In 14 years at the helm of the Bridgewater's women's
basketball program, Jean Willi has directed the Eagles to the
1999-00 and 2000-01 regular season ODAC titles, five NCAA
Division III appearances, and the 1998-99 and 2007-08 Old
Dominion Athletic Conference championship. Willi has compiled an
impressive 257-102 mark for an impressive winning percentage
of 72.1.
Willi spent 11 seasons as a Bridgewater assistant, before taking
over as head coach prior to the 1996-97 season. Her first Eagles'
squad went 22-6 and gained the school's first-ever berth in the
NCAA Division III tournament, and Willi was named the Old Dominion
Athletic Coach of the Year. The Eagles followed with an even
greater campaign in 1997-98, finishing with a 24-5 season mark (a
school record for season victories) and reaching the "Sweet 16"? of
the NCAA tournament. For her accomplishments, Willi was named the
1998 College Division Coach of the Year by the Virginia Sports
Information Directors Association (VaSID).
The Eagles again reached the 20-win plateau in 1998-99, and
captured the program's first ODAC tournament title since 1990 with
a 75-71 overtime victory over Randolph Macon in the championship
game. For the fourth time in as many years as head coach, Willi
again directed the Eagles' to another 20-win season in 1999-2000.
The team finished with an overall record of 20-6 and lost in the
ODAC semifinals to Emory & Henry. The 2000-01 season marked
another 20-win effort and another ODAC Coach of the Year honor for
Willi as the Eagles won the ODAC regular-season title, finishing
with a 21-5 record. In 2001-02 the Eagles finished 23-5 and lost to
Guilford in the ODAC title game.
In 2003-04, the Eagles reached the 20-win mark again and tied for
the ODAC regular season title with Coach Willi once again named
conference Coach of the Year.
In 2005-06, the Eagles finished with a 24-7 record (tying the most
wins in a season record) and received one of the at-large bids to
the NCAA Division III tournaments. The Eagles advanced to the Sweet
16 with wins over Bates and Baruch, before falling to Southern
Maine - the nation's top-ranked team- on USM's homecourt.
Two years ago, the Eagles became the first sixth-seed to ever win
the ODAC tournament title. Bridgewater upset the #3, #2, and
#1 seeds to capture Willi's second title.
Willi has been actively involved in the Women's Basketball Coaches
Association (WBCA) and has served as the conference captain on the
Division III basketball committee and has been chair of the South
Region.. In addition, Willi also serves as the College's Associate
Director of Athletics and Senior Women's Administrator.
A 1980 graduate of Bridgewater, Willi was an All-State selection
in basketball as she helped lead the Eagles to the 1980 Virginia
Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women's (VAIAW)
Division III championship. She still ranks among Bridgewater's top
10 rebounders, and her 264 rebounds during the 1979-80 season
stands as the second-best total in school history. Willi also was a
member of the Eagles' 1980 lacrosse squad that finished fourth
nationally.
Now in her 14th season with the Bridgewater women's
basketball team, Cyndi Justice has helped guide the Eagles
to two ODAC regular season titles, two Old Dominion Athletic
Conference tournament titles, and five NCAA tournament berths
since her arrival in 1996.
Justice assists in all aspects of the program including player
development, devising scouting reports, game strategy, personnel
decisions, and aiding in day-to-day administration of the program.
In addition, she is the director of the Eagles' Kid Force, an
interactive fan club for children 13-and-under. Justice also serves
as assistant sports information director.
A native of North Carolina, Justice is a 1992 graduate of Virginia
Tech, where she earned four letters as a member of the Hokies
women's basketball squad from 1987-91. Upon graduation, Justice
coached for three years at Radford High School She then returned to
her hometown of Forest City, N.C. as a teacher and coach. She
served as head coach of the volleyball and girls' basketball teams
and led the school to its first County championship in 17 years
during the 1995-96 season. For her efforts, she was chosen as the
head coach for the West squad in the 1995 Western North Carolina
Girl's All-Star game.
Justice has been an active member of the Women's Basketball
Coaches Association (WBCA) for 13 years.
During the summer months, Justice is involved with instructional
basketball camps. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with
her Golden Retriever - Shooter.
Assistant coach David Wade begins his seventh season as an
assistant with the women's basketball program.
Coach Wade brings many years of coaching experience from various
levels to the BC program. Prior to coming to Bridgewater, he was
the head girls' coach at Stuarts Draft High School where his
teams compiled an overall record of 88-32.
A graduate of James Madison University, Coach Wade earned his B.S.
degree in health & exercise science and received endorsements
in general science and Earth science. He teaches Earth science at
Stuarts Draft High School.
Wade and his wife, Ann, reside in Fairfield, VA.
Tiffany Acker will begin her first season as a volunteer assistant coach with the Eagles. Acker graduated from Shepherd University where she was a four-year letter winner. In her senior season, Acker led the Rams to a West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship and the "Sweet 16" round of the Division II NCAA tournament. She was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District First Team for Division II in both 2007 and 2008. Acker also received Shepherd's Female Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2008 and she graduated with a 4.0 grade point average.
Before Shepherd, Acker played for Buffalo Gap High School. She was a First-Team All-District and Second-Team All-Region performer her senior year, leading the Bison to the State tournament.
Acker is a second-year graduate student at James Madison
University. She resides in Harrisonburg.








