<< Front page Sports Commencement 2004

Athletes of the Year: Amber Coleman, Quammie Semper

Senior Amber Coleman has provided plenty of theatrics on and off the field in her four years as an actress and as a star on the volleyball, basketball and outdoor track teams. The rare three-letter athlete, Coleman garnered one all-conference first team selection in volleyball and two first-teams in outdoor track during her Oberlin career. She also finished the 2003-2004 basketball season second in the NCAC in steals and sixth in assists.

Coleman, a product of Maple Heights High School and a Cleveland area native, led the volleyball team to 10 wins during its fall campaign, placing third in the league with 3.45 kills and fifth with 4.57 digs per game. She registered 132 more kills and 173 more digs than anyone else on the team, en route to her first all-conference first team selection after two honorable mentions. In last fall’s conference outdoor track meet, Coleman finished sixth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.93 seconds. And during the basketball season, Coleman averaged 8.8 points a game, grabbed 99 rebounds and swiped 72 steals.

One of the few three-sport athletes in Oberlin’s history, Coleman will graduate in May as an African-American Studies major. She plans to attend New York University in the fall to study theater.

Coleman said that she chose Oberlin because she could compete in sports while pursuing her other interests.

“I just like to keep my body in motion,” she told Oberlin Online in April. “I have the ability to compete in three sports and do the things I love.”

Senior Quammie Semper, hailing from Waltrip High School in Houston, Texas, has defied the expected limitations his slight 5’ 11”, 175 frame to leap into the record books as Oberlin’s all-time leader in interceptions. His 10 interceptions as a senior were only three fewer than the previous record-holder’s entire career total. His 21 career swipes ranks first in the history of the NCAC. He owns three separate school records for career (425), season (168) and single-game (110) defensive return yards, interceptions returned for touchdowns (4) and longest interception return for a touchdown (80 yards vs. Earlham, 2003). His defensive game is not limited to taking possession away from the other teams; Semper also holds school records for career passes defended (56) and single-season passes defended (17).

Semper has an extensive award resume, including a place on Don Hansen’s Football Gazette NCAA Division III All-American first-team defense, selections as a D3football.com All-American and the NCAC first team, and two NCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Semper recorded 38 solo tackles and assisted on 25 others in 2003. He also blocked two field goals to lead the team.

Maybe more important than his work on the field is his seat on Student Senate and his enlistment in the United States Army Reserve in 2001. The graduating Sociology major hopes to be an officer in the military someday.

By Douglass Dowty


 
 
   

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