February 12, 2007

Monday, February 12, 2007

This Week in Walsh University Athletics

Tues. 13 Women's Basketball (H) Shawnee State University 6 pm

Men's Basketball (H) vs. Shawnee State University 8 pm (900 AM WCER)

Sat. 17 Women's Basketball (A) Wilberforce University 4 pm

Men's Basketball (A) Wilberforce 6 pm (900 AM WCER)

Indoor Track (A) Kent State Tune-up

Men's Tennis at Kenyon College Invitational 11 am

Sun 18 Women's Tennis at Slippery Rock 1pm

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs' (22-5, 13-3 AMC S) in Three-Way for AMC South Lead

NAIA No. 4 (new ranking released 2/14) Walsh (22-5, 13-3 AMC S) split two American Mideast Conference South games, and are tied for the first place with Cedarville University and Mount Vernon Nazarene, with two games remaining. Cedarville currently holds the tie-breaker over Walsh and Mount Vernon, while the Cavs hold the tie-breaker over Mount Vernon. The regular season winner receives the automatic bid to the NAIA Division Championships in Branson, MO, March 7-13. Walsh is the two-time AMC South defending champion. If the Cavs fail to repeat as conference champions, they will play in the eight-team, AMC Qualifying Tournament which begins on February 21. Cedarville is at Rio Grande on Tuesday and home to Malone on Saturday, while the Cavs are home to Shawnee State on Tuesday (8 pm, Senior Night) and at Wilberforce on Saturday 4 pm. Both games will be broadcast live on AM 900 WCER and on the Internet at www.wcer.us.

Despite holding NAIA No. 12 Mount Vernon Nazarene to 62 points, Walsh lost its second straight game, 62-57 before 2,034 delirious fans at Mount Vernon last Tuesday night. The loss knocked the Cavs out of first place in the AMC South and one game behind Cougars. It also marked the first time this season that the Cavs had lost back-to-back games. Walsh built an 11-point first half lead, but led only 32-26 at the half. The Cavs held the sharp-shooting Cougars to just 1-5 from three-point in the first half, and held the AMC's top scorer, Ben Falkenberg to only four points, all on free throws. Corey Jones (Jr., Avon Lake, OH/Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary) paced the Cavs with 10 first half points. The Cougars shot the ball extremely well in the final 20 minutes, connecting on 12-20 from the floor (.600) and 4-10 from three-point, as they out scored the Cavs 36-25. The free throw line was also a deciding factor, as Mount Vernon connected on 12-20, while the Cavs were only 3-8. Jones led Walsh with 14 points; he also grabbed seven rebounds. Adam Lesch (Sr., Newark, OH/HS) and Jason Hicks (Sr., Cleveland, OH/Villa Angela St. Joseph) each added 10 points. Eder Araujo (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil/Odete de Freitas) paced the Cavs with eight rebounds.

Walsh moved back into a tie for first place in the AMC South, after defeating Ohio Dominican University 74-61 in Columbus on Saturday. The Walsh win, coupled with Mount Vernon Nazarene's loss at Shawnee State, and Cedarville's home win over Tiffin, places the Cavs into a three-way tie for first place. Walsh led from start to finish at ODU. The Cavs built a nine-point halftime lead at 33-24, then shot .522 (12-23) in the second half in pulling away. The Cavs balanced scoring attack placed four players in double figures, led by Eder Araujo's eighth double-double of the season. Araujo led the Cavs with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Corey Jones added 17 points, Jason Hicks 16 points and Adam Lesch 13 points. Brandon Weems (Jr., Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) dished out six assists.

Walsh and upset minded Shawnee State (15-12, 9-7 AMC S) meet for the second time this season on Tuesday. Walsh won the first meeting 73-46 in Portsmouth on January 20. The Cougars upset Mount Vernon 75-74 on Saturday and are in fourth place in the AMC South. Walsh leads the all-time series 23-13. The Cavs look to sweep Wilberforce (8-12, 4-11), when they play there on Saturday. The Cavs won the first meeting 92-78, at Walsh, on January 16 and lead the all-time series 13-3.

Brandon Weems leads the AMC and NAIA in assists, with a 7.2 per game average. Corey Jones leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per game. He is shooting .842 from the foul line, and .424 from three-point. Eder Araujo is averaging 9.1 rebounds per game, second in the AMC. Adam Lesch, Derek Chappell and Brandon Speck (Fr., Mansfield, OH/St. Peter's) are all among the AMC stat leaders. Lesch is shooting .601 from the field and is only six points shy of 1,000 career points. Chappell is shooting .573 from the field, and Speck .453 from three-point range. Jason Hicks is 17 points shy of 1,000 points in a Cavalier uniform. The Cavs are 36-5 at home under Head Coach Jeff Young since the start of the 2004-05 season. Young's overall mark is 77-24, with a .762 winning percentage, tops in Walsh history.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs (5-19, 3-13 AMC S) Close Season This Week

Walsh (5-19, 3-13 AMC S) fell twice last week, losing a pair of American Mideast Conference South games. The Cavs who have lost their last five games, close the season this week. Walsh is home to Shawnee State University on Tuesday (6 pm, Senior Night) and at Wilberforce University on Saturday (4 pm).

Walsh wasted a nine-point first half lead and lost 76-63 at Mount Vernon Nazarene (10-15, 3-12 AMC S) last Tuesday night. Walsh shot well the first half (.571), but trailed 41-38 at the break. The second half was all Cougars, as they out scored the Cavs 35-25. Walsh shot .491 from the field and were led by Amber Robinson's (Jr., North Canton, OH/Hoover) 10 points. The Cavs committed 31 turnovers.

Ohio Dominican's (18-10, 12-4 AMC S) Krissy Haines poured in 38 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, as the Panthers downed the Cavs 92-67 Saturday in Columbus. Haines scored 22 of her game-high 38 points in the first half, as ODU built a 50-40 halftime lead. The Panthers scored the first eight points of the second to seal the Cavs (5-19, 3-13) fate. Ingrid Brainard (Sr., Madison, OH/HS) led Walsh with 13 points and eight rebounds. Brittani Maddox (R-Fr., Cleveland Heights, OH/HS) added 12 points.

Walsh looks to play the spoiler role, when they host Shawnee State (16-11, 9-7, AMC S) on Tuesday. The Bears are battling for the final AMC playoff spot. They won the first meeting, 79-63, at Shawnee on January 20. Shawnee leads the all-time series 30-4. Walsh looks for the season sweep at Wilberforce (6-20, 3-13 AMC S) on Saturday. Walsh won the first meeting, 61-53, at Walsh on January 16. The Cavs lead the all-time series 10-4.

Ingrid Brainard leads the Cavs in scoring (13.9) and is the only player in double figures. Brainard, Walsh's all-time assist leader (487), has 94 assists on the season, and leads the team in steals (58) and free throw percentage (.823). Brittani Maddox leads the team in rebounding (5.9) and is tied with Eulise Dickerson (So., Warrensville Heights, OH/HS) as the Cavs second leading scorer (6.8).

WOMEN'S TRACK: Cavs (16-4) Shine at Findlay Open

Walsh (16-4) fared well at the University of Findlay Open on Friday. The Cavs captured four top-five finishes, paced by Lauren Blase's (Fr., Boardman, OH/HS) second place finish in the 3000m (11:17.64). Kristen LeFever (Fr., Alliance, OH/Marlington) was fourth in the 800m (2:26.54), Andrea DiNinno (So., Greensburg, PA/Central Catholic) fifth in the 3000m (11:45.97) and Jackie Misiak (So., North Royalton, OH/HS) fifth in the 60m hurdles (10.03).

Walsh will compete at the Kent State Tune-up on Saturday.

MEN'S TRACK: McKee, Pierce Pace Men at Findlay Open

Sophomore Brendan McKee (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) and freshman Tyler Pierce (Salem, OH/HS) paced the Cavs at the University of Findlay Open on Friday. McKee placed second in the 300m (8:56.92), while Pierce tied for third place in the high jump (6-02.75).

Michael Groholy (Jr., Parma, OH/Valley Forge) finished fifth in the 3000m (9:23.89) and Chris Zundel (Sr., Madison, OH/HS) was eighth in the 800m (2:04.41). Walsh will compete at the Kent State Tune-up on Saturday.

MEN’S TENNIS: Cavs Open Season at Kenyon College Invitational

Walsh opens the new season at the Kenyon College Invitational this Saturday.  The Cavs meet Kenyon at 11 am.  Walsh returns five letter winners from their 15-6 team, which won the American Mideast Conference (8-0) last season.  Sherry Bossart begins her 26th year (273-142) as the Cavs’ Head Coach.

WOMEN’S TENNIS: Cavs Open Season at Slippery Rock

Walsh opens the new season at Slippery Rock this Sunday at 1 pm.  Walsh returns five letter winners from last year’s 10-7 team, which also finished 3-2 in the American Mideast Conference (8-0) last season.  Sherry Bossart begins her 21st year (194-121) as the Cavs’ Head Coach.