I couldn't find a better way to end my collegiate sports writing career than by reflecting on one of the most exhilarating stretches of my life as a sports fan. The following, boys and girls, is the year that was in Dayton Flyers athletics from the eyes of John Bedell.

I'll be the first to admit that when I arrived on campus in August to begin my senior year, I already had the men's basketball team on my mind. I couldn't wait for it to start.

That said, I also spent the majority of my summer anxiously awaiting the fall varsity season at UD as well. I wish I had a dollar for every time I talked up both soccer teams telling people how "loaded" both squads were and that both teams would have "special" seasons. Even though I expected that, it didn't lessen the impact that their sensational seasons had on me. I did the public address announcing for both teams, and even though my job required me to be at Baujan Field on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons - I was hooked. I couldn't wait for game days.

The men's team players, fresh off an Atlantic-10 Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2008, perhaps had more expectations on their shoulders than were talked about as the 2009 season kicked off. But they kept their noses to the grindstone and focused on the task at hand, winning a regular season A-10 title outright and falling just short of a second straight NCAA bid, losing in the conference title game to SLU.

The women's soccer team had perhaps one of the most incredible seasons I've ever been a part of. Coach Mike Tucker and company broke so many records and piled up so many accolades this past season that it is not even funny.

First, the Flyers notched the only undefeated regular season in school history going 14-0-5. They finished the year 17-1-5 with their only loss coming from Virginia Tech in the NCAA Tournament. Dayton also concluded the regular season as one of only two undefeated teams in all of Division I women's soccer. The other team? Stanford - who, oh by the way, was the number one team in the country for most of the season and the eventual national runner-up.

The Flyers also broke the school record with 14 shutouts. With the 14th shutout (a 3-0 win over Xavier), they wrapped up the program's first A-10 regular season title since 2004. They then won the A-10 Tournament title a week later and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Dayton later received word from the NCAA that they were hosting first and second round games at Baujan Field. The Flyers beat Marquette in the first round before losing to Virginia Tech two days later, ending their dream season, fittingly, at the friendly confines of Baujan Field.

And if all of that was not enough, the Flyers racked up 15 awards in the A-10's annual regular season all-conference awards.

The football team, under head coach Rick Chamberlin, lived up to its team motto in 2009 to "carry the torch." The team members chose the motto to inspire each other to carry on the winning tradition of Dayton Flyers football.

Chamberlin and company faced some adversity early in the season with injuries to their first three quarterbacks. But senior wide receiver and athlete extraordinaire Steve Valentino stepped up and led the Flyers to a 9-2 record overall, 7-1 in Pioneer Football League play and the program's 10th PFL title.

The volleyball team also had a season for the ages in sweeping the A-10 regular season and tournament titles over rival St. Louis. Kelly Sheffield then led his team to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in as many years. The Flyers notched a first round win in the NCAA Tournament over Wisconsin-Milwaukee before losing a hard-fought road match to Big Ten powerhouse Illinois.

Even the cross-country teams got in on the action this year. The women's team won the program's first ever conference championship and had junior Maureen Bulgrin place third overall at the conference championship meet.

The men also had a record-breaking season in notching the program's highest finish at the conference championship meet with a third place result. Junior Chris Lemon won the individual title at the meet to become the program's first ever conference champion.

Moving on to the winter sports, it seemed uncanny that this success could continue - but it did. The men's basketball team has been well documented throughout the year, so I'll describe its season in a nutshell: The season began with pie-in-the-sky expectations. The Flyers were up, then down, then up, then down, then up again and down again. But when March rolled around, they finally put things together and ended their season on an epic high. The Flyers beat teams from the Big East, Big Ten, SEC and ACC on their way to winning the NIT Championship.

The women's basketball team started its season with a bang with a win over a top-10 ranked Michigan State. It finished its season 23-6 overall and earned the program's first ever NCAA Tournament bid and subsequently the program's first ever NCAA Tournament win over TCU in thrilling come-from-behind fashion.

The Flyers then ran into Pat Summit's Tennessee buzz saw in the second round of the big dance, but that loss couldn't take away the Flyers dream season.

The Dayton Flyers have seen so much success in 2009-10 that all you can really think to say when you reflect on it is, "Are you kidding me?!"

It's one of those school years that will go down in Dayton Flyers lore, and we got to be a part of it. There really hasn't been a better time to bleed Flyer red, white and blue, and I can't think of a better way to have spent my senior year at Dayton. Thanks for the memories, Flyers!