DOUBLE THE PLEASURE, DOUBLE THE FUN

No, it’s not an ad for a popular chewing gum, but the swim team did give us something to chew on after Saturday’s double dual sweep of Ripon and Coe colleges Saturday.

The Fighting Scots won 18 of the 22 events last Saturday when the men defeated Ripon 70-25 and Coe 70-24 and the women bested Ripon 63-31 and Coe 69-21. Dave Yez couldn’t be happier with the team’s performance given the lackluster results at Rose-Hulman two weeks ago.

“It was a very nice meet, very spirited,” said Yez. “I was happy with the total atmosphere. We talked about taking control of the race right out of the blocks to take control of the meet. I think we did that Saturday.”

So, what did Yez do to inspire the team to regain the edge they had in December? Did he threaten them with more laps for sub-par performances? Was it POSITIVE reinforcement, maybe LESS laps for superb performances?

Nope, they watched a movie.

“On the way back from Rose-Hulman, the kids watched a movie called Never Back Down,” said Yez. “I used that as inspiration for them to take charge of a meet right away. We told them to take control of their races and don’t back down. I think they took it to heart because they swam with authority last week.”

The Scots flexed their muscles early in the meet and had a variety of swimmers finish first – 17 swimmers in 18 events picked up first place hardware.

Krysta Sparks, Jamie Schingoethe and Rachel Buckham accounted for eight of the women’s 10 firsts. Sparks began the meet teaming with Kendra Kuehl, Colleen Zumpf and Rachel Holm to win the 200-yard medley relay (2:01.19). Sparks then touched first in the 200- individual medley (2:20.41) and the 100- breaststroke (1:11.46).

Schingoethe swam personal-bests while winning the 200- freestyle (2:09.19) and the 100- freestyle (58.91). She teamed with Buckham, Zumpf and Lauren Nelson to win the women’s final event, the 200- freestyle relay (1:50.21). 

Buckham picked up an individual first with a personal-best in the 1,000- freestyle (11:48.86) and out-touched a Ripon swimmer to place first in the 100- backstroke (1:06.19). Holm brought home a first in the 50- freestyle (27.05) and the 100- butterfly (1:05.26).

Seconds were picked up by Kuehl in the 200- IM (2:24.78) and Nelson in the 500- freestyle (5:57.83). Nelson also swam a personal-best in the 1,000- freestyle to place third (12:21.50).

The men spread the wealth with eight swimmers contributing to the men’s team’s eight first-place finishes.

John Kaiser was the team’s lone triple winner. He won the 50- freestyle (23.66) and the 200- IM (2:11.59) and teamed with Joe Testolin, Matt O’Rourke and Steve Collins to close the meet with a win in the 200- freestyle relay (1:37.23). Kaiser also placed second in the 100- butterfly (57.11).

Harrison Heilman, Kevin Satler and Tom Pederson each picked up a pair of wins. Heilman, Satler and Pederson opened the men’s portion of the meet with Stephen Whittle to win the 200- medley relay (1:48.27). Heilman then swam a personal-best to win the 100- breaststroke (1:05.88). Satler’s other first came in the 200- individual medley. He also was second to Heilman in the 100- breaststroke (1:06.37). Pederson added a win in the 100- freestyle (51.81) ahead of Whittle in second (54.61).

“Tom had an outstanding swim in the 100 free,” praised Yez. “He came from nowhere to win the race. He got a good start out of the blocks and never backed down.”

Pederson’s performance was so “outstanding” that he earned his first Performer of the Week award from the Midwest Conference. He joined Andrew Wright and Rachel Buckham as the Scots’ 2009 honorees.

Josh Van Swol and Testolin were 1-2 in the 200- freestyle (1:54.54 and 1:55.50, respectively). Andrew Wright picked up the Scots’ other first, winning the 500- freestyle (5:02.21).

Collins placed second in the 200- IM (2:13.39). Thirds came from Van Swol, Testolin, Jeff Skalon and Ken Collins in the 200- medley relay (1:52.68) and Ed Novak in the 1,000- freestyle (11:03.71) while Josh Dunn swam a personal-best in the 100- fly to place third (58.11).

“We had so many good performances for both the men and the women,” said Yez. “All those times came off of swimming tired. We really expect them to drop more time as we get into our full taper for the conference meet.”

Yez and his staff have their own theory on tapering – that’s the method of swimming less yardage and getting more rest in order to let the body rejuvenate – in preparation for the season’s premier meet. The team has logged more yardage this year than in previous years with the hope that extra yardage will result in even better results at the MWC meet.

The Scots have just two meets remaining before the Midwest Conference Championships…and those remaining meets are this weekend…back-to-back.

The Scots travel to Lincoln College Friday for a double dual meet against the Lynx and the College of DuPage and will host their Monmouth Invitational Saturday beginning at 1:00 p.m.

No doubt Yez’ crew will be exhausted by the end of the day Saturday, but the coaching veteran is drawing on the success the team had nearly two months ago to inspire them for the final push.

“The team was feeling very good about their performance at the DePauw Invitational prior to the break,” reported Yez. “I compared that to something (Arizona Cardinals quarterback) Kurt Warner said – ‘If you think winning the NFC championship is a good feeling, wait until you get to the Super Bowl.’ We’ll use that as a parallel. Sure, it felt good to swim that well at DePauw and last weekend, but wait until conference when we have three straight days of swimming. It all boils down to how bad they want it and how they are going to mentally prepare for it.”

The Scots traditionally have swum their best at the conference meet. Yez sees no reason that shouldn’t happen again. The big question is in the area of relays.

“The relay teams are still up in the air,” claimed Yez. “We’re going to determine those teams just prior to the conference meet. It will be based on who works the hardest over the next two weeks. The philosophy is that the hardest worker will give that little extra in a close race and that will make the difference. It’s all about who wants it more. The person with the better work ethic will be better for us in a close race.”

Seems Yez will end the season with the same philosophy that he began the season – “Work hard and excel.”

FOCUSING ON THE PRESENT WHILE LOOKING AHEAD

For women’s basketball coach Melissa Bittner it’s a case of needing to do two things at the same time – focus on winning a game at a time and preparing for a critical stretch of games just around the bend.

Last weekend’s split in Wisconsin only added to the need to watch two things at the same time. The Scots fell to Beloit last Friday 68-58 and rebounded with a 75-55 win over Lawrence on Saturday, leaving the Scots sixth in the MWC standings. With less than a month to go, each game – each possession for that matter – is being magnified.

“I wasn’t happy with the start of the second half,” said Bittner of the Beloit game where the Scots trailed by just one at the half. “We forced passes early that weren’t there. Beloit converted turnovers into points and suddenly we’re down 10 points.”

Five turnovers and 0-for-2 on shots in the first four minutes of the second half set the tone. The Bucs scored 23 points off turnovers and won their fifth straight game in the series. Bittner offered no excuses.

“I was disappointed with our lack of intensity in the second half,” said Bittner. “We didn’t come out aggressive like Beloit did. Beloit didn’t do that much different. It was us.”

In their only meeting this season, the Scots played even with the Bucs in the first half, shooting over 54 percent. Allison Andrews, arguably the team’s best catch-and-shoot player, connected for a team-high 18

“We handled their defense quite well in the first half,” praised Bittner. “It was just us in the second half with the turnovers and lack of intensity.”

That intensity must have improved the next day for a 20-point win at Lawrence, right?

“It sure didn’t feel like a 20-point win,” claimed Bittner. “I felt we were a little flat. Our defense gave up too many points after holding them to 11 first half points last week. But, we were much better in the second half.”

Much better, too, were Tanesha Hughes and Justine Boone. Hughes exploded for 27 points and 15 rebounds – 11 defensive – and Boone hit for 13 points while dishing out six assists.

“It’s good to see Justine back in the offense,” said Bittner. “She’s figuring out her offensive strengths. We’re a much better team when Tanesha plays well. The season doesn’t hinge on one single player, but we need to get her a lot of touches and keep her involved.”

Hughes and the rest of the Scots were involved at Grinnell last night. Monmouth rolled out to a 91-62 win over the Pioneers in Monmouth’s highest scoring output since the second game of the 2006 season when they downed Blackburn 97-40.

All five Monmouth starters scored in double figures, led by Hughes’ 21. Andrews collected 16 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Lynsey Barnard drained four treys to add 18 points and Gorski and Boone chipped in with 17 and 13, respectively.

The Scots host Knox Saturday and then face three playoff contenders next week – Lake Forest, St. Norbert and Ripon.

“Next week is the key week,” proclaimed Bittner. “We’ll take this week to work on some different sets and improve our intensity. We want to refine our game this week and at the same time prepare for next week. All three games are at home and we have to win at home.”

Five of the final seven games will be played at Glennie Gym and that bodes well for the Scots who are 5-2 at home this season.

“After next week, we’ll know exactly where we stand in the conference race,” said Bittner.

GOOD AND GETTING BETTER

Running the first of three meets on their home track at the Huff Athletic Center, the men’s and women’s track teams placed second and third, respectively at last Saturday’s Midwest Indoor Invitational.

“We had a pretty good meet,” said Roger Haynes. “The men’s and women’s distance people ran well and we’re getting better in the sprints. The throws weren’t quite as good as last week, but we’ll be better there and in the jumps next week.”

Getting better in the sprints, Luke Reschke, was the lone double winner for the men. The senior ran a personal best to break the tape in the 300-meter dash (35.64), just .32 off the Fighting Scots’ record. He teamed with Jacob Stott, Kyle Prout, and Saidu Seesay to win the 4x200 relay (1:32.59).

“We reverted back to the days when the conference ran the 300,” said Haynes in reference to Reschke’s first attempt this season and PR in the 300- dash.

Prout and Seesay clocked the MWC’s second- and fourth-fastest times in the 200- where they finished 2-3 (23.59 and 23.52 respectively). Ryan Hardman was sixth in the 200- (23.68). Prout and Seesay remained close in the 55- dash, finishing second and fourth (6.67 and 6.77, respectively). Mike Blodgett placed fifth in the 55-, just .01 back of Seesay.

Logan Hohl cruised to a win in the 400- with the league’s second-fastest time (51.42). Stott and Patrick Mundschenk clocked personal-bests in the 300-. Stott came in third (36.24) and Mundschenk was sixth (38.80).

Clay Staley ran the Midwest Conference’s fastest time of the season in the 5,000- to place second (15:25.64). Geoff Bird (15:58.94) and Scott Sheller (15:59.01) finished fifth and sixth.

“The 5K guys turned in a solid performance,” reported Haynes.

Reschke, Stott, Hohl and Shane Reschke ran a solid race to finish second in the 4x400 with the MWC’s top time (3:22.99), slightly ahead of last season’s pace. The 4x200 team of Mundschenk, Shane Reschke, Chris Welty and Patrick McNeil placed third (1:38.31).

Sam Cokinos and Peyton Lumzy were 1-2 in the shot put (47’2-1/4 and 45’3, respectively). Paul Terpening placed sixth (43’3-1/4). Lumzy also picked up a fifth-place finish in the weight throw (47’1-3/4).

In the jumps, Sean Wells led a 2-3-4 finish in the high jump. Wells placed second (6’5-1/2), followed by Tyler Hannam (6’3-1/2) and Matt Hassler (5’11-1/2). John Gambrel took sixth (5’9-3/4). Wells also had “good” attempts at the 6’7-1/2 provisional-qualifying height.

“Sean was very consistent,” said Haynes. “He had some really quality tries at the provisional height. Tyler and Matt are continuing to improve, so we’ll be very solid in the high jump.”

Speaking of solid, Brock McAnally cleared a personal-best to finish third in the pole vault (14’10-1/4) – his second week of clearing 14’ – something he only managed twice last year in six meets. In the long jump, Blodgett finished second (21’4-1/4) and McNeil was fifth (20’5-1/4). Nick Wright placed fourth in the triple jump (42’2-1/4) and Hardman was sixth (41’4-1/2).

On the women’s side, the Scots placed all four of their 5,000-meter runners in the top six. Mary Kate Beyer led the charge, finishing second (18:39.54). Katie Staab and Taryn Tang clocked personal-bests to finish fourth and fifth (19:28.54 and 19:50.10, respectively). Brianna Flynn placed sixth (20:16.54). Amy Aghababian took fifth in the 3,000- (11:38.99).

Jae Moore clocked a personal-best in the 55- prelims (7.49) and followed that with a fifth-place finish in the finals (7.53). The Scots swept the top four spots in the 400- dash. Freshman Kaci Lierman broke the tape (1:02.35), Whitney Didier was second (1:04.14), Shannon Turczyn placed third (1:04.48) and Morgan Leffel was fourth (1:04.75). Katey Vaccarello placed sixth (1:05.67), just .44 out of fifth.

“Jae had a great run in the 55 prelims,” praised Haynes. “To run her career-best this early is a good sign. Kaci also had a good performance in the 400. She won her first time running it and beat some good people along the way.”

Turczyn logged the league’s best time en route to winning the 55- hurdles (8.61). Vaccarello was sixth (9.55).

“Shannon is ahead of her usual pace,” said Haynes. “Katey ran very close to her career-best.”

Turczyn, Leirman, Moore and Brittany Lowdermilk formed the winning 4x200 relay team (1:51.19). Vaccarello, Leffel, Michelle Nutting and Kanisha Lampkin placed third in the 4x200 (1:56.58).

Gloria Lehr picked up her second first in as many weeks in the shot put (40’11-1/2) and Allison Renfroe was fourth (39’3). In the weight throw, Lehr was second (46’8-3/4) and Amanda Streeter was fourth (44’8-1/4).

Heather Hull and Sarah Stinson each recorded the conference’s second-best height to place 3-4 in the high jump (4’11-1/2). Megan McKenna cleared the top height in the pole vault (10’10) and Didier was third (9-10). McKenna also placed fifth in the long jump (15’10). Didier, Leffel and McKenna were 5-6-7 in the triple jump (32’10-1/2, 32’8-1/4 and 32’2, respectively).

“It was a good meet for us,” said Haynes. “We’ll begin to go about the business of trying to get some good seed marks for conference as we get into February.”

The Scots travel to Rose-Hulman for a meet this weekend. They will host the Fighting Scots Invitational on Feb. 14.

A TOUGH STRETCH

The scheduler didn’t do the men’s basketball team any favors.

The Scots just completed a stretch of playing the top four teams in the league standings over a span of five games. Mark Vershaw’s troops went 1-4 over that span, but did see some very good things in their 87-64 win over Beloit. There was even a rainbow in their 95-70 loss to Lawrence and the 122-79 defeat at Grinnell.

“The Beloit game was by far our best game of the year,” praised Vershaw of last Friday night’s win. “We shot well from outside and played very well on both ends of the floor. That carried over to Lawrence Saturday. We had them frustrated for most of the game. They really didn’t put us away until late in the second half. We did some really nice things in the second half against Grinnell that we hope will carry over.”

Teams will have a difficult time trying to figure out which Scot to defend. Balanced scoring has been the Monmouth trademark this season with 21 players posting points and no one in double figures. Corey Gruber – known more as a defender – led Monmouth against Beloit with 18 points. Reserve guard Fletcher Morgan came off the bench to post 10 points while hitting all of his shots – two from the field and all four of his free throws. Zach Ott stepped up with 20 against Lawrence. Gruber connected for another 18 and Kyle Weyeneth added 15 in the loss to Grinnell Tuesday night.

Against Beloit, the Scots began pulling away midway through the first half and got a lift from their defense after intermission.

“We made some defensive adjustments for the second half that got us going,” said Vershaw. “The guys made the adjustments correctly and did a really nice job in the second half. We got a couple of nice offensive performances from Corey and Fletcher, but I feel the game was won with what we were able to do defensively.”

Monmouth’s tenacity kept them within striking distance the next night at Lawrence where the Scots were down by seven with the first half running out – that is until the Vikings’ Ryan Kroeger nailed a 3-pointer in the last 30 seconds to give LU a 10 point lead. Kroeger ended the day with 30 points.

Still, the Scots hung around after halftime and trailed by 12 four minutes in.

“I felt we could make a run,” said Vershaw. “But, we missed a few shots and the guys got down on themselves and then Kroeger hit another three.”

Kroeger’s dagger trey upped the Vikings’ lead to 19 and they slowly pulled away.

“That hurt and turned a 12 point game into a 30 point game,” said Vershaw. “This was a totally different game than the first time we played them. We did some nice things and got them frustrated because they couldn’t put us away like they did the first time around. We kept clawing and scratching, but they had some seniors step up and we didn’t have quite enough left to fight back.”

If the tank was approaching “Empty” against Lawrence, imagine how exhausted the Scots were after Tuesday’s game against the run-and-gun Grinnell squad.

The game was played in Des Moines, Iowa, at the Wells Fargo Arena as a preliminary contest to the Iowa Energy’s NBA developmental league game with Tulsa.

Here’s a trivia question – Who scored more points, Grinnell or the Iowa Energy?

If you said Grinnell, you win. The Pioneers’ 122 points bested the Energy’s 91. Keep in mind, Grinnell lead the nation in scoring – over 115 points per game. That’s 25 points more than the No. 2 team – conference opponent Carroll.

Grinnell used their methodical, hockey line-change, bombs away style to steadily build a 10 point lead three minutes into the game, hitting three of their first four shots from beyond the arc. It’s no secret their style of play creates preparation problems for teams and the Scots were no different – half their roster of 17 players suited up for the game had never seen the “System.”

“We were banking on the guys who played against them last year,” reported Vershaw. “Unfortunately, the things that worked for us last year were nonexistent in the first half. As much as people say it’s a crazy style of play, I think it’s just the opposite. It’s really about basic basketball like passing and catching. You’ve got to meet your pass, hit the open guy, take care of the basketball and play defense. We left some open threes in the first half and that team can blow you out if you don’t cover their threes.”

Message received.

Vershaw’s players put those theories into practice in the second half, holding the Pioneers to just 31percent shooting on their treys and playing within five points of the Pioneers in the second half.

“We played them extremely well in the second half,” said Vershaw. “I’m hoping that carries over to the next time we play them. I felt if we had played like that from the start it could have been a really good ball game.”

Don’t expect such a high-scoring affair this weekend when the Scots host Knox. The Scots own a 52-46 win over the Prairie Fire this season and neither team has scored more than 58 points in any of the last three matchups.

“We’ve played Knox three times since I’ve been here and it’s been almost identical scores,” reported Vershaw. “The games have been in the 50s, but I hope we can shoot better and extend them. Of course, the intensity and sometimes guys trying to do too much will result in lower scores.”

While the Scots are prepping to host their rivals, they’re also aware of a Tuesday home date with Lake Forest. The upper echelon – Carroll, St. Norbert, Lawrence and Grinnell – have separated themselves from the rest of the field. For the “also rans” it’s a case of battling for position.

“These are two very important games,” said Vershaw. “It comes down to where do we want to finish in the league? In order for us to start climbing the ladder, we’re going to have to string together a few wins. It will be a challenge for the next two games. Knox and Lake Forest are both hungry for wins as are we.”

If the Knox game won’t be intense enough, consider this – Monmouth alum Rob Purlee ’03 is in his first year as the Prairie Fire’s head coach. Purlee’s squad has come extremely close, but so far the rookie coach is still searching for his first win and the Scots are hoping to delay his victory celebration until after Saturday. Ironically, Purlee quarterbacked the Fighting Scots to four wins over Knox in the Bronze Turkey Bowl making him the only Monmouth QB to post four wins over their rivals.

Saturday will be full of entertainment for Scots hoops fans. Monmouth and Knox will get together for a JV game at noon, followed by the annual alumni basketball game at 2:00 p.m. Following any needed trips to the emergency room and the oxygen tank for the alumni game participants, the women’s game will tip off at 5:30 with the men to follow.

As part of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society’s Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend, both men’s coaching staffs will wear sneakers instead of dress shoes with their suits in an effort to draw attention to the fight against cancer.

WEBCASTS REMINDER

A reminder for fans not able to attend Fighting Scots basketball games in person may watch the action on their computer by logging on to www.midwestconference.tv for live action with video and audio. The feeds are free.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Fri., Jan. 30
Swimming – at Lincoln College, 7:00 pm 

Sat., Jan. 31
Track – at Rose-Hulman Invitational, 12:30 pm
Swimming – hosts Monmouth Invitational, 1:00 pm
Women’s Basketball – hosts Knox, 5:30 pm
Men’s Basketball – hosts Knox, 7:30 pm 

Tues., Feb. 3
Women’s Basketball – hosts Lake Forest, 5:30 pm
Men’s Basketball – hosts Lake Forest, 7:30 pm

SCOTSIVATIONAL

“A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one.” - Mary Kay Ash