FROM THE WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES in Korea to the greens of Virginia golf courses to Disney World, a trio of Dukes have proven that the power of purple is a force to be reckoned with. A JMU archer, golfer and tennis player have piled up gold medals, state amateur titles and academic honors this past season.

MEGAN BOWKER

Middleborough, Mass.

Two-time All-America archer Megan Bowker ('04) and her U.S. teammates set a world record and won the gold in the team compound-bow at the 2003 World University Games in the Republic of Korea. Bowker combined with Texas A&M's Mary Zorn and Amber Dawson for a compound-bow team score of 2,033. Bowker shot a 664 of a possible 720. In the women's individual compound-bow competition, Bowker placed fourth with a 113 110 upset of heavy favorite, Amber Dawson (No. 2 at the 2003 world outdoor championships). Bowker also finished fourth at the 2002 World University Outdoor Archery Championships and has been a member of JMU's last three national runner-up compound-bow teams.

REBECCA VANDERELST

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Rebecca Vanderelst ('05) was one of 300 NCAA student-athletes chosen from among 1,200 to attend the 2003 NCAA Leadership Conference in Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida. Five-time Olympian
Willye White and human rights and sports activist Richard Lapchick were keynote speakers at the conference, which is designed to help student-athletes become effective leaders. Students discussed the expectations of student-athletes, inclusion education, international student-athlete experiences, recruiting visits and sportsmanship. Vanderelst, an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Academic All-America has "one of the best serves on the team," according to women's tennis coach Maria Malerba.

JAY WOODSON

Powhatan, Va.

For the second year, men's golf team
captain Jay Woodson ('04) won the Virginia State Amateur Golf Championship. Woodson joins an elite group of players (Chandler Harper, Vinny Giles, Curtis Strange, Tom McKnight and John Rollins) as repeat amateur champions. Woodson is the first since John Rollins (1996-97) to win back-to-back amateur titles. Woodson earned the title 5 and 4 in match play on the 6,975-yard,
par-72 Kinloch Golf Club in Richmond. Named to the 2003 Virginia State Golf Association All-State first team, Woodson finished the fall season with the best stroke average on the team (71.7).

Go more in-depth with these Dukes at Monty online. Read profiles of each player written by Lisa Freedman ('05).www.jmu.edu/monty