Category: Sports

The Ohio Wesleyan high-powered read-option rushing attack led by sophomore quarterback Dom Orsini and senior running back Kevin Herman has sliced through defenses in their first three games like a hot knife through butter.

For those not familiar with the term; read-option is a play where the quarterback has the choice to hand the ball off to the running back, run himself, or give to a receiver. When properly executed it can be painfully difficult for defenses to figure out.

“(The goal of the read-option) is to confuse the defense and keep them on their toes, making them guess every play who the ball is going to,” Orsini said. “That’s the beauty of our offense.”

In their first three games Orsini has rushed for five touchdowns and 236 yards.

“Since he is a talented runner and our slot receivers are as well, the run option has been effective so far,” said Herman. “Everyone is really happy with how he is doing.”

Herman, who has been a key part of the team in all of his three previous seasons as a Bishop, has proved his worth yet again with 153 yards and two touchdowns total.

“He takes the work load off me as the game goes on, which makes my job a lot easier,”  Orsini said about the senior running back. “We are always picking each other up and playing as one big unit.”

To start the 2014 campaign, the team has averaged 35 points per game and 177 rushing yards, which ranks third in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The only thing keeping the Bishops from a 3-0 start was a last second game-winning field goal by Denison last Saturday.

Coach Tom Watts said he is optimistic about the rest of the season.

 

The Ohio Wesleyan women’s soccer team has been collecting loses since the previous season, where their record was 5-12.

This year, the Bishops have achieved one victory in seven games, as well as two ties. However, the players are hopeful for the rest of the season and see many opportunities to improve.

“From what I have seen at practice we have more potential than we did last year,” said senior forward Lindsay Reed. “Hopefully we can translate that into some wins in the upcoming games.”

The Bishops won the NCAA Division III title in 2001 and 2002, and were known as a powerhouse in the NCAC. Those golden years seem to be getting further and further away, with the last NCAA tourney appearance being in the 2011 season – where OWU was knocked out in the first round.

Despite the recent struggles, freshmen players have brought new talent and excitement to the Bishops.

Freshman winger Brooke Zinader scored one of OWU’s goals in the 2-1 over time victory against Washington & Jefferson last week.

“I think our program is great,” she said. “We could definitely be doing better though.”

Seasoned players also have some solutions in mind to get out of this slump. “We play our best soccer when we focus on little things, like two-touch passing and winning 50/50 balls,” Reed said. “If we’re able to focus on that we can get better results.”

Zinader had a more tactical view of what needs to be done in order to achieve better results. She said the team needs to “improve checking to the ball” and “play quicker all around”.

The Bishops face Wilmington College on Wednesday Sept. 24th, at 5pm, at Roy Rike Field.

A new crop of freshmen, along with a new head coach,  has launched Ohio Wesleyan’s volleyball team to an impressive 10-2 start to their season.

Formerly a Xavier University assistant coach, OWU volleyball’s new head coach, Kirsta Cobb, has brought her laid back approach of coaching to the program.

“I’m looking to teach, I’m not a big yeller and screamer,”  Cobb said.

Cobb said she likes to give her players a chance to be involved and to create a classroom feel at practice.

“I want my players to feel like they’re part of the process and to ask questions.”

The team’s roster includes six sophomores and nine freshman, which means there are only three upperclassman on the team.

“We’re young, it’s exciting.”  Cobb said.

“I think we’re talented and we’re just going to get better and better.”

Iris Anderson and Brianna La Croix are two standout freshman who have gotten a lot of playing time during the beginning of this season.

“They’re outside hitters, they both play big roles,” Cobb said.

“They have to pass, play defense, hit. Anderson averages four points per set, and La Croix averages three.”

The team won all four of their matches last weekend at the Manchester Invitational, only dropping one set throughout the whole tournament.

The Bishops open up NCAC play against Allegheny this Saturday, Sept. 20 in Branch Rickey Arena.

A Q&A with Jillian Bell

The Ohio Wesleyan women’s golf team hosted their annual Ohio Wesleyan Invitational on Sept. 13 and 14 at Safiari Golf Club in Powell OH. Wittenberg Univerity won the competiton, while  the College of Charelston came in 2nd, and OWU in third. Sophomore Jillian Bell finished in fifth place with a 161, carding rounds of 77-84. 

After a strong finish at the OWU Invitational, both the men’s and women’s cross country teams look forward to an exciting year.

The men finished second out of ten and the women fourth. Top runners for the Bishops include junior Zak Geiger, sophomore Kaillie Winston and Freshman John Sotos. All of OWU’s top runners finished in the top ten.

Many people have completed a 5k race before. But try running it under twenty minutes, which is what Winston did on Saturday, finishing with a time of 19:30.

“With many races ahead, we needed to run smart. I am happy with our performances at this meet and excited to see how we will run later.”

Mentally preparing for one of these races can be a challenge. Winston says her strategy is to remind herself that she’s been through worse.

“Mentally, I prepare by reminding myself that I trained for this and if my workout last week didn’t kill me, this race probably won’t either,” she said.

Winston said a couple times that it is still very early in the season and how excited she is for the upcoming races. “Again, this is only the beginning of a fun season.”

The next race for both the men and women team is on Sept. 6th, at the Denison Invitational in Granville, Ohio.

Year in and year out, the Ohio Wesleyan Men’s Soccer program is a strong contender for national titles, with two already under their belt.

Ran by Jay Martin, the “winningest” coach in any NCAA division history at over 600 wins, the Bishops have enjoyed constant success and two national championships.

Big expectations follow this kind of success. The players expect to be extremely competitive and win not only the NCAC, but also the national title. For a team customarily ranked top 10 in NCAA Division III, starting the season ranked eighth is nothing new.

“We know how much pressure there is on us,” said junior midfielder Ricardo Balmaceda.

“But that’s why we come here, to this program. We like it.”

Martin’s Bishops went 18-0-2 last year, the sixth undefeated season in OWU Men’s Soccer history. However, after getting a bye in the first round, the Bishops were defeated at home by the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fightin’ Engineers.

“It was crazy when they lost last year,” said Lindsay Reed, a senior forward for the Women’s Soccer team.

“They outshot Rose-Hulman by like 30, it was really frustrating.”

The spirits couldn’t be higher in the locker-room at the Jay Martin Soccer Complex. Last year’s defeat has been forgotten, and the team is looking to make a deep tournament run once again.

“I think they’ll be as good as they want to be,” said Martin of his players. “We always have great players. It will come down to being mentally tough and having fun.”

After a heartbreaking overtime loss at Calvin College on opening night, the Bishops have bounced back with three consecutive victories, with two shutouts and six goals scored. This includes a 2-1 overtime victory at Hope College.

“It was tough at Calvin, it was raining and we had a couple of players cramp up,” Balmaceda said. “We were a lot looser at Hope. We had fun, and we won as a result.”

This past weekend the Bishops recorded two 2-0 victories, against Mary Washington University and Guilford College, respectively.

By Philippe Chauveau
Transcript Reporter

The Ohio Wesleyan field hockey team is under new management, so to speak.

Former head coach Marge Redmond stepped down, allowing for Hannah Allison, her assistant coach last season, to take over the position.

As Interim Head Coach, Allison will have former head coach Marge Redmond as her assistant coach.

“I want to be known as the team that never gives up,” Allison said. “If the girls give me 100 percent effort during practice, it will carry into the game.”

Allison said could not hide her surprise at receiving such a special chance.

“I got called into the athletic director’s office and I was really nervous, I didn’t know what it was about,” she said. “I couldn’t say no when they offered me the position, it is such an amazing opportunity.”

Sophomore defender Lee LeBoeuf said she was not at all surprised to see Allison placed in the head coach position.

“She is more than qualified to be our head coach and has already done an excellent job this preseason,” LeBouef said.

“Hannah was able to recruit hard and bring an incredible incoming freshman class.”

While most people might find a switch between coaching positions strange, LeBoeuf said the players believe it was a great decision.

“It was good that we were able to have Hannah as an assistant for a season, it made the change less radical,” LeBoeuf said.

“Plus, Marge will be working on a new position that she is very passionate about, yet we still get to see her everyday. It’s a win-win situation.”

Redmond will now serve as OWU’s senior woman administrator, alongside her new position as assistant coach for the Bishops’ Field Hockey team.