Wednesday

April 27, 2005

Sports

Volume 22, Issue 27

Softball salutes its seniors

By Jason Stuebe - Sports Editor

Admittedly enough, this would be a sentimental article for anyone to write, but for this sports editor it goes without saying that I'm going to miss watching the seven seniors who were honored at last Saturday's game against Blackburn.

Melanie Cain, Rebekah Bandy, Sarah Boothman, Laura Fager, Katie Kuschell, Katie McBride and Christie Wantland were all escorted by friends and family before Saturday's game amidst a cold and blustery wind.

Cain, a Philo, Ill. native and Capital Scholar who played all four of her collegiate years at UIS, decided it was time for a switch this year, coming on board from the women's basketball program after a successful career. Stats don't always tell the story though and that certainly was the case for Melanie. Over the course of the year, Cain proved to be a positive reinforcement for the players and coaching staff. Cain will be graduating this May with two degrees in business administration and communication.

Bandy came to UIS as one of the first players to take to the field in a UIS softball uniform after a successful career at Rend Lake Community College . Bandy made the transition from the infield to the outfield for UIS this season and has made plenty of spectacular catches down the leftfield line. Over her two-year career, Bandy batted .263 and knocked in 35 RBIs. Bandy will be graduating this May with a degree in communication.

Boothman, another member of the inaugural team, also came to UIS from Rend Lake Community College . Affectionately known as “Booty,” her constant and infectious smile was a misleading advantage she maintained against her opponents. Booty spent most of her two-year career at UIS behind the plate but played several games at second this season. Boothman also collected 46 hits, driving in 24 runs. Her production as a catcher though is what stands out the most, as she threw out 25 would-be base stealers. Boothman will be graduating from UIS with a degree in criminal justice.

Fager was also a member of the first UIS team and certainly proved her worth in the outfield. The switch-hitting outfielder finished up her career with a .907 fielding percentage, playing any of the outfield positions over the last two years. At the plate, Laura collected 32 hits, garnered seven stolen bases and scored 12 times. Laura also made a few appearances on the mound last season for the Stars and earned one win over 13 innings pitched while striking out seven batters. Fager will be graduating from UIS with a bachelor's in communication.

Kuschell, a recruit from sunny California , came to the Prairie Stars program last year to compete with the first UIS squad. The climate changes and windy conditions didn't seem to bother the California native as she was a workhorse for the Stars on the mound logging 283 innings pitched in her two-year career. During that time she also collected 15 wins striking out 135 batters. Kuschell will be graduating from UIS with a degree in communication.

McBride came to UIS after a star-studded career at Lewis and Clark where she played softball and basketball. McBride leaves UIS as the ironman, so to speak, leading all other players in 88 games played in her two-year career. McBride also maintained a .245 batting average and had 13 stolen bases on the offensive side of the ball. At her home at shortstop, McBride yielded a .941 fielding percentage and proved to be one of the hardest workers for UIS. McBride will be graduating with a degree in mathematical sciences while continuing to earn her teacher certification.

Wantland, a Fisher native who played for the NJCAA National Runner-Up Parkland Community College , came to UIS to play her fourth and fifth seasons at UIS after a one-year stint at Kentucky Wesleyan. Christie's overwhelming charm and bright outlook affected nearly every player on the Stars roster though her competitive spirit spoke for itself. Over her two-year career at UIS, Christie maintained a .238 batting average while batting in 23 RBIs. Wantland was a solid player on the defensive side of the ball as well. Whether playing in the infield or outfield, Wantland had a .961 fielding percentage. Wantland will be graduating in December with a degree in biology.

Thanks for the thrills, good times and even the spills Mel, Bandy, Booty, Soto, Calli, Kato and Chris-a-liss. It sure was fun.

Senior Day starts off with a bang, ends with a whimper

By Jason Stuebe - Sports Editor

It was easily ascertainable that Saturday's 5-2 loss to Blackburn was an essential microcosm of the Prairie Stars entire season and head coach Joe Fisher agreed.

“You certainly could say that it was a microcosm. We had a couple of great innings and a couple of innings where we didn't execute well on either side of the ball,” said Fisher.

The loss dropped the Stars to 7-39 (1-13) on the season.

The Stars had a rocky start, giving up two runs in the first inning but quickly retaliated with a pair of their own in the bottom of the first to tie the game. The Stars first got on the board when a Katie McBride double drove in Kayla Moss from second. Immediately thereafter, in one of the most bizarre moments of the game, a Rebekah Bandy ball hit off the end of the bat to the pitcher became an error when Blackburn 's Melissa Benyr's headband fell down over her eyes, blinding her and preventing her from making the play and allowing McBride to score from second.

The Stars continued to build on their lead in the third inning when Bandy notched her second RBI with a double that drove Laura Fager in from second. In the fourth inning, it was Moss who once again came home, this time on yet another odd error this time on the Beaver's short stop Mary Chantos, who booted a ball hit by Christie Wantland making the score 4-2.

With everything starting to fall into place for the Stars, who were still looking for their first home win of the season, they breezed through the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings and were only three outs away from getting that elusive first home win.

Such wasn't the case though as the Beavers put on their rally caps and rocked the Stars in the top of the seventh, scoring in three runs to take a 5-4 lead.

At this point the only thing going for the Stars was that the top of the line-up was to lead off in the bottom of the seventh. Moss had a well hit ball to center though was called out stretching for the double. The lead off out proved fatal for the Stars as Fager then struck out, Wantland doubled and McBride flied out to the shortstop.

“That lead off out made it tough for us,” said Fisher, “you have to really want it when you go down like that heading into the bottom of the seventh.”

While the loss on senior day, was easily classified as depressing, Fisher tried to remain optimistic heading into this weekend's American Midwest Conference Tournament to be held at UIS.

“This team can be dangerous,” said Fisher, “we have to be complete on both sides of the ball, if we do that we could make it to Saturday and make it to the championship. It's simply a matter of execution.”

The Stars wrapped up their regular season Monday afternoon with a double header against Goshen ( Indiana ) and look forward to the postseason to be held this Friday and Saturday. Games get underway at UIS Athletics West at 10:00 a.m. on Friday.

Women's Tennis rolls past Evangel

By Mark Brockett - Sports Reporter

The shining light of UIS sports this school year continues to get brighter heading into playoff time. The UIS women's tennis team easily defeated Evangel College 6-2 last Friday to complete their regular season schedule and finish with a 10-4 record heading into this weekend's American Midwest Conference tournament.

Senior outfielder Melanie Cain bats for the Stars during the Women' Softball game against Blackburn

The team, which currently is ranked 24 th in the NAIA poll, dominated in the majority of the higher seeded match ups by winning the top three doubles matches and three of the six singles contests. In No. 1 doubles, senior Georgina Wulfers and the true freshmen Jennifer Cloyd controlled the tempo during their match and were victorious 8-3. The senior duo of Jennifer Poss and Christina Tabayoyong were also 8-3 winners in their doubles match which also was the last regular season match for those two as a tandem here at UIS. The other senior-freshmen duo of Erin Sibley and Jennifer Gebben claimed another victory for the year by winning 8-4 in their match.

The singles portion of the day saw Wulfers' match suspended due to inclement weather and resulted in a 1-1 tie. Winning for the Stars in singles were Tabayoyong, Cloyd, and Gebben.

Tabayoyong saw the overall day as a success despite bad weather and otherwise slower play. “I thought we all played well considering it rained and the day went slow waiting for things to get going,” said Tabayoyong.

The team gets set to host the AMC tournament this weekend, April 29-30, at Washington Park . Both days will have play commencing at 8:30 a.m. With UIS locking up the top ranking in Region V with this win, things are certainly looking bright for the Prairie Stars.

The Long Goodbye

By Jason Stuebe - Sports Editor

So this is pretty much it, we're down to the wire with only a week and a half of school left and then it is off to doing whatever we do for the summers or, in my case, whatever it is that I will be doing for the rest of my life.

But what an amazing ride it has been, wouldn't you say? Especially when considering the roller coaster that has been UIS Athletics these last four years. The introduction of the Capital Scholars program and the scholarship money produced, the addition of men's basketball and women's softball, a new athletic director, a disposed athletic director – everything. It has been quite the bite to chew.

With the groundbreaking of a new athletic facility all but on the horizon in the next few years and the restructuring of the current facility to take place this summer, it certainly would seem that we are finally growing into ourselves, athletically speaking. But you know something, when that new facility is built; I sure am going to miss that ol' cracker box excuse for an athletic arena affectionately dubbed the “Assembly Closet.”

So many good times were had there, from the UIS upset of a No. 3 McKendree men's basketball team in only our first year of play, to watching the likes of Crystal Graham and Danielle Crossen murder a volleyball with enough velocity to put a dent in an armored truck, to watching Jamie Kromm wrap up a magnificent collegiate career.

It says a lot about who we are as an institution really. So ready for moving on to the next step but still clinging to the way things were.

So after that little tangent what was my point again?

Oh yeah, a lot's gone on in the past four years.

It's one thing to analyze what has already happened, that's pretty easy. I could spend three or four columns on the most significant events to happen to UIS Athletics in the past four years. The problem however is that I only have this one last column.

So, let's talk about the future. Where are we going, who do we want to be? These were important questions asked by the outgoing Nick Adams in his final interview.

Will we go to NCAA Division III or even II at some point? Probably, though not as soon as one might hope. But first, we have to get the new facility built and stop horsing around with the off court shenanigans that has taken our eye off the proverbial ball.

But lets not get ahead of ourselves – we've got to get competitive in the NAIA first and maybe more importantly for the time being, the Conference. Let's face it, outside of volleyball, women's tennis and even men's tennis this year, we have struggled in the wins versus losses column.

Sure, some might say there are more important things than winning but then again the great Vince Lombardi begged the question “…if that's the case then why in the hell are we keeping score?” Let's face it, at this level, wins matter. Wins generate excitement. They put fans in the stands, money in the coffers and players on the floor.

Whatever the future may hold, I certainly hope it's bright. We just need to get everyone on the same page first because the future will be no good worrying about if we can't get the present right.

In any event, it certainly has been an honor working here at The Journal once again. This year we've ruffled some feathers, won some awards and captivated an audience. Thanks for the ride. As always, go Stars!

Campus Recreational Sports Briefs

Informal Open Recreation Hours for Final Exam Week April 30 through May 8 are as follows: Saturday, 10am-2pm; Sunday, 4-8pm; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 8am-11pm; Thursday, 8am-8pm; Friday, 10am-5pm; Closed Saturday and Sunday for Graduation Weekend. Summer Break Informal Open Recreation Hours begin on Monday, May 9, 2005.

Rec Center Membership for the Spring and Spring Midyear terms expire Sunday, May 8. Beginning Monday, May 9, Summer Term memberships will be required for participants to use the UIS campus recreational facilities. Students who are registered for the Summer Term 2005 and who are assessed the Activity Fee and the Recreational Gym Facility Fee will have valid i-cards and thus be automatic members of the Rec Center . (Degree-seeking on-line students are the exception and must purchase a membership in order to use the facilities.) Faculty and staff employees will need to purchase or renew their membership. Application for Summer membership renewal may begin the week of May 2. Summer term membership begins Monday, May 9 and runs through July 31, 2005. The Summer term membership fee is $26 for an adult and $21 for youth (14-17 yrs). Additional information is available on the website or is posted in the Rec Center .

Spring Locker Rental also expires on Sunday, May 8. If you will not be renewing for the summer term, please remove your locker contents before the deadline date.

The Lost & Found boxes in the Campus Recreational Sports Office are overflowing! Have you lost an article of clothing, jewelry, books, shoes, glasses, etc. in any of the recreational facilities (Gym, Fitness Center , Tennis Courts, outdoor fields)? If so, you might want to check us out. Chances are good we may have found it for you. Any items not claimed in the Lost & Found by Friday, May 6 will be discarded or given to Goodwill.

Golfers and duffers alike! Mark your calendars for Thursday, July 14, 2005. It's time for the annual 4 ball scramble Summer Golf Outing at Edgewood Golf Club with an 8:00 am modified shotgun start. Watch for more details coming in late May.

Questions? Contact Campus Recreational Sports in the Fitness Center (SLB 118) at 206-6658; send an e-mail to RecSports@uis.edu ; or c heck out our website at www.uis.edu/recsports/ .

Snapshots

Women's Softball

UIS vs. Culver Stockton ( Canton , Mo. )

The Stars dropped yet another doubleheader, this time to Culver Stockton, losing 7-5 and 10-2.

In game one, the Stars were staring at a four run deficit heading into the fifth when the bats spoke for themselves as Christie Wantland drove in the first run with a single while Rebekah Bandy earned two RBIs with a single to centerfield and Megan Eddy knocked in an RBI with a single to left field to knot the game at four apiece.

Culver Stockton answered back however in the fifth with two runs and padded their lead in the bottom of the sixth with another. The Stars attempted a rally but could only score in one run when Liz Sunderland singled, bringing in Katie McBride.

Game two ended early when Culver Stockton went up by eight in the sixth inning. The Stars' only runs came in the fifth when Kari Landes had a two run dong that brought her and Bandy home.

Women's Tennis

UIS vs. Graceland ( Washington University , St. Louis , Mo. )

The Stars wrapped up their regular season with a

Men's Tennis

UIS vs. William Jewell

UIS vs. Baker

UIS vs. Missouri Valley

We're still waiting on the scores to these games, but hope the men did well!

Upcoming Games

Friday April 29

Women's Softball

AMC Conference Tournament