MAKING HISTORY

The women’s tennis team had their highest finish in the Midwest Conference Championships and crowned their first conference singles titlist since 1980 at the meet held last weekend in Madison, Wis. Monmouth’s third-place finish equaled its best showing in the program’s history, which came in 1979.

"I thought we played our best tennis of the season this past weekend and may have had the best finish in Monmouth College women's tennis history," said Kerry Frantz of the performance where every player won at least one match and scored a school-record 43 tournament points. "We had underachieved during the tournament over the last couple of years, however, we put together an excellent run and ended up having a first place, second place, and consolation winner within the six singles entries."

Amy Unzicker (Morton, Ill./Morton) became the Fighting Scots’ first conference champion since Rhonda Correll turned the trick in 1980. Unzicker didn’t drop a set in rolling to the title at No. 2 singles. The freshman opened the singles tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of Grinnell’s Jill Akiyama. She then bested St. Norbert’s Lauren Post 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals. Unzicker completed her domination in the finals with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Erika Zevin of Beloit. She completed her inaugural fall season 16-5 in singles play and set the Scots’ record for singles victories in a season. She also set the standard for combined singles and doubles wins in a season with 29 wins.

Brittany Donnelly (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) earned a second place finish at No. 4 singles. The senior rolled through the first two rounds, defeating Illinois College’s Saki Kajimoto 6-0, 6-2 in the opening round and Calllie Schroeder of St. Norbert 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals. Donnelly fell to Grinnell’s Maya Lipert in the championship 6-2, 6-0.

Cassie Frantz (Macomb, Ill./Macomb) took the consolation title at No. 1 singles. After dropping a 6-3, 6-1 decision to Illinois College’s Candy Norville in the opener, the senior posted three straight wins, beginning with a 10-5 victory over Nonie Carlson of Lake Forest. Frantz then downed Josie Ullsperger of Ripon 10-4 to reach the consolation final, where she edged St. Norbert’s Kelly Van Handel 10-7 for the consolation crown.

In other play, Maddy Ethington advanced to the consolation final at No. 5 singles, dropping a 10-1 decision to Erin Gebhardt of Ripon. Sarah McLinden, playing at No. 6 singles, also finished as the consolation runner-up after falling 10-0 to Ripon’s Kate Dricken.

The Scots opened conference play Friday in the team portion of the tournament, dropping their opening match with Lawrence 5-1. Monmouth then posted a 5-2 win over St. Norbert in the consolation match to earn third-place team honors.

So, just how did the Scots make the leap from seventh a year ago to third this season?

"There were 2 contributing factors that allowed us to finish well," claimed Frantz. "We played excellent competition at the WIU tournament one week prior to the conference finals, but most significantly, we played quality opponents the day prior to the MWC weekend tournament. The four teams that compete for the team championship on Friday have played engaging tennis that carries over into the weekend. In the past, we showed up cold and faced teams that were tournament ready from the previous day. Last weekend we joined the top teams and benefited greatly. Our finish shows that a little hard work and competitive play pays off and narrows the margin that is needed to bump Grinnell from the top spot."

With the shortened spring season yet to go, Frantz and Donnelly are in a dead heat for the team’s career singles wins record. The two seniors began the fall season tied for the record and each recorded 13 wins during the fall campaign to push their career totals to 41 wins.

Cassie isn’t the only Frantz with a stellar career. In three years under Coach Frantz the Scots have won 18 dual matches – the highest confirmed win total for any coach in the history of MC women’s tennis. Steve Buban, who coached the team from 1982-87, has 15 confirmed dual match wins.

Kimi Wegner (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) set the new standard for doubles wins in a season. The sophomore teamed with Unzicker to post 13 wins and added another doubles win with McLinden for a school-record 14 doubles victories.

With a record-setting year, Frantz points to some personal and professional highlights.

"I’d say the highlights over the weekend were three-fold," said a reflective Frantz. "Watching my daughter Cassie win her last three matches to close out her final MWC tournament; watching Brittany live up to her second seed with a second place finish; and Amy annihilating the higher seeds in straight sets to be crowned the No. 2 champion."

The Scots avoided a "character building" year and instead built expectations for future teams.

IT’S LONELY AT THE TOP

For the first time since 2005, Fighting Scots football stands alone atop the Midwest Conference standings.

A byproduct of the Scots’ 38-35 come-from-behind win over Ripon last week has also been a rise in the national polls. The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) ranked the Scots 20th in the latest poll, up three spots from a week ago.

But enough about the polls, what really matters is what happens on the field where the Scots’ latest victory had a Homecoming crowd on the edge of their seats.

Trailing by 10 with 8:01 to play, even the most faithful of fans had to wonder if the Scots had enough magic in their bag of tricks. Enter master magician and head coach Steve Bell who never doubted the team could pull one out, and saved the winning trick for just the right moment.

"Honestly, with our offense I was never worried," said a smiling Bell. "To our offense, eight minutes is like an eternity. I was only worried that when we took the lead, we would leave too much time on the clock."

The Scots proved Bell correct in his assessment of the quick-scoring offense which trimmed the deficit to 35-32 on a 72-yard drive that took less than three minutes. The drive was capped with 5:25 to go on an Alex Tanney to Kyle Weyeneth 25-yard TD pass.

OK, coach, you’re down three with 5:25 to go and Ripon’s option offense can eat clock like piranhas eat fresh meat. You’re onside kicking, right?

Wrong.

"We thought about it," reported Bell. "There was too much time on the clock and I was confident our defense would hold them. It was a critical time and our defense came up big."

The Scots kicked long and the defense held the Red Hawks to a three-and-out. The ensuing punt found the Scots starting from their own 23-yard line with 3:28 to play.

If 8:01 was an eternity, 3:28 must have seemed like a year. Maybe it did to the Ripon defense.

Tanney pass complete to Mike Blodgett – gain of 6.

Tanney pass to Clay Bricker – gain of 7, first down.

You get the idea.

It all came to fruition when Tanney hit Matt Shepherd with a 31-yard scoring strike, Shepherd’s second touchdown grab of the day. It was all thanks to a holding penalty.

"We needed room to set the play up," reported Bell. "We needed to be inside the 40, but not too close. We were at the 26 and had a holding penalty that pushed us back far enough to make the play work. The play was there all day. I was saving it for just the right time."

Ripon, forced to throw, turned the ball over on downs on their possession giving the Scots the ball with 1:16 to play. The Red Hawks used two time outs and a solid defense to hold the Scots on downs and get one more shot.

"We wanted them to burn time outs," said Bell of his last possession. "They got the ball with one timeout and had to drive 80 yards to win. Once our defense knew Ripon had to pass, the defensive line took over. I thought Anthony Goranson and Nick Leffler were exceptional, especially at the end of the game."

It was a case of role reversal at the start. The Red Hawks, an option team that throws five times more than it runs, attempted 25 passes – nearly double their usual amount. Air Monmouth actually ran their own option numerous times and Bricker gained a career-best 158 yards rushing. The offensive line opened up gaping holes and when they didn’t, Bricker simply ran over would be tacklers and made the most of his opportunity when Tanney called his number on a fourth-and-one at a crucial juncture of the fourth quarter.

"That was a big first down for us," praised Bell whose team trailed by 10 at the time. "Bricker was on and carried over what he started at St. Norbert. He ran hard and physical which is just what we needed."

What the Scots needed early was a way to stop the Ripon option.

"I’ll give Ripon credit, they took advantage of what was there," said Bell. "It’s a tough offense to stop. The DBs get so geared on the pitch responsibility and the safeties try to support on the run and then here comes a pass."

It’s back to business-as-usual this weekend when the Scots host Lake Forest and a spread offense. The Scots will face a Forester defense that is ranked second in the MWC – the Scots are ranked No. 1.

"They came in here two years ago and beat us," warned Bell. "They’ve got some terrific receivers, so we’ve got our work cut out for us. I wouldn’t say we played exceptional football the last two weeks. We were exceptional in spots, but our challenge is to put it together for 60 minutes."

As we found out last week, the Scots may not need 60 minutes to score – maybe just 60 seconds.

A LITTLE HELP, PLEASE

In sixth place in the Midwest Conference with three conference games to go, the Fighting Scots women’s soccer team knows they’ll need to get some help AND be perfect to make this year’s league tournament.

"We’ll definitely have to win out," said Barry McNamara of the team’s remaining league games. "We’ll also need some help, but it’s not unrealistic help. There are some teams higher in the standings hosting teams lower in the standings, so if the higher teams win at home, we’re in pretty good shape. All you want is to still be in the hunt on the last weekend, but we lost the chance to control our own destiny."

A 1-0 overtime loss to Lawrence and a 5-1 defeat at St. Norbert last weekend means the Scots are in a precarious situation heading into the final three conference matches of the season. The help they’ll need includes a Lawrence loss on the road to St. Norbert and Grinnell winning at home against Lake Forest.

Ideally, when the Scots play at Lake Forest next Sunday, a playoff berth will be on the line and McNamara is hoping his squad will be at full strength. Freshman Kelly Russell has been sidelined with an illness, classmate Amy Unzicker has finished her fall commitment with the tennis team and sophomore Niki Sue Williams suffered an injury in the Lawrence game.

Ah, yes. The Lawrence game. The fifth overtime game this season.

If not for a penalty kick goal by the Vikings in the first overtime, they might still be playing. The Scots actually outshot the Vikings 26-to-13, but came up literally inches away from winning in regulation.

"Their keeper made a really nice save and then came out and forced us to go wide and miss by being in position," said McNamara of the Scots chances in regulation. "Molly Ball had a chance on a free kick and missed the inside of the post by inches. Everything went according to our plan. We just didn’t put our chances in. Molly, Nicole Mazor, Erica Kurth and Emily Caron really stepped up and played well last weekend."

The Scots faced opposite ends of the spectrum, meeting a defensive-minded Lawrence squad Sunday and the league’s No. 2 scoring team – St. Norbert – on Sunday.

"St. Norbert scored in bunches," reported McNamara. "We outshot them 14-to-10, but they scored three goals in an eight-minute span of the first half. When they got a good look at the goal, they scored. When we got a good look, we missed. Their keeper made an incredible save and stopped a breakaway and we hit the crossbar. We were right there."

One good look that wasn’t missed was a goal by freshman Emily Shoemaker just before intermission on Caron assist.

"After Emily’s goal, we felt like we controlled the game for a really long time," said McNamara. "Emily came in to spell Sarah Kisner and scored and then hit the crossbar. We had plenty of chances to get a second goal, but couldn’t do it. That may have changed the game if we could have found a way to get it in."

The stats back up McNamara’s optimism on his team’s play despite the seemingly one-sided loss.

"The score really didn’t indicate how we played," said McNamara. "We didn’t play poorly, that’s just the way soccer works sometimes. We’re hoping it doesn’t crush our season and we’ll still be in the race next weekend."

The Scots’ next goal – pun intended – is to win one game at a time beginning with Knox this afternoon.

On the junior circuit, the JV team concluded its five-game season with a 2-1 victory over Bradley University’s club team. The Scots trailed 1-0 late in the second half, but freshman Leanna Alonso knocked in a rebound of junior Jessie Fetherling’s shot to tie the score with 10 minutes remaining. Minutes later, Alonso assisted the game-winning goal by freshman Valerie Piekos. Junior Lindsay Johnson and freshmen Cristina Frigo, Danica Rogers and Gaby Mendez led the Scots’ defense.

WHERE YOU WANT TO BE

The cross country team is rounding into shape after the men’s and women’s teams each posted second-place finishes at last week’s Bob Tucker Invitational at Loras College in Dubuque.

Despite running on a "pretty hilly" course, the top five women for the Fighting Scots each posted season-best times. Mary Kate Beyer ran to a third-place finish in 22:29 over the 6K course. Katie Staab placed eighth in 23:37. Whitney Dider’s 24:39 placed her 17th, three seconds ahead of teammate Amy Aghababian. Taryn Tang rounded out the season-bests for the Scots women, placing 20th in 24:51. The Scots’ last two scoring runners, Jayme Ayers and Bri Flynn, were 25th and 26th.

"The women ran really well," praised Roger Haynes. "Compared to last year, our first seven runners ran way faster than a year ago on that same course. Eight of the women ran faster than our No. 3 runner last year. It was good running weather and we were able to take advantage of that."

Comparisons are sometimes skewed, but except for the addition of Tang, Haynes has the same group of women as last season.

"Whitney was two minutes faster and is making huge improvements," reported Haynes. "Amy has really stepped up her game and was a lot faster. I’m very pleased with where the women are at this point. They’ve trained hard and are seeing the benefits of that hard work."

Speaking of hard work, Clay Staley led the Scots’ men for the first time this season. His 8K time of 26:30 placed him fourth. Scott Sheller posted a 27:07 to place 11th. Jon Welty, Brad Begyn and Geoff Bird ran within 10 seconds of each other placing 15th, 17th and 19th. Welty led the trio with a time of 27:41. Tim Bentz and Craig Maher rounded out the scoring in 27th and 28th place with times of 28:27 and 28:32, respectively.

"Clay had a big improvement this week," said Haynes. "Almost all the guys had improved times. We’re not as deep as we were a year ago, but we’re OK with the rate of our progress. We’re beginning to curtail our mileage in preparation for the conference meet. The reduced mileage will help the body freshen up. We’ll also try to replicate what we want to do in the conference meet."

What the Scots want to do in the conference meet is win, but they’ll have to wait until Nov. 1 to try and achieve that training goal. The meet will be run on a relatively flat, but twisting course at Lake Storey in Galesburg.

GEARING UP FOR THE FINAL DRIVE

When the volleyball team took the court against Knox last night, it had been 11 days since their last action.

What better way to get back to the action than with a 25-6, 25-17, 25-7 drubbing of your arch-rivals?

"We came out ready to play despite the long layoff," said Kari Shimmin. "Heather Hull stepped in to fill in for Kendra Newlon (broken hand) and did an outstanding job getting three kills on her six attempts and added three block assists. "

The Scots, tied for third with Ripon in the Midwest Conference, host non-conference Lincoln Christian Tuesday before heading north next weekend to meet second-place and conference unbeaten Beloit on Friday and Lake Forest Saturday. Only four teams advance to the MWC Tournament and the Scots control their own destiny. A 3-0 run would, at worse, lock up the third spot. But let’s not put the cart before the horse.

"We have expectations that we would like to go 3-0," said Shimmin. "I think 2-1 would probably place us in second or third, but we know we have to approach next week as one game at a time. They will be two tough matches on the road."

Eleven days off and needing at least a 2-1 finish in conference play might not be the optimum situation for a lot of teams to be in. Shimmin is confident her senior-laden squad is up to the challenge.

"We have been practicing very well," reported Shimmin. "I’ve been very happy with the way we’ve stayed focused and kept our intensity. We’ve tried to make our practices very game-like. Their mindset is to get ready for the conference tournament. We just have to take care of business."

IMPROVING DOWN THE STRETCH

Too bad soccer matches aren’t 89 minutes.

The men’s soccer team had Lawrence – the No. 3 team in the league – on the ropes Saturday and led 1-0 with less than a minute to play when a penalty kick allowed the Vikings to send the game into overtime and eventually settle for a tie.

Joe Howell had given the Scots a 1-0 lead in the 82nd minute when the Scots were awarded a penalty kick. The score was set up by Lucas Knox who had been under tight defensive pressure throughout the game. The Vikings defender got a little too close, falling on Knox for the foul and the Scots took the late lead. Howell’s third goal of the season found the upper left corner and looked like the Scots may win the defensive struggle.

All that changed when the Scots were called for a foul of their own in the box.

Ever the optimist, George Perry heaped praise on his team for 110 minutes of outstanding play.

"The defense played extremely well for the entire 110 minutes," praised Perry. "The penalty kick was no individual player’s fault. Owen (Robinson) came up with some good saves to keep us in it."

Robinson made 13 saves, including four in the second overtime, as the Vikings fired 27 times but only found the back of the net once. Howell, Garrett White and Bryan Jackson were charged with sorting out the marks and didn’t allow Lawrence many quality shots.

"We settled in after the first 15 minutes," reported Perry. "Pat Blazer and Danny Davis did a good job of controlling the middle. We started to control our possessions a little more."

Perry points to a match two weeks ago as the turning point.

"I think ever since the Carroll game we’ve gotten a really consistent effort from all our players," praised Perry. "That’s a great step forward for the program and certainly for this team."

It didn’t get any easier Sunday when the Scots faced second-place St. Norbert. The Green Knights scored off a throw-in in the 12th minute, but were stymied by the Scots for the next 50 minutes.

"They only had two more shots on goal than we did," said Perry. "St. Norbert is a very nice team, but we didn’t allow them many quality shots. Similar to the Lawrence game, we started creating some opportunities going to goal and did much better at midfield after the first few minutes."

An injury to Jackson in the final 20 minutes could have spelled a blowout, but Joey Schwinger stepped in defensively for Jackson as the Scots held the league’s top scoring team under their season average.

The Scots host Illinois College Saturday in their final home match of the season. They’re hoping to return to full strength, although Jackson joined Adam Buol and Josh Del Valle among the walking wounded.

While the injured Scots aren’t able to take a full stride, Perry is pleased with the strides they have made.

"Where I thought we were lacking at the beginning of the season has improved," said Perry. "We’re becoming more consistent and I feel good that we’ll be able to continue that and end our season on a high note."

The Scots have four matches remaining – three of them conference matches against middle of the pack teams. Running the table isn’t out of the realm of possibility and would give the Scots their highest win total in four years.

WHY ARE FISH SMART?

The childhood joke: "Why are fish smart? – Because they swim in schools," has somewhat of a true meaning for the women’s swim team.

The team actually DOES swim in – or rather "at" – a school (college) and they are smart, as evidenced by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) naming the Monmouth College women as an academic All-American team for the fifth consecutive year.

The academic award is based on the team’s semester grade point average. The team’s GPA must be at least 3.0 in order to be considered for recognition. The standard was raised from 2.8 in previous seasons.

The Fighting Scots were one of nearly 120 men’s and women’s teams honored by the CSCAA. Their team GPA of 3.14 tied them for 60th in the Division III field.

"This recognition is a testimony to the character and work ethic of the student-athletes we have at Monmouth," said interim coach Dave Yez. "The string of five consecutive awards bears proof of our consistency in recruiting some of the finest student-athletes in the Midwest."

Founded in 1922, the CSCAA helped to standardize the sport of swimming and its academic honors.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Thurs., Oct. 23

Women’s Soccer – hosts Knox, 3:30 pm

Fri., Oct. 24

Volleyball – at Beloit, 7:00 pm

Sat., Oct. 25

Football – hosts Lake Forest, 1:00 pm

Volleyball – at Lake Forest, 1:00 pm

Men’s Soccer – hosts Illinois College, 1:30 pm

Sun., Oct. 26

Women’s Soccer – at Cornell, Noon

Men’s Soccer – at Cornell, 2:00 pm

Tues., Oct. 28

Volleyball – hosts Lincoln Christian, 7:00 pm

SCOTSIVATIONAL

"I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying."