Nen*s and women’s basketball
season wrap-up
Thursday, ||| March 19, 2009
{The Blue Banner}
Mext week’s issue
Page 15
Intramurals offers students outlet for stress
UNC Asheville’s Intramural program is
a great way for students to find a release
from the stress they encounter during a
typical academic-laden day.
While the program may not compare to
schools that are a part of the Atlantic Coast
Conference, it does offer the two most es
sential things: recreation and fun.
Not only does the program offer a great
getaway and activity for those who choose
to participate, but it also draws in some de
gree of spectators.
You’re probably more likely to find stu
dents watching intramural sporting events
than UNCA women’s basketball games, as
harsh as that may be.
The intramurals program has not only
continued to steadily grow in participation,
but also tries to add to current experiences
and create new ones.
“All of the conferences I go to, the dis
cussions and meetings I have with other
intramural directors are about what works
for other programs,” said Joel Collier,
assistant director of campus recreation,
intramurals and sports clubs. “In every
program you’re going to have your corh-
Petitive athletes, those who have stopped
Commenfary
By Ryan Burtner
Staff Writer
RRBURTNE@UNCA.EDU
playing collegiate sports or who were re
ally good athletes in high school, but then
decided they wanted to focus more on their
studies and continue playing with a com
petitive aspect. However, in intramurals
we want to focus on the people that just
want to have fun.”
They even offer a flexible schedule for
students. Instead of having to work your
schedule around the events in order to
participate, they’re willing to work their
schedule around the students’.
“We would definitely defer any intra
mural planned event if something came up
academically,” Collier said. “We don’t say,
‘Oh hey, you need to come to intramurals
and not focus on your studies.’ That’s not
the way it is. Intramurals is an additional
component to your on-campus experience
that we want you to enjoy in conjunction
with your academics.”
Though UNCA’s intramural program
is not as big or as heavily funded as oth
ers, it does a good job of providing a wide
variety of sports.
There’s something for everybody,
even one-day events for those students
who can’t commit themselves for an en
tire season.
“We’re going to do more things in
conjunction with other departments on
campus, to try to put together one or two
events in order to let people come out and
see what campus recreation and intramu
rals are all about,” Collier said. “We’re
trying to increase the students’ experi
ence other than just ‘come out and play.”
Because of their dedication to variety,
there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Don’t let competitive teams who are out
for the championship T-shirt scare you
away.
Let them go all out for that 100 percent
piece of cotton that will eventually be too
small to fit. Focus on what you came to
do and what intramurals are really about:
having fun while being active.
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Men’s tennis suffers setback with injuries, battles through season
By Dan Weller
Staff Writer
DJWELLER@UNCA.EDU
Hampered by injuries, the UNC
Asheville men’s tennis team is battling
through matches midway through the sea
son.
“We’re obviously struggling, but we’ve
had some bizarre injuries that you hate to
have,” Head Coach Lise Gregory said.
We’re not winning the close matches we
should win and we haven’t handled the
pressure like we need to. They’ve been as
close as the women’s team in a lot of the
•hatches, but we’re just not handling the
pressure well.”
While those injuries hold the Bulldogs
hack, Gregory indicated that things should
he getting back on track soon.
“We’re starting to get a little healthier
now as we progress, and I’m seeing im
provements,” Gregory said.
The Bulldogs (1-7) began their season
on Jan. 24 with a loss to 26th ranked Wake
Forest.
UNCA lost the match 7-0 but picked up
a doubles win from senior Mauricio Cor
rea and freshman Jonas Brobeck.
Freshman Nicolai Nonnebroich played
strong, and won his first set 6-3 against
WFU’s Jon Wolff.
Wolff eventually proved too strong for
Nonnebroich, as he went on to- win the
next two sets 6-2 and 6-0.
The Bulldogs saw similar results in
their next two meetings against East Caro
lina and Appalachian State on Jan. 31 and
Feb. 1, respectively. UNCA lost 0-7 in both
matchups and fell to 0-3 on the season.
UNCA turned their game around on
Feb. 7 and grabbed their first win of the
season against Kennesaw State at the
Asheville School.
The Bulldogs picked up the doubles
point by winning all three doubles match
es. UNCA then received single match wins
from Correa and junior Joe May.
With the match tied 3-3, sophomore
Alexander Greer faced off in the last sin
gles match against KSU freshman Justin
Suesserman.
Suesserman won the first set 6-4, but
Greer battled back and won a close second
set 7-5.
The third set was cut short due to dark
ness, and Greer won the tiebreaker 11-9,
which gave the Bulldogs the winning mar
gin.
On Feb. 8, the Bulldogs traveled to-
Furman to try to continue their .success but
were stopped cold and lost 0-7.
The men fought tough in the next match
at Lees-McRae but came up short, losing
3-4.
The Bulldogs were swept in the doubles
matches and split their singles matches.
May came close to winning it for UNCA
by winning his first set 6-4 against LMC’s
Alek Mojski, but then losing the last two
sets 1-6 and 7-6.
The team yielded the same results in its
next two matchups against UNC Greens
boro and UT-Martin, losing 0-7 and 3-4.
The Bulldogs play at 2 p.m. Thursday
on the road against Winston-Salem State.
“We’ve been working hard, we’re work
ing on strategy, but what it comes down to
is winning the close ones,” Gregory said.
“We’re capable of winning them, but we
just have to get over that hump.”