Sports
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 • page 19
Eton’s win streak sets stage for SoCon success
Kyle Maher
Senior Reporter
As the Elon University softball team en
tered the grind of Southern Conference play
with a weekend series against Western Caro
lina University March 14, the team was 16-5-
1, and beginning to gain chemistry.
The Phoenix was on a seven-game win
ning streak and had dominated its two home
tournaments to the tune of a combined 7-1
record when it was brought back to reality
with a 5-0 loss to Syi'acuse University. The
loss allowed the Phoenix to regroup and re
focus for their series against the Catamounts.
The Phoenix began play in a Southern
Conference that, as head coach Kathy Bo-
cock said, is the strongest it’s been in recent
memory, with several teams having a realistic
shot at winning the title.
“This conference is going to be strong, top
to bottom,” Bocock said, “We can’t relax and
think we’re going to cruise through a week
end, because that’s not going to work.”
The Phoenix went to CuUowhee, N.C. to
face Western Carolina, and although it didn’t
win the series — Elon lost two of three games
— the Phoenix took away a bevy of positive
signs from its tough weekend. Chief among
them is the experience the underclassmen
gained in their first games in a hostile atmo
sphere against a talented conference foe.
An open letter to the Elon
University community:
Just four years ago, you accepted our son
Jack Isenbarger as a student athlete at Elon
University. There are too many people to
thank and not enough space here to complete
my thoughts. The coaching staff, administra
tion, student body, teachers, advisors, friends
and supporters desen^e mention by more
specific names, but you know who you are.
^u are the people that have surrounded our
son and family with love, support, encourage
ment, direction, hope and-praise.
So many of you have said to me in one
form or another, “Jack is a wonderful basket
ball player, but he is an even better person.”
You have commented that we, as parents,
“It was like the young kids hadn’t played
any games yet because they were all really
nervous,” Bocock said. “They know now that
this is what a SoCon game on the road is go
ing to be like. They thought they had adjusted
to the college game, but conference games are
need to improve upon.
“We stmggled offensively,” she said. “We
were putting the ball in play and getting our
hits, but we couldn’t string anything together.
So we need to go back to our mentality that
gave us so much confidence earlier this sea-
FILE PHOTO BY JANE SEIDEL
The Elon softball team will build off a recent seven-game winning streak to succeed in SoCon play.
a whole new adjustment.” son.”
Senior second baseman Lauren Oldham It’s difficult to start the conference slate
said it was the perfect opportunity for her with two straight road series — Elon’s next
and her teammates to see where they stood opponent is Georgia Southern University in
at this point in the season and whit they stiU Statesboro, Ga., starting March 22 — but it’s
should take credit for that. In fact, Jack is a
better basketball player and a Jsetter person
than I ever was or ever will be. I can take no
credit. Only his mother can compete with
him on the “good person” side.
For all of this I anti thankful to God. But
my intention here is to express to the entire
Elon University community my deepest
gratitude for the way in which you have con
ducted your affairs. Because of the way you
approach every aspect of the Elon experience,
our son has benefitted in ways too numerous
to count. The Elon University community
has a passion for its mission that is palpable.
Yju can feel it when you walk onto campus
for the first time. You can see it in the eyes
and smiles of its people. You can sense it in
the words of those that are responsible for
its future (and its past). Yru can swim in the
stream of politeness and graciousness that
flows from a student body that seems mature
beyond its years. You can predict with confi
dence the future success of the school and its
students.
I would like to thank every single person
that has reached out to Jack during his un
dergraduate days. And to so many of you who
have said to us, “We’re so glad Jack is here
at Elon.” What could make a parent beam
more than that? Only the reaBzation that the
words were in fact tme. Only the understand
ing that Elon has given our family more than
we could ever give it back in return.
Maybe it’s the fact that Jack had the col
lege experience I always wanted for myself
but didn’t find. Maybe it’s the fact that I could
escape the trials of the real world and lose
myself in following Elon basketball. Maybe
more experience for the underclassmen to
grow, develop and become more comfortable
in road settings.
“I think it’s actually better to haw; two
conference road series under our belts,” Old
ham said. “All our nerves will be gone, and
we’ll be able to handle road crowds better by
the time we get home and get some of our
losses back.”
Bocock said she sees the benefits in play
ing early-season conference road games, dif
ficult as they may be for a young, inexperi
enced team.
“It’s tough,” Bocock said. “You may not
get a lot of wins early on, and you hope that
doesn’t go against your confidence, b^t you
do what you can and pick up a win here and
there and before you go home and level the
playing field and recover some wins.”
The Phoenix knows it will be difficult to
win the conference given the quality of depth
from top to bottom in the league. But it can
find the motivation necessary to get the job
done in the low expectations of the league’s
other coaches and media personnel, who
picked them to finish seventh out of eight
teams in Januaiy^’s preseason poll.
“Our ranking is in the back of alljof our
minds,” Oldham said. “It’s definitely given us
a little bit of a chip on our shoulder and mo
tivated us to go out every day and work a little
harder to prove people wrong.”
it’s the fact that our kid got a free education
while getting to play my favorite sport on the
best of stages.
No — those things, while tme, are all
about me.
This is all about you. You, the Elon Uni
versity community. You were the “apc^ic of
special” much in advance of our son’s arrival. 1
just felt compelled to tell You that I realize it
and thank you from the bottom of my heart
for it.
And in closing, I hope that this letter
might also reach some of those who haven’t
been so blessed to understand what an honor
it is to be associated with the Elon University
Community.
AH the best to you,
PhU Isenbarger