1983 Men's Tennis
The Belhaven University Athletic Department picked up its first Team National Championship in 1983 when legendary and Hall of Fame Coach Charles Rugg led a group of young men to the Men's NAIA National Championship after finishes of 10th, 6th and 3rd in the three previous seasons. The 1983 Blazers squad included: Thomas Ljung, Martin Dyotte, Eric Bonneau, Robert Chagnon, Steven Bonneau, Roger Lavalee, and Stephan Brissman.
In the historic championship tournament format, where teams earned points based on how far singles and doubles pairings reached in the National Tournament bracket, Belhaven, who finished with 33 points, edged Lander (S.C.) University by one point to claim the programs first team National Championship. The Championship run was capped off by a max points earning from pairing Stephan Bonneau and Martin Dyotte, who claimed the outright doubles National Championship for the 1983 season.
The Charles Rugg led Blazers finished the regular season with a 17-2 record, including a final regular season ranking of third in the NAIA. The team also had a great season in tournament play. The Blazers finished first in the Millsaps Indoor Tournament, second in the prestigious Southern Miss Big Gold Tournament, and first in the Southern Miss Invitational. The Blazers also won the Mississippi Intercollegiate Tournament and the NAIA District 30 Regional Tournament, setting up their strong postseason run at the National Championships.
1992 Men's Soccer
Belhaven won its second team National Championship and first ever Men's Soccer National Championship in the 1992 season.
The Blazers finished the season with a school record 21 wins, including a 21-2-2 overall mark and an .880 winning percentage which still stands as the highest winning percentage in the rich history of the Belhaven Men's Soccer Program.
The Belhaven Blazers entered the 1992 National Championships with a 19-2 record overall on the season and were drawn Rockhurst (Mo.) and Tiffin (Ohio) as opponents in the oppening round of pool play. The Blazers drew with Rockhurst and then Tiffin and Rockhurst also finished in a tie, setting up a winner take all final game of pool play between the Blazers and the Dragons of Tiffin. In a back-and-forth contest, the Blazers would head their way into the knockout stages with a late goal, before adding a another to seal a 4-2 win and a berth in the National Semifinals.
The Blazers, who played West Virginia Wesleyan, would have to rely on penalty kicks in the semis, but calmly slotted away four of their five to advance to the championship. Belhaven would go on to defeat another soccer power in Lynn (Fla.) University, 2-1, in the final, securing the programs first and schools second team National Championship.
2012 Men's Soccer
In a title run set for the story books, Belhaven Men's Soccer added the programs second National Championship and schools third overall on the 20th anniversary of the Blazers first National Championship in Men's Soccer.
Coming into the 2012 season, the Blazers were picked fifth to win the Southern States Athletic Conference. However, Belhaven would go on to post a 7-3-1 mark in conference play, earning a bid to the conference tournament. The potential dream season took a set back as the Blazers fell to Southern Polytechnic State, but the 20th-ranked Blazers still earned a bid into the Tournament after an impressive resume through the regular season.
The Blazers would go on to cap the memorable season with five straight victories in one of the most dominant postseason runs in the NAIA, outscoring the opposition 13-3. When the Blazers got to the National Semifinals, the Green and Gold knocked off the favorites and defending National Champions of Lindsey Wilson with a winner from Eduardo Cruz with 28 seconds left to win 1-0.
The Blazers would then cap off the National Championship run against one of the biggest rivals in program history, defeating the Mobile Rams 2-0. Victor Lawrence and Tom Cosgrave would both score first half goals and Carl Blundell would stop all five shots on target to preserve the National Championship for the Blazers.
