Wittenberg softball hosts its regular season NCAC finale Saturday at 1:00 p.m. against Allegheny. But the Tigers have more on their minds than the Gators.
Saturday they will host the program's first-ever Strike Out Cancer event at Betty Dillahunt Field to honor former Wittenberg Women's Basketball Head Coach and Associate Director of Athletics Pam Evans Smith. All money raised on Saturday will be donated to cancer research in her name.
Money is being raised through the sale of Strike Out Cancer T-shirts, which were designed by a girl from nearby Tipp City, Ohio, who lost her mother to breast cancer a year ago. Pre-ordered T-shirts were sold for $8, and they will also be on sale the day of the game for $10. Hats, totes, backpacks, wrist bands, socks and bags will also be on sale at the game, with all money raised going toward the Pam Evans Smith '82 Memorial Scholarship fund. Smith's husband, Roger, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch and both teams will be wearing special uniform shirts. The Wittenberg coaching staff plans to wear shirts with the No. 42 on the back in honor of Smith, who wore that jersey number during her collegiate basketball playing days at Wittenberg.
Admission to the game is free, but donations will be accepted on the day of the game. Saturday is also Softball Alumni Day and a Code Red event, meaning all students are encouraged to attend wearing special Wittenberg T-shirts. It will also be "dime-a-dog" day at Betty Dillahunt Field and entertainment is planned between games, including a tricycle race around the bases.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Around the NCAC
** Denison is prepping to host its first outdoor track meet in nine years. Deeds Field-Piper Stadium was recently renovated and the new turf field has seen plenty of use. The new track will see its first competitive action since 1999 tomorrow when teams compete in the Big Red Invitational.
Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan and Wooster will also compete in the four-team meet. Field Events start at 3:45, followed by running events at 5:30.
** If you can't make it to Saturday's Denison at Ohio Wesleyan women's lacrosse game, you can watch online. The winner will host the NCAC tournament on May 2-3 as the number one seed. Saturday's opening draw is at 1 p.m.
** Ohio Wesleyan softball celebrated its new field on campus with a dedication ceremony on April 19. The new Margaret Sagan Field softball team back to campus for the first time since 2000. The ceremony included a visit by primary benefactor, and namesake, Margaret Pickett Sagan ’48 (seated).
** Wabash sophomore Brock Graham will be featured in the third issue of Champion, a magazine produced by the NCAA to share student-athlete stories. Brock has packed a lot into his two years as a Little Giants - he's traveled to Botswana with 20 of his fellow students to serve as missionaries during spring break. He's helped the Little Giants win back-to-back NCAC football titles and a berth in the 2007 NCAA Division III playoffs. He's worked so hard in the classroom as a religion major that he will be able to graduate in December, a full 17 months ahead of the remaining members of his freshmen class.
And now Brock will be featured on the cover of the summer issue of Champion, which will be sent to NCAA members in late July. You can check out the current spring issue online at www.ncaachampionmagazine.com. The Wabash Football blog has a post sharing the cover shoot experience.
** Wooster men's lacrosse topped Tri-State last night, 14-6, to improve to 10-2 overall. The 10 wins are the most for the Fighting Scots in a single season since 1996.
Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan and Wooster will also compete in the four-team meet. Field Events start at 3:45, followed by running events at 5:30.
** If you can't make it to Saturday's Denison at Ohio Wesleyan women's lacrosse game, you can watch online. The winner will host the NCAC tournament on May 2-3 as the number one seed. Saturday's opening draw is at 1 p.m.
** Ohio Wesleyan softball celebrated its new field on campus with a dedication ceremony on April 19. The new Margaret Sagan Field softball team back to campus for the first time since 2000. The ceremony included a visit by primary benefactor, and namesake, Margaret Pickett Sagan ’48 (seated).
** Wabash sophomore Brock Graham will be featured in the third issue of Champion, a magazine produced by the NCAA to share student-athlete stories. Brock has packed a lot into his two years as a Little Giants - he's traveled to Botswana with 20 of his fellow students to serve as missionaries during spring break. He's helped the Little Giants win back-to-back NCAC football titles and a berth in the 2007 NCAA Division III playoffs. He's worked so hard in the classroom as a religion major that he will be able to graduate in December, a full 17 months ahead of the remaining members of his freshmen class.
And now Brock will be featured on the cover of the summer issue of Champion, which will be sent to NCAA members in late July. You can check out the current spring issue online at www.ncaachampionmagazine.com. The Wabash Football blog has a post sharing the cover shoot experience.
** Wooster men's lacrosse topped Tri-State last night, 14-6, to improve to 10-2 overall. The 10 wins are the most for the Fighting Scots in a single season since 1996.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Wooster's Cooper to Play in Collegiate Basketball Invitational
Wooster senior James Cooper a two-time NCAC Men's Basketball Player of the Year is one of 65 players chosen to compete at the Collegiate Basketball Invitational April 24-26.
The second annual event brings together the top seniors from NCAA Divisions II and III as well as from the NAIA, and will be held at Wadsworth High School. Cooper is one of just eight Div. III players selected.
The players have been broken up into eight teams and each squad will play three games in a tournament Thursday and Friday. Then, 20 players will be chosen for an all-star game Saturday night, which will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 8 p.m.
Cooper is on a team, sponsored by Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital, and will be coached by Kevin Bille of Notre Dame (Ohio) College. His teammates for the tourney will be Luke Cooper (Univ. of Alaska Anchorage), Antonio Bolton (Voorhees College), Avery Patterson (Tarleton State Univ.), Larry Welton (Aurora Univ.), Devario Hudson (Valdosta State Univ.), Brian Stamer (Colorado Christian Univ.), and Atila Santos (Minnesota State Univ.-Mankato).
Wooster story
The second annual event brings together the top seniors from NCAA Divisions II and III as well as from the NAIA, and will be held at Wadsworth High School. Cooper is one of just eight Div. III players selected.
The players have been broken up into eight teams and each squad will play three games in a tournament Thursday and Friday. Then, 20 players will be chosen for an all-star game Saturday night, which will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 8 p.m.
Cooper is on a team, sponsored by Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital, and will be coached by Kevin Bille of Notre Dame (Ohio) College. His teammates for the tourney will be Luke Cooper (Univ. of Alaska Anchorage), Antonio Bolton (Voorhees College), Avery Patterson (Tarleton State Univ.), Larry Welton (Aurora Univ.), Devario Hudson (Valdosta State Univ.), Brian Stamer (Colorado Christian Univ.), and Atila Santos (Minnesota State Univ.-Mankato).
Wooster story
WNBA Coach in the Hunt for Second National Championship
The Springfield News-Sun has an interview with Wittenberg alum Brian Agler, the new head coach of the Seattle Storm in the WNBA.
Agler was a freshman when the Tigers won the men's basketball national championship in 1977 and he is now the skipper of a team with the potential to claim another crown.
The Storm hired Agler as head coach in January. Since he was hired, the team has signed Swin Cash and Sheryl Swoopes to a roster which already includes Sue Bird and the reigning WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson.
Training camp begins Monday, and Agler said his new team has realistic championship goals.
Check out Dave Jablonski's full story at the News-Sun.
Agler was a freshman when the Tigers won the men's basketball national championship in 1977 and he is now the skipper of a team with the potential to claim another crown.
The Storm hired Agler as head coach in January. Since he was hired, the team has signed Swin Cash and Sheryl Swoopes to a roster which already includes Sue Bird and the reigning WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson.
Training camp begins Monday, and Agler said his new team has realistic championship goals.
"There's a lot of good teams," said Agler, a 1980 Witt grad who lives in Columbus in the offseason. "It doesn't take a whole lot for a team to get on track. At the same time, it's really hard to win a championship.
"You've got to have special circumstances go your way. You've got to peak at the right time. There are only 14 teams in the league, so every team's pretty good."
Check out Dave Jablonski's full story at the News-Sun.
Tiger Bond Could Save Lives
To identify a possible bone marrow donor, all it takes is a swab on the cheek by a trained professional. For Mark LaForce, Wittenberg '75, this simple act may mean the difference between life and death for his teenage son, Blake.
Wittenberg's Phi Kappa Psi fraternity hosted a bone marrow drive yesterday after fraternity president Matt Wigton learned of Blake's leukemia diagnosis and the LaForce family's inability to find a suitable bone marrow donor due to his mixed ancestry. Many on the campus attended the event including the entire Wittenberg football roster in a show of support for their fellow Tiger and his son.
Blake LaForce, whose father was a standout lineman on Wittenberg's 1973 national championship team and a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblast leukemia in November 2007, just weeks after finishing the football season at Butler High School in nearby Vandalia, Ohio.
The disease can be treated or cured with a bone marrow transplant, and healthy people between 18 and 60 years of age can become registered on national and worldwide donor registries. In hopes of identifying a match for Blake, the LaForce family has embarked on an awareness campaign to educate the public and register more donors, with a particular emphasis on individuals with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. LaForce is one of more than 6,000 Americans in need of such a transplant, making the need for testing all the more acute.
We won the first NCAA Division III Football National Championship at Wittenberg with a great Tiger team, and through team effort Blake will be victorious because he has many caring people from Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and Wittenberg University on his team," LaForce said. "When something like this invades your family you really appreciate your fraternity of brothers.
"This is an opportunity to give back and help more human beings and save lives, because someone on the registry today is helping Blake."
Wittenberg's Phi Kappa Psi fraternity hosted a bone marrow drive yesterday after fraternity president Matt Wigton learned of Blake's leukemia diagnosis and the LaForce family's inability to find a suitable bone marrow donor due to his mixed ancestry. Many on the campus attended the event including the entire Wittenberg football roster in a show of support for their fellow Tiger and his son.
Blake LaForce, whose father was a standout lineman on Wittenberg's 1973 national championship team and a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblast leukemia in November 2007, just weeks after finishing the football season at Butler High School in nearby Vandalia, Ohio.
The disease can be treated or cured with a bone marrow transplant, and healthy people between 18 and 60 years of age can become registered on national and worldwide donor registries. In hopes of identifying a match for Blake, the LaForce family has embarked on an awareness campaign to educate the public and register more donors, with a particular emphasis on individuals with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. LaForce is one of more than 6,000 Americans in need of such a transplant, making the need for testing all the more acute.
We won the first NCAA Division III Football National Championship at Wittenberg with a great Tiger team, and through team effort Blake will be victorious because he has many caring people from Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and Wittenberg University on his team," LaForce said. "When something like this invades your family you really appreciate your fraternity of brothers.
"This is an opportunity to give back and help more human beings and save lives, because someone on the registry today is helping Blake."
Monday, April 14, 2008
Denison Baseball Hits the Show
Every baseball player dreams of playing in the show. Denison baseball got a little taste of that dream last Thursday. The Big Red played Heidelberg at Great American Ballpark - the home of the Cincinnati Reds. Denison ended up losing 8-4, but even a loss couldn't erase the excitement and specialness of the day.
The Newark Advocate followed the Big Red to Cincinnati and back and has posted a photo gallery on its site.
* Newark Advocate game story
* Denison photo gallery
The Newark Advocate followed the Big Red to Cincinnati and back and has posted a photo gallery on its site.
* Newark Advocate game story
* Denison photo gallery
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Bench Press to Beat Breast Cancer Returns to Denison for Fourth Year
The Denison Strength and Conditioning department will host the fourth annual Bench Press to Beat Breast Cancer on Friday, as part of the 2008 Denison University Relay for Life.The competition will take place in the Mitchell Center from 7-9 p.m. and will run simultaneously with the Relay for Life.
The competition is free and open to the public. Contestants will bench press any of the following weights for as may reps as possible: 45 lbs, 65 lbs, 95 lbs, 135 lbs, 185 lbs or 225 lbs. Any contestant who makes a donation of over $15 will receive a complimentary t-shirt and winners of each weight class will be given a coupon good for a free Chipotle burrito.
The event was started by Denison head Strength and Conditioning coach Mark Watts and has raised over $5,000 for breast cancer research over its first three years. One-hundred percent of the proceeds go directly to The American Cancer Society.
For more information on the Bench Press to Beat Breast Cancer contact Coach Watts at 587-5463 or by email.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Kenyon's Harris Hits Olympic Qualifying Mark
Kenyon junior Matthew Harris recorded an Olympic qualifying time of 54.87 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly on Friday at the Toyota Grand Prix at The Ohio State University.
He swam in the morning preliminaries, but was not satisfied with his time of 56.46 seconds. That mark ranked 32nd in a field of 103 participants, including six-time 2004 Olympic gold-medalist Michael Phelps, as well as Frédérick Bousquet, the former world record holder in the 50-meter freestyle. So Harris entered a time trial and improved his time, clearing the Olympic qualifying standard of 55.59 seconds (meet results).
Harris was only able to take part in the event because the NCAA recently amended their policies to allow student-athletes to continue postseason training in an effort to qualify for the 2008 Olympics, which will be held in Beijing. The Grand Prix is one in a series of events set up to serve as opportunity for athletes to continue their preparations, as well as race against top-notch competition.
He swam in the morning preliminaries, but was not satisfied with his time of 56.46 seconds. That mark ranked 32nd in a field of 103 participants, including six-time 2004 Olympic gold-medalist Michael Phelps, as well as Frédérick Bousquet, the former world record holder in the 50-meter freestyle. So Harris entered a time trial and improved his time, clearing the Olympic qualifying standard of 55.59 seconds (meet results).
Harris was only able to take part in the event because the NCAA recently amended their policies to allow student-athletes to continue postseason training in an effort to qualify for the 2008 Olympics, which will be held in Beijing. The Grand Prix is one in a series of events set up to serve as opportunity for athletes to continue their preparations, as well as race against top-notch competition.
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