POOLING OUR RESOURCES

For the second year in a row, Monmouth’s men finished second at the Midwest Conference Meet and head coach Keith Crawford was named Men’s Coach of the Year.

"It’s always nice to get those honors," said Crawford. "But it’s really a reflection on the hard work of our team."

That hard work has paid off. In just four year’s Crawford has developed the Scots program into a force in the MWC. The men’s team closed the gap with champion Grinnell, narrowing the Pioneers’ winning margin by 224 points. Monmouth’s depth helped the men who had 32 swims in the top eight. The women finished in a strong fifth, just eight points behind fourth-place Beloit. As a unit, the Scots set 10 school records and recorded 34 personal-bests.

The final score could have been even closer, but after the end of Saturday’s competition Crawford decided to ease up. "We had second place wrapped up by Saturday night," reported Crawford. "We decided to let the guys swim some other events, otherwise we could have closed the gap even more. We weren’t going to catch Grinnell, so we thought swimming some different events and lineups would be a good way to finish the year."

Anne Lane (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) had three of the four women’s records and is a double champion, claiming conference titles and setting school records in the 200 butterfly (2:14.90) and the 400 individual medley (4:48.61). She also swam a school-record 2:17.36 to finish second in the 200 individual medley.

"A big key for Anne was the breaststroke leg," praised Crawford. "It was considerably better than it has even been before. That was a big factor in her winning the IMs."

Other personal-bests came from – Ed Novak, 1650 freestyle, ninth (18:18.28); Clifford, 200 backstroke prelims (2:14.25); Travnik, 200 freestyle prelims (1:52.46); Matt O’Rourke, 500 freestyle (5:23.57); and Houser, 100 backstroke prelims (1:12.14).

Oh, for 10 more points.

Senior women’s basketball center Ashley Yeast (Sciota, Ill./West Prairie) came oh so close to forming an exclusive club. Entering last night’s final game at Lake Forest, Yeast needed four rebounds and 25 points to become the only player in Monmouth history to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. The four rebounds seemed like a sure thing, getting 25 points was the question. Yeast had scored 25 this year against Ripon just 33 days ago. The 6-1 senior gave it a shot and posted another double-double with 12 rebounds and…15 points. Yeast ends her career with 990 points and a school-record 1,008 rebounds.

While some fans may be disappointed Yeast wasn’t able to create the new club, Scots Scoop says, "Thanks Ashley," for a great four years.

Too bad the season is over.

If the Scots men’s basketball team played in the Big Ten, they would have a good shot at a conference title. Mark Vershaw’s group is playing some of their best ball down the stretch. "Since the Carroll game a couple of weeks ago, this is the best ball we’ve played all season," he praised. "Unfortunately with only four teams making the conference tournament, we don’t get a chance to continue playing. I’ve really liked the way we’ve been playing the last couple of weeks. That’s a good sign for the future."

The stretch started innocently enough with a 58-52 win over Knox, followed by a dominating 77-66 win over Illinois College before a 114-113 overtime loss to Grinnell on Monday and capped by last night’s 72-57 win at Lake Forest. That’s four games in the span of eight days.

So, how did they do it?

Depends on the game.

Against Knox, Vershaw turned to his bench players, Brett Peurach, Scott Ubbenga and Wes Wrage to add a spark. Going into the Knox game the trio, COMBINED, only averaged 2.7 ppg and 7.6 minutes per game, but it was their play that prompted Knox coach Tim Heimann to tell the Galesburg Register Mail "The number one thing is that Mark Vershaw outcoached Tim Heimann" in referring to the rookie coach’s use of his bench.

Virtual unknowns, the "Three Musketeers" sparked a defense that held the Fire in check. Ubbenga came to the offensive forefront in the final minutes, knocking down a trey and two free throws in the final seconds to hold off the Fire. "Our guys willed us to the win," said Vershaw. "The shots weren’t falling early, but we scratched and clawed and kept fighting until we found a way to win."

After trailing Knox for nearly the first 34 minutes of the game, it was a completely different story vs. Illinois College. The Scots took the lead against the Blueboys five minutes into the game and never trailed after that. Even when IC tried to stage a run, the Scots answered. Vershaw pointed to a pair of veterans for the win. "Scott Scholten (19 pts.) sparked us to a 10-point lead," said Vershaw. "Scott was the difference for us of having the lead and holding on to it. Of course, Joe Terwelp (27 pts.) had another nice ballgame."

Another big key for the Scots was their defense which forced 18 turnovers and a 16-of-22 day from the free throw line. "We’re starting to make free throws and defensive stops," praised Vershaw. "We’re also getting good shots down the stretch. When you do that you put yourself in the position to win."

The Scots were in position to win Monday at Grinnell. In a close game throughout, Scholten hit two free throws with :15 left to force overtime. In the extra session, the Scots trailed by one, 114-113, with :27 left as they watched the Pioneers’ best free throw shooter and leading scorer, John Grotberg, miss two free throws give them a chance. Unfortunately for Monmouth, two shots in heavy traffic failed to find the mark and they left Grinnell with a hard-fought loss.

Despite the loss, Vershaw saw a major improvement from the teams’ first meeting. "It was just a really good basketball game, something you like to be a part of," said Vershaw. "I was proud of our guys. With 17 seconds left on the clock, we had to get a stop to send it to overtime, and we did. That was impressive because Grinnell is a very good team."

Six Scots scored double figures. Terwelp, Ubbenga, Corey Gruber, Kyle Weyeneth, Alex Tanney and Corey Turner led a balanced scoring attack, but it was the effort and defense that impressed the Scots’ coach. "We had foul trouble and lots of guys who had to step up and play, did," reported Vershaw. "Robbie Hinkle came in and was tough with the ball. Corey Turner played well and Tyler Morrow came in and gave us quality minutes in the first half. Gruber, Tanney, Joe, Kyle W., those guys played their hearts out. It had to be fun for the fans, because it was enjoyable for me to coach."

The Scots had fun down the stretch at Lake Forest, making 12-of-14 free throws in the final minute. When you consider the Scots had made just 3-of-8 to that point, it was anything but "in the bag." Tanney’s two treys started the Scots on a 12-0 run in the final five minutes before Ubbenga hit four free throws to hold off a Forester charge. Gruber then nailed four charity tosses in the final minute to seal the deal.

Vershaw says the Scots’ 3-1 finish in the last week is significant. "It was very important to end the season on a high note," he explained. "We’ve been building since the Lawrence game and playing very good basketball, so we wanted to end the season on the right note"

As a whole, the Fighting Scots track team may not have brought their "A" game, but Monmouth is continuing to make progress on different levels in preparation for the Midwest Conference Championships in two weeks.

"We had some things that contributed to our team progress overall," reported coach Roger Haynes the non-scored 19-team Nike/Impact Sports Meet hosted by UW-Platteville. "It was a tough environment to get yourself mentally prepared. There were SO many teams since it was a large meet. There were bodies and people everywhere which makes it difficult to prep. I’m sure we were part of the problem, too."

Still, the Scots nearly added another automatic qualifier. Senior Zach Wilson’s (Lacon, Ill./Midland) first-place weight throw of 60’4" just missed the automatic mark by 2". His conference-best mark ranks him second in the nation, just 1-1/4" behind the leader. Wilson took third in the shot put (50’2-1/4) and "solid" freshman Peyton Lumzy was fifth (47’0-1/2). In the women’s throws, senior Jenny Babos (Leland, Ill./Somonauk) and sophomore Gloria Lehr finished 3-4 in the shot put. Babos’ mark of 42’ was a provisional and personal-best and moved her ahead of Lehr for the top spot in the conference. Babos also took third in the weight throw with a provisional mark of 51’3-1/2.

On the women’s side, Freshman Mary Kate Beyer (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) shaved more than seven seconds off her school record in the 3,000-meters. Her record time of 10:50.51 placed her seventh. "We felt coming into the season, Mary Kate had a shot at some records," said Haynes. She ran well against a solid field. She ran very hard through the early and middle portions, she’s never conservative in her approach to racing."

Beyer teamed with Jayme Ayers, Michelle Nutting and Amy Aghababian to place third in the distance medley relay (13:44.44). Shannon Turczyn "showed progress" and finished third in the 55-meter hurdles (8.81). Jae Moore took fifth in the 55-meter dash (7.67).

Pole vaulter Jessica White beat a nationally-ranked vaulter for the second week in a row to take the top spot with a 12’ vault. Haynes reports his talented senior had some "good" attempts at 12’6. She then finished ninth in the long jump (15’4-1/2) in her first try at that event this season. "She’ll get the long jump figured out eventually," Haynes said of White’s first trip to the long jump pit. "She gets out fairly far and is trying to contribute to our team effort."

Sarah Stinson, who Haynes reports is showing steady improvement, placed third by virtue of attempts in the high jump, clearing a personal-best 5’1. Morgan Leffel took fifth in the triple jump (33’0-1/2). Jae Moore and Whitney Didier finished 7-8 in the event (32’3 and 31’8-3/4, respectively).

For the men, Peter Sprecher (Canton, Ill./Canton) and Jonny Henkins finished 1-2 in the pole vault. Sprecher again cleared the automatic height at 16’7-1/4. Henkins cleared 16’0-3/4. Freshman Brock McAnally tied for ninth (13’1-1/2). The Scots also did well in the jumps. Sheridan Ray soared 213-1/2 to take fifth in the long jump. Brad Gross placed seventh (21’1-1/4). Chuck Lief finished sixth in the triple jump (43’1-1/5). Haynes praised his jumpers. "Chuck and Sheridan were both solid," he said. "They improved quite a bit and helped our men’s team substantially."

The 55-meter hurdles came down to a photo finish. The first two across the finish line, the Scots’ Logan Hohl (Orion, Ill./Orion) and UW-Platteville’s Ben Zizis, both clocked a provisional time of 7.74. A judge’s decision declared Zizis the winner. Hohl combined with Gross, Aaron Daverin and Luke Reschke to place third in the 4x200 relay (1:30.49). Gross took sixth in the 200 (23.01) and Hohl tied for seventh (23.03). Clay Staley turned in a personal-best time to finish second in the 5000. His time of 15:16.71 leads the conference standings. Brad Begyn (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) finished 10th with a personal-best 15:49.50, which ranks him fourth in the MWC. Jacob Stott’s second-place time of 50.38 in the 400 was just .02 behind the leader. "Jake ran a really solid race," said Haynes.

"We were good in spots, but we only have a couple of weeks until the conference meet," warned Haynes. "We’ve got to put it all together soon."

Monmouth will travel to Wartburg this Saturday for a final tuneup prior to next weekend’s MWC Championships in Jacksonville.

Spring is still a month away, but for the Fighting Scots baseball and softball teams, it’s already here.

The teams began indoor practice at the Huff Athletic Center Feb. 1 with the goal of being ready for their annual spring break trip to Arizona Mar. 8-15. While the teams will fly as a unit to the Grand Canyon State, they’ll part ways once they arrive in Phoenix. Roger Sander’s baseball team will stay in the Phoenix-Tempe area, playing six games at various locations. The softball team, under new head coach John Goddard, will depart for Tucson for a seven-game schedule at Lincoln Park.

Fans in the Phoenix area will want to pack a lunch and get an early start for the Scot’s opener on Sunday, Mar. 9. Monmouth will face Simpson College in a double-header at Gene Autry Field #2 in Phoenix. The first pitch is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. The remainder of the schedule will feature single games with start times ranging from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Practice will be the order of the day on Tuesday, Mar. 1 for the Scots. Playing the lightest schedule of games in recent memory, Sander’s group will have extra "down" time which means some site-seeing. Many players’ and their parents take in a variety of attractions, including some Major League spring training games.

The softball team begins their stay in Tucson Sunday, Mar. 9 with an outdoor practice to prep for a split double-header on Monday against Patten University of Oakland, Calf., at 10:30 a.m., then meets Webster University at 1:00 p.m. The team takes Tuesday off before playing five games over the next three days.

Complete game schedules and travel information may be found on the baseball and softball homepages at http://www.monm.edu/sportsinfo/baseball/index.htm <http://www.monm.edu/sportsinfo/baseball/index.htm> and http://www.monm.edu/sportsinfo/softball/index.htm. Look under "2008 Season" menu bar on the upper left for the appropriate links.