A CHANGING OF THE GUARD

The Monmouth College softball team will have a new boss at the helm when practice begins Feb. 1.

Former head coach Kari Shimmin has stepped down following her appointment as chair of the college’s physical education department and assistant John Goddard has been named as Shimmin’s replacement. The move will take effect immediately.

"This was the logical move and the best move for everyone," reported Shimmin. "John has been a valuable member of our staff and I can’t think of anyone better suited for the job. I have a great opportunity to lead our department and continue to work on earning my Ph.D. John has a wealth of knowledge and is familiar with Monmouth College and the Midwest Conference."

"John has many contacts in the softball community and will make an excellent recruiter," Shimmin continued. "I know he is anxious to begin the recruiting process and bring some of the finest softball talent in the Midwest to Monmouth. John is respected and well-liked by our players. I’m positive he will make a tremendous head coach and continue to move the program forward."

Interim associate athletic director Roger Haynes echoed Shimmin’s sentiment. "We have great confidence in the energy and enthusiasm John brings to the softball program," he said. "I’m confident John will continue to move our program in a positive direction."

Goddard, who will retain Hank Shimmin and Holly English as assistant coaches, brings a wealth of coaching experience to the table. He has held numerous coaching positions at the high school and ASA levels. Goddard was an assistant on the local ASA 18U girls’ team that qualified for the ASA Northern Nationals last summer.

"I’m very excited and grateful for this opportunity," said Goddard. "I’m indebted to Coach Shimmin and the college for allowing me to lead the Scots program. We have a talented group of young women and I’m anxious for us to get to the next level."

Shimmin accepted her appointment as department chair last fall, calling it a "great opportunity" to assume the duties as department chair from Dr. Terry Glasgow, who will retire at the end of the academic year. She had served as head softball coach since 2005 and will continue to serve as head volleyball coach, a position she has held since 1998. During Shimmin’s tenure leading the softball program, the Scots have improved in the Midwest Conference standings each season.

Shimmin cited her new responsibilities as the chair of Monmouth’s physical education department as the reason for the move and stressed the coaching move will only affect the softball program. "I really want to emphasize that this move is based on the extra demands of leading our physical education department," said Shimmin. "I didn’t feel I could effectively dedicate my time to coaching two sports and handling the duties of the department chair. On one hand, it was a difficult decision because I’ve enjoyed my time with the softball program and feel like they’re part of my family. On the other hand, I didn’t want the women in that program to suffer due the increased workload of my new position. I’m sure the women will enjoy much success under John’s leadership."

The Scots will open the season with a seven-game swing through Arizona in March.

SCOTS QUALIFY THREE FOR NATIONALS

If the season-opening Knox Quad is any indication, the Monmouth College track teams will have a great season.

"Overall we were pleased with what we saw from our newcomers," praised Haynes. "They added a great deal in almost every event area. It was about what we expected from our returners."

Three of those returners made a strong bid at returning to the national meet in two months. Zach Wilson had strong performances in winning both throwing events, slinging the weight 59’2-1/4 and the shot put 51’2-3/4, both provisional marks. The Scots also provisionally qualified two pole vaulters even though Haynes says they were "not very good" technically. Jessica White bested the provisional qualifying mark for the women, clearing 11’10 to win the event. Peter Sprecher took the men’s title with a vault of 15’11, also provisionally qualifying for the national meet. "They weren’t technically sound," Haynes said of his two vaulters. "They should clean up in the next few weeks and be reasonably high. They had good attempts at automatic qualifying."

Wilson’s shot put performance caught the Scots’ head coach off guard. "Zach’s shot was a pleasant surprise," said Haynes. "He actually had been throwing better in the weight than what he threw Saturday. That should see a jump in the next few weeks. He can throw substantially further."

Two other Scots came close to qualifying. Jen Babos’ winning mark of 49’1-1/2 in the weight throw missed the provisional mark by just three inches. Freshman Logan Hohl’s preliminary time of 7.80 in the 55-meter hurdles narrowly missed the provisional time by .05. He finished second in the finals (7.90).

"Logan was very good for his first collegiate meet," praised Haynes." Just missing the qualifying mark by .05 in his first college race is very encouraging."

Monmouth’s men finished 1-2-3 in the 3000-meters and mile run. In the 3000, Clay Staley broke the tape in 9:18.04, Adam Rodriguez and freshman Geoff Bird finished in 9:39.30 and 9:41.87, respectively. Seth Leitner (4:34.61) won the mile, followed by Brad Begyn (4:36.26) and Rodriguez (4:38.67). Staley and Leitner were 1-2 in the 800-meters in 2:01.04 and 2:04.18, respectively. Luke Reschke and Jared Cernansky finished 2-3 in the 55-meters, logging times of 6.73 and 6.74. Hohl and Reschke logged a 2-3 finish in the 200-meters with times of 22.98 and 23.21. Reschke teamed with Brad Gross, Jacob Stott and Saidu Sesay to win the 4x200 relay in 1:32.42. Reschke, Hohl, Stott and Gross broke the tape in the 4x400 relay in 3:26.40.

Reschke and Hohl can take some solace in their second-place finishes in the 55- and 200- meters, respectively. Last year’s conference champion in the 200- and MC assistant coach Dante Daniels ran as an unattached and won both events. His winning margin over Reschke in the 55- was .13 and he edged Hohl in the 200- by just .16.

In the remainder of the men’s field events, pole vaulter Jonny Henkins finished second, clearing 14’11 and freshman Brock McAnally, competing unattached, cleared 12’11-1/2 to take third. Sean Wells soared 6’1-1/4 to win the high jump followed by Tyler Hannam in second at 5’11-1/4. Long jumpers Sheridan Ray (20’6-1/2) took second, capturing third was Michael Blodgett (20’4-3/4). Ray also took first in the long jump at 41’8-3/4, Matt Boyd was second with a jump of 36’7-3/4. Freshman Peyton Lumzy’s throw of 45’1-1/2 in the shot put was good for third.

The women finished 1-2-3 in the 200-meters. Morgan Leffel (28.37) was first, followed by Katey Vaccarello (28.40) and Jae Moore (28.52). Freshman Mary Kate Beyer broke the tape in 11:23.13 and Kaile Schreiner was third (12:00.74) in the 3000-meters. Beyer also ran a 2:35.07 to take third in the 800-meters. Ashley Widdop claimed first in the 55-meter hurdles (9.65) and freshman Heather Hull was third (10.07). Monmouth finished 1-2 in the 55-meters. Morgan Leffel was first in 7.83 and Moore took second in 7.84. Katie Staab garnered third in the mile run (5:46.59). Vaccarello, Leffel and Moore joined forces with Lauren Firchau to win the 4x200 in 1:54.03. Whitney Didier teamed with Moore, Vaccarello and Leffel to finish second in the 4x400 relay with a time of 4:19.48.

The women also had a strong showing in the field events. Finishing second behind White in the pole vault was Didier (9’4-1/4). Didier was third in the triple jump (31’4-1/2). Megan Clennon finished first in the high jump (5’1) and Hull and Sarah Stinson tied for second (4’9). Leffel took second in the long jump (15’6-1/2). Gloria Lehr’s throw of 43’10-3/4 in the weight throw was good for third. Babos and Lehr finished 1-2 in the shot put at 40’3-1/2 and 40’0, respectively.

"All the freshman we thought were pretty solid," said Haynes. "We were pleased with what all the freshmen did across the board. The relay teams were adequate and the throws were good, so it was a solid team day overall."

The Scots host their own Monmouth Invitational this Saturday at the Huff Athletic Center. Field events will begin at 10:45 a.m. and running events at 11:00 a.m.

WE WANT A REMATCH

The Fighting Scots women were ready for this weekend’s home doubleheader as soon as the final horn sounded on a 56-54 loss at Beloit last Friday night.

Monmouth will get a chance to redeem themselves Saturday when they host the Buccaneers at Glennie Gym. Melissa Jones believes the home court may be the difference. "We had our chances, but didn’t get them to fall," she said, referring to some late opportunities. "They (Beloit) got to the foul line and we didn’t, but you kind of expect that on the road."

The stats confirm it. Monmouth was whistled for 17 fouls to Beloit’s 7 and it came down to free throws at the end.

Jones did see a silver lining in the road loss. "This was easily our best defensive game," she praised. "We held a very high-powered offense to just 18 field goals."

On the flip side, the Scots had an eight point streak where Jones says they suffered a defensive lull and couldn’t quite climb back. "From that point on we were playing catch up," she said. "That was a big turning point. It was as disappointing loss, but you can’t hang your head when you play a solid game. We’re anxious for the rematch."

"That was a good team win," said Jones. "It wasn’t the best looking game, but we got it done on the road and sometimes you just have to grind out wins. We played pretty well again on defense and that helps." That defense held the Red Hawks to under 50 points and limited them to 38-percent shooting.

The Scots offense got clicking. Waldorf poured in 19 points against the Red Hawks and Ashley Yeast posted back-to-back double-doubles, averaging 18 points and 11.5 rebounds over the two games.

"Elise is getting stronger and making progress getting over her hand injury," reported Jones. "Ashley and Elise did a nice job for us against Ripon. We gave Ashley some tough defensive assignments last weekend and she has stepped up. Tanehsa Hughes has really come on and provided us with some consistent play. It’s been nice to see her perform the way we know she can."

The Scots have a rugged home schedule this weekend, hosting conference leader St. Norbert (7-0 in the MWC) Friday night and Beloit Saturday. Still, Jones is upbeat about the matchups. "It’s going to be a tough weekend, but it’s certainly a weekend we could go 2-0," said Jones. "We feel like we matchup very well with St. Norbert and we only fell by two to Beloit at their place. If we play Beloit like we did at their place, that’s the ball game, but we’ll need to improve our ball movement and that should be the difference."

SPLIT IN AMERICA’S DAIRYLAND

When we last left Scots men’s basketball coach Mark Vershaw he was preparing for his first coaching trip to Beloit and Ripon. His answer to the question "Would a split be acceptable?", was an emphatic "No."

Apparently, someone in Wisconsin wasn’t listening. After the Scots drilled Beloit, winless in the league, 74-50 Friday, veteran Ripon coach Bob Gillespie rallied his troops for the Red Hawk’s first league win 85-80.

Friday’s win over the Bucs pushed the Scots win streak to four and briefly had them in third place in the league standings. Monmouth put on a late first half run to blow open a tight game. Blaise Rogers’ layup with 6:15 remaining in the half gave the Scots a 10 point lead and it wasn’t close after that. Vershaw used the blowout to get 14 players in the game with Rogers’ 14 points the game high. Monmouth’s defense kept any Buc from scoring double figures.

"After the first three or four minutes, we did the things we’re looking for on both ends of the floor," praised Vershaw. "I thought defensively, especially, we made Beloit earn every shot they got. It was nice to be able to rest the starters and get everyone into the game. It was a good team effort and we were able to get a good look at a lot of players."

After the Scots had been winning games by the narrowest of margins, Versahw finally had a chance to relax in the final minutes. "It was nice to see us put together a full 40 minutes of basketball," he said. "We put out a consistent 40 minutes of execution on offense and defense. The margin of victory was the result of accomplishing that."

So, for a day, the Scots were in third place in the MWC. Vershaw is glad his squad had that experience and is somewhat philosophical about the rest of the season. "This team doesn’t do things the easy way," Vershaw said in referencing his team’s penchant for close games. "To climb to third in the conference helps the players to realize the opportunity that’s out there."

Saturday’s Ripon game had all the drama and excitement fans have become used to over the years. The only thing missing was a technical, but more on that later. In a game that saw 12 lead changes, the game came down to the final seconds. Rogers’ was at it again and his 3-pointer with 15 seconds left trimmed the Scots’ deficit to 81-80. Monmouth was forced to foul and the Red Hawks Scott Gillespie calmly hit both free throws for an 83-80 advantage. A questionable offensive foul gave Ripon the ball back with seven seconds, prompting one of the announcers on the MWCTV webcast to comment "Now is when we would see Terry Glasgow get a technical" referring to the Scots retired coach.

"We were fortunate Blaise hit a really big three to get us in that position, so that foul just spotlighted our failure to execute," aid Vershaw. "We had other opportunities earlier to take control, so we can’t really focus on one call. I wasn’t really upset, but more disappointed because I got a sense we didn’t play well enough to deserve to win that one."

Gillespie hit both free throws to effectively put the game out of reach and drop the Scots to fifth in the league standings. Monmouth’s struggles at Ripon are nothing new. "We had posted on the board we hadn’t won at Ripon since the ’89-90 season," said Vershaw. "We knew Ripon would be hungry and they are a tough team. We got down by 12 or 13 early and it was an uphill battle after that."

The Scots also missed a few bunnies down the stretch that wouda, coulda’ shoulda’ made the difference. "We also had a defensive breakdown that gave them a layup in the last minute," lamented Vershaw. "We still had a chance to tie the game. It was a disappointment we didn’t get the job done. I was happy with the way Scott Scholten played. He gave us a lift and helped get us back in the game."

Monmouth will host St. Norbert and Beloit this weekend before taking a 10-day break. This weekend could be a defining moment for the Scots’ season. "They had impressive wins last weekend and we’ll need to play well defensively," Vershaw said of Friday’s game with the Green Knights. "If they get the lead, we can’t let them have too much separation."

Vershaw’s troops will need to guard against over-confidence in Saturday’s Beloit rematch. "We can’t come out and think it’s going to be easy to repeat last Friday," he said. "We caught Beloit on the right night and they’re going to remember that."

What Vershaw hopes his team remembers is the way the team played a "complete" 40 minutes in their largest winning margin of the season.

HIGHER ON THE FOOD CHAIN

It could have been an ad for Cingular’s "Dropped Call" campaign.

Fighting Scots football coach Steve Bell hesitated just a bit last week when he called sports information director Dan Nolan with the news that "Mitch Tanney has just signed with the Tampa Bay….uh, Storm in the Arena League."

The talented QB impressed the Storm staff at a tryout in December. "Mitch is a young guy we think we can develop," said head coach and general manager Tim Marcum. "He showed us at the open workout that he has some tools and we’re excited to work with Mitch."

Tanney, who prepped at Lexington High School before a stellar career at Monmouth, took a big step up by signing with the af1 team. The 6-3, 215-pound Tanney is experienced in arena football, playing last season for the Alabama Steeldogs of the af2 league.

Playing for the af2’s Alabama Steeldogs last season, Tanney was named the starting quarterback four games into the season and played in 16 games. He finished with a pass efficiency rating of 109.44, threw for over 3,400 yards and 67 touchdowns while averaging nearly 213 yards per game. Tanney was prophetic at the end of last season when asked about playing in 2008.

"It won’t be with the Steeldogs," he said. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. A story posted on the team’s website reports the Steeldogs will not field a team in 2008.

Last year’s experience in Alabama may have helped Tanney when he attended a workout in Tampa last month. The one-day event consisted of position-specific drills and standard combine tests. While Tanney’s numbers have impressed the scouts, his audition isn’t quite over. The Storm have invited three quarterbacks to camp and only two will make the active roster. The third QB will be placed on a practice squad.

"I’m obviously very excited about the opportunity of playing for the Storm," said Tanney. "The Storm are one of the marquee organizations in the AFL. I’m looking forward to reporting to camp and competing for a roster spot."

Like most of his passes, Tanney’s assessment of the Tampa Bay Storm is right on target. The Storm have five ArenaBowl championships and in the 16-year history of the franchise have 15 consecutive playoff appearances. The team will play a 16-game schedule and twice will be within driving distance for area fans. The Storm’s season opener Mar. 1 is in Kansas City and May 5 the team will play in Chicago.

Tanney is anxious to compete for a roster spot for the arena team with a unique distinction. The Storm and the cross-town Buccaneers made history in 2003. The Storm won their most recent ArenaBowl championship that year, the same year the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII, making Tampa Bay the only city U.S. city to claim two professional football championships in the same year.

Who knows? Tanney may just wind up playing for a bowl champion based somewhere in Tampa Bay.

SWIMMERS POOL THEIR RESOURCES

With the Midwest Conference meet less than one month away, Monmouth College swim coach Keith Crawford is hoping his teams begin their traditional late-season peak. Crawford got a look at how his teams are shaping up last weekend at the University of Chicago Invitational where the men finished 4th and the women placed 7th.

"This was a good format for us," said Crawford. "We had the morning session and most of our swimmers were done by noon. The meet took a few hours break and came back for the evening session. That break allowed us to really recuperate for our late swims."

Anne Lane took full advantage of the rest and had the best overall performance by any of Crawford’s clan. Lane brought home seconds in the 400-yard individual medley (4:53.04) and the 200- butterfly (2:17.23). Her 200- butterfly time was just three-one hundredths off her own school record. The sophomore also took third in the 100- butterfly (1:03.41) and teamed with Jessica Houser, Megan Wentzlaff and Heather Plum to finish 9th in the 200- medley relay (2:08.25). Lane, Plum and Wentzlaff were joined by Meaghan Gritzenbach to swim to a 9th place finish in the 400- freestyle relay (4:14.94). Lauren Nelson joined Lane, Wentzlaff and Plum in the 800- freestyle relay to finish 8th (9:15.97). Plum took 8th in the 1650- freestyle (20:13.96).

Lane’s performance impressed Crawford. "She was less than a second off her lifetime best in the 400 IM and three one-hundredths off her school record in the 200 butterfly," praised Crawford. "She did a nice job of competing. The nice thing about that is she swam well despite being tired."

Gritzenbach, Nelson and Houser made waves at the meet and drew Crawford’s praise. "Meaghan, Lauren and Jessica all preformed very well," he said. "They each experienced some time drops and that’s good to see."

The Scots got points in the diving well, which could significantly help their performance at next month’s MWC meet. Kayce DeRoo finished 3rdin the one-meter dive, totaling a school-record 311.80 points. On the men’s side, Jack Clifford picked up points with his personal-best, 272.45 points in the one-meter.

"Kayce’s performance in the diving well is a big boost as we prepare for conference," said Crawford. "That’s probably another 20 or so points that we haven’t had in the past."

Crawford was pleased with the men’s performance, despite the absence of two of his top swimmers, Kevin Raske and Kurt Niemeier. "I was pretty happy with the men, top to bottom," said Crawford. "We had a very good competitive effort. We got some solid swims from John Kaiser and Josh Van Swol. Harrison Heilman, Kevin Satler and Ed Novak also had some really solid swims. Jack Clifford’s performance in diving just missed a school record."

Crawford was encouraged by his team’s performance and could barely contain his excitement at having everyone healthy. "It’s nice to see Dan (Campione) making progress in the pool," reported Crawford. "I was pleased with his performance just a few weeks after returning to competition."

The Scots travel to Coe Saturday for a dual meet.

AN IMPRESSIVE START

Thanks to provisional qualifying performances in their first meet, track athletes Jessica White (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) and Zach Wilson (Lacon, Ill./Midland) were named Midwest Conference Field Performers of the Week in women’s and men’s indoor track and field.

White, an All-American pole vaulter last season, took first place at last weekend’s Knox College Quadrangular with a vault of 11’10. Her mark is ranked second in the nation. She is now provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor National Championships in March.

Wilson hit provisional marks in both of his events. The senior took first in the weight throw (59’2-1/4) and shot put (51’2-3/4). His mark in the weight throw bested his closest competitor by nearly eight feet and ranks him third in the nation. His shot put is ranked sixth.

POWER POLL

Last week’s Scots Scoop reported on the Massey Ratings, the national rating service that ranks sports teams and their strength of schedule. The unofficial rating system determined the Fighting Scots men’s basketball team had the sixth toughest schedule in the nation for Division III teams through Jan. 4. The Scoop expected the Scots’ strength of schedule rating to drop last week. We were wrong.

The latest release rates the Scots’ schedule through Jan. 13 as the third toughest in the nation. Only Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y., and former No. 1, the University of Texas at Tyler are rated above Monmouth for strength of schedule.

Stay tuned.

THE WEEK AHEAD

SCOTSIVATIONAL