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Nov. 13, 2006 Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Vikings Return To The Road. . . The schedule slows down considerably for Viking athletics as only four teams will see action this week with just one of the nine contests being played at home. The volleyball teams headlines the schedule when the Vikings travel to Fairborn, Ohio to take part in the Horizon League Championship. CSU enters the tourney as the No. 3 seed and will take on Loyola on Friday (Nov. 17) at 11:30 a.m. A victory would send the Vikings to a semi-final contest at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 18) against either UIC or Butler. The championship contest will be played on Sunday (Nov. 19) at 2:30 p.m. The busiest team this week will be men's basketball, which will play four games in seven days. The Vikings open the week at home when they host Notre Dame College at 7:00 p.m. on Monday (Nov. 13). CSU then plays three games in three days at the Americas Youth Classic in Evansville, Ind. The Vikings face Buffalo on Friday (Nov. 17), Evansville on Saturday (Nov. 18) and Miami (Fla.) on Sunday (Nov. 19). The women's basketball team plays just one game this week, an 11:00 a.m. matinee on Friday (Nov. 17) at Ohio University. The game is being played at the early time to allow middle schools in the Athens area to attend the contest. The only other team in action is wrestling, which will compete at the Ashland Open on Saturday (Nov. 18). Busy Week Ahead For Men's Basketball. . . The men's basketball team continues its torrid early season schedule by playing four games in seven days this week, three of which will come in successive days on the road. CSU begins the week by hosting Notre Dame College on Monday (Nov. 13) beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. The Vikings then head to Evansville, Ind. to take part in the Americas Youth Classsic, playing Buffalo at 9:30 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 17), host Evansville at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 18) and Miami (Fla.) at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 19). "This will be a busy week for us, but it will tell us what kind of a team that we have," head coach Gary Waters said. "Our non-conference schedule is built so that it will get us ready for conference play so by playing the best teams possible early in the year, we will be ready for conference play." The Vikings opened the 2006-07 season at home on Saturday (Nov. 11), giving 2006 Final Four participant George Mason all it could handle before falling, 79-74. J'Nathan Bullock led CSU with 22 points with freshman Joe Davis coming off the bench to score 19 and Victor Morris 14. Volleyball Heads To Wright State For Horizon League Championship... The volleyball team (18-8, 8-6 HL) earned the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Horizon League Championship after finishing in a four-way tie for second place. The Vikings will face two-time defending tournament champion Loyola on Friday (Nov. 17) in quarterfinal action beginning at 11:30 a.m. on the campus of Wright State. The winner moves on to face either No. 2 UIC or No. 7 Butler at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 18). CSU's eight league victories are the second-most in school-history, trailing only last year's senior laden squad that went 11-3 in the league. By finishing in second place, the Vikings also matched the 2005 team's record for best league finish ever. "I'm proud of the way we battled all season long," head coach Chuck Voss said. "To finish second with so many new faces is a testament to the hard work and effort our players put forth day-in and day-out. Now it's a whole new season though. Even though they're seeded sixth, Loyola is going to be an extremely difficult opponent to face because they've won the last two championships and know what it takes this time of year." Cleveland State closed out the regular season with an emphatic sweep of Youngstown State on Friday (Nov. 10), sending seniors Danielle Siefker and Margot Frederick out in style. Siefker had a match to remember, posting a match-high 17 kills and five digs while hitting .483. In addition, midway through the second game, she became just the 10th player in school history to record 1,000 career kills. The sweep was the 15th of the year for the Vikings, who hit .336 for the match while limiting the Penguins to a .018 mark. Women's Basketball Travels To Ohio University. . . Vikings Will Try To Rebound From Two Last-Second Losses The women's basketball (0-2) will attempt to rebound from a tough opening weekend as it takes to the road for the first time for a contest at in-state rival Ohio on Friday, Nov. 17. The game will start at 11:00 a.m. as the Bobcats are running a promotion in conjunction with local middle schools. The Vikings are 5-10 all-time against Ohio, with their last win in the series coming in 1983. "Last weekend was tough, but we have to continue to take steps forward as a team," CSU head coach Kate Peterson said. "I think our play showed how far we've come, but now we have to get over the hump and learn how to win. I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond to playing on the road for the first time." The Vikings suffered a pair of heartbreaking defeats last weekend, falling to Miami (Ohio), 86-84, on Friday (Nov. 10) and to Niagara in overtime, 84-83, on Sunday (Nov. 12). Against the RedHawks, freshman Jessica Roque drained a three-pointer with 7.2 seconds left to knot the score at, 84-84, only to have Miami knock down the winning free throws in the waning seconds. Senior Nicole Thomas led CSU with a career-high 22 points and 12 rebounds, while freshman Stephaine Crosley tallied 15 points and nine boards. Two days later, the Vikings rallied from 18 points down with 7:26 remaining, only to lose by a point in overtime to the Purple Eagles. Junior Brittany Korth scored all of her career-high 18 points after halftime to spur on the dramatic comeback. Thomas added her second straight double-double with 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, while sophomore Dominique Butler tallied 13 points and a career high-tying eight steals despite playing just 22 minutes due to foul trouble. Wrestling Competes At Ashland Open. . . The CSU wrestling team will compete in its third open competition in as many weeks when it heads to the Ashland Open on Saturday (Nov. 18) in Ashland, Ohio. The first round of wrestling is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m. Junior Ryan Hurley (149) went 4-1 and placed second and sophomore Marcus Effner (165) went 4-2 to finish in eighth to lead the Vikings at the Michigan State Open on Sunday (Nov. 12). Hurley, competing for the first time this season, scored a 2-1 overtime win over Pennsylvania's Rob Hitschler to become the first Viking wrestler this year to advance to a final bout. He also had one pin and one tech fall on the day. Senior David Gilkey (184) and junior Mike Hurley were the other wrestlers to win multiple matches, as Gilkey finished the day 3-2 with a pin and a tech fall and Mike Hurley went 2-1 before ending his day with an injury default in the consolation bracket against Mike Rappo of North Carolina. "To have a few guys place in this very good tournament is a positive," head coach Jack Effner said. "We went to Michigan State to get some experience and to get better and we did that. Now we'll reload and get ready for the Ashland Open." The Vikings begin dual meet action at home on Nov. 21 against John Carroll. The contest will be CSU's only dual meet before the start of the new year. Men's Swimming Takes Week Off After 7-1 Start. . . The Cleveland State men's swimming and diving team is idle this week after winning seven of its first eight dual meets to start the season. The Vikings, who are 1-1 in Horizon League action, next take on Ohio State on Nov. 21 at the Busbey Natatorium. After dominating the Cleveland City College Meet on Friday (Nov. 10), CSU hosted rival Wright State the next day in a match-up of the two top teams in the Horizon League. The meet was tied at 108 heading into the final event, the 400 freestyle relay, before Wright State finally emerged, 121-112. "We knew coming in the meet was going to be close," head coach Wally Morton said. "We have great respect for Wright State and the fact that we are so competitive with them is encouraging." Senior Bjorn Schantz and sophomore Stef Potgieter each notched league-best times against the Raiders. Schantz, who was named October's Male Student-Athlete of the Month, swam a league top time 4:32.58 en route to winning the 500 free and finished second in a very close race in the 1,000 free. Schantz currently is in the league's top five in the 200, 500 and 1,000 free races, while Potgieter eclipsed his own mark at the top of the league leaderboard by swimming a 2:04.36 in the 200 breast. Senior diver Chris Dalman is undefeated in both the one- and three-meter dives and currently holds the league's top scores in both events (365.00 in one-meter and 375.45 in three-meter). Women's Swimming Idle After Picking Up First Dual Wins. . . The Cleveland State women's swimming and diving team is off until Nov. 30 after picking up its first three dual wins of the season. The Vikings are now 3-5 overall and 0-2 in Horizon League meets and will next compete at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational from Nov. 30-Dec. 2. The young squad, which is comprised of four freshman, seven sophomores, two juniors and one senior, won three of its four dual match-ups on Friday (Nov. 10) at the Cleveland City College Meet, with its only loss coming to Gannon, 118-99. "It would've been nice to win all four on Friday, but we were happy with the way we swam this weekend," head coach Mike Lehto said. "We had a lot of personal-best times and I feel our young swimmers are starting to get more comfortable in their events." Senior Marianne Lionell and junior Lesley Jones continue to lead the Vikings in sprint events while sophomore twins Kristine and Sandra Bunker have emerged as the team's top distance swimmers. Lionell posted a team-best :25.18 in the 50 free against Wright State and Youngstown State on Saturday while Jones recorded the team's top effort in the 100 free (:56.20) the night before. Kristine Bunker's swim of 5:27.91 on Saturday is the team's new standard in the 500 free while Sandra Bunker currently holds the team's top mark in the 1,000 free (11:11.17). Fencing Has Strong Showing At Vassar. . . Cleveland State wrapped up a successful weekend of dual meet action, posting five wins in eight tries at the Vassar Duals on Sunday (Nov. 12). The Viking men went 3-1, while the women posted a 2-2 mark. On Friday (Nov. 10), the men upended Lafayette (23-4) and Lehigh (21-6), while the women toppled Lafayette (23-4). "Overall, it was a very good weekend for us," CSU head coach Jim Sager said. "We started out a little slow against Vassar on Sunday morning, but I was very pleased with our performance. We can't wait to get home and fence in front of our fans and alumni in a few weeks." At Vassar, the men defeated Yeshiva (25-2), Marist (25-2) and Sacred Heart (16-11), falling only to Vassar (18-9). Freshman Shawn Wright paced the Vikings with an 11-1 mark in epee. On the women's side, junior foilist Leigh Pendergrass was a spotless 12-0 to help CSU to a split on the day. The Vikings topped CCNY (18-9) and Marist (21-6), while dropping identical 17-10 decisions to Vassar and Sacred Heart. Cleveland State is in action again when it hosts Bowling Green, Case and Oberlin in Alumni Day action on Dec. 2. Viking High Fives Nicole Thomas -- Hampered by injuries the last two seasons, the senior forward from San Antonio, Texas had a breakout weekend, averaging 19.5 points and 14.0 rebounds en route to a pair of impressive double-doubles. Joe Davis -- The men's basketball freshman made his Viking debut a memorable one, tying a school record for three-pointers by a freshman as part of a 19-point effort against George Mason. Leigh Pendergrass -- The junior foilist started the Vikings' dual season off with a bang, posting a spotless 15-0 mark over the weekend at Lafayette and Vassar. Danielle Siefker -- The middle hitter from Kalida, Ohio had a Senior Day to remember on Friday night against Youngstown State, becoming the 10th player in school history with 1,000 kills while joining All-American Jamie Bouyer as the only players with 1,000 kills and 500 blocks. Ryan Hurley -- The junior went 4-1 and placed second in the 149-pound weight class at the Michigan State Open on Sunday. It was the best individual finish for a CSU wreslter this season. The Week Ahead For The Vikings Nov. 13 (Monday) Nov. 17 (Friday) Volleyball vs. Loyola (Horizon League Tourney) Men's Basketball vs. Buffalo Nov. 18 (Saturday) Volleyball at Horizon League Tournament Wrestling at Ashland Open Nov. 19 (Sunday) Volleyball at Horizon League Tournamen
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