February 14, 2005

It was an up and down week for the NAIA No. 4 (new poll out 2/15) Walsh University Cavaliers (20-6, 13-2 AMC S).  First, the Cavs moved up to the fourth spot in the NAIA Top 25 and second, the Cavs retired the Mayor's Cup with a 77-73 win over Malone.  The negative came when Cedarville University (22-7, 12-4 AMC S) snapped Walsh's 13-game win streak with a 78-73 victory.  The Yellow Jackets win also denied the Cavs a chance to clinch the American Mideast Conference South title and NAIA Division II National Tournament berth.  If Walsh wins two of their final three games, they will win the conference title outright. They can also clinch if Cedarville loses one of their final two games and Walsh wins once.  The Cavs are at Ohio Dominican University (15-10, 8-8 AMC S) on Tuesday at 8 pm, home to Tiffin University (10-13, 6-9, AMC S) on Thursday at 8 pm and close the regular season at Shawnee State University (14-16, 8-8 AMC S) on Saturday at 3 pm.  All three games will be aired live on 900 AM WCER and on the Internet at www.wcer.us.

Walsh University won its 20th game of the season and retired the Mayor's Cup, with a 77-73 come-from-behind win at Malone College's Osborne Hall on Tuesday.  The Cavs have now retired the Cup four different times and won the last six Mayor's Cup games.  The win was also the 13th straight for the Cavs, their longest winning streak since 1997-98, when they opened the season with 13 straight wins.  Malone jumped on the Cavs early and led 22-11 in the first half.  Walsh battled back and tied the game at 36-36, but trailed 40-36 at the half.  Walsh caught the Pioneers in the second half and built two seven point leads.  Malone rallied in the final minutes and tied the game one last time at 73-73.  Jason Hicks (So., Cleveland, OH/Villa Angela St. Joseph) gave the Cavs the lead for good at 74-73, when he hit one of two free throws with 35.4 seconds to play.  Malone's Tyler Renner then double-dribbled at the top of the key with 15.5 seconds left to give the ball back to the Cavs.  Walsh's Corey Jones (Fr., Avon Lake, OH/Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary) promptly hit two free throws and Randy Sistrunk (Sr., Canton, OH/McKinley) then iced the game with 4.2 seconds left with another free throw.  Walsh's Rob Whaley (Sr., Benton Harbor, MI/HS) led all scorers with 27 points.  Hicks added 16 points and Jones 11, all in the second half.  Walsh turned the ball over five times in the first five minutes, but only four times in the final 35 minutes. 

NAIA No. 11 Cedarville erased an 11-point Walsh second half lead, in a 78-73 come from behind win over the Cavs in front of 3,712 fans at the Callan Athletic Center on Saturday.  Walsh looked good early, holding Cedarville to 7-30 (.233) from the floor in the first half and building a 36-25 halftime lead.  But the Jackets shot .541 (20-37) in the second half and outscored the Cavs 53-37.  Cedarville led 76-73 with less than 15 seconds to play, when they went to the line in an attempt to ice the game.  But after missing the front end of a one and one, Cedarville's Mugabe Thomas grabbed one of his game-high 19 rebounds to put the game away.  Walsh shot well, but were plagued by 16 turnovers.  The Cavs were out scored 18 to five from the foul line and went to the line 18 less times than the Jackets.  Rob Whaley led Walsh with 22 points, but connected on only 10-24 from the field.  Brandon Weems (Fr., Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) added 14 points off the bench.

Walsh travels to Columbus to meet Ohio Dominican on Tuesday.  The Panthers are fighting for one of four AMC Playoff spots.  They are tied for fourth place with Malone and Shawnee State.  The Panthers defeated Mount Vernon Nazarene 82-81 on Saturday and have won their last three games.  Walsh won the first meeting between the two teams, 82-72 at Walsh on January 18 and lead the all-time series 53-20. 

Walsh is home to Tiffin in their final home game on Thursday. Walsh won the first meeting with the Dragons, 78-59, at Tiffin on November 30.  Tiffin snapped a two-game losing streak, with a 69-64 upset win over Rio Grande on Saturday.  Walsh leads the all-time series 46-21. 

The Cavs close the regular season in Portsmouth, Ohio against Shawnee State on Saturday.  The Bears handed the Cavs their only home loss, 86-72 on December 17. The Bears are tied for fourth in the AMC South with Ohio Dominican and Malone.  The Bears were upset by Wilberforce, 75-69 on Saturday and have lost their last three games.  Walsh leads the all-time series 20-12. 

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs (11-14, 5-10) Fail to Retire Cup/Skid at Three

Walsh (11-14, 5-10 AMC S) lost twice last week and have lost their last three games and six of their last seven games.  The Cavs failed in their bid to retire the Mayor's Cup at Malone, losing 67-50 on Tuesday.  Walsh then closed the week with a 106-60 loss to NAIA No. 1 Cedarville University on Saturday.  The Cavs are in eighth place in the American Mideast Conference South and have been eliminated from the AMC qualifying tournament.  Walsh closes the season with a three-game week.  The Cavs travel to Columbus to meet Ohio Dominican University (15-14, 6-10 AMC S) on Tuesday, host Tiffin University (5-19, 2-13 AMC S) on Thursday and travel to Shawnee State University (20-9, 12-4 AMC S) on Saturday.  The Ohio Dominican game and Shawnee State game will be aired live on the Internet on Teamline.

Malone College spoiled Walsh's bid to retire the Mayor's Cup for the first time, with a 67-50 win over the Cavs at Osborne Hall last Tuesday.  Walsh fell behind early and trailed 34-21 at the half.  The Cavs rallied and trimmed the Malone lead to 53-48 late in the game, but could get no closer.  Walsh turned the ball over 24 times and shot only 31% from the field.  Dionna Hammett (Jr., Warrensville Hts. OH/St. Peter Chanel) led the Cavs with 17 points and 11 rebounds.  Beth Sternberg (Jr., East Canton, OH/HS) added 15 points.

Walsh suffered its worst loss of the season, 106-60, to NAIA top ranked Cedarville University at the Callan Athletic Center in Cedarville on Saturday.  The Yellow Jackets led 49-22 at the half and shot an astounding .793 (23-29) in the second half in out scoring the Cavs 57-38.  LeAnne Ware (Jr., Alliance, OH/Marlington) and Beth Sternberg led the Cavs with 14 points each.  Dionna Hammett added 13 points.

Walsh and Ohio Dominican meet for the second time on Tuesday.  The Panthers won the first meeting, 88-79, at Walsh on January 18.  The Panthers are one-half ahead of the Cavs and have also been eliminated from the post season.  Walsh leads the all-time series 33-10. 

Walsh plays its final home game against Tiffin on Thursday.  The Cavs lost to Tiffin, 88-68, at Tiffin on December 18.  The Dragons are in last place and have lost their last 12 games.  The Cavs lead the all-time series 19-17.

Walsh closes the season at Shawnee State on Saturday. The Bears are in second place in the AMC South and have won seven of their last nine games.  Shawnee bested the Cavs 82-65 on December 14 and lead the all-time series 25-3.

MEN'S TRACK: Cavs (4-7) Relay Team Sets Record at Windsor

The Walsh University 4 x 800 relay team set a school record at the University of Windsor in Canada on Saturday.  Steve Mackle (Jr., Malvern, OH/HS), Matt Finneran (Fr., Wadsworth,OH/HS), Chris Zundel (So., Madison, OH/HS) and Paul Vincent (Sr., Garrettsville, OH/Garfield) set a new Walsh record in a time of 8:03.88.

The Cavs are at Kent State University this Saturday.

WOMEN'S TRACK: Cavs (10-3) Perform Well at Findlay

Walsh (10-3) performed well at the University of Findlay on Friday.  Lindsey Walker (So., Canton, OH/GlenOak) finished third in the 400m (1:02.18) and fourth in the 200m (28.06).  Jessica Scheeser (Sr., Green, OH/HS) and Casey Fischer (Fr., Aurora, OH/HS) also fared well. Scheeser finished third in the 55m (9.30) and Fischer was fifth in the 55 m dash (7.91) and in the 200m dash (28.09).  Jessica LeGrair (So., Copley, OH/HS) finished fourth in the long jump (16-01.00) and Mikka Ray (So., Minerva, OH/HS) was fourth in the triple jump (32-09.75).  Meghan Patton (So., Parma, OH/Holy Name) garnered a fourth place finish in the 800m run (2:26.48) and Ebony Williams (Fr., Akron, OH/Firestone) finished fourth in the highjump (4-11.00). The Cavs 4 x 400 relay team, Walker, Rogers, Scheeser and Patton finished third in a time of 4:23.14.

The Cavs are at Kent State University this Saturday.

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING: Cavs Win Home Meet/At Michigan on Saturday

Walsh evened its record at 2-2, by defeating Ohio University and Miami of Ohio at the Northeast Community Center on Saturday.  The Cavs finished with 74 points, to Ohio University's 55 and Miami's 32.  Walsh is at the University of Michigan this Saturday.  The Cavs won at Ann Arbor last year.

Jennifer Valesak (Sr., Canton, OH/GlenOak) finished first in solo for the Cavs.  Meagan Brandon (Sr., Surrey, BC/Earl Marriott) paired with Annika Castle (So., Fairfax Station, VA/Lake Braddock) to win duet (77.66).  Brandon, Kristen Mueller (So., Mentor, OH/HS) and Beverlyann Burson (Sr., Houma, LA/houma Christian) then captured trio.  Walsh also won team, with Brandon, Burson, Castle, Mueller and Valasek.