Nov. 22 Athletics department alumni newsletter

A note from athletics director Phill Talavinia, talaviniap@bluffton.edu

   The fall sports season has officially come to a close. We had a number of team achievements and many individual successes.  We can now turn our attention to basketball and indoor track and field for the next few months.  Our teams have been preparing very had for their seasons which will begin on November 19.

   I want to update all of you on TEAM BLUFFTON.  I am hopeful that all of you have received information and have had a chance to review the brochure.  I am upbeat about the initial response and am hopeful that this is only the beginning.  If you have not yet received this information and would like to, please either e-mail me or call me at 419-358-3226.  We want you to be involved and proud of athletics here at Bluffton.

   Let me call your attention to a special event that will be happening soon.  We will be having our annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2005.  We will be honoring Tom Reichenbach ’58; Kelly Patton-Holder ’84; former head coach, Carlin B. Carpenter; and the 1986 Men’s Tennis team.  Please mark this day on your calendar as we believe that this will truly be a festive evening.  Ticket information will be available soon from the alumni affairs office.  We would certainly appreciate your attendance and help in honoring these inductees who have given Bluffton so much effort and time.  They truly are worthy of their selection.

   Thanks again for your support; past, present, and future, of Bluffton athletics.

Baseball: Head Coach James Grandey, grandeyj@bluffton.edu

   On behalf of the 2005 Bluffton baseball team, Coach Screeton and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who helped us raise the funds for our 2005 Florida trip. To date, through t-shirt sales and our 50-Inning game, the team has raised enough money to travel to Florida and to update some of our outdated equipment.  Thanks again to those of you who have donated money to the program and have helped us with our spring trip.

   Currently, the team is working hard in the weight room to make ourselves bigger, faster and stronger.  We are very excited for the upcoming season and are looking forward to the contributions our young players will make.  We hope all of you have a safe and meaningful holiday season.

Men’s Basketball: Head Coach Guy Neal, nealg@bluffton.edu

   The pre-season has gone very fast this year!  It just seems like just yesterday the guys arrived on campus and we were starting our study table sessions, fall lifting and running.  The fact of the matter is that we have our second of two scrimmages tomorrow against Baldwin-Wallace College and we depart for Virginia Beach next Thursday for a tip-off tournament at Virginia Wesleyan College.

   Our practices have been good for the most part this pre-season.  I have noticed that there have been fewer nights where I have left the office feeling like we had a bad practice.  I think this is because of the fact that we have a somewhat more veteran team than we had last year, therefore we are practicing better.

   Wittenberg University provided us with a tough first scrimmage like they always do.  We played three twenty minute halves with the Tigers and for the most part played them even up. It was clear during the scrimmage that our guys have improved individually and as a team.  I was pleased with the level of our intensity.  We simply played at a higher effort and intensity level as a group than we did most of last season.  Again, I think this is due to improvements in conditioning, strength and experience.  Our defense, for the most part was solid and we rebounded well.  Offensively, this is the second year that we have gone back to our motion offense after having gone away from it for five years.

   The trip to Virginia Beach is something that we have been planning for over a year.  We try to take the guys on a trip like this about every 3-4 years so that each member of our team will have the chance to make a trip like this at least once during his career.  Virginia Wesleyan, the host school, plays in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in Virginia.  The ODAC is usually considered one of the better division III conferences in the country each season.  VWC opened up a new facility two years ago that is as nice as any division III facility in the nation.  We will fly out of Columbus on Thursday Nov.18 and return back on Sunday, Nov. 21.  This should be a great trip of our players and coaches!

Women’s Basketball: Head Coach Amanda Curtis, curtisa@bluffton.edu

   With our first game only one week away, the women’s basketball team is busy preparing and practicing for the start of the season.  We competed in our first scrimmage of the year on Friday, Nov. 5 against Ohio Northern University.  It was a good opportunity to finally play against someone else and to see where we stood with two weeks left before our Tip-Off Tournament.  The scrimmage went well and we were very pleased with our overall performance.  A week later we played in our second scrimmage when we traveled to Denison University on Saturday, Nov. 13.  This scrimmage also went well and allowed us the opportunity to fine tune many of the things we have been working on in practice.  Each time we are improving and showing more signs of what the season may bring. 

   There are many reasons to be excited about the upcoming season.  We are looking forward to the opportunity to start our schedule which will happen Nov. 19-20 at the Wilmington Inn-Damons Tip-Off Tournament where we will start our season playing the defending national champions Wilmington College Quakers.  Also participating in the tournament is Ohio Wesleyan and Penn State-Altoona.  Our first home game will be on Nov. 27 at 5 p.m. versus Heidelberg College.  We hope to see as many fans as possible come back to Founders to support the Beavers.             

Cross Country/Track and Field: Head Coach Janey Meeks, meeksj@bluffton.edu

   The Bluffton University cross country seasons are now ending.  The NCAA Regionals which is our final meet will be held on Nov. 13 in Alma, Mich.  The teams had solid performances against some tough competition at the conference championships held at Defiance College. The men ended up with a fourth place finish, while the women were fifth overall.  The highlight of the meet was freshman Sarah Humphrey earning All-Conference honors for her 11th place finish.  Sophomore Dave Espinoza just missed All-Conference honors as he finished in 13th place.  The top 12 runners receive All-Conference honors.  Overall, we felt both the men’s and women’s teams had successful seasons and we look to keep improving over the next few year’s. 

   The majority of the cross country runners will begin preparation for our upcoming track and field season.  We officially start track and field practice on Nov. 15.  The track squads will compete in one meet on Dec. 16 at the University of Findlay before they head home for winter break.  Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams should be strong this year.  They have been working hard during the pre-season and hope that it will pay off down the road. 

   Assistant coach Travis Lepley will be rejoining the coaching staff.  He has worked with the throwers for the past couple of years and we look forward to him continuing to work with Bluffton throwers.  We will also have Steve Borga helping out with the long distance runners.  He is a former Bluffton runner and has also been helping with the team for the past couple of years.  We are fortunate to have these two young coaches back with us for the 2005 season. 

   Please come and support us throughout our indoor track season as we will be competing at nearby Ohio Northern on several Friday evenings throughout January and February. Please check the Bluffton University athletics Web site for exact dates and times.  

Football: Head Coach Greg Brooks, brooksg@bluffton.edu

   The 2004 season is drawing to a close it’s a time to reflect and begin planning for ’05.  I feel our players learned a lot about how making a commitment during the past winter months positively impacted their play this fall.  This is the first year in my 25 year history at Bluffton where we lost our starting QB for the season so early (after game 1).  I believe the rest of our team (and coaches) worked that much harder to make sure our final record reflected the improvement that had been achieved.  It also probably points to my future goals of having more depth at key positions.

   I really believe we have made strides in setting an atmosphere of work and family among our team.  We, as coaches, eliminated individual decals and even attempted to have players conform to a “neatly groomed” appearance on a daily basis to instill uniformity and discipline without destroying anyone’s individuality.  “Playing harder for a longer period of time each week and doing it for your teammates as much or more than yourself” was a statement used quite often in talks to our players.  I was impressed with how our senior captains and upperclassmen embraced the idea and were able to generate such a great team spirit.

   Our senior players were Alan Estep, Scott Steiner, Matt Chiles (all captains) along with Ben Mahas, Jon Mershman, Ethan Henderson, Mark Gable, and Andy Tabler.  Approximately 70 players will return as upperclassmen in ’05 along with the return of injured starters Jared Owens (QB), Rashid Morton (DL), and Anthony Bryant (WR).

   Recruiting efforts will begin immediately to add to our quality and numbers next fall.  We will be aided by having ten spring practices preceding our Italy cross-cultural trip in May.  Our goal is to compete for an HCAC title next season.  Please e-mail or call me with names of prospective football student-athletes in your area.  We will do our best to make them feel a part of the Bluffton spirit and become a member of our football family.  Thanks so much for your support in following our program!

Men’s and Women’s Soccer: Head Coach Steve Smucker, smuckers@bluffton.edu

   Our seasons have come and gone, and throughout them our athletes have learned a great deal.  I was very pleased with the improvement and heightened level of play that our athletes brought.

   The women made a great deal of progress.  After winning only one contest in the 2003 season, the team rebounded to winning five of its first ten matches.  The addition of ten new athletes helped significantly.  The squad suffered however in its last half of the season due to a number of factors relating to injuries and illnesses and wasn’t able to rebound as a result.  The team played extremely well at times, but struggled to finish.  Six of the games lost were decided by two goals or less, which was a tremendous improvement from prior seasons.

   The men’s squad also improved a great deal.  A number of new faces highlighted various positions throughout the season.  While the team only won three matches, they did score 13 goals in those three games.  Another highlight for the team was winning its first conference match since 2002, a 1-0 victory over Hanover.  The pace of play rose considerably as well this season as well.

   The most exciting part of these soccer programs is what they have to look forward to in the future.  On the women’s side, out of the seventeen players on the roster, ten were new.  On the men’s side, 12 of the 24 athletes were new to the team.  With many players returning the future looks bright for Beaver soccer.  Currently players are participating in their first off-season session which includes weight training and indoor soccer.  Several of the athletes are also meeting on a regular basis to discuss leadership issues and to reflect and apply specific tenets of leadership to their own situations within the team and in their lives. 

Softball: Head Coach Holly Spann, spannh@bluffton.edu

   After concluding its traditional fall season the Bluffton University softball team is gearing up for the start of winter practices.  Currently the team is working its way through an individualized training program that includes weight lifting, cardiovascular training and a pitchers and catchers workout.

   The 2005 schedule has been released and is available on-line.  Mark you calendars now to see some great softball action as the season kicks off March 1!

Men’s Tennis: Head Coach Blake Kindle, kindleb@bluffton.edu

   The 2004-05 men’s tennis team has completed its fall exhibition season with matches against Earlham College and Goshen College. It was a very beneficial time for the players, especially the freshman, to learn about the quality of tennis at the collegiate level. The team is currently working out with weight lifting three days per week and playing when weather permits for the remainder of the semester.

   The team is ready to start their annual t-shirt sale fundraiser for the spring 2005 season. Each team member will sell t-shirts at the cost of $10.00 per shirt to raise money for the tennis program. Any alumni wishing to purchase a t-shirt can contact me via email or phone.

   The spring 2005 schedule is currently being finalized and will be included in our next newsletter.

Women’s Tennis: Head Coach Jessica Grandey, grandeyjg@bluffton.edu

   The women’s tennis team concluded their season with a 4-6 overall record and 3-4 in conference match play.  This finished the team fifth overall.  Jenna Liechty was named to the all conference team for her second year, for her performance on the court.  Senior Stephanie Keefe was also an impact on the season.  Keefe ended the year 7-3 in singles match play.  Leading the way was freshman Chelsey Person who posted a remarkable 6-1 record in conference play. 

   At the conference tournament junior Kara Schrock stepped it up and played in the championship match in the No. 5 singles position.  The women’s tennis season overall was very exciting and brought many positive aspects to the team.  Everyone was excited to see the improvements we made throughout the season.  During the off-season we are going to prepare ourselves for more improvements and a great year ahead.