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Stars, Crossen slam Webster
By Mark Brockett
The UIS women’s volleyball team
demonstrated how their team can play offensively by defeating
Webster University 3-1. Danielle Crossen demonstrated how she
can take over a game not only from the attack line, but also
from the service line.
Crossen, a junior, had five aces
in her first seven attempts, three of those were converted by
jump serving. In addition to that, she tallied a match-high 18
kills by taking advantage of the openings left by Webster. “They
were leaving me line to hit at all night,” said Crossen. “Our
team was able to hurt them going cross court very well also.”
Those five aces led to a game
one victory of 30-19. The Stars lost some momentum by dropping a
close game two, 33-31. Nevertheless, the attack of the team
could not be stopped that night and they closed out the match
with victories in games four and five, 30-20 and 30-26.
Coach Joe Fisher applauds the
serve receive of the team first and foremost. “Our serve receive
set up our offense and really helped Danielle and some of our
middle hitters opportunities,” said Fisher. “Hopefully we can
continue this success and look to get on a roll heading into a
nice week ahead.”
Crossen sees this performance by
the team as a sign of things to come. “We can definitely win in
our next few matches. We are definitely capable of doing it and
this (the victory over Webster) shows that.”
The team improved its record to
5-10 on the season. Along with Crossen, freshman Gretchen Conlin
had 17 kills and sophomore Audra Roach added 12 kills. Megan
Leonard contributed 55 assists.
The team will play its first
home conference matches on the 22nd and 23rd
of September. They will be playing host to Harris Stowe College
in what is sure to be a classic, and also Missouri Baptist
University.
UIS women silence Blackburn in
double header
By Jason Stuebe
The fall
ball season for softball ended in stellar fashion as the Stars
soundly defeated Blackburn twice on Sunday by silencing the
Beavers’ offense, winning 3-1 and 7-1 respectively.
Senior
Katie Kuschell got the nod for game one, pitching her way
through a sticky situation in the first inning after a pop-up
just feet off the plate by Blackburn’s Amanda Matthews was lost
in the sun by both Kuschell and catcher Candace Welch, loading
the bases. It was smooth sailing from then on.
The
Stars opened up the bottom of the first with a single from
senior Laura Fager, who scored from first when new-recruit Megan
Eddy dropped a bomb in left-center, putting UIS up 1-0. The
Stars then loaded the bases with only one out allowing Karri
Landes to smack a two-ribbie double in shallow left putting the
final Prairie Star points on the board.
The remainder of the game was filled with one-two-three innings
via firm defensive plays by both teams. UIS’ Eddy had several
great nabs from third, highlighting the Prairie Stars’ advances
on the defensive end of the game. “Considering the three to four
girls we have on the bench, our defense has been impressive,”
said coach Joe Fisher.
Kuschell,
who tallied eight strikeouts, was two outs away from a shut-out
when the Beavers finally got on the board with solid ball
placement by Stacie Triplett which drove in Blackburn’s Crystal
Barchett. But it was too little, too late, as Kuschell and
company easily retired the next two.
Early
game heroics also set the tone for game two as the Fager-Eddy
duo scored again. Only this time, Fager was walked while Eddy
booted the ball to the left field corner, scoring Fager from
first again and putting the Stars on top 1-0.
Several
errors by Blackburn’s first baseman Amanda Matthews advanced
Eddy and senior Katie McBride into scoring position and then
allowed them to both score after a bases loaded single by Landes
followed up by another Prairie Stars double making the score 5-0
at the end of the inning.
Game two
also saw freshman Allie Leight make the most of only her second
collegiate start. Backed up by a tough infield, Leight held the
Beavers to another one-run game after a sacrifice fly drove in
Danielle Thompson in the top of the third.
The
Prairie Stars used their bats again in the bottom of the fifth
as McBride crushed a ball to center to stretch out a triple on a
nice but oh-so-close slide and driving in Eddy to make the score
6-1. Soon after, Welch sent a sacrifice fly to right field
pulling her home and making the score 7-1.
The wins
were a huge boost to the Prairie Stars as they prepare for the
regular season in the spring. “3-1 sure is better than going
0-6 like we did last fall,” said head coach Joe Fisher, “our
defense was solid against a young but formidable team, there
certainly are some bright spots to look forward to in the
spring.
The
Stars were led by Eddy, who was 3-4 on the day, Landes 2-4 with
2 RBI’s, McBride, who was 1-3 with her triple/RBI in game two,
and Kuschell, who was 1-2 while DH’ing in the second game and
had an RBI to her credit.
You Can’t Be Serious…
By Jason Stuebe
So I was thinking about taking a
two-hour vacation this week and not writing a column. That was
until I received a precarious email from a good friend of mine
and simply couldn’t resist.
Now, before I set this powder
keg off, I’m going to lay my cards on the table. As many of you
know, I’m about as pro-Chief as they come. Oh yes, I have the
Chief desk statuette that is about as hard to come by as a
decent NBA game, I have my “Keep The Chief” poster proudly hung
in my room, and I have no problem hailing the Chief during the
Three-In-One at Memorial Stadium or the Assembly Hall.
I also like to think that I have
something else. I like to think that my parents instilled in me
what we like to call some good ol’ fashion Midwestern
horse-sense.
The Society of Conservative
Students is circulating an online petition asking for UIS to
adopt the Chief – making him a symbol of UIS and/or UIS athletic
programs, then promises to introduce the idea to the SGA and
other administrative entities. Now, I am all for student
petition but you’ve got to be kidding me about this one.
Aside from the obvious, there
are dozens of reasons why this is simply out of the realm of
logic. Are the writers of this petition to believe that in the
middle of forming a consensus resolution to end the Chief
debate, the Board of Trustees, the campus senate, the central
administration, UIS administration, and UIS athletics would come
together and actually promote such an idea?!
The Chief issue is a
Champaign-Urbana issue. The Springfield campus has very little
right to get involved in the Chief quagmire and should avoid it
entirely. As the motto states, we are “three distinct campuses
– one great university.” This is all without saying that such a
proposal is without precedent. Do you think that all 90
University of North Carolina campuses (let’s face it – there’s a
bunch) have the Tar Heel as a symbol? Absolutely not.
Furthermore, anyone who is truly
pro-Chief would not even fathom the idea given the absolute
sanctity of the Chief at the Champaign-Urbana campus. It’s as
just as apart of the campus as the Morrow Plots, the Undergrad
Library, and the Alma Mater – it’s not a smorgasbord item that
you can simply pick up.
This idea will undoubtedly do
nothing more than have our campus laughed at – and given our
current stature with the University as a whole, I don’t think
getting laughed at is such a great idea. A second thought
should be given to this petition before undue embarrassment is
caused for this campus.
Expanding on what I
wrote about last week, we should be focused with building
traditions of our own and not ripping off those of others. In
the meantime – let’s just celebrate our own identity and be
thankful that the Astronomical Association of America isn’t
ticked off at our mascot. As always – go Stars!
Prairie Star of
the Week
By Jason Stuebe
It took a
year for Megan Eddy to finally get to UIS, but after having to
put in a season at Lewis and Clark she has finally made herself
a well-received new home with the Prairie Stars.
In only
a four starts with the Stars, Eddy has been impressive on both
offense and defense. Her ability to plant the ball in the
outfield, coupled with her quick defensive skills makes her a
threat both in the batter’s box and at third, where she played
last weekend.
 “Megan
has played both sides of the line really well,” said head coach
Joe Fisher, “she’s hitting well and she is making solid
defensive plays.”
When
asked how she played on Sunday, the shy newcomer simply said “I
think I played pretty well…” Eddy was quick to point out that
the success on Monday was a solid team effort as well, “I think
the team picked it up a lot more this week than the last time we
were out,” she said.
She
thinks she played “pretty” well!? By now she should know that
she played very well because she’s got Prairie Star of the Week
status to back it up, courtesy once again of the UIS Sports
Writers and Broadcaster’s Association (there aren’t a whole lot
of us left, but we do have a powerful army).
Eddy is
a sophomore pursuing a degree in Psychology.
Snapshots
Men’s
Soccer
UIS vs.
John Brown (Siloam Springs, Ark.)
The Stars
continued their downward road show spiral with a 5-0 shutout
loss against #13 John Brown on Friday night…
UIS vs.
Oklahoma City (Siloam Springs, Ark.)
The
previous night’s loss didn’t seem to dampen their spirits,
however, as the Stars pulled out a come-from-behind win against
Oklahoma City 2-1. John Petri tied the game and Todd Pierce
popped in the game-winning goal during the first overtime
period.
The Stars
begin AMC play today against McKendree in Lebanon, IL and return
home on September 30th.
Women’s
Volleyball
UIS vs.
McKendree (Lebanon, IL)
The Prairie
Stars dropped their first conference game to the Bearcats of
McKendree last Tuesday 3-1. The Stars won the first match 30-22
but were unable to carry the momentum as the lost the next three
30-19, 30-21, and 30-18.
UIS vs.
Williams Baptist (Walnut Ridge, Ark.)
Senior
Gretchen Conlin led the way in Arkansas to defeat Williams
Baptist 3-1 in conference play. The Stars lost game one 24-30
but picked up the pieces sweeping the next three 30-25, 30-27,
and 30-25 respectively. The Stars improved their season record
to 6-11 and are at .500 in the conference going 1-1.
Men’s
Club Volleyball
Yeah, it’s
news to us too. Reports have floated around that a men’s club
team will be formed. Details are not readily available as of
the publication deadline.
Women’s
Tennis
UIS vs.
Lewis and Clark
This match
just didn’t happen last Friday – and no, it won’t be
rescheduled.
UIS vs. St.
Francis (Washington Park, Springfield)
The women
bounced back from last week to pummel St. Francis sweeping the
Saints 7-0 (Yes, we know, the score sounds odd, but St. Frank
only played five girls). Senior Jenny Poss who was coming off
of a grueling 2:45 long match last week, set the tone for the
relatively easy win as she won 2-0 going 6-0 and 6-2 in less
than 45 minutes
The fall
season for the UIS women wraps up next weekend at the ITA
Tournament in Kansas City, MO, where they will play some of
their spring opponents. “The girls did a super job their last
year,” said Coach Giacomini, “and I know they are looking
forward to it this year.”
Men’s
Tennis
UIS vs. St.
Francis (Washington Park, Springfield)
In a rare
fall appearance, the UIS Men’s Tennis team not only played, but
crushed St. Francis 5-2 with their only losses coming from a
forfeit of the #3 doubles match, and a hard fought loss of the
#2 doubles match.
The UIS men
will also be traveling to the ITA Tournament in their final
warm-up leading to what is sure to be an exciting spring
season.
Softball
The double
header scheduled for September 26th at Lincoln Park
has been cancelled. The Stars were to continue their fall-ball
season against Robert Morris College-Springfield and RoMoCo-Chicago.
CAMPUS
RECREATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
Men’s Club
Volleyball
An
informational meeting is being held Thursday evening, September
23 at 9:30pm in the Student Center for any male UIS student
interested in competing extramurally with other college or USVBA
men’s club volleyball teams. Interest and attendance at the
meeting will decide whether to form a men’s sport club
volleyball team here at UIS. Male students may be undergraduate
or graduate; full time or part time. Come to the meeting to
learn more or call Karen Willard in Campus Recreational Sports
at 206-6658.
Intramural
Sports
Entries are now
available from the Campus Recreational Sports Office for the
IM 7x7 Flag Football League, IM 6x6 Soccer League,
and IM 2x2 Outdoor Basketball Tournament. Entry forms
are due in the CRS Office by 11pm Wednesday, September 29 for
all three sports. League play begins the weekend of October
9-10 for flag football and soccer at the Rec Park Field. The
Outdoor Basketball Tournament will be held under the lights at
6:30pm on Sunday, October 10 at the Rec Park Basketball Court.
For more specific details, contact the CRS Office or check out
the CRS website.
Fitness &
Instructional
Registration
for Tennis Lessons and Fencing Lessons is now
available at the CRS Office. The deadline to sign up for either
class is 11pm Wednesday, October 6. Both classes will offer 6
lessons. Tennis will meet at the UIS Tennis Courts on Tuesdays
and Thursdays from 4-5pm beginning October 5. The tennis
lessons will be taught by UIS Women’s Tennis number 1 singles
and doubles team member Georgena Wulfers. Fencing will once
again be taught by Dr. Larry Livingston on Wednesdays in the UIS
Gym from 12:10-12:50pm beginning October 13. The fee for UIS
Students and Rec Center Members with valid i-cards is $5 for
each class. UIS Community Non-Rec Center Members are welcome to
register for the classes as well but must pay the $15 non-member
fee for each class.
IM 6x6 Sand
Volleyball & IM 9x9 Softball Results
This past
weekend saw Will Work For Sets defeat The Ramrods 30-24, 30-27
in a close Saturday sand volleyball match. The Cowboys took a
forfeit loss by Tikea in the other Saturday match. Sunday’s
matches saw both Will Work For Sets and The Ramrods victorious.
Will Work For Sets defeated the Cowboys 30-17, 30-21 while The
Ramrods defeated Tikea 30-12, 30-28.
IM Softball
played only one softball game over the weekend and endured three
forfeits. In the game played Saturday, the Beanfield Ballers
beat the U Is? team 23-7. Old School received a forfeit loss
from Webb’s Team on Saturday and from Foxglove on Sunday.
Webb’s Team also forfeited to the Beanfield Ballers on Sunday.
Informal Open
Recreation Hours for 2004-05
The Rec Center
(Fitness Center and Gym) will be open Monday – Thursday 8am
until 11pm; Friday 10am-8pm; Saturday 10am – 4pm; and Sunday 2 –
8pm. These hours are subject to change during campus vacation
periods or scheduled events.
How Can I Learn About Campus Rec Sports News?
Send an Email
to RecSports@uis.edu to
be included in the 2004-2005 Campus Rec Sports News List to
receive personal up-to-date information about future events and
activities. 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. Check out the
website at
www.uis.edu/recsports/. Contact the Campus Recreational
Sports (CRS) Office located in the Fitness Center (SLB 118) or
call 206-6658. |
