honor Roll, with the 2024-25 list yet to officially be released by the league.
 
Sophomore Jace Butcher played in all 10 of the team’s events in 2024-25, finishing fourth on the team in seasonal scoring average at 73.50. All 30 of his seasonal rounds were shot in the 70s, including a season-low round of 68 in the opening round of The Peoples Championship at Sea Palms Resort. Butcher had three Top 15 finishes, twice placing inside the Top 10, and twice led the Catamount scoring five last season.
 
Butcher is majoring in management and finance, and has a cumulative grade point average of 3.73 through his first two years. The Kennesaw, Ga., native was named to the 2023-24 SoCon All-Freshman team and received SoCon Academic Honor Roll plaudits a season ago.
 
Elizabeth Lohbauer led the Catamount scoring five with a seasonal stroke average of 75.46, the 12th-best single-season in program history. A combined 25 of her 28 rounds in her All-Southern Conference season were shot in the 70s or better, including a season-low round of 69 over the final 18 holes at The Robbie. Lohbauer recorded five Top 10 finishes, including three ninth-place showings and a season-best third-place finish at the SoCon Women’s Golf Championship.
 
A senior from Venice, Fla., Lohbauer finished with a 3.53 GPA while majoring in nutrition and dietetics. She is a three-time Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll recipient, with the 2024-25 list to be announced later this month. Lohbauer was also a three-time SoCon Women’s Golfer of the Week in her career.
 
Sadler Miller was in the starting lineup for all 10 of the team’s seasonal events, finishing the year third on the squad with a 78.50 scoring average over 28 rounds. She fired 16 rounds at 70 or better, including a career-low round of 69 on the opening 18 holes at the Puerto Rico Classic. A product of Clayton, N.C., Miller finished a season-best fourth at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate before flirting with the top of the leaderboard at the SoCon Women’s Golf Championship, finishing 14th.
 

Miller, who is also eligible for the Academic All-District team for her performance with women’s outdoor track & field, boasts a 3.93 cumulative GPA while majoring in interior design. She was also named a 2023-24 WGCA All-American Scholar.
 
After today’s announcement of the men’s and women’s at-large awards, Western Carolina has put a combined 38 student-athletes on the CSC Academic All-District teams this season to date, including eight from football, six from women’s soccer, five from baseball and softball, four from women’s tennis and volleyball, and two from women’s basketball, men’s golf, and women’s golf teams. The postseason academic honors for men’s and women’s golf, as well as track & field, have yet to be announced this spring.
 
The CSC (formerly College Sports Information Directors of America – or CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team aims to recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes baseball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA.
 
Selections to the 2025 Academic All-District® teams were made from nominations submitted by the communications or sports information professionals at each NCAA member institution. Honorees were required to have posted a 3.50 or better GPA, completed at least two semesters at their current school, played in at least half of their team’s competitions, and be considered a starter or key contributor. Freshmen student-athletes were ineligible.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts).

Finalists have been named for the 2025 Gary Player International Golfer of the Year Award presented by FlightScope, as announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America in partnership with FlightScope. Freshman Adam Buchanan has been named one of five NAIA finalist for the award.

Buchanan joins Grant Ferreira, Southwestern Christian (South Africa), Rio Saigal, Lindsey Wilson (England), Vedant Sirohi, Webber International (India), and Jack Whaley, Dalton State (England) as the five NAIA finalist up for this year’s honor.

The award is given to five outstanding collegiate golfers from outside the United States, one each for NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, as well as NAIA and NJCAA.

Buchanan becomes the second Seahawk to be a finalist for the award. Isac Wallin won the inaugural honor last season. 

 

Adam Buchanan, First Year, Ballyclare, Northern Ireland