My Championship Experience - Women's Golf Edition

My Championship Experience is a diary blog written by Summit League student-athletes detailing their experiences at each of the 19 Championships.
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Western Illinois sophomore Ashley Jeffers writes about her experience at the 2013 Summit League Women's Golf Tournament:

Saturday, April 20, 2013

            It was a day of travel for the Leatherneck women’s golf team.  We were leaving our

home golf course at 8:30 a.m. in order to start our trip.  By 8:45 a.m., all eight of us—six players, Coach Luke (Lukkarinen) and our GA coach Lindsay (Wandrey)—had packed up the van and were on the road.  Whenever we fly, we try to fly Southwest because bags fly free, so we had to drive three and a half hours to St. Louis, Mo., in order to catch our flight.  The lines at the airport weren’t too bad and we didn’t have to wait too long to board the plane.  The flight was supposed to be an hour and forty-five minutes, but we got in early.  We quickly grabbed our bags and got in the van and booked it to the course in order to get some chipping and putting practice in.  Once we got to the course, a little after five that evening, we were only able to practice for a little over an hour and ended up meeting our guys’ team there and left together to get dinner at Mellow Mushroom, which is a pizza place.  After dinner, we set off to find the hotel.  Finally, at nine o’clock we got to the hotel and split up for the night.  It was a long day, but the coming days are going to be so much longer.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

            I woke up this morning at 8:30 a.m. and went down to get some breakfast with my teammate Kelsea Visalli.  We didn’t have to leave the hotel until 11:45 a.m. because we weren’t playing until our 1 p.m. shotgun start, but breakfast closed at 9 a.m.  Since I woke up so early I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I stayed up and worked on a paper that I have to email to my professor Monday night.  We got to the course around 12:15 p.m. and warmed up for our practice round and started on the ninth hole at 1 p.m.  After we played all 18 holes, it was 6 p.m. and we rushed back to the hotel to change for The Summit League banquet.  The banquet was being held at the golf course at 7:30 p.m. that evening.  After dinner, they announced the awards for First and Second Team All-Summit League, and then we finally left the course.  By the time we got back to the hotel, it was 9 p.m. but coach was at her coaches meeting.  We finally had our team meeting at 10 p.m. and then my teammates and I had a short meeting without coach just to talk about the coming days. Shortly after that I finally had time to relax and catch up on my schoolwork.

Monday, April 22, 2013

            Today was the first day of competition.  Kelsea was the first to tee-off for our team. After getting to sleep in a little, we went down to get breakfast before it closed.  After breakfast, we got ready and took off for the course.  We got there around 10 a.m. and Kelsea (Visalli), Alexa (Arent) and I started warming up because we were the first three from our team to play.  The course wasn’t playing too long, but it was tight and just got windier as the day went on.  As a team, we didn’t play at all like we had hoped to.  It didn’t help that our 18 holes had become a six-hour round.  After we played, I went to the range for a little bit to work on my swing because I was not happy with how I played.  I was happy my mom was

there to watch me because her and I left together to get dinner.  We got back to the hotel at 7:30 p.m. and I continued working on a paper that I had to email to my teacher tonight.  At 9 p.m. we had a team meeting, and afterwards we all went our own ways.  Tomorrow is a new day.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

            Today, the women were to tee-off first with the men to follow.  Alexa was the first to tee off at 8:45 a.m.  Since we wanted to get to the course at 7:45 a.m., I got up at 7 a.m. in order to get everything together.  When we got to the course, it was freezing and drizzling.  Every competitor was in rain gear and had their umbrellas up.  It was quite a shock to have it be raining and in the 40’s while in Texas in the middle of April.  As we were warming up, the rain started to hit harder and the wind picked up.  The rain didn’t stop till about my fourth hole, but it stayed cold and windy all day.  Today’s round took at little over five hours, which was much better than our six-hour round on Monday.  As a team, our scores were better overall but we still weren’t happy.  We were in sixth place; only three shots behind Oakland.  Since we played in the morning, we had some free time in the afternoon.  Half the team had family in town so those with family went with them and the other half went shopping and then out to dinner.  We all got together again at 9 p.m. to have another team meeting.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

            Today was the last day of the league tournament.  Once again, the women were behind the men, so Alexa didn’t tee off till 11 a.m. and the rest of us followed behind her.  It was a little cold in morning, but most of us were in our skirts and shirts by the turn.  It was still a pretty windy day, but I think we can all agree as players that we would rather have wind then rain and wind.  The final round was once again a long round: six hours.  I couldn’t help but think about how long of a day it would have been if we had to play 36 holes like last year.  It would have easily been a 12-hour day.  My entire team ended up getting done by 5:30 p.m. and after a quick dinner at the course and changing, it was time to pack our clubs in the travel bags and then repack the van.  We were on the road by 6:30 p.m. and our flight out of Dallas was at 8:40 p.m.  While on the road we found out that the team overcame Oakland and placed fifth.  We also found out that Emily got fifth place individually.  Coach was planning to drop us off at the airport with our stuff so that we could check it and then she could turn the van back in.  While driving into the airport, we looked to our right and saw Air Force One sitting on the tarmac.  Come to find out, President Obama had just flown into the airport for the George W. Bush Presidential Library opening in Dallas.  After we checked our bags, we went through security and we got through security faster in Dallas than anywhere else.  Luckily for us, our plane was on time.  We ended up getting into St. Louis at 10:30 p.m.  We now had the three-hour drive back to Macomb.  By the time we got back to town and unloaded the van and got back to my dorm, it was 2 a.m.  Needless to say, I was pretty tired for my Thursday class.  Even though the tournament didn’t go as planned, it was still a good trip.

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Don’t forget to check out the next editions of My Championship Experience as it follows the Softball and Men’s and Women's Track & Field Championships, May 9-11, and throughout the 2012-13 season for coverage at each of The Summit League Championships.

My Championship Experience - Women's Tennis Edition

My Championship Experience is a diary blog written by Summit League student-athletes detailing their experiences at each of the 19 Championships.
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Fort Wayne senior and Summit League Women’s Tennis Player of the Year Anita Henestrosa writes about her experience at the 2013 Summit League Women's Tennis Tournament:

Day 1: Thursday, April 25

      It is interesting to see how on special days athletes change their gear for dresses and suits. Thursday was that day.  The Summit League Tournament Banquet made the tennis athletes dress up for a gala that celebrated the sport, the players, the coaches and the rival schools in the friendly competition that was to come. It was a fun event where The Summit League’s Assistant Commissioner, Myndee Kay Larsen, gave an inspiring speech that motivated the player’s efforts on and off the court. Awards were passed out to all the players whose effort was outstanding and recognized by the Summit League. It was a wonderful event filled with friends and fellow student athletes… and of course, the delicious food.

Day 2: Friday, April 26

      On the following day the The Summit League Tournament semifinals began. In the morning the IPFW men’s team started the tournament against UMKC. The heated competition began after the national anthem, but the match quickly took a serious and competitive turn. In an emotional ending for victory, the ‘Dons unfortunately lost in a nerve-wracking game. However, following the defeat, our women’s team swooped in for the victory against South Dakota and earned a spot in the finals.

Day 3: Saturday, April 27

      The finals on Saturday came quicker than we wanted and so did the tension. UMKC was able to overcome the strength of IUPUI and take The Summit League men’s trophy. Their celebration was interfered with, however, when the ‘Dons took the women’s Summit League trophy by beating the Kangaroos in an intense four-hour match. After clinching the doubles point, the ‘Dons prepared for singles matches that would decide the end result. It all came down to No. 6 player, Marcy Huck, who in a tense three-set match beat UMKC. The win gave IPFW the third championship in school history. The NCAA Tournament opponent can expect a hard-working Mastodons team wherever it is hosted.

      The great sportsmanship the men’s and women’s team from the competing schools only motivate the efforts of the other athletes and the staff of IPFW.  Through effort, heart and passion the UMKC Men’s Tennis team and the IPFW Women’s Tennis team were able to achieve their ultimate goals, but the effort, heart and passion of the other teams and the supporters were just as strong, inspiring and endless. The gratitude we have as ‘Dons to the IPFW staff, the coaches, the player and the fans is what drove this competition to be it’s finest and we hope it will remain for the next years to come. Go ‘Dons!

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Don’t forget to check out the next editions of My Championship Experience as it follows the Softball and Men’s and Women's Track & Field Championships, May 9-11, and throughout the 2012-13 season for coverage at each of The Summit League Championships.

My Championship Experience - Men's Basketball Edition

My Championship Experience is a diary blog written by Summit League student-athletes detailing their experiences at each of the 19 Championships.
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Western Illinois senior and first team All-Summit League selection Ceola Clark III writes about his experience at the 2013 Summit League Men's Basketball Tournament:

Day 1: Thursday, March 7

On the road to The Summit League Tournament, and wow, what a trip it was as not even two hours into the trip we found ourselves stuck on the side of the road with the bus broken down. The broken-down bus wouldn’t stop us from enjoying the moment, though, as we laughed about the situation and joked around amongst one another until another bus came and got us. We then back tracked to Burlington, Iowa, and stopped for practice at Southeastern Community College. Honestly, after sitting in a bus for that long, we all wanted to get on the court and get our legs going.

It was great to practice in a different environment. After that, we were back on the road with only one stop left and that was to a buffet. Our head coach Jim Molinari loves to hit up buffets on the road. It was certainly a relief when we finally arrived in Sioux Falls at 11:30 p.m., reaching our destination after traveling for roughly 15 hours. The set-up for the tournament at the hotel was very nice, and our team was represented well on The Summit League awards wall, which is always fun to see. Terell Parks and I had First Team All-Conference photos hanging up.  Parks was also tabbed ‘Defensive Player of the Year’, Adam Link was on the All-Newcomer Team, and our leader, and head coach, Jim Molinari was named ‘Coach of the Year’.

Day 2: Friday, March 8

The next morning, the day before our first game of the tournament, I got up bright and early to start the day off with a morning workout in the hotel. I wasn’t the only one in the mood for a morning workout, as I found three of my coaches in the hotel workout facility as well.  Getting up early is always a great way to start off the day.  At roughly 3 p.m. that afternoon it was time for our first practice in Sioux Falls. We practiced at the Augustana (a Division II school in town) practice facility. It was one of the nicest practice gyms I had ever been in. I was very familiar with the gym since I had two close friends that played college basketball for the Vikings. Friday night’s pregame routine was the same all year long. A couple of teammates, Isaiah Duncan and Jason Hawthorne, as well as our manager Jason Moore, always get together and watch a movie in my room. I’ve grown so close with those guys and they have been a great key to my success individually and our success as a team.

Day 3: Saturday, March 9

Game day finally arrived and I was super nervous. I decide to set my alarm and wake up early to get in another early morning workout. Our associate head coach Billy Wright and I, for many years, talked about “The Breakfast Club” that Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls used to do. I always like to get myself up early in the morning and get my body going with a small workout at the hotel. We played the last game of the tournament’s opening day, and it truly felt like our game time was never going to arrive. With a tough opponent in South Dakota, I knew it was going to be a rough game since they would be well supported. The game is played on a neutral court, but with both of the South Dakota teams being so close to Sioux Falls, we knew their fans would travel well. The game had come and gone. It was a great team victory; we completed a comeback and were able to pull off another close victory to advance to the semifinals to face either Kansas City or North Dakota State.

Day 4: Sunday, March 10

Sunday was nice, because unlike last season, we had a day in between our first two games to get some rest and wait to see who our opponent would be.

Our women’s basketball team played that afternoon and our entire team showed up to cheer them on and show our support.  We sat in the student section and cheered as loud as we could for them. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay for the entire game due to the fact that we had practice, and the women lost in double overtime.

We had another great day of practice that helped prepare us for Monday’s semifinal game. With our semifinal game being Monday, me and “the guys” again picked out a movie and watched it in my room. We always stick with our routine.

Day 5: Monday, March 11

Monday rolled around and it was game day, our semifinal contest versus North Dakota State was tonight. We were one win away from getting back to The Summit League title game like last season. The task of defeating NDSU was going to be a lot tougher than the first two times we faced them in the regular season. We were missing our center piece, and the league’s ‘Defensive Player of the Year’, Terell Parks. NDSU is a great team, they have a great program, and a great coach in Saul Phillips, but we were up to the challenge thanks to great senior leadership.

The atmosphere was great and our team was ready to play. We trailed the Bison by a few points in the second half, and me being the player that I am, wanted to do whatever I could to help my team and leave it out there on the court. After coming up with a few steals and knocking down some free throws, I felt myself getting in “the zone”; but then it all came tumbling down.

I drove to the basket and was coming to a jump stop, then felt a pop. I knew from the moment I had landed that I had seriously injured my knee. The team made a great push after that, and cut our deficit to two points. But the Bison eventually pulled away and earned a chance to face South Dakota State in the championship game.

When we got back to the hotel, rather than sitting around being sad, my teammates and I tried to stay upbeat. My teammates are the greatest. They came and sat in my room with me, cheered me up, and we talked about the season to keep my mind off of the injury. I love those guys and will never forget this season.

It was a tough way to finish my college career, but to go out as a regular season champions and to play with such a great group of guys, I can’t complain. It was an amazing season and I was able to reflect on watching the Western Illinois basketball program grow from the bottom, all the way to the top; winning a share of the regular season championship.

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Don’t forget to check out the next edition of My Championship Experience as it follows the Men’s and Women's Golf Championships, April 22-24, and throughout the 2012-13 season for coverage at each of The Summit League Championships.

My Championship Experience - Women's Basketball Edition

My Championship Experience is a diary blog written by Summit League student-athletes detailing their experiences at each of the 19 Championships. 

IUPUI sophomore Nevena Markovic's championship experience at the 2013 Summit League Women's Basketball Championship:

DAY 1

Day one at The Summit League Tournament started with us getting up at 7:30 a.m. to drive to the bus so that we could go to the Indianapolis Airport. Our first flight was at 10:30 a.m. connecting in Chicago. When we got to Chicago, we had a pretty big delay, so we went to get food and then couple of us walked around the airport because we were bored and didn’t have much else to do. After few hours of waiting in Chicago, it was time for us to board our

IUPUI's Nevena Markovic

airplane to head to Sioux Falls. The airplane was on the small side for us tall people but we managed to make it comfortable. 

When we arrived in Sioux Falls, our host was waiting for us, as well as our bus. The bus took us to the Holiday Inn, which was the hotel we were staying at. As soon as we got to the hotel we had to get ready and head to practice. We practiced at a high school for about an hour and half and went back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner. We went to Granite City for dinner which was really good. After that, since Kerah (Nelson) made a half-court shot at practice, we got to get dessert - for our dessert we got Orange Leaf, which is a frozen yogurt place. 

To conclude our already busy day, we went bowling. I was one of the captains for the bowling teams. My team included Nicole Rogers, Clara Mitchell, Sara the athletic trainer, Coach Barlow, and Demetria Nunley-Lash. We ended up tying for second place - Coach P’s (Parkinson) team came in first place. When we returned to the hotel my roommate, who was Nicole, went down to the game room and played some pool in the player’s lounge, which concluded day one in Sioux Falls.

DAY 2

Day two started off with getting up around 9’ish to get down stairs to eat breakfast. After breakfast we had a film session and headed to practice. This time we practiced at Augustana College for about hour and half again. After practice, we got lunch from Panera and had some down time to just relax. So a couple of us went down stairs and hung out in the game room. The popular game down there was pool, so we ended playing that quite often. After all the pool playing, we had a choice between going to the movies or staying and relaxing until dinner time. Half of the team decided to stay back – I went with the other half of the team to see the movie Snitch, which I thought was a great movie. After Snitch, the bus went to get the rest of the team so we could head to dinner at Olive Garden. When we got back to the hotel we had a film session over Kansas City stuff before the game the next day. That night we had early curfew because it was game day the next day. 

DAY 3

Day three was game day against Kansas City. We had shoot around at around 8:30 a.m. for about half an hour and then headed back to the hotel. We had some down time before pre-game meal so I took a nap. After the pre-game meal, I went back to my room and just relaxed until it was time to start getting ready for the game. My pre-game included getting treatment from the athletic trainer, getting taped and watching a little of the game that was before ours. We headed to Sioux Falls Arena around 1 p.m. On the bus before the game I like to listen to music to just get me ready for the game and get my mind off things so I could be focused. 

After the victory over Kansas City, we headed back and showered so that we could return and catch the men’s game against South Dakota State. At half time of the men’s game, we left to go to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, which has the best rolls ever. When we returned from dinner, again a few of us went down to the game room where a lot of teams where hanging out and having fun. 

DAY 4

Day four at Sioux Falls was my birthday. It was a great birthday present to be practicing and preparing to play in the semifinals of the tournament. When we got up, we had breakfast and then headed up to Augustana College for practice. Practice was pretty easy considering we played the day before. After practice we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch where Coach Barlow told waiter that it was my birthday so the whole restaurant found out and I got free brownie cake. 

As we were in Buffalo Wild Wings, the Western Illinois/Fort Wayne game went to overtime and looked very intense so we quickly headed to the arena to catch the end of it. The game went to double OT and IPFW pulled out a win. After that game was over, the game we came to watch, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, was played. We stayed for the first half and then headed back to the hotel and the coaches stayed back to scout. When we got back, a couple of us stayed downstairs to finish watching the rest of the game. 

After the game ended, we went to get dinner at Champps - the Champps wasn’t like the ones here, but it was still pretty good. Afterward, it was time to focus on the scout and the game plan the coaches had for us. We watched filmed, and then we walked through their plays and headed to our rooms for the night. 

Editor’s Note: IUPUI lost to South Dakota in the semifinals on Day 5.

Don’t forget to check out the next edition of My Championship Experience as it follows the Men’s and Women's Golf Championships, April 22-24, and throughout the 2012-13 season for coverage at each of The Summit League Championships.

NDSU Names Rauen Assistant Volleyball Coach

Sarah Rauen, an assistant the past three seasons at Green Bay, has been named an assistant volleyball coach at North Dakota State announced by NDSU's head volleyball coach Kari Thompson.

Rauen will assist in all areas of the NDSU program with an emphasis on defense and passing skills, recruiting in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and supervising academic progress.

IUPUI's Koeppen Selected to 2013 National High School Hall of Fame Class

IUPUI Head Men's Cross Country/Track Coach Chuck Koeppen has been selected as part of the 2013 Class to be inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame. Koeppen captured 23 state titles during his 37-year career at Carmel High School before retiring in 2008.
He took over the IUPUI cross country program in December 2008 and was instrumental in the creation of the Jaguars' track program prior to the 2011-12 season.

Since coming to IUPUI, Koeppen has led the Jaguars to two meet titles and three top four finishes in The Summit League in his four seasons. The program has experienced unprecedented recruiting success within the Hoosier State, routinely plucking numerous All-State performers since 2008.

My Championship Experience - Women's Indoor Track & Field Edition

My Championship Experience is a diary blog written by Summit League student-athletes detailing their experiences at each of the 19 Championships. 

South Dakota junior Bethany Buell's championship experience at the 2013 Summit League Indoor Track & Field Championships:

The Summit League Indoor Championships was such a great experience; especially being able to host the event at home.  I was really excited to know that I was able to invite friends to come watch us compete at the DakotaDome that normally can’t come to watch.  Having extra support at home is such a different experience from being on the road.  Traveling is fun, but it isn’t the same as being in the Dome that I’m so familiar with. 

Since I didn’t compete until Monday, Sunday was a great day to be able to have fun supporting my team.  I was able to focus my attention on to my team and encourage them since I wasn’t worried yet about competing myself.  The hyped up atmosphere of Sunday’s competition really set the tone for how the rest of the meet would go.  I was glad to see this atmosphere carry over into the next day’s competition as well.  If anything, it continually amped up as the competition wore on.  This was really awesome for me because I could get excited for my own event.

As I was warming up on the runway, I kept hearing the announcer report the various league records that were being broken.  I could tell that it was a really competitive league meet; maybe the most competitive one I had been a part of to date.  Even during the pole vault competition, I couldn’t help myself but to stop and cheer whenever I saw a fellow Yote running around the corner.  The league meet is the time that you aren’t as focused on your individual efforts, but more so what you can contribute to the team. 

Being able to see our women’s team place two spots higher than we were supposed to place (and get so close to second overall), was so exciting.  I know my teammates gave everything to try to score points for that meet and it showed!  Then, to see our men’s team dominate and take home the gold was quite an experience.  I am so proud of all of the track Coyotes and so proud to be affiliated with this team.  We have an amazing team backed up by phenomenal coaches and it all came together at The Summit League Championships.   

-Bethany Buell

Don’t forget to check out the next edition of My Championship Experience as it follows the Men’s and Women's Basketball Championships, March 9-12 and throughout the 2012-13 season for coverage at each of The Summit League Championships.

 

Omaha's Spenner Medals at USA Indoor Track & Field Championships

Omaha's Sami Spenner added to her list of accomplishments in the indoor season by earning a medal and setting a new school record in the pentathlon on the first day of competition at the USA Track & Field Indoor Championship.

Spenner finished in fourth place and received a bronze medal for her performance.  She earned 4,271 points, shattering her own record of 4,104 set on Jan. 25 at Northern Iowa.