Published since 1915 by the students
of Xavier University
Published since 1915 by the students
of Xavier University
Three players named to all-tournament team
Kevin Brophy
Contributing Writer
Last weekend, the Xavier women’s volleyball team must have entered the tournament with a healthy diet of Roman history class: they came, they saw and they conquered.
The Musketeers dominated the Microtell Inn and Suites CCU Volleyball Classic, going 3-0 to win the tournament. Xavier improved its record to 6-7 for the season.
In the opening match last Friday, the Musketeers faced off against host Coastal Carolina University. Senior outside hitter Danielle Skrajewski led the way for Xavier with 17 kills and seven digs en-route to a 3-0 shutout of the Lady Chanticleers with final scores of 30-23, 30-23 and 30-16.
Junior middle blocker Jill Quayle connected with 13 kills of her own and four block assists. Freshman outside hitter Lauren Kaminsky solidified the sweep by slamming down 10 sets from sophomore Jenn Welsh.
In the second match of the tournament against North Florida, Skrajewski dominated the competition again, tallying 25 kills and 12 digs to record the 39th double double of her career. Kaminsky also tagged a double double to her career stats (her fourth) with 10 kills and 14 digs.
The real heroes of the match were outside hitters junior Jenni Horvath and freshman Kelly Ruth. Horvath had a career high 14 kills and career high 17 digs, recording her first career double double. Ruth also had a career high with 16 kills against the Lady Ospreys.
Sophomore libero Megan Hellmann dazzled in the back row with 11 digs as the Muskies won in four games; 30-22, 28-30, 30-24 and 30-26.
Seemingly without hesitation, the girls buried the East Tennessee State Lady Buccaneers in three games in the tournament’s final match. Quayle again commanded the net with 16 kills and three block assists. Kaminsky and Ruth added 14 and 13 kills and nine and seven digs, respectively.
Horvath kept the ball alive with nine digs, and put the ball away with three block assists, dashing any hopes for the opposing team.
Sophomore setter Jenn Welsh delivered 53 assists in the match and added two kills and seven digs of her own. Xavier won in straight games with final scores of 30-27, 30-18 and 32-20.
Skrajewski again seized control in the match against East Tennessee State, tyrannizing the rival team with 16 kills, 11 digs and her 40th career double double, her second of the weekend.
She logged a total of 48 kills and 29 digs for the tournament, meriting the admiration of her fellow athletes as she was declared the tournament’s MVP and A-10 Player of the Week. Quayle and Kaminsky were also selected to the all-tournament team.
The Musketeers are back in action against UNC Charlotte at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22, in Charlotte, N.C.
Jimmy Byrnes
Asst. Sports Editor
Undefeated for 33 years! Wow! That is pretty impressive, unless you haven’t competed for 33 years. The Xavier football team stopped competing 33 years ago and at some point during all those years someone thought it would be funny to make a shirt, and it was, but the next shirt is going to throw in the word “still” and at the very least it’ll say, “Hey, we tried.”
As I am sure most of you reading this article already know, the Xavier football team is back. Practices have been going on for a few weeks and things are starting to come together on the field.
The offense is being installed slowly but surely and the defense was just introduced at a recent team meeting. The guys are excited and the coaching staff is ecstatic; Father Graham even stopped by at the start of a practice for a quick word to the players.
There are 475 former Xavier football players who have long awaited Xavier’s return to the football field.
This team is certainly something special. It is made up of a group of college kids who want to play football. They are not guys playing for any championships, and they are not playing to make all-star teams. In fact, they are not playing for any recognition at all.
They are playing for the simple reason that they love football. They are playing for pride, for fun and for another chance. This team is made up of people who have never played football before, as well as guys who last played football 20 years ago.
The atmosphere around this team is truly beautiful. I know that sounds soft for a football article, but let me explain. The team currently owns three footballs, plus the ones brought by team members to practice, but that doesn’t discourage anybody on the field.
Having played football in high school, I remember how much I used to hate running through tires, like you see in old football movies. No complaint from these guys, though. When 36 tires were delivered to the practice field by a local body shop owned by a Xavier alumnus, the guys smiled, moved the tires into position and began training. Not a single moan or groan, not a single “Coach, do we have to?” All they said was, “I hope I’m not the first guy to fall,” before ripping on the guys in the front of the line not to screw up.
And when it comes time for wind sprints and other physical conditioning, there is a welcoming attitude among the players, an attitude that seems to say, “Yeah, alright, some conditioning…”
Practices are lighthearted; there is never a grimace or a frown, only smiles and laughter. This is what team camaraderie is all about.
It is about fun, it is about each other and it is about the guys that used to strap-it-up for the Musketeers.
It’s about love of the game. It’s about football.
When practice finally ends, the huddle of players shouts in unison, “Musketeers! All for one, and one for all!” Go Muskies!
John LaFollette
Sports Editor
The women’s club soccer team continued its two-game unbeaten streak with a win over a strong team from Indiana University last Sunday.
Indiana struck first in the match, scoring a quick two goals in the first 15 minutes. Freshman Jen Zebouni nailed a shot over the Hoosier goalkeeper’s head just before halftime to cut the Indiana lead to one.
The Musketeers came out strong after the half. Freshman Anna Russell scored the tying goal off an assist by sophomore Molly CaJacob, and a goal by sophomore Liz Reilly gave Xavier the lead for good.
Freshman goalkeeper Karen Moebius provided excellent defense in the second half, keeping the Hoosiers scoreless and giving Xavier the win.
The Musketeers will travel to Kent State University and the University of Dayton for games against Kent State, Ohio University and Dayton this weekend.
The women’s rugby team also had a busy weekend playing their first game.
Xavier and Eastern Kentucky University battled to a tie in a game that saw many rookies develop their competitive skills. Xavier’s only points were scored in the second half by sophomore Ellen Cole. The Musketeers face a tough home game this weekend against Wittenberg University.
The crew team will also be in action this weekend in the East Fort Lake Regatta. With a new coach and a scrimmage last weekend in Oxford, Ohio, the team looks to bring home a win.
Nick DiFrancesco
Contributing Writer
Buckeye Insider
Last Game: Defeated Cincinnati 37-7
Must be Said: The scarlet and gray started out slowly against UC, trailing for most of the first half before taking control in the second half. This team continues to emulate their coach’s style – Tressellball– nothing flashy, just solid football. As good as they looked in the first three weeks, many questions still abound for the Buckeyes: Can they run the football effectively against a good defense? Will their young defensive players continue to mature? Can they stabilize a kicking game? If the answer to these questions is “yes,” the Buckeyes should be undefeated when they battle Michigan at the end of the season.
Polls: No. 1 in both polls
Next Game: Penn State, 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23, on ABC
Irish Insider
Last Game: Lost to Michigan, 47-21
Must be Said: Michigan exposed every weakness that Notre Dame has. The secondary once again looked vulnerable and the run defense was also shaky. The Irish have some soul searching to do this week, and they need to stay together.
Brady Quinn likely took himself out of the Heisman race with his performance on Saturday, throwing three interceptions. To stay in the national title picture, Quinn needs to rally his troops for a win this Saturday. There is still hope if they can get past the Spartans this week, and they have a fairly easy schedule the rest of the year before an end of season showdown with USC.
Polls: No. 12 in the A.P., no. 13 in USA Today
Next Game:Michigan State, 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23, on ABC
John LaFollette
Sports Editor
This week’s edition of the Spectator began as a lecture to my unpaid intern Jason, who I saw on television being escorted out of Paul Brown Stadium and who I later had to bail out of jail after he was arrested on charges of drunken misconduct at the Bengals win over the Browns last Sunday.
His antics, which I won’t divulge out of respect for the Newswire’s newly expanded sports page, reflect an alarming lack of class in athletics among both fans and players. While Jason’s lewd and degenerate behavior occurred at a professional event, it is the classless behavior in college athletics that draws the ire of the Spectator this week.
We begin an hour and a half down I-71, in Louisville, Ky., where the Spectator saw the then 12th-ranked Louisville Cardinals take on the then 17th-ranked Miami Hurricanes in one of the “Super Seven” college football games that comprised “Separation Saturday,” ESPN’s overly alliterative title for a day that pitted 14 ranked teams against each other.
After pre-game warm-ups (and not the kind Jason had before the Bengals game), the entire Miami team gathered to stomp on the Louisville logo at midfield. The incident nearly ignited a brawl between the two teams, and serves as an example of the unwarranted (and, as the 31-7 final score revealed, unjustifiable) arrogance that is often characteristic of visiting teams. Where’s the class?
An invited guest should behave better, especially since there is no evidence of any prior bad blood between the programs. Besides, the Hurricanes now find themselves out of the top 25 for the first time since 1999 with a 1-2 record, and haven’t scored a second half point this season. Maybe the ‘Canes should practice running some plays instead of running their mouths. Like the Spectator says, humility beats hubris every time.
Speaking of humility, no man is more humble after this weekend than Gordon Riese, the replay official who blew a big call in Oregon’s win over Oklahoma last Saturday. “I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, my blood pressure is skyrocketing,” says Riese. “I feel so bad I missed that call.”
Apparently his health-affecting remorse isn’t enough for some Oklahoma fans, who have reportedly sent Riese death threats. In one of the more twisted developments in this story (since Oklahoma president David Boren’s demand that the game not count in the standings isn’t twisted enough), Riese says he has stopped answering his phone because angry Sooner fans “not only threatened me, they threatened my wife and kids.” Get a grip! The shadow this story casts on Oklahoma is especially dark after their starting quarterback was kicked off the team for lying about the details of his summer employment. Wacko fans are just as responsible for hurting the reputation of a school’s program as its players are.
Perhaps Big 12 fans suffer from an exclusive kind of classlessness. Though this next story pales in comparison to the psychosis displayed by some Oklahoma fans, it also serves as an example of how fans shouldn’t behave (Jason, listen up).
The University of Colorado is reporting a dramatic increase in fan ejections from its home football games this season: 68 in last week’s loss to Arizona State, which is the highest number in two years. Also, campus police has held 11 people in its Addiction Recovery Center, where overly intoxicated fans can recover before heading home, which, after two home games, is almost double the amount taken there through all of last season. The Spectator isn’t advocating stone cold sobriety at sporting events, but fans who drink should respect other fans’ rights to enjoy the game without undue disruption.
At least Colorado sees the problem; the student government joined players in signing a letter advocating fan responsibility. Their message is “Compete With Class.” The Spectator couldn’t have said it better himself, although one way to combat excessive drunkenness at Colorado games is to improve upon an 0-3 record.
John LaFollette 
Sports Editor
Xavier University freshman Danielle Meiners has been named the Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week for cross country as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon. The honor follows Meiners’ team-leading performance at the National Catholic Championships on Friday, Sept. 15, in South Bend, Indiana.
In a field of 267, Meiners recorded a 14th place finish with a time of 18:58. Meiners’ time helped lead the women to a third place finish at the event defeating A-10 rival, Dayton, along with Duquesne, Saint Louis and Saint Bonaventure.
The Musketeers will return to action on Sept. 23 at the Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul, Minn.
Women’s tennis has nice outing at BGSU Invit.
The Xavier women’s tennis team wrapped up play in the BGSU Fall Invitational on Sunday with freshman Kaitlyn Zinn winning her singles bracket and teaming with junior Annie Diedalis to take the title in their doubles bracket.
Zinn did not lose a set on the weekend as she took the Flight 5 singles bracket title with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Tanisha Welch of Youngstown State. Zinn then teamed with Diedalis to win the championship match against Bowling Green in the Flight 4 doubles draw.
In the third place match of the Flight 1 singles, Jackie Vilines was defeated 6-2, 6-3. XU sophomore Kara Courtney was ousted in the Flight 2 singles championship 6-1, 6-3. Sophomore Jeanette Fieder also played in the Flight 4 championship, but fell 6-3, 6-1. Diedalis fell in the Flight 6 championship 6-3, 6-2. Senior Alicia Papa took third place in Flight 7 with a straight-sets win.
In doubles action, Courtney and Ducro took fourth place in Flight 1 after falling to Dayton’s Mellion and Detroy 8-5. Flight 3 saw Xavier’s pairing of Fieder and senior Kate Lohner win the consolation final.