Published since 1915 by the students
of Xavier University
Published since 1915 by the students
of Xavier University
Duncan and Graves set career highs as Xavier rolls
John LaFollette
Sports Editor
After a sluggish, evenly matched first half, Xavier ended a busy 10-day marathon with an 86-68 win over the American Eagles last Saturday at Cintas Center. This win followed a second place finish at the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam tournament when Xavier knocked off Virginia Commonwealth and Villanova before falling to now-sixth ranked Alabama in the tournament final.
Junior forward Josh Duncan led the way with a career high 23 points and eight rebounds. Duncan, whose preseason back injury is healed and “more of a mental thing now,” also tied his career high for three pointers, draining 4-7 from behind the arc.
American led the Musketeers for most of the first half, as Xavier struggled to score in the paint against American’s strong, largely Lithuanian frontcourt.
Xavier trailed 26-21 with five minutes left in the first half before taking its first lead of the game with three minutes left.
The Eagles remained persistent in the second half, cutting a 12 point, 59-47 lead down to seven points midway through the second half. Xavier insistence on playing a fast-paced, transition game wore down the Eagles late in the game, though, and the Musketeers went on an 18-4 scoring run over the next four minutes to put the game out of reach for good.
Shooting an ugly 32.3 percent from the field against Alabama’s sprawling zone defense, Xavier finally found their groove against American and made the extra pass en route to 51 percent shooting, off 18 assists.
“I think we were moving the ball better, attacking better, which created open shots for other people,” said Duncan.
“Making the extra pass gives everyone more opportunity to get open shots, and then the open shots get into the post players,” added freshman guard Adrion Graves, who had a career high nine points. “By that, we get more free throws, too.”
Aside from the shooting performance, the biggest difference between Xavier’s play in the Virgin Islands and against American was in rebounding.
The Musketeers out-rebounded American 36-25, including a 24-14 deficit off the defensive glass. Improvements still have to be made, though. “It’s always a concern because we have to rebound by committee,” head coach Sean Miller said after the game.
“We don’t have that one player who just reaches up and grabs 10 rebounds a game. Our bench is a big part of that, and we can’t afford to let up in that area.”
Miller gives credit to his team for their focus during this wild stretch of their season. “American’s a great team, with two players who play at 6’10”, and we knew this was going to be a tough game for us,” he said.
“Couple that with the fact that we just played three games in four days in the Virgin Islands, we traveled back, had Thanksgiving and the game was at noon today. The second half was a reflection of who we are as a team: versatile on offense and stingy on defense.”
The Musketeers will play their second game of a season-high four-game homestand when they take on the Miami (OH) RedHawks at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at Cintas Center.
Katie Zak
Contributing Sportswriter
The Xavier volleyball team was unable to repeat its winning ways in the Atlantic Ten Volleyball Championship and fell to the Dayton Flyers in the semifinal round on Nov 18 in Dayton. The tournament loss ended Xavier’s season with a record of 18-12.
Xavier headed to Dayton as the fourth-seeded team in the tournament. The ladies took on fifth-seeded Charlotte on Nov 17 in the match that decided which team would advance to the semifinals.
Xavier swept the 49ers, winning 30-26, 30-28 and 30-23. Xavier dominated early in game one and took a permanent lead at 2-1 with an ace by sophomore Jenn Welsh. The game saw four ties but no lead changes as the Muskies secured a crucial opening game victory and moved on to game two.
XU carried the momentum from the first game into the second, gaining an early lead until Charlotte pulled ahead at 10-9. The blue and white fought back and soon rallied to 19-20 with a six point run.
The teams battled neck and neck until the end, when Xavier took the final two points and the game.
Game three saw the Muskies dominating from the first point to the last, as they once again secured an early and permanent lead that allowed them to take both game three and the match.
Senior Danielle Skrajewski led the Muskies with a stellar performance as usual, notching a match-high 16 kills and a .448 hitting percentage, five digs and two block assists.
Junior Jill Quayle and senior Astyn Bjorklund recorded 11 kills each and two and three block assists, respectively. Welsh doled out 36 assists and had a match-high three aces and a team-high 10 digs on the night.
Unable to perform as well on Saturday, Xavier lost to the Flyers in three straight games and allowed UD to continue to the championship match where they suffered a loss to Saint Louis.
Dayton took an early lead in game one against Xavier and held onto it for the rest of the game, despite valiant efforts by the blue and white, before winning 23-30. Game two was the closest battle of the night with 20 ties and six lead changes before UD ended it 25-30.
The final game saw Xavier take an early lead that slipped away when the Flyers went ahead at 4-5 before mounting an eight point run that put the victory out of reach for good as UD took the game and the match to advance to the finals.
Horvath recorded a career high 19 digs on the night along with five kills and assists. Bjorklund ended the night with nine kills while Quayle had eight and the two had seven block assists between them. Welsh contributed 31 assists, along with two aces, nine digs and four block assists. Freshman Hillary Otte ended the night with 10 kills and two aces to help her to a .304 hitting percentage.
The tournament brought the ladies’ season to an end as they finished with a record of 18-12 overall and 10-3 in the conference. Seniors Bjorklund and Skrajewski were both named to the A-10 All-Conference First Team, and Skrajewski earned the honor of A-10 Student-Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year.
Skrajewski led the Musketeers in kills (347), attempts (805) and kills per game (averaging 4.08). In her final year as a Muskie, the senior outside hitter had 13 double-doubles, bringing her to 49 in her career at Xavier. Bjorklund recorded the second best hitting percentage in the A-10 this season at .392 (.410 in conference action).
Quayle was named to the Second Team All-Conference for the second year in a row after finishing fifth in the conference with a .330 hitting percentage. Welsh also made the Second Team with 14.1 assists per game on her way to being named Rookie of the Year. Freshman Lauren Kaminsky was also named to the All-Rookie Team.
The ladies ended a great season with a run for the Conference title, and although they fell short this time, the team will no doubt try to avenge their loss next season, as Horvath and Quayle step up as seniors to lead an immensely talented roster. Best of luck to the graduating Muskies. You made us proud.
Reporting on Basketball Across the Nation
Brian Bowsher
Editor-in-Chief
Back by popular demand, the Newswire’s series of basketball road trip reports returns with a journey to the great white north of (uncharacteristically balmy) Upstate New York. Known for lake effect snow flurries and eight-month-long winters as much as basketball, Syracuse, N.Y. was the host for Wednesday’s non-conference matchup pitting the hometown Orange against the Atlantic 10’s Charlotte 49ers. While Orange basketball just isn’t quite the same without personal hero Gerry McNamara, it’s always nice to be back at dome, sweet dome. This week’s theme: (with all due respect to “Big Daddy” and “Freak Talks About Sex”) the best overall movie to reference or have scenes take place in Syracuse. (Read on for the answer…)
The Trip
“Well, the baby and I are gonna go up to my dad’s farm upstate. It’s not exactly the fast lane, but it’s kind of fun.”
Xavier to Syracuse: 582 miles; 9 hours, 18 minutes by car; 1 hour, 50 minutes by plane.
Though it is quite the bank-breaker, a direct flight is definitely the way to go. The only downside, other than the arm and leg it costs to fly out of CVG, is that it takes longer to travel the 26 miles from campus to the ComAir concourse than it does to go the almost 600 miles from airport to airport. You know you’re not going to escape the train ride nor the not one but two shuttle bus trips in addition to that new disorienting air blower they make “random” people walk through, but you have to wonder about Cincinnati people when traffic on 71/75 south slows to 15 mph for over 30 minutes of drive time for no other reason than to gawk at the sight of an accident on the northbound lanes. Sure, a pair of overturned 18-wheelers is pretty amazing, but this just confirms why Bob Huggins is so popular here- everyone loves a good car wreck.
Newswire rating: The $500 plane fare makes it tough to give a good rating, though I do appreciate how Delta lets you choose between the crackers and the peanuts: a simple yet welcomed touch, if you ask me. 6 (out of 10)
The Facility
“The Harlem Theatre for the Blind!? The People’s Workshop at Syracuse!!?”
While it may no longer live up to its self-proclaimed title as “The best on-campus facility in America,” the Carrier Dome still has a lot of life. Its basketball capacity of 33,000 makes it the largest on-campus arena in the NCAA, and it has been either first or second in attendance for the past 22 years.
Home for the football team as well, “The Loud House” has a basketball orientation similar to that of most domes: the court is placed at one far end of the stadium and end zone seats from the opposite side are pulled to the court, effectively splitting the arena in half. A big blue curtain used to be draped behind the temporary seats along the 50 yard line to try to make the building feel more intimate, but the drapes have not been hung in the past three years so that fans can see the video screen at the opposite end of the building. The resulting effect is a cavernous feeling when gazing towards the unoccupied space.
Unlike most college arenas today, the press is confined to a small corner behind one of the baskets, rather than their customary spot on the sideline opposite the benches. Instead, the Carrier Dome is more like an NBA arena, as two rows of folding chairs line the court to seat the big boosters and VIPs.
Every seat in the house is a bleacher seat, and only the 100 and 200 levels have backs, which can make sitting in the 300 level uncomfortable. Upper level seats behind the baskets are pretty far from the floor too, since a football field is wider than the basketball court is long, leaving a lot of distance between the first row and the baseline.
And for anyone curious, the official beer of the dome is Labatt Blue, which lends credence to those who say that Syracuse is basically a territory of Canada.
Newswire rating: The dome may be the city’s most recognizable landmark, but in terms of structure and sightlines, there are many better places to watch hoops. 5.
The Atmosphere
“That is one *nutty* hospital.”
It’s not completely fair to judge the Dome’s atmosphere solely on this night, as the crowd can get particularly nutty when it approaches capacity, but the announced attendance of only 18,881 made the building seem quiet and dull. Sections of empty bleachers in the upper corners combined with the now exposed vacant half of the dome makes it tough to build much energy, even when the play on the court is exciting. Random cheers of “Let’s Go Orange” sprung up in the second half, but they quickly lost momentum when only a handful joined in.
In an apparent effort to get the crowd more into the games, the new main P.A. announcer, nicknamed “Mr. Excitement,” took it upon himself to get everyone jacked up. Little nicknames were irritating enough (“Stormin’ Gorman for three!”), but the constant P.A. play by play and score recaps were really tough on the ears (“Devendorf’s second free throw and seventh of the night raises the Orange lead to six!”).
Easily the most disturbing element, however, was the idea to twice send a cheerleader to center court during a timeout, give her a microphone, and have her announce what cheer they were about to do, as in, “OK. Now we’re going to do ‘Let’s Go SU!’” or better yet, “It’s time to do the traditional running of the flags!” Granted, Syracuse fans are less than exuberant, but logic would dictate that most of them don’t avoid the cheers because they don’t know to yell “S” when the cheerleader holds up the letter S, and it’s highly doubtful that the peppy announcement made any of the crusty season ticket holders think, “Well OK, if you say so…”
Newswire rating: A tough call given that I’ve been to over a dozen games that could be 10s. Going by only tonight, however, I can’t with good conscience give it more than half that. 5.
The Students
“Can you take that many Valium?”
“We’ll see.”
Again, it’s probably not totally fair to judge based on this night, as the students had left for break, but the 30 or so kids in attendance did seem awfully tranquilized. Every time I glanced down to their 100 level spot behind the far basket, at least four of the 10 kids standing in the front row had their arms folded, whether the game was active or not. Not so good, guys.
Newswire rating: I’m willing to cut them some slack, but *a* cheer would have been nice. 6.
The Game
“I think I’m gonna give every nurse on this floor an electric cattle prod, and just instruct them to just *zap* him in his badoobies.”
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim’s characteristic facial expressions of anguish makes it clear that he often wishes he could just zap a few of his players with a cattle prod every now and again. The Orange played their standard non-conference game: fall behind early with sloppy play and turnovers, rally back with some lucky shots, and then pull away late with their superior talent. Charlotte looked like they might break that trend in the first 15 minutes, as they led by as many as seven in the first half, but Syracuse freshman Paul Harris came off the bench to chip in seven points before the break to give the ‘Cuse a one point halftime advantage. Preseason A-10 Player of the Year candidate De’Angelo Alexander and fellow backcourtmate Leemire Goldwire were neutralized by Syracuse’s traditional 2-3 zone, finishing with a disappointing 13 and 14 points, respectively on a combined 9-of-28 shooting from the floor in the Orange’s 79-67 victory.
Newswire rating: My expectations were high, since, in last year’s first road trip, Charlotte set multiple records for futility in scoring just nine points in the first half. Alexander and Goldwire were bad against Syracuse, but not the ridiculous 0-for-15 three point shooting miserable that they were last year. Syracuse’s Harris and Demetris Nichols were the lone bright spots in an otherwise uninspiring contest. 6.
The Experience
“Wait a minute. I did nine plays up at Syracuse. I got great reviews from the critics.”
In what was my 93rd trip to the Loud House, the Charlotte-Syracuse game failed to live up to the very high expectations set in the Gerry McNamara, Jason Hart and John Wallace eras. A fun but underwhelming experience, the Carrier Dome sets the bar for the new season at 28/50.
**This week’s theme: The 1984 Dustin Hoffman cross-dressing classic, “Tootsie”. Bravo to those who guessed correctly.
John LaFollette 
Sports Editor
The men’s and women’s golf teams each received two National Letters of Intent from four of golf’s highly rated prospects. The men have signed Broc Raymond from the Woodlands, Texas and Peter O’Neil from Carmel, Ind.
Both Raymond and O’Neil were among the top rated players, according to the American Junior Golf Association. O’Neil is ranked 58th nationally while Raymond is ranked 46th.
The women look forward to seeing Rachel Levi from Brook Park, Ohio, and Audrey Fellmeth from Indianapolis, Ind. Levi and Fellmeth were both three-time all-state selections.
Coach Elfers believes that each of these new players has the potential to help the XU golf team as soon as they arrive in the fall of 2007.
The Xavier Univesity swim team, not to be outdone by the other programs on campus, signed four new recruits to help the squad next season.
Interim head coach Steve Rigler is “happy that these four have selected Xavier to continue their swimming career…”
Local swimmer Ashley Sohngen from St. Ursula Academy could turn out to be one of the best in Xavier history. Her high school times indicate that she is already within a half second of the 50 free record for the lady Musketeers.
Also coming to XU are Kari Peglar from Chesterfield, Mo.; Sarah Weichelt from Naples; Fla.; and Lindsey Barton of Sanford, Fla.
Peglar is expected to swim backstroke and distance, and Weichelt will swim in the sprint group.
Barton will have an immediate impact on the distance races for the Musketeers with times that are already among the top in XU history in the 500 free, the 1000 free and the 1650 free events.
Head baseball coach Scott Googins has announced that he has received five National Letters of Intent from some of the top baseball products in and outside of Ohio.
The new players, Phil Bauer, Ryan Bellamy, Nathan Mutsch, Tom Shirley and Ben Thomas, will join the team as part of the incoming freshmen class next fall.
The Musketeers have added pitching with Mutsch and Shirley, and defensive help with Bauer, Bellamy and Thomas.
