Published since 1915 by the students
of Xavier University
Published since 1915 by the students
of Xavier University
Men’s soccer wins A-10 opener for first time since 2000
Jimmy Byrnes
Asst. Sports Editor
Xavier men’s soccer defeated Dayton 2-1 last Saturday at the Xavier Soccer Complex to improve to 4-6 on the season. The four wins this year match the win total of the entire 2005 season for the men.
The Flyers jumped to a 1-0 lead at the 32 minute mark on a goal that scooted past sophomore goalkeeper Adam Sokolowski, who was filling in for senior goalie Liam Curran due to a one game suspension for a red card in the Musketeers’ previous match. Dayton took the lead into halftime despite being outshot 9-4 by the Musketeer offense in the period.
The second half was a continuation of the first for the Xavier shooters. They again outshot the Flyers 7-3 in the second half, but scored twice.
Senior midfielder Joel Gunnarson took a hard shot that was deflected by the Flyer defense, and the deflection was corralled by junior mid-fielder Joe Fleckenstein. Fleckenstein quickly turned and blasted a shot from six yards that found the back of the net. Gunnarson was credited with an assist on the goal.
Nine minutes later, freshman Dico Hanycz weaved through the Dayton defense to the box and attempted a shot that was blocked but not controlled by Dayton goaltender Zac Gibbens.
Junior Chris Miliano secured the loose ball for the Muskies and scorched a burner to the back of the net from point blank range. Hanycz was given the assist.
The Xavier team rallied to hold on for the final 11 minutes to post its first Atlantic 10 opening win since the 2000 season.
Sokolowski recorded four saves filling in for the ineligible Curran. Dayton only managed seven shots for the game against a spectacular Xavier defense.
The Xavier offense attempted 16 shots, with four from Miliano and three from senior midfielder Matt Kmetz.
The game was the conference opener for both squads and marked the sixth time that the teams have opened A-10 play against each other. The series between the I-75 rivals is now tied at three matches apiece.
The win also improved Xavier’s overall conference opener record to 4-7-1 since joining the A-10 in 1995.
The Muskie men play host to the Rhode Island Rams at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Xavier Soccer Complex.
John LaFollette
Sports Editor
The Xavier men’s golf team closed a seven-shot gap to win the Xavier Invitational Tournament at Oasis Golf Club in Loveland on Tuesday. The team’s final round score was a team and tournament record 18-under par, sparked by a string of late birdies from senior Jason Kokrak and freshman Alan Glynn.
Kokrak fired a final round 68 to beat out senior teammate John Streibach by one shot to claim low medalist honors with a 12-under score of 202. Streibach was last year’s tournament medalist.
On a course that lends itself well to streaky play, the Musketeers found a late groove. Kokrak birdied five of his last eight holes and Glynn birdied six of his last 10. “This course is all about streaks, and we got hot when we needed to,” said coach Doug Steiner. “Jason, John and Alan all got a string of birdies late in the round and that was key for us.”
Glynn closed with a 7-under 65, climbing 17 spots up the leaderboard to finish in a tie for fourth place.
Xavier found itself in third place after two rounds with a score of 560, seven shots behind leader Maryland. The leaderboard started tight going into the final round, with only 15 shots separating the top six teams. Xavier opened up the tournament, winning by a whopping margin of 10 shots.
Conditions favored low scores throughout the tournament. Kokrak matched his career low of 65 in the first round, but could have set a new personal best if a little more luck had been on his side. Kokrak dunked his second shot on the par-5 ninth, landing it in the hole on the fly from about 125 yards.
Unfortunately the ball had enough backspin to suck it back out of the hole, and Kokrak had to settle for a tap-in eagle.
A second round 69 left Kokrak tied for the lead entering the final round.
Streibach also tied his personal best in the opening round, carding a 66.
The Musketeers will return to the links on Saturday at the Wolf Run Invitational in Zionsville, Ind.
Katie Zak
Contributing Writer
The women’s volleyball team ended last week’s play just over .500 as they defeated Morehead State on Wednesday before falling to conference rival Dayton on Friday.
The loss brings the ladies to 9-8 on the season and 2-1 in A-10 play. The Muskies recorded a .340 hitting percentage as they forced Morehead to commit 39 hitting errors on their way to a 3-1 victory over the Eagles.
Xavier struggled in the first game, losing 23-30, but came back strong to win the next three games 30-18, 30-26 and 30-20 as they took the match and added another “W” to their record.
Senior Danielle Skrajewski notched her fifth straight and 44th career double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs. Freshman outside hitter Kelly Ruth also recorded a double-double on the night, her second straight and career third, with 10 kills and 12 digs.
The offensive attack was led by junior Jill Quayle with a team-high 15 kills with the help of sophomore Jenn Welsh who doled out 50 assists.
Freshman Lauren Kaminsky drove home 11 kills while the defensive effort was headed by sophomore Megan Hellmann with 11 digs.
The ladies then traveled to Dayton to take on the Flyers on Friday night but could not add to their six match winning streak as they fell 26-30, 15-30 and 19-30.
Big runs by Dayton in all three games helped shut down the Muskies in the 0-3 loss. Skrajewski fell short of another double-double as she recorded 13 kills and six digs on the night. Kaminsky and junior Jenni Horvath helped lead the offense as they posted seven and six kills, respectively, but could not rally enough points to overcome UD’s efforts.
The loss was the Musketeers’ first in the A-10 as they fell to 2-1 while the Flyers remain undefeated in conference action 3-0.
The game against Wright State on Tuesday was cancelled and will not be rescheduled.
The ladies return to the court this weekend with two big conference matches. On Friday, they will host La Salle at 7 p.m. at Cintas Center in their first home appearance in over a month.
On Saturday, the Muskies will take on Temple at 7 p.m. at Cintas Center as they hope to improve their record in the A-10.
Nick DiFrancesco
Contributing Writer
Buckeye Insider
Last Game: Defeated Iowa, 38-17
Must be Said: So much for the sluggish starts! The Buckeyes came out in impressive fashion on Saturday, forcing a three-and-out and marching right down the field to take a 7-0 lead and take the Iowa crowd out of the game. The Buckeyes continued to click on all cylinders and turned in a dominating performance. Antonio Pittman (117 yds. rushing, 1 TD) had another solid game, Chris “Beanie” Wells (78 yds. rushing) had his best game of the season and Anthony Gonzalez (77 rec. yds.; 2 TDs) turned in the highlight of the week. The only thing the Buckeyes can do now is get better, day in and day out. This is what Jim Tressel preaches, and now is when it is most important for the team to listen. If they can’t handle their success, they will get caught napping before their Nov. 18th showdown with Michigan.
What to Watch for: The Buckeyes have a glorified scrimmage this week against Bowling Green. Jamario O’Neal will be getting the start at safety in place of the injured Anderson Russell. Russell went down with a season-ending injury against Iowa, and it will be interesting to see how the secondary responds to the setback. The Buckeyes need to stay sharp for their trip to Michigan State in two weeks.
Polls: No. 1 in both polls
Next Game:Bowling Green; 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct.7 Television TBA
Irish Insider
Last Game: Defeated Purdue, 35-21
Must be Said: Things finally got a little easier for the Irish this week, and they finally got their running game going. Running back Darius Walker (146 yds. rushing, 1 TD) had his best game of the season so far, and quarterback Brady Quinn (316 yds. passing, 2 TDs) continued to mount his Heisman comeback. WR Rhema McKnight (120 rec. yds.; 2 TDs) also looked good for the Golden Domers. The Irish still have some problems in their secondary, as evidenced by the Boilermakers throwing for almost 400 yards. They let Selwyn Lymon roam freely to the tune of 238 yards, including an 88-yard TD catch. If the Irish have any hope of being considered a national title contender, they must do something about their secondary before they roll into Southern California at the end of the season.
What to Watch for: The Irish take on a Stanford squad that is winless in 2006. Look for another healthy dose of Darius Walker, as Charlie Weis will try to establish some semblance of a running game. Also look for Stanford to throw early and often to exploit the Irish secondary. The Irish defense should also have some chances, as the Cardinal has already been intercepted six times this season.
Polls: No. 12 in both polls
Next Game: Stanford; 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7 NBC
John LaFollette
Sports Editor
The Spectator thought he must still be dreaming when he was crassly awakened by his unpaid intern Jason last Wednesday morning to the startling news that Dallas Cowboys’ wide receiver Terrell Owens had tried to kill himself by overdosing on the painkillers he was taking for his broken hand.
Still groggy from his weekly late night at the sports desk, the Spectator could scarcely believe his ears. Since the information was coming from an unpaid intern, and at an hour that should have been devoted solely to slumber (especially on a Wednesday), the Spectator was obviously a little skeptical of the report.
After further and more lucid consideration, though, a different conclusion was reached. Terrell Owens comes off as a primadona at best, and a disturbed maniac at worst. The Spectator doesn’t think it beyond the realm of possibility that a person like that would try to kill himself.
That said, the Spectator asks you, inquisitive sports fan, to examine the facts of the case as reported by the T.O. camp, as well as the context that must be considered in any discussion involving Owens.
First and foremost, Owens flatly denied that he had tried to kill himself. It is not the statement that “there was no suicide attempt,” but it is the way in which the statement was made, that bothers the Spectator.
While it appears to be an honest, forthcoming, solid denial of the allegation, those are exactly the kind of statements we least expect to hear from T.O. He has a history of telling the public things that are less than wholly truthful, and does so when it is to his advantage.
According to a Dallas police report, Owens told police that he was in fact trying to hurt himself when he took an excess of pills. Owens explained this in an afternoon news conference by saying that he was not in his right mind at the time, and that he could have said just about anything.
The Spectator buys that explanation, but he isn’t satisfied with the explanation Owens gave for the pills’ absence from their prescription container. Specifically, he is struggling to understand exactly why he would move his pain pills from a perfectly reasonable place (in a pharmacy’s bottle) to a place as random as a desk drawer.
Some people have speculated that since Owens takes so many vitamin supplements on a daily basis, he might have a special container to help him keep track of what to take day-to-day, and that the pills might have been moved to a container like that. But as pain medication is only directed to be taken “as needed,” and not on a regular regimen, that explanation also seems suspect.
Still, the most troubling side of this story is something a little less tangible than public statements and pill whereabouts. Anyone familiar with T.O. knows that he turns most every media event into a publicity circus. In the press conference he held that afternoon, Owens seemed oddly calm and, in a fashion even more out of character, willing to let the press control his behavior. He answered every question just as it was asked and showed none of the erratic, charismatic personality that he usually doles out for the television cameras.
If the story was as preposterous as his handlers say it was, why wasn’t he making a big joke out of it? Maybe this is because he grasps the gravity of the situation, but that hardly seems like the T.O. that did shirtless sit-ups in his front yard for the cameras after being sent home by the Eagles.
While the official word is that Owens was admitted to the hospital after suffering from an unfortunate and accidental mix of vitamin supplements and hydrocodone pills, many doubts still linger. The Spectator does not mean to say that Owens is a liar or that he definitely tried to off himself last Wednesday morning. He does mean to say, though, that there might be more to these events than meets the eye.
ESPN’s Michael Smith certainly seemed to agree when he described some of Owens’ more anti-social behavior. He said that he went as a ghost to a Halloween party, only to stand quietly against the wall for the party’s duration. Smith also said that Owens had a troubled relationship with his own father and told a story of how Owens walked right through a conversation between a teammate and his teammate’s dad, without saying a word of acknowledgement to either of them.
This kind of behavior isn’t usually typical of a stable individual, and the Spectator thinks that something is definitely eating Terrell Owens.
He’s no doctor, but the Spectator hopes that Owens has a supportive inner circle if it turns out that he is more troubled than he says he is. As outrageous and flamboyant as he often seems to be, he’s still a man, and one who grapples with the same things the rest of us do, if not more.
Jimmy Byrnes
Asst. Sports Editor
Senior Amber Silvis continued her scoring rampage last Thursday against the Oakland University Golden Grizzles, notching her second straight two goal performance. The Musketeers won the match 3-0 despite being out shot 16-11.
The first of the Silvis goals came nine minutes into the match when she took a pass from fellow senior Angie Scarlato and banged a header into the net from close range.
The lead was held by the Musketeers until the 62nd minute when Silvis scored again, this time on a pass from sophomore Melissa Zimmerman. Silvis took the pass and raced past the Oakland defense and lined a shot into the back of the goal.
The goals were Silvis’ fifth and sixth of the season, bringing her point total to 15 for the year.
The third and final goal of the match was scored just about a minute later when Zimmerman fired a breakaway pass to junior Karin Martini. The goal was Martini’s first of the season.
The shutout was the second of the season recorded by freshman goalkeeper Kelly Farrell. She had six saves on the day, including four in the first half. The OU keepers did not record a save.
The win gave the women their fifth consecutive win at home to start this season, and seventh in a row dating back to last season. They also improved their record to 5-6 for the season.
The Muskies will be on the road for their next two games traveling to Rhode Island and Massachusetts for weekend games on Friday and Sunday respectively.
John LaFollette 
Sports Editor
The Xavier women’s golf team finished fifth in the eighth annual Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate at Waynesville Country Club in North Carolina.
The Muskies posted a two day total of 297, nine over par.
Junior Diana Torry and freshman Mary Beth McKenna tied for 25th with a 151, seven over par for the tournanment.
Torry and McKenna also had the low scores for the team in the tournament with a one over par 73.
Senior Kara Manis shot a two over par 74 in the final round to finish at 153 for the tournament and tied for 38th place.
Sophomore Lindsay Cornell and freshman Tracey Clarke each shot identical rounds and finished the tournament with a 154 mark good for a tie for 46th.
The next stop for the Musketeer lady golfers is the Bronco Fall Invitational in Boise, Idaho.
Runners overcome high altitude
The men’s and women’s cross country teams had solid performances in their latest meet: The Rocky Mountain Shootout hosted by University of Colorado.
The men placed 14th and the women finished 8th in their respective races.
Junior Ben Millroy once again led the Muskie men with a 53rd finish out of a field of 157 runners.
Following Millroy was sophomore Clinton Womack, who was the number two for Xavier, just one second back of Millroy.
Sophomores Luke Beuerlein and Aaron Smith claimed third and fourth for the men’s team while junior Matt Weingardt took fifth.
The women were led yet again by senior Kelly Sraj who placed 37th out of 140 runners. Next for the women was sophomore Becky Clark who took 39th place.
Junior Amanda Brown was in third for the women’s team with a time of 23:55.
Freshmen Kelsey Flaherty and Danielle Meiners also finished for the women’s squad with times of 24:22 and 24:47, respectively.
The teams’ next race is on Oct. 14 at the Bowling Green Invitational in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Club Sports Update
The women’s club soccer team will travel to Mich. on Saturday for a three-game weekend. These will be their last games of the regular season before the regional tournament at the end of the month.
Xavier Ultimate looks to have a better showing at the upcoming Wright State University Tournament than they did at their regional tournament two weeks ago.
The men’s lacrosse team will scrimmage the Mount Adams lacrosse team and the Cincinnati Men’s Club team on Sunday. Games begin at high noon at the intramural field.
