November 14, 2003

Photo by BEN RUEHLMANN After setting the ball, senior Robin Smith looks on as freshman Jennifer Perkinson attempts to get the ball past the Randolph-Macon Women’s College defense.

The Virginia Wesleyan women’s volleyball team started off its first year as a varsity team with a bang. The team finished with an impressive overall record of 17-10 and a 4-7 record in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Lady Marlins became the first Wesleyan team to participate in the ODAC tournament in their first year. “I am proud of their efforts,” said head coach Jenn Strauss. “They are on the fast track.”

The team entered the ODAC tournament coming off of three big wins against Randolph-Macon Women’s College, Eastern Mennonite University and Villa Julie College. In their final home game of the season, on Oct. 25, they narrowly defeated Randolph-Macon Woman’s College 3-2. The Lady Marlins won the first two games 31-29 and 30-16 before the Wild Cats came back to win the third and fourth games 23-30 and 24-30, respectively. The Lady Marlins took the last match 15-8 to secure the win.

Wesleyan swept Eastern Mennonite 3-0 on Oct. 31. On Nov. 1, they participated in the Villa Julie Invitational and swept the hosts 3-0. “I couldn’t be happier,” said Strauss. “We met all of our goals. We wanted to finish over .500 and make it to the ODAC tournament. We did both, so I’m very happy.” However, in between their matches against Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and Eastern Mennonite University, the Lady Marlins suffered losses against Guilford College and Bridgewater College. Guilford defeated Wesleyan 3-2 while Bridgewater handed Wesleyan a 3-0 loss.

Although they defeated Villa Julie in the invitational, they dropped their match against Marymount University, 3-2. Their win over Eastern Mennonite was an important one as it placed the Lady Marlins in the eighth position in the conference and gave them a berth to the ODAC tournament. In the quarterfinals, Wesleyan played conference powerhouse and the defending ODAC champions, Washington and Lee Generals.

“It was rough going in and playing W&L in the first round,” said sophomore co-captain Kelli Schlaak. “It would have been better if we could have gotten a better seeding.” The Lady Marlins saw their season end in three games as Washington and Lee defeated Wesleyan 30-24, 30-18 and 30-17. “We came out strong,” said junior CO-captain Jamie Marsh. “We weren’t letting up and we played hard.” While the team had a stellar season, they’ll be forced to make a major adjustment for next year. Strauss will not be returning as coach due her husband’s job relocation.

“She was amazing as a coach and as a person and I hate having to see her go, she left us with such an amazing impression,” said senior Robin Smith. The team anticipates another strong year next fall and hopes to finish as one of the ODAC’s top contenders.

1. Three fall teams, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and field hockey will be participating in the National Tournament.

2. Morgan McCann, a freshman women’s soccer player, scored the semifinal goal to tie EMU forcing the game into overtime and then penalty kicks, which Wesleyan won.

3. Kelvin Murray,a sophomore men’s soccer player, tallied 5 goals and 4 assists in the ODAC tournament games.

4. Jackie Griffin, a senior field hockey player, scored two goals versus #7 EMU contributing to the 3-2 win.

5. Chrissy Clancy, a freshman field hockey player, scored the game-winning goal in the semifinals versus Lynchburg, advancing Wesleyan to the finals.

6. Lauren Heltsley, a sophomore volleyball player, had 25 digs, 4 aces, 1 block and 7 kills, all career highs, versus Villa Julie.

7. Nicole Hite, a junior women’s soccer player, scored a hat trick against Randolph Macon Woman’s College.

8. Greg Jackson, a junior men’s cross country runner, finished 16th out of 62 runners at ODAC’s.

9. Laura Wiederwax, a sophomore goalkeeper on the women’s soccer team, saved the first penalty kick in a shoot-out in the semifinal game to take the lead in penalty kicks.

10. Mark Trebendis, a sophomore men’s soccer player, tallied 5 goals throughout the 3-game ODAC tournament

XC finishes season with state, conference meets

By COLLEEN O’CONNELL

Virginia Wesleyan's men's and women's cross country teams had two major meets before either team could declare an end to their season. On Oct. 11, they traveled to the Division III Virginia State Meet that was hosted by Eastern Mennonite University. Junior Jeff Magner was the first male Marlin runner to cross the finish line of the 8K course, which consisted mostly of hills. Magner's time of 30:57 placed him 29th out of 64 runners. First-year Mark Banks ran a time of 35:04 which was fast enough to place 58.

"It was just constant up and down; no flat spots," said Magner. "It was fun." Senior Theresa Mucci led the Lady Marlins through the 6K state meet course. Mucci finished the course with a time of 29:48 while sophomore Corrina Clark was just 15 seconds behind with a time of 30:03. Mucci and Clark finished 43 and 44 out of 79 runners respectively. Sophomore Harley Swan ran a 47:01, a personal best time for the 6K. The final meet of the season for both the men's and women's team was the Old Dominion Athletic Conference meet hosted by Lynchburg College. Greg Jackson led the way for the men with a time of 30:48, which earned him 16th out of 62 runners, just missing the NCAA South/ Southeast Regional meet by two places. Magner ran a time of 33:58 and finished 43rd. Banks ended his first collegiate season with a time of 38:00 and a 58th-place finish.

Mucci was the first Lady Marlin to cross the finish line. Her time of 31:28 was good enough for 36th out of 54. Clark and Swan finished their seasons with times of 31:56 and 47:51, respectively. Despite not being able to register a team score at any of their meets, the men's and women's cross country teams still made the most out of it. "I think we did the best we could with what we had," said Magner. "And we still made the best out of it."

Congratulations fall athletes

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