Junior Nathan Jones dribbles the ball upfield during Bellarmine’s men’s soccer exhibition game against Georgetown College. Photo by Alena Schuckmann.
BY MARY RINGWALD, SPORTS EDITOR AND QUIN WELCH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Bellarmine University recently began its 2016-17 academic year, which means the fall sports season has also started. Here’s a preview of each fall sport on campus. Mary Ringwald is a member of the Bellarmine field hockey team. She did not contribute to the field hockey section.
Women’s Soccer
People expect a lot of the Bellarmine women’s soccer team in 2016, as the Great Lakes Valley Conference coaches picked the Knights to win the league, while the National Soccer Coaches Association of America ranked Bellarmine No. 10.
The Knights, led by experienced talent throughout the field, played 13 matches before suffering their first defeat at the hands of Quincy University last season. Bellarmine finished with an impressive 17-3-2 record, bowing out of the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet Sixteen to then No. 1 and eventual national champion Grand Valley State, 2-1. GVSU is the same team that knocked Bellarmine out of the NCAA Tournament in 2014.
Bellarmine head coach Chris Tinius is quietly optimistic about his group this season. Why? Well, much of that experienced talent is back and better than ever.
Bellarmine is deep, and it all starts at the striker position with the 2015 GLVC Offensive Player of the Year, Mary Beth Gorham. Gorham, named a first-team All-American in 2015, was a force for the Knights all season. She scored a whopping 13 goals, making her the Knights’ all-time leader in goals scored in a season.
“She’s just a special player,” Tinius said. “She’s obviously a very good athlete and a good finisher. She’s somebody who works hard, too. She’s not just relying on her physical attributes.”
Tinius noted Gorham’s transformation over the course of her career from a player who simply scores goals to someone who both scores and helps her teammates find the back of the net.
“She has expanded her game from not just being a scorer, but creating things for other people, too. Obviously, the attention she draws from other teams naturally gives other people opportunities. So when she’s on the field, it makes the game easier for everyone else,” Tinius said.
Bellarmine’s strengths go beyond Gorham. Several returning Knights garnered conference honors last season, such as first-team All-GLVC goalkeeper Taylor Smith, first-team midfielder Lauren Holder, second-team defender Lexy Hazle and third-team midfielder Sydney Kraus.
“We have people who’ve been there and know what it takes to be successful at a high level. They have time playing with each other,” Tinius said. “They have chemistry and understanding of what the other person is looking for, where they’re going to be and when they’re going to be there.”
Gorham said she is quite optimistic about her team’s abilities and how far she thought the Knights could go in 2016.
“I think we can go as far as we want,” Gorham said. “I don’t want to say anything too greedy because we have to be able to reach the small goals within each game, practice, etc. We have a lot of experience with tournament play and the upperclassmen know what it takes so it’s been refreshing to have new talent come in and broaden the dynamic ability of the team.”
Fellow senior Josie Metzger said her team is motivated and will push one another in practices and games.
“We will continue to push ourselves by setting the bar high and reminding each other that hard work is always rewarding,” Metzger said.
Bellarmine kicked off their season in impressive fashion, defeating Lincoln Memorial University by a score of 3-1, and eeking out a victory over Lee University, 1-0.
Men’s Soccer
After an onslaught of injuries in the 2015 season, the Bellarmine men’s soccer team has a few more to battle as its season approaches.
Head coach Tim Chastonay said three players have already sustained key injuries during preseason. One major loss for Bellarmine is Beau Laufer, who tore the labrum in his hip.
“Beau Laufer, our leading scorer from last season has been lost for the year,” Chastonay said. “(Senior captain) Jared Kemper and Sanjin Mehicic will (also) miss a long stretch of the season due to fractures in their feet. We were expecting big seasons from each of these players.”
Despite the injuries, the team has many players who are ready to step in and make an impact. The Knights return senior defender and four-year starter Zach Digan who will bring experience to the backline along with senior defenders Joey Stoltz and Jerrick Valentine.
Sophomore and 2015 all-region midfielder Magnus Bertilsson and four-year starter Mitchell Wiseman are returning to anchor the midfield with the help of juniors Nathan Jones, Callum Southern and Ryan Fagan. Each of these players has the potential to help the team with goals and assists.
Chastonay is also relying on the nine incoming freshmen to help the team early in the season.
“The freshmen have all had solid preseason practices,” Chastonay said. “They seem to be adjusting well to the speed and physicality of the college game. We expect several to impact our team.”
Stoltz said he also was happy with how well the freshman adjusted to the team during preseason practices.
“I was just surprised on how big (of an) impact they had right away,” Stoltz said. “I don’t think many of us were expecting them to ball out so soon. They came in fit and ready to go.”
The Knights began their regular season with a 1-1-1 record, with their most recent result a 2-0 home victory over Kentucky Wesleyan College.
Men’s Golf
The Bellarmine men’s golf team has high hopes to make an appearance in its fifth NCAA Division II Championship Finals. The Knights ended their 2015-16 season in Denver, Colorado, with a 19th-place finish at the Division II Finals in May.
Junior DJ Vogt is looking forward to picking up from the end of the season.
“We only lost one player in our top five, which is very beneficial to our team chemistry,” Vogt said. “We know we have the ability to make it, but we just have to believe in ourselves and have confidence.”
The Knights return six of their top seven players including Vogt and 2016 Great Lakes Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, James Inman.
Coach Ernie Denham expects his returning six to perform well, but he is also confident in the capabilities of the four freshmen.
“Incoming freshman Corey Teaford and Cody French are both capable of playing very well at (the collegiate) level,” Denham said. “(The) biggest adjustment, as always for our new players, will be adapting to playing at much longer golf course than they played in high school and playing under some very challenging weather conditions in our Midwest Region events.”
The Knights tee off in their first invitational at Strawberry Creek Golf Course on Sept. 12 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Women’s Golf
For Bellarmine women’s golf coach Art Henry, academics is at the forefront. It was the first thing out of his mouth when it came to goals for the season.
“Academically, we set a team goal of a 3.4 GPA. The last several years we have crushed this, with GPAs over 3.6, so we’ll work towards maintaining this high standard,” Henry said.
Even though Henry wants his players to perform well in the classroom, he wants them to play well on the course as well. Bringing trophies back to Bellarmine is a top priority for Henry and his players.
“Athletically, we like nothing better than bringing hardware back to Bellarmine,” Henry said. “We consider hardware tournament wins or runner-ups for the team, medalists and all tournament awards for individuals.”
Henry hailed his experienced players all as people his younger players can look up to.
“My three upperclassmen, Michael Ann (Humphreys), Katie (Gathof) and Lindsey (Burklow) have all shown themselves to be great leaders both on and off the course,” Henry said.
With the majority of the team being underclassmen, Gathof said she wants to help the newbies find their footing in college golf.
“We have six freshmen this year and only three returning players,” Gathof said. “There is some responsibility for all three returning players to lead the freshman through the transition into collegiate golf.
Bellarmine will tee off its season at the University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagle Classic Sept. 11-12.
Men’s Cross-Country
In 2015, one point separated the Knights from a team appearance in the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. The Bellarmine men’s cross country team is ready to redeem themselves with the return of all seven of their top runners.
“Our top seven from last year’s region team will have to battle to remain in the top with the strength and depth of this year’s team,” head coach Jim Vargo said. “The depth is like no other we have had before. We will likely have guys not making it in our top 10 to 12 that would be a top five runner for the team in any other year.”
The Knights return junior All-American Chris Striegel who placed 26th in the NCAA D-II Championships in Joplin, Missouri, last year.
“Chris has followed up his tremendously successful campaign last year with the best summer training he has ever had,” Vargo said. “If he stays healthy, I expect he will finish in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships, (and) he will also contend to win the GLVC individual title.”
Seniors Cody Parks and Thomas Cave are expected to contend for the team’s top seven spots along with juniors Striegel, Nick Christensen, Nathan Wilkey, Joe Drabot, Josh Rodenberg and sophomore Cole Rodenberg.
Christensen said the team has been working hard in the preseason in order to achieve its goal of making it to the D-II Championships in Tampa, Florida, this November.
“The team atmosphere so far has been pretty nice and close-knit,” Christensen said. “Most all of our guys are pretty self-disciplined and know what needs to be done in order to be successful at our sport, which is very long and grueling.”
Bellarmine will begin its season on Sept. 10 in the Bluegrass Cross-Country Invitational in Lexington, Kentucky.
Women’s Cross-Country
For some coaches, the school for which they work is just another job. For Angela Musk, it means a whole lot more.
The New Hope, Kentucky, native is no stranger to the program. She was named an All-American three times as a Knight and holds various school records. So, it comes as no surprise that Musk’s face lit up when asked about taking the job.
“I frankly can’t believe that the opportunity presented itself and worked out. My plan before this was to go to graduate school, and it was a tough choice between this and going to (the University of Denver). But I couldn’t ask for a better situation,” Musk said.
Although Musk still gets starry-eyed talking about her new job, she knows it’s time to get down to business. Her team’s goals? Championships.
“Every year, the focus is always on conference championships, regional championships, which is the qualifier for the national championships, and hopefully the national championship as well,” she said.
Erin Crone, a junior from Indianapolis, echoed her new coach’s goals for the 2016 campaign.
“For our team goals, we want to win our conference meet and place in the top five at regionals to make it to nationals,” Crone said. “These are pretty high goals, but we have a strong group and I definitely think that we have a chance if we are really focused this season. Personally, I hope to improve my times throughout the season for both the 5k and 6k and be All-Regional for the first time. I also want to focus on positivity and supporting the team.”
Musk said she expects the GLVC to be tough again in 2016.
“Looking ahead to our conference, as usual we have a really competitive conference. It’s always really stacked. It’s hard to tell early on before teams start racing how it’s going to play out,” Musk said.
Bellarmine will begin its season on Sept. 10 in Lexington, Kentucky as part of the Bluegrass Cross-Country Invitational.
Field Hockey
Bellarmine field hockey head coach Mark Blankenbaker will look to his star studded front line and midline to carry the team to glory in 2016.
The Knights boast one of Division II’s most distinct threats in senior forward Kelsey O’Bryan. The Louisville native was named a second-team All-American by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association in 2015 after scoring 10 goals and dishing out four assists. Blankenbaker said O’Bryan has meant a great deal to the program as both a player and a leader through her career at Bellarmine.
“Kelsey’s either been the leading scorer, the leading assister or both in the past three years,” he said. “Being a second-team All-American, she’s had a huge impact. She’s a quiet leader but she leads by example. I think she has a really positive impact with the other girls playing with her.”
O’Bryan said because it’s her final year as a Knight, she wants to go out a winner.
“We’ve never won a conference tournament since we’ve been here,” O’Bryan said. “We’ve made it to the finals the past two years, and we lost. I’d love it if we could win the conference and get a ring.”
Bellarmine’s experience lies with O’Bryan and her teammates up front and in the middle, with returning starters such as Kathryn Schneidtmiller, Lillie Nitzken and Aimee Ilgenfritz. The Knights aren’t quite as experienced on defense.
“We have a very inexperienced backfield, except for Mary Ringwald. Our other two starters are people who have never started before.”
Although some coaches often set long-term goals for their teams, Blankenbaker sets achievable goals each game. However, the thought of a championship does linger in the back of the coach’s mind.
“(Our goal) is to play better game after game. That’s really the only goal,” he said. “Everybody thinks about winning a championship and I think about it, but I’m not really focused on it. I think if we get better we have a shot.”
The Knights began the season with a 3-0 victory over Seton Hill University and a 3-1 win against Mercyhurst University.
Volleyball
What’s the most important word for head coach Jenni Grzebin and her Bellarmine volleyball team this year?
Finish.
After a 2015 season full of close matches, the Knights will look to turn those close losses into victories.
“Our goals are to be very competitive. I thought we were competitive in our conference last year,” Grzebin said. “We were on the short end of some matches meaning we dropped several close sets. I attribute some of that to lack of experience and knowing when to push.”
Although the Knights struggled with the perils of youth last year, the underclassmen gained a valuable year of experience during the rough 10-22 campaign. Grzebin said she thinks that despite last year’s defeats, her returners learned a great deal in 2015.
“There’s nothing to replace experience. I think just being in a match and knowing how the game flows and feeling that competitive energy helps,” Grzebin said. “Even if you’ve been there before and you’ve not been successful, I still think being there is a lesson and gives you something to build on. I think it’s going to be super valuable to us returning a core group that’s been through those tight matches.”
The Knights will certainly need to improve how they fare in GLVC play to be competitive in the league, as they managed to go only 2-16 in conference action. Grzebin said she hopes leaders like senior Ashley Jefferson can show younger players the way this season.
“I think Ashley Jefferson brings a lot of experience on the right side for us. She’s played since the minute she got here. I’ve had the opportunity to coach her for four seasons now and she’s a true competitor,” Grzebin said.
Jefferson agreed with her coach and said she feels obligated to take the reigns of the team..
“I definitely feel a huge responsibility to lead this team, this being my fourth year at Bellarmine. I’ve really tried to set the tone and get everyone, teammates and coaches, on the same page to start the season strong,” Jefferson said. “As long as we all stay there and work together towards the same goals, then we should be successful in achieving them.”
Grzebin also said she expects Abby Biggs, a senior transfer from Lewis College, to contribute a great deal this season after sitting out in 2015.
“She really proved herself to this team because she practiced every day last year, despite not competing in the matches. People work harder being around (Biggs).”
The volleyball Knights opened their season in very impressive fashion, winning all four of their games at the Walsh Cavalier Classic in Akron, Ohio.