Here's my latest article for The Collegiate Times. Enjoy!
A younger and revamped Virginia Tech men’s soccer team will be tested this season with a challenging schedule.
The Hokies will face off against eight opponents ranked in the top-20 preseason poll, including St. John’s and defending national champion — and in-state Atlantic Coast Conference rival — University of Virginia.
“The rankings came out again and the ACC competitors are stacked up,” said Michael Brizendine, head coach. “All league games are dog fights. I think that we have some underdogs (on the team) like we did last year.”
The Hokies will look to new faces this season to improve upon a 5-12-2 campaign in 2009. There are 15 newcomers to the team this season, 12 of whom are freshmen.
Despite their inexperience, the freshmen will see significant playing time right away, including forward David Clemens, midfielder/forward Mikey Minutillo and midfielder Jose Velazquez.
“I think as the young guys get more comfortable you’ll see more out of them,” Brizendine said. “We have some exciting attacking players and most of those guys are young, so we have to get those freshman nerves out of the way as quick as possible.”
The team played the College of William & Mary Saturday in a friendly scrimmage. Although the Hokies lost 4-1, Brizendine was proud of the way they performed.
“From a learning perspective, I thought it went very well,” Brizendine said. “The score doesn’t obviously reflect it. But it gives us something to build on.”
A number of underclassmen received substantial playing time in the scrimmage, including Clemens — who played for 60 minutes.
Even with so many new faces, the team will still receive contributions from returning veterans.
“Clarke Bentley, Jon Snyder, Greg Cochrane and Dave Fiorello will be essential pieces to the puzzle, and they’re going to have to do well for us to have some success,” Brizendine said. “All those players play up the middle, so they’re always involved in what’s going on.”
The season goal for entire team, from the head coach all the way down the to players, is one thing: improvement.
“We want to do better in our league, we want to do better in our out-of-conference results,” Brizendine said. “Ultimately this will lead us to the NCAA tournament which is a goal.”
Bentley, a senior, said the players would like to see more wins this season, and hard work will be a main factor in reaching their goals.
“Individually, a goal for us would be to come out each and every training session and get better and work out,” Bentley said. “Hopefully if we come out and do that our results will improve and speak for our hard work. Numbers wise, I think that if we put the work in out here on the training field and then those things will come along like shutouts and goals.”
In addition, the players hope to continue the success in the classroom and on the pitch.
“We have a lot of goals set for the season ranging from GPAs and averages to finishing above .500 and making the NCAA tournament,” Clemens said.
He believes the preseason helped build the team’s chemistry and put the players in the right mindset.
“We’re looking to really find ourselves as a team,” Clemens said. “Hopefully we can come out with wins this season to really define ourselves and show everyone what we’re all about.
“We’ve really become a family.”
The regular season will begin Sept. 3 with the UVa tournament in Charlottesville, where the Hokies will take on No. 12 St. John’s. The players are looking forward to a match that will show what the team is made of.
“Especially during preseason, we’ve been a much more exciting team,” Bentley said. “Going forward we’re going to be more fluid. Defensively we’re more experienced. We bonded over the summer, which was important because we’re trying to achieve hopefully something very special.”
The team will play its home opener Sept. 17, in its first crucial ACC test against Clemson University. With all the new faces on the team there is excitement in the air.
However, if the team starts out slow there is not a need to lose faith according to Clemens.
“It’s going to take us a couple games to come together,” Clemens said. “But we’re definitely on our way there.”
Showing posts with label Virginia Tech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virginia Tech. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Hokies get off to the Wright start in ACC tournament
The Hokies took on the mighty Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, a team which the Hokies previously swept.
Georgia Tech started Derek McGuire, who was first team all-ACC, the ACC pitcher of the year and is expected to be a top ten pick in next month's Major League Baseball draft. But, during last night's game the Hokies made McGuire look extremely ordinary.
Virginia Tech starting pitcher Justin Wright was the one who truly put on a phenomenal pitching performance. Not only did he pitch a complete game, he had a career high 15 strikeouts and only gave up two runs.
Considering how he was shellacked in his last start against UNC, he really exceeded expectations.
The offense helped out Wright's performance by scoring six runs. In fact, Wright had a lead in the bottom of the first, thanks to a two-run home run by right fielder and first team all ACC, Austin Wates.
All of the Hokies runs came with two-outs. They loaded the bases twice with less then two outs, and the Yellow Jackets should be fortunate that the Hokies were unable to take advantage of the miscues of the GT pitching staff.
The Yellow Jackets pitching staff allowed five walks and six hits total.
So exactly how good was Wright? The Georgia Tech head coach put it best.
“We had no answer for Justin Wright," Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall said. "He’s good.”Virginia Tech head coach Pete Hughes, also had his own opinion on Wright's performance.
“That was probably the best starting performance I’ve seen at this level in my coaching career. It was dominant,” Hughes said.
If the Hokies are able to continue to have games like that, they will be one tough ball club to beat. Their goal is to win the ACC tournament.
The second baby-step towards that goal begins this afternoon with a game against Clemson. Sophomore starter Matthew Price takes the hill for the Hokies who hopes to repeat a performance like Wright's.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Pete Hughes deserves a little respect
The name most noticeably missing from the list was not a player.
No it was Virginia Tech's very own head coach Pete Hughes.
So who was the winner of the ACC coach of the year you might ask? None other then Virginia head coach Brian O'Connor.
Now I understand O'Connor is a great coach and has really turned the program around at Virginia and kept the team in the top five nationally all season, but I feel that many people are still suffering a bit of a hangover from the Wahoo's trip to Omaha last season.
Hughes has done a remarkable job turning around the program down in Blacksburg. The team has made the ACC tournament for the first time since 2005. This also coincides with the teams reentry into the national rankings for the first time since 1992. The Hokies have been ranked for roughly half the season and were as high as #12 prior to a sweep at the hands of North Carolina.
Going into the ACC tournament which begins on Thursday, the Hokies have an overall record of 36-19. Compared to last season's record of 32-21 and the 2008 season of 23-21, Hughes' determination to turn the program around is greatly visible.
His hope one day is to generate as much excitement over baseball as football and basketball get in Blacksburg.
I truly believe that with a good run in the postseason tournaments this will happen. After all when I recently talked to Hughes he said the goal of the team was to make it to Omaha.
For now, let's just shoot for winning the ACC tournament and making it to the NCAA regional portion of the tournament.
Then we can focus on Omaha.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Hokies avoid sweep against Hoos
This past weekend a baseball showdown in the Commonwealth took place between national powerhouse Virginia (the number 2 ranked Hoos) against the #20th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies.
I was personally present for Friday night's game at Davenport Field in Charlottesville and I'm rather happy I went to that game (even though the hokies lost) as opposed to the other two games. You see the first game was actually competitive on all sides of the ball.
Well, not really, it was just a more balanced game.
On Friday the Hoos defeated the Hokies with a score of 4-2. Unfortunately bad baseball got the best of the hokies after they got an early lead. How early you might ask? Oh just two batters into the game.
It started promising, but one thing I've learned following the Hokies is to never get your help up. We had a lead 1-0 after the first inning, not just the first inning but after the SECOND batter.
But all good things must come to an end. Junior starting pitcher Justin Wright walked two people with the bases loaded to bring in two runs during the fourth inning. This led to a 2-1 hoos lead that looked like it was going to hold up for the remainder of the game.
Until the top of the 8th inning. Andrew Rash hit a game tying home run.
Game tied. What was I thinking? Extra Innings no doubt.
Too bad the hokies defense decided to start summer vacation a little early. Catcher Steve Domecus air-mailed a throw to center field on a stolen base attempt which allowed the go-ahead run to score. But he doesn't deserve all the blame.
His buddy over at first, Ronnie Shaban bobbled a would be double play that allowed yet another run to score.
That was one of the worst innings I ever had to sit through, not to mention as an opposing fan in enemy territory.
Saturday's game wasn't much better as the Hokies got shellacked 8-3. That was embarrassing.
But all good things must come to an end 'Hoos fans.
That's right the impossible happened.
Virginia Tech DEFEATED the all mighty Virginia, in David versus Goliath fashion.
That's right when everything was looking down for us we scored five runs in the ninth to make the final score 8-5, salvaging an otherwise forgetful series.
-Courtney
PS I managed to get through a post about UVa baseball without mentioning the name of their Head Coach...what was his name?
Well, not really, it was just a more balanced game.
On Friday the Hoos defeated the Hokies with a score of 4-2. Unfortunately bad baseball got the best of the hokies after they got an early lead. How early you might ask? Oh just two batters into the game.
It started promising, but one thing I've learned following the Hokies is to never get your help up. We had a lead 1-0 after the first inning, not just the first inning but after the SECOND batter.
But all good things must come to an end. Junior starting pitcher Justin Wright walked two people with the bases loaded to bring in two runs during the fourth inning. This led to a 2-1 hoos lead that looked like it was going to hold up for the remainder of the game.
Until the top of the 8th inning. Andrew Rash hit a game tying home run.
Game tied. What was I thinking? Extra Innings no doubt.
Too bad the hokies defense decided to start summer vacation a little early. Catcher Steve Domecus air-mailed a throw to center field on a stolen base attempt which allowed the go-ahead run to score. But he doesn't deserve all the blame.
His buddy over at first, Ronnie Shaban bobbled a would be double play that allowed yet another run to score.
That was one of the worst innings I ever had to sit through, not to mention as an opposing fan in enemy territory.
Saturday's game wasn't much better as the Hokies got shellacked 8-3. That was embarrassing.
But all good things must come to an end 'Hoos fans.
That's right the impossible happened.
Virginia Tech DEFEATED the all mighty Virginia, in David versus Goliath fashion.
That's right when everything was looking down for us we scored five runs in the ninth to make the final score 8-5, salvaging an otherwise forgetful series.
-Courtney
PS I managed to get through a post about UVa baseball without mentioning the name of their Head Coach...what was his name?
Friday, April 16, 2010
neVer forgeT 4/16
"While 32 of our friends and classmates are trying to explain to heaven what a Hokie is, I stand here sure in the fact that I wouldn’t want to be anything else."
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Siblings extend family tradition as Tech athletes
Here's my latest article for The Collegiate Times.
Chicago maroon and burnt orange are two colors that have run through the Blow family since 1979 when Carol and Mike Blow entered their freshmen year at Virginia Tech.
Now, more than 30 years later, their children, Katie and Matt, continue that tradition of representing Tech by attending school in Blacksburg just like their parents did.
Katie is a sophomore human, nutrition, food and exercise major, and Matt is a senior residential property management major.
Other than the fact that the Blow children attend the same school, there is another factor that makes their relationship quite unique.
Matt and Katie are talented varsity athletes.
Matt is a redshirt junior on the Tech baseball team. Splitting his time between first and third base, he has amassed a .271 career batting average in three years. This season, he plays a vital utility role for the Hokies.
Katie is a member of the Tech tennis team. In two years of work, she has compiled an impressive 26-15 overall record. This year, she is one of the rising stars on a young team that features just two juniors as its eldest members.
Their mother explained how two children from one family can make it to such a high level at the same school.
“They’ve always been really close,” Carol Blow said. “They’ve had a bit of competition between the two of them, I guess, but in a friendly way. They’re very supportive of each other.
“Growing up, Matt spent a lot of time teaching Katie how to do whatever it was he was doing, whether it was catching for baseball or something else. They’ve both been huge supporters of each other. Now it’s tough for them to go to each other’s events, but they do go when they can.”
Both Katie and Matt believe that being away at school together has made them closer than they were prior to college.
“We’ve always been really good friends,” Katie said. “And we’ve actually become better friends since we’ve been here at Tech.”
“We’re both really competitive with each other,” Matt added. “I’ll definitely go home and play some tennis with her, and she’ll come out and throw the baseball with me.”
Matt transferred to Tech from the College of William & Mary after his freshman year. Coincidentally, he had been faced with the same decision in his senior year of high school.
While he initially decided to attend William & Mary, it didn’t take long for him to realize it wasn’t where he belonged.
“William & Mary wasn’t the school for me,” Matt said. “It ended up not being the school for me. It was a long process but in the end, I’m happy with the choice I made.”
Matt’s decision to transfer proved to be beneficial for the entire family, though, as the following year Katie made her decision to play tennis for the Hokies.
“Obviously the tennis was a big factor in coming here, but him being here was definitely a positive factor,” Katie said.
Even though both Katie and Matt ended up at Tech, neither of them felt they were pressured by their parents to come to Blacksburg to represent the Hokies.
“They never pushed us to go to Tech when we were growing up but both Matt and I just love it here,” Katie said.
Their mother agreed, adding that although she and her husband were ecstatic the kids chose Tech, they weren’t a factor in either decision.
“We’re thrilled that they chose Tech,” Carol said. “Each of them made a decision independent of one another and it’s just kind of funny that they both chose Tech. It’s a good fit for them both academically and athletically.”
Carol and Mike make frequent trips to Blacksburg to support their children.
“We try to come as often as we can,” Carol said. “It’s not very often that baseball and tennis play in Blacksburg at the same time, but when those weekends happen, we’ll be there.”
Matt says he enjoys the time he gets to spend with his parents when they do visit.
“I know every time they come back we’ll always go out and walk around campus and they’ll say ‘This is new,’” Matt said. “They really like coming back to Blacksburg, and it really helps that we’re here so they are able to do that.”
Even though their schedules are sometimes hectic and usually overlap with one another, the siblings try to support each other as much as they can by showing up at each other’s events.
“I usually get to go to a lot of his weekday games,” Katie said. “I go to the ones on the weekends when I can.”
“It’s hectic,” Matt said. “Our schedules are pretty busy during the spring. She’ll be on the road one weekend and I’ll be on the road, or I’ll be on the road and she’ll be on the road. It’s tough, but we try to do what we can.”
Through hard work throughout the season and offseason, the Blow siblings have experienced success in their respective sports.
Tennis head coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods said it’s clear the kids were raised well.
“Katie’s such a team player,” Zawacki-Woods said. “She’s one of the hardest workers on our team so she really does a great job of setting the standard in practice. She’s shown a lot of improvement so she’s just a very positive force on our squad.
“Her work ethic is second to none,” she continued. “She works so hard at everything both on the tennis court and in the classroom. She’s such a perfectionist she’ll be out here, until she gets her stroke just right, which is just a pleasure to coach.”
The baseball team is off to a great start this year, earning a national ranking of No. 25 this week thanks to a 21-10 overall record. Matt has contributed two homeruns and 10 RBIs. He is currently batting .286 for the Hokies.
Baseball head coach Pete Hughes can count on Matt’s leadership qualities as well as his contributions on the field.
“Matty’s a kid who’s developed real leadership qualities,” Hughes said. “Whether he’s playing or not he doesn’t back down vocally ... he’s going to speak up.”
“He has a positive team-first attitude,” Hughes said. “He’s the most improved guy in our program hands down. He was our fall MVP.”
Matt’s versatility to play both first and third base allows Hughes to make more moves when a victory is on the line.
“He gives us some flexibility to make some moves late in the game,” Hughes said. “I have no problem putting him at third. That just speaks for the type of athlete and baseball player he is.”
While Mike and Carol are thrilled that their children are representing the Hokies on the playing field, Carol is just excited that herkids get to experience Tech like she did.
“It’s such a unique atmosphere and Hokie Nation is really like nothing out there,” she said.
Now, more than 30 years later, their children, Katie and Matt, continue that tradition of representing Tech by attending school in Blacksburg just like their parents did.
Katie is a sophomore human, nutrition, food and exercise major, and Matt is a senior residential property management major.
Other than the fact that the Blow children attend the same school, there is another factor that makes their relationship quite unique.
Matt and Katie are talented varsity athletes.
Matt is a redshirt junior on the Tech baseball team. Splitting his time between first and third base, he has amassed a .271 career batting average in three years. This season, he plays a vital utility role for the Hokies.
Katie is a member of the Tech tennis team. In two years of work, she has compiled an impressive 26-15 overall record. This year, she is one of the rising stars on a young team that features just two juniors as its eldest members.
Their mother explained how two children from one family can make it to such a high level at the same school.
“They’ve always been really close,” Carol Blow said. “They’ve had a bit of competition between the two of them, I guess, but in a friendly way. They’re very supportive of each other.
“Growing up, Matt spent a lot of time teaching Katie how to do whatever it was he was doing, whether it was catching for baseball or something else. They’ve both been huge supporters of each other. Now it’s tough for them to go to each other’s events, but they do go when they can.”
Both Katie and Matt believe that being away at school together has made them closer than they were prior to college.
“We’ve always been really good friends,” Katie said. “And we’ve actually become better friends since we’ve been here at Tech.”
“We’re both really competitive with each other,” Matt added. “I’ll definitely go home and play some tennis with her, and she’ll come out and throw the baseball with me.”
Matt transferred to Tech from the College of William & Mary after his freshman year. Coincidentally, he had been faced with the same decision in his senior year of high school.
While he initially decided to attend William & Mary, it didn’t take long for him to realize it wasn’t where he belonged.
“William & Mary wasn’t the school for me,” Matt said. “It ended up not being the school for me. It was a long process but in the end, I’m happy with the choice I made.”
Matt’s decision to transfer proved to be beneficial for the entire family, though, as the following year Katie made her decision to play tennis for the Hokies.
“Obviously the tennis was a big factor in coming here, but him being here was definitely a positive factor,” Katie said.
Even though both Katie and Matt ended up at Tech, neither of them felt they were pressured by their parents to come to Blacksburg to represent the Hokies.
“They never pushed us to go to Tech when we were growing up but both Matt and I just love it here,” Katie said.
Their mother agreed, adding that although she and her husband were ecstatic the kids chose Tech, they weren’t a factor in either decision.
“We’re thrilled that they chose Tech,” Carol said. “Each of them made a decision independent of one another and it’s just kind of funny that they both chose Tech. It’s a good fit for them both academically and athletically.”
Carol and Mike make frequent trips to Blacksburg to support their children.
“We try to come as often as we can,” Carol said. “It’s not very often that baseball and tennis play in Blacksburg at the same time, but when those weekends happen, we’ll be there.”
Matt says he enjoys the time he gets to spend with his parents when they do visit.
“I know every time they come back we’ll always go out and walk around campus and they’ll say ‘This is new,’” Matt said. “They really like coming back to Blacksburg, and it really helps that we’re here so they are able to do that.”
Even though their schedules are sometimes hectic and usually overlap with one another, the siblings try to support each other as much as they can by showing up at each other’s events.
“I usually get to go to a lot of his weekday games,” Katie said. “I go to the ones on the weekends when I can.”
“It’s hectic,” Matt said. “Our schedules are pretty busy during the spring. She’ll be on the road one weekend and I’ll be on the road, or I’ll be on the road and she’ll be on the road. It’s tough, but we try to do what we can.”
Through hard work throughout the season and offseason, the Blow siblings have experienced success in their respective sports.
Tennis head coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods said it’s clear the kids were raised well.
“Katie’s such a team player,” Zawacki-Woods said. “She’s one of the hardest workers on our team so she really does a great job of setting the standard in practice. She’s shown a lot of improvement so she’s just a very positive force on our squad.
“Her work ethic is second to none,” she continued. “She works so hard at everything both on the tennis court and in the classroom. She’s such a perfectionist she’ll be out here, until she gets her stroke just right, which is just a pleasure to coach.”
The baseball team is off to a great start this year, earning a national ranking of No. 25 this week thanks to a 21-10 overall record. Matt has contributed two homeruns and 10 RBIs. He is currently batting .286 for the Hokies.
Baseball head coach Pete Hughes can count on Matt’s leadership qualities as well as his contributions on the field.
“Matty’s a kid who’s developed real leadership qualities,” Hughes said. “Whether he’s playing or not he doesn’t back down vocally ... he’s going to speak up.”
“He has a positive team-first attitude,” Hughes said. “He’s the most improved guy in our program hands down. He was our fall MVP.”
Matt’s versatility to play both first and third base allows Hughes to make more moves when a victory is on the line.
“He gives us some flexibility to make some moves late in the game,” Hughes said. “I have no problem putting him at third. That just speaks for the type of athlete and baseball player he is.”
While Mike and Carol are thrilled that their children are representing the Hokies on the playing field, Carol is just excited that herkids get to experience Tech like she did.
“It’s such a unique atmosphere and Hokie Nation is really like nothing out there,” she said.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Women's, men's swimmers close stellar season
Here's my latest article for The Collegiate Times.
The H2Okies completed its season with a trip to the NCAA Championship meets over the past two weeks.
The women traveled to Indiana to compete from March 18-20, while the men traveled to Ohio to finish their competition this past weekend.
The women came in 24th place with 26 overall points.
“When you’re in the top 25, we like to think that puts us as an elite program,” women’s head coach Ned Skinner said.
Sophomore Erika Hajnal concluded her dominant season with a 30th place finish in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 16:25:00. Hajnal also swam the 400 individual medley, finishing eighth and earning All-American honors.
Skinner believes Hajnal’s contributions to the team have been a blessing.
“Erika Hajnal is a coach’s dream,” Skinner said. “She’s incredibly talented and fast. She scores a lot of points ... and is a lot of fun to work with. When she puts her Virginia Tech stuff on, she’s really there to represent our school.”
Junior Lauren Ritter also competed in the 1650 free, finishing in 35th place with a time of 16:34.29.
While Ritter swam her personal best in the event, she stressed that the ACC championship was more important because it’s a team event, rather then an individual one like the NCAA’s.
“It’s hard to go a best time only a month after conference meet, which is obviously the biggest focus for the team,” Ritter said.
Freshman Katarina Filova competed in the 100 freestyle and finished in 39th place with a time of 49.80.
“I wanted to do better but I’m happy with the way I finished. I was just a little pissed off that I missed the finals by one-tenth of a second.”
Even though Filova may have been a little disappointed with her swim, the time was good enough to set a new school record.
Filova also swam in the 200-meter freestyle, finishing 16th overall.
Hajnal, Ritter and Filova also teamed up with senior Kelly deMarrais in the 800-meter freestyle relay during the championships. The quartet finished tenth, the highest in program history, and earned an honorable mention All-American accolade.
Going into the last turn of the event, the girls were tied with four other teams. That’s where Ritter swam the fastest she ever had, almost a second faster then her best time according to Skinner.
“She could have faded and ended up 15th,” Skinner said. “Instead, she persevered and pushed through and ended up tenth.”
The girls have a method of getting pumped before the race that is rather unorthodox to say the least.
“Every time before a relay we try to get hyper and cheer each other on,” Filova said. “Kelly and I usually slap each other in the face before the race to get hyper. It actually helps a lot.”
Ritter shared more light into their pre-swim ritual.
“We like to do a team scream before the relay to get pumped up,” Ritter said. “It’s fun because we’re the only ones from our team there so right before we get in a huddle and were like, ‘All right scream on three,’ and we just screamed as loud as we could and then everyone just started staring at us.”
“It’s good to see that all four of us were having fun,” Filova said. “The most important thing is to have fun with everything.”
The race earned the women 14 points toward their team total of 26 points.
All of the team’s representatives except for Hajnal experienced their first NCAA championship meet.
On the men’s side, the team sent one swimmer, sophomore Charlie Higgins, and two divers, senior Mikey McDonald and freshman Logan Shinholser to represent the team.
Higgins, McDonald and Shinholser had to wait an extra day for their events. The start of the men’s championships was delayed by one day after multiple members of different teams contracted the norovirus on the flight into Ohio.
“Texas, Stanford and Arizona had the same flight in out of Dallas,” Higgins said.
“I guess someone on their flight had the norovirus; 18 swimmers started out with it. They thought it was just airborne illness that wasn’t really contagious. On Wednesday, we had open pool time to practice and then two coaches and four other swimmers got sick,” he said. “The swimmers ended up going to the hospital to help their recovery time and they weren’t allowed to swim until they got better.”
Skinner believed he and his fellow coaches were more affected than the competitors themselves.
“It probably hurt the coaches more,” Skinner said. “You had the team geared up, ready to go and then they said ‘wait.’ We just woke up on Thursday and did Wednesday all over again.”
“The NCAA decided that the norovirus was too risky for the student athletes so we had to just deal with it,” he said.
When the competition finally got underway, Higgins broke his own school record in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 1:43.72 during the preliminary round of competition on Friday. Higgins set the previous record in 2009.
“I was definitely happy with that swim after I didn’t do so well at ACC’s,” Higgins said.
Higgins also finished 25th in the 100-meter backstroke.
McDonald and Shinholser finished 24th and 25th, respectively, in the diving events. McDonald ended with 267.60 points while Shinholser completed competition with 245.05 points.
McDonald also finished 18th while Shinholser finished 33rd in the one-meter platform event on Friday.
None of the men made it to the final round of competition. Still, head coach Ned Skinner was still impressed.
“We were disappointed we didn’t score points but were real proud of the way they performed,” Skinner said.
The H2Okies completed its season with a trip to the NCAA Championship meets over the past two weeks.
The women traveled to Indiana to compete from March 18-20, while the men traveled to Ohio to finish their competition this past weekend.
The women came in 24th place with 26 overall points.
“When you’re in the top 25, we like to think that puts us as an elite program,” women’s head coach Ned Skinner said.
Sophomore Erika Hajnal concluded her dominant season with a 30th place finish in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 16:25:00. Hajnal also swam the 400 individual medley, finishing eighth and earning All-American honors.
Skinner believes Hajnal’s contributions to the team have been a blessing.
“Erika Hajnal is a coach’s dream,” Skinner said. “She’s incredibly talented and fast. She scores a lot of points ... and is a lot of fun to work with. When she puts her Virginia Tech stuff on, she’s really there to represent our school.”
Junior Lauren Ritter also competed in the 1650 free, finishing in 35th place with a time of 16:34.29.
While Ritter swam her personal best in the event, she stressed that the ACC championship was more important because it’s a team event, rather then an individual one like the NCAA’s.
“It’s hard to go a best time only a month after conference meet, which is obviously the biggest focus for the team,” Ritter said.
Freshman Katarina Filova competed in the 100 freestyle and finished in 39th place with a time of 49.80.
“I wanted to do better but I’m happy with the way I finished. I was just a little pissed off that I missed the finals by one-tenth of a second.”
Even though Filova may have been a little disappointed with her swim, the time was good enough to set a new school record.
Filova also swam in the 200-meter freestyle, finishing 16th overall.
Hajnal, Ritter and Filova also teamed up with senior Kelly deMarrais in the 800-meter freestyle relay during the championships. The quartet finished tenth, the highest in program history, and earned an honorable mention All-American accolade.
Going into the last turn of the event, the girls were tied with four other teams. That’s where Ritter swam the fastest she ever had, almost a second faster then her best time according to Skinner.
“She could have faded and ended up 15th,” Skinner said. “Instead, she persevered and pushed through and ended up tenth.”
The girls have a method of getting pumped before the race that is rather unorthodox to say the least.
“Every time before a relay we try to get hyper and cheer each other on,” Filova said. “Kelly and I usually slap each other in the face before the race to get hyper. It actually helps a lot.”
Ritter shared more light into their pre-swim ritual.
“We like to do a team scream before the relay to get pumped up,” Ritter said. “It’s fun because we’re the only ones from our team there so right before we get in a huddle and were like, ‘All right scream on three,’ and we just screamed as loud as we could and then everyone just started staring at us.”
“It’s good to see that all four of us were having fun,” Filova said. “The most important thing is to have fun with everything.”
The race earned the women 14 points toward their team total of 26 points.
All of the team’s representatives except for Hajnal experienced their first NCAA championship meet.
On the men’s side, the team sent one swimmer, sophomore Charlie Higgins, and two divers, senior Mikey McDonald and freshman Logan Shinholser to represent the team.
Higgins, McDonald and Shinholser had to wait an extra day for their events. The start of the men’s championships was delayed by one day after multiple members of different teams contracted the norovirus on the flight into Ohio.
“Texas, Stanford and Arizona had the same flight in out of Dallas,” Higgins said.
“I guess someone on their flight had the norovirus; 18 swimmers started out with it. They thought it was just airborne illness that wasn’t really contagious. On Wednesday, we had open pool time to practice and then two coaches and four other swimmers got sick,” he said. “The swimmers ended up going to the hospital to help their recovery time and they weren’t allowed to swim until they got better.”
Skinner believed he and his fellow coaches were more affected than the competitors themselves.
“It probably hurt the coaches more,” Skinner said. “You had the team geared up, ready to go and then they said ‘wait.’ We just woke up on Thursday and did Wednesday all over again.”
“The NCAA decided that the norovirus was too risky for the student athletes so we had to just deal with it,” he said.
When the competition finally got underway, Higgins broke his own school record in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 1:43.72 during the preliminary round of competition on Friday. Higgins set the previous record in 2009.
“I was definitely happy with that swim after I didn’t do so well at ACC’s,” Higgins said.
Higgins also finished 25th in the 100-meter backstroke.
McDonald and Shinholser finished 24th and 25th, respectively, in the diving events. McDonald ended with 267.60 points while Shinholser completed competition with 245.05 points.
McDonald also finished 18th while Shinholser finished 33rd in the one-meter platform event on Friday.
None of the men made it to the final round of competition. Still, head coach Ned Skinner was still impressed.
“We were disappointed we didn’t score points but were real proud of the way they performed,” Skinner said.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Disqualification pushes track and field from ACC title
Here's my latest article for The Collegiate Times
A controversial disqualification cost the men’s track and field team an Atlantic Coast Conference title this past weekend at home in the Rector Fieldhouse.
The call was made in the men’s 3,000-meter event Saturday, where sophomore Will Mulherin initially won the event before officials determined that he pushed a Florida State runner, thus disqualifying the Virginia Tech sophomore.
According to Tech track and field head coach Dave Cianelli, the call was questionable at best and could have gone either way.
“Whether I or anybody else thinks it was a good call is something we’re going to have to live with,” Cianelli said. “It’s a judgment call on the part of the official. What I saw was the Florida State runner tried to cut in without enough room, and Will put his hand out to try to keep from falling. I didn’t agree with the call but I’m not going to dwell on it and say that it cost us the meet.”
Running referee Richard Messenger explained the call in a statement after the meet.
“The Virginia Tech athlete pushed another athlete as they were entering the bell lap, causing him to break stride. This is a violation of Rule 5-5-3a. The resulting action was a disqualification of the Virginia Tech athlete,” Messenger said.
The disqualification cost the Hokies 10 points and awarded Florida State two extra points when its runner received credit for a second place finish, rather than a third.
The point swing left the Hokies with 97 instead of 107 total points at the end of the meet, while the Seminoles finished with 107 total points, instead of the 105 they would have finished with had Mulherin not been disqualified.
The University of North Carolina finished in second place with a score of 103.5.
Despite a controversial end to the men’s events, a women’s third-place finish and several record-breaking performances on both ends left Cianelli with a lot to be pleased about when the weekend was over.
“I’m really happy with how our athletes performed,” Cianelli said.
The men’s team was actually in first place following the competition Friday, credited mostly to the strong competition of the weight throwers.
Freshman thrower Alexander Ziegler won the ACC title while also setting a personal best of 73-10.25. He’ll move on in two weeks to compete in the NCAA championship.
“I’m pretty happy that I won my first ACC meet,” Ziegler said. “I have to fix some things. I lost a little technique a little bit, to get ready for NCAA meet in two weeks and I should be fine. I had three throws over my old (personal record). That is an awesome
result.”
Friday’s meet also brought a minor scare to the men’s team, however. Sophomore standout sprinter Keith Ricks was injured during the preliminary race of the 200-meter event after he felt his hamstring “twinge.”
“About halfway into the race, he pulled up and the doctors checked him out and everything,” Cianelli said. “He’s pretty healthy since it wasn’t a strain or a pull, which obviously would have been a longer rehab. It was smart that he stopped because if he hadn’t it may have been much worse than it was.”
Ricks did not compete in Saturday’s meet and will begin rehabbing his injury this week. Cianelli is hopeful Ricks can compete in the NCAA meet.
“He did the right thing,” Cianelli said. “Thankfully it wasn’t anything serious that’s going to keep him out for a long period of time.”
On the women’s side, senior Queen Harrison continued her dominant season by winning the 60-meter hurdles while also setting another ACC record in the event.
Harrison set a new conference meet record with a time of 7.99 seconds Friday during the preliminary round and lowered the mark to 7.94 seconds later on. Harrison set the Tech school record with her new time, beating the previous time of 7.96 seconds.
“It was good,” Harrison said. “I think with the 7.99 I set myself to run really fast. I felt like I executed the race really, really well. I was surprised by the time but I felt like I’d probably run it faster then (Friday).”
With her new time, Harrison also made herself known as one of the fastest in the world.
“This is really the first year since probably her freshman year that she’s been healthy and been able to train consistently,” Cianelli said. “I feel like this year she’s doing some of the little things to maintain her health and that’s paid off. Running 7.94 is the fifth best time in the world right now.”
Senior Kristi Castlin finished second behind Harrison with a time of 8.11 seconds.
“If Queen’s not on top of her game, Kristi’s right there ready,” Cianelli said. “The nice thing in training (together), they see each other every day and are pushing each other.”
Harrison also won in the 400-meter event, setting another school record with a time of 53.06 seconds.
“She’s in the best shape of her life right now and I think the success she’s had will carry over to the outdoor season,” said Cianelli.
Back on the men’s side, some success came Saturday without controversy.
The men made up for some of the points lost in the 3,000 in the field, with an impressive performance from the team’s pole-vaulters.
The Hokies placed first, second, third and fifth in the event — a remarkable feat in any event.
Junior Hunter Hall won the event, followed by junior Jared Jodon, senior Yavgeniy Olhovsky and junior Joe Davis, respectively.
“To go one, two, three, five is an amazing performance and certainly, I think is a little unexpected,” said Cianelli.
To cap off the meet, the Hokies took second place in the women’s 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:39:69. The relay included Harrison, freshman Yvonne Amegashie, freshman Funmi Alabi and sophomore Aunye Boone.
“We have a really young team and I felt like everyone did their best especially since we’re such a young team,” Harrison said.
Overall, Cianelli was very pleased with the results from the meet and indoor season.
“It was just an amazing day,” he said. “We put ourselves in position to win the meet, which was the goal, we want to be a contender each time out and that’s what we were.”
Several members of the team will compete in the NCAA meet in two weeks.
After that, the team will shift gears and focus on the spring season, which begins on March 19 in Clemson,
S.C. at the Clemson Invitational.
“We have a very young team and we’re going to only get better,” Cianelli said.
With her new time, Harrison also made herself known as one of the fastest in the world.
“This is really the first year since probably her freshman year that she’s been healthy and been able to train consistently,” Cianelli said. “I feel like this year she’s doing some of the little things to maintain her health and that’s paid off. Running 7.94 is the fifth best time in the world right now.”
Senior Kristi Castlin finished second behind Harrison with a time of 8.11 seconds.
“If Queen’s not on top of her game, Kristi’s right there ready,” Cianelli said. “The nice thing in training (together), they see each other every day and are pushing each other.”
Harrison also won in the 400-meter event, setting another school record with a time of 53.06 seconds.
“She’s in the best shape of her life right now and I think the success she’s had will carry over to the outdoor season,” said Cianelli.
Back on the men’s side, some success came Saturday without controversy.
The men made up for some of the points lost in the 3,000 in the field, with an impressive performance from the team’s pole-vaulters.
The Hokies placed first, second, third and fifth in the event — a remarkable feat in any event.
Junior Hunter Hall won the event, followed by junior Jared Jodon, senior Yavgeniy Olhovsky and junior Joe Davis, respectively.
“To go one, two, three, five is an amazing performance and certainly, I think is a little unexpected,” said Cianelli.
To cap off the meet, the Hokies took second place in the women’s 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:39:69. The relay included Harrison, freshman Yvonne Amegashie, freshman Funmi Alabi and sophomore Aunye Boone.
“We have a really young team and I felt like everyone did their best especially since we’re such a young team,” Harrison said.
Overall, Cianelli was very pleased with the results from the meet and indoor season.
“It was just an amazing day,” he said. “We put ourselves in position to win the meet, which was the goal, we want to be a contender each time out and that’s what we were.”
Several members of the team will compete in the NCAA meet in two weeks.
After that, the team will shift gears and focus on the spring season, which begins on March 19 in Clemson,
S.C. at the Clemson Invitational.
“We have a very young team and we’re going to only get better,” Cianelli said.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Track & Field Seniors Help Build An Established Program
Here's my latest article for The Collegiate Times www.collegiatetimes.com
The Virginia Tech track and field program recently surpassed the mere average squads of the Atlantic Coast Conference to become an elite and established team.
Four years ago, senior hurdler Kristi Castlin chose to come to Tech following a successful high school career in Georgia. When Castlin signed with the Hokies, the program had not yet become established in the ACC after recently switching conferences from the Big East.
“I wanted to come here and help build an elite program,” Castlin said. “It was important to me to be a part of something like this.”
According to track and field director Dave Cianelli, Castlin, along with fellow seniors Asia Washington and Queen Harrison, has done just that.
“Kristi, Queen and Asia have really helped develop our program into one of the more successful ones over the past few seasons in the ACC,” Cianelli said. “Their success has generated interest from more and more prospective student athletes for the future of our program.”
Castlin’s improvements this season have not gone unnoticed from her coaches.
“Kristi has really stepped up her training program this year,” said Charles Foster, the sprints, hurdles and jumps coach. “When I first got here, we had a meeting together, laying out my expectations for the program and how I needed her to be a leader. At first, I don’t think she was accepting with the changes (as some of her teammates were), but now she’s really come around to the philosophy of the program.”
Castlin competes in all of the hurdle events but specializes in the sprinting events such as the 60-meter and 100-meter hurdles where she has earned All-America honors. She has been earning All-America honors since her freshman year.
“Those races are so short you have to block out everything you’re thinking about before the race and just sprint as fast as you possibly can,” Castlin said.
Castlin has also taken a larger role as a leader for her fellow sprinters and hurdlers this season, primarily with her actions rather than her words.
“I try to lead by example, otherwise I’ll be talking to (someone) until I’m blue in the face,” Castlin said.
“The way she performs during practices and meets really sets an example for all of her teammates,” Cianelli said. “They take notice of her and of the success she’s had.”
While at Tech, Castlin’s success has gone beyond the track. She has also been recognized as a member of the ACC-All Academic team in 2007 and 2009.
With both the academic success and her talent on the track, Castlin has her options open. She wants to attend graduate school following graduation this May, and Tech is one of the schools she’s considering to continue her education.
Castlin also plans to try to pursue a career as a professional when her collegiate eligibility is complete.
“When her eligibility is up, if she’s continuing to work as hard as she is this season, then she has a shot at turning pro, but it depends on her work ethic,” Foster said.
For now, Castlin is looking forward to the spring season and wants to have her best season to close out her senior year. She also wants to win two prestigious titles she’s been wanting her whole career.
“I really want to win a NCAA title as well as a title at the Penn Relays,” she said. “I just really want to run as fast as I ever have.”
The Virginia Tech track and field program recently surpassed the mere average squads of the Atlantic Coast Conference to become an elite and established team.
Four years ago, senior hurdler Kristi Castlin chose to come to Tech following a successful high school career in Georgia. When Castlin signed with the Hokies, the program had not yet become established in the ACC after recently switching conferences from the Big East.
“I wanted to come here and help build an elite program,” Castlin said. “It was important to me to be a part of something like this.”
According to track and field director Dave Cianelli, Castlin, along with fellow seniors Asia Washington and Queen Harrison, has done just that.
“Kristi, Queen and Asia have really helped develop our program into one of the more successful ones over the past few seasons in the ACC,” Cianelli said. “Their success has generated interest from more and more prospective student athletes for the future of our program.”
Castlin’s improvements this season have not gone unnoticed from her coaches.
“Kristi has really stepped up her training program this year,” said Charles Foster, the sprints, hurdles and jumps coach. “When I first got here, we had a meeting together, laying out my expectations for the program and how I needed her to be a leader. At first, I don’t think she was accepting with the changes (as some of her teammates were), but now she’s really come around to the philosophy of the program.”
Castlin competes in all of the hurdle events but specializes in the sprinting events such as the 60-meter and 100-meter hurdles where she has earned All-America honors. She has been earning All-America honors since her freshman year.
“Those races are so short you have to block out everything you’re thinking about before the race and just sprint as fast as you possibly can,” Castlin said.
Castlin has also taken a larger role as a leader for her fellow sprinters and hurdlers this season, primarily with her actions rather than her words.
“I try to lead by example, otherwise I’ll be talking to (someone) until I’m blue in the face,” Castlin said.
“The way she performs during practices and meets really sets an example for all of her teammates,” Cianelli said. “They take notice of her and of the success she’s had.”
While at Tech, Castlin’s success has gone beyond the track. She has also been recognized as a member of the ACC-All Academic team in 2007 and 2009.
With both the academic success and her talent on the track, Castlin has her options open. She wants to attend graduate school following graduation this May, and Tech is one of the schools she’s considering to continue her education.
Castlin also plans to try to pursue a career as a professional when her collegiate eligibility is complete.
“When her eligibility is up, if she’s continuing to work as hard as she is this season, then she has a shot at turning pro, but it depends on her work ethic,” Foster said.
For now, Castlin is looking forward to the spring season and wants to have her best season to close out her senior year. She also wants to win two prestigious titles she’s been wanting her whole career.
“I really want to win a NCAA title as well as a title at the Penn Relays,” she said. “I just really want to run as fast as I ever have.”
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Harrison Sets New School Record, Strives for NCAA title
Here's my newest article for Virginia Tech's paper, The Collegiate Times. www.collegiatetimes.com
Senior Queen Harrison broke Virginia Tech’s record for the women’s 400-meter with a time of 53.64 seconds, earning herself a trip to the NCAA Championship in just the first meet of the indoor season.
Her sprints coach Charles Foster is not surprised by the record.
“She knows that if she can run her fastest time the first time she hits the track, the sky’s the limit for her,” Foster said.
“I’m not surprised in her first competition that she was able to run as well as she did,” said Dave Cianelli, the Tech director of track and field. “It’s certainly exciting because it shows she’s in very good shape, but that she’s (also) going to run faster. It’s just a matter of her staying healthy for her to do that.”
Even Harrison did not seem all that surprised with the results.
“I want to say it was a surprise, but I also feel like I’m running a whole lot faster this season,” she said.
When it comes to events, Harrison runs several that vary from indoor season (60-meter hurdles, the 400-meter and 4x4 relay) to the spring outdoor season (100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles and 4x4 relay).
Harrison, one of the most talented track athletes to ever come through Tech’s program, has been a key contributor to the team since her freshman season when she first earned the All-American title.
She was a member of Team USA in the 2008 Olympics following her sophomore year and competed in the 400-meter hurdles where she reached the
semifinals.
“Even though she made the Olympic team in the 400-meter hurdles, I’m not convinced that’s her best event, because she hasn’t really maximized her potential in the 100-meter hurdles,” Cianelli said.
Cianelli believes Harrison’s contributions to the program have extended well beyond the track. He looks to her to be a leader for others on the team.
“She’s a really tremendous leader in addition to being a very talented athlete,” Cianelli said. “That has really helped our younger athletes on the team. To be able to get the leadership and direction from someone who’s been as successful as her really means a lot. When you have someone of her ability and background speak up, people typically listen. She’s very team oriented and very interested in the team doing well as a whole.”
Harrison learned how important it was to be a leader from the senior class during her freshman year and knows how important it is to serve as a mentor for the underclassmen.
“I love my teammates looking up to me and being a leader, that’s something I pride myself on more than anytime I run,” Harrison said.
Harrison’s ultimate goal for the remainder of this season and the upcoming one is to stay healthy. Last year, she was limited to just two meets after having multiple hamstring injuries.
“I’m really striving to be a national champion, but the NCAA title is something I really want to capture both indoor and outdoor,” she said.
Following graduation she looks to turn professional in order to continue her career.
“I’m just going to continue training,” Harrison said. “Luckily, I’ve been blessed with enough time so I can hopefully run professionally.”
Senior Queen Harrison broke Virginia Tech’s record for the women’s 400-meter with a time of 53.64 seconds, earning herself a trip to the NCAA Championship in just the first meet of the indoor season.
Her sprints coach Charles Foster is not surprised by the record.
“She knows that if she can run her fastest time the first time she hits the track, the sky’s the limit for her,” Foster said.
“I’m not surprised in her first competition that she was able to run as well as she did,” said Dave Cianelli, the Tech director of track and field. “It’s certainly exciting because it shows she’s in very good shape, but that she’s (also) going to run faster. It’s just a matter of her staying healthy for her to do that.”
Even Harrison did not seem all that surprised with the results.
“I want to say it was a surprise, but I also feel like I’m running a whole lot faster this season,” she said.
When it comes to events, Harrison runs several that vary from indoor season (60-meter hurdles, the 400-meter and 4x4 relay) to the spring outdoor season (100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles and 4x4 relay).
Harrison, one of the most talented track athletes to ever come through Tech’s program, has been a key contributor to the team since her freshman season when she first earned the All-American title.
She was a member of Team USA in the 2008 Olympics following her sophomore year and competed in the 400-meter hurdles where she reached the
semifinals.
“Even though she made the Olympic team in the 400-meter hurdles, I’m not convinced that’s her best event, because she hasn’t really maximized her potential in the 100-meter hurdles,” Cianelli said.
Cianelli believes Harrison’s contributions to the program have extended well beyond the track. He looks to her to be a leader for others on the team.
“She’s a really tremendous leader in addition to being a very talented athlete,” Cianelli said. “That has really helped our younger athletes on the team. To be able to get the leadership and direction from someone who’s been as successful as her really means a lot. When you have someone of her ability and background speak up, people typically listen. She’s very team oriented and very interested in the team doing well as a whole.”
Harrison learned how important it was to be a leader from the senior class during her freshman year and knows how important it is to serve as a mentor for the underclassmen.
“I love my teammates looking up to me and being a leader, that’s something I pride myself on more than anytime I run,” Harrison said.
Harrison’s ultimate goal for the remainder of this season and the upcoming one is to stay healthy. Last year, she was limited to just two meets after having multiple hamstring injuries.
“I’m really striving to be a national champion, but the NCAA title is something I really want to capture both indoor and outdoor,” she said.
Following graduation she looks to turn professional in order to continue her career.
“I’m just going to continue training,” Harrison said. “Luckily, I’ve been blessed with enough time so I can hopefully run professionally.”
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Cross Country finishes outdoor, ready for indoor
Prior to their fall season finale, both teams were recently hit hard when many of their runners came down with illnesses.
“We had some great individual efforts, but we never quite got it together as a team,” head coach Ben Thomas said. “It mainly came down to things like illness.
“We had guys getting the flu at the wrong time, on the day of the race,” he said. “Our top five didn’t actually get to race together in the past two important meets, which were the championship meets.”
“I think we have a really good team,” said junior Matt Kroetch. “We’ve had a rough streak at regionals every year. Our team seems to get hit especially hard with illnesses. I don’t know if it’s for any particular reason or if it was just a bunch of bad luck.”
One of the few bright spots for the team was senior Devin Cornwall, who finished 18th and earned all-region honors in the 10,000-meter race. This was the first all-region title for Cornwall after he fell short in each of the last two years.
“I wanted to place high enough to help the team to move on to nationals,” Cornwall said. “About halfway through the race, I realized that this was the last time I had a chance to make all-region.”
Even though Cornwall finished the highest he ever has, it was a bittersweet moment for him as his cross country career is over because the team did not advance to nationals.
“On paper leading into the year, we were a very good team, but I guess it just didn’t work out,” Cornwall said.
Kroetch placed 30th and had a personal best time at the course in Louisville of 31:41. He also saw his cross country season career come to an end.
“I tried to enjoy the meet when I went there,” Kroetch said. “Knowing this was going to be my last meet. I’ve been improving over the last few years, and I’m really glad with the way things turned out.”
For now, the runners will look forward to the start of the indoor track season.
“We have a good young group of guys coming back,” Thomas said. “And our recruiting is going well. We’re looking to get more cross country runners for our women’s side.”
Kroetch agreed.
“We have a really great group of individuals, and I think next year they should come back and put together something special,” he said.
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