March 7, 2005

NAIA National Tournament, seventh seeded Walsh (22-8), makes its seventh trip to the championships, held in Branson, Missouri.  The Cavs meet Tabor College (KS), in a first round game on Thursday at 5 pm, eastern standard time.  The game, and all games, can he heard live on 900 AM WCER and on the Internet at www.wcer.us.

Tabor finished the regular season 20-9 and plays in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).  The Bluejays and Cavs have never met.  Both teams enter the post season having lost their last game.  The Cavs lost the American Mideast Conference Championship game 77-75 at Saint Vincent College, while Tabor was upset 54-52 by Friends College in the first game of the KCAC Tournament.  Friends, the eighth seed, went on to win the tournament to advance to Branson. 

The Cavs have an all-time record of 4-6 at the national tournament.  The Cavs advanced to Kansas City in 1983 under Bob Huggins, now the head coach at the University of Cincinnati.  The Cavs went for a second time, the following season (1984), under Dan Peters, now an assistant at Ohio State.  The late Steve Loy took the Cavs to the tourney a record four times (1993, 1996, 1998, 2002).  Loy is the only coach to win at the tourney, posting a 4-6 six mark and taking Walsh to final four in 1996.  The Cavs wins have come against Alice Lloyd (81-78, 1993), Green Mountain (92-83), Alice Lloyd (85-81), Doane (82-76) in 1996.  The Cavs have lost their last two national tournament games.  Walsh has been seeded second twice, in 1983 and 1996.  Current Cavalier head coach, Jeff Young, is the third coach to take the team to the national tournament in his first year on the bench and third to win 20 games in his first year as well.  Young was an assistant to Loy on all four tournament teams.

The Cavs posted their 16th twenty-win season, this year.  Bob Huggins won a Walsh-record 34 games in 1983 and won at least 20 games in two out of his three years as head coach.  Dan Peters won 28 games, the year he took the Cavs to the national tournament and posted 20 wins all five years as head coach.  Steve Loy won 20 games a record seven times, including 31 games in 1996, when the Cavs reached the final four.

BASEBALL: Cavs (4-1) Head to Sunshine State

After winning four of five games in Kentucky, Walsh heads south to Florida for their annual spring trip.  The Cavs play 11 games, Sunday through Friday, not counting the finals of the Warner Southern Tournament on Saturday.  

MEN'S TRACK: Gary Robinson Earns All-American Honors in Pentathlon/Cavs Finish 26th

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING: Cavs (5-9) Fifth at Zone Regionals

Walsh finished fifth at the Zone Regionals, held at CT Brainin Natatorium in Canton on Saturday.  Canisius College won the seven-team event. The Cavs now advance to the US Championships in Gainesville, Florida, March 22-26.

Annika Castle (So., Fairfax Station, VA/Lake Braddock) posted the Cavs best finish, second in "C" figures.  Castle and Meagan Brandon (Sr., Surrey, BC Canada/Earl Marriott) placed fourth in duet and Brandon was fourth (76.85) in "A" figures.  The Cavs also finished fourth in team, with Brandon, Castle, Beverlyann Burson (Sr., Houma, LA/Houma Christian), Kristen Mueller (Jr., Mentor, OH/HS) and Jennifer Valasek (Sr., Canton, OH/GlenOak.

MEN'S TENNIS: Cavs (1-0) Blank Findlay in Opener

Walsh (1-0) opened the season with a 9-0 win over NCAA II University of Findlay (1-3) at the Hall of Fame Courts on Thursday. Top singles player, Lanny Rubin (So., Canton, OH/Central Catholic) won 6-0, 6-3 at first singles and teamed with Martin Echague (Jr., Buenos Aires, ARG/Eccleston) to win 8-1 at second doubles. Echague won  6-7, 6-2 (10-8 TB) at fourth singles. Steve Webster (Fr., Lexington, OH/HS) posted a 6-1, 6-0 win at second singles and teamed with Chris Pleska (Sr., Wooster, OH/HS) to win 8-0 at first doubles.  Pleska won 6-3, 6-2 at third singles.  Sean Smith (So., Edgewater, NJ/Bradenton Academy) won 6-1, 6-0 at fifth singles and Greg Kerschbaum (Fr., Elyria, OH/HS) posted a 6-1, 6-1 win at number six singles.  Tyler Minnis (Fr., Zanesville, OH/HS) and Andy Coutts (So., New Philadelphia, OH/HS) won 8-6 at third doubles.