Athletic Report
May 2, 2002

ENMU SELECTS ROWLEY AS GREATEST ZIA, VARNADO AS GREATEST GREYHOUND
PORTALES, NM – Senior volleyball and softball player Jessica Rowley (5’10”, Dallas, OR/Clackamas C.C.) has been chosen Greatest Zia for 2001-02 and senior football player Larry Varnado (5’10”, 245 lbs., Clovis, NM/Clovis H.S.) has been selected Greatest Greyhound for 2001-02, in voting by the ENMU head coaching staff. Rowley was an outside hitter in volleyball and a shortstop in softball. Varnado played middle linebacker for the Greyhounds.

Rowley was a key player on both the volleyball and softball squads. She was named Second Team All-LSC South twice in softball, and was chosen LSC South Newcomer-of-the-Year in 2001. In volleyball, she was named Second Team All-LSC South in 2001 and earned Honorable Mention All-LSC South honors in 2000. She hit .329 this spring with a team-high 38 runs scored. She also drove in 33 runs, while smacking 10 doubles, 2 triples and 5 home runs. She set an ENMU record with 17 stolen bases on 19 attempts. She led the team with 122 assists and recorded 68 putouts.

Rowley started all 104 softball games in two years at ENMU. Her career totals included a .308 batting average, 74 runs scored and 53 RBIs. She pounded out 15 doubles, 3 triples and 8 homers, while registering 31 stolen bases on 36 attempts (86.1%).

As a key player on the volleyball team, she helped Eastern achieve a 26-11 record in 2000 and a 22-14 record in 2001 for a 48-25 two-year total. She led the Zias with 387 digs this past season, an average of 3.0 digs per game. She also earned 370 kills (2.9 avg.), achieved 64 total blocks (0.5 avg.), and recorded 23 service aces (0.2 avg.). She finished 8th all-time at ENMU with 806 career digs. She also earned 794 career kills at ENMU.

Rowley helped the Zias advance to the semifinals of the LSC Volleyball Tournament in 2000 and to the LSC Championship match in 2001. She played in all 73 matches and 261 of 262 games during her ENMU career. She qualified for the ENMU Athletic Honor Roll in Fall 2000, Spring 2001 and Fall 2001.

Varnado had his best season as a Greyhound during the 2001 season. He ranked second on the team with a career-high 71 total tackles on 41 solo stops and 30 assists. He recorded a team-high 15 tackles for loses (50 yards lost) and provided ENMU with two quarterback sacks for 15 yards lost. He had one interception and recovered one fumble.

During his four-year career at ENMU, he registered 157 total tackles, including 87 unassisted tackles and 22 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He also recovered a total of three fumbles during his final two seasons. Varnado helped the Greyhounds earn back-to-back LSC South Division co-championships in 1999 and 2000. He played on teams with a combined record of 28-14 (.667) with four straight winning seasons (8-3 in 1998, 8-3 in 1999, 6-4 in 2000, 6-4 in 2001).

As a senior, he helped the Eastern defense limit opponents to just 3.9 yards per rush and to less than 50% completions (127 of 262). As a junior, he ranked fourth on the team in tackles (55) and helped ENMU hold opponents to 18.0 points per game. He saw action in all 11 games as a sophomore and recorded 15 tackles.

The Greyhounds gave up just 16.6 points per game in 1999, while allowing opponents to complete just 34.6% of their passes. ENMU ranked 9th in NCAA Division II in passing efficiency defense and 15th in scoring defense. Overall, Varnado played in 42 games the past four seasons. He started all 20 games for the Greyhounds in 2000 and 2001.