Newspapers / Winston-Salem State University Student … / Oct. 6, 2009, edition 1 / Page 7
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PORTS wwv.thenevvsargiis.com Tuesday, October 6, 2009 'llic News Argus Page 7 William Hayes gives back to Ram football team LATASHA MILES Sports Editor The Winston-Salem State football team may now be eas ier to distinguish on the field, and they have a Titan to thank for the deed. fact that we couldn't put it in our budget, but 1 think it makes the team look more classy," Hayes said. "It's easier to tell who a per son is when you can see their name of the back of their jer sey." OMb Photo courtesy of Jaquin Sessoms Jaquin Sessoms reveals his newly upgraded jersey. Former WSSU defensive lineman, William Hayes, now playing in his second year in the NFL for the Tennessee Titans purchased for each player to have his name put on the back of his jersey. Adding the names to the jer seys cost was around $600. Hayes, a 2008 fourth-round draft pick, said that he wanted his last name on the back of his jersey when he played for the Rams. "1 don't know if it was the This is the first time that senior Jaquin Sessoms, who has appeared in Rams' games since 2007, is playing with his name on the back of his jersey. Sessoms, a physical education major from Ahoskie, N.C. said that he was surprised when he received the upgrade. "I never had a jersey with my name on it before, unless I was creating a player on a video game," Sessoms said. "Playing with my name on the back of the jersey makes me feel good, but it doesn't change the way I play," he said. Kermit Blount, Rams head football coach said that the addition is a plus and it gives the team a sense of pride. "For any young man who plays in the game, it's an honor to walk out with your name on the back of your jer sey," Blount said. "It's something that not every school does, and it just puts them in a different light." Blount said that Hayes wanted to make the change to the jerseys during his first year as a Titan, but timing was a factor. "The first year William went into the league [NFL], he wanted to do some thing significant," Blount said. "But by the time we got to that point, it was just late. "I just decided let's wait until the next year before we started talking about it again. Over the fall break, the win ter break and into the summer, Jay Robinson, the [Rams'] equipment manager and William Hayes had an oppor tunity to talk, so we were able to get it done for this season. Robinson told the players about the jersey transforma tion during camp in August. The former WSSU student said that this tradition of pur chasing the last name of the jerseys is something he would like to continue. "I definitely plan to do it," Hayes said. "I plan to give back as much as I possibly can.- That's not a problem." Ashley Harris, awarded Coach's 'Game Ball' TERELL BURGESS Contributing Reporter Ashley Harris, from Mitchellville, Md. is a junior on the Rams women's volleyball team. The former student of Charles H. Flowers High School entered her third year as an outside hitter. Head coach for the Lady Rams, Douglas Hunter has selected her as the recipient of the Coach's Game Ball. It was Harris's performance against Virginia Commonwealth University Sept. 23, that earned her this recognition. Her stats in the match were six kills on 18 attempts, three digs and one block. "Ashley gives 110 percent when she is on the court," said assistant coach Kevin Troup. "She also is a great motivator for the younger players on the team." Ashley Harris Young cross country team displaying impressive finislies CORDERIUS COWANS REPORTER The Winston-Salem State Men's cross country team has been persistent with their com petitive drive, displaying impressive performances with top-three overall team finishes in three meets. Karen Godlock, the WSSU distance coach, said she set high expectations for the team regardless of the transition to Division H, because of the teams potential. The Rams are a young team, with five freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. Despite their collegiate inex perience, the Rams have been competetive, winning one meet and placing 2nd and 3rd overall at two others. "We have a young team, but they all step-up and 'shine'," Godlock said. The Rams finished 3rd out of eight teams — including several Division I teams like N.C. State , University of Maryland, and N.C. A&T — at the Wolfpack Invite Sept. 18. Of the 66 runners in the 5K event, freshman Andrew Chebii finished in 5th place. Sophomores Aaron Barnes and Desmond Wiggan took 25th and 28th place. They came in 2nd place at the 38th UNC-Pembroke XC Invitational Sept. 7, and won the Salem College XC Young continued on Page 6 Two victories, but no quit in Lady Rams volleyball team TERELL BURGESS Contributing Reporter Despite a 2-20 record at the beginning of October, the Lady Rams volleyball team is not throwing in the towel. The squad is constantly reminded to never give up primarily because head coach Douglas Hunter has numerous inspirational quotes in his office. However, there are two quotes he preaches to his players daily. "Today, I must be better than I was yesterday. Tomorrow I must be better than I am today in everything I do" and "Winners never quit and quitters never win. "[The record] does not indicate the team," Hunter said. "The players are improving. The team is improving with over a month of competition left." The Lady Rams' victories came Sept. 12, when they defeated non-conference opponents Savannah State, 3-0 and Oct. 2 over Coppin State 3-1. The team is not 100 percent healthy. Freshman Lindsey Wilborn has been sidelined with a thumb injury for 12 matches, and sophomore Kameryn Craig has not played because of a knee injury, which occurred in August. I he primary expectation is for our team to match up and beat other lUIEAC schools.” — Douglas Hunter Head Coach Lady Rams volleyball team "The upside of these injuries is we depend more on other players," Hunter said. "We are working on getting new players from the tryout process. The two players from the tryouts can not be named at this time due to clearing from the NCAA." The decision made by Chancellor Reaves to return Winston-Salem State back to Division II has affected many sports in the athletic department, and the volleyball team is no excephon. "It was not a popular decision; how ever, the decision had to be made," Hunter said. "In my opinion we did not exploit all of our possibilities by funding money for our programs. "This decision will affect the program short and long term. [On] a positive note to the process, our school hopes to move back to CIAA. "I plan [to] encourage kids to stay and come to WSSU. The process of going back to Division II will affect scholarships for the volleyball team and the rest of the school's athletics," he said. Coach Hunter said he is waiting on more details regarding scholarships and other funding for the team. At the end of September, senior and letter winner from last season Annika Barnwell leads with kills followed by junior Ashley Harris with 107. Barnwell leads in aces with 17. Defensively, junior LaKeisha Hawes is the leader with 147 digs, followed by junior Erica Cole with 144. "Many coaches at any level have expectations for their players," Hunter said. "The primary expectation is for our team to match up and beat other MEAC schools. [Regardless of our record], I feel confident when we play against other schools in our conference." S.C. State sits atop the southern divi sion in the conference, while the Lady Rams are in last place, but WSSU will face their division opponents N.C. A&T and Norfolk State once more, and Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M, and S.C. State two times, once on the road, and once at C.E. Gaines Center. "Preparing for a game or match, a team usually takes hours to plan for the other team. I like preparing towards a match with gathering information about the other team," Hunter said. "Our coaching staff gets stats and film to share with our team to prepare for the next opponent. Two Victories continued on Page 6
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