Director: Erin Sullivan
Erin Sullivan is in her fourth season at the helm of the Belles softball program. During the 2006 campaign she guided Saint Mary's to their most wins in school history (28) while posting a third place finish in MIAA play. In 2007, Sullivan's squad finished the season with the highest winning percentage in program history with a .735 clip (25-9 record). Last season, the Belles had their highest finish in MIAA play ever as the team finished the regular season in second place with a record-high 12 wins.
Sullivan is a 2004 alumna of Saint Mary’s where she was a four-year starter and during her senior year she captained the softball team to their first ever MIAA Softball Tournament Championship. She was the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Batting Champion and the Offensive Player of the Year in 2004.
Erin was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association Academic All-American for 2003 and 2004.
Athletic Trainer: Nich Hoover, A.T.C.
Nich Hoover joined the Saint Mary’s College staff during the summer of 2008.
Prior to coming to the College, he spent the previous three years working with the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in South Bend, where he was placed at South Bend Clay High School as an on-site athletic trainer. While at Clay, Hoover worked with over 600 student-athletes in and out of season with injury prevention and rehabilitation and strength and conditioning programs.
During the summer of 2008, Hoover served as the head athletic trainer for the U-20 team at the United States Rugby Sports Performance Camp. He has been a volunteer athletic trainer for South Bend’s annual Sports Fest as well as the National Youth Sports Camp.
A 2005 graduate of Manchester College with a bachelor’s degree in athletic training, Hoover is a board-certified athletic trainer (A.T.C.). He also holds various certifications in health and wellness related areas, including first aid certification from the Red Cross and automated external defibrillator certification from the American Heart Association.
Basketball Coach: Jenn Henley
Jenn Henley returns to the court for her third season as head coach for the Belles with two very successful seasons behind her. In her first season as head coach, the Belles attained a 10-6 MIAA record, which represents the most conference victories since joining the league 11 years ago. In her second season, Henley coached a Belles team that played their way to the MIAA semi-finals for a second consecutive year.
Prior to coming to Saint Mary's College, Henley spent five years as the head women’s basketball coach at Mount Union College. Prior to her career at Mount Union, Henley served as an assistant coach at Loras College while attaining her master’s degree in athletic administration, which she completed in 1998. The native of Fostoria, Ohio, played one season at Ohio Northern University until a career-ending knee injury stopped her during her freshman season. Henley earned her bachelor’s degree in 1997 in both sport management and communication arts.
Henley has taught upper-level classes at Mount Union in human performance and sport management. She lives in South Bend with her husband, Brandon Werling, and son, Drew.
Soccer Coach: Ryan Crabbe
Ryan Crabbe just completed his first season at the helm of the Saint Mary's soccer program.
Previously Crabbe served as the assistant coach at Columbus State University since the 2005 season. During his three years with the Cougars he helped guide them to consecutive Peach Belt tournament championships in 2006 and 2007. In addition to their post-season success, Columbus State won the league’s regular season title during all three seasons he served on head coach Jay Entlich’s staff.
Columbus State qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament in 2006 and 2007. They earned a berth into the Elite 8 in 2007 and ended the season ranked fifth in the country. During his tenure the Cougars went a combined 53-14-3 as he coached nine different players who earned All Conference honors.
“I am eager and excited to take over the soccer program at Saint Mary's College and hope that I can have an impact on the success of our student-athletes both academically and athletically,” Crabbe said. “Through diligent recruiting and promoting the excellent opportunities which Saint Mary's can offer a young student-athlete, I plan to build the program into a consistent contender in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and one that is competitive at the national level.”
The native of Atlanta, Ga. is a certified United States Soccer Federation “A” licensed coach, which is the highest classification the USSF offers. He began coaching at Stone Mountain Youth Soccer Association from 1997-2000 before moving onto the Gwinnett Soccer Association from 2000-2004. He worked with all aspects of girls program at GSA from U10 to U19 and also was boys' varsity assistant coach at St. Pius X Catholic high school, winners of the 2001 state championship and state quarterfinalists in 2002.
Crabbe earned his Bachelor’s Degree at Georgia State in film and video where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2004. He went on to complete his Masters of Education from Columbus State in 2007. Crabbe and his wife Jennifer were married in December of 2006.
He was a four-year collegiate soccer player at Augusta State (Ga.) from 1993-1996. Crabbe is the school’s seventh head coach since Saint Mary’s joined the MIAA during the 1997-98 season.
Tennis Coach: Scott Marshall
Volleyball Coach: Toni Kuschel
Toni Kuschel was appointed head volleyball coach for the fall of 2009 for the Belles.
Originally from Pine River, Minn., Kuschel is a 1999 graduate from Pine River-Backus High School. After a successful prep career in volleyball and softball, Kuschel (then Elyea) went on to play collegiate volleyball and softball at Central Lakes College from 2000-01. During her time at Central Lakes, she was a part of two state, regional, and national championship volleyball teams. She also was the starting catcher both seasons for championship winning teams at Central Lakes.
From Central Lakes, Kuschel went on to gain her bachelor's degree from St. Cloud State University. Most recently, Kuschel has been coaching for the North Country Region Junior Olympic volleyball program for the past eight years as well as serving as an assistant volleyball coach at Mesabi Range College in Virginia, Minn.
She will be bringing eight years of coaching experience with her to Saint Mary's from coaching many successful teams at the high school, Junior Olympic, and collegiate levels. Kuschel is a 2002 graduate of Central Lakes College where she earned an associate's degree before going on to earn a bachelor's degree in recreation and sport management from St. Cloud State University in 2005.
