March 2009

Home Team

by Jeff Kelly

Softball Team Looks to Continue Momentum

The Austin College softball team made its way to a third-place finish at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) tournament a year ago in only the team’s second year as an NCAA varsity sport. Coach Edie Fletcher led her young team to a 17-23 overall record in 2008, including an 11-5 mark in conference play, which included handing Trinity its only two conference losses of the regular season.

Leading the way for the ’Roos to improve that record in the 2009 season will be first baseman Stefanie Faith ’11, who made an immediate impact in the SCAC as a freshman last season and was a First Team All-Conference selection. Faith, also an All-Region selection, finished at or near the top of several offensive categories in the conference, with a .388 batting average, 13 doubles, 11 home runs, and 44 RBIs, along with a .769 slugging percentage. In one double header last season, Faith, who was named the team’s most valuable player, hit for the home run cycle with a solo homer, a two-run homer, a three-run homer, and a grand slam all on the same day.

The ’Roos will look to the middle infield duo of shortstop Bobbi Schulle ’10 and second baseman Kali Gossett ’10 for leadership this spring, and in their third season playing together, they should form one of the best middle infield combinations in the conference. Schulle batted .330 with six doubles, a homer, and 17 RBIs last season and reached a perfect 14 of 14 on stolen bases. Gossett, a Second Team All-Conference selection her freshman year, stole seven bases, collected 21 hits, and scored 14 runs last year.

Also returning is do-it-all third baseman Sam Smith ’11, who at various times played third, first, catcher, and outfield last season while hitting .330 with seven doubles, a homer, and 14 RBIs on her way to Honorable Mention All-SCAC recognition. This year,

with her focus squarely on third base, she should help the ’Roos form one of the top infields in the SCAC along with Faith, Schulle, and Gossett.

Ashley Johnson ’11 is the top returning pitcher for the ’Roos, winning seven games last year with a team-best 3.92 earned run average. As a freshman, Johnson threw 16 complete games, striking out 42 batters, and also threw the team’s only shutout of the year.

Fletcher also expects Amber Pemberton ’12 to make an immediate impact on the mound in her first collegiate season. After making such a tremendous leap in its second year as a varsity program, the ‘Roos should continue that upward trend as the young  players gain experience and improve under Coach Fletcher. With the addition of several talented freshmen, including big-hitting outfielders Suzanne Beltran ’12 and Robyn Gorton ’12, Austin College looks to be a serious contender in the SCAC West Division in 2009.

• View the Softball team photos from the roster

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Team Could Be a Contender

The Austin College baseball team looks to be a contender for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title in the 2009 season, thanks to a large group of talented returning players as well as several strong prospects joining the ’Roos this spring. Just two years removed from a SCAC championship, Carl Iwasaki’s squad should challenge for the top spot in the SCAC West Division all season.

Among the returning players from last year’s 17-22 team that reached the SCAC Divisional Tournament are first baseman and pitcher Bobby Schleizer ’09 and shortstop Andy White ’10. White was named the team’s most valuable player and was a First Team All-SCAC selection after batting .355 with four home runs, four triples, 11 doubles, and 29 RBIs. Schleizer put up great power numbers with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs, both team highs, and added a .351 average at the plate.

Also returning this spring are outfielder Jordan Robison ’10, who hit .380 a year ago with four triples, three homers, and 14 RBIs, and catcher Patrick Ray ’09, a First Team All-SCAC selection two years ago. Ray hit .333 on the year with three home runs and 16 RBIs.

Iwasaki also will look for the continued improvement of third baseman Bennett Herrick ’10, an Honorable Mention All-Conference performer last year, hitting .279 with three homers and 28 RBIs, and of second baseman Scooter Merritt ’11. In his first collegiate season, Merritt finished with a .287 batting average and 18 RBIs.

In a lineup dominated by right-handed batters, Iwasaki will lean heavily on a pair of lefties in first baseman and designated hitter Lee Cohen ’09 and outfielder John Reisig ’10. Cohen hit .343 last season in 28 games, and Reisig, who two years ago was named First Team All-Conference and was a starter on the conference championship squad, hit .262 with 18 RBIs last season.

Coach Iwasaki returns a stable of strong and experienced pitchers, led by Will Chermak ’10 and Cory Stevens ’09. Chermak won four games last year and threw four complete games while striking out a team-best 59 batters. Stevens matched Chermak for the team lead with four victories and whiffed 48 batters on the year.

In addition to his prowess at the plate, Schleizer also will be one of the team’s starting pitchers. The 6-foot-6 lefty won a pair of games last season and struck out 40 batters in just over 30 innings of work. Tyler Steed ’11 showed promise in his first collegiate season as well, winning two games, both shutouts.

The team looks to have both the offensive and defensive firepower to make a long run in the SCAC Tournament in 2009 and should challenge for their second conference title and NCAA Tournament berth in three years.

• View the Baseball team photos from the roster

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Tennis Looks to Newcomers for Added Strength

In the 2009 season, the Austin College tennis teams will build upon the progress of a year ago, when several talented newcomers joined a group of strong returning players to play in the always–competitive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The women put together a solid season in 2008 and won a pair of matches in the SCAC Tournament to finish 8-9 overall. The men bowed out of the conference tournament with a pair of losses to end the year with a record of 2-13.

First-year players Minnie Satyavada ’11 and Kelly Lewis ’11 led that women’s team, and coach Andrew Gannon again looks for big contributions from them. Satyavada and Lewis each earned SCAC-All Tournament recognition, and Satyavada was named an Honorable Mention All-Conference performer for strong play in both singles and doubles.

Satyavada also was named the women’s Austin College Carroll Pickett Award winner. The men’s Pickett Award went to Nate Navey ’09 for the second straight year, as Navey played well all season in both singles and  doubles. He will be looked to as the ‘Roos team leader this spring.

Gannon expects several newcomers to contribute early in their careers, including Travis Duncan ’12 on the men’s side and Margaret Edwards ’12 on the women’s team. During high school play, Edwards was named First Team All-District and was a member of the 2006 TAAPS 4A State Championship team at Parish Episcopal School.

With the addition of these talented freshmen to an already solid squad, Gannon’s teams look to make an impact in the SCAC in the 2009 season.

• View the Tennis team photos from the roster

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ith his first year as the Austin College swimming and diving coach behind him, Brian Wright looks back with a sense of pride and excitement for the future. The ‘Roos finished ninth at the SCAC Championship Meet, but the team members, many of them new to collegiate swimming, showed consistent improvement over the course of the season.

“It’s exciting to have one year completed,” said Wright. “It allows me as a coach to analyze what we have done as a team and make appropriate decisions to further the success of the program.”

Some of the swimmers who will help the ‘Roos achieve that success include Lisa Holloway ’11, who overcame injuries this season to break her own Austin College record in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.74 seconds at the SCAC Meet, good enough for a fifth-place finish in the conference. Wright was pleased with the progress shown on the men’s side by Josh Tignor ’12, a newcomer to the sport. “It is hard to tell how a team composed of almost half first-year athletes will react to the length of our collegiate season,” said Wright. “Looking back, we began in September with a group of individuals who desired to become collegiate swimmers and we finished in February with a team who recorded some times faster than they ever have. I cannot ask more than that from them, and I am quite pleased with the results.”

Along with Holloway’s good showing at the SCAC Meet, several other individuals had great success during the season. Elise Koestner ’10 had a good performance at the conference championship and in January, was named the SCAC Diver of the Week after winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter events at the Austin College Invitational. At the SCAC Meet, Koestner placed sixth in the 1-meter and eighth in the 3-meter event.

Earlier this season in a home meet against McMurry, Holloway took first in the 50-yard freestyle while first-year swimmer George Clark ’12 took first in the same event on the men’s side, finishing with a time of 24.36 seconds, and took first place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 53.86 seconds.

Going forward, Wright will lean on his young returning swimmers to continue to improve next season. “I expect that we will continue to face obstacles as a team during the off-season as we head into next fall,” said Wright. “It is how we deal with those obstacles that will define how we begin next season. I am enthusiastic about next year and would begin tomorrow if I could.”

• View the Swim team photos from the roster

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In every sport one player dictates what happens on the field or the court. Football has the quarterback; basketball, the point guard; baseball and softball, the catcher. That player is often the one the team gravitates toward when things get tough and who helps the team pull together to overcome adversity.

Since her first game for the ’Roo softball team, Carolyn Stone ’11 has handled the duties behind home plate and has taken on the role of a team leader. In most cases, a first-year player taking on such responsibility would be unlikely, but then again, the team wasn’t in an ordinary situation and Stone was no ordinary first-year player.

Coach Edie Fletcher was still building her team from scratch in 2008, just the second year for the program as a varsity sport. Among nearly all freshmen and sophomores, Carolyn quickly asserted herself on the field and in the dugout. This spring brings more of the same, with Stone leading alongside junior captains Bobbi Schulle ’10 and Kali Gossett ’10.

Carolyn relishes her responsibilities as a catcher and as a leader. “When I get behind the plate I am literally involved in every play on the field, even if it is just passing on a signal to my pitcher,” she said. “It is important that I am able to communicate effectively with my team and I do my best to do so.” She also feels a responsibility to help maintain morale among her teammates and to “keep things rolling, no matter the score.”

For those who have met Carolyn Stone, it is no surprise that she would so easily slide into this leadership role. After all, she was just a sophomore in high school when her team voted her captain, and as a freshman, she became the president of the Austin College  Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).

Playing softball and serving the SAAC are not the only activities Carolyn has participated in at Austin College. She has taken an active role in the Student Life wellness program Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), that teaches people how to step in and speak out against gender violence. Stone feels it is important to advance the ideas of the MVP program. “I feel passionately about this program and believe that it is a program that can truly make a difference,” she said.

She also is involved with the Student Development Board, the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, and the Chi Tau Chi fraternity, and became a resident adviser (RA) in Caruth Hall last fall.

The list of involvements doesn’t end there. She took her first leadership class as a freshman and made it a goal to become a member of the Posey Leadership Institute. The institute accepted six sophomores for this academic year — Carolyn was among those. “I truly love my involvement with the Posey Leadership Institute,” she said. “I have learned and am continuing to learn so much about myself,” She plans to take advantage of the new minor in leadership. “I enjoy learning about leadership so much that I want to continue to learn more.”

Carolyn also is involved with the campus Rotaract chapter, taking on the role of treasurer. She has been involved with Rotary for several years and was selected for Camp RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards).

Austin College’s Rotaract chapter annually holds a wheelchair basketball game in support of Rotary’s Wheelchair Foundation. This year, Carolyn hopes to bring a Saint Baldrick’s Day fundraising event to campus in support of childhood cancer research. Those involved often shave their heads in a show of support for cancer patients. At the softball games, Carolyn might be sporting a different look as she directs play from behind the plate. She’s already gotten a start — she donated 13 inches of her hair to charity earlier this year.

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Women’s Basketball Team Has Roller Coaster Season

The Austin College women’s basketball team and Coach Deb Hunter had a roller coaster season in 2008–2009, narrowly missing out on a trip to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament for the second year in a row. The team finished the season with a record of 9-16 overall and 4-11 in SCAC play. 

For the third straight year, the ’Roos were led by Second Team All-Conference forward Katy Williams ’10, who averaged 13.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, both stats placing her among the conference leaders. Williams was one of just two players in the conference to average a double-double. Late in the season in a game against Birmingham-Southern, Williams went over the 1,000-point mark for her career, making her the first player to do so in the past decade.

In addition to strong play from Williams and the experience of Maegan Fitzgerald ’09, Amber Stafford ’10, and Liz Preas ’09, a strong freshman class that included Erica McDaniel ’12, Allison Taylor ’12, Courtney Johnson ’12, and Kersti Marusich ’12 proved to be a big help to the ’Roos, giving them their deepest bench in recent history and showing flashes of what is to come next season.

Fitzgerald scored an average of 10.5 points per game and was among the SCAC leaders with 53 3-pointers and 38.4 percent shooting from downtown, which included 42.4 percent in conference play. She was named an Honorable Mention All-SCAC performer. Stafford averaged 7.0 points per game and had a team-best 66 assists. Kayla Redden ’10 also added to the team stats, hitting 37.3 percent of her 3-point attempts and finished the year averaging 6.2 points per game.

• View the Women's Basketball team photos from the roster

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’Roo Men’s Basketball Team Earns Tournament Spot

The ’Roo men’s basketball team had a strong season under second-year coach Rodney Wecker, reaching the SCAC Tournament for the second straight season and finishing with a record of 13-13 overall and 6-9 in conference. The team was led all season by guard Kola Alade ’10, whose 15.9 points per game placed him among the conference leaders in that category. Alade was a Second Team All-SCAC selection.

Alade also was among the team leaders with a 5.5 rebound-per-game average and had a team-best 80 assists. Helping Alade all season was Chris Sturtevant ’10, who chipped in 10.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and scored a season-high 19 points in a late-season win over Sewanee. Sturtevant was an Honorable Mention All-SCAC selection.

The ’Roos proved to be one of the top defensive teams in the SCAC this year, thanks in large part to the inside play of Spencer Burke ’10, who finished second in the conference and 11th in the nation in blocked shots, swatting away 2.5 shots per game in addition to pulling down a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game.

Midway through the season, the ’Roos put together a five-game winning streak, the longest streak since 2000. Over the course of the year, the team topped defending conference champion Millsaps along with division rival Southwestern, and got a big win over Oglethorpe, the second seed in the SCAC East Division.

The 13 wins by the ’Roos this year is the most the program has had since the 2000–2001 season.

• View the Men's Basketball team photos from the roster

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Deb Hunter Honored

Deb Hunter, third from left, stands on the University of Minnesota basketball court where
she made record-breaking plays for the Golden Gophers during college play. She was in
town for the ceremony in January when her jersey was lifted to the rafters of the arena,
only the fifth player with that honor. Hunter’s name still appears in the program’s record
book and she remains one of the most decorated players in the team’s history.

In the photo, Deb’s parents, Ferne and Dick, stand on each side of her. At far left is Pam Borton, head women's basketball coach at UM; and beyond Deb’s dad, at far right are Deb’s college coach Ellen Mosher Hanson; Joel Maturi, athletic director at UM; and Dave Burgett, Deb’s high school coach.

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Brittany Simpson was a freshman at Austin College in January 2006 when she died in an automobile accident near her home. She was a member of the women’s basketball team and Austin College Leadership Institute. The Brittany Danielle Simpson Memorial Endowed Scholarship at Austin College was established in 2006 by gifts from David and Joy Simpson of Houston, Texas, and the friends and family of Brittany Simpson. The scholarship is awarded annually to a student with demonstrated financial need, exemplary academic achievement, and the highest standards of personal character, with preference given to students participating in the Austin Teacher Program and pursuing a career in coaching.  

Friday, April 17, 2009

Woodforest Golf Club at Fish Creek
6201 Mulligan Drive
Montgomery, Texas
(936) 588-8800
www.woodforestgolf.com

Schedule:

11 a.m. Registration
12:30 p.m. Shot-Gun Start (box lunch provided)
5:30 p.m. Awards and Auction 

Format:

Scramble with Mulligans, Rope, and Tiger Drive

Sponsorships:

Host Sponsor: $2,500
Hole Sponsor: $1,000
Food/Drink Sponsor: $500
Player: $125 

REGISTRATION FORM ONLINE
For questions, call David Simpson (713) 304-8355 joyjoysimp@aol.com or
Josh Bowerman, Austin College, (903) 813-2423 jbowerman@austincollege.edu

• www.celebratingbrittany.com
  Space may be limited.  Golfers please register by April 10.

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March 2009  

Feedback?

To qualify for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference honor roll, a student-athlete must earn a minimum grade point average of 3.25 for the term and be a regular member of a varsity athletic team.

*Students also were named to the Austin College Dean’s List for Fall Term 2008. All students named to that list earned at least a 3.75 grade point average for the term.

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