since 1960 “of, by, and for the Wesleyan community.
November 16, 2012
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE, ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA 27804
Finishing 2nd in Nation, Kjellberg Makes Bishops History
By Decree Staff
NC Wesleyan junior Robert Kjellberg
upset the number-thiee and number-two
seeds before losing a tough match in the
finals of the USTA/TTA Small College
National Championship last month in
Mobile, Alabama.
After the initial disappointment, Kjellbeig
said he “was thrilled” with his accomplish
ment ‘Tm very fanud to be number two in
the nation,” he said. “All the hard work was
wcilh it You live to play in the finals of a
national tournament Sometimes you win;
sometimes you lose. I lost, but not because I
played bad My opponent was just playing
better than me that day.”
Kjellbeig’s second-place finish is the
highest ever for a member of the NC
Wesleyan tennis team, said new Bishops
Coach Worth Richardson. “Rob will now
be ranked number two in the nation going
into spring play,” Richardson said, adding
that Kjellbeig was the first athlete who
was not fiom Emory University (GA) to
win the ITA Regional Singles tide.
Entering the toumey in Mobile with
a seven-match winning streak, Kjellberg
first dispatched third-seeded Oliver
Loutsenko of Skidmore College (NY) by
scores of 2-6,7-5,6-2. The following day,
he ousted the second-seed, Paul Beigin of
Kenyon College (OH), 2-6,6-3,7-5.
A native of Vedanda, Sweden, Kjellberg
used his unseeded status as motivation in
the toumey. “I knew before I went down to
Alabama that I’m one of the best players in
this country, if I’m playing good,” he said.
In the first two matches, he said, “I didn't
play my best game, but by fighting on
every single point, it gave me extraordi
nary wins against very good players.”
The finals match pitted KjeUbeig
against Aaron Skinner of Trinity
University (TX). Kjellbeig Cook the first set
in convincing fashion, 6-1, but then lost the
last two, by identical 6-7 scores.
“The final was the best match I played
in the whole tournament,” KjeUbeig said. “I
didn't give away bad games or stupid balls.
I played a very good match. I made good
decisions for the most part, so Tm happy
with that Coming up just short was very
tough, but I look forward to the opportunity
to play Skinner again in the spring. I know I
have mrae work and tough matches ahead."
If the fall season is indicative of
Kjellbeig’s commitment Richardson knows
that his number-one will put in the time and
effort needed to elevate his game. “Rob
made a lot of sacrifices this fall,” the coach
said. “He traveled virtually every weekend
and trained incredibly hard. All faE, Rob’s
practices were full of purpose and focus.”
Kjellbeig’s woric ethic and love of the
sport have inspired his teammates. “His
passion is unbelievable. He really loves
to compete on the court,” said teammate
Peter Hviid, who noted that his fellow
Scandinavian has become a team leader by
setting a “pnafessional” example. “He woiks
and plays really hard.”
While Hviid singled out Kjellbeig’s
forehand—‘It’s veiy hard and flat”—his
coach pointed to his serve-and-retum game
as strengths for Kjellbeig, who is listed at
5-9 and 150 pounds.
“Fw a young man of his stature, Rob’s
save is tremendous and really helped him
a lot this fall,” Richardson explained. “His
retum of serve and backhand are worid-class
and on a technical level there are veay few
holes in his game. When he woiks on finish
ing points by taking the ball out rf the air a
little more, he’ll dominate Division III tennis.”
Both Hviid and Richardson praised
Kjellberg’s mental ajpoach to his sport The
coach said that Kjellbag’s toughness was on
display in Mobile and earlier fall matches.
“He responded well when adversity presented
itself and he looked f« ways to find solutions
and not worry about problems,” he said.
Rkhaidson revealed that Kjellbeig had
considaEd transferring firm NC Wesleyan aflff
a successful sqtonrae seascai. “When I todc
ova* this summa;” he said, ‘1 had to le-recruit
Rob pretty heavily as he had Divisiai I cffers
on the table. Part of this process was telling him
he’s a kader here. He afBrmed that this f^
being an example fff other playas thanks to his
professiaialism in playing aixl training.”
What’s perhaps most remarkable about
Kjellbeig’s play this fall is that he suffered a
serious setback in the off-season. His intense
training regimen was derailed when he and
a fiiend were injured in a car accident back
home. ‘The summer was one of the tough
est times for me,” he recalled. “Five days
after I got back to Sweden, me and my best
fiiend were in a tremendous car accident
So I was in the hospital for a long time and
couldn’t practice for most of the summer.”
team’s pro^Dects in 2013, when the BLshcps
will defend their USA-South title and hope to
advance fktha in the Din national tournament
Kjellbeig said he’s been delighted with his
new coach, a former standout at conference
rival Christopher Newport, pointing to his en-
thasiasm, his ability to woric with individual
team members, and his deep understanding
of the game. Kjellbag believes the team’s
chances of winning a national title have
improved with Richardson at the helm.
“Coach Richardson is young and shows
' passion for the sport” he said, noting that
the coaching change “was very positive for
me and the team.”
Before opening its USA South schedule,
the Bishops will compete against other
national powers. The team’s recent success
has earned it a coveted bid to the 2013
ITA Division in National Men's Team
Indoor Champioaships. The 13 th Annual
Championships will be held February 22-
24 in St Peter, Minnesota on the campus of
Gustavus Adolphus College.
The eight bids went to Cal Lutheran,
Emory, Gustavus Adolphus, Johns Hop
kins, NC Wesleyan, Trinity, UC-Santa Cruz
and Kenyon, which will be the Bishops’
opening-round opponent
“We had an impres.sive fall season,
which culminated with Rob’s mn to the
finals in Mobile,” said Richardson. “It’s
certainly something to build on as the
Bishops look to put in hard work in the
off-season to prepare for the spring.”
(NCWC ^jorts Information contributed to this report.)
li
m
mm
Robert Kjellberg.
Officer Locke Takes Residence
But by the final two weeks, he said, he
was practicing five hours per day, seven
days a week, with a former ATP pro. Per
Hjertquist “And we built up everything fiom
scratch again,” Kjellberg said.
Kjellberg credited Coach Richardson with
helping him to hone his game. “He put in a lot
wcjk and extra hours on the court,” Kjellberg
said, “and that helped me teach my goals.”
Eariia-in the fen, Kjellbag war two
toumarrents, the HA at Emory and the UVA
Fai Invite. Abng the way, Ik posted impiesave
victories ova top playas ficm Wake Foest
Coastal Carolina, William and Mary, Canpbell,
Richmond, and Georgs Masai “It’s important
to use Diviskn I schools to put into context how
strong D3 tennis is,” Richaidson saki “It’s easily
tiie strcn^ D3 ^X3it relative to D2 and D1.”
Besides a possible rematch witti Skinna,
Kjellberg is loddng forward to next spring’s
conference season. He is upbeat about his
By Kristi Lucas
Decree Staff Writer
Petteway used to be an all-boys dorm,
until now. Officer Tamika Locke, NCWC’s
first female courtesy officer, now resides
there, in what she likes to call ha “hotel
suite.” Officer Locke said that living in the
dorms will help her “be a resounx for the
students. I want to make students and staff
here comfortable with law enforcement”
Locke is a very appoachable, warm-
marmensd individual. She has a college-aged
son of her own, and has wcffked with students
in the past Now in her second career, Locke
pursued law enforcement and joined the
police force in 2007 because she saw “youth
falling by the wayside wifli no way out They
had the wrong image of a police officer. I
wanted to change that for the community.”
Her ambition has not changed since that
time, and Locke wants Wesleyan students
to feel relaxed, as she is open to students
coming to talk to her about anything—
even about previous mn-ins with the law.
Locke was an obvious choice for the
courtesy ofBca position Dean of Students
Randy Williams admires that “she has an au
thoritative presence, but doesn’t have a sense of
dictatorship on campus. She demonstrated the
capacity to establish relationships with faculty
and staff quickly, and shared ccMete ideas of
how she will be a resource fcff students.”
NC Wesleyan Production Delights Young Audiences
By Katherine Crickmore
Decree Staff Write
“Emily and the Dragon” delighted
audiences with its casual atmosphere and
fun cast of characters in performances by
the Wesleyan Players on October 22,23, ’
and 30 at Minges Auditorium.
The show centered on a young girl’s
encounter with a mythical creature while
staying at her grandmother’s beach house.
incorporating sue short musical numbers and
a variety of interesting characters.
Monday night’s performance ran for an
hour, and there was initial tension from the
cast and director, Roger Drake, concerning
the show. Last-minute rehearsal conflicts
and script and music revisions put a hold
on production, so much so that there had
only been two previous mn-throu^.
There was a definite lack of children in
characters of the piece, were played by Katie
Beeman, a fiBshman, and Jerome Littie, a
sophomore. Beeman performed well in ha
hseakout role, channeling a curious eight year
old perfectly. Littie epitomized his role as the
kind and instructing dragon splendidly
The rest of the cast pafamed admirably in
their double roles as humans at the beginning
and sea creatures in a later scene. The role of
Brdly’s Grandmother, cxdinarily played by
fieshman Katelyn liseski, was performed by
Emily Crickmore, a fieshman at Rocky Mount
Preparatory School, during the Mcxxlay night
show. Freshman Aubrey Motley played Mn
Qutta, a friend of Emily’s Grandmother, Matt
Moyet also a fieshman, paformed as Lannie, a
wodcman hired by Mr Clutter, and Chavcsme
Jones played the role of Nelda, anotha fiiend
of Emily’s Grandnx)tha. The cast of characters
was rounded out by the Stcsytella, perfcrmed
by Katherine Crickmore, who nanated the first
half of the show.
The set was sirrplistic in nature, ccnsistiiig
of a pordv-railing, a scrmi doer, and a table to
rqjesent the house; a recognizable sand dune;
arid a pile of beadi ddjis that could be wheeled
A scene from NCWC's recent production of
“Emily and the Dragon."
Photo courtesy of R. Drake
The dragon appears after a coastal storm
blew him to the beach and resulted in the
loss of one of his precious scales, which
was found by avid shell-coUector Emily,
who had mistaken the scale for a shell.
“Emily and the Dragon” is targeted at
children and emphasizes the importance of
memories, diversity and fiiendship while
tiie audience during the Monday show. The
twenty or so audience members consisted
of relatives of tiie cast and a few NCWC
students who were required to see tiie
production for various classes. Nonethe
less, the spectators were involved in the
show and responsive to tiie actors.
Bnily and Sheldrake the Dragon, the main
Most of the human character costumes
were minimalistic, as well, often just con
sisting of stiwt clothes, witii the exception
of tiie Storyteller’s folksy ensemble. The
real marvel of tiie show was tiie costumes
worn by tiie dragon and tiie sea creatures
tiiat came out during tiie Blue Moon scene.
As tiie dragon and sea creatures were
meant to have risen directiy from tiie trash
on tiie beach, tiieir costumes reflected
materials tiiat could be found washed up
on tiie sand. The dragon consisted of a
ladder covered in frayed netting, gunky
seaweed-looking mesh, and a green tarp.
Sheldrake sat atop tiie ladder for tiie
entirety of his performance, with anotiier
tarp over his shoulders, a spray-painted
The College of William & Mary and
Hampden-Sydney College, Williams’
previous two schools, both employed a
police division on campus. As a result.
Dean Williams desired stronger safety
measures at NC Wesleyan. Following
Williams’ request, the Rocky Mount
Police Department screened its current
officers to present a pool of candidates
for the courtesy officer position.
Locke’s full-time job includes security
at tiie Nash-Rocky Mount School System.
Altiiough Wesleyan is a side job to her,
Locke is on call for Wesleyan 24 hours
a day. She was called to tiie scene when
shots were fired at tiie Hartness Center over
homecoming weekend, though tiie situation
was under control when she arrived.
“We need to change ttie way students
perceive events like ttiat” she said. ‘There
is a difference in a shooting and shots fired.
There were shots fired that ni^t- no property
damage or injury occurred.” In those types of
situations, Locke has anesting powers, unlike
the campus security guards. She has been
swcrni into law enforcement enabling her to
enforce certain laws security guards cannot
helmet, and a pair of scary black claws tiiat
completed his reptilian look.
TTie sea creatures were similarly attired
in various discarded materials. The two
diva starfish, Stella and Bella, played by
Emily Crickmore and Chavonne Jones,
were dressed in obvious egg-carton mattress
pieces and yellowed sweat suits. Claudius
tfie Crab, presented by Matt Moyet, wore '
old baseball gear with tubing attached
and a foam mat for a shell. Gretchen tiie
Jellyfish’s outfit was an old hula-hoop witii
spray-painted plastic draped over it, and
was performed by Katiierine Crickmore.
Lastiy, Theron tiie Heron, played by
Aubrey Motiey, walked on stiilts and was
dressed in blue pajamas witii a shredded
blue tarp around his shoulders and a
baseball cap bill atop his head.
The Blue Moon sequence was tiie most
notable portion of tiie show, featuring four
of tiie show’s six songs, and wonderful cos
tumes and characters. This scene gamered
tiie most laughs from the audience, tiiou^ it
was hard to teU whetiier the humor derived
fiom tiie show itself or the actors’ flinny
get-ups and dances. Motiey’s character was
tiie favorite of tiie audience. HLs character’s
lisp was indeed comical, especially when
performing lines such as tiiis: “I’m not
thupid! I’m pretty tiimart My Etti-A-T thcore
wath tiikteen-hundred thixty thix. I have a
tiipeech impediment” This line especially
delighted tiie children at the Tuesday show.
There were a few hiccups during the
performance—a false start tiiat did littie to
dampen tiie quality of tiie performance; a
few awkward pauses; one or two stumbles
over lines; and some minute costume
malfunctions, but overall, “Emily and tiie
Dragon” was a cute, kid-friendly show tiiat
tiie audience seemed to enjoy.
If tiiere is sufficient interest. Drakes hopes
to take tiie show on tiie road to area schools.
Officer Locle
SA photo
Just before fall break, Locke was not in
tiie cafeteria one day at lunch time when an
alterxation broke out between two students.
During tiie incident Majcr Bill Drew, leader
of tiie college’s ROTC program, was hit in
tiie face by one of the students, as he tried to
“defuse tiie situation,” said Drew, who was
not seriously injured.
“If I was in tiie cafeteria,” Locke said,
“I would’ve tried to calm tiie situation
down before it escalated to tiiat point”
Locke is still getting into tiie flow of
tilings on campus, and her current challenge
is distinguishing between Adult Degree
Program sttidents and outsiders who may
be a tiireat to NCWC safety. She said she is
very observant while dining in tiie cafeteria,
learning faces and mannerisms of tiie
campus community. She is open to ideas
fiom sttidents and wants to know ‘ ‘if you feel
safe on campus, and if no, tiien why not?’
At present Locke is woridng to implement
a “text paga,” where students can simply
send ha a text when tiiey hear of any risk
to NC Wesleyan safety. “Sttxlents are more
pone to text than call,” Locke explained.
Dean Williams wants to see Locke
become a part of NCWC culttjre. Some of
his otiier expectations for her include
“perfcrming rounds witii tiie security guards.
See LOCKE pg 2