gvsports monthly magazine
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GVSports Monthly Magazine February 2011: Volume 2, Number 7TRANSCRIPT
February 2011
THe reTUrN oF
LAKerBASeBALL
Junior • Outfielder
Cody GriCePreseason All-American
Dave DiIanni Named Soccer Coach of the Year | Grand Valley State Lacrosse: In the Spotlight
EDITOR IN CHIEF
TimNott
MANAGING EDITOR
DougLipinski
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
DougWitte
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
CharlieRead
STAFF WRITERS
DJFoster
KelseyDeacon
CONTRIBUTORS
JanineFreemanAndyFry
AdamIngrahamSandraJenningsSharonKowalczykKyleSchwerin
GVSportsMarketingGVSUSportsInformation
GV Sports Monthly Magazine is a
magazinethatfocusesonathleticsat
GrandValleyStateUniversity.Copies
ofthemagazinearefreetothecom-
munityandlocatedonnewsstandsin
thegreaterGrandRapidsarea.Copies
ofthemagazinearealsodistributedin
AllendalebytheAdvanceNewspaper.
GV SportsMonthlyMagazine
GVSU,192Fieldhouse
• 1
IN THIS ISSUE
FREE MONTHLY MAGAZINE
Volume 2Number 7
PRINTER
JenisonPrinting
FEATURED PHOTO
FOOTBALL SIGNING
IN THE SPOTLIGHTAlicia Groveston - Coaching Lacrosse
NEWS IN BRIEF
The Green Zone
Q&Awith Dr. Paul M. Leidig
PLAYER PROFILESEdward Dennis & Serena Black
CALENDARFeatured events for February 2011
SANDRA’S SNAPSHOT
2
4
6
10
11
13
14
14
15
16 GLIAC AWARDS
Four Lakers Earn GLIAC
Commissioners’ Award
12 MEN’S BASKETBALL
Balance and Depth Push Lakers
to Another Successful Start
6 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Sophomores Play Big Role in
GVSU’s Early Season Run3
5 WOMEN’S SOCCER
Wenglinski, DiIanni Earn
NSCAA National Awards
BASEBALL pg. 8
Season Prev iewTheGrandValleyStatebaseballprogramhasbeen
amongthemostsuccessfulintheDIIrankssince
2000...byTimNott editor in chief
Briauna Taylorsophomore guard
Players
Currentlythisisnotanissue,butwhilerecruit-
ingtheclassof2010wereallyhadtogetthe
recruitstofocusonthefuture.Wewantedthem
tounderstandwhatahugehonorandprivilege
itistostartanewprogram.Thesegirlsarean
integralpartofthefoundationofthisprogram.
Theyhavethechancetodosomethingamazing
andcreateallofthetraditionsforGrandValley
StateLacrosse.Whowouldn'twant
totakethatopportunity?
Growth
Lacrosseisgrowingexponentially
notonlythroughMichiganandthe
Midwest,buttheUnitedStatesas
well. With more youth lacrosse
programs picking up throughout
Michigan,morehigh schools are
abletofindmoreplayersandinter-
esttocreatetheirownteams.More
tournament play,
whetheritbe3v3,5v5,7v7
orfullfieldcompetition,allows
potentialcollegiatelacrosseplayers
togetnoticed.Inturnmoreandmorecol-
legesarefindingmeritinbeginninglacrosse
teamsawell.Withthisincreaseinexposureat
alllevels,lacrosseinMichiganwillcontinueto
explode.
• 4
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Commitment
Thisspringourladiesareupat6am
practicing without being able to
playasingleintercollegiategame
thissemester.Theydigdeepevery
daytogetupandperform.Whatwe
havetriedtotellandshowthemis
howmuchthisyearwillpayoffnot
onlyforthemasindividuals,butas
ateamaswell.Mostteamsdonot
get an opportunity like this and
with how much they have im-
proved in a short time we know
theyareexcitedtoseehowfarthey
cango.
Keeping Things Fresh
Part of our challenge is tomake
practice new and interesting.We
havetakenthatchallengeheadon
by implementing an intrasquad
gameschedule,incorporatingother
sportssuchasbasketball,dodgeball
andsoccer,andLacrosseOlympics
(a combination of skill, fitness,
competitionandspiritgames)dur-
ing our practice times. We have
foundthatifyouareanathleteyou
will be competitive and strive to
pushyourselfandyourteammates
nomatterwhatyouareparticipat-
ingin.
Teachable Moments
Not having intercollegiate games
willbehard,buttherearemanydif-
ferentsituationsinwhichwecan
teach.Ourintrasquadscrimmages
willallowustogetthosecompeti-
tivemoments,butourotherdrills
andactivitiesarealsodesignedto
allowErikaandItoteach,critique
andcoach.
AliciaGrovestonWomen’s Lacrosse
Head Coach
5t i p sa b o u tcoachinga teamwith nog a m e s
• 5
GrandValleyStatewomen’ssoc-
cer team earned two national
awardsafterclaiming thepro-
gram’s secondNCAADivision IINa-
tional Championship title this season.
GVSU’sJennaWenglinskibecamethe
secondwomen’ssoccerplayerinthepro-
gram’shistorytobenamedtheNational
SoccerCoachesAssociationofAmerican
(NSCAA)NCAADivisionIINational
PlayeroftheYear.HeadcoachDavidDi-
Ianniwasalsohonoredonthenational
levelforthesecondtimeinhiseightyear
careeratGrandValleyState.DiIanniwas
selected as the NSCAA National
Women’sSoccerCoachoftheYearfor
guidingtheLakerstoanimpressive22-
1-2recordin2010.
“Itissuchaprivilegeandhonorfor
JennaandItoberecognizedwiththese
prestigiousawards,”saidDiIanni.“As
wesayinourprogram,awardslikethis
areonlyearnedbecauseofthesuccessful
seasonwehadandalotofthatcanbeat-
tributedtotheeffortofourstudent-ath-
letesandthecoachingstaff.”
Wenglinskiwaspartofanimpressive
backlinethatdidnotallowagoaltheen-
tirehomescheduleandheldtheiroppo-
nentstojustfivegoalsontheyear.The
senior defender from Portage, Mich.,
also helped theGVSU defense set an
NCAA Division II record and school
recordfor21shutoutsinaseasonandthe
backline did not allow a goal during
postseasonaction.
Wenglinskicollectednu-
merousawardsafterhelp-
ing the Lakers notch
back-to-back national
championships. The de-
fender was named to the
GreatLakesIntercollegiate
Athletic Conference
(GLIAC) First Team and
wasnamedtheGLIACDefensivePlayer
oftheYear.SheearnedDaktronicsDivi-
sionIIMidwestRegionFirstTeamand
DaktronicsAll-AmericaFirstTeamhon-
ors.ShewasalsoselectedtotheNSCAA
All-AmericaFirstTeam.Wenglinskiwas
named to the NCAA All-Tournament
teamandtheMostOutstandingDefen-
sivePlayerofthetournamentforthesec-
ondstraightseason.
Theseniorwasalsoapartofthemost
successfulseniorclassintheprogram’s
history.DuringWenglinski’sfouryears,
theteamcompiledanastounding87-3-7
record,comingouttoawinningpercent-
ageof.933.
DiIannihasalsopostedanimpressive
recordduringhiscareeratGrandValley
State.During eight yearshehas com-
piled an overall record of 157-15-10,
whichisawinningpercentageof.890,
rankinghimsecondamongactiveDivi-
sionIIcoaches.
ThisseasonDiIanniguidedGVSUto
itssixthstraightGLIACChampionship
anditsthirdstraightGLIACTournament
Championship.TheLakershavemade
theNCAAplayoffseighttimesandhave
played in thenational titlegame three
times, claiming two national champi-
onshiptitles.
DiIannicoachedfourNSCAAAll-
Americanstudent-athletesandfiveDak-
tronicsInc.All-Americansthisseason.
TheLakersalsoplacednineplayerson
theAll-GLIACteamsandclaimed the
GLIACDefensivePlayeroftheYearand
theGLIACFreshmanoftheYear.
GVSUnotonlysetdefensiverecords
thisyear,butalsosetanNCAAtourna-
mentrecordwith17goalsscored.The
Lakeroffenseoutscoredopponentsbya
93-5marginandrecordedagoalin24of
their25matches.
DiIanniisathree-timeGLIACCoach
oftheYear(05,07,08)andatwo-time
NSCAAMidwestRegionCoachofthe
Year (06, 07) and NSCAA National
CoachoftheYear(06,10).
Wenglinski, DiIanni EarnNSCAA National Awards
by Kelsey Deaconstaff writer
“Awards like this are onlyearned because of the suc-
cessful season we had and alot of that can be attributed tothe effort of our student-ath-letes and the coaching staff.”
• 6
GVSU BasketballCoach’s Radio Show
TheGVSUBasketballCoach’sRadioShowis
aweekly lookat theLakermen'sbasketball
programthroughoutthebasketballseason.The
coach’sshowisbroadcast"live"everyMonday
at6:00PMonWTKGAM1230fromPeppino's
SportsLoungeinAllendale.HostedbySteve
LloydJonesandjoinedbyheadmen'sbasket-
ball coach Ric Wesley. Visit
www.gvsulakers.comtolistentotheshowlive
online.
Videos, Interviews, Live Games,and More
CheckouttheGVSUMediaCenteratwww.gv-
sulakers.com/allacess.Youcancheckoutlive
sporting events, the GVSU Sports Report,
coachesshows,interviews,andmore!Youcan
browsetheMediaCenterbysportandyoucan
alsowatchpastgames.
Learfield SportsDirectors’ Cup Standings
GrandValleyState,theseven-timedefending
championsof theLearfieldSportsDirectors'
Cuptrophy,isinfamiliarterritoryafterthefinal
2010fallstandings.GVSUisfirstplacewith
411points,followedbyShippenburg(264)and
CentralMissouri(259).TheLakers'411points
scoredisthesecond-highestpointtotalscored
byGrandValleyStateduringthefallsportssea-
sonandits147-pointleadoversecondplaceis
thethird-besttotalinthelasteightyears.GVSU
helda215-pointleadin2005anda168-point
leadin2004.
GVSU Lakers Social MediaFollowing Ranked 73rd
AccordingtoSportsFanGraph.com,awebsite
ranking thesocialmedia followingof sports
teams,GVSUAthletics’socialmediafollowing
isranked73rdintheNCAA.GVSUhasatotal
followingof12,064(FacebookandTwitter),
whichranksaheadofschoolssuchasStanford,
Indiana,andWakeForest.“Like”GVSULak-
ers on Facebook by visiting
www.facebook.com/gvsulakers.Youcanalso
followGVSUAthleticsonTwitterunder the
handleGVSULakers.
GLIAC Swimming and DivingChampionships in Jenison
JenisonHighSchoolwillbehostingtheGLIAC
SwimmingandDivingChampionshipsonFeb.
9-12.Formoreinformationaboutthechampi-
onshipsstaytunedtogvsulakers.com.
N E W S I N B R I E F
Itisoftensaidinsportsthataplayermakeshis
orherbiggestjump(fromatalentstandpoint)
betweenthefirstandsecondyearoftheirca-
reer.TheGrandValleyStatewomen’sbasketball
teamcertainlyfollowsthistheory,asthreeLaker
sophomoreshavebeeninthestartinglineupallsea-
sonlongandfiveoftheteam’stopsevenscorers
aresophomores.
TheGVSUoffense(rankedthirdinthecon-
ferenceatpresstimewith71.5pointspergame)
starts in themiddlewith6’2”sophomorecenter
AlexStelfox,thereigningGLIAC Freshmanofthe
Year.Afterputtingup12.0pointspergameasa
rookie,Stelfoxisnearlythreepointsagamebetter
thisseason,assheisaveraging14.9pointspercon-
test,goodforseventh-bestintheleague.Shealso
ranksseventhintheGLIACinfieldgoalpercent-
age,making54.9percentofhershots,whileher
100 made field goals
through 15 games is the
mostintheentireconfer-
ence.
JoiningStelfoxin
the top-15 in scoring to
givetheLakersastrong1-
2offensivepunchissoph-
omore forward Briauna
Taylor.Ayearago,Taylor
was scoring 8.6 points a
game off the GVSU
bench,asshestartedjust
one game in 2009-10.
This season, Taylor has
been a mainstay in the
startinglineup(makingall
15 starts) and notched
13.7 points per game,
placingher13thintheconference.Shehasalsoim-
provedherfreethrowshooting,making79.4per-
centofherattemptsthisyear,upfrom57.1percent
lastseason,andis12thintheleaguewith7.1re-
boundspergame.
Taylor’stwinsister,Brittany,isfourthon
theteaminscoring(6.8ppg.)andismaking52.4
percentofherfieldgoals,upfrom46.7percentlast
year. In GVSU’s 77-62 victory at regional foe
LewisonDec.11,theTaylorsistersnearlywonthe
gamebythemselves.Brittanytotaledacareer-high
(andLaker season-high) 25points and eight re-
bounds,making12-of-20shotsin26minutes.Bri-
aunawent9-of-18fromthefloorandnotched21
pointsandnineboards,givingtheTaylorduototals
of46pointsand17reboundson21-of-38shooting
fromthefield.
Anothersophomore,guardLaurenStodola,
leadstheLakerswithateam-high28.0minutesper
gameandissecondontheteaminassists(32)and
blocks(eight),whilerankingfourthinthree-point-
ers(11).ClassmateJessicaTrambley,a6’0”center,
istiedforfifthontheteaminscoring(6.5ppg.)and
shootinganeven50.0percentfromthefieldina
dozengamesafterreturningfrominjury.
Mix inastrong juniorseasonfrompoint
guardJasminePadin,greatreboundingeffortsfrom
seniorBizVanTiflin,andacouplepromisingper-
formances from freshmen and it is no wonder
GVSUstartedtheyearwitha9-0recordandearned
ashighasa#9nationalranking.
Padinisputtingup10.2pointspergame,
butmoreimportantlyranks
first in theGLIAC in as-
sists (5.6) and assist to
turnoverratio(2.3),while
her34stealsarealsomost
intheconference.VanTi-
flin ranks seventh in the
leaguewith7.7 rebounds
pergameandissixthwith
5.1 defensive boards per
contest.
Head coach Janel
Burgesshasdoneastrong
jobofrotatingherplayers
inandoutofgames,as10
Lakersareaveraging10.4
minutespergame,withthe
five starters (Padin,
Stelfox,Stodola,Briauna
Taylor,VanTiflin)allnotchingatleast24minutes.
Burgesswillneedthewholeteam-andthe
sophomores(averaging47.0pointspergame),in
particular-tocontinuetheirearlyseasonplayas
theteamheadsdownthehomestretchtowardsthe
postseason.
GrandValleyState is home just twice in
February.TheLakersbeginthemonthwithfour
straightroadgamesbeforereturningtoAllendale
forcontestsagainstFindlay(Feb.17,8:00p.m.)and
WayneState (Feb.19,3:00p.m.).GVSUwillclose
outtheregularseasonwitharoadfinaleatFerris
StateonFeb.26beforegearingupfortheGLIAC
TournamentonMarch2-6.
The five Lakersophomoresa v e r a g e d47.0 pointsper game inGVSU’s 12-3
start.
Sophomores PlayBig Role in GVSU’sEarly Season Run
by DJ Foster staff writer
• 8
The Grand Valley State baseball
program has been among the
mostsuccessfulintheDIIranks
since2000.TheLakershaveroutinely
found themselves competing for the
GreatLakesIntercollegiateAthleticCon-
ferencecrownandaberthintheNCAA
DII World Series. Head coach Steve
Lyon,setforhis13thyearatthehelm,is
lookingformoreofthesamein2011.
The 2011 Lakers return seven
positionstartersand11playersthatsaw
asignificantamountofplayingtimelast
season.Inaddition,GVSUreturnsthree
startingpitchersandonerelieverthattal-
liedacombined recordof23-9ayear
ago.
“Ireallylikethemakeupofthis
teamintermsofoverallapproachtothe
gameofbaseball,”saidLyon.“Wehave
anicegroupofreturningpositionplayers
that started a significant number of
gameslastseasonandalthoughwedon’t
return a large number of pitchers, the
pitcherswedoreturnhavealotofexpe-
rienceandsuccessonthehill.”
Success
on the diamond
starts on the
mound and the
Lakers have a
strongnucleusto
build around.
LeadingthewaywillbeseniorRHPJoe
Jablonski(Temperance,Mich./Bedford)
who earned first-team all-region and
First-TeamAll-GLIACplauditsasajun-
iorandentershisseniorcampaignwith
preseasonaccolades.Jablonskiwas8-3
witha3.33ERAin81.0inningspitched
astheLakers’No.1starterayearago.
Joestartedateam-high12games,notch-
ingfivecompleteoutingswith56strike-
outsandjust21walks.Jablonski,whois
19-6inhiscareer,limitedopponentstoa
.292battingaverageand30earnedruns
in 14 appearances. Junior RHP Cory
Rademacher (DeWitt, Mich.) earned
Second-TeamAll-GLIAC honors as a
sophomoreandisapreseasonall-region
honoree. Rademacher was 5-2 with a
3.79ERA in 59.1 innings pitched last
season.Hetalliedfivecompletegames
and51strikeoutsinhisninestartsonthe
mound. Opponents recorded just 12
extra-basehits and25 earned runsoff
Rademacher.JuniorRHPKyleSchepel
(GrandRapids,Mich./Christian)was6-
2withtwosavesinhis10startsand62.0
inningspitchedlastseason.Schepel,who
haspostedan11-3mark inhiscareer,
notchedateam-best58strikeoutsin15
appearances. Sophomore LHP pitcher
Brad Zambron (Rochester, Mich./
BrotherRice)posteda4-2recordina
team-high22appearances,allinarelief
role,asatruefreshman.
L y o n
willhavethe
services of
seven new-
comers on
the mound
for the 2011
campaign.Fivegainedexperienceatthe
juniorcollegelevel,whileoneredshirted
andonecouldseeactionasatruefresh-
man.RHPRyanGarman(CedarRapids,
Iowa/JohnsonCountyC.C.),RHPJake
Kent (Davenport, Iowa/Southeastern
C.C.), RHP ChrisWhitney (Macomb,
Mich./Kellogg C.C.), RHP Jacob Cox
(Dowagiac,Mich./LakeMichiganC.C.)
and LHP Brett Gwaltney (Rochester,
Minn./Rochester C.C.) come in with
qualitycredentialsandwillbeexpected
to make significant contributions in
2011.LHPCodyWesterhuis(Allendale,
Mich.)willtakethemoundafterredshirt-
ingasatruefreshman,whilefellowlefty,
BillyMaple(Kalamazoo,Mich./Vicks-
burg),couldseeactiononthehillduring
hisfirstseasonwiththeLakers.
“Wefeellikewehaveupgraded
ourpitchingintermsofqualitystarters
andoveralldepth,”saidLyon.“Wewere
alittlethinondepthlastseasonandin
the end that might have hindered our
teamwhenweenteredthe
GLIAC andNCAATour-
naments and played a
number of games in a
shortperiodof time last
season,”addedLyon.
The Lakers must re-
place two individuals
who earned postseason
plauditsat firstandsec-
ond base in 2011, how-
ever, GVSU returns 11
positionplayers, includ-
ing seven starters, that
playedasignificantamountofinnings
lastspring.
Highlightingthelistofreturnees
is preseason All-American candidate
CodyGrice(DeWitt,Mich.).Grice,who
was a consensus first-team all-region
choiceandaFirst-TeamAll-GLIAC per-
formerasasophomorecenterfielderin
2010,turnedinoneofthemostproduc-
tive single-seasons in GVSU baseball
history.Gricehit.455withaGrandVal-
leyStatesingle-seasonrecord100hitsin
53gamesplayed.Codydrovein49runs,
scored66runs,notched18doubles,five
triplesandsixhomeruns. Inaddition,
Gricetallieda.664sluggingpercentage,
by Tim Nott editor in chief
GVSU Basebal lSeason Prev iew
“I really like the makeup ofthis team in terms of overallapproach to the game ofbaseball.” head coach Steve Lyon
Cody Grace returns for
his junior year after being
the most productive bat-
ter for GVSU last season.
• 9
a.506onbasepercentageandstole18
bases.
“Codyturnedinanoutstanding
sophomoreseasonandwasthecatalyst
for us offensively as a leadoff hitter,”
saidLyon.“Hisrolewillchangethissea-
sonaswewouldliketomovehiminto
thethree-holeandtakeadvantageofhis
abilitytodriveinruns,”statedLyon.
JoiningGriceintheoutfieldwill
bejuniorLFSteveAnderson(Northville,
Mich.) and sophomore RF Chris
Rudenga(SouthHolland,Ill.).Anderson,
who garnered honorable mentionAll-
GLIAC honorslastseason,hit.329with
a team-high nine home runs. Steve
recorded54hits,drovein32runsand
scored 42 runs in 47 games played.
Rudenga,whowassecondinthevoting
for the GLIAC Freshman of the Year
award, hit .338 with 48 hits, 34 runs
scoredand31RBI.SeniorPaulYoung
(London,Ont./GRCC)hit.325with37
hitsand29runsscoredin31starts.
“Ireallyfeelwehaveoneofthe
strongestcollectionofoutfieldersthatwe
haveeverputonthefieldatGrandValley
State,”addedLyon.“Thisgrouphasthe
abilitytoproduceoffensively,butgiveus
astrongdefensivepresenceaswell.”
SeniorshortstopAndrewTrepel
(Joliet, Ill.) earned First-Team All-
GLIAC honorsandwasanall-regionse-
lectionlastseason.Trepelhit.360with
68hits,34runsscored,10doublesand
fourhomerunsin50starts.Juniorthird
basemanBrianRobinson(Troy,Mich.)
earnedSecond-TeamAll-GLIAC honors
asasophomore.Robinsonhit.441with
45hits,28runsscoredand25RBIin31
starts.Robinsonmissedthefinal three
weeksoftheseasonwithahandinjury.
SeniorinfielderDanPonegalek(Bridg-
man, Mich./Lake Michigan C.C.) hit
.397with25hits,16runsscoredand11
RBIin20starts,whilefellowseniorin-
fielder Cory Phillips (Bloomington,
Ill./HeartlandC.C.)hit.267with21RBI.
SeniorTorreAguirre(Rochester
Hills,Mich./St.ClirC.C.)willbattlefor
thestartingspotatfirstbasewithredshirt
freshmanGiancarlo Brugnoni (Grosse
Pointe,Mich./DeLaSalle).Aguirrehit
.436 in 18 starts as aDH and reserve
first-baseman.Torre,whotallied34hits,
scored 21 runs and drove in 15 runs,
camethroughwithseveralkeyhitsfor
theLakers in theNCAAMidwestRe-
gional.Brugnonistartedfourgamesbe-
foremissingtheremainderoftheseason
withabrokenhand.
Apairofjuniors,JaredCowan
(Davison,Mich.)andZachLaupp(Mat-
tawan,Mich.)willhandlethedutiesbe-
hindtheplate.Cowanhit.365with31
hits, 18 runs and 23RBI in 26 starts,
while Laupp hit .350with 28 hits, 23
runsand20RBIin25starts.
Junior transfer Garrett Yatch
(Midland,Mich./KelloggC.C.)willtake
overatsecondbase,whilejuniortransfer
DerrikStrzalkowski(London,Ont./Kel-
loggC.C.)willbattleforplayingtimeat
firstbaseandcatcher.JuniorBlakeBat-
teast(SouthBend,Ind./GlenOaksC.C.)
willprovidedepthintheoutfield.
“Wehaveprovenplayersreturn-
ing on the infield, including two that
haveearnedAll-GLIAChonorsinTrepel
andRobinson,”saidLyon.“Ialsolike
thedepththatwehaveupthemiddleand
at third base.We are a little inexperi-
encedatfirstandsecondbase,butIliked
whatIsawinthefall.”
Theschedulewillbechallenging
asusual.TheLakerswillopentheseason
at a national preseason tournament at
LanderUniversityinGreenwood,S.C.
GVSU will open February 11 versus
Carson-Newman, followed by games
versusTampa (Feb. 12) and 2009DII
NationalChampionLynn(Feb.13).The
Lakerswilltakeitsannualspringtripto
FloridathefirstweekofMarchfor11
games, before opening the GLIAC
portionoftheledgeratLakeErieCol-
legeMarch26.GVSUwill play its
first home game of the season
Wednesday,April5vs.Hillsdale.The
MidwestRegionwillbetoughasal-
wayswiththelikesofdefendingDII
NationalChampionSouthernIndiana
and perennial contenders Northern
Kentucky,Indianapolis,Ashlandand
WayneState.
“Wewillhavetobereadytogo
thatopeningweekend,”saidLyon.“We
aregoingtobeplayingteamsthathave
a history of playing for DII National
Championships and play in warm
weatherclimates.”
“We are going to beplaying teams thathave a history of play-ing for DII NationalChampionships andplay in warm weatherclimates”
head coach Steve Lyon
Q u e s t i o n
AstheFacultyRepresentativefortheNCAA,whatareyourrespon-sibilities?
A n s w e r
Hereisasynopsisoftheoffi-cialdutiesofthejob:
Ensure that student-athletesmeetallNCAA,conferenceandin-stitutionalrequirementsforeligibilityforpractice,financialaidandinter-collegiatecompetition.
ApproveallWaiverrequestssubmittedtotheNCAAorGLIAC
Arrange to have developed,periodicstatisticalreportsontheac-ademicpreparationandperformanceof student-athletes. Be knowledge-ableabouttheacademicpreparationandperformanceofeachsportsteamandupholdhighacademicstandardsandexpectationsfortheseteammem-bers.
Responsibleforinstitutionalcomplianceactivitiesorresponsibili-ties.
BeknowledgeableabouttheNCAAandconferencerulesrelatedto academic eligibility, transfer re-quirements,andrestrictionsanden-forcementprocedures.Participate,orbefullyinformedabout,institutionalinvestigationsofallegationsofrulesviolations.Noinfractionsreporttoei-ther the NCAA or a conferenceshouldleavethecampusuntilithasbeenreviewedbythefacultyathleticsrepresentative.HeorsheshouldplayamajoranddirectroleinmattersthatpotentiallyinvolvemajorviolationsofNCAArules.
Havedirectcontactwithstu-dent-athletesonasystematicandpe-riodic basis, participate in newstudent-athleteorientationactivitiesandshould interact frequentlywithstudentathleteadvisorycommittees.
ResponsibletoadministertheNCAAcoachesrecruitingcertifica-tiontests.
Responsible for NCAA orGLIAC scholarship applications orawardnominations.
Beasenioradvisoroutsideoftheathleticsdepartmenttothechiefexecutiveofficeronmattersrelatedtointercollegiate athletics. Together,withthedirectorofathletics,thefac-ulty athletics representative shouldformulate and recommend institu-tionalpositionsonNCAAlegislationandothermattersaffecting,orrelatedto, intercollegiate athletics on thecampus.
Represent the institution totheNCAA and to athletics confer-ences.
Beanactivememberof thecampus intercollegiate athleticsboard.
ReportstothePresidentandprovidesanannualreportofactivitiesto the President,Academic Senate,andtheIntercollegiateAthleticsAd-visoryBoard.
Q u e s t i o n
Describewhata typicaldaylookslikeforyou.A n s w e r
Ihaveahardtimedescribinga"typical"day,aseachoneseemstohaveaverydifferentlistofactivities.However,onanygivenday,Icouldbemeetingwith faculty about cur-riculumissues,oraboutsupportingtheirresearchandteachingneeds.Ioftenmeetwith studentswhohavespecialadvisingorpermitsthattheymightneed.MostdaysIambookedinmeetingswithotheracademicunitsaboutprogramchangesoradminis-trativediscussions,orIamoffcam-pusmeetingwithindustrypartnersordonors.IncreasinglyIaminvolvedin
travel as an accreditation evaluatorforcomputingprograms,servingonnational advisory boards, or forNCAArelatedactivities.AstheFAR,I try to attend athletic competitionevents, or practices, and talk withcoachesoradministrators.
Q u e s t i o n
What's the most rewardingpartofworkingwithAthletics?A n s w e r
No question, the most re-wardingpartofworkingwithAthlet-ics isgetting toknow thestudents,coaches,andadministratorsonaper-sonallevel.WehaveamazingpeoplehereatGrandValley,and themoreyougettoknowthem,themorere-wardingourjobis.Ireceivejoysee-ing our student-athletes receive anational scholarship or award andrecognition.IfIcanhavearolehelp-ingmakethathappen,itmakesmyjobmuchmorerewarding.
Q u e s t i o n
Explainalittlebitabouthowyougottobewhereyouaretodayandhowyou became involved with GVSUAthletics.A n s w e r
IcametoGVSUin1991asanAssis-tantProfessorofComputerScienceandInformationSystems.Tenyearsago,IwasnamedtheChairofthede-partment,andlaternamedtheFound-ing Director of the new School ofComputingandInformationSystems.The person who initially recruitedandhiredme,Dr.DonaldVanderJagt,servedasmypredecessorasGVSU'sFacultyAthleticsRepresentative.HeoftenexplainedhisroletomeandIfounditquitefascinating.WhenhewasnearingretirementandnolongerabletoserveastheFAR,thenPresi-dentMarkMurraynamedmetotheposition.
Q u e s t i o n
How big of a role do youthinkGrandValleyAthleticsplaysinthelivesofthestu-dentshereoncampus?Thefaculty?A n s w e r
Althoughnotallofourath-leticteamshave13,000fansturn out to support them, Ioften see students attendeventsinwhichtheirfriendsor roommates are compet-ing.Ithinkthesuccessthatourstudent-athleteshavehadathleticallyprovidesasenseof accomplishment andrecognitionasanentirecam-pus community, and thatadds to theoutstandingac-complishments thatall stu-
dents, faculty, and staff have.Nationalrecognitionofourathleticsuccess, and the awareness ofwhoGVSUis,hasprovidedabenefittothestudentsonthiscampus,facultyas they interact with colleaguesaroundthenation,andinattractinganevenhigherqualityofstudentsandfaculty.Soatleastindirectly,Iattrib-utesomeofourbroadersuccessandaccomplishmentsatGrandValley,totherecognitionthatwehavereceivedathletically.
Q u e s t i o n
Whyis it important that thefacultyatGVSUbeinvolvedwiththeAthleticDepartment?A n s w e r
Atmostinstitutions,andes-pecially here at GrandValley, stu-dentsareheretoreceiveadegreeandprepare for a career. Competing inathleticsprovidesbothafocusedanddisciplined environment that helpsstudentlearnwhatittakestobesuc-cessful.Thatappliesnotonlytoath-letics,butevenmoresotoacademics,andlifeskillsingeneral.Thesestu-dent athletes put in an amazingamountoftimeandeffortbothintheclassroom,andintheirsport,inordertobesuccessfulatboth.Asambassa-dorsorrepresentativesoftheuniver-sity while competing, they arehelpingdefineandtelltheGrandVal-leysuccessstory.Ithinkitisnotonlythe responsibility of all faculty toknow what their students are in-volvedinonbehalfoftheuniversity,butalsotosupportandworkwiththestudent to accommodate that jointrole.Inaddition,thedisciplinethatthe athletics program provides ourstudentsacademically,helpsfacultyinbeingabletobesuccessfulintheclassroom.Iwouldhopeallfacultytakeapartinthatprocess.
Dr. Paul M. Leidig
Director & Professor
School of Computing & Information Systems
Assistant Dean
Padnos College of Engineering & Computing
Faculty Athletics Representative
National Collegiate Athletic Association
• 11
QA&
• 12
Balance and Depth Push Lakersto Another Successful Start
Late in January, the Lakers
owneda13-3overallrecord,
was8-1inGLIACplayanda
perfect 9-0 at Fieldhouse Arena.
However, the Lakers had just one
player ranked in the top-30 of the
conferenceinscoring(seniorJustin
Ringlerwas16thwith13.7pointsper
game) and one player listed in the
top-20oftheGLIACinrebounding
(againRinglerandagain16thwith
5.5boardspergame).Whilethismay
seemtobeaproblemthattheLakers
arebuiltondepthandnotindividual
dominance, that is clearly a team
strengthandnotaweakness.
WhileRinglerwas the lone
Laker averaging double figures in
scoring,GrandValleyStatehadan
astonishingnineplayersputtingupat
least five points per game, which
helpsillustratehowGVSUwassec-
ondintheconferenceinscoring,de-
spitejustone“elite”scorer.
Head coach Ric Wesley is
lookingmorelikeanNHL coachin
thewayhesubstitutesdifferentshifts
ofplayersonandoffthecourt.The
onlydifferencebetweenaLakerbas-
ketballgameandaGriffinshockey
gamemaybethetemperatureinside
thearenaandthelackofazamboni.
Wesleyutilizesaconsistentrotation
of 10 players, basically breaking
downtheteamintoapairoffive-man
shifts.All10playerswereaveraging
at least 14minutes per game,with
onlyfourLakersseeingmorethan20
minutespercontest.
Thatmayseemlikeapoten-
tialproblem in thedifficult taskof
jugglingminutes,buttheoldsaying
of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
clearly applies here. Through the
opening 16 games of the season,
GrandValley Statewas beating its
opponents by an average of +21.2
pointspergame,easilythetopmark
intheconference,oversixpointsper
game more than nationally-ranked
HillsdaleandFindlay.
TheLakershavebeenasolid
roadteamin2010-11,withthehigh-
light being a three-game sweep of
Northwood,NorthernMichigan,and
MichiganTechfromDec.9-19,win-
ningthethreegamesbyeight,nine,
andninepoints,respectively.
WhereGrandValleyStateis
reallydoingitsdamage,however,is
the friendlyconfinesofFieldhouse
Arena.Thisshouldcomeasnosur-
prisetoloyalLakerfans,asGVSUis
anastonishing102-9athomeinthe
lastsevenseasonswithWesleyatthe
helm,whichisanincredible91.9per-
centageinfrontofthehomecrowd.
It ishard to tell
which statistic is more
outstanding when talk-
ing about the Lakers’
success at home this
year. In its first nine
home games, GVSU
waswinningbyanaver-
age of 32.9 points per
game and the team’s
closestgamewasa92-
74 win over Saint
Joseph’s,thedefending
MidwestRegionalchampion.
After the schedule-makers
werekind to theLakers inJanuary
withfivehomegames,justoneroad
game, and a neutral-site “home
game” atVanAndelArena for the
131ShowdownagainstFerrisState,
GVSUwillspendadecentportionof
Februaryinabus.GrandValleyState
opensupthemonthwitharoadtrip
toSaginawValleyStateandLakeSu-
perior State (Feb. 3-5) and travels
overtoOhiototakeonAshlandand
LakeErie(Feb.10-12).
When GVSU returns home
forapairofgamesinmid-February,
it will arguably be for two of the
team’sbiggestcontestsoftheseason.
TheLakerswill takeonFindlayat
6:00p.m.onFeb.17inwhatcould
possibly be a match-up of top-10
teams.GVSUhasbeenrankedinthe
top-20 all season long andFindlay
hasyettodipoutofthetop-10,in-
cludingoneweekasthe#1teamin
thecountry.
TheonlyreasonthattheOil-
ersfelloutofthetoprankinginthe
nation was because Findlay was
shockedontheroadina91-68drub-
bingtoWayneStateinearlyJanuary.
TheWarriorsthenwentontodefeat
anotherundefeatedopponentintheir
verynextgame,winningeasilyat#4
Hillsdale by a 66-52 score.Wayne
State nearly knocked off Findlay
again in itsnextgame(playing the
Oilerstwiceinaseven-dayspan,due
toanoddschedulingquirk),butfell
byjusttwopoints(73-71)andhaving
alast-secondthree-pointattemptto
winthegamemissitstarget.
What does that all mean to
Grand Valley State? TheWarriors,
normallyadecenttoaboveaverage
conferenceopponent,nowlooktobe
aforceintheGLIAC,asfourteams
(GVSU,WayneState,Findlay,Hills-
dale)allhadjustoneleaguelossasof
mid-January. The Lakers andWar-
riors will square off on Feb. 19 at
1:00p.m.inahugehomegamefor
GrandValleyStateandthesecond-
lastregularseasongameoftheyear.
GVSUwillneedtoturntoits
productivebenchand10-manrota-
tion late in the season, when the
schedulecontinuestoprovidewear
andtearoneveryteam.ButtheLak-
ers,asmuchasanyteam,looklike
they’llbeabletowithstandthenor-
mal rigorsofa longseason.Grand
Valley State has had 10 different
playersscoreatleast10pointsina
game this season and six different
playershaveledtheLakersinscoring
inagame,includingRinglerwhohas
done so eight times. Aside from
Ringler,afoursomeofLakerguards
- James Thomas (9.5 ppg.), Alvin
Storrs(8.9),WesTrammell(8.6),and
BrelandHogan(6.8)-haveallproven
to shoot the ball and score well
enoughtohelpcarryGVSU.
Combinethoseguyswithan
interestingcentercombinationofred-
shirt freshman Asauhn Tatum and
junior transfer Nick
WaddellandtheLak-
ershaveoptionsdown
low, as well. 6’11”
Tatum is a long and
lean youngster that
leadstheentireleague
with36blockedshots,
whichincludedseven
rejectionsagainstLake
SuperiorStateonJan.
8.Waddell,at6’6”and
285 pounds, uses his
muscle and post
movestobullyhiswayto8.8points
agameandeightdouble-digitscoring
efforts,tiedwithTrammellforsec-
ond-mostontheteam.
AnotherconstantofaWesley-
coached team is GVSU’s defense,
whichranksfirstintheleagueat57.6
pointspergameandfirstindefensive
fieldgoalpercentage(37.2percent).
GrandValleyStatehasallowedless
than40pointsthreetimesthisseason,
includingonly38pointsinback-to-
back games against Lake Superior
StateandNorthwood.
by DJ Fosterstaff writer
GVSU is a terrific102-9 at FieldhouseArena in the lasts e v e n s e a s o n sunde r We s l e y.
Justin Ringler and the Lakers face a dauntingFebruary schedule as theyplay for a postseason berth.
My brother. Anytime I feltfrustrated or discourageddue to track, he has alwaysreminded me to never giveup and stay focused.
My HS coach, Rex Wilkes,Jr. He was with me everystep of the way providingencouragement, coaching,
and really developed my lovefor the pole vault.
GVSU was the right fit forme both academically andathletically. This was theplace for me to grow and bechallenged.
• 13
PLAYER PROFILESWhy did you chooseto become a Laker?
Favorite athlete to
watch in another sport?
Who has made thebiggest impact onyour sports career?
Who should play youin a movie?
QUINTON
D E N N I SSERENA
B L A C Kyear
S E N I O Rmajor
HUMAN RESOURCESMANAGEMENThometown
LANSING, MIsport
TRACK & FIELD
year
J U N I O Rmajor
C L I N I C A LEXERCISE SCIENCEhometown
PORTAGE, MIsport
TRACK & FIELD
FAVORITE...
Food
Movie
Song
Sports Team
Winter Class
Snow Sport
GVSU hasan amazing athletic programand they provide all the tools
needed for success on thetrack and in the classroom.
I see myself having startedmy career and starting a fam-
ily. Pole vault is a huge partof my life now and I’m posi-
tive it will be then as well.
Having a successful careerand maybe starting a familyfar from Michigan; it is waytoo cold here.
Ben & Jerry’s
Love and Basketball
One Sweet Dayby Boyz II Men
Miami Heat
Movement 101
Tubing
Chicken Wings
Star Wars
Sunday Mornin’by Brian Bromberg
Detroit Pistons
MGT432I’m not a coldweather being
Michael JordanChicago Bulls
Kobe BryantLos Angeles Lakers
Sandra BullockWill Smith
Where do you seeyourself in 5 years?
Owned and operated by:
One (1) GVSU JacketExpires: 1-30-11
20% o�Shop and Save at UBS
*This coupon is not valid with any other discountsor sales. One coupon per customer, per purchase,per day. In-store purchases only.
Spirit. Style. Tradition.Go Lakers!
Expires 2-28-11
• 14
CALENDAR
SANDRA’S SNAPSHOT
SandraJenningsisanAdministrativeAssistantintheathleticdepartment.
“ C o l d W a r m t h ”
SWIMMING & DIVING
GLIAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
TheLakerswimminganddivingteams
willtraveltoJenisonHighSchoolto
competeatthe2011GreatLakesInter-
collegiateAthleticConferece(GLIAC)
ChampionshipsstartingonFeb.9at
5:30p.m.Themen’steamclaimedthe
conferencetrophylastyear,whilethe
women’steamplacedsecond.
FEB.
2
BASKETBALL vs. FINDLAY
MBBat6:00p.m.
WBBat8:00p.m.
GVSUFieldhouseArena
FEB.
18
BASKETBALL vs. WAYNE STATE
MBBat1:00p.m.
WBBat3:00p.m.
GVSUFieldhouseArena
FEB.
19
GVSU TUNE UP
Track&Fieldat4:00p.m.
LakerTurfBuilding
FEB.
11-12
FEB.
9-12
FOOTBALL SIGNING DAY
Checkoutgvsulakers.comtofind
moreinformationonthe2011
FootballSigningDay.
FEB.
17
GVSU BIG MEET
TheLakertrackandfieldteams
willhostoneofthebiggest
meetsinthemidwesttheweek-
endofFeb.11-12.Themeetwill
showcasesomeoftheelitetal-
entsfromnumerouscolleges,
alongwithprofessionalathletes.
Themeetwillgetunderwayat
noononFridayandwillresume
Saturdayat9:30a.m.atthe
LakerTurfBuilding.
Forticketscall616-331-3200.
• 15
SuperBowl,because
thegameactually
meanssomething
Reddest FaceBest Team - GV
Women’s Basketball
Not too interested, but Iguess I would rather
watch the Super BowlSuper Bowl XLV NBA All-Star
Weekend
Chocolate
BestBeard
ROSES
Michael Jordan &
Scottie PippenJoe Sayre & Aaron Marken(2 members of the swim team)
IDK!!! Michael Jordan &Scottie Pippen
For Valentine’s Day...Roses or Chocolate?
Best ‘bromance’in sports?
What award wouldyou win at the ESPY’s?
If you wrote abook, what wouldbe the t i t le?
S u p e r B o w l X L Vo r N B A A l l - S t a rW e e k e n d 2 0 1 1 ?
Lauren Stodola
Women’s Basketball
Jenison, Mich.
Erin Kinney
Women’s Swimming & Diving
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Breland Hogan
Men’s Basketball
Detroit, Mich.FEBRUA
RY
Best Dunk of the Year
“Top Ten Tips forCollege Athletes”
“The Guide to Eating atFresh Food” “I Love Louie”
Chocolate: I’m not
going to waste money
on flowers... lolChocolate
Jordan Schrotenboer
Men’s Swimming & Diving
Holland, Mich.
“Dreaming”
• 16
TheGreatLakesIntercollegiate
AthleticConference(GLIAC)
announceditsFall2010Com-
missioner'sAwardrecipientsonTues-
day(Jan.11), inareleasefromthe
league office. Sixmale and six fe-
malestudent-athletesearnedthisspe-
cial distinction that was given to
athletesthatexcelbothintheclass-
roomandonthefieldofplay.Grand
ValleyStatehadfourstudent-athletes
named as Commissioner's Award
winners, including soccer player
KristenEibleandvolleyballplayer
RebeccahRapinonthewomen'sside
andfootballplayerZachBreenand
cross country runnerAnthonyWitt
earningtheawardonthemen'sside.
"I am truly proud of the 12
student-athleteswhowere awarded
the Commissioner's Award," said
GLIACCommissionerDellRobin-
son."Theirhardwork in theclass-
room and on the field is a true
exampleofthestandardofexcellence
that has been set amongst our stu-
dent-athletes here in the GLIAC.
Theyare truly thebestof thebest.
TheGLIACgreatlyappreciatesthe
supportofMeijerfortheirsponsor-
ship of the 2010 Commissioner's
Award. The award and continued
supportbyMeijerisevidenceofour
pursuitofacademicexcellence."
Eible, a senior midfielder,
wasamajorpartoftheNCAADivi-
sion IINational
Champions, as
theLakersoccer
team recorded
back - t o -back
NationalCham-
pionships. She
helped lead
GVSUtoa22-1-2overallrecordthis
season,whichfeatureda12-1-2mark
inGLIACplay.Eiblestartedin23of
theLakers'25matchesandplayeda
totalof1,976minutes,asshetallied
twogoalsandsixassistsfor10total
points.Namedinthepreseasonasa
teamcaptain,Eiblewashonoredasa
FirstTeamAll-GLIACselectionand
wasaNationalSoccerCoachesAsso-
ciation of America (NSCAA) All-
AmericaScholar-Athleteforherhard
workintheclassroom.Eibleholdsa
3.90cumulativegradepointaverage
whilemajoringineducation.During
her four-year career, Grand Valley
Statepostedanastoundingrecordof
87-3-7 (.933), making her senior
classthemostsuccessfulclassinthe
program'shistory.
Rapin, a senior middle
blocker,wasnamedanAmericanVol-
leyballCoaches
A s s o c i a t i o n
(AVCA) First
TeamAll-Amer-
ica selection
while leading
GVSU in kills
(380), hitting
percentage(.344),totalblocks(140),
andblocksolos(26)enroutetoa26-
7 record andanNCAAEliteEight
berth.ShewashonoredastheDak-
tronicsMidwestRegionPlayerofthe
YearandisjustthesecondLakerin
programhistory toearnFirstTeam
All-GLIAClaurelsinthreestraight
seasons.AlsoanAVCAAll-Midwest
Regionselection,Rapinfinishedher
stellarfour-yearcareerasGrandVal-
leyState'sall-
timeleaderin
total blocks
(525) and
block assists
(437), while
ranking sev-
enth inLaker
historyinkills
(1,364) and
total attacks
(3,184) and
eighth in hit-
ting percent-
age (.317).
Owning a
3.88 grade
point average
in marketing,
Rapin sur-
passed 300
kills for the
fourthstraight
season and
wassecondin
theGLIACin
total blocks
andblocksperset(1.25),thirdinhit-
tingpercentage,sixthinkillsperset
(3.39) and sixth in points per set
(4.16).
Breen, a junior defensive
back,earnedFirstTeamAll-GLIAC
honors and was
named to the
CoSIDA All-
Academic Dis-
trict IV First
Team.Heranked
second on the
Grand Valley
State defense in
totaltackleswithacareer-high101
stops. Breen tallied eight or more
tacklesseventimesduringthe2010
season,whilealsorecording8.5tack-
lesforlossand3.5quarterbacksacks.
InhelpingleadGVSUtotheNCAA
DivisionIIplayoffsforarecord-set-
ting10thstraightseason,Breenre-
coveredtwofumblesandtalliedone
interception.GrandValleyStatefin-
ishedthe2010seasonwithan11-2
recordandclaimeditssixth-straight
GLIACchampionship.Breenisthe
ownerofa3.65gradepointaverage
inbiomedicalscience.
Witt,ajuniorrunner,helped
theLakercrosscountry teamto its
best-ever finish
attheDivisionII
NationalCham-
pionship meet,
as he recorded
theteam'shigh-
est finish, plac-
ing 15th with a
timeof31:13.0.Hisperformanceled
GVSU to a third-place team finish
after theLakers claimedboth their
ninthstraightGLIACandMidwest
Regionaltitles.Witt'stimeattheNa-
tional Championship meet earned
himUnitedStatesTrack&Fieldand
CrossCountryCoachesAssociation
(USTFCCCA) All-America status.
The junior was named the GLIAC
RunneroftheYearforcrossingthe
finishlinefirstattheconferencemeet
(24:47.4) and earned All-Midwest
RegionFirstTeamlaurelsforfinish-
ing second at the regional champi-
onship.Wittisapre-medicalmajor
andholdsa3.82gradepointaverage.
Four Lakers Earn GLIACCommissioners’ Award
by DJ Fosterstaff writer