ALVERNO COLLEGE INFERNO
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Division: NCAA Division 3
Conference Affiliation: Northern Athletics Conference
Comment: There is absolutely no truth to the stories that Alverno’s teams used to be called The Disco Inferno and had a character in a Saturday Night Fever outfit as a mascot.
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APPLETON, Wis. — Despite shooting just 17 percent from the floor in the second half, including only 1-of-10 from the 3-point arc, Alverno College snuck away with a 54-52 nonconference victory over host Lawrence
University tonight at Alexander Gymnasium in Appleton, Wis.
The Inferno (5-6) led by as many as 19 points in the second half, but Continue reading
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Jordan Nickelatti, in her first year playing volleyball for the Alverno Inferno, has been named to the Northern Athletics Conference All-Sportsmanship Team. She was a starter in all 25 games and compiled 37 kills (I’ll admit it- I’m all out of cute jokes playing on the volleyball term “kills”), 117 digs (And yes, she remembered to “Call before you dig”) and 19 service aces. Her 5 aces against the Indiana University Northwest Redhawks tied the Inferno’s 5-set-single- match record. Since Nickelatti will be keeping her talents in Milwaukee, it seemed a good time to subject her to some of Balladeer’s Blog’s usual probing, yet inane, questions.
Jordan Nickelatti
Position: Defensive Specialist
Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: Continue reading
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MADISON, Wis. — The Alverno College tennis team concluded its season at the 2010 Northern Athletics Conference Individual Championship this weekend at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison.
Sophomore Abigail Kohal (Wauwatosa, Wis./West) advanced the furthest in
the singles play, reaching the semifinals of the B-flight tournament before falling to Aurora University‘s Elizabeth Pfaff in two sets, 7-5, 6-3.
Kohal’s three wins in the tournament doubled her season win total,
finishing up 2010 at 6-12 in singles play.
“Abigail played the best tennis she’s played all season,” Alverno head
coach Erin Felber said.
Gabby Allen (Milwaukee/Bay View) made it to the quarterfinals of the
B-flight tournament, also losing to Pfaff. Allen won the first set 6-2,
before dropping the second set 7-6 on a 10-5 tiebreaker, and then being
edged out in the third set 7-5.
With her two tournament wins, Allen finished the season with a team-best
singles record of 9-7.
Senior Sherquila Riley (Milwaukee/Washington) was the only other Inferno
player to pick up a win in singles play. Riley won her first match of
the C-flight tournament, 8-5, over MSOE‘s Marguerite Wellstein before
falling to eventual runner-up Emily Hereford of Dominican University,
8-0, in the round of 16.
Riley closed out the season at 7-9 in singles play.
In doubles action, Kohal teamed up with Andrea Derrick (Greenfield,
Wis.) and received the B-flight tournament’s top seed. The duo advanced
to the semifinals, before falling to Marian University‘s fourth-seeded
team of Rachel Brotz and Rebecca Hezcko, 8-2.
“Andrea and Abigail played great together at doubles. They worked and
communicated well with each other and they fought hard until the end.”
Alverno–in just its second season of intercollegiate
competition–finished the season with a 5-9 overall mark, and was tied
for eighth at 4-7 in the NAC standings, just a win back of making the
NAC team tournament in the spring.
“I’m very proud of the improvements we made throughout the season. We’ve
come a long way from last year and the Alverno tennis program is headed
in the right direction.”
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The Cumberlands Patriots started Mid-South Conference play Saturday with a 35-33 win over the Bethel (TN) Wildcats in an Instant Classic. The Patriots are now 2-2 overall after holding on late to notch this win. Sophomore star Terrance “The Bad TC” Cobb led the team’s rushing attack with 114 yds on 21 attempts plus 1 TD catch. QB “Jammin'” Jay Bright was 6 of 12 with 3 TD’s. On the other side of the ball the Patriots were led by “Dr Defense” himself, Brendan Kelly, who had 20 tackles, an interception and 2 pass breakups, 1 of which sealed the win for UC. Next Saturday the Pats face The Battle For The Brass Lantern against their rivals the Union Bulldogs.
The Lincoln Memorial University Lady Railsplitters volleyball team came back from being down 2-1 to pull out a 3-2 win over the Newberry College Wolves. The ladies won by scores of 22-25, 25-15, 23-25, 29-27 and 16-14. With this win the Railsplitters are now 8-2 overall and 4-2 in the South Atlantic Conference. Tomorrow LMU will take on the Tusculum Pioneers with the opening serve scheduled for 6:30PM.
Reigning NAIA football champs the Sioux Falls Cougars continued their quest to threepeat as National Champions with a handy 34-10 win over the Hastings Broncos. QB Jon “Jonny East” Eastman gave Broncos defenders fits with his arms and his legs (and his pancreas had them frothing at the mouth with rage) picking up 386 yds through the air and 39 more on the ground. The high point of the game for Hastings, the home team, may have come when a team of skydivers (Insert your own Coleman Francis joke here. Fans of bad movies will get it) delivered the game balls in spectacular fashion prior to kickoff.
The Indiana University Southeast Grenadiers’ volleyball team continues their monumental turnaround this season. At one point sporting a glum record of 1-7 the ladies have won 9 in a row to become 10-7 on the year! Balladeer’s Blog has been following this story since the ladies were still below .500 and this may well be the feel-good story of the fall! This past weekend the Grenadiers defeated the Mountain State Cougars and the Cincinnati Christian Eagles. Jade “Killbot” Troutman led IUS with 11 kills and Lindsey “Aces Wild” Maymon had a match-high 4 service aces against the Cougars. Against the Eagles “Judex” Julie Roeder provided crucial kills to keep the Grens in the game until a big block by PJ “PJ” Cockerell put them up for good. Someone get a movie studio ready for a project about these ladies!
The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays football team crushed the Moravian Greyhounds 41-3 on Saturday. QB “Hurlin'” Hewitt Tomlin went 18 of 33 for 219 yds and 2 TD’s through the air and on the ground led the Blue Jays with 65 yds. 53 of those yds came on a career-long run for Tomlin following a fake in the 2nd quarter. Tomlin has been named the Centennial Conference Offensive Player Of The Week for his performance. The Blue Jays are now 2-1 for the 3-game road series to open the 2010 season.
Two women on the Alverno Inferno volleyball team were named to the Moody Bible Institute All-Tournament Team after the Inferno’s participation in the event this weekend. Chelsea Gulbronson and Morgan Stuckey were the two players named to the All-Tournament Team. Over the course of the 3 matches Gulbronson had 12 kills, 6 service aces and 2 solo blocks. while Stuckey had a team-leading 29 kills, 6 aces and 4 digs.
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“Hurlin'” Hewitt Tomlin, QB for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, has been named the Centennial Conference Offensive Player Of The Week following his performance in Saturday’s win over the Gettysburg Bullets, 29-21. He was 22 of 31 for 326 yards with 3 touchdowns. He set 2 more school records for consecutive 200-plus yards and 300-plus yards passing games at 16 and 4, respectively. If you prefer a different nickname for him, how about Hewitt “Threw It” Tomlin? Okay, forget it.
The Saint Ambrose Queen Bees (their name for their women’s teams) crushed the Iowa Wesleyan Tigers 6-nil. If you follow soccer you know that 6 goals is more than some teams score over the course of 6 games! 3 of the Queen Bees’ goals came from Ashley Dexter, 1 each from Courtney Seffrood and Alex Hemmen and Nikki Boland’s penalty kick in the 83rd minute added the 6th goal in this rout. Goalie Lauren Gunawen picked up the win.
The Franklin and Marshall Diplomats volleyball team improved to 7-4 on the season after winning matches against the Marymount Saints and the Catholic Cardinals. The win against the Saints came on scores of 25-17, 25-14, 21-25 and 25-16. Against Catholic the Diplomats won in straight sets 25-14, 25-17 and 25-18. Up next for the ladies will be the Lancaster Bible College Chargers and the Penn State–Harrisburg Lady Lions.
The NAIA’s seemingly perpetually top-ranked Sioux Falls Cougars football team moved to 3-0 in style this past Saturday, devastating the Doane Tigers by a score of 66-13. The USF nation-leading winning streak has now been extended to 32 games. Senior quarterback Jon “Jonnie East” Eastman was 10 of 14 for 292 yards and 5 touchdowns. Running back Chevon “Fire” Walker rushed for 103 yds and 1 touchdown. The Cougars’ quest to threepeat as National Champions will continue this Saturday as they go on the road against the 23rd-ranked Hastings Broncos.
Moving to women’s college tennis, the Alverno Inferno avenged last year’s loss to Wisconsin Lutheran by defeating the Warriors 5-4 this past weekend. The 2 teams split 3-3 in singles action but the Inferno had taken a 2-1 advantage in doubles play earlier. Alverno’s Gabby Allen tipped the win to her team by winning her singles match 6-2, 3-6 and 6-4.
Wingate University Bulldogs running back “Knockout” Nelson Woods has been named the South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player Of The Week. Nelson rushed for 123 yds and 2 touchdowns in Saturday’s upset victory over the 14th-ranked UNC-Pembroke Braves 28-23. Woods is just 15 yards shy of the 3,000 mark for his career. His greatest individual game came against the Mars Hill Lions in 2008 when he had 205 yds and 3 touchdowns.
The Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish volleyball team remains perfect, improving their record to 10-0 after a win over the Southeastern Fire. Freshman setter “K-O” Katie Lindstrom stepped up in the absence of Jessica Way, who was out with a back injury. “Jumping” Janeen McCormick led the way offensively with 10 kills, followed by Christina “The Crusher” Alessi with 9 and Mariela Quesada, “The Q” herself, with 8. The defense was led by Allie “The Lethal Libero” Warren who had 19 digs, while Lexie “Grizzly” Grizzle came off the bench for a career-high 11 digs. Up next for the Sailfish will be the Florida Tech Panthers and the Lynn Fighting Knights.
The Cumberland University Bulldogs (no, not the Winged Bulldogs, just the Bulldogs) mauled the Kentucky Christian Knights on the gridiron Saturday by a score of 35-6. Christian “Burnin’ Love” Burnett was 20 of 28 for 184 yards and 1 touchdown. The Bulldogs couldn’t get out of their own way at times in a game marked by uncharacteristic misfires, but their defense kept the Knights from capitalizing much on CU mistakes until the offense righted itself for the authoritative win.
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The University of Science and Arts Of Oklahoma Drovers men’s soccer team is 4-0 and is now ranked #10 in the NAIA, the team’s highest ranking ever. This past weekend the Drovers defeated the Brescia Bearcats 3-1 and the St Thomas Celts 8-2. Nicolas “The Frenchman Freshman” Alberto (as I like to call him) has had 4 goals already on the season followed closely by the “NC Hammer” duo of Nikola Cakarevic and Niall Crick who have 3 goals each. Last year’s leading scorer David “Dr Drover” Otieno has had 2 goals and 4 assists in this young season. Goalkeeper Ryan “Force Field” Mcentee has played every minute of all 4 games so far and has allowed only 3 goals. The Drovers are the only Sooner Athletic Conference team in the NAIA Top 25 and are #1 in the conference standings.
You can’t cut it much closer than “Close Shave” Shelby Cummins did as she scored the winning goal for the Franklin and Marshall Diplomats women’s soccer team 3-2 over the Elizabethtown Blue Jays. Cummins scored the goal off an assist from “Kickin'” Carley Nicholson with just .9 of a second left in the game. The Diplomats are now 3-1 on the season. F&M had a 2-nil halftime lead which held up until the 71st minute of the game when the Blue Jays got on the board. They scored again less than 5 minutes later to knot the game up at 2 all and setting the stage for Cummins’ heroics. Diplomats goalkeeper Katie “Fort Katie” Golding had 4 saves and improved her personal record to 3-1. The ladies next play the Ursinus Bears on Sept 21st.***On the men’s side for the Diplomats Zach “Dr Z” Zamek became the all-time shutouts leader for F&M with 19 following a 3-nil win over the Lycoming Warriors. Dr Z is now tied on the all-time wins list for the Diplomats, too and can try to set the new wins record on the 19th against the Muhlenberg Mules.
For the 2nd straight week, Saint Xavier Cougars’ goalkeeper “Wild” Kyle Held has been “held” over as the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player Of The Week. Wild Kyle had 8 saves in SXU‘s only game of the week, a 2-nil victory over the Goshen Maple Leafs. Held has had 26 saves and 2 shutouts for the season. He has a Goals Against Average of just .82 per game and the Cougars are 3-2 overall. SXU opens conference play this Friday on the road against the Saint Francis (IN) Cougars.
The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays women’s soccer team shut out the Stevenson Mustangs 2- nil this afternoon at Caves Athletic Complex. Sarah “The Sentinel” Gieszl scored her 1st career goal and “Power Puff” Pamela Vranis had the other JHU goal plus an assist. The Blue Jays have now posted back-to-back shutouts and at 5-1 are ranked 8th in the D3 women’s soccer poll. With the loss the Stevenson Mustangs drop to 3-3.
The St Ambrose Fighting Bees men’s soccer team won in overtime against the St Francis (IL) Fighting Saints 2-1 at the Davenport Soccer Complex. The Fighting Bees went into halftime leading 1-nil on a KEndrick Tyson goal but gave up the tying goal in the 2nd half. St Ambrose goalie “Mighty” Matt Tucker had 5 furious saves in the 2nd half which kept the FIghting Bees’ hopes alive. Wes Erickson fulfilled those hopes 4 minutes and 6 seconds into OT by slamming home the winning goal for the home team.
Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams for the Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters registered wins today! The Lady Railsplitters improved their record to 4-0 with a road win over the King College Tornado (singular) by a score of 2-nil. Sarah “The Midfield Maniac” Taylor had both LMU goals, one in the 25th minute off an assist from Becky “Tigress” Thompson and the other barely 11 minutes later off an assist from “Lethal” Leslie Wilson. 3 of the ladies’ team’s 4 wins have been shutouts. ***The men’s Railsplitters team beat out their counterparts from King College 1-nil to move to 3-0 on the season. Just like the ladies’ team all but 1 of their wins have been shutouts. “Gentleman” Jimmy Vandenhurk scored the lone goal of the match 5 minutes in off an assist from Mackenzie “Aces” Wilde. Railsplitters goalkeeper Michael “Brick Wall” Watkins then did his part by crushing every Tornado scoring attempt.
Kelly “Sunstorm” Sunstrom propeled the Alverno Inferno soccer team to a 1-nil victory over the Robert Morris (IL) Eagles today. Sunstrom scored in the 80th minute off an assist from “Kosho” Kelsey Koshanowski (Fans of The Prisoner will get it). It was Sunstorm’s 1st goal of the season and Kosho’s 2nd assist. The Inferno are now 3-0 and will try to burn the feathers off another Eagles team this Saturday at Wisconsin-Lacrosse.
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The tennis team for NCAA Division 3’s Alverno Inferno defeated the Rockford Regents 9-0, winning all 6 singles matches and all 3 doubles matches. All of the singles victories were in straight sets, including 3 by scores of 6-0, 6-0 by Andrea Derrick, Sherquila Riley and Devon Wiseman. Gabby Allen won her singles match 6-1, 6-1 while Amanda Almquist and Abigail Kohal both won their singles matches by scores of 6-4, 6-3. Kohal and Derrick then won their doubles match in a hard-fought 9-7 outcome. The Allen/Almquist and Riley/Wiseman doubles matches were won by more comfortable 8-1 scores. The ladies will be in action again this afternoon at 4pm against the Concordia (WI) Falcons.
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