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Tennis team reaches top 30 in
nation
By
Mark Brockett
The UIS women’s tennis team beat
what head coach Dominic Giacomini thought was going to be a very
tough opponent in the Evangel College tennis team 7 to 2 Saturday
at Washington Park. This was the 11th win of the year overall and
have only dropped one match.
On the opposite side, it was
Evangel’s first loss of the year. Evangel is also ranked 30th in
the NAIA national poll at press time. According to Giacomini, the
victory should put the team ranked right in there with the top 30
NAIA teams in the nation.
In the doubles portion of the day, the top
doubles tandem of Georgena Wulfers and Erin Sibley won 8-5. Along
with those two were Christina Tabayoyong and Jennifer Poss tallied
an impressive 8-4 win, and Katie Popp and Nicole Frkol dominated
their match, winning 8-1.
Assistant coach Ivan Czwan said of the team,
"The ladies seemed a bit nervous and really pumped."
In the singles matches, Wulfers lost to Jenna
Persons 6-4, 6-3 in what Giacomini called a very hard fought
match. Tabayoyong also lost a very tough match going three sets
6-2, 6-7(7-1) and 7-5. Poss overpowered Brittney Morrison 6-0,
6-1, as did Sibley in her match with Sara Schoonmater, 6-2, 6-2.
Giacomini also noted that the match had a very
good crowd made up of parents, UIS students and the UIS men's team
cheered with every point scored as the women captured a very sweet
victory on the way to regional tournament.
Next up for the UIS women is a
road match at McKendree on Friday and back to McKendree to play
William Jewell on Saturday to play a "makeup" match with the one
of the top ranked teams in NAIA region 5. The Lady Stars will
play their last match at home April 17 against Baker University.
UIS womens softball
team looks forward to 2004 season
By Mark
Brockett
It was a tough week to say the
least for the UIS men’s basketball program. The team was
defeated on the road against Williams Baptist, 91-81, and was
outplayed in the UIS gymnasium (The Assembly Closet) by Missouri
Baptist, 89-74. The team has now suffered four consecutive
losses in the American Midwest Conference.
In the game with Williams Baptist,
the game was tied up at 38 when the first half was completed.
However, a 53 point second half effort by Williams Baptist did in
the Prairie Stars. In the game, Senior Randy Thomas led the team
with 20 points and had 5 rebounds and 3 steals. B.J. Bone, another
senior, contributed 19 points with 7 rebounds. Imo Akhibi chipped
in with 13 points.
In the final game of the regular
season, the team celebrated the two year careers of Bone and
Thomas, who have their eligibility up after this season. In the
game, the leadership of both individuals was clearly evident on
the floor. With their contributions, the team had 5 players in
double figures. However, the game did not show the same type of
result. The Spartans of Missouri Baptist shot 58.3 percent for the
game and led 44-34 at the half. Missed opportunities in the second
half doomed the the Stars and couldn’t break the barrier.
A bright spot in the game was the
play of Sophomore Michael Griffin, who led the team with 17 points
and had 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Griffin had a
positive outlook.
“Despite all of the things that we
have gone through this week, we are still a team and we just need
to work even harder to prepare for the tournament,” said Griffin.
The loss puts the Stars at an
overall record of 12-15 with a 5-7 record in the conference. The
Stars will play Hannibal LaGrange in the first round of the
American Midwest Conference tournament. Depending on the outcome
of Hannibal LaGrange’s game versus Columbia, the team will either
host the game on the 9th or will go on the road.
Sports
Briefs
Tennis Lessons
are being team taught by Hayley Simmons, Missy Poulakos, and
Georgena Wulfers at the UIS Tennis Courts on Mondays and
Wednesdays from 4-5pm starting April 12-28. These successful past
and present members of the UIS women’s tennis team are experienced
tennis instructors having taught lessons during the past several
summers. Beginner and Advanced Beginner lessons will include
group work on game fundamentals, drill work to reinforce those
fundamentals, and singles and doubles play practice. Lessons for
the Intermediate player include correcting any mistakes in your
tennis strokes, improving your serve and net play through various
tennis drills, and testing your skills through singles and doubles
play. Tennis balls will be provided. You must supply your own
racquet. A limited number of tennis racquets are available for
check-out from the CRS Office. If interested, register and pay
the fee at the CRS Office before 11pm on Thursday, April 8. UIS
students with a valid i-card and Rec Center Members pay $5 for the
six-hour long lessons. Non-Rec Center Members pay $13. Please
indicate your level of play on the registration form when
signing-up.
The
Intramural 4x4 Futsal League got underway Saturday with
two games scheduled. In the first game, Real Madrid defeated the
Ed Tech Tornadoes by a score of 24-11. In Game 2, Bangbang
Connection forfeited, thus giving Oleg’s Team a 3-0 win. Sunday
marked the second day of play for this year’s league. The first
game resulted in a 16-10 win for Oleg’s team over the Ed Tech
Tornadoes. Game 2 of the day saw Real Madrid defeating the
Bangbang Connection 22-5. After the first weekend of play, Oleg’s
Team and Real Madrid are tied for first with records of 2-0.
Bangbang Connection and the Ed Tech Tornadoes round out the
league, both having records of 0-2. Each team will play one more
regular league game on Saturday, April 3, before the Championship
game on the following day. Game one on Saturday begins at 1pm in
the UIS Gymnasium. The Championship game will be played on
Sunday, April 4 at 2:30pm.
The
Intramural 6x6 Indoor Volleyball League began play with
two matches on Saturday. The first match of the day saw Medulla
Oblongata defeat the UIS Cobras two games to one. The scores for
the first match were 24-30, 30-18, 15-14. The second match of the
day resulted in a 30-15, 30-19 win for No Limit over Carrie’s
Team. Sunday was a busy day for the Volleyball League, with five
matches scheduled. The first match between Carrie’s Team and Aces
R Us resulted in a double forfeit. In Match 2 of the day, In
Jerry Jeff Walker We Trust defeated No Limit; 18-30, 30-28,
15-10. The next match resulted in another win for In Jerry Jeff
Walker We Trust when they defeated the UIS Cobras 30-27, 30-24.
Medulla Oblongata picked up their second win of the season when
they defeated Carrie’s Team 30-21, 30-12 in the fourth match. In
the final match of the day, In Jerry Jeff Walker We Trust defeated
Medulla Oblongata 29-30, 30-29, 15-11. Heading into the final
weekend of regular league play, In Jerry Jeff Walker We Trust is
in first place with a record of 3-0. They are trailed by Medulla
Oblongata at 2-1, No Limit at 1-1, Aces R Us at 0-1, UIS Cobras at
0-2, and Carrie’s Team at 0-3. Next weekend’s matches begin at
3:15 pm on Saturday, April 3 in the UIS Gymnasium.
If you are
interested in joining the UIS Women’s Club Soccer
team yet this spring, please contact Jocelyn at
sportygirl222@yahoo.com. Any UIS women student interested in
playing competitive soccer is welcome to join the club. The club
plans on scrimmaging some local girls’ high school teams this
spring as well as possibly competing in some other tournaments.
Indoor practice is tonight (Wednesday) from 9:45-10:45pm in the
Gym. Outdoor practices start next week at 4-6pm on Wednesdays on
Rec Field 2 (soccer field east of Kiwanis Stadium).
Send an Email to
RecSports@uis.edu if you want
to be on the 2003-2004 Campus Rec Sports News List
to receive up-to-date information about future events and
activities. Or go to your UIS e-mail account and click on “Public
Folders>All Public Folders>UIS>Announcements” then click on
“Student or Campus” (depending on your status) to read the e-mail
announcements sent out by UIS RecSports.
For more information, contact the
Campus Recreational Sports (CRS) Office located in
the Fitness Center (SLB 118) or call 206-6658.
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