This week’s Scots Scoop recaps some of the summer highlights, including a new swim coach, All-American honors and more. Season previews of the fall sports season will come in next week’s addition.

 A STANDOUT IN THE POOL

Monmouth’s extensive nationwide search for a new swim coach came to a close last month with the elevation of assistant coach Kurt Niemeier to head coach. Niemeier was selected over a wide range of quality candidates.

“I’m very pleased with the decision to hire Kurt,” said athletic director Roger Haynes. “It was a blend of all of his qualifications that made him stand out in a very good pool of candidates.”

Niemeier, of Orland Park, Ill., is a 2009 Monmouth graduate and decorated member of the swim team, but his hiring wasn’t simply a case of looking within Monmouth’s ranks. His status as a certified pool operator (CPO) helped the first-year coach land the job.

“It was really a blend of three areas that made Kurt the best candidate in my mind,” explained Haynes. “As a CPO, he will be able to offer swimming and lifeguarding courses as well as maintain our pool. That makes him a valuable asset to our department. It’s not often you find a CPO in the athletic department. At many institutions, they are employed outside of the department. Obviously, he proved to be a very good assistant coach last season and we’re very happy he is continuing his post-graduate education. In the future, Kurt will ultimately teach in the exercise science and health-related fields.”

Niemeier competed for the Fighting Scots during his sophomore and junior years before an injury forced an early end to his collegiate career. A sprint specialist, he won Midwest Conference titles in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles in 2007, becoming the first Monmouth swimmer to win two conference titles in the same season since 1969. Niemeier successfully defended his title in the 50 freestyle in 2008 and was on the winning 200 medley relay team that year. His four league titles ties him for second as the Scots’ most decorated swimmer. Niemeier also holds two individual school records and was on four record-holding relay teams.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity that Monmouth has given me,” said Niemeier. “The college gave me so much during my time as a student. Now, I hope to be able to repay that debt by representing Monmouth as a full-time member of the coaching staff. I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”

The first-year head coach should be well-prepared for some of those coaching challenges. In 2008, interim coach Dave Yez – a long-time assistant with the Scots – named Niemeier his top aide. Niemeier was responsible for running the men’s workouts and establishing a training program. Under their guidance, Monmouth’s men placed second at last season’s conference championships for the third straight year and won three individual events.

Niemeier inherits a men’s program that has captured 11 individual and relay conference titles since the program was reinstated in 2005. The men have won three MWC events in each of the last three years.

For his inaugural season, Niemeier will return the entire roster of women’s swimmers including 200-yard breaststroke champion Krysta Sparks. Among the 15 returnees for the men’s team are defending 500- and 1650-yard freestyle champion Andrew Wright and 200-yard freestyle title holder Josh Dunn.

“The previous coaches have left the program on a very solid foundation and I’m looking forward to taking the teams to the next level,” said Niemeier. “It’s quite an honor to be selected to lead a team I once swam on. My goal is for both teams to become full-fledged contenders on the conference AND national levels. We’ve been very good conference-wise in the past, but now it’s time to advance the program even further.”

The Scots will have their first practice under Niemeier on Oct. 1.

TWO-FOR-TWO

Tanesha Hughes (Peoria, Ill./Woodruff) made sure the Fighting Scots went 2-for-2 in the annual NCAA Woman of the Year balloting.  

For the second year in a row, a Monmouth athlete will represent the Midwest Conference in the prestigious Woman of the Year competition, given annually to a female athlete who has distinguished herself, not only in the athletic arena, but also in the classroom and community. Hughes, who was a four-year competitor in volleyball, basketball and indoor/outdoor track, becomes the second consecutive nominee from Monmouth, following Ashley Yeast’s selection for the award last year. Hughes is the third woman in the history of the college to advance past the first round of selections. Current women’s basketball coach Melissa Bittner was the Illinois state winner in 2003 and a top 10 finalist for the national award.

An outside hitter for volleyball, a center on the basketball team and a thrower in track and field, Hughes had a stellar senior season in all three sports. She earned her first All-American award in the final track meet of her career, placing fourth in the discus at the NCAA National Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and she earned her first volleyball and basketball all-conference awards, too. The five-time Midwest Conference track and field champion’s appearance at last spring’s NCAA outdoor championships was her third appearance at the meet. In volleyball, Hughes was second on the team in blocks and third in kills. On the hardwood, the 5-foot-10 Hughes had her career-best year, leading the MWC in both scoring (16.3 ppg) and rebounding (10.2 rpg).

In the classroom, Hughes earned academic all-conference status 10 times. She was also named to the National Dean’s List and holds membership in Blue Key honor society and the National Society of Scholastic Scholars. During her career at Monmouth, Hughes was involved in more than 15 volunteer activities, including Special Olympics, Relay for Life and Circle K International.

Hughes will learn this month if she is one of the top ten honorees from Division III to advance to the semifinals and compete against the semifinalists from Divisions I and II. In September, three finalists will be selected from the three-division field of semifinalists. All 30 women will be honored at a banquet in Indianapolis on Oct. 18. The overall winner will be announced as the culminating event of the Woman of the Year competition.

Hughes graduated in May with a degree in computer science and currently works for an information technology company in Lake St. Louis, Mo.

POLL POSITIONS

The football players just arrived on campus last week, but already the team is making national headlines.

Steve Bell’s troops will enter the 2009 season projected to be among the favorites to win a national title according to two sports magazines and a Website dedicated to Division III football. In June, Lindy’s Sports Annuals and The Sporting News ranked the Scots fifth and 11th, respectively. Last week, the Website D3football.com released its preseason poll as voted on by a nationwide panel of 25 coaches, sports information directors and media members. The Scots debuted at No. 12 in the D3 poll. Monmouth had climbed as high as No. 14 in last season’s American Football Coaches Association poll.

The Fighting Scots, with 35 letterwinners returning, lost just one offensive starter from their unit that led the nation with a 46.75 points-per-game average. Defensively, the Scots return five starters from a potent sack attack, led by sack leader and Consensus Draft Services (CDS) preseason All-American Anthony Goranson (12). Nick Leffler and Peyton Lumzy add more big-play potential after tying for second in sacks last season. Last year’s No. 2 tackler, Sean Wells, returns for his final season as does Marc Wozniak, who tied for the team lead in fumble recoveries in 2008.

The offense returns three players who were named preseason All-Americans three times in the off-season. Quarterback Alex Tanney and offensive linemen Josh Kotecki and Dan Schwindenhammer (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame) joined Goranson on the CDS second team. The trio was also honored as preseason All-Americans by Lindy’s – Kotecki as a first teamer and Tanney and Schwindenhammer on the second team. D3football.com got into the act last month, naming the three as First Team preseason All-Americans. Tanney, Kotecki and Schwindenhammer were also named to the D3football.com All-West Region first team at the conclusion of last season. Kotecki was eventually named second team All-American by D3football.com.

Mount Union and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater were ranked 1-2 by Lindy’s. The Purple Raiders and War Hawks traded places in the Sporting News rankings. Mount Union defeated UW-Whitewater 31-26 in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl for the national title last December.

Monmouth finished the 2008 season with a school-record 11 wins and advanced to the second round of the NCAA playoffs. The Scots completed their second unbeaten regular season and earned their second Midwest Conference title since 2005.

A full preseason preview of the Scots will come in next week’s Scoop.

A BOURNE WINNER

Scots Scoop just couldn’t resist a parting pun for graduated senior Matt Bourne (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic). After all, only once last season did the Scoop use a reference to Matt Damon’s Bourne Supremacy (see SCOTS SCOOP – Mar. 19, 2009 – Vol. 9, No. 28, Back From the Desert…Part 2).

Bourne, a left-handed pitcher, was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-Central Region Third Team. He posted a 6-2 record with a 3.34 ERA – both career bests – and led the team with five complete games and 64.2 innings pitched. His 39 strikeouts, 10 appearances and opponent’s .249 batting average were all second on the Fighting Scots’ staff. The southpaw also earned his first All-Midwest Conference selection on the heels of the Scots’ eighth South Division title in nine years.

The ABCA has annually named all-region and All-American teams since 1950.

MAKING THE GRADE

Four Monmouth College track athletes and one women’s golfer were named Scholar Athletes by a pair of national coaches’ associations this summer.

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) named graduated seniors Tanesha Hughes (Peoria, Ill./Woodruff) and Shannon Turczyn (Peru, Ill./LaSalle-Peru), along with underclassmen Gloria Lehr (Knoxville, Ill./Knoxville), and Kyle Prout (Chillicothe, Ill./IVC) as Scholar Athletes based on their academic and athletic performances during the 2009 indoor and outdoor seasons.

Not to be outdone, senior-to-be golfer Lynsey Barnard (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) was named to the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) All-Scholar Team.

To be selected to the USTFCCCA team, track athletes must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.30 and must have met the NCAA indoor or outdoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard in their event.

Hughes, who majored in computer science major, earned her first athletic All-American honor with a fourth-place finish in the discus at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She has made three appearances at the national meet and holds the school record in the discus and outdoor shot put.

Turczyn, who graduated with degrees in psychology and education, earned her fourth consecutive outdoor All-American award this spring in the 100-meter hurdles after achieving the status for the first time during the indoor season in the 55-meter hurdles. She holds the Monmouth high hurdles records both indoors and outdoors and won both conference events all four years.

Lehr, a math and physical education major, made her first appearances at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships this season. She qualified indoors in the discus and made the outdoor field in the shot put. She also holds the school’s indoor shot put record.

Prout, the lone male in the Scots’ field of honorees, is a computer science major. He provisionally qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships as part of the 4x100 relay team. The team set a new Midwest Conference outdoor record while winning the event at the league meet.

This is the third consecutive year Monmouth has had track athletes honored for their excellence in the classroom and in competition by the USTFCCA.

Barnard, a biopsychology major,  was one of less than 70 Division III women golfers nationwide to be named to the All-American Scholar team. More than 400 student-athletes were named to the teams in all NCAA divisions. In order to be named an All-American Scholar, Division II and III athletes must have competed in at least 66 percent of their team’s regularly scheduled competitive rounds. All golfers, regardless of division, must carry a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50.

Barnard was the only female golfer in the Midwest Conference to receive the distinction. She carries a career stroke average of just under 93 into her final season. Last fall, she tied the school record for 18 holes, firing an 80 at both the Knox Invitational and the Millikin Fall Classic.

WHAT I DID THIS SUMMER? WIN STATE TITLES

“What I did this summer” is a popular assignment for students as they head back to school this fall.

For three high school coaches with Monmouth College ties, the finished product might include “Win a state title.” Ron Smith ‘76, Jake Emerson ’06 and Skip Begley each won an Illinois High School Association state championship this spring.

Smith, who played baseball at MC in the mid 70s, guided the Stanford Olympia Spartans baseball team to the 2A Championship with an 8-1 win over Edwardsville Metro –East Lutheran. Olympia finished the season with a 29-6 record while capturing their third championship under Smith. In 18 seasons at Olympia, the former Scot has compiled a 432-178-3 record.

Emerson, a defender for the Scots soccer team from 2002-05, took his Manteno girls soccer team to the 1A championship, capping an unbeaten 23-0 season. In their first state final appearance, the Panthers defeated Alton Marquette 1-0, but it took more than two overtimes to determine the winner. Manteno took the title, outscoring the Explorers 3-2 in penalty kicks. In two seasons at Manteno, Emerson has posted a 37-4-1 record.

It’s been more than 30 years since Bill Urban handed over the reins of the Fighting Scots’ men’s soccer program to Begley when the program was still in its infancy. Today, Begley can claim a 3A girls state soccer title. The former Scots coach’s Hinsdale Central Red Devils made two first half goals stand up in a 2-1 win over Palatine Fremd in the title tilt. The Red Devils completed an 18-3-2 season while claiming the team’s first state title.

SOCIAL HOUR

If that “football thing” doesn’t work out for Scots’ quarterback Alex Tanney, he might try his hand at standup comedy.

When former Monmouth standouts Mitch Tanney (football) and Ashley Yeast (volleyball and basketball) were married earlier this month, Alex served as his big brother’s best man. The best man’s traditional duties include offering a toast at the reception. Alex’s toast provided a list of advice for Ashley which included “always make Mitch his favorite meals, dress in a way pleasing to Mitch” and “encourage Mitch to hang out with his friends.” The “advice” was followed by the revelation that Mitch spent hours writing the toast for Alex.

Alex Tanney – funny guy. Who knew?

It must have been a full moon for the afternoon wedding – assistant women’s basketball coach Gary Martin and sports information director Dan Nolan and their spouses attended the wedding and reception dinner that evening. The fact that the Martins and Nolans attended the dinner was not unexpected (coaches and SIDs NEVER turn down a free meal), but the seating arrangements were a bit of a mystery.

When the two couples arrived at their table, they found they were seated with professors Ken McMillan (political economy and commerce), Judy Peterson (accounting), Frank Gersich (accounting) and retired math professor Lyle Welch and his wife, Judy. That prompted Nolan to ask Martin the obvious question – “How did we get seated at the SMART table?”

Maybe Alex handled the table assignments, too.

THE WEEK AHEAD – Competition begins the week of Aug. 24

Sat., Aug. 30
Women’s Golf – at Augustana Invitational, Noon

 Tues., Sept. 1
Women’s Soccer – at MacMurray, 5:00 pm
Volleyball – hosts Cornell, 7:30 pm

Wed., Sept. 2
Men’s Soccer – hosts Elmhurst 

SCOTSIVATIONAL

“Sports are 90% inspiration and 10% perspiration.” – Johnny Miller