The Pilot
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Page A3
Sports
No season’s end for these GWU swimmers
By Jacob Conley
Special to The Pilot
The Gardner-Webb
swim season concluded
in Febraary, but Mallory
Weggemann and Tucker
Dupree are still hard at
work in the pool.
Under the tutelage of
GWU swim coach Mike
Simpson, both athletes
hope to represent the
United States in the Lon
don Paralympics in 2012.
“There is really no
off season,” said Wegge
mann. “It seems like we
are always training for
something.”
Weggemann, a recent
paraplegic, does not mind
the extra work, however.
and relishes being back in
the pool. She returned to
swimming in April 2008.
“I missed it and had
been doing it since I was
7,” said Weggemann.
“And after what happened
I realized I had to get back
in the pool.”
This realization was
solidified when Wegge
mann attended the Para
lympic trials in her home
state of Minnesota as a
spectator.
“I talked to some of
the athletes, coaches and
parents and they encour
aged me to compete”, said
Weggemann.
An athlete who We-
ggemarm met at another
competition was future
Bulldog teammate Du
pree, who participated in
the Beijing Paralympic
games in 2008.
“He’s the one who told
me about Gardner-Webb,”
said Weggemann. “I love
it here so much I don’t
mind being so far Ifom
home.”
Dupree is a veteran of
international competition.
The visually impaired
swimmer, a Raleigh na
tive, has set 25 world re
cords, most of them at the
Beijing games.
“I got to swim in the
same pool as Michael
Phelps,” said Dupree, a
note of pride in his voice.
“And I eventually want
to hold all the records for
visually impaired swim
mers.”
While swimming in
international competition
is challenging, both ath
letes admit that competing
against able-bodied swim
mers on the collegiate
level presents unique ob
stacles and opportunities.
“I have to slow down
going into the turn be
cause I can’t see the wall,”
said Dupree. “That’s when
I get taken but I still man
age to hang with the pack
most of the time.”
As for Weggemann,
her biggest challenge is
to keep her legs from fish
tailing in the water.
“Sv/imming is a lot
harder now than it was be
fore”, said Weggemann.
“I have to put in a lot more
work than I used to.”
Their work ethic has
not gone unnoticed by
their coach.
“What these guys do is
amazing”, said Simpson.
“They are always looking
for ways to improve tech
nique, get stronger and
swim faster.”
It is this striving for
perpetual Improvement
that will drive Wegge
mann and Dupree to suc
cess in the pool, whether
it is swimming for the red
and black of the Bulldogs
or the red, white and blue
of the United States of
America.
Grapplers set
regional record,
fall in NCAAs
By Lanny Newton
Pilot sports editor
Lanny’s Logic
Men 3rd, women 4th at CCSAs
Tourney time: Heroes
as well as heartbreak
By Lanny Newton
Pilot sports editor
By Lanny Newton
Pilot sports writer
Having watched ACC
basketball for more than
20 years, this past week
end was dismal because
several teams from the
conference came up well
short of their capabilities.
The tourney has not
been a total disappoint
ment, though, as despite
the gut-wrenching losses,
there were also the eu
phoric highs. Though the
number of mid-major
upsets was fewer than in
years past, they were just
as memorable.
While they were only
a No. 9 seed, Siena won
a double-overtime thriller
over Ohio State Univer
sity. Kenny Hasbrouck
scored the last 4 points
in regulation for Siena,
hitting a clutch 3-pointer
with 52 seconds left, and
one of two free throws
with 8 seconds remain
ing.
Ronald Moore then
hit a 3 with three seconds
remaining in the first OT
for Siena, to send it into
the second OT. Following
Ohio State’s Evan Turner
converting a lay-up with
19 seconds left to put the
Buckeyes up by 2, Moore
hit a 3 with 12 seconds left
to make it 74-72 Siena.
Turner missed a 2 to
tie with two seconds left
and Siena went on to face
Louisville in the second
round.
Though Siena led as
late as midway through
the second half, Louisville
ultimately won the game
by 7 points.
Cleveland State played
one of its best games of the
season as it jumped out in
front of Wake Forest ear
ly and cruised to victory.
Wake Forest never really
showed the same fire and
ability that led them to
start the season 16-0, and
it ended their season ear
lier than expected.
In stark contrast,
Cleveland State’s second-
round game against Ari
zona was almost the exact
opposite. The team never
really showed the offen
sive prowess it had in the
first round and fell to the
team from the Pac-10 by
14 points.
Western Kentucky
played in its second
straight NCAA Tourna
ment as a No. 12 seed
and provided their second
straight run. Though not
as dramatic as the over
time win over Drake last
year, the first-round 4-
point win over Illinois last
Thursday provided more
thrilling action in a day
that saw many double
digit victories.
Unfortunately, the
Hilltoppers couldn’t con
tinue the success as Gon-
zaga’s Demetri Goodson
went the length of the
court to bank in the game-
winner with 0.9 seconds
left to send the Bulldogs
to the Sweet Sixteen.
Though the only “mid
majors” left are Gonzaga
and Xavier, plenty of ex
citement remains as the
Sweet Sixteen kicks off
tomorrow and the Elite
Eight starts Saturday.
The Big East still has
a record five teams in the
round of 16, while UNC
and Duke are the only two
remaining ACC teams
and are still on course for
a possible collision in the
Final Four.
Seeking their first CCSA titles, the
men’s and women’s swim teams came
up a little short at the University of Geor-
gia-
The men’s team came in third in its
second year of existence.
The women’s team came in fourth
- despite getting faster overall from last
year - due to an overall increase in the
quality of the conference.
Gardner-Webb had seven swimmers
take all-conference honors.
“On the guy’s side we’re definitely
closing the gap between us and the two
teams ahead of us. College of Charleston
and Davidson,” said Head Coach Mike
Simpson.
“The meet was a lot faster, it was a
lot faster, but we also swam a lot faster
on both the girl’s and guy’s side.”
The men had a couple of performanc
es that just missed the NCAA B qualify
ing times, including Patrick Elerding’s
time of 48.93 in the 100 fly.
This was less than a half-second from
giving him a chance to go to the NCAA
championships.
His victory was the lone first-place
finish for the day for the men.
Gardner-Webb took third in both the
200 and 400 medley relays, with Samuel
Woods, Collin Burchins, Elerding, and
Matthew Leonard swimming the 200
and Elerding, George Partin, Casey Bru
tus and Woods going in the 400.
Continuing the trend the 200 free
relay team of Elerding, Leonard, Partin
and Burchins placed third with a time of
1:23.96.
Elerding finished third in the 50 free
at the 21.13 mark.
GWU went two-three in the 100
breast as Elerding took silver and Brutus
took bronze.
The Bulldogs repeated the feat in
the 200 breast as Burchins took second
and Brutus touched the wall third. Even
though he finished second, Steven Cau
dill still broke the old conference record
in the 200 fly.
For the women, Corey Hughey head
lined with an NCAA B qualifying time
in the 100 back at 54.95. It also estab
lished a new conference record.
Hughey just missed another B quali
fying time finishing the 50 free in 23.46,
only .03 seconds off the benchmark. She
took second in the event.
The Lady Bulldogs got off to a fast
start as the 400 medley relay team of
Hughey, Victoria Bryant, Rachel Warken-
tin and Stephen! Stadnik smashed the old
conference record by over 4.5 seconds.
In the 200 medley relay Hughey,
Stadnik, Warkentin and Sarah Steadman
also broke the old conference record, but
still finished second in the event.
Stadnik took third in the 100 breast
while Steadman finished third in the 200
back.
Hughey also placed third in the 100
free at the 51.17 mark.
Just to epitomize the speed at the
meet, Hughey, Steadman, Kelly Gueltig
and Veronica Case outpaced the old con
ference record, but still took third in the
400 free relay.
A school-record eight
wrestlers placed in the
East Regional hosted
by Gardner-Webb, but
only one qualified for the
NCAA Tournament.
Dustin Porter moved
on to St. Louis to compete
in the tournament for the
third time, but was given a
tough draw despite being
ranked 18th nationally.
Porter was pinned in both
of his matches.
“Dustin had wins over
three of the guys who
were in the round of 12,
one round from being
All-American,” said Head
Coach Scott Shipman. “It
shows he’s good enough
to be in the final mix, but
Dustin as of right now has
a few issues to address
about his performances
out there.
“We were picked sixth
going in and to finish third
it was one of those things
where it was a good per
formance and it was a step
in the right direction.”
Porter, a junior, has
qualified for the tourna
ment every year of his col
legiate career. In his first
match he drew No. 11 seed
Zach Rey from Lehigh.
Rey earned a quick take
down before getting the
pin at the 40 second mark.
In the consolation
match Porter faced Joe
Fendone. In a virtual re
peat of the first match,
Fendone took down Por
ter and earned a pin at the
2:04 mark in the first pe
riod.
Gardner-Webb finished
third in the regionals be
hind a first-place finish by
Porter and second-place
finishes by David Pelsang
and Alex Piasecki.
Rob Tate and Matthias
Piasecki took third while
Cortney Roberts, Austin
Reece and Thomas Knapp
also scored for the Bull
dogs, taking fourth.
Track and field impressive in first meet of 2009
By Blake DuDonis
Pilot editor in chief
Opening up its outdoor season
for 2009, the Gardner-Webb track
and field team went into Charlotte
and came out with some good per
formances to build on.
Participating in the 49er Clas
sic at UNC-Charlotte, the Bulldogs
saw a total of nine athletes set new
personal best in their events.
On the woman’s side, senior
Kelly Bridges soared to a first place
finish in the pole vault, making it
over the bar at 3.40 meters. Senior
Victoria Argus also came in first
place, her event being the woman’s
heptathlon, with a score of 4,432.
Yet another senior, Bree Tharpe,
put out an impressive performance.
She came in second place in the
3,000 meter steeplechase with a
time of 12:02.58, just seconds off of
the school record.
Other impressive performances
on the woman’s side included a sec
ond place finish by freshman Gwen-
etta Jones in the shot put, with a
distance of 12.77 meters. Abby Cal
lahan set new personal-best times in
the 800 and 1,500 meter run.
Laura Scott, Lia Hudak, Diana
Palka, Allye Littrell and Rebecca
Silleman all set new personal best
in the 3,000 meter run, with Scott
coming in fourth place overall.
For the men, senior Jake Didion
won the triple jump with an out
standing leap of 14.82 meters. Did
ion also turned in a seventh place
finish in the long jump with a dis
tance of 6.69 meters.
Sophomore Johnathan Rucker
set a new personal best time in the
110 meter preliminaries with a time
of 14.88. Rucker also came in ninth
place in the high jump, clearing the
bar at a height of 1.95 meters.
Junior Paul Steinke broke his
old personal best in the 400 meter
hurdles, turning in a time of 53.68,
which put him in second place.
The Bulldogs will head to Rock
Hill, S.C., this weekend to Winthrop
University to participate in the Asics
Winthrop Invitational.
The Pilot
Blake DuDonis
Editor in Chief
Blue Hose team too tight for Lady Diamond Dawgs
By Lanny Newton
Pilot sports editor
Nancy-Pat Dire
Designer and Advisor
Tyler Kucifer
Photo Editor
Lanny Newton
Sports Editor
In its first conference
game, the Lady Bulldogs soft-
ball team was unable to get its
offense going against Presby
terian. With all the scoring oc
curring in the top of the fifth,
Presbyterian won 4-0.
Christine Murray had a no
hitter through the fourth in
ning for Gardner-Webb before
the wheels fell off.
“When we get pitching
we haven’t got hitting, and
when we’ve gotten hitting we
haven’t gotten pitching. “We
need to just get our pitching
and our hitting on the same
page and we’ll be fine,” said
Head Coach Tom Cole.
“We have to score runs.
The fact that we didn’t score
runs means that even if we
played a perfect game we
wouldn’t have won it.”
The Bulldogs struggled
from the plate all day as Kelsey
Witter and Christa Fullwood
both finished 2 -for-3.
The only other base runner
was Adrienne Smith, who was
hit by a pitch.
Murray struck out six and
allowed only five hits in a
complete game.
The Bulldogs play a dou
ble header Saturday against
conference foe Radford before
completing the series on Sun
day. The start time on Saturday
will be 1 p.m. while the Sun
day game will start at 2 p.m.
Michelle Alwerdt
Sean Barrett
Emily Burgess
Jessica Caramenico
Karla Cruz
Jessica Mobley
Diana Palka
Molly Phipps
Christopher Shaver
Staff Writers
Women’s basketball team comes up short of ticket to Big Dance
By Lanny Newton
Pilot sports editor
Tyler Kucifer
Casey Caldwell
Staff Photographers
www.gwupilot.com
704-406-3844
P.O. Box 5192
pilot@gardner-webb.edu
The iron was unkind to
the Lady Bulldogs as Domi
nique Hudson's runner in the
lane rolled out with no time
remaining in the Big South
Tournament Championship
game.
GWU came up just short
against conference favorite
Liberty, falling 51-50.
Gardner-Webb entered the
tournament as the sixth seed
but knocked off No.3 Radford
and No.2 High Point before
facing top-seeded Liberty.
The tournament was hosted by
High Point.
“I just thought our run in
the tournament just showed
the amazing heart and spirit
these young ladies have.
“Words can’t express how
proud I am of them represent
ing the university so well,”
said. Head Coach Rick Reeves.
“The keys were they executed,
never gave up, and never lost
faith in their teammates.”
In the game against Liber
ty, the teams were at 11 apiece
at the 11:53 mark in the first
half
After Liberty took another
4- point lead, the Bulldogs
went on a 10-0 run keyed by
back-to-back three-pointers
by Courtney Epps and Meran-
da Burnett to take their largest
lead at 21-15.
The rest of the half was
marked by neither team able
to make a run as Gardner-
Webb took a 28-23 lead into
the locker room.
Liberty started out the
second half with another run
taking a 29-28 lead before
Burnett hit two free throws to
temporarily slow the Flames.
After back and forth ac
tion by the two teams. Liberty
pushed the lead out to 10 at
47-37 with 7:37 remaining.
Gardner-Webb freshman
Breynna Winkler provided
a spark off the bench for the
Bulldogs, scoring on back-
to-back plays to cut the Lady
Flames’ lead to 47-41 with
4:22 remaining in the game.
The Bulldogs fought back,
as a lay up by Epps with 53
seconds left cut It to 51-50.
After Gardner-Webb forced a
shot-clock violation on Lib
erty with 12 seconds left, the
Bulldogs went to Hudson,
who drove the right side of the
lane.
She fired up a runner over
the outstretched hands of two
Liberty defenders.
The ball rolled around on
the rim and then off the left
side, as Liberty escaped with
the 51-50 win.
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