Tag Archives: sports

October 22, 2010 · 10:22 pm

UCSD TRITONS WOMEN’S HOOPS PICKED 1ST IN CCAA

 WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – After winning a fourth consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Association regular season title last season, the seventh-ranked UC San Diego women’s basketball team was once again picked to finish first in the league standings according to the preseason coaches poll that was released by the league office on Wednesday.

UCSD, which finished with an impressive record of 19-3 in CCAA play in 2009-10, received six first place votes and a total of 114 points in the conference poll. The Tritons narrowly beat out Chico State, which garnered four first place votes and 103 points to finish second.

Cal Poly Pomona collected 89 points to finish third, while 2010 CCAA Tournament Champion Humboldt State finished fourth with 87 points and Cal State Monterey Bay totaled 82 to place fifth. Cal State L.A. received the remaining two first place votes and tallied 80 points to come in sixth, with Cal State Dominguez Hills (54), Cal State San Bernardino (49), San Francisco State (41), Sonoma State (39), Cal State Stanislaus (25) and Cal State East Bay (18) finishing seventh through 12th, respectively.

The Tritons were also the top pick in last year’s poll, tallying five first place votes and 110 points.

UCSD finished with an overall record of 25-5 in 2009-10, while winning 19 conference games for the second consecutive season. Despite an opening round loss to host Humboldt State in the CCAA Tournament, the Tritons earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA West Regional in Seattle, where they met up with the Lumberjacks once again. HSU would shock UCSD for the second time in a week, handing the Tritons a season-ending 76-72 defeat in the first round.

Two-time defending CCAA Coach of the Year Charity Elliott returns for her fourth season in 2010-11 and welcomes back two starters and six letterwinners from last year’s squad. Among the returnees are junior guard Chelsea Carlisle, who was named a State Farm Coaches First Team All-American after averaging 17.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season, and junior center Lauren Freidenberg, who averaged 5.8 points and 5.8 rebounds and shot better than 51% from the field a year ago.

Ranked No. 7 by Division II Bulletin, the Tritons will take the court for the first time this season on Thursday, November 4 to face San Diego State in an exhibition matchup at Viejas Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. UCSD will also square off with Division I powerhouse Stanford in an exhibition contest on November 9, before opening the regular season at the Disney West Coast Tip Off Classic November 12-14 in Anaheim.

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October 22, 2010 · 12:59 am

CONFERENCE CALL: THE NEW FORCE IN DIVISION 2 SPORTS TAKES SHAPE

The new NCAA Division 2 athletic conference being formed from teams that are leaving the Gulf South Conference and the Lone Star Conference has found its Commisioner.

Will Prewitt, an Associate Commisioner in D2’s West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has accepted an offer to serve as Commisioner for the as yet unnamed new conference. (Personally, I think they should call it Balladeer’s Conference just for the heck of it) Prewitt, a native of Williamsburg, KY, is leaving the WVIAC in December after 11 years with the conference.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to get (in) on the ground floor and be involved with every part of a league as it forms and grows,” Prewitt told the Charleston Daily Mail this week. 

“Will brings a wealth of experience that will aid in formulating policy for the new conference,” said Harding University President David B Burks, the chairman of the search committee. 

The 6 teams leaving the Gulf South Conference to join the new league are the UAM Boll Weevils, Arkansas Tech Wonderboys, Harding Bisons (they go by Bisons, not Bison), Henderson State Reddies, Ouachita Baptist Tigers and Southern Arkansas Muleriders. 

The 3 teams leaving the Lone Star Conference to join are the East Central Tigers, Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm and Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs. Readers of Balladeer’s Blog will recognize 4 of my 20 Coolest-Named Teams In NCAA Division 2 in the new conference’s lineup.         

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October 20, 2010 · 11:11 pm

FLYING FLEET STAR “SASSY” MASSEY PILOTS ERSKINE PAST CONVERSE

 

The Erskine Flying Fleet volleyball team improved to 15-8 overall and 10-3 in Conference Carolinas play with a win over the Converse Valkyries. The Flying Fleet was led by Liz Massey, Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname “Sassy Massey”, who had 10 kills, 15 digs and 2 blocks. Erskine snapped a 3-game losing streak and Sassy Massey chalked up her 1st double-double of the season. 

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October 19, 2010 · 11:46 pm

TOP 25 POLL ONE-LINERS OCT 19TH

This week as promised my one-liners will be about the NCAA Division 3 football Top 25. The links to the other Top 25 lists will be appended to the bottom of this post.

1. UWW WARHAWKS – 6-0 – The Warhawks just keep steam-rollering along, no doubt making some of their fans wish the post-season would hurry up and get here already.

2. MT UNION PURPLE RAIDERS – 6-0 – The NFL’s Pierre Garcon played his college ball at Mt Union and I remember watching him play in some of the Purple Raiders vs Warhawks Championship Games earlier this decade. Will this December make it 6 years in a row that these 2 teams have squared off in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl?

3. WESLEY WOLVERINES- 7-0 – The Wolverines have got to be fed up with playing excellent football but always being behind Wisconsin-Whitewater and Mt Union. Will this be the year they knock off one of those teams in the playoffs?

4. ST THOMAS TOMMIES – 7-0 – Anyone who doubts St Thomas can just poke their fingers into the hole in that “0” they have in the loss column! 

5. MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR CRUSADERS – 6-0 – The Cru continue to play inspired football, no doubt spurred on by my including them in my 20 Coolest Helmets in D3 List. (I’m kidding!)

6. N CENTRAL CARDINALS – 6-0 – There are no Cardinals like North Central Cardinals, not even the Renegade Belgian Cardinal referred to in the classically bad film The Confessional!  

7. WITTENBERG TIGERS – 7-0 – This lucky 7 team is a lucky 7-0 and hoping to win at least an unlucky 13 this year!

8. HARDIN-SIMMONS COWBOYS – 6-1 – I’m sure the Cowboys are glad they get to settle things on the field in the post-season, rather than have to age prematurely because they have a (gasp) regular season loss.

9. DELAWARE VALLEY AGGIES – 5-1 – Forget Texas A&M! This is one Aggies team that still knows how to rack up wins and compete for conference championships!

10. THOMAS MORE SAINTS – 6-0 – It was the Saints who finally sent the Road Warriors from Johns Hopkins home in last year’s playoffs and they look like they’ll do the same to plenty of other teams in this post-season.

11. OHIO NORTHERN POLAR BEARS – 5-1 – The Polar Bears are proof that a really cool nickname plus really cool helmets = wins = A high ranking!

12. LINFIELD WILDCATS – 4-1 – “Turn it up to 11” then add one with these Wildcats! Am I the only one who remembers when Meadowlark Lemon had family members playing for this team a few years ago?

13. WARTBURG KNIGHTS –  6-0 – The Knights are fresh off their upset of last week’s # 6 team, the Coe Kohawks, and are itching to rough up anyone who makes fun of the name “Wartburg”.

14. MONTCLAIR STATE REDHAWKS – 6-0 – The Redhawks have been having a lot of Montclair Moments lately (remember those commercials?), 6 of them to be precise.

15. TRINE THUNDER – 6-0 – Trine Thunder? Why not? You must come over and Trine mine sometime! (Sorry)   

16. COE KOHAWKS – 5-1 – One measley loss will not keep down a team with such a cool name and a mascot who is really The Giant Claw in disguise. (I’m kidding!)

17. WHEATON THUNDER – 6-0 – Wheaton, of course, is the hometown of John Belushi and Bob Woodward. You’d think ONE team called Thunder in the Top 25 would be enough, “But NOOOOOOOO!”

18. CENTRAL DUTCH – 6-1 – You can keep your Eastern and Western Dutch, for D3 football fans the Central Dutch are the only way to go!

19. ST JOHN FISHER CARDINALS – 7-0 – Not to be confused with the St John’s Johnnies, also in D3, but LIKE the Johnnies, this St John’s team is virtually a fixture in the post-season.  

20. BETHEL (MN) ROYALS – 6-0 – These blue-bloods have been a royal pain in the butt for their 1st 6 opponents this year.    

21. HAMPDEN-SYDNEY TIGERS – 7-0 – Hampden-Sydney may sound like a law-firm but there’s nothing shady about the way the Tigers perform on the field!

22. PACIFIC LUTHERAN LUTES – 5-0 – Outside of Zithers and Piccolos I can’t think of more intimidating instruments than lutes! Many e-mailers have been asking when the Lutes will be one of my Cool-Named Teams Of The Day.

23. CAL LUTHERAN KINGSMEN – 4-1 – I’m telling you, if the Kingsmen would bring back their cool helmets with the knight logo they’d probably be ranked even higher!

24. URSINUS BEARS – 6-0 – I’ve been singing the praises of Ursinus since the preaseason and it’s good to see the rest of the country learning what the Centennial Conference has known for weeks! 

25. WABASH LITTLE GIANTS – 5-1 – These boys are sure to move back up in the rankings by the time they play their end-of-season rivalry game against the Towering Dwarves. 

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October 18, 2010 · 12:06 am

THE 20 COOLEST-NAMED JUCO/COCO SPORTS TEAMS

Because you demanded it, it’s another Top 20 List. I was afraid it might seem like a tired gimmick at this point but my e-mailers have said otherwise so here it is. Like all levels of college sports, the JUCO ranks have waaaay too many teams called Tigers, Eagles, Bulldogs and Wildcats, but here are the 20 Coolest Names.  

20. BAKERSFIELD RENEGADES 

Location: Bakersfield, CA 

Comment: If you “walk the streets of Bakersfield” you’re bound to hear about the Renegades, who have a nickname cool enough to be a rock group or a band of mercenaries in the notoriously bad post-apocalypse movie 2020 Texas Gladiators. Hard to believe in just 10 years the country will be full of those marauding gangs, isn’t it?

19. HIGHLAND SCOTTIES 

Location: Highland, KS

Comment: You just knew a dog lover like me would include this team! And there’s no truth to the rumor that their original mascot was Star Trek’s James Doohan standing on the sidelines and saying “I need more time, Cap’n!”  

18. ASA AVENGERS

Location: New York, NY 

Comment: Insert your own Emma Peal or “Why is the Avengers movie taking so long?” joke here. This school has one seriously cool nickname and logo, don’t they? T-shirt sales must be through the roof! And I’m sure their call to practice is either “We’re needed” or “Avengers Assemble!”

17. GARDEN CITY BRONCBUSTERS

Location: Garden City, KS

Comments: No, that’s not a typo, they go by Broncbusters, not BroncObusters. Under any name and in any sport they kick major butts. And you just haven’t busted until you’ve Broncbusted, y’know?

16. COFFEYVILLE RED RAVENS

Location: Coffeyville, KS

Comment: Red Ravens really rock! You’d expect the town that kicked the Dalton Gang’s butts back in 1892 to have sports teams with an incredibly cool nickname like this! What I really want to know is why isn’t the corporate headquarters for Starbucks located in Coffeyville?

15. CHABOT GLADIATORS 

Location: Hayward, CA

Comment: Gladiators is one of those nicknames so cool you can’t help but wonder why more schools don’t use it! If you had a choice between Gladiators and something as overused as Eagles, Tigers, Bulldogs and Wildcats you’d think it would be no contest.  

14. MOUNT SAN ANTONIO MOUNTIESMount San Antonio College Mounties

Location: Walnut, CA

Comment: Their mascot is a cross between a Grizzly Adams style Mountain Man and a Dudley Do-Right style Canadian Mountie.

Cool nickname that can’t help but remind me of my all-time favorite Republic Serial: Canadian Mounties VS Atomic Invaders! Yes, really.

13. IOWA WESTERN REIVERS Location: Council Bluffs, IA

Comment: The Reivers: Wasn’t That A Time!? Okay, maybe that’s too obscure a reference for such a memorable nickname and logo. The Reivers swashbuckle their way through the JUCO ranks even more impressively than Johnny Depp does in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

12. NE OKLAHOMA A&M GOLDEN NORSEMEN

Location: Miami, OK

Comment: How can you not love a nickname this cool? I love teams with a Nordic theme that don’t fall back on the overused nickname Vikings.  Such teams might also consider a nickname like The Asgardians if not for the way that would set themselves up for snarky jokes like “Popo Protectors”.  

11. SANTA ANA DONS

Location: Santa Ana, CA

Comment: That’s Dons as in Old California Dons like Don Diego, not Mafia Dons like Don Corleone. Their football helmet sports the only version of their logo I could find on-line and it’s so cool I wanted to make sure I included it.

10. ANTELOPE VALLEY MARAUDERS

Location: Lancaster, CA

Comment: It sometimes seems like I think any mascot or logo with a sword is cool but I can’t help it! Marauders IS an incredibly cool nickname and that logo is very eye-catching! I can’t help but feel such things are an advantage in recruiting, even if players might think it sounds too “unmanly” to admit it.

9. SANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE VAQUEROS

Location: Santa Barbara, CA

Comment: Not to be confused with the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos from NCAA Division 1. Not only is this an incredibly cool nickname for sports teams but their football team also has cool helmets and possibly the coolest football stadium in the world, or at least the stadium with the coolest view in the world! Just picture taking in a game while having that view as background! If you doubt me just look it up on Yippy or Google and see for yourself. 

8. VERMILION COLLEGE IRONMEN

Location: Ely, MN 

Comment: There are so many ways we could go here. We could do a Black Sabbath reference (and I’m betting that song is done ad infinitum by their marching band) or maybe a Marvel Comics superhero reference. Experienced readers of Balladeer’s Blog will remember that I go for the more obscure so I’ll try to come up with a Tetsuo The Iron Man reference instead. While I’m working on it ponder the glory of getting to root for teams called the Ironmen!

7. COMPTON COLLEGE TARTARS

Location: Compton, CA

Comment: Love that nickname and logo! Michigans’s Wayne State Warriors from D2 used to be called the Tartar Warriors so I’m glad to have found this Tartars team since I always thought it was a really cool and underused angle. The arch-rival of the Tartars must be The Cavity Creeps. (Sorry)

6. DODGE CITY CONQUISTADORS

Location: Dodge City, KS

Comment: When someone mentions Dodge City I always think of Conquistadors like Cortez, Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson…hey, wait a minute! All kidding aside Conquistadors is definitely another one for the list of nicknames so kickass I can’t believe more teams don’t use it! Since all roads lead to bad movies with me I’ll throw out a reference to the film Giant From The Unknown, in which a giant (well, really big, anyway) Conquistador comes out of suspended animation and runs amok in modern-day California. 

5. TYLER JUNIOR COLLEGE APACHES

Location: Tyler, TX 

Comment: Apaches is undeniably one of the coolest names that sports teams (or helicopters for that matter) could have! It must be doubly exciting to get to play in Texas, where even high school football games will draw crowds in the thousands!     

4. SAN DIEGO MESA OLYMPIANS 

Location: San Diego, CA

Comment: As usual I’m a sucker for a nickname that combines my passion for college sports with my passion for mythology. Although I grant you the name is more likely a reference to participants in the Olympic games rather than to the godly inhabitants of Mt Olympus. As with Santa Ana College above, the coolest depiction of their logo I could find on-line was on their football helmets.

3. HUTCHINSON BLUE DRAGONS

 Location: Hutchinson, KS

Comment: It’s hard to top a nickname and logo this cool. Hutchinson’s football team sports that logo on their helmets and I can’t imagine there isn’t a young man in the country who wouldn’t love strapping that helmet on on Saturday afternoons!  

2. EASTERN ARIZONA GILA MONSTERS Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters

Location: Thatcher, AZ

Comment: That Gila monster pic is from the school’s athletics site. I love the uniqueness of the nickname plus its Southwest flavor but most of all I love the way it reminds me of the bad movie gem The Giant Gila Monster! When the football team scores a touchdown does the band play the song “I sing whenever I sing whenever I siiiiiiiiiiing”? (Bad movie buffs will get it). At least I didn’t pick the song Laugh, Children, Laugh. (shudder)  from that movie!

1. SCOTTSDALE FIGHTING ARTICHOKES

Location: Scottsdale, AZ

Comment: If you know Juco sports you just knew I would probably have this school at number one! Memorable nickname aside it takes onions to call your teams the Artichokes (sorry) knowing full well people will call them the “Chokes” for short! Talk about spitting in the face of sports superstition! And since they’re number one I’ll throw in a bonus and show you their incredibly cool football helmets, courtesy of The Helmet Project at  http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/

MORE COOL STUFF

For the 20 Coolest-Named College Sports Teams In the USCAA and NCCAA click here  – https://glitternight.com/2010/11/24/the-20-coolest-named-uscaa-and-nccaa-sports-teams/

For past Cool Helmets that weren’t on the Top 20 List click here: https://glitternight.com/category/cool-helmets/

For Cool-Named Teams that weren’t on that Top 20 List click here: https://glitternight.com/category/cool-names-and-cool-logos/

For the NCAA Division 3′s Coolest-Named Teams click here: https://glitternight.com/d3-20-coolest/

For the NAIA edition of The 20 Coolest College Sports Teams You May Never Have Heard Of click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/06/21/the-20-coolest-named-college-sports-teams-you-may-have-never-heard-of-naia-edition/

For The 20 Coolest College Sports Logos click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/07/20/the-20-coolest-college-sports-logos/

For The 20 Coolest Football Helmets In NCAA Division 3 click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/08/23/the-20-coolest-football-helmets-in-ncaa-division-3/

For the 20 Coolest-Named Sports Teams In NCAA Division 2 click here: https://glitternight.com/d2-20-coolest/

Balladeer’s Blog is not affiliated with or operated by the NAIA or the NCAA or any of their member institutions.

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog, 2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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October 17, 2010 · 4:26 pm

NOTEWORTHY RESULTS FROM OCTOBER 16TH’S GAMES

“Mountain Lion” Ryan And Sioux Falls Remain Perfect – Wr Jon “Mountain Lion” Ryan starred as the NAIA’s Top-Ranked USF Cougars defeated the 4th-ranked Morningside Mustangs 28-3. The game was Victory Sports Network‘s Game Of The Week. At the start it looked like things would not go the Cougars’ way, especially after the usually automatic “Brassy” Braden Wieking missed 2 early field goals. The Sioux Falls defense (and some excellent punting by Wieking) kept Morningside’s offense scoreless long enough for the offense to start countering the Mustangs’ defensive gameplan. QB Jon “Jonny East” Eastman connected with Mountain Lion Ryan on 3 td’s while RB Chevon “Fire” Walker and the rest of the Cougar offense found their rhythm. The defense was led by Dom “The Studmeister General” Studzinski who had 6 tackles. Up next in USF’s quest to Threepeat are the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers.

Top 25 Upsets – NAIA – The Dickinson State Blue Hawks, ranked #9, suffered their 1st loss of the season at the hands of the unranked Black Hills State Yellow Jackets in a 19-13 Instant Classic … The 13th-ranked Walsh Cavaliers fell to an unranked team for the 2nd week in a row, losing to the Taylor Trojans 21-17 … The unranked Baker Wildcats, who had such high pre-season hopes, have settled into a spoiler role, upsetting the 20th-ranked Benedictine Ravens by a score of 20-14 … #21, the Montana Tech Orediggers, lost to the unranked Eastern Oregon Mountaineers in a beautiful 31-28 game. The Mountaineers will hope to keep this upset mojo going next week when they take on the Frontier Conference’s Fighting Saints in next week’s VSN Game Of The Week.

Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 3 – The 6th-ranked Coe Kohawks, obviously jarred by my recent investigative piece linking their mascot to the giant buzzard from outer space in the movie The Giant Claw (I’m kidding!), lost at home to the unranked Wartburg Knights 31-21 … The #19 Alfred Saxons lost on the road to the unranked RPI Engineers by a score of 27-24 … The Washington and Lee Generals, still undefeated in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play, upset the 20th-ranked Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets 42-28 … The Cortland State Red Dragons, ranked at #23, lost on the road to the Rowan Profs in a 20-17 Instant Classic.

Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 2 – In a slight upset rankings-wise, the 6th-ranked West Texas A&M Buffaloes lost to the 10-ranked TA&M– Kingsville Javelinas 28-24 … The 9th-ranked Delta State Statesmen fell to the Harding Bisons (they go by Bisons, not Bison) by a score of 38-35 … The #17 Tuskegee Golden Tigers, in the midst of one of their most up and down years ever, lost again to an unranked team, the Fort Valley Wildcats, in a 26-0 shutout and the 23rd-ranked Wayne State (NE) Wildcats lost at home 17-14 to the Concordia-St Paul Golden Bears.

Hard-Charging Chargers – In this, just the 2nd season of their revival of football, the New Haven Chargers have wracked up an impressive 6-1 record and are an amazing 4-0 on the road. And they’re not playing teams below their own division to do it, either. All of their games have been against fellow D2 teams with their only loss coming against the ever-tough Assumption Greyhounds. Yesterday the Chargers blanked the American International Yellow Jackets 13-0 and are at the top of the Northeast 10 Conference standings.

It Isn’t News If A House Isn’t On Fire Dept – The Top-Ranked and undefeated teams in D2 and D3 won big yesterday. D2’s Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs crushed the Mary Marauders 49-0 and D3’s Whitewater Warhawks devastated the Eau Claire Blugolds 45-0.  

We Went To A Football Game And A Baseball Game Broke Out – This week’s game that fits this category just barely qualifies. The UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs defeated the Nichols Bison 9-7. Where have all our 3-0 and 6-3 games gone?  

We Went To A Football Game And A Basketball Game Broke Out – This week’s entry for a game in which the defenses seem to have just stayed on the team bus for the whole game is the matchup between the Georgetown (KY) Tigers and the Pikeville Bears, with the Tigers winning 70-58. The 6th-ranked Lindenwood Lions tried to provide a 2nd game for this category this week by scoring 90 points yesterday, but their opponents, the Culver-Stockton Wildcats indignantly refused to play along, putting up only 19 points in return.

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October 17, 2010 · 2:12 am

GOING GREENY: WARRIORS VOLLEYBALL COACH JEN GREENY NOTCHES HER 100TH WIN

Jen Greeny, Women’s Volleyball Coach for the Lewis-Clark State Warriors, recorded her 100th win to go 100-22 overall with the program. Yesterday the 9th-ranked Warriors defeated the 21st-ranked Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears for their 11th win in a row and Greeny’s Centennial Milestone. Winning is a way of life for Coach Greeny, who has led her team to 3 straight Frontier Conference titles in just her 4th year at the helm.

“It’s been great,” said Greeny about the milestone. “The players we’ve had have been amazing, and they’ve really bought into the system. A lot of the credit goes to them. I thought we came out playing exceptionally well. Especially with our serving and defense we got them out of rhythm.”

The Warriors are now 19-1 overall and 9-0 in Frontier Conference play. Readers of Balladeer’s Blog are familiar with Greeny’s star players so let’s review their stats in this win along with their Official Balladeer’s Blog Nicknames. 

Nicole “The Gray Seal” Graybeal had 13 kills, 3 aces and 2 block assists; “Killin'” Kelli Tikker logged 12 kills, 11 digs and an ace; Deddiy Alaimaleata, “The District Attorney“, had 11 kills, 1 solo block and 1 block assist. That brings us to the Warriors’ setters. Kim “Special K” Fong had 23 assists and Alyssa Wold, “Root Beer” herself (because her initials are A&W), recorded 22 assists. On defense “Cat Burglar” Katie Hinrichs had 13 digs while “J-Bird” Jenika Bird Jeppson contributed 5 block assists.

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October 16, 2010 · 3:00 am

TODAY’S MARQUIS MATCHUP AND SCOREBOARDS

 The NAIA‘s Top-Ranked team, the University of Sioux Falls Cougars, host the fourth-ranked Morningside Mustangs in the Marquis Matchup of this Saturday. Both teams come into today’s game sporting 6-0 records, so the old cliche that “Someone’s 0 Will Go” certainly applies. Cougars stars like QB Jon “Jonny East” Eastman, RB Chevon “Fire” Walker, WR Jon “Mountain Lion” Ryan and K “Brassy” Braden Wieking will be in action as USF continues its quest to threepeat as National Champions. Kickoff is 6PM local time.

Here are links to updating scoreboards for the Divisions Balladeer’s Blog covers:

 

NAIA – http://football.victorysportsnetwork.com/

NCAA Division 3 – http://d3football.com/scoreboard/composite

NCAA Division 2 – http://www.d2football.com/scores/2010-10-16/ 

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October 15, 2010 · 11:26 pm

TWENTY-THREE – SKIDOO!

At Washington and Lee, where the sports teams go by the incredibly cool and incredibly appropriate nickname The Generals, Athletic Director Jan Hathorn (Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: “The Hath” as in “Don’t hassle the Hath””) announced the rededication of the school’s Student Athlete Mentor group as an organization known simply as “23”. No it doesn’t have anything to do with Discordianism or The Law Of Fives, the group is called 23 because that’s how many varsity sports the university sponsors. Their motto is “Many sports, one team.” The mission of  W&L’s  “23” is to create and promote a united community of student-athletes. Their goals are to develop and strengthen a sense of responsibility and wellness through risk reduction and bystander intervention. 

Lacrosse player Lauren Acker, Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname, “L.A. Woman”, is the student chair of 23 and is outspoken about the group’s mission:

“Being a student-athlete at W&L is something that I am very proud of — it is a very important aspect of my identity on campus,” said Acker.  “I am passionate about “23” and its mission because I believe it has the potential to greatly enhance a student-athlete’s experience at W&L. Our inspiration stemmed from the fact that we have 23 varsity sports on campus, yet there is little interaction and camaraderie amongst these sports. I feel that as student-athletes, we must all look out for each other, just as we would a teammate. It is important to transcend our teams’ boundaries to build an even larger support base as we pursue our athletic and academic goals at W&L.”   

The idea for the rededication was born when Hathorn and Associate Athletic Director Shana Levine attended the APPLE Conference at the University of Virginia last January. The APPLE Conference offers teams of student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, administrators, and alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) prevention specialists an opportunity to evaluate the ATOD environment within their athletics departments, and to develop a specific action plan to enhance prevention efforts.  After attending the conference, Hathorn and Levine began devising a way to re-energize the SAMS in order to achieve the mission for what has become “23”.

“At the Apple Conference last year, it became apparent that our student-athlete leaders have been seeking a new way to articulate their pride as an athlete, individually and collectively, on campus,” noted Hathorn.  “Specifically, they wanted to become a more unified group, and they felt that focusing on bystander behavior would be a great stepping stone towards expressing their care, concert and support of one another.  I am very pleased and proud of the efforts of ‘23’ and the work they have already accomplished.  If the dedication and spirit that has been demonstrated so far continues, this organization is well on its way to creating a new spirit of unity among our student-athletes on campus.”

Already, “23” has organized the first-ever student-athlete picnic (Sept. 19) and they have printed T-Shirts intended to identify athletes as a group on campus.  The group intends on continuing their mission throughout the school year in order to provide a sense of unity among the school’s teams and athletes.

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October 14, 2010 · 12:22 am

LINDSEY WILSON WOMEN’S SOCCER TAMES THE GEORGETOWN (KY) TIGERS

The following courtesy of Lindsey Wilson College Sports Information. The Blue Raiders are ranked 5th right now! The parenthetical comments are purely my fault. One of the perks (?) of being covered by Balladeer’s Blog is getting Official Balladeer’s Blog Nicknames, so here we go!

COLUMBIA, Ky. – Lindsey Wilson College and Georgetown (Ky.) College decided the 2009 Mid-South Conference Women’s Soccer Tournament Championship with penalty kicks in their last matchup, on Tuesday, the Blue Raiders skipped the drama in a 3-0 win at Walter S. Reuling Stadium.

Ida Gregersen (Official Balladeer’s Blog nickname: “Mighty Ida”) took a corner kick early in the second half that was played near the goal before being cleared just outside the box to a waiting Elisha (“Dangerous E”) Fry. Fry used one quick touch before firing the shot from 30 yards out for the game-winning score.

The goal was Fry’s eighth of the season, adding to her team lead in that category, while Blue Raider keeper Jordan (“The Deflector”) Morrison wrapped up her fourth shutout of the season.

Lindsey Wilson added to its lead in the 79th and 82nd minutes with a pair of goals by Gregersen to push the lead to 3-0.

Hanna (“Hawk Woman”) Jonsson and Diana (“The Huntress”) Da Rocha combined on the assists for Gregersen’s first score with two passes inside the box, while Mia Persson (“The MP” ) dished in the cross for the second goal to Gregersen as she rushed down the center of the box.

Lindsey Wilson led the game in shots 14-8, despite being knotted at 5-5 on shots at halftime. Georgetown held the advantage in corner kicks 4-2.

Tiger keeper Cathie Shaver made eight saves along with the three goals against, while Morrison finished with three saves to help secure the shutout.

The Blue Raiders return to action at 3:30 p.m. CT on Oct. 16 at St. Leo (Fla.) University. (St Leo’s teams are appropriately called the Lions.)

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