Women's Soccer League Play Set to Begin

This weekend marks the first full slate of women's soccer league games with all 10 teams in action. League play officially kicked off on Sept. 16 when Southern Utah visited Oral Roberts. Four matches will be contested Friday with one Saturday and four on Sunday.

Click here for the complete women's soccer schedule.

USD's Kendall Kritenbrink Featured in Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan

South Dakota freshman volleyball player Kendall Kritenbrink was featured in an article by the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan after helping the Coyotes get off to a 3-1 league start in its first season in The Summit League.

At one point during a timeout last weekend, the Missouri-Kansas City coaching staff was making clear that stopping “number 12” was the main goal. One assistant was even overheard telling a player, “That’s why you’re in there. Now stop here.”

But it came as no surprise to Kendall Kritenbrink — who wears No. 12 — or her University of South Dakota volleyball teammates.

Everyone knows the freshman is the one opposing teams want to shut down.

Click here to read the article in its entirety.

WIU Names Shane Davis Assistant Baseball Coach

Shane Davis has been named assistant coach for the Fighting Leatherneck baseball program. He comes to Western Illinois after two seasons as an assistant coach at Cleveland State.

Davis assisted with Cleveland State's recruiting efforts, focusing primarily in the Midwest. He also helped with summer ball placement and worked to arrange the team's travel plans and future scheduling.  Following Cleveland State's baseball program being dropped in May of this year, Davis served as an associate scout for the Texas Rangers prior to this appointment.

Davis was a four-year letterwinner as a catcher for Eastern Michigan and earned his Bachelor's degree in secondary education in 2007.

Click here to read the full release.

WIU Student-Athletes Take Part in Bowl for Kids Sake

The Fighting Leathernecks participated in Bowl for Kid's Sake, a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Friday, Sept. 24 at Diggers College City Bowl.
 
All the teams began bowling at 7 p.m. and continued until 8 p.m. Swimming and diving had three teams, men's basketball had two teams, men's golf had two teams and football had one team compete. Volleyball collected money, but did not participate due to competition.


Each team, made up of five bowlers, collected pledges prior to the event. Throughout bowling there were prizes awarded for different accomplishments, for example, bowling the first strike.


Click here for the full photo gallery.

Charity Basketball Game a Success at Oakland

The 10th Annual DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan’s Celebrity Wheelchair Basketball Game was held last week at Oakland's Athletics Center O'rena. Oakland partnered with Detroit Lions standout Ndamukong Suh to bring the celebrity game to campus in an effort to raise money and awareness for the DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan’s SportsAbility program.

Suh was the celebrity coach of the Detroit Jam which played against the Motorcity Rollers, coached by former Detroit Pistons player John Long, in the celebrity pro-am wheelchair basketball game. The Motor City Rollers won by two points before a crowd of more than 1,500 fans

To read more about the event, see Oakland's release here.

UNO Announces New Basketball Venue for 2012-13 Season

The University of Nebraska Omaha announced today that its men's basketball team will play its home games at the new Ralston Sports and Event Center beginning with the 2012-13 season.  The arena is currently under construction and is expected to open in the fall of 2012.

For the 2011-12 season, the men will continue to play their home games at venerable Sapp Fieldhouse on the UNO campus.  The building, which also houses the offices of the UNO athletic department, has served as the home of UNO basketball since it opened in 1949.

Click here to read the full recap.

Artist rendering of the new Ralston Arena and Events Center

Full Slate of Volleyball League Play This Weekend

This weekend kicks off the first full weekend of volleyball league play as all 10 teams are in action.  League play got underway last night as South Dakota picked up its first league win as a member of The Summit League and Southern Utah downed UMKC.

Click here to view the entire schedule.

IUPUI Volleyball Set to Support Former Player in Dig Pink Event

Every season the IUPUI volleyball designates one of its home matches as its Dig Pink Game and this season its match against South Dakota State on Saturday, Oct. 15, has been selected as the program’s 2011 Dig Pink Game.

The Dig Pink Game is a forum for the team to help raise money and awareness for breast cancer. While the Dig Pink Game is an important cause for the Jaguars volleyball program each year, this season the cause means that much more to the IUPUI volleyball family as former Jaguar volleyball player Jen [Mertz] Will (1998-2001) was diagnosed with breast cancer on April 29, 2011.

Jen’s battle is continually updated on her blog, which can be viewed by clicking here.
 

Fans interested in helping the IUPUI volleyball team reach their fundraising goal can donate money by clicking here to get to IUPUI’s team donation page in conjunction with the Side-Out Foundation and Dig Pink campaign. The Jaguars will also be selling Dig Pink t-shirts outside the gym throughout the evening of Oct. 15 to help raise money.

Click here to read the full release.

Lindy's Sports Previews Summit League Hoops

A sneak peek of the preseason basketball preview magazines continues with Lindy’s  Sports College Basketball 2011-12.

In the publication’s national scouting reports, Oakland’s Reggie Hamilton is listed as the country’s No. 4 point guard while Oral Roberts’ Dominique Morrison and IUPUI’s Alex Young place No. 6 and No. 18 among small forwards. Lindy’s puts The Summit League at No. 23 in its rankings of the conferences and projects Oral Roberts as champion.

Lindsey Willhite scouts each Summit League team and picks two-time defending league champion Oakland to finish second behind the Golden Eagles.

Preseason rankings and predictions for The Summit League are below. To read Lindy’s Sports breakdown of each Summit League team and the entire national preview, you can purchase the magazine at your local newsstands or by ordering online here.

Keep checking the Summit Points blog for more updates as the countdown to tipoff continues.

Predictions
 1. Oral Roberts
 2. Oakland
 3. South Dakota State
 4. IUPUI
 5. North Dakota State
 6. IPFW
 7. Western Illinois
 8. Southern Utah
 9. UMKC
10. South Dakota

All-Summit League 1^st Team
Reggie Hamilton, Oakland
Nate Wolters, South Dakota State
Ceola Clark III, Western Illinois
Dominique Morrison, Oral Roberts
Alex Young, IUPUI

All-Summit League 2^nd Team
Travis Bader, Oakland
Reggie Chamberlain, UMKC
Frank Gaines, IPFW
Michael Craion, Oral Roberts
Damen Bell-Holter, Oral Roberts

Player of the Year
Dominique Morrison, Oral Roberts

Newcomer of the Year
Laval Lucas-Perry, Oakland

Honor Roll
Best Shooter: Travis Bader, Oakland
Best Rebounder: Damen Bell-Holter, Oral Roberts
Best Playmaker: Nate Wolters, South Dakota State
Best Defender: Ceola Clark III, Western Illinois
Most Versatile: Alex Young, IUPUI
Best NBA Prospect: Alex Young, IUPUI

SUU's Loewen Selected to Canadian Junior National Team

Southern Utah's Tessa Loewen has been selected to represent Canada as a member of the junior national team when the team competes at the Junior Women's World Championships in Cape Town, South Africa in December. Loewen is a three-year member of the team and one of only six players selected to the national squad for three consecutive years.

Loewen, a freshman at SUU, is one of only 17 athletes on the Canadian roster, representing five of the provinces of Canada. The British Columbia native has proven to have a strong bat and base running skills for the team, playing as a designated player and as a pinch runner in critical situations.

Click here to read the full release.