POLL POSITION

For the first time in history, the Monmouth College football team has cracked the regular season top 10 in two national polls.

Ranked 11th and 12th last week by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), respectively, the Fighting Scots jumped two notches in each poll thanks in part to last week’s 35-13 win over Ripon. The win impressed the pollsters and handed the Red Hawks their first conference loss while giving the Scots sole possession of first place in the Midwest Conference and the inside track on the league’s automatic NCAA playoff berth.

The Scots jumped to No. 9 in the D3football.com rankings, moving past Wabash, who lost to No. 21 Wittenburg 10-7, and Washington & Jefferson, a 21-7 winner over St. Vincent. Monmouth is just six points behind Mary Hardin-Baylor, who lost to No. 15 Mississippi College, for eighth.

In the AFCA poll, Monmouth leapfrogged Wabash and Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Scots are just a point back of Case Western Reserve for ninth.

D3football.com and the AFCA polls agree on the top five: Mt. Union, UW-Whitewater, Wheaton (Ill.), Wesley and St. John’s.

PASSING ANOTHER TEST

The football team passed another test – literally – in last Saturday’s 35-13 win over Ripon to take sole possession of first place in the Midwest Conference.

Ripon’s defense held the Scots to just 101 rushing yards, but had no answer for the Monmouth air attack, surrendering 317 yards and four TDs. The Scots’ defense on the other hand, limited the Red Hawks to 93 yards passing and 223 yards on the ground, but held Ripon to just one TD. The Red Hawks had to settle for two long field goals for their other scores.

In the last two weeks, the Scots have knocked two teams out of a share of first place in the conference. With three games left, Monmouth is in the driver’s seat for their second consecutive conference title and NCAA playoff appearance.

“This puts us in the position all teams want to be in,” said Steve Bell. “We’re in control of our own destiny. We’ve got three tough games coming up, and we’ll have to be ready. They’ll do their best to try and keep us from winning. We’ll prep every week like we have all season. Every game is important to us.”

Monmouth faced a clock-controlling option attack at Ripon, but the Scots didn’t need much time to jump out to a quick 14-0 lead. The Scots’ first two scores came, in part, due to the defense which set up Monmouth’s first drive which took all of 30 seconds.

After Monmouth took the opening kick and went three-and-out, Ripon promptly fumbled at their own 16-yard line. Peyton Lumzy knocked the ball loose and an alert Marcus Ruff – who recorded a career-high 16 tackles – pounced on the pigskin, giving the offense the ball and a short field. Two plays and 30 seconds later, Alex Tanney hit Mike Blodgett with a 15 yard TD pass. Kyle Tuor came on to hit his 39th consecutive Point After, breaking Nate Palkovic’s consecutive PAT record. Tuor hit all five of this PATs on the day to push the record to 43.

“He’s had a lot of opportunities,” said Bell of Tuor’s record. “He’s been very consistent. We work on special teams a lot. Give coach (Dave) Ragone credit for keeping our kicker protected.”

It was more of the same on Ripon’s next possession. A Marc Wozniak blast knocked the ball loose and the Scots recovered at the Ripon 39.

This time, it took a little longer to find paydirt.

Nick Wright hauled in a Tanney pass seven plays later for a 10 yard touchdown. TOP 2:37.

“We got those two big turnovers early,” said Bell. “That’s been our M.O. Our defense does a great job and gets us great field position.”

Two more Monmouth scores in the first half, and a 32-yard TD run by Ripon, plus two field goals of more than 40 yards made it 28-13 at the half.

Unchartered territory in the third quarter for Monmouth, for the first time this season, the Scots were held scoreless in the third period. Tanney and Co. rectified that situation early in the fourth quarter when the junior QB hit Matt Shepherd for the receiver’s second TD of the day and the game’s final score.

Up three scores against an offense that isn’t exactly a quick-score system had Bell breathing easier, right?

“I don’t relax until the game is over,” said Bell. “We knew with their style of play, three scores at that point was a lot to overcome.”

The Scots had to overcome the Ripon formula for defensive success in the third quarter – otherwise known as the Red Hawk’s offense eating clock. Their methodical offense stayed on the field for more than 11 minutes, but could only muster a 46-yard field goal try that sailed wide right.

When all was said and done, the Scots were held to their lowest point total of the season – 35 points.

“Isn’t that funny?” laughed Bell. “We score 35 points and that’s all anybody wants to talk about. Hey, 35 points is 35 points. I’ll take that any day.”

Agreed. Thirty-five points would win A LOT of games. Scots Scoop remembers the 1989 Monmouth-Ripon game that the Scots won 3-2 – thank you Scott Wollam for your 50 yard run to set up Matt Ghrer for his 28 yard game-winning field goal with 59 seconds left.

So, how did Ripon hold the Scots to a “low” point total?

“If you look at the Time of Possession, we had the ball about 20 minutes and they had it about 40,” explained Bell. “Their offense dictates that you don’t have the ball that many times.”

Indeed. The Scots ran just 73 offensive plays. They prefer to be in the 90-play range.

Monmouth’s defense had their hands full with the option attack, too. Linebackers Ruff, Adam Hoste and Matt Morman had busy days. Hoste equaled Ruff’s 16 tackle day and Morman logged 15 stops.

“They should have had a lot of tackles in that game because of their style of play,” praised Bell. “Coach (Chad) Braun had a nice game plan. We did a good job of pursuing the ball. The defense did their job and took care of business.”

The business this week involves a trip to Lake Forest. Always a tough place to play, the Scots will be back in familiar territory – no option attack to defend.

And one thing to keep in mind, Bell doesn’t care how many points the Scots score as long as it’s more than the opponent.

MORE HARDWARE

Although it wasn’t exactly the hardware they were looking for, the women’s tennis team did bring home a title from last weekend’s season-ending Midwest Conference Championship where they placed ninth as a team.

Patrick Montgonery’s Scots faced top level competition in all six singles matches – four of the players who eliminated the Scots from the championship side of the bracket finished second in their position. Amy Unzicker, Nicole Anson, Sarah McLinden and Rachel Bognar all drew the eventual runners-up in their early round matches.

Unzicker – last year’s No. 2 singles champion – wasn’t seeded in the top four and instead received a “No Seed” rating meaning a bit of a tougher quarterfinal draw. Facing the only North Division team the Scots hadn’t played this season, Unzicker lost to the Green Knights’ Lauren Post 6-1, 6-4 in the opener. Post eventually took second in the tournament. Unzicker then easily dispatched Elissa McKinley of Carroll 10-0 in the consolation semifinals and brought home the consolation crown with a 10-4 win over Ripon’s Josie Ullsperger. Making it two firsts in two years for Unzicker.

“There are a lot of quality No. 1 players in the conference this year,” reported Montgomery. “I felt she should have been a fourth seed. Receiving the No Seed ranking made it a steeper hill to climb. She did get some redemption in winning the consolation bracket.”

Anson – a freshman – made an impressive debut at No. 3. She fell in a hard-fought quarterfinal match to the third seed, Beloit’s Julia Win. Anson took the regular season match against Win in three sets, and nearly turned the trick again. The freshman took the first set 6-2, but fell 6-4 in the second. Tied at a set apiece, Anson lead 5-2 in the decisive set, but Win battled back from 30-0 to take the third set 7-5. She then went on to place second. Anson then fell in the consolation semifinals to Allyson Yanke of St. Norbert, 10-0.

“Nikki’s great performance didn’t surprise me,” said Montgomery. “She played absolutely fantastic tennis and came within a whisper of the upset. I credit it to the freshman jitters. Of course, we’ve all been there and done that. The Beloit coach came up to her after the match and complimented her on her play. That showed a lot of class and says a lot about how well she played.”

Moved up from No. 6 at the start of the season, to No. 4 midway through the campaign, McLinden fell in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Kate Rasmussen of Carroll, 6-0, 6-0. She then was eliminated from the consolation round 10-0 by Rachel Clark of Knox.

Also bumped up, Bognar at No. 5 fell in the quarterfinals to Emeline Beck of Beloit in straight sets. Beck went on to place second. Bognar was then clipped by Carroll’s Erin Mohrbacker 10-1in the consolation semifinals.

Kimi Wegner began play at No. 2 with a convincing 6-1, 6-4 win over Jordan Kuban of Knox in the first round, but fell in straight sets in the quarterfinals to Lawrence’s Jennifer Roesch.

“Kimi played the best tennis of her season in both singles and doubles,” said Montgomery. “She really elevated her game from the beginning of the season and it shows.”

Back from an injury, Ashley Lawrence at No. 6 played nearly half her season at last weekend’s conference meet. The freshman fell in straight sets to Sarah Bolitiho of Knox in the first round. Melissa Skibba then blanked Lawrence in the consolation semifinals.

“It was good for our two freshmen to see the talent level in the conference,” said Montgomery. “For our two seniors, Sarah and Bogey, it was good for them to have one last chance to compete at an event like that.”

All three Monmouth doubles teams competed hard on Saturday, but were dropped in their quarterfinal matches and then eliminated in the consolation semifinals. The No. 1 team of Wegner and Unzicker nearly pulled out a quarterfinal win, but fell to Lake Forest 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.

Unzicker finished the season with the Scots’ best record. Her 12-5 singles mark ranks her third on the all-time singles wins list with 30 career victories. Unzicker’s combined singles and doubles career total of 53 wins vaulted her to fourth on the all-time list, just behind her doubles partner Wegner with 58. Wegner finished second on the team with six wins and Anson’s four placed her third. 

The Scots lose two seniors from the tournament team – McLinden and Bognar – but have a solid stable of younger players ready to step in. Now Montgomery just has to be patient and wait until next year.

PRIMED AND READY

The men’s and women’s cross country teams ran with a field of nearly 1,000 runners in their last race prior to the Midwest Conference Championships next weekend.

The Fighting Scots’ women placed 18th in the field of 34 teams and the men were 19th of 35 at the Brooks Invitational hosted by UW-Oshkosh. Nearly 470 women competed on the 6K course at the Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wis., and over 550 men ran the 8K course. The looping course with average inclines and no sharp corners made for some fast times for the teams which included several Division II squads.

Mary Kate Beyer and Katie Staab finished back-to-back for the second consecutive race. Beyer ran a junior-class school record in touring the course in 22:21.37 to place 32nd. Staab set the Scots’ senior record at 22:24.55. The pair is now ranked third and fourth in the Midwest Conference.

“Mary Kate was only off about five seconds of what she ran on that course two years ago as a freshman,” reported Roger Haynes. “Katie went out substantially harder and still ran well in the second half of the race. She has made the jump to put herself in contention for an individual spot in the regional meet. She did a very good job of moving herself up Saturday.”

The pair faired well when compared against runners they’ll face in next month’s regional meet. Beyer and Staab would have placed sixth and seventh Saturday if that meet had been against regional competition only. That would have earned each of them a place at the national meet.

Also making major strides were freshman Rachel Bowden and senior Amy Aghababian who were less than a minute back with times of 24:01.62 and 24:13.80, respectively, while bettering their conference standings. Brittney Frazier (24:58.07), Whitney Didier (25:05.04) and Tori Beaty (25:30.27) rounded out the top seven. Bri Flynn kept her time under 26 minutes (25:59.78) and Marlee Lane was just outside that mark (26:03.76) as most of the women ran improved times.

“Rachel and Amy, both ran very good races,” praised Haynes. “As inexperienced as she is in cross country, Rachel is very fast. Amy had a very good race and ran a lifetime best. As a group, the women ran very well. They all went out faster and much more confident than they have in the past.”

As they have most of the year, Geoff Bird and Jon Welty set the pace for the men. Bird’s time of 25:44.40 placed him 88th and Welty finished 122nd in 26:03.04. Their times rank them fifth and sixth in the MWC.

“Geoff and Jon are showing great progress,” said Haynes. “With Geoff under 26 minutes and Jon right at 26, they put themselves in good position leading into the conference meet.”

Jake Barr, Damon Bautista and Connor Shields also moved up the league rankings. Barr clocked a 26:24.33, Bautista checked in with a 26:30.85 and Shields recorded a 26:43.97. Paul Davies (26:49.62) and Alan Rosiquez (26:56.60) rounded out the top seven while bettering their conference marks. Tim Bentz (27:32.43), Craig Maher (27:33.68), Matt Gatlin (27:50.01) and Brian Daly (29:25.11) joined their teammates in moving up the conference standings with improved 8K times.

“Jake was great on Saturday,” said Haynes of one of his freshmen. “He ran a lifetime best by a full minute. Damon moved himself back into our top five. We expect more good things from Connor, Paul and Alan.”

Bentz clocked a lifetime PR by nearly a minute, Maher and Gatlin were sub-28 for the first times and Daly also clocked a personal best.

“It’s indicative of them training well and working well together,” said Haynes. “The freshmen have continued to improve. There’s a new one taking the lead each week.”

That’s good news for the Scots heading into the conference meet next week and well into the future.

“Geoff and Jon are clearly the leaders at this point,” reported Haynes. “We have a lot of guys with good ability. Any of the next six or seven guys could fill spots in the top five and top seven. That’s the best depth we’ve had.”

The Scots have no meets scheduled this weekend, but instead will be prepping for the MWC Championships on Oct. 31. Haynes’ regimen will include “threshold” training – running at a fast, but comfortable pace, and more speed and hill work.

“The threshold training won’t deplete the body as much,” explained Haynes. “We’ll need to be prepared for the course Beloit has set up for the conference meet.”

Scots Scoop likes Monmouth’s chances at the MWC meet if Haynes can get another week of improvement out of his team like he did last weekend.

FIT TO BE TIED

George Perry’s men’s soccer team did everything but win last weekend.

In a 4-0 blanking by St. Norbert Saturday, the Scots were dead-on. All seven of their shots were on goal, but each time, the Green Knights’ goalkeeper turned them away.

The Scots’ aim wasn’t quite as good Sunday, but they did produce results in a 1-1 tie with Lawrence. Monmouth rattled off 11 shots in the match and found the net off the head of freshman Andy Sheller with less than two minutes left in the first half.

Trailing 1-0, Daniel Medina drilled a corner kick high in front of the goal. Sheller – not the tallest guy on the team at 5-foot-8 – was tall enough on this one to nail his second goal of the season.

“It’s not always the tallest guy,” said Perry of Sheller’s score. “It’s how everyone matches up in front of the net. We talk all the time about driving the ball hard on crosses and corner kicks, and Daniel did that. Andy showed great concentration and determination.”

The score was a quick answer to the Lawrence goal which came less than three minutes prior.

“We missed some marks on the Lawrence goal,” explained Perry. “Overall, I was very pleased with the first half. We kept the ball on the ground and played very well into the wind for the most part.”

Sheller didn’t just score the tying goal, he and Garrett White made sure the game went into overtime. White covered the middle of the goal on a wide-angle Lawrence shot, deflecting the attempt wide.

Sheller then one-upped White in the second half. On a scramble in front of the Scots’ net, the Vikings lofted a high lob over the outstretched arms of keeper Owen Robinson. The shot looked like a sure thing, but that was before Sheller bicycle-kicked it away from the goal mouth.

“Garrett did a nice job of positioning himself a couple of times,” praised Perry. “We changed the defense a little on Sunday and Andy made a nice play of going back to save a goal with the bicycle-kick. Ryan Stransky also started in the back for us. Those guys did a good job.”

The defensive saves nearly helped the Scots to a win, but missed opportunities meant a tie game.

“We had a couple of really good chances in the second half,” claimed Perry. “Brian Jackson made a good run on the right side. When he lost control, Jordan Lankford picked it up and got himself into the box.”

Lankford set himself and let loose with a rocket that just sailed high of the crossbar.

Josh Del Valle shared in Lankford’s pain. He took a cross on the left side, but was stoned by the Viking defense.

The Scots got their chances from a lineup change for Lawrence, moving James Scimeca forward and giving Lankford and Tony Swierczewski their first starts. Both had seen action this season, including Saturday against St. Norbert.

“This weekend was a testament to our team depth,” said Perry. “We know we can rely on a variety of guys to come in and give us some quality minutes against good teams. I’d say we’re really seeing that over these last three or four games.”

The Scots used seven bench players Saturday against St. Norbert.

Three of the Green Knights’ four goals came within a 19 minute span. Two scores just before half and a goal in the game’s 46th minute put Monmouth in a 3-0 hole.

“We played well in the first half, but gave up a weak goal,” said Perry. “They’re one of the better teams in the conference and I felt like we stayed with them for the most part. It’s good to see we can play with them that well. We just lost concentration in the second half.”

The Scots will need their full focus over the final three games. With the right combination, Monmouth could still make the Midwest Conference Tournament field, but first, they’ll need to win a road game at Illinois College on Sunday and sweep next weekend’s home games with Beloit and Lake Forest.

“We probably need some help from other teams for us to get in,” projected Perry. “The bottom line is, we have to win out.”

ELVIS IS IN THE HOUSE

OK, so Elvis wasn’t REALLY in the house, but the Scots WERE in Memphis last weekend and DID take in some Elvis sites.

Their trip to the “Elvisville” was actually to take part in the Rhodes Tournament and came on the heels of a 3-1 win over Knox on Thursday. It wasn’t a good start in the matchup with the Prairie Fire, losing the first set 26-24.

“That was scary,” said Kari Shimmin of the win that kept the Scots in the hunt for a playoff berth. “We’ve come out and struggled early a lot of times this year and get down three or four points. We’ve been doing some mental training to try to be more focused at the start of the matches. It did take us a while to adjust to their big hitter.”

The mental training and defensive adjustment must have worked. The Scots won the next three sets 25-18, 25-11, 25-23. Chelsey Widdop and Claire Hermie sparked the come-from-behind win with 18 and 11 kills.

“Claire did well,” said Shimmin. “She’s continuing to work on her footwork. She’s jumping better and attacking the ball aggressively.”

Monmouth celebrated the win over their arch rivals with a trip to the two-day, four-team Rhodes Tournament.

The Scots met the hosts in the opener and fell 3-0. Not exactly the start they were hoping for.

“That was the first match after a two-day car ride,” said Shimmin. “I would have liked to have played them later. They had a lot of good players, but we made quite a few hitting errors. We did make dramatic improvements after that match.”

After the Scots knocked the rust off, they knocked off Rust, as in University.

Jenna Bean served up a Monmouth-record 10, count ‘em, 10 aces in dismantling Rust in three sets. Of course, the down side is the Scots’ attackers had fewer chances to attack, lowering their kill total, but that’s OK.

Bean took over at the libero position for the weekend’s final two matches – a four set win over Averett and a five set thriller against Adrian.

“Jenna really stepped up and played with a lot of energy,” praised Shimmin. “She was a great leader for us and really stepped into the role.”

Also stepping in with stellar performances were Widdop, Hermie and Megan Creen who combined for 38 of the Scots’ 57 kills against Averett. Falling 25-22 in the first set, the Scots squeezed out a 26-24 win in the second set and then finished off Averett 25-21, 25-13.

“Chelsey seemed to get a kill whenever we really needed it,” reported Shimmin. “Our middle hitters also had a very good weekend. They’re beginning to come around and Megan is doing a great job of adjusting to an outside hitter.”

Then came the nail-biter against Adrian in the finale.

It didn’t look too promising after Adrian took the first two sets 25-17, 25-20. One more loss and the Scots can put on their Elvis sunglasses and Hit the Road, Jack.

Oops, sorry, that was a Ray Charles song, not the King, baby.

Meanwhile, back at the tournament.

Shimmin’s troops rallied, winning set three 25-14 and taking the fourth 25-23. To that point, the Scots were having trouble with 6-foot-0 outside hitter Rebecca Tincknell. The Bulldogs’ leading hitter recorded 25 kills in the match, but the Scots were able to shut her down in the final set for a 15-13 win, giving the Scots a 3-1 tournament record which kept them from singing the Blues. The Scoop has heard their singing, and that’s a good thing.

“Those last two matches could have gone either way,” said Shimmin. “We had fewer hitting errors and better ball control in the last two matches. In the final set against Adrian, we were finally able to get some blocks and start digging the big girl’s attacks.”

The Scots host Principia and Iowa Wesleyan in a triangular this weekend before heading to Illinois College on Tuesday. They’ll draw on last weekend for inspiration down the stretch.

“We felt like we faced some very good teams in Memphis,” reported Shimmin. “They were very comparable to the conference teams. Principia and Iowa Wesleyan are also very similar to our conference opponents.”

 With a 4-4 MWC mark, the Illinois College match is a must-win situation if the Scots are to have a chance at a conference playoff berth. The Scots are hoping their next few opponents will be All Shook Up and singing an Elvis tune – Heartbreak Hotel. After all, It’s Now or Never.

Thank you, thank you very much.

DOWN, BUT NOT OUT

The women’s soccer team knows it’s a rough road, but they also know they still have a chance for a berth at the Midwest Conference Tournament after losses last weekend to St. Norbert and Lawrence by identical 4-1 scores.

In both games, the Scots had chances in the first half to take the lead, but didn’t find the back of the net until the second half.

With a 0-0 score heading into the final five minutes of the first half against St. Norbert, it looked like the Scots would enter the break needing a single half goal for the victory. St. Norbert ruined that plan with a score at 40:16 of the first half. The Green Knights added to that with another goal in the 58th minute, but Barry McNamara’s team refused to surrender.

Becca Baur’s penalty kick pulled the Scots to within one in the 63rd minute, but the Green Knights got their two-goal margin back less than a minute later.

“We fought and fought to get back to within one goal,” said McNamara. “Then we turn around and they answer our score inside of a minute. That was big for them. That was tough to come back from.”

The Scots actually outshot the Knights 15-14 and put nine shots on goal compared the St. Norbert’s eight. The Green Knight’s keeper turned aside five attempts in the second half alone.

Sunday it was more of the same. Playing with the wind at their backs, the Scots pummeled the Lawrence goal keeper with five of their 13 shots in the first half on goal, but came up empty.

“We made a conscious decision to take the wind in the first half,” reported McNamara. “It worked the week before at Ripon when we got some first half goals and put them in a hole early.”

The Vikings scored early and held a 1-0 lead at halftime, but it could have been different.

Holly White’s blast from 40 yards out was on line heading for the top of the goal mouth, but Lawrence’s keeper jumped high and got just enough hand on the ball to sail it high.

“That was key,” claimed McNamara. “If the keeper is a step forward, or the ball is a step left or right, it goes in. Lawrence’s second goal was a similar shot to Holly’s. If ours goes in and we save theirs, it’s a whole different story.”

Lawrence’s second goal in the 54th minute gave them a 2-0 lead. The Scots made a dent when Molly Ball took a Hillary Broms pass and deposited it in the net to cut the deficit in half. Broms had been eyed by the Lawrence coaching staff all day – and for good reason.

“Hillary has been playing well and we decided to push her up a little bit to help us with our goal scoring,” reported McNamara. “She picked her spots well. After her attack, she hustled back to the defense.”

The Scots gamble to ramp up the attack in the final 10 minutes came up short as the Vikings added two insurance goals from Mallory Koula over the final six minutes. The Vikings’ leading scorer fired off a dozen shots.

“We were down 2-1 late and decided to gamble,” explained McNamara of the Vikings’ two late goals. “Otherwise we would not have left Koula that much alone. We were trying to do anything we could to score a goal to tie it up.”

The Scots now need to win out to have a shot at the MWC Tournament. They also need to rest.

“We have some players banged up right now,” said McNamara. “We need them to rest up and get ready for our final three conference matches next week. We’ll get some players back next week and be in good shape. All our women put forth a great effort last weekend. That was two tough back-to-back games. All the women played so hard. We contested both games for 80 minutes.”

A Sunday match with Cornell will be the last non-conference affair before the three critical MWC matches next week.

“We’re keying on the remaining conference matches,” said McNamara of the Knox, Beloit and Lake Forest matches. “We’re concentrating on the Knox game first. They’re greatly improved. If we can win that one, it will set us up for the home double-header weekend.”

A sweep would give the Scots 16 points, which should put them in the playoffs if Lawrence splits their remaining two games. A Grinnell split of their last two matches would also bolster Monmouth’s chances.

“If we win out, we’re in good shape,” said McNamara.

RARE AIR

Leilana McKindra of the NCAA contributed the majority of the following article.

Although May 2009 graduate and three-sport athlete Tanesha Hughes did not bring home the big prize at Sunday’s 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year banquet, she did make history in the run up to the 19th annual awarding of the prestigious honor.

Hughes – a Woman of the Year Top 30 semifinalist – represented Monmouth and the Midwest Conference. It’s believed Hughes and Fighting Scots women’s basketball coach Melissa Bittner are the first student-athlete/coach tandem to earn places in the field of Woman of the Year semifinalists.

     
Bittner, a Monmouth graduate, was the Illinois state winner and a top 10 finalist in 2003.

     
Hughes was among the top 30 honorees who were recognized at the October 18 NCAA Woman of the Year awards dinner in Indianapolis, during which University of Arizona swimmer and 2008 Olympic silver medalist Lacey Nymeyer  was named the 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year.

     
Honorees also participated in the Woman of the Year Legacy Garden program, which provided middle school female students the opportunity to join the NCAA Woman of the Year honorees in a day of community service. The community-service activity included planting seasonal flowers, bulbs, trees and shrubs, mulching, and watering the garden. The garden will be a permanent addition in the White River State Park, where the NCAA national office is located.

     
Hughes said when she heard she was being nominated for Woman of the Year honors, she didn’t expect to advance far.

     
“There are a lot of great athletes out there and the NCAA is big,” she said. “I didn’t think I would get this far, but I’m so happy I did.”

     
Bittner recalled receiving the call from an ecstatic Hughes announcing that she had been chosen as a Top 30 honoree. “I get a phone call from Tanesha at 9:30 p.m. on a Saturday, and I was like what’s she calling for at this hour? She was really pumped up,” she said. “It’s prestigious and players definitely know what a great experience and opportunity it is.”

     
Reflecting back to her experience six years ago, Bittner said she enjoyed meeting her fellow honorees and the chance to give back to the community by putting on a sports clinic for youth in Indianapolis. She described the weekend-long celebration as a great culmination to her collegiate athletics career.

     
The Woman of the Year honor is just the most recent common ground Bittner and Hughes have shared. Bittner inherited a team that was 6-17 the previous year, and Hughes was among the first student-athletes the coach attracted to the program and guided for four years.

     
Bittner, entering her fifth season as coach, credits that class of recruits with helping to turn the program around. Hughes was a key ingredient in Monmouth’s subsequent surge to success, helping the Scots register four straight winning seasons.

     
In addition to leading the conference in scoring and rebounding as a senior, Hughes was an all-conference selection in volleyball and as well as a five-time conference champion and an All-American in track. The computer-science major was a 10-time academic all-conference selection, was named to the National Dean’s List and participated in more than 15 different volunteer activities at Monmouth. She also was homecoming queen.

     
The respect coach and player have for one another flows easily both ways.

     
“Because she’s so close in age to us, she’s more than just a coach,” said Hughes. “She knew how excited I was about being a nominee because she’s already been in this position.”

     
Pointing to Hughes’ wide-ranging accomplishments, Bittner said the Woman of the Year award does a good job of elevating the profile of female student-athletes.

     
The purpose of the award, she said, is not only to highlight the best of the best athletically but also to call attention to the importance of being well-rounded individuals. “It’s a great way to get the word out that we’re not just athletes but we can strive for high amounts of success in the classroom, in the community and on the court as well.”

     
Bittner advised the newest group of award recipients to remember the little things that have helped them achieve so much and to keep doing those same things in the pursuit of future success.

     
For her part, Hughes, who currently works as a software specialist for a technology company outside St. Louis, urged current student-athletes to savor their collegiate careers.

     
“I’ve been a multisport athlete since the fifth grade and there’s nothing like being on a team,” she said. “You have to enjoy it while you can because those moments are priceless."

Scots Scoop thinks “priceless” could also describe Monmouth’s two Woman of the Year representatives.

THEY’VE GOT GAME…AND SMARTS

Five members of the Monmouth College softball team were recently named All-American Scholar-Athletes by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

Pitcher Sarah Christensen (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg), first baseman Maggie Dort (Spring Grove, Ill./Richmond-Burton), second baseman Erin Fitzpatrick (New Lenox, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor), catcher Lauren Bergstresser (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) and third baseman Colleen Zumpf (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) were named to the team based on last season’s grade point average.

Christensen, who graduated in May with a degree in education, was named the Midwest Conference Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season. She finished 2009 with a 9-4 record and a 3.43 ERA. Her 276 career strikeouts ranks her second on Monmouth’s all-time list. 

Dort, a senior history and physical education major, is a two-time all-conference performer. She was third for the Scots with 15 RBIs this spring.

Fitzpatrick, a junior education major, hit .313 last season. She has a career .288 average and has a 75 percent success rate in stolen bases.

Bergstresser, a sophomore biochemistry major, was named all-conference this spring. She racked up a conference-leading 24 stolen bases, which also set the Scots’ single-season record. Her .391 average tied her for third in the league and she also tied for second with 32 runs scored.

Zumpf, who also does double-duty as a member of the swim team, is a sophomore environmental science major. She hit .271 as a freshman and drove in 13 runs. The fleet-footed infielder was perfect in stolen base attempts and was third on the team in sacrifices.

Founded in 1983, the NFCA (originally called the National Softball Coaches Association) boasts more than 4,400 members. The NFCA offers coaches in-depth training in all aspects of the sport and issues numerous awards to players on a national level.

CONFERENCE HONORS    

Football
Linebacker Marcus Ruff (Avon, Ill./Bushnell-Prairie City) led the charge defensively in last week’s 35-13 win over Ripon and was named the Midwest Conference Defensive Performer of the Week.

Ruff made an impact early as the Fighting Scots took over sole possession of first place in the Midwest Conference. The junior started the game with a bang, recovering a Red Hawk fumble at the Ripon 16-yard line to set up Monmouth’s first score. Ruff when on to record 16 tackles, including a team-high 12 solos, and broke up two passes. His 16 tackles in the game was more than half his season total.

Volleyball
Hitter Chelsey Widdop (Reynolds, Ill./Rockridge) had an amazing five-match performance last week and earned her second Midwest Conference Performer of the Week award in volleyball.

Widdop began the string in Monmouth’s 3-1 win over conference rival Knox. The freshman slammed 18 kills on an amazing .425 percentage. She also added 17 digs. She ended last weekend’s Rhodes Invitational with 13 and 14 kills in the Scots’ final two matches as Monmouth completed the tournament 3-1 and finished the week 4-1. Over the five matches, Widdop recorded 55 kills (2.89 kpg) with a .362 percentage. She also made 67 digs (3.53 dpg) and added 10 blocks while serving up three aces.  

THE WEEK AHEAD

Sat., Oct. 24
Football – at Lake Forest, 1:30 pm
Volleyball – hosts Monmouth Triangular, 11:00 am 

Sun., Oct. 25
Women’s Soccer – hosts Cornell, 1:00 pm
Men’s Soccer – at Illinois College, 1:00 pm 

Tues., Oct. 27
Women’s Soccer – at Knox, 3:30 pm
Volleyball – at Illinois College, 7:00 pm 

SCOTSIVATIONAL

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh