Xavier runner shines in host tournament
Sophomore “Hollywood” Tommy Kauffman’s win leads men to second place finish; women take third
Tyler Grote Sprots Writer
Dani Meiners
Sophomore “Hollywood” Tommy Kauffman crossed the finish line first at the Queen City Invitational to lead the Musketeers to a second place finish.
If you don’t know Tommy Kauffmann, you should now.
The sophomore from Mariemont, Ohio provided the Xavier cross country team with one of its best performances yet as he finished first out of 109 runners at this past weekend’s Queen City Invitational.
He concluded with a personal-best time of 15:37 on the 5K course.
The Queen City Invitational is an event co-hosted by the University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University and Xavier University.
Other teams that competed last weekend included the University of the Cumberlands, Georgetown (KY), the University of Evansville, Kentucky State, Mt. St. Josephs, Transylvania and Wright State.
The actual site of the race was Jolly Park in Alexandria, Kentucky.
Kauffman’s performance earned him the Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week for cross country.
This is the second straight year a Xavier runner has earned the award at the Queen City Invitational, following 2008 graduate Ben Milroy, who earned the honor last season.
Senior Luke Beuerlein finished behind Kauffmann in fourth place, followed by teammate senior Clint Womack, who finished eleventh.
The freshmen were led by Keith Albrekston, who finished 17th, followed by junior Drew Kaiser (23rd) and sophomores Ben Nathan (24th) and Matthew Riley, who attributed his personal best, as the seventh Xavier runner to finish.
The women also made some noise at last weekend’s meet.
Senior Becky Clark provided Xavier with a fourth place overall finish, while sophomore Caitlin Thomas also contributed a tenth place. Leading the XU women freshmen was Caylin Howell with a 12th place finish.
The Xavier men’s team finished with an overall second-place finish for the meet, besting Northern Kentucky University, the No. 17 team in division two. The women held off Kenyon College to solidify third place.
Head coach Steve Nester says he’s happy with the finishes, considering that key runners were being rested for the upcoming Charlotte Invitational, the site of the A-10 Championship.
One of the key players resting was sophomore standout Christina Schneider, who shattered the 10,000-meter school-record last year during the A-10 Championship at the University of Massachusetts.
Next up for the Musketeers is the Charlotte Invitational this Saturday Sept. 13, followed by the National Catholic Championship on September 19. The National Catholic Championship will be held at Notre Dame.
Musketeer volleyball team knocked off twice
Xavier drops two games at Georgia tournament; upset in home opener
Scott Mueller
Asst. Sports Editor
Coming off a dominating performance at the Ohio State Sports Imports Classic, the Xavier University volleyball team looked to continue the momentum at the Georgia Tech Regency Suites Classic this past weekend.
On Friday, Sept. 5, the Musketeers polished off Georgia State, winning the match 3-0. Xavier came out of the gate firing on all cylinders creating an 8-2 lead and forcing Georgia State to take an early time out.
After the time out, Xavier did not let up, increasing their lead to 16-4.
Xavier never lost more than two points in a row in the first set, winning 25-12.
The second set was much more contested with 11 ties and six lead changes.
After trading points to begin the set, Xavier took a 10-7 lead, again forcing Georgia State to take a timeout.
This time the Panthers responded to the timeout, and turned the three point deficit into a 14-13 lead before more point trading resulted in a tie at 19 points apiece.
After falling behind 21-23, Xavier upped the intensity and rallied to take the next four points and the set 25-23. A kill from freshman Michelle Matia was the deciding blow for the Muskies.
In the third set Xavier looked to reassert some dominance. After falling behind 3-4, Xavier went on a 4-0 run and never looked back from there. The largest lead of the set came for Xavier at 17-10, and they appeared well on the way to sweeping the match.
However, a late charge from Georgia State (a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 24-20) forced Xavier to call a timeout. After the timeout, Xavier put away Georgia State, 25-22, and took the match 3-0.
With the win, Xavier improved to 4-0, and Georgia State dropped to 0-4, having won only one set all season.
On Saturday, Xavier squared off against host Georgia Tech, who were 4-0 going
into the match. The first set was closely contested, featuring 14 ties.
Although the Yellow Jackets led for most of the set, they never held a lead
larger than three in the back and forth battle.
After taking the early lead 5-4 Xavier would never lead again in the first set, yet rallied to tie the score numerous times, including at nine, 12, 17 and 24.
However the Muskies could not get over the hump to take the lead, resulting in the loss of the first set 26-24.
In the second set, the Musketeers were much less competitive. With the score tied at eight, Georgia Tech went on a 5-1 run to take the lead 13-9. They increased their lead to 17-11, and never lead by less than five, for the remainder of the set.
Georgia Tech went on to win 25-19 and take a dominating 2-0 lead in the match.
Down 4-3 in the third set, senior Megan Hellmann led the Musketeers on a 5-0 run with two aces.
However, the lead was squandered when Georgia Tech came back to tie the score at 14 soon after.
After trading points, Xavier held a small lead at 24-23, but three straight points gave Georgia Tech the set 26-24, and the match 3-0.
After opening the season with two out of town events, the Musketeers finally got the chance to play in front of the Xavier fans. The home opener at Cintas Center against Western Kentucky University was not what they had in mind, however.
After falling behind 7-10 in the opening set Xavier took a time-out to regroup. It seemed to work, as they fought back to tie the score at 12. Almost all of the next points were hard, long fought volleys. After numerous ties and lead- changes the score was still tied at 19. However, the Lady Toppers went on a 6-3 run to close out the set 25-22.
In the second set, Xavier again trailed early on, losing 5-9. And once again the Musketeers fought back into the set, and take the lead 11-10. Behind an 8-2 run and great serving from senior Kelly Ruth, Xavier would take a commanding 16-11 lead.
A late rally by WKU made the score 24-23, but Xavier would hold on to win the set 25-23, and even the match at one set a piece.
The third set was a set of runs. With the Musketeers down 5-6, Western Kentucky went on a 3-0 run only to have Xavier respond with a 3-0 run of their own. The Lady Toppers would respond last however, and follow with a 6-0 run.
After a 12-4 run from WKU, in which the played outstanding defenese, Xavier trailed 22-12. But with the score 16-24 Xavier would reel off a 6-0 to make the match close.
They fell short and lost the third set 25-22. The fourth and final set was closely contested. After falling behind 4-8, a huge kill from junior Hillary Otte sparked Xavier to a 4-0 to tie the score at 8.
With the score tied at 13, WKU went on a 3-0 and took the lead for good. Western Kentucky ended the game on a 12-5 run to finsh out the set 25-18, and the match 3-1.
Xavier will play again on Friday Sept. 12 when they take on Drake University in the Iowa State Tournament.
Women’s soccer drops home opener
Ken Burton
Sports Writer
It was supposed to be their night.
The Xavier women’s soccer team was playing in front of a home crowd against a team with a losing record for the first time this season.
After losing their first two games on the road at the hands of two worthy opponents, the Musketeers looked to rebound against the Ramblers of University of Loyola (Chicago).
Xavier was primed for victory and hungry for that elusive first win. Unfortunately, someone forgot to mention that to Loyola (Chicago) forward Cynthia Morote-Ariza.
Early on in the match, it looked as though the Musketeers had righted the ship and would find the win column.
The Ramblers started the scoring with an early first half goal by forward Casey Berrier at 16:40 of the first half off an assisted corner kick by Morote-Ariza.
The goal was quickly answered by Xavier sophomore Kaitlyn McGoldrick however, scoring 31 minutes in, tying the score at one heading into the half.
The first half was a closely contested battle with Loyola outshooting Xavier 8-7.
The second half was a different story.
An energized Loyola team showed up after the intermission, scoring early (in the second and third minutes) and often (five goals) in the second half.
Morote-Ariza stole the show for the Ramblers with a flurry of offensive attacks and in doing so, the junior also broke Loyola career records in goals (28) and assists (22) with her two goals and three assists.
The Ramblers beat the struggling Xavier defense for those five goals on just six shots in an efficient goal scoring barrage.
The loss dropped XU to 0-3, while LU raised its record to 2-3.
Xavier will need to overcome some of the struggles they displayed on Friday in time for a crosstown matchup next Friday Sept. 12 at 5:30 p.m.
Many big league pitchers turn to unusual sources for their bats
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
The bat rack inside of a major league clubhouse is full of lumber bearing the names of the biggest names in the sport of baseball.
A simple glance inside of the defending National League Champion Colorado Rockies batrack will reveal names that roll off the tongue of the modern day sports fan: Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Troy Tulowitzki... Vinny Castilla?
Castilla, the two time All-Star third baseman of the Rockies that retired following the 2006 season, lives on in the bat rack of the 2008 Rockies as one of many former major league players whose bats continue to be used by active pitchers.
Since pitchers are only required to bat in National League stadiums, most American League pitchers do not give much thought to the idea of acquiring a bat until they are forced to hit in an interleague game, or traded to a National League team.
“All of the pitchers have a bat, and if they did not have a bat then we just grab one for them. I would just grab whatever, and say ‘If you don’t like it, then there is a bunch right there. Just grab one,’” Rockies director of clubhouse operations Keith Schulz said.
It was in such an instance that Schulz rustled up the Castilla bat for lefthander Jorge De La Rosa after De La Rosa was acquired from the Kansas City Royals organization on May 27.
“We’ve got all kinds of bats that are just left over after players leave. They might be players from spring training, guys in the minor leagues that we hold on to in case they are called up,” Schulz said.
Milwaukee Brewers lefthander C.C. Sabathia experienced both instances this season, borrowing a bat from then-Reds left fielder Adam Dunn when Sabathia needed something to swing during pitchers’ batting practice at Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark (a National League stadium) in mid-May, and ordering a batch of the 35 oz. 33 inch Model 356 bats that Dunn used after he was dealt to Milwaukee on July 8.
“Adam and I are friends, have been for a long time. So I told him that I needed some bats, he sent some over and I chose a model,” Sabathia said. “It worked out pretty well, I hit a homer with it [on June 21 against the Dodgers].”
Sabathia and De La Rosa’s bat back-stories are just two of the many tales behind the lumber in the hands of the men typically at the bottom of the order in National League lineups. Not to mention, since the pitchers do not get more than a handful of at-bats per week, and do not take as violent a swing as do normal batters, their bats tend to last longer, allowing for unusual longevity of a bat like the one that De La Rosa uses.
The story behind the bats of major league pitchers parallels the often comical attempts that the hurlers make at utilizing the lumber. It also has resulted in the rebirth of the name of some long past ballplayers, if only as far as the dugout bat rack.
Women’s basketball ranked among nation’s elite
Staff Report
The Xavier University women’s basketball team has been ranked No. 21 in the country in Athlon Magazine’s pre-season poll.
Xavier will return all five starters from last year’s team that defended the Atlantic 10 title and appeared in the NCAA tournamnet for the second year in a row.
Expectations for the women’s team are higher than they have been since the 2000-01, when the team was defending the A-10 championship, had appeared in two straight NCAA tournaments and was returning four starters.
Last year’s top eight scorers are returning for the coming season, including two time A-10 First Team selection Amber Harris and Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and second team selection Ta’Shia Phillips.
The Musketeers are also bolstered by the addition of Dee Dee Jernigan, a point
guard that played on Rutger’s 2007 National runner-up squad.
Xavier will open the season on Nov. 14 at Cintas Center against Robert Morris
for the first round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT).
The WNIT offers Xavier an early test, as the field also features No. 7 Oklahoma and No. 12 North Carolina (rankings according to Athlon.com). Aside from the select company of the WNIT, Xavier is also slated to travel to play No. 9 Arizona State, as well as hosting No. 10 Louisville and No. 23 Michigan State in their non-conference schedule.
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
New guidelines for X-treme Fans
One of the most popular clubs on campus, X-treme Fans, has implemented a new point-and-reward system for this year.
There are four basic ways for someone to earn points. First, attendance at any game or match will be worth one point, women’s basketball games will be worth two points.
Second, attendance at a specifically designated X-treme game will earn a person two points. Third, one point can be earned by particpating in an X-Treme special event such as the Fall BBQ or a pre-game party.
Finally, points can be earned by volunteering for concessions (two points) or for the Bengals game (three points).
The points will be monitored and can be cashed in for prizes. Five points will earn you the X-Treme Fans t-shirt. Fifteen will be worth an X-Treme Fans lanyard.
The first 50 people to 40 points will recieve a $20 bookstore gift card, and everyone who attains that level will earn a Sean Miller autographed basketball program.
The first 10 people to 80 points will get a $50 bookstore gift card, and everyone will be entered to a raffle for a Nintendo Wii.
Men’s soccer falls to ranked opponent
Xavier midfielder Andy Dimbi scored just nine minutes into the match against No. 13 Virginia Tech but couldn’t hold on late as they fell 2-1 on Sunday evening.
In what was the third game of a long five game road trip, and a game against one of the best teams in the country, the Musketeers looked solid throughout the match.
Despite starting strong with two exhibition wins, Xavier falls to 0-3 on the season with the setback.
The Musketeers are now headed to DeKalb, Ill. to battle in two games in the Northern Illinois’ tournament.
Xavier plays the host Huskies first on Friday at 6 p.m. and then round out the long stretch of road games when they play Northwestern on Sunday at 1 p.m.
