The Road to ODAC's

Anticipation, tension, and hope- you would think that those would be the feelings of the Virginia Wesleyan College men’s basketball team. But instead they were the feelings that ran through student and faculty minds that made the four-hour trip to Salem, Va. for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament Championship Game. The Marlins, seeded No. 2 in the tournament, played the No. 1 seed, Randolph-Macon College. It was the match-up that everyone wanted. The two teams fought hard this year, splitting the regular season series, with each team winning on their home court.

“They are totally going to win,” said junior Alisha Staley.

After getting so close to the championship last year, the feeling was almost inevitable that they would bring home the ODAC Championship. As supporters piled on a charter bus reserved for VWC students, the mood was upbeat and the air was filled with excitement. The trip, although a long haul, was filled with a variety of movies, from “Rush Hour 2” to “Bruce Almighty,” provided by the VWC Cheerleaders. Most students, however, occupied themselves by doing homework, listening to music or catching up on sleep.

“I expect a good game today,” said junior Dan Jennings. “I think that our team has everything it needs to win the championship.”

Arriving at the Salem Civic Center, the following for the Marlins grew larger and larger. Not only did the bus arrive, but many other students, faculty and family members of the players piled into the center. Pre-game chants came from both sides of the court as competing fans tried to show who was the loudest.

“There was a lot of energy coming from the Wesleyan bench and more energy from the stands than any other game this year,” said Jennings.

After a day of waiting in anticipation, the game started as Macon won the opening tip. Was this a trend of things to come? Not even close from the first possession the Wesleyan crowd was into the game.

“Defense…stomp stomp…defense…stomp stomp,” the crowd of Marlin fans chanted at every Macon possession.

The Marlins started the game with a 10-2 run and Macon had to call a time-out, before things got out of hand. But to no avail- the Marlins continued in their dominating fashion. Leading by 16 at half-time, the fans felt that this was going to be a day to remember.

“I never felt it was even going to be a close game,” said senior Nikki Hite. “At half-time I was very confident that they would win, because they were playing with the heart and soul of a champion.”

In traditional Macon fashion, they didn’t quit fighting back. The Jackets made a game of it, pulling as close as seven points, but the Marlins quickly took back control of the game and made the deficit double digits.

“Nah nah nah nah…nah nah nah nah…hey hey hey…goodbye,” the crowd ended the game in perfect chant.

As the game clock counted down to zero and junior point guard Marques Fitch threw the ball into the air, the scoreboard read 71-57. The Marlins had done it. They achieved what they worked so hard for the entire season, the ODAC Championship.

“It feels great. We wanted Macon in this game,” said Senior Captain Peter Warren. “We worked so hard for this, and now we’re ODAC Champs.”

The Marlins had started this year with a swagger, picked to take second place in the ODAC,and now they were No.1 and no one could tell them any different.

“It feels better than I ever thought it would feel,” said junior Fitch.

The tournament saw a Marlin step up in a big time role. Sophomore Thomas Sumpter, who made the all-tournament team along with rookie, Ton Ton Balenga and tournament MVP sophomore Brandon Adair, was a big difference maker in the game and tournament. Filling in for an injured Fitch, Sumpter made a name for himself, not only as a scorer but also a key role player and big shot maker.

“Thomas was a spark for us tonight, but all the guys have worked so hard, so it is difficult to just single one person out,” said fifth-year Head Coach Dave Macedo. “I’ve been so pleased to have such a great team, and hopefully we can carry that into the NCAA tournament.”

The celebration continued, the tradition of cutting the nets down commenced, and you could sense that the players were now on another mission. Their new mission: the Division III NCAA tournament, which, by coincidence, will end in the Salem Civic Center.