What happens to a star athlete when he’s benched for a year? And what happens to the team when the leading scorer is not leading their scores? They pull together, or at least that seems to be the case for VWC’s varsity soccer team, which is suffered the loss of mid-fielder Josh Hill to injury during an away game at Lynchburg Va. "It sounded like a gunshot in my knee," said Hill of his injury. "The bench heard it everybody--heard it." The mid-fielder was hit in the right knee about 20 minutes into the game. "The bottom half of my leg held ground and the rest of my body twisted, popped, and cracked," he said. "It’s the worst pain I’ve ever been in." Hill suffered tears in his ACL, MCL and meniscus, an injury dubbed "the unhappy triad" by the athletes and doctors. Hill now faces a one to two-hour surgery to rebuild his knee and physical therapy each day following. Doctors expect eight months to a year to pass before Hill is back on the soccer field. But he has a good attitude. "I hope to be 100 percent by next season," Hill said.

Hill, originally planning to play Little League baseball, turned to the recreational soccer league after leaving baseball registration as a scared 5-year-old. He played soccer through elementary school and was All-State beginning in his freshman year of high school. He was honored with the rare nomination of All-American. Hill was recruited by VWC for soccer and was Freshman of the Year for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. "My goal was to be All-American for this year," said Hill. "This is just a little setback that I have to overcome." So what does this mean for the team? It could mean a second chance. According to Hill, his best friend from high school, Pat McStay, will be brought up from the reserve team to fill Hill’s roster spot. They trained together all summer to get McStay ready for the team. "We did everything together...but he got cut in preseason," said Hill. He added: "When I got hurt, he got pulled up, and he wears my number and everything," along with the yellow All-State shirt that Hill has worn under his own jersey during every game.

For other team members, this is a chance for unity. "Josh Hill’s loss was a big blow to the soccer team," said Coach Sonny Travis. He considers Hill one of the most creative players in the field and the best mid-fielder returning in the ODAC for this fall. But injury is part of the game. "We have to move on," Travis said. "The impact is great but I also think there are other players that can and, hopefully, will step up as the year progresses." Travis added that Hill had worked hard over the summer and was in position to have a great year. But Hill maintains optimistic. "I still go to the practices and games, and do everything I can," Hill said.

The Marlin cross-country teams traveled to Greensboro, N.C. on Saturday, Sept. 23 to compete at the "Pride Invitational." Despite the rain and muddy trails, both teams ran competitively and finished near the top. The men’s team ran strong and finished in sixth place. Once again, setting the pace for the men’s team, was junior Carlos Pena. Pena placed 15th and ran the five mile course in 29:59. "Carlos ran a strong race," said Coach Matthew Puryear. "And will continue to get stronger as we lead up to the conference championship." Following right behind Pena was junior Neil Addesso and senior Derrick Lawver. Addesso and Lawver placed 26th and 27th in the meet. "Neil and Derrick have not only brought good competitiveness to the team," said Puryear. "But also great leadership." The Lady Marlins also ran hard on Saturday placing four girls in the top 15 and finishing in second place, just behind Northern Kentucky University, (Division II school).

Freshman Kristen Schwenk finished first on the Lady Marlin team and placed seventh in the race. Schwenk finished with a time of 22:15 for 3.1 miles. "I felt pretty strong throughout the whole race," said Schwenk. "I think I might have been a little faster if the conditions were better." Running close behind Schwenk, and finishing in eighth place was senior Jen Jellig who ran most of the course side-by-side with Schwenk. Also finishing in the top 15 was freshman Ginny Mack, placing 11th, and freshman Lauren Palmer, running 14th. Puryear was extremely excited about the success of the women’s team on Saturday. "The women are really coming together as far as running in a pack," said Puryear. "And they are doing a good job at pushing each other in the meets." Both the men’s and women’s teams are optimistic in looking ahead to future races and to the ODAC championship. As for now, Puryear feels that "we are right where we need to be for this time in the season." The cross-country teams will race next on Saturday, Oct. 7 at the "Bridgewater College Invitational" in Bridgewater, VA.

Nate Hale has been benched. But not for something he’s done wrong. For many things that he’s done right. During his four year basketball career at VWC, he lead his team with his strong work ethic, good character, and true dedication. After graduating, he continues to lead, this time as an assistant coach. He’s in the athletic module from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., helping head coach Dave Macedo and head assistant Jeremy Marks recruit players, handle paper work, and get everything ready for the upcoming season. In addition, he’ll soon have five months of practices and games to attend. All this, and he’s just a volunteer. What motivates him? "I really want to coach college basketball, at any level," Hale said. "And I think this is a great opportunity to get me on my way." Nate came to Virginia Wesleyan from Fort Defiance High School in Weyers Cave, Virginia. There, he was named captain of the basketball team his junior and senior year and First Team All-City/County. His senior year he was also a Second Team All-District selection. Nate excelled in baseball as well, and was named First Team All-District as a utility player.

Although he was recruited to other Old Dominion Athletic Conference schools such as Roanoke, Bridgewater, and Randolph-Macon, Nate chose Virginia Wesleyan College because it fit what he was looking for. "I looked around and discovered that I really like the area," Hale said. "It was away from home and they wanted me to play, so it just seemed right." As a Marlin, Hale was a co-captain his senior year, and because of his achievements off the court, he was voted Academic-All ODAC. He graduated with a 3.7 GPA and received the senior award for excellence in Journalism. In addition to helping out with basketball team, Hale is also one of the main supervisors of the Bubble. He works part-time, watching over the bubble five days a week. It’s a paid position that is very important because it allows students and athletes to enjoy the new facility at convenient times during the day. Hale is also doing his graduate studies at Old Dominion University, where he plans on getting his masters degree in Sports Administration.

Everyone has their own opinions, feelings, and thoughts of former Indiana University Head Basketball Coach Bob Knight. To some, their memory of him will be a negative one and to others it will be positive. It is clear that the quick triggered, irrational Knight made some poor decisions during his time at Indiana, but his positive attributes should not be overlooked. That is what the public and the administrators have done. They have all focused on the negatives because that is what is usually only remembered when someone is fired. First of all I do not condone some of the actions Knight took and feel that he should have been punished, but never fired. For the past year Knight has been a target for disaster. Every move the man made was recorded by the media and by the school. When he screwed up just a little bit they were there to bust his chops, thus one of the greatest coaches of all time was fired.

I feel that if you want to present a creditable argument that he was a good or bad coach, you first must present several premises to support your conclusion. Having read his book, I understand his upbringing and his philosophy on not only basketball, but also on life. Knight was a coach who was "old school." He taught discipline and character before he got into his X’s and O’s of the game. Respect for him and the University was his main focus. In the sixties this may have worked, but in today’s society, respect for the elders and coaches is almost unheard of by college students, especially basketball players. Knight made it work for his team though. Several former players have come forth and said that Knight made them better people and better players. Also, it is a proven fact that Knight’s basketball players had the highest graduation rate of any NCAA program in the country. A week after Knight was fired, the president of Indiana University said in an article that the school wanted to put more focus on academics rather than basketball. Hello Pres., Indiana is the Hoosier State a large basketball state!

With his son along side, Knight’s coaching staff was one of loyalty. His replacement was a former player and standout at Indiana. The alumni organizations and fans were supporters of Coach Knight and his "old school" coaching style. This was clear when Knight, following his farewell speech in front of the student body, received a standing ovation. Knight has three National Championships to his credit, numerous technical fouls and several run-ins with players. Knight will be remembered for his temper, for his love of the school and for his love for Indiana basketball. Perhaps, Knight and Indiana University will meet and do battle again sometime soon.

Virginia Wesleyan’s woman’s soccer team is now 4-5-1 over all and 4-1-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. They started off the season 3-0 in the conference, which is their best start in 5 years. Recently, they have been plagued by injuries losing two key players for the season. The team has lost four players altogether because of injuries. Freshmen Joanna Elia and Heather Seagraves have both torn their ACL, a major ligament in the knee. Senior Jen Norton and sophomore Leah Starky will bothreturn in the coming weeks after being injured. "We are sad to see everyone hurt, we can’t wait for them to come back and be a positive force again," said freshman Rae Mooney. "Even if it means waiting till next year for Jo and Heather." The team is still very optimistic about the season. Head Coach Jeff Bowers’ motto for the season is ‘our last game will be our best game.’

The Marlins went on the road and were defeated by Mary Washington College 4-0 on Sept. 13. They returned to Foster field to beat Randolph Macon Women’s College 4-1 on Sept.16 in front of a large crowd. Next came Lynchburg College, on the Sept. 21. They lost 4-1 after being tied 1-1 at half time. "We have not reached our potential," said senior Erin Alvey. "Like all great things it will come with time." After the Lynchburg game the Marlins left for a rainy weekend in North Carolina. Their game on Saturday Sept. 23 against Greensboro College was canceled due to the field being flooded. However, the team decided to wait and see if they could play on Sunday. On Sunday the women beat Guilford College 1-0. It was a disappointing game because there were so many opportunities on goal, that they did not finish.

Freshman Megan Bronstien leads the team with four goals and there are three players tied with three goals a piece. The Marlins take on Sweet Briar College on Oct. 7 for homecoming at 11 a.m., followed by the men’s game at 2 p.m. at Foster Field.

The field hockey team improved their record to 5-4 overall, 4-3 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) by winning three of their last four games against Roanoke, Lynchburg, Wilson Colleges and Hollins University. Their first win of the streak came against Roanoke College. The game on Sat. Sept. 23 was a hard fought battle in rainy and windy conditions, which resulted in the Marlins defeating Roanoke, who was ranked 18th in the nation at the time, for the first time in school history. In a game where close calls and near misses were all too common, it was freshman Jaclyn Bailey who scored in overtime to win the game. "It was really exciting that day because there were so many firsts," said Jaclyn Bailey. "It was my first college goal and the first time we ever beat Roanoke." Bailey added that it was a complete team effort for the entire 75 minutes of play. The following day they defeated Wilson College 6-3. Freshmen Katie Bozza and senior Raye Jean McMichael led the team with two goals each. Freshmen Gayla Dalyrymple-Smith and Jackie Griffin each added one for the Marlins.

The following week the Marlins lost to Lynchburg College 3-0. However, Sunday the team fought back and defeated Hollins University 4-1, scoring all the goals in the final twenty minutes of play. "Lately, it seems to take us awhile to score, but once we do, we keep going with full aggression," said senior Kristy Reed. "We just need the confidence of our first goal to get us started." Senior Raye Jean McMichael leads the team in goals with five and freshman Jackie Griffin is second with four. The team’s only keeper, senior Brittany Ewers has recorded three shut outs and has saved 79% of the shots she has faced. The team has six games remaining in the regular season before the conference tournament. The two biggest games remaining are against Division II Salisbury State and Sweet Briar College, which is the final home game of the year. All the schools will play in the conference tournament and seeding is done at random so the final record has no bearing on where the team is seeded. However, theformat is single elimination, meaning one loss and their season is over. The Marlins take on St. Mary’s College of Maryland on Sat. Oct. 7 at 1 pm and the annual alumni game on Sunday at 12 pm.