The standards are set high for Mount Union’s 2013 baseball season.

The coaches as well as the players have their eyes on the prize to take home the NCAA Championship.

The Raiders finished second in the Ohio Athletic Conference last season, but the team has confidence that they will make it all the way this year.

“We were so close to winning last year. We need to be more consistent and finish off games as a team, which is something we didn’t always do last year,” Anthony Morino, sophomore, said. “If we do that, I think we’ll make it to the NCAA tournament.”

Most of the ‘12 starting players will be returning to the field this spring. Head Coach Paul Hesse believes this will be beneficial for the Raiders.

“The team’s experience is what is going to help them this season,” Hesse said. “We’re physically and mentally more mature this year, so that puts us in a better position to win.”

Zach Carlino, junior captain, agrees that this will make the team stronger.

“Most of us have been playing together for three years now. We’ve become good friends and that will definitely help on the field,” Carlino said.

The determination to win is reflected in the practices that the team has had so far this season.

“Our practices are a lot more intense this year and so is the conditioning,” Carlino said. “But all the extra effort will prepare us to win.”

Hesse said the reason for the tough practices is to push the athletes past what they think they are capable of doing; to break down their mental walls.

The plan for the team is to build off of the foundation that was formed last season and continue to grow from there.

The season will start for the Raiders with eleven games played in Winter Haven, Fla. as part of the spring training trip. The team will host Wittenberg University for the home opener on Mar. 24 at 23^rd Street Field in Alliance.

Education, health and wellness are important parts of everyday life at the University of Mount Union. To encourage this, students are offered a variety of intramural sports to participate in each semester.

Competitions are held Monday through Thursday evenings at the MAAC between teams formed by students. Faculty and staff are also able to participate in intramural programs throughout the year.

Each semester, different sports are available for student involvement. According to Dan MacDuffie, the Director of Recreation and Wellness, flag football, sand volleyball, dodgeball, and two verses two basketball are options during the fall semester.  Championship contests occur at the end of each event.

During the spring semester, students can play five versus five basketball, softball, indoor soccer, and indoor volleyball.

Foster Eberly, a senior, has participated in intramural football as well as the five versus five basketball in the past. “Usually the fraternities get together teams as well as retired athletes,” said Eberly. As a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, he has been a part of teams with some of his brothers.

Completing his practicum hours for Sport Business, senior Cameron Baradziej helps with intramurals weekly. He said that football and volleyball have just finished; therefore dodgeball and two versus two men’s and women’s basketball are about to begin. The intramural events last for about a month or a little longer.

Matt Parnell, Assistant Director of Recreation and Wellness, works with the intramural program throughout the school year. “The most popular sports based on participation is basketball, flag football, sand volleyball and indoor volleyball,” he said.

Sororities participate in intramurals as well. Junior Cassie Siskovic, a sister of Alpha Zi Delta, partakes in sports with other sorority members. “We do everything! Basketball, water polo, indoor volleyball the whole nine yards!” she said.

Other intramural activities offered at Mount Union are badminton, quidditch, ultimate frisbee club, bowling club, and the newest addition, pickleball.  According to the USA Pickleball Association, this game is played on a badminton court with the net lowered to 34 inches at the center. It is played with a plastic baseball, similar to a wiffle ball, and a paddle. Essentially, the game is a combination of tennis, ping-pong, and badminton.

Pickleball is becoming popular among all age groups within other areas of the country. For instance, students at the University of the Ozarks recently learned about the game, as well as senior citizens at the Monroe Sports Center in New Jersey.

To play pickleball, Mount Union students have access to nets in the field house every Wednesday from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

All students are able to partake in any intramural sport. A new system has been integrated this year, allowing recreation accounts to be created through IM Leagues. This site allows students to add teams to a particular sport, and view the game schedule by day, week, month, or the entire season. To utilize this feature, go to www.imleagues.com/mountunion.

The Mount Union women’s basketball program is primed for another deep run in the playoffs this year.

Improving each and every year, they have put together quite a string of success (16-9 in 2009, 26-5  in 2010, 26-4 in 2011).

Going 28-2 last year, with their only two losses coming at the hands of Otterbein early in the season and in the NCAA Tournament to eventual national champions Illinois Wesleyan, the Lady Raiders are driven and focused this year under the direction of head coach Suzy Venet.

“Every second counts. We lost on the buzzer last season and we have to play every position out.  It was a heart wrenching loss for our seniors and our team, but life goes on. The sun came up the next day and we still have to live another day,” said Venet. “I won’t let them lose focus.  They’ll get an earful from me if I think we do and we’ll start running sprints,” she added.

The team is ranked sixth in the nation and has started the season off right with a 2-0 start. Of these two wins, they beat last year’s National Champion and currently ranked fifth in the nation team, Illinois Wesleyan, 73-68.

The team is very balanced and experienced this year. All-American Point Guard Senior Rosa LaMattina, Senior Tierney Allen, Sophomore Nancy Osborne, Senior Marybeth Leitch and Senior Center Brittany Kilgore, returning from injury, round out the starting five.

With Kilgore, and the arrival of up and coming Sophomore Aly Daniel, who will be coming off the bench for the Lady Raiders, the team will be able to take control.

“We need Brittany and Aly to control the boards and make up for our two 1,000 point scorers we lost last year. I think, with that combo, we may have the best two centers in the OAC” said Coach Venet.

Their bench consists of many players who can provide immediate spark upon entering the game. Freshman Annie Bova will receive some solid playing time to add to the young talent for the future. Seniors Maggie Miller, Kensie Kemble, Junior Amanda Turner, and Sophomore Chandler Moore bring much experience to the team.

The Lady Raiders’ playing style this year will be a fast paced, up-tempo offense that will push the ball on fast breaks.

“Our offense starts on defense,” said Coach Venet, “but it’s our goal to score 72 points per game. We’re going to play a pressing, unselfish style of basketball,” she added.

That unselfishness is cultivated by the team’s chemistry. Coach Venet says that it makes her job easy when all of the players are on the same page. She added that team chemistry is paramount to women’s athletics, and is something that needs to be worked on throughout the season.

The Lady Raiders are picked to finish first in the OAC once again. The team’s goal, as well as the expectation on campus, is well known. The bar is set high, but with the talent on this team, it is more than an attainable goal.

This year’s Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl was quite a show for the 6,027 fans who were in attendance as the No. 1 Mount Union Purple Raiders took on the No. 3 St. Thomas Tommies. There was plenty of pressure for the Mount Union senior class who had yet to see a Stagg Bowl victory in the last four years against Whitewater. Luckily for them, the only thing St. Thomas had won was the coin toss at the beginning of the game, allowing Mount Union to start off with the ball.

The Purple Raiders dominated the first quarter on the clock and on the scoreboard, starting with senior Jake Simon (Parma Heights, OH) scoring a one-yard touchdown at 2:10 into the game, making the score 7-0, Mount Union. They scored again with 3:37 left through senior Charles Dieuseul (Winter Haven, FL), possessing the ball for 10:10 and ending the quarter Mount Union 14, St. Thomas, 0. In between scores, the Purple Raiders received the first penalty for pass interference and broke two records- most first downs (125) in a tournament (124 set in 2008) and most rushing yards (1,473) during a tournament. They also tied the NCAA record for points in a season, with 78 points, which was set by themselves in 2007.

The second quarter was quite a different story, with the Tommies taking up 13:31 on the clock and scoring a touchdown through sophomore Dan Ferrazzo (Mahtomedi, MN) with a fake field goal attempt within the first two minutes, making the score Mount Union 14, St. Thomas 7. While the Raiders’ offensive run game seemed to momentarily falter, the rest of the quarter consisted of plenty of turnovers and punts on both sides, and no additional points, concluding the half with the same score.

It was a slow start in the second half, becoming more of a defensive game for both teams. St. Thomas started on their own 27, finishing the series 3rd and 23 with an incomplete pass, having to make a 54-yard punt, placing the Purple Raiders at their own 22 yard line. With a Hank Spencer (Greencastle, IN) tackle, the Tommies were put at the 14-yard line. The Tommies’ freshman running back Jack Kaiser (Prior Lake, MN) was stopped short by Purple Raider Nick Driskill (Wabash, IN) for a loss of yards, forcing the Tommies to punt again. Chris Denton (Plantation, FL) dropped the ball and it was recovered by St. Thomas. With a pressured, out of pocket quarterback rush, St. Thomas was forced to score a field goal with kicker Paul Graupner (Minnetonka, MN), making the score 14-10, Mount Union. Jake Simon earned his season high eleventh carry in the next drive and not long after did the Purple Raiders make their next touchdown with a 17-yard reception by Denton. The quarter concluded with Mount Union 21, St. Thomas, 10. Mount Union surpassed their tied record for most points in a season with 85 points.

In the final quarter, Jasper Collins (Geneva, NY) shattered the post-season reception record with 42 receptions. Isaiah Scott (Hamilton, OH) did a leaping catch to intercept the ball from St. Thomas and Mount Union capitalized with a touchdown with eight minutes left in the game. The Raiders’ defense sealed St. Thomas’ fate, concluding the Stagg Bowl with  the score Mount Union 28, St. Thomas, 10.

“It’s very heartwarming,” coach Larry Kehres said to the fans and players as Mount Union accepted their championship trophy.

With this Stagg Bowl title, Kehres is ranked fourth in the NCAA’s career wins list among all divisions, reaching 332 victories.

“It was a difficult three years, to see the seniors experience loss in the final game, I felt for them,” Kehres told D3football.com. “But this group inspired me… They were such a dedicated group.”

MVP sophomore Kevin Burke was the only non-senior offensive starter and it is Mount Union’s hope that he will continue to carry this momentum into the next season. All he had to offer as far as the secret to the Purple Raiders’ success this year was:

“We just played Mount Union football.”

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The Dynamo has printed a special commemorative issue for the Stagg Bowl victory which was made available to fans immediately after the Raiders were presented with the Walnut and Bronze.

With the post-season near, the Purple Raiders prepare to enter the 2012 NCAA Division III Playoffs. Now that Wisconsin-Whitewater is out of the picture, Mount Union has clinched the number 1 spot in the playoff bracket, making this their 24th NCAA playoff appearance. Mount Union will start out its road to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl on Saturday as they host the Christopher Newport University Captains.
The Captains are 6-4 overall for the season and have received an automatic bid into the playoff picture after they won the USA South Conference title. For the season, they averaged 24.1 points per game while also allowing 24 points per game to their opponents. Overall, Christopher Newport made 32 touchdowns this season while their opponents averaged 32 touchdowns against them.
In terms of yardage, The Captains have made 16 touchdowns by rushing and gained 2,132 yards overall. While the Captains are skilled in rushing, they lack in their passing game. They completed 121 passes and allowed their opponents to complete 164 passes and 15 interceptions. They only made 15 touchdowns by passing.
The player the Purple Raiders should watch out for is sophomore running back Marcus Morrast. As a freshman, he led the Captains in rushing average of players over 50 attempts with an average of 5.1 yards per rush. Morrast also accounted for 176 passing yards throughout the season including a 29-yard touchdown pass during a game against Maryville College. For this season, Morrast showed his passing skills by leading the team in completed passes and with a total of 772 passing yards.
This week could be the deciding factor in whether or not the Purple Raiders will bring home the Stagg Bowl trophy this Christmas, and the Christopher Newport Captains will try their hardest this Saturday to make sure that the Purple Raiders won’t make it that far.

Student athletes here at the University of Mount Union spend most of their time on the court or on the field, after time spent in the classroom, of course. But how do they keep in touch with friends and family while juggling such busy schedules?

With such advanced technology in our generation, we tend to stay connected through social media, Twitter being one of the most popular social media sites. Are there any restrictions that should be addressed within your team on what can and cannot be said on Twitter?

Ashley Rivera, member of the new lacrosse team, stated that her coach had never said anything about social media. “I don’t think that teams should talk about each other, their coaches or other athletics on social media,” she said. “It shows disrespect and puts a bad name out there for your team and Mount Union.”

While tweeting to support fellow teammates may be nice, trash talking over social media can lead to trouble. With hundreds of followers on Twitter, one impulse comment could ruin your school’s reputation, as well as yours.

Sophomore Luc Meacham, member of the Raider football team, expressed his opinion of his coach’s policies when it comes to social media and their team.

“I think we should be able to say when we have a game, or something along those general lines, but going any further I think should be left for the media,” Meacham says.

The Raider football team’s policy is to leave it to the media to talk about the team, which was made known to the players at the beginning of the season.

Ashley Sams, member of the women’s soccer team, also commented regarding her team’s policies with social media.

“Coach suggested making our profiles private and encouraged us to not say anything negative about other schools in the OAC, or Mount,” Sams said. “There is no need to call out other teams or say anything negative in general; I would not want it to come back on the school or my team.”

Part of being a good sport is being able to hold back from negative comments, no matter how much you want to say them. Even though social media profiles may be set to “private,” being respectful towards other teams, and your own, is key, on and off the field.

Caitlin Goggin

Junior

Sport: Cross Country/Track

Goggin has had an awesome start to her cross country season this year, winning the Walsh Ric Sayre Invitational and placing 18th out of 146 runners at the All-Ohio meet.

How long have you been running?

I ran track all four years of high school but I didn’t start running cross country until I came to Mount.

Do you prefer track or cross country?

I like cross country because of the atmosphere and the closeness of the team. I also like the scenery. Running on a track is boring.

What’s your favorite thing about cross country?

The team and the friendships I’ve made.

What’s your favorite memory?

When we went to regionals in Michigan my freshman year. We got to see Lake Michigan and go to a fancy restaurant with the team.

What’s your personal record for the 5k?

My best time is a 18:11.

What are some of your hobbies and your favorite sport?

Eating. Cooking. Doing crafts.

I love volleyball. I guess that’s my dark secret.

Who’s the goofiest person on the team?

Michelle Porter

What are your goals this season?

I really think we can win conference and make it to Nationals. Booyah!

Junior Taylor Webb began playing volleyball her freshman year at Mount Union and has not ceased improving since. Webb, who is from Geneva, plays outside hitter. She was recently named OAC Player of the Week and is one to look out for. Webb certainly deserves this week’s Athlete Spotlight.

Q: Why did you decide to play volleyball at Mount?

A: I really liked the coach and assistant coaches as well. I fell in love with the campus because it had such a friendly environment. I knew I’d really enjoy playing a sport here.

Q: What are your personal goals for this season?

A: We want to win the OAC Championship this year. I want to do everything I can to help us get there. I want to play my role as best as I can.

Q: What do you like most about being part of the team?

A: I really like the friendships I’ve formed. I have a bunch of sisters on the team. It’s like I have a support system to help me get through a bunch of stuff. I have a lot of fun playing with them.

Q: Are there any games that you wish you could go back and repeat?

A: I would go back to the OAC Championship game where we ended up winning. There was good intensity and so much excitement in the gym. I wouldn’t want to change anything, but I would go back to that game because it was so much fun.

Q: You were recently named OAC Player of the Week. What does this mean to you?

A: It’s a good thing. It’s a testament to how hard I’ve worked. It also [presents] a challenge to me, pushing me to work even harder because it puts a target on me.

Q: What has been the most memorable thing about being a part of the volleyball team the past three years?

A: It’s cool to see the progress we’ve made since my freshmen year. We’re making a name for the program. We’ve developed as a team. We’re now making a name for ourselves nationally, not just locally, being ranked in national polls. It’s really exciting.

As many students may have heard, the MAAC has welcomed stricter policies this year. According to Daniel MacDuffie, director of the MAAC Recreation and Wellness Center, the staff is working on doing a better job of enforcing rules, such as making sure students swipe their Purple Plus cards upon entering the MAAC and wear proper apparel while using the exercise equipment. Students have shown concern with the new dress code, that MacDuffie insists is not new at all, but simply enforced more strictly this year.

MacDuffie and the MAAC staff’s intentions are two-fold: to protect the students and to present a positive view of our campus. First and foremost, MacDuffie hopes to keep the students “safe from any skin disease by trying to avoid direct skin contact on the equipment.” Specifically, students are not permitted to wear shirts where the sleeves have been cut out down to their waist, or shirts with their backs, or chests, exposed. They also do not want males to remove their shirts while working out. Although there are solution bottles to clean the machines when students are finished, the staff wants to be even more careful than that. MacDuffie admits we may be “unaware of what can happen when sweat is passed on.”

Sophomore Tiera Shephard agrees that the policy is a good thing, commenting “I like working out, I like staying fit.” She went on to explain that she did not want to risk her health to stay in shape. 

However, Sophomore Tyler Singer disagrees. 

“Everyone used to wear shirts like that and nothing bad happened,” Singer said. It is true; MacDuffie said no particular incident sparked their crack down this year. The changes are simply to benefit the students.

Assistant Director of Recreation and Wellness Matt Parnell explains the second goal of this year: promoting a positive look for Mount Union. When parents and visitors arrive to our campus, he is hoping that this dress code policy will give our athletic complex a cleaner look. He also feels it might be inappropriate for students to be dressed scantily around professors, and Mount Union staff, that may be in the MAAC.

But do not worry, if you show up to the MAAC, dressed inappropriately, there are extra t-shirts at the front desk you may be asked to wear, saving you the time of going back to your building to change. These shirts are specifically used for recreation and are washed every day.

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, according to FCA.org, has been challenging coaches and athletes on the professional, college, high school, and grade school levels to use the powerful medium of athletics to impact the world for Jesus Christ.

As the largest Christian organization in the world, the FCA serves local communities and encourages people to make a difference in the world. Unity, excellence, integrity, service, and teamwork are five key values that the organization prides itself in.

The Mount Union chapter, led by President Alana Morabith, is very active in the community, working with Alliance high school’s FCA program and mentoring their students. They are also very active on campus, hosting events like Praise God in the Quad, or getting students involved with charity work like Soles 4 Souls, which is an event where they collect shoes to be donated to those who need them the most.

Although very serious, and rooted in the faith and service of God, they also know how to have a good time. The organization presents a casual and laid back setting for all students. Athletes are not the only students welcome.

They kicked off the new school year last week with a scavenger hunt around campus, which involved picture taking and “Tebowing”. The first and second place teams to finish first won pizza.

“It’s whatever you make of it. If you want to make friends and have a lot of fun, or learn more about God and faith, we can provide that in FCA” said Morabith. She also added that being a member means being a leader on campus and a role model for other students. 

Meetings for the Fellowships of Christian Athletes are held every Thursday in Tollerton & Hood Hall, room 100, at 9:00 pm.