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Leathernecks Sign Players for 2009-10 Season | Leathernecks Finish Third at Summit League Championship | Donaldson Signs Free Agent Contract | Hunt Named Men's Coach of the Year

Leathernecks Sign Pair of Players for 2009-10 Season

Western Illinois University head men’s basketball coach Jim Molinari has announced the signees David Gebru and Billy Molinari for the 2009-10 season.

A 6-foot-10 front line player, Gebru comes to Western from Maine Central Institute. A graduate of Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, Wash., Gebru was a part of the state championship team title his senior season as he earned all-league honorable mention.

A 6-foot-2 guard out of Peoria Christian School, Billy was a part of 83 victories at the varsity level. As a senior, he helped lead the Chargers to 26 wins, a No. 1 ranking, a conference championship and a title in the prestigious State Farm Holiday Classic.

Click here to read more on Gebru and Molinari.

Leathernecks, Peterman Finish Third at Summit League Championship

The Western Illinois men’s golf team rallied in the final round of the Summit League Championship Tuesday, April 28, but the effort was not enough for the Leathernecks to defend their title from last season.

Trailing by nine strokes to both Oral Roberts and UMKC with one round to play, Western shot a 7-under-par 281 in the final round to tally a three-round total of 870. One of the first teams to finish for the day, the Leathernecks spent the remainder of the tournament sitting in the clubhouse and watching as ORU and UMKC came in with lower scores and South Dakota State equaled them.

The Golden Eagles took the Championship at 860 while the host Kangaroos were second, one stroke ahead of Western and SDSU at 869.

Click here to read the full story.

Donaldson Signs Free Agent Contract with New Orleans

Former Western Illinois University running back Herb Donaldson signed a free agent contract with the New Orleans Saints in April.

Donaldson, who led all of Division I in both rushing (162.2 ypg) and scoring (12.0 ppg) last season, was expecting to be a late-round draft selection. Instead, he had to wait for the phone to ring Sunday night after the draft. Several teams contacted Donaldson, who decided on the Saints.

“I hadn’t heard from New Orleans at all leading up to the draft,” said Donaldson. “I am just happy to have an opportunity at the next level and New Orleans looks like they offer the best opportunity for me.”

Click here to read more on Donaldson.

Hunt Named Men’s Coach of the Year

Western Illinois head tennis coach Michael Hunt was named The Summit League’s Coach of the Year and the men’s and women’s tennis team placed a total of five players on all-Summit League teams as the league gave out its yearly awards at the championship banquet.

Hunt earned the coach of the year honor after leading the Leathernecks to a 4-2 league record and its fourth straight Summit League championship tournament. He previously won the men’s coach of the year award in 2005-06 after taking a team that won only one conference match the year before and guiding them to a 4-2 conference record. Hunt becomes the second coach, following Art Peterson, to win multiple coach of the year awards at Western.

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