Post by elon_phan on Feb 9, 2008 12:44:55 GMT -5
Elon softball eyes lofty heights
By Bob Sutton / Times-News
February 8, 2008 - 10:29PM
ELON — Elon University softball coach Patti Raduenz likes the makeup of her team.
“A team that has the athletes, the talent, the mentality to compete for a championship,” Raduenz said Friday.
The Phoenix opens the season this afternoon, with Savannah State arriving for a doubleheader at East Field on campus.
Raduenz, who’s in her eighth season, said there’s reason to believe the Phoenix can excel after last year’s 28-32 record. She said she has a dedicated team.
“They live it,” she said. “They breathe it.”
Shortstop Tracey Dahlen and catcher Debbie Zeigler, both seniors, are team leaders. Dahlen has power ability at the plate and speed on the base paths. Zeigler provides a calming influence on the team, Raduenz said.
Junior Jaimie Rao is a catcher and designated hitter.
Junior Pattie Weber has moved back to third base after playing in the outfield last season. She was at third base as a freshman.
Rebecca Rijavec and Brandi Jones anchor the outfield. Rijavec is back after taking a medical redshirt season because of a shoulder injury. A junior college transfer, Rijavec is a fifth-year senior.
The pitching could fall to seniors Carol Lilley and Samantha Schroeder, junior Melanie Helterbran and freshman Pam DelPizzo, who’ll also play at first base.
Raduenz refers to an early portion of the schedule as Elon’s version of the ACC / Big Ten Challenge. The Phoenix faces North Carolina, North Carolina State, Maryland of the Atlantic Coast Conference this month (and Georgia Tech next month), and takes on Michigan State, Minnesota and Iowa of the Big Ten Conference.
-Men’s golf
This team ought to look familiar.
“We’ve got everybody back,” veteran coach Bill Morningstar said. “We’re expecting a good year.”
Senior Jimmy Lytle, a three-time team Most Valuable Player, paces the Phoenix, followed by a couple of standouts from the area. Western Alamance graduate Justin Newton, a senior, and Alamance Christian School graduate Jayson Judy, a redshirt sophomore who’s from Gibsonville, normally fall into the next two slots for the Phoenix.
Morningstar said sophomores Philip Bartholomew and Mike Fekete and freshman Stephen Dressel appear ready to fill the remainder of the lineup.
-Women’s golf
Coach Chris Dockrill’s team has some experience with two past team MVPs in junior Danielle Mills (2007) and senior Samantha Widmer (2006). Juniors Frederique Bruell and Taylor Johnson and sophomore Kelsey Johnson have had success in tournaments.
-Men’s tennis
The two-time conference regular-season champions are bulked up again for fourth-year coach Michael Leonard.
Junior Damon Gooch, who’s from South Africa, is the No. 1 player, while senior Mason Schermerhorn fills a key role near the top of the lineup.
The rest of the expected regular cast is made up of freshmen with an international flavor. There’s Oscar Podlewski from London, Alberto Rojas of Mexico, and Philip Nemec of Canada. Also in the class is Chase Helpingstine out of Chapel Hill High School.
-Women’s tennis
Deanna Bailey, who was the Freshman of the Year in the conference last season, returns for her second season. She leads off Elon’s lineup under coach Elizabeth (Perry) Anderson.
Other players expected to be in the main mix are sophomores Paige Kensrue, Anna Milian, Laura Graybill and Hayley Wahl and freshman Jessica Margolis.
Milian arrived via Spain, and because of her past experience she enters the program as a sophomore in eligibility. She enrolled at the university last month, and promptly was named Southern Conference Athlete of the Month in women’s tennis for January. She became Elon’s first women’s tennis player to win a monthly distinction from the conference.
Captain Jenn Tucci, a junior, is battling a shoulder injury.
-Women’s track and field
Hurdler and sprinter Dominique Price, a Cummings High School graduate, enters her senior season for coach Mark Elliston.
Another area product, freshman distance runner Sarah McKenna out of Eastern Alamance, is in her first year.
Also joining the team is hurdler / high jumper Andrea March, a sophomore who transferred from Duke. She’s from Sewell, N.J.
By Bob Sutton / Times-News
February 8, 2008 - 10:29PM
ELON — Elon University softball coach Patti Raduenz likes the makeup of her team.
“A team that has the athletes, the talent, the mentality to compete for a championship,” Raduenz said Friday.
The Phoenix opens the season this afternoon, with Savannah State arriving for a doubleheader at East Field on campus.
Raduenz, who’s in her eighth season, said there’s reason to believe the Phoenix can excel after last year’s 28-32 record. She said she has a dedicated team.
“They live it,” she said. “They breathe it.”
Shortstop Tracey Dahlen and catcher Debbie Zeigler, both seniors, are team leaders. Dahlen has power ability at the plate and speed on the base paths. Zeigler provides a calming influence on the team, Raduenz said.
Junior Jaimie Rao is a catcher and designated hitter.
Junior Pattie Weber has moved back to third base after playing in the outfield last season. She was at third base as a freshman.
Rebecca Rijavec and Brandi Jones anchor the outfield. Rijavec is back after taking a medical redshirt season because of a shoulder injury. A junior college transfer, Rijavec is a fifth-year senior.
The pitching could fall to seniors Carol Lilley and Samantha Schroeder, junior Melanie Helterbran and freshman Pam DelPizzo, who’ll also play at first base.
Raduenz refers to an early portion of the schedule as Elon’s version of the ACC / Big Ten Challenge. The Phoenix faces North Carolina, North Carolina State, Maryland of the Atlantic Coast Conference this month (and Georgia Tech next month), and takes on Michigan State, Minnesota and Iowa of the Big Ten Conference.
-Men’s golf
This team ought to look familiar.
“We’ve got everybody back,” veteran coach Bill Morningstar said. “We’re expecting a good year.”
Senior Jimmy Lytle, a three-time team Most Valuable Player, paces the Phoenix, followed by a couple of standouts from the area. Western Alamance graduate Justin Newton, a senior, and Alamance Christian School graduate Jayson Judy, a redshirt sophomore who’s from Gibsonville, normally fall into the next two slots for the Phoenix.
Morningstar said sophomores Philip Bartholomew and Mike Fekete and freshman Stephen Dressel appear ready to fill the remainder of the lineup.
-Women’s golf
Coach Chris Dockrill’s team has some experience with two past team MVPs in junior Danielle Mills (2007) and senior Samantha Widmer (2006). Juniors Frederique Bruell and Taylor Johnson and sophomore Kelsey Johnson have had success in tournaments.
-Men’s tennis
The two-time conference regular-season champions are bulked up again for fourth-year coach Michael Leonard.
Junior Damon Gooch, who’s from South Africa, is the No. 1 player, while senior Mason Schermerhorn fills a key role near the top of the lineup.
The rest of the expected regular cast is made up of freshmen with an international flavor. There’s Oscar Podlewski from London, Alberto Rojas of Mexico, and Philip Nemec of Canada. Also in the class is Chase Helpingstine out of Chapel Hill High School.
-Women’s tennis
Deanna Bailey, who was the Freshman of the Year in the conference last season, returns for her second season. She leads off Elon’s lineup under coach Elizabeth (Perry) Anderson.
Other players expected to be in the main mix are sophomores Paige Kensrue, Anna Milian, Laura Graybill and Hayley Wahl and freshman Jessica Margolis.
Milian arrived via Spain, and because of her past experience she enters the program as a sophomore in eligibility. She enrolled at the university last month, and promptly was named Southern Conference Athlete of the Month in women’s tennis for January. She became Elon’s first women’s tennis player to win a monthly distinction from the conference.
Captain Jenn Tucci, a junior, is battling a shoulder injury.
-Women’s track and field
Hurdler and sprinter Dominique Price, a Cummings High School graduate, enters her senior season for coach Mark Elliston.
Another area product, freshman distance runner Sarah McKenna out of Eastern Alamance, is in her first year.
Also joining the team is hurdler / high jumper Andrea March, a sophomore who transferred from Duke. She’s from Sewell, N.J.
