Hodag History - 2001
The Hodags came into this season with their eyes not only on a Nationals appearance, but a shot at the Championship itself. Returning a solid squad of 23 players from the 2000 team the Hodags would be ranked in the top 5 in the country consistently. With a semifinals appearances at the Stanford Invite and Easterns the Hodags were on the short list of teams considered to have a chance at the title. Once again the Hodags were unable to capture the regional crown losing to Carleton in the finals but advanced to Nationals in Boston after defeating Winona St. in the second place game. The Hodags lost two games at the National tournament. The first loss was to eventual champion Carleton and the other to Oregon in quarterfinals. The season was capped off with a fifth place finish and the departure of 13 Hodags including Jonathan "Opie" O'Connell, who finished fourth in the Callahan (College MVP) award, the highest by any Hodag.