Published since 1915 by the students
of Xavier University
Published since 1915 by the students
of Xavier University
John LaFollette
Sports Editor
The Xavier men’s golf program ranked in the top 25 of Golf Digest’s annual College Golf Guide for the first time ever this summer, claiming the 19th position in its auspicious debut.
The ranking, in its second year, rates schools based on the team’s scoring average, player development, academics, golf climate, facilities and coaching staff.
The magazine weighted each category according to its relative importance, with team scoring average counting for 40 percent of the total score, followed by coaching and facilites at 14.5 percent and academics at 14 percent.
Xavier earned a rating of 79.550 out of a possible one hundred, placing the program higher in the rankings than perennial college golf powerhouses Texas, UNLV and defending national champion Oklahoma State.
The Musketeers’ inclusion in the rankings was merely one of many highlights of this past summer. On the national level, senior John Streibich qualified for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, and senior Jason Kokrak qualified to be the first alternate for the U.S. Open Championship.
Xavier golfers also had regional success, as sophomore Josh Hedge won the Montana State Amateur Championship for the second year in a row. Kokrak also won the Ohio Amateur Championship.
Sophomore Lindsay Cornell finished second in the New York Women’s Amateur Championship, in addition to winning a district championship in her hometown of Buffalo, New York.
John LaFollette
Sports Editor
Xavier University named Mike Bobinksi its permanent director for athletics on July 24, removing the “interim” distinction he had held since June 1. Bobinski was named interim director after Dawn Rogers stepped down at the end of May.
This is Bobinski’s second tour of duty as athletic director at Xavier. During his previous tenure from 1998 until 2004, Bobinksi oversaw nine Atlantic 10 championships.
He is responsible for the hiring of men’s basketball head coach Thad Matta in 2001 and the hiring of current head coach Sean Miller as the program’s first-ever associate head coach. He hired current women’s basketball head coach Kevin McGuff in 2002 and oversaw the opening of Cintas Center in 2000.
Bobinski returns to the athletic department after having served as associate vice president for development since June of 2004, where he oversaw all fundraising efforts for the university.
Despite his absence from the athletic department, Bobinski retained his enthusiasm for Xavier athletics. “Xavier athletics has remained a passion for me,” he said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to rejoin our talented student-athletes, coaches and staff as we work to advance the athletic program.”
Following Rogers’ departure, administrative vice president John Kucia named Bobinski the interim A.D. and said there were no immediate plans to search for a permanent one. But after two months, Kucia and Xavier president Fr. Michael Graham, S.J., decided that rehiring Bobinski was a necessity. “Mike is the very best person to lead our athletic department to new heights in the future,” Kucia said. “Mike is clearly energized by this opportunity. Fr. Graham and I are equally excited about the future of our athletic program under Mike’s leadership.”
Bobinski comes from the business world, and first became involved with college athletics as an associate athletic director at the U.S. Naval Academy where he oversaw business operations as well as the daily operations of the basketball and football programs. He was hired as athletic director at the University of Akron in 1994 before coming to Xavier in 1998.
Bobinski, 48, and his wife, Sil, have two children, Melissa and Brian. They live in Mason, OH.
John LaFollette
Sports Editor
What a week! Between David Ortiz’s palpitating heart, the $9,500 fine Terrell Owens incurred for pushing the snooze button one too many times and Team USA’s dominance in the World Championships of basketball, it’s possible that you, worthy sports enthusiast, might have missed something. Luckily for you, the Spectator (and his unpaid intern, Jason) did not. Here’s a recap of the top three stories from an unusually eventful late summer sports week.
This probably won’t come as a newsflash to anyone, but Tiger Woods is playing great golf. He won his fourth consecutive tournament at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, on Sunday, his longest streak of victories since winning six in a row between 1999 and 2000. Two of those four have been major championships, placing him second all-time in major wins, just six behind the immortal Jack Nicklaus.
Given that Tiger has met every goal he has set for himself except this one (his most prized), it is all but inevitable that he will break this record, too. He has won four of the last eight majors, including the last two, and could tie Nicklaus’s record as soon as 2008, when the U.S. Open will return to Torrey Pines, a golf course that Woods has been winning on since he was 14 years old. In fact, three of those possible majors will be played at courses where Woods has won the most (Torrey Pines and Augusta National).
While it is unlikely (but possible!) that Woods will win the next six majors, Woods will, barring injury, topple Nicklaus’s record. After all, he has failed to win at least one major (the only thing that matters to Woods) just three times in his 10 full seasons on Tour, and by contrast has won at least two in four different seasons. The Spectator (no slouch of a golfer himself) is in awe.
In his first real test since his knee was blown out in January, Carson Palmer wowed himself and Bengals fans with a stellar performance on Monday night against the Green Bay Packers, completing 9 of 14 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns. Who Dey Nation breathed a collective sigh of relief when Palmer bounced to his feet after being tackled by Green Bay’s Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila for the first time since his injury.
The Spectator wrote last week that preseason games are no indication of what to expect in the regular season, but Palmer’s successful return to full-speed play (after just eight months of rehabilitation for an injury that typically takes nine to ten months to recover from) is definitely noteworthy.
This brings us to something else noteworthy about this preseason of which no one seems to be taking note. The Charlotte Observer reported over the weekend that several Carolina Panthers, especially offensive linemen, used a wide assortment of illegal, performance-enhancing drugs during the Panthers’ 2004 Super Bowl championship season. The newspaper learned of the apparently widespread and intense steroid use after court documents were made available from a case against Dr. James Shortt, the Columbia, S.C., doctor who prescribed the drugs.
Prosecutors’ evidence included a report from drugs-in-sports expert Dr. Gary Wadler that alleges that the NFL’s drug testing program is shamefully inadequate.
The Spectator wonders why this story has received such little coverage, especially given the swift justice, witch-hunt mentality that has permeated Major League Baseball for most of the summer.
Why is it that we care so much about the integrity of one sport, yet selectively ignore evidence of cheating by another sport’s champion? Where are the calls for an investigation? Where are the demands that an asterisk be affixed to the Panthers’ 2004 Super Bowl win? Why do we seem to be more tolerant of juicing among giant men who push each other around than we are among sluggers, or cyclists, or runners?
Please answer these questions, avid sports fans, because the Spectator, it seems, cannot.
The Xavier University women’s soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision at Ohio State University on Sunday night. Xavier, playing without 11 key players due to a combination of injuries and team suspensions, fell to 0-2 with the loss while Ohio State raised its record to 1-0-1 with the win.
Ohio State scored twice in the first ten minutes of the match to take control of the night’s action. OSU junior Lara Dickenmann scored the game’s first goal at 7:44, while freshman Ali Schwach scored less than two minutes later to extend the Buckeye lead to 2-0.
Xavier and Ohio State battled to a draw for the final 35:58 of the first half as the two teams went to intermission with OSU leading 2-0.
In fact, the two teams would battle to a draw for the final 80:58 of the match.
Less than three minutes into the second half, Xavier senior Amber Silvis drilled a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced under the bar but could not earn XU its first goal. XU missed a golden opportunity to cut the lead in half.
Xavier plays at Bowling Green State University on Friday at 5 p.m. to complete its season-opening three-game road stretch. XU opens the regular season home schedule on Sunday against crosstown rival University of Cincinnati at 6 p.m.
Volleyball starts season off right, takes two of three
In the final game of the Ball State Nike/Active Ankle Weekend, Xavier swept IPFW in three games to finish the weekend with a 2-1 record. Freshman Lauren Kaminsky recorded three matches with 10 or more kills and notched a double-double in her first collegiate match.
After a 1-1 tie to start game one, Xavier did not look back and cruised to a 30-15 win in the opener. The Musketeers posted a 15-5 run to take the lead and claimed their largest lead at 26-13. Senior Danielle Skrajewski led the way with seven of XU’s 22 kills. Sophomore Jenn Welsh dished out 17 assists, while junior Jenni Horvath added four digs to the frame.
Xavier pulled away for the game two win 30-23. Senior Astyn Bjorklund tallied seven of XU’s 21 kills in the game and Welsh added six digs en route to the win.
The Musketeers will return to the court tonight for their home opener at Cintas Center. XU will welcome the Thundering Herd of Marshall for a 7:00 p.m. match. This will be the 14th time that the two teams will square off, with Xavier holding the 9-4 advantage in the series.