Saints Spotlight: Winter Sports
Jaclyn Clark | Dec 20, 2011 | Comments 0
The fall sports have closed their seasons and now it is time for the cold weather sports to begin. The 2011-2012 winter sports season is going to be unlike any other with some Maryville favorites returning as well as the addition of a new sport. Men’s basketball, women’s basketball and wrestling seasons are all officially underway.
After his first season as Maryville’s men’s basketball team’s head coach, Coach Kevin Carroll finished with a somewhat disappointing record of 7-19 going 3-15 in the GLVC conference. He, along with his coaching staff, was obviously active in the off-season. There are 10 new faces on the roster this season, 9 of which are freshman. These new additions come from 7 different states and one country overseas. Sophomore center Kevin Kimber calls Geneva, Switzerland home.
Coach Carroll’s men started the season strong, winning their first four games. The Saints have never opened a season with a 4-0 record in the program’s history. The perfect start did come to end with a loss to Drury University while on the road over the weekend. The loss should not deflate the Saints, though. The team appears strong so far this season with leadership from sophomore Asa Toney ranking first in points per game. Juniors Ryan Shotkoski, Gerald Shaw and Mike Ford; freshmen Armon Provo and Corey Washburn and sole senior Jacob Dulle all rank high on the team’s statistics so far this season.
The next men’s basketball game is scheduled for Wed. Nov. 7 at home in the Moloney Arena. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. Support your Saints while they are hot.
Be careful to not look at the women’s basketball team’s record so far and place judgment solely according to it. The GLVC is the most competitive DII conference in the nation creating some tough competition for the Lady Saints. The first three games of the season were not against GLVC teams, though. They weren’t even against DII schools. The Lady Saints started the year playing against Arkansas State, Northern Iowa and University Illinois, all of which are DI teams.
Coach Chris Ellis assures fans the team is not defeated already. The team is young, adding 6 freshmen to the roster. Even though there is a lack of seniors on the team, Coach Ellis is confident in his returners.
“Our juniors Abby Duethman and Kate Childs earned this year’s team captainships,” Coach Ellis said. “I also foresee JoAnn Thompson being a leader by example because of the kind of athlete she is and how hard she plays.”
Coach Ellis also told Pawprint that freshmen Shelby Miller, Ritta Flynn and Bree Baker have all contributed to the team in major ways so far this season. Miller and Flynn have earned starting positions for Ellis’ Lady Saints.
Do not count out Maryville’s women’s basketball team yet. With the team’s roster being as young as it is, success does not happen overnight.
“Because we have such high quality kids with great personalities and core values, our off the court chemistry is second to none,” said Coach Ellis. “On the court, the players are still learning each other’s tendencies, and with so many freshmen, that takes time.”
The Lady Saints will be playing on the road until Wed. Nov. 14 where they will host Blackburn at 6 p.m. Fill the stands this season and watch the women grow throughout the season.
The buzz on campus this semester has been the addition of a new sport program. Maryville University added wrestling to its repertoire of sports for the winter season. Coach Mike Denney was hired to be the head coach for the wrestling team at Maryville. Coach Denney has won three consecutive NCAA DII National Championship titles. Before the season started Coach Denney seemed optimistic about the upcoming season.
“It isn’t every day that an experienced coach gets the chance to create a college wrestling program from scratch, but that’s exactly the opportunity I’ve been blessed to receive at Maryville University,” said Coach Denney. “A lot of hard work lies ahead in establishing our new program, but we’re confident in our ability to maintain high standards of excellence for our student-athletes on and off the mat.”
The hard work seems to be paying off. The Saints hosted the Kaufman-Brand Open earlier this month on Dec. 4. Two men from the Saints’ squad reached the finals in their weight class. Freshman Keenan Hagerty took home a second place finish in the 149-pound division. Junior Matt Baker finished second in the 197-pound division.
Coach Denney’s team hosts their next tournament in January. Until then the Saints will be traveling around, everywhere from Indianapolis down to Warrensburg making stops along the way, trying to create what President Dr. Mark Lombardi called a “winning wrestling tradition” for Maryville.
Follow all of the Saints on Twitter @AthelticMU
About the Author: Jaclyn Clark is the Editor in Chief of Pawprint and is a senior in the English program at Maryville University. She plans on obtaining a PhD (someday). Jaclyn is nanny to a set of twin girls and loves her job. Follow her on Twitter @Jac_Jac15
