Tag: winter sports

Men’s basketball back on track after NCAC victory

By Matt Maier, Transcript Reporter

With fall sports wrapping up last week, the winter season is upon us and the men’s basketball team is in full force.

Opening their season with a game against Albion College Nov. 18, the Battling Bishops won 91-77 with help from players like Ben Simpson and Will Orr. Simpson led the Bishops with 21 points.

“The main thing that I do is watch film and determine how I can exploit my matchup,” Simpson said. “I love determining what I can do as a player to get the whole team involved as well.”

A day later, the Bishops played Trine University and won 79-72. This time, it was Orr who led the Bishops with 21 points, making seven of his 13 attempts from long range.

“I really just get my body ready mentally and physically,” Orr said.

“During pre-game, I shoot and make sure that I am knocking down my shots.”

Since the Trine game, the Bishops hit a three-game losing streak, losing to opponents like Capital, Illinois Wesleyan and Otterbein.

Against Capital, the men’s team lost 76-82; against Illinois Wesleyan, they lost 70-88 and against Otterbein, the men’s team fell short 66-72. But coach Mike DeWitt said he is optimistic about the future.

“Right now we just need to trust the process and trust each other,” DeWitt said. “If we can do that, we’ll get better as the season progresses and be a good team.”

Orr said, “I think we just need to remain a family, continue to trust each other and all use a boost of confidence to get through this.”

The Bishops beat DePauw in a close game with a score of 84-71 on Dec. 3. In this game, it was Simpson who led the team with 25 points.

Winter is coming

By Matt Maier, Transcript Reporter

With one of the best fall seasons yet, it’s time to take a look back at some of the accomplishments the Battling Bishops earned this fall.

The men’s football team finished with a 6-4 record this fall, overcoming last season’s 5-5 record. That’s not all the football team accomplished.

Senior quarterback Dominick Orsini set a school record for total offense, including the second highest single-game rushing performance in school history.

Orsini ran for 252 yards in a win against DePauw, while throwing for 242 yards. Other members of the team won NCAC honors as senior Gary Brodek was first-team All-NCAC, senior Brad Dotson and senior Tim Shadoan were second-team All-NCAC and junior Brad Brodeck and senior Mason Tomblin were honorable mention picks.

In the NCAC championship meet, the men’s cross country team finished fourth, as junior John Sotos repeated as a first-team All-NCAC selection.

The women’s cross country team finished fifth at the NCAC championship meet, where senior Sarah Fowler earned Runner of the Year while also winning All-Amer- ican honors for the second year in a row.

The men’s soccer team finished with a 10-5-3 record and a trip to the NCAA tournament first round.

“I think overall, we had a great year and it was a year that our team learned a lot,” said senior goalkeeper Ben Farynowksi. “We are young and I think the guys coming up are going to do a great job continuing on the legacy of OWU soccer.”

The men’s soccer team had five All-NCAC picks: senior Kyle Baum was a first-team selection, senior Nick Norman was a second-team All-NCAC pick, while senior Ben Farynowski, sophomore Will Sharer and freshman Brady Whittekind were honorable mention selections. Norman was also voted to the Academic All-America first-team.

The women’s soccer team finished with a 7-10 record, greatly improving from their 1-15-1 record in 2015. Three players were selected to the All-NCAC team including sophomore Mackenzie Brunke and senior Alyssa Giarrusso being first-team all-conference, with sophomore Hannah Joseph being an honorable mention selection.

The women’s field hockey team finished with a 5-14 record and three All-NCAC selections. Junior Courtney Peterson was selected as a first-team All-NCAC selec- tion, with senior Candace Chanelli and junior Paige Haenig being selected to the honorable mention team.

The women’s volleyball team finished with a 19-13 record and three players were selected to the all-conference teams. Junior Iris Anderson was a first-team pick, and seniors Shelby Ksiazek and Shannon Schlater were named to the second-team All-NCAC teams.

The fall season proved to be a defiant time for the Battling Bishops. Winter sports have started and the Bishops are off to a great start.