6 April 2001

Lady Marlins winning with youth, inexperience

By JOSH HILL

After a rough 1-3 start, the Virginia Wesleyan Women’s Lacrosse team has won three out of their last five. With a roster that consists of 10 freshman, 3 juniors, and 2 seniors, and four girls in their first year of the sport (two of which are starters) makes them a very young team. And with a schedule that included five top 20 teams in the first ten games, the girls were tested early in the season. But despite the rocky start, the Marlins went on a two-game winning streak, starting when the women routed rival Christopher Newport University. The 17-1 win is one of the most lopsided victories in the team’s short four-year history. Following the win over CNU the girls went on to play Marymount University. After falling to a quick 0-3 start the girls rebounded to outscore the opponents in the final half and came out on top, with a 14-10 win. Leading the team was junior All-American Meagan DiCave with five goals and four assists. Freshman center midfielder Anne Marie Nash notched three goals, while seniors Raye Jean McMichael and Erin Duckett netted two goals each. Freshman goalkeeper Stephanie Toppan recorded 14 saves in the win. Riding the two game win-streak, the following Sunday the Marlins faced Catholic University. Once again the girls found themselves trying to make up an early deficit. Slowly they started cutting into the lead, but the clock was working against them, and the final score ended in a 10-18 loss. “We got down early, and waited too late in the game to start playing,” said freshman defensive-wing, Gayla Dalrymple-Smith. DiCave led the team with four goals and two assists, Nash added three goals, and an assist and McMichael, Ducket, and freshman attack Katie Bozza all contributed a goal a piece. Toppan accounted for 11 saves in goal. The following weekend the Marlins traveled to Maryland to face the College of Notre Dame of Maryland and Goucher College. The weekend started off with an 11-8 win over Notre Dame. “It was a hard fought game,” said Anne Marie Nash. “I’m just glad we came out on top.”

The game was a battle, which resulted in an opposing player being ejected. The game stayed close throughout its entirety but the Marlins pulled away and got the win. The following day the girls faced nationally ranked #16 Goucher College. Despite their effort, the girls fell 5-27. In the defeat DiCave netted two goals, and Bozza, Duckett, and Nash each scored once. Currently leading the Marlins is junior Meagan DiCave with 50 points (28 goals, 22 assists), followed by freshman Katie Bozza with 17 points (14 goals, 3 assists), and freshman Anne Marie Nash with 16 points (15 goals, 1 assist).

Last week DiCave was named Old Dominion Athletic Conference player of the week, leading the Marlins to a 2- 1 record that week. The Marlins are 4-5 overall, and 1-1 in the ODAC. The Lady Marlins will be home against Greensboro College on April 13 at 4:30 p.m.

Athlete of the issue: Meagan DiCave

Sport: Lacrosse

Year: Junior

Hometown: Eddystone, Pennsylvania

High School: Ridley High School

Achievement: DiCave was named ODAC Player of the Week for March 19-25. During that week she scored 15 goals and added five assists in three games. She leads the team in total points with 50, (28 goals, 22 assists). DiCave was named All-American last season and was ranked sixth in total points for Division III Women’s lacrosse. She has continued to play well this year and has already reached her total goals scored from last season.

Golf battles strong weather, stronger competition

By BRANDON ELLIOTT

“I just want to build this program up through hard work and be a competitor for the ODAC title every year.”

The weather hasn’t exactly been cooperating for the Virginia Wesleyan Golf team lately. With Virginia Beach’s usual winter/spring transition comes a see saw movement to the weather which isn’t exactly what a golf player likes to tee off to. “Each match we have showed improvement,” said head coach Jeremy Marks. “But it is hard to play better golf in worse weather.” The Marlins opened up the season with a win against Chowan College at their home course Cypress Point Country Club and settled for a fourth place finish in the Lynchburg College Invitational which feature all of the Marlin’s ODAC rivals. However, the team didn’t fair as well in the Ferrum College Spring Invitational as they found themselves number 13 out of 20 schools. But most recently in the Chowan Tournament the Marlins, with the help of freshman Larry Antinozzi’s team best 76, took second place out of four competing teams. Marks, who is pleased with how his team is performing thus far is still waiting for a team leader to emerge.

“Mark Rossi, Larry Antinozzi and Adam Smith are all playing well,” he said. “But we need one more player to step up, be solid and consistent. Golf is a tough sport to be a leader and that may be why one player doesn’t come to mind, but for us to be competitive in the ODAC we need to bring in four tough scores.”Although the Marlins are almost half way through their season it seems as if they have just begun. Practice only began two weeks before the first tournament and has only been continuos for the past month, which leaves the Marlins with promise for improvement for the upcoming tournaments. “We still have to prepare for our biggest tournaments of the year,” Marks admitted. “The Virginia State Tournament is coming up Apr. 7, and we still have the ODAC Tournament to prove ourselves.” These are strong words coming from a first year coach who hopes to be around a while. “I am learning a lot for this being my first year,’ said Marks. “I just want to build this programup through hard work and be a competitor for the ODAC title every year.” Softball cruising through schedule, 17-6

Softball cruising through schedule, 17-6

By MICHAEL TOUHILL

The softball team has improved their record to 17-6 by winning the Salisbury State UniversityTournament during spring break.

Since then the Lady Marlins have split double headers with Lynchburg College and Christopher Newport University and swept North Carolina Wesleyan. Leading the way are pitchers Kelly Rust and Heidi Hill who have combined for a 2.05 earned run average. Nikki Rowe and Devin

Allen lead the team in batting average with .424 and .381 respectively. The team has gone on two five-game winning streaks this season with loses coming mostly to non-conference opponents. The heart of the conference schedule will be coming up in the next few weeks when the Lady Marlins will take on Randolph Macon Women’s College and ODAC powerhouse Roanoke College. “Roanoke is one of our biggest rival and we didn’t get a chance to play themat the Methodist tournament,” said Kristen Leake. “We have confidence in our ability to beat the top teams in the ODAC because of our senior leadership. Along with the freshmen talent that adds depth.” Most recently the Lady Marlins split a double header with Christopher Newport winning the first game 2-0 and losing the second 1-0. The loss came on an error giving the Captains the go ahead run. Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, the team must have strong performances from the seniors. All of the seniors must continue to perform the way they have been if the team will have a chance at the conference tournament. Shanon Banks, Kristen Leake, Stacy Zielinski and Alyson Mazur are all hitting above .300. Rust and Hill must also maintain their dominance on the mound and continue to shut down opposing batters. “We need to keep playing well down the stretch,” said Leake. “The end of the season will be a true test of our talent and ability to win the tournament.” The team will begin a five game home stand on April 12 against Chowan College.

College Basketball comes to Portsmouth

By JASON WADE GREGORY

Just when you thought that there was no more college basketball to watch and you were not yet ready to accept this fact, I am here to tell you that the madness continues. The seniors of college basketball will hoop it up this weekend, April 8-9 at the annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (PIT), held at Churchland High School in Portsmouth. The tournament is designed so all senior players that may have had a poor year or played on a team that did not receive much coverage, have a chance to showcase their talent in front of numerous professional scouts. The field will consist of 64 players that are broken up randomly onto eight teams, to compete for the weekend. Everyone is guaranteed playing time during their games.

Some of the talent includes Robert O’Kelley of Wake Forest, Nate James of Duke University and Andre Hutson of Michigan State University. The PIT will also feature some local talent including University of Virginias’ Donald Hand, Colin Ducharme of Longwood College and Anthony Evans of George Mason University. The PIT is not only for Division I players so Horace Jenkins of William Patterson will represent Division III.

This years field promises to be one of the strongest in recent history. Former stars of the PIT include John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Alonzo Mourning and Steve Wojohowski. Tickets are seven dollars each day with the championship game tipping off Saturday at 7:30pm. I predict that the Beach Barton Ford team led by Donald Hand and Colin Ducharme will bring home the championship trophy. So if you are looking for something to do and you like high flying dunks and intense action on the hardwood, I highly recommend coming out to the PIT.

Weatherly, Wiseman lead Marlin baseball to victory

By THOMAS BRACA

The Marlins have been continuing in their winning ways, winning 4 of their last 6 games, leading the Marlins to their victories is the senior class. With recent run production from senior third baseman, Michael Weatherly, and catcher Jeb Wiseman, the Marlins are Virginia Wesleyan beat Guilford, in the first game of a double header, 7-3, but lost the second game 13-2. The following day the Marlins demolished Tufts University by a score of 18-1. The Marlins then went on to beat Emory and Henry College in both games of a double header,by scores of 5-1 and 8-2. “I am hitting the ball a lot better when runners are in scoring position,”said Wiseman. Wiseman is hitting .282 with 21 RBI’s through the first 23 games of the 2001 season. His 21 RBI’s are the second most on the team and in the ODAC. “You feel more confident when there are runners in scoring position,”said Wiseman. “I’m more likely to hit a pitch I like.” But Wiseman is not the only Marlin that’s driving in runs. Weatherly leads the team with 25 RBI’s, 2 home-runs, and a .382 batting average. In the game against Tufts, Weatherly went 3-4 with 5 RBI and a three-run home run. “I have been a lot more selective in getting good pitches to hit,” said Weatherly. “I just got good pitches to hit. It felt good to drive the runs in for my team.” Weatherly has attributed all of his success this season to the extra work that he puts in. Weatherly goes out to the field early or stays late almost every day to hit. “I have been going out early to hit off of the tea, but also to get a few extra swings in the cage,” said Weatherly. “I have been putting in a lot of extra work because this is my last year.” The Marlins are currently 16-9 after defeating Christopher Newport Tuesday 4-3. The Marlins also trail Bridgewater by one game in the ODAC with a record of 7-1. The Marlins will be home tomorrow April 7 when they take on Bridgewater College. Spring Break brings success for men’s lacrosse.

Spring Break brings success for men’s lacrosse

By AMYLYNN CODDINGTON

The Marlins lacrosse team had a successful spring break winning two out of the three games they played. The Marlins played Cortland State, a team from New York on March 11 and lost 17-5. The Marlins then hit the road to play Western Maryland and they defeated them 10-9. It was back to Foster Field for the Marlins to beatGreensboro College 18-6. “We had a fun spring break because we won,” said senior Bill Nase.

On March 21 the Marlinsplayed Dickinson at home and won 16-11. Scoring in that game was Jay Smith, Ryan Bush, Andrew Voigt, Conner MacBeth, Jack Lingo, Paul Pavon, Bill Lingo and Art Huger. Dickinson played the game with only 17 players and took 31shots on goal. The Marlins took 50 shots and had 59 ground balls. On March 24 the Marlins played their first ODAC opponent Washington and Lee and lost 19-5. The first goal for the Marlins was scored by Andrew Voigt; the score at the half was 9-1 W&L. Scoring for the Marlins in the second half was Jay Smith, Art Huger and Bill Nase. Smith scored back to back goals and had one assist; Nase also had one assist. The Marlins had 42 ground balls and goalie Jeff Trench had 14 saves. The Marlins played their second ODAC opponent Guilford on March 31 and won 13-7. The Marlins are now 5-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference. “It was a hard fought win against Guilford,” said Head Coach Mike Pounds. “We came out playing flat but we turned it around after the first quarter and we won the ball game. “It is always nice to get a win on the road, hopefully we will win our game on Wednesday as well.” The leading scorers for the Marlins thus far are Bill Lingo with 18 goals, Jay Smith with 14, Paul Pavon with 10 and Art Huger with 9. The lacrosse team is currently 5-3 overall and 1-1 in the ODAC with the results of the Randoph-Macon game not available at press time. The next home game for the Marlins will be April 11 at 3:30 p.m. when they take on Hampden-Sydney College