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WLAX Detroit Unable to Bail Out versus Fins

March 5, 2012 By George Wahl Leave a Comment

Photo by Austin Weaver

The JU women’s Lacrosse team exploded for 20 goals on their way to a 20-5 victory over Detroit in their National Lacrosse Conference opener.

Freshman Holly Ventimiglia lead the team with 3 goals notching her second straight hat trick. Ellyn Spangenberg, Chelsea Watts, Abbey Warnken, and Kayleigh Hynes all had 2 goals on the day for the Dolphins.

“I’m just executing my shots right now,” said Ventimiglia.

JU wasted no time getting on the board as they jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. Senior Jess Hotchkiss led the JU defensive attack with 4 groundballs, 4 draw controls and 2 forced turnovers.

JU, (2-1,1-0), would next play host to St. Joe’s (Pa.) as part of a triple header at D.B. Milne Field. They picked up right where they left off offensively despite falling behind early 2-0 to St. Joes.

Sophomore Jen Cosgrove paced the offense with 5 goals propelling JU to a 14-7 win. She netted 2 in the 1st half and 3 in the 2nd half. Cosgrove leads the Dolphins with 12 goals and 14 points on the year.

“I’m staying focused and playing my game,” said Cosgrove. “This is not something I expected but I knew coming out as a freshman I had some jitters but this year I want to step it up.”

Junior Ellyn Spangenberg tallied 3 goals on the day. The Dolphin defense held St Joes leading scorer to 1goal on their way to a 14-7 victory.

JU now had a 9 game home winning streak dating back to last year. The Dolphins (3-1, 1-0), will next face Temple Wednesday at 3:30 at D.B. Milne Field.

Filed Under: Front Page, Lacrosse, Sports Tagged With: ,

Baseball

March 5, 2012 By George Wahl Leave a Comment

After a loss Tuesday to College of Charleston, JU looked to bounce back against the Rattlers of Florida A&M University. The Rattlers came to town for a 2 game series that started Friday night.

The Dolphins rallied back from 2 deficits throughout the game to earn an 11-10 win. Throughout the game, JU blew a 3-1 to make the game more interesting. They got the hard fought victory on a Alex McRae walk off RBI single.

Sophomore Chris Anderson led JU with 4 RBI on the night. Junior Dan Gulbransen went 2-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI’s. Jimmy Appleby got the win for the game.

“Its a win and we’ll take it,” said JU Head Coach Terry Alexander. “We let the lead get away from us, but our guys kept fighting and were able to come away with the victory.”

The Dolphins found themselves trailing 9-7 in the 8th. Zack Houck led off the the inning with a walk which was followed by a walk by McRae. Gulbransen then doubled to score Houck. Back to back wild pitches allowed McRae and Gulbransen to cross the plate to take a 10-9 lead.

JU quickly saw their lead dissolve when FAMU tied the game at 10 in the top half of the 9th. In the bottom of the frame, Ethan Loosen led off with a single then advanced to 2nd base on a catchers interference call. Houck then reached base on an error. JU then executed a double steal to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. McRae then sent the ball back up the middle planting Loosen for the game winner.

JU got off to a slow start in the Saturday meeting VS FAMU falling behind 6-0 through 3. Their day soon changed once they got to bat in the 4th. They scored in 4 of the next 5 innings.

Juniors Adam Brett Walker II and Ethan Loosen along with So. Taylor Ratliff each had 2 RBI while Dan Gulbransen led the team with 3 hits.

Down 6-0 in the 4th, JU struck for 5 runs to cut FAMU’s lead to 1. They loaded the bases with 2 singles and 1 walk. After a fielders choice, Loosen and Ratliff hit back to back 2 run doubles. Gulbransen then singled home Ratliff.

The Dolphins were able to tie it at 6 in the 5th. The Rattlers came back in the 6th with 2 runs to lead 8-6. That was answered by a Walker II 2-run homerun in the bottom of the inning.

In the 7th, freshman Garrett Ruckel started the offense with a 1 out single followed by pitch to load the bases. Jimmy Appleby, who got the win on the mound the night before, followed up with a bases clearing double giving JU an 11-8 lead.

Appleby later scored on a wild pitch. JU would add one more run off the bat of senior Jonathan Murphy to take a 13-8 lead that they would not let go, to complete the 2 game sweep over FAMU.

“Its nice to come away with the sweep,” says Alexander. “We got shell shocked a little early, but I’m happy with the way our guys kept their composure and rallied back.”

JU’s next opponent is the Bulls of USF. The Dolphins will travel to Tampa for a 2 game series then return home for a weekend series with Wagner beginning on Friday.

Filed Under: Baseball, Sports Tagged With: ,

Softball

March 5, 2012 By George Wahl Leave a Comment

The Jacksonville University Women’s Softball team avenged their loss in Orlando to the Eastern Michigan Eagles with a sweep of a double header at the Jacksonville University Softball Complex.

The Dolphins won game 1 by a score of 2-0 and game 2 8-0. They got 2 great shutout pitching performances by Sarah Sigrest and Brittany Eppley. Sigrest went 7 innings giving up 7 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, and 7 strikeouts in game 1.

“Sarah did very well for us and kept us in the game until our bats woke up,” said Head Coach Ali Higgs.

Game 1 was scoreless until the bottom of the 5th. FR. Shortstop Ashley Simon got it going with a 1 out triple. Senior Melissa Morales then singled to score Simon giving JU a 1-0 lead.

“Mel was clutch tonight,” said Higgs. “She came through when we needed that timely hit and that is what you expect out of a senior.”

JU went on to add one more run to pad their lead which they would not relinquish.

In game 2, Eppley wasted no time picking up where Sigrest left off. She went 6 innings giving up no runs on 2 hits with no walks and 8 strikeouts.

“Eppley had her best outing of the year by far and was awesome for us tonight,” said Higgs.

The bats were quiet early just like in game 1 for JU. Right fielder Meagan Balding led off the 5th by reaching on an error. Ashley Simon later walked giving the Dolphins 2 on and 2 out. Morales again singled giving JU their first run of the game. Kayla Ouellette then reached on an error plating another run. She then stole second and on the throw, Morales was able to take home for a 3-0 lead.

JU ended the game in the bottom of the 6th with 5 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. At the end of the night, JU had reached .500 (8-8) and were headed back to Orlando for another UCF tournament.

Winners in 4 of their last 5, JU fell 2-1 to host UCF in the first game of their 4 game weekend event. They came out Saturday and defeated University of Penn 9-0 then went to defeat University of Illinois-Chicago 8-0. They wrapped up the weekend against Penn with a 5-0 victory.

The team will return home for a double header on Wednesday against Delaware St. University. Game 1 will start at 5 and game 2 is set for 7.

Filed Under: Softball, Sports Tagged With: ,

All-Star Ball Out

February 28, 2012 By Cha Thorpe Leave a Comment

February 24, 2012 kicked off the NBA All-Star Weekend where the best NBA basketball players from the West met the best from the East for a showdown in Orlando, Fl. Among those players where Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony just to name a few that showed up to show out on and off the court for the weekend.

The weekends included the All-Star Dunk Contest, Shaquill O’Neil’s All-Star Comedy Jam, and an array of high profile day and night club events and the grand final East vs. West All-Star game Sunday night.

This year marked the 61st Annual NBA All-Star game and it was nothing short of the name. The biggest names in sports and entertainment showed up for all the event related activities, everyone who is anyone was there.

Coined as the “Rising Stars Game” which went to a “Team Shaq vs. Team Chuck” for this year’s format, as opposed to the traditional rookies vs. sophomores format, which was a huge success, and also proving that the NBA lockout did not keep away fans support and enthusiasm when it came to coming out and coming out of pocket.

Allegedly tickets for the game ranged from $100 all the way to over $2000, and if you were looking for fun afterwards there was plenty to do but with a pretty price tags. The city of Orlando calculated that over $80 million was made for the weekend with merchandise sale, hotel and lodging as well as food sales, a much need boost to the city’s economy.

“I think it was great that All-Star Weekend was in Orlando this year because we aren’t really considered to be a popular city like LA or Las Vegas for an event like this. It brought a lot of big names out and it got the wheels turning for money to be made in the city,” said Jazmine Jackson an Orlando resident.

A statement released to the press from the Mayor of Orlando, Buddy Dyer also commented on the economic boom that the four day event brought to the city saying it put Orlando on the map and that type of exposure could not be bought.

And the city wants to keep that ball rolling and is already in talks of bringing the event back in 2015, which is the earliest it could return due to locations already being confirmed two years in advance.

The final event, The All-Star Game aired on television Sunday night and drew in the highest ratings since 2005 final game, even despite the Academy Awards airing on the same night.

The game was heated and full of fun among the players who play the game the best. Scores trailed each other most of the night but the West prevailed with the final score152 to 149. Though not everyone walked away winners the weekend was nothing short of “winning”.

Filed Under: Basketball, Features, Sports

Baseball Team Tries to Break Out

February 27, 2012 By George Wahl Leave a Comment

Photo courtesy of Austin Weaver

JU Baseball (2-5) used a little bit of home cooking to get their first wins of the season. After getting swept in Los Angeles by USC and falling to 8th ranked FSU, the Dolphins returned home for a weekend meeting with Northeastern.
The men’s squad needed 10 innings to get the win Friday 7-6 for the 1st W of the year. They were right back at it Saturday where the teams split a double header. Freshman Alex McRave got the nod in game 1 and he showed up. McRave went 8 innings, gave up 1 run on 8 hits with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts.
“Alex did a great job for us in game 1,” said JU Head Coach Terry Alexander. “He put together another solid outing and got some early support from the offense.”
JU struck early putting up a 3 spot in the first. Right Fielder Taylor Rutliff, sophomore, led off with a walk and went on to steal second. A 1-out walk to junior Adam Brett Walker II set up sophomore DH Chris Anderson for his RBI Single to right field. The very next batter, senior OF Jonathan Murphy, doubled to right scoring Anderson and Walker. They would plate one more run on their to a 4-1 victory.

The Northeastern Huskies took a page out of JU’s book with a 3 run 1st inning in game 2. Errors and lack of offense plagued the Dolphins in game 2.
“We are still having trouble playing consistently the entire game but its still early, we will make the necessary adjustments,” says Alexander.
Chris Anderson led the team with 3 hits and 2 RBI’s. Walker also had 2 RBI on the day.
Northeastern was anchored by catcher John Pattress who went 2-4 in game 1 and 3-4 in game 2. Tucker Roeder led the Huskies in game 2 with 3 RBI’s.
The Dolphins will continue their home stand Tuesday, February 28 vs College of Charleston at 4p.m. in Johns Sessions Stadium.

Filed Under: Baseball, Sports

Softball Team Knocks Off Knights, then Splits a Doubleheader

February 27, 2012 By George Wahl Leave a Comment

Photo by Brett Durda

The Jacksonville University Women’s Softball team hit the road Friday, traveling to Orlando for the University of Central Florida Tournament.
JU opened the tournament against host UCF that afternoon. The UCF Knights scored first in the 3rd inning after their lead off batter reached on an error and was advanced home soon after on a routine groundout.
The Dolphins took the lead in the 5th with a 2 run home run off the bat of catcher Sarah Simon,a junior, her third home run in 4 games.
UCF tied the game at 2 in the bottom half of the 6th. The tie was immediately broken by JU.
Senior OF Kayla Ouellet, started the 7th with a walk. Ouellet moved to 3rd on two fielders choice. She then took off for home on a wild pitch for the game winning run.
UCF did not go away quietly. They loaded the bases with 1 out in the bottom half of the 7th. The next crack of the bat was a line drive to left field that was caught by sophomore Jacey Warner who then fired the ball home to Simon in time to put the tag on the UCF base runner ending the game. Simon’s offense an defense helped propel JU to a 3-2 victory over the host Knights along with senior Sarah Sigrests stellar pitching performance.

JU was right back at it Saturday to take on Seton Hall. The Pirates jumped to a quick 1-0 lead in the 1st.
It seemed as if JU would get nothing going offensively until the Dolphins started to make a little noise in the 5th.

Sophomore Megan Balding led off the inning with a single. Karson Tuck, also a sophomore, then bunted safely. First baseman Brittany Eppley, senior, then sacrificed the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Freshman shortstop Ashley Simon singled up the middle to plate Balding and Tuck giving JU s 2-1 lead.
JU continued to rally in the 6th, loading the bases with no outs. Ashley Simon again drove in 2 runs with another single. The Dolphins scored 5 in the inning taking their lead to 7-1 on their way to a 10-2 victory.
In game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader the Dolphins took to the field against the Eagles of Eastern Michigan University. The Eagles were able to strike for 2 runs in the first.
JU tied it up at 2 but were held scoreless for the rest of the game after that. Senior Melissa Morales plated the 2 runs on a single to left.
Eastern Michigan added 4 more runs to end with a 6-2 win over JU.
JU (6-8) gets another chance at those Eagles of Eastern Michigan when they travel to Jacksonville for a double header on Wednesday Feb. 29 starting @ 5p.m.

Filed Under: Softball, Sports

Tennis Takes the Weekend by Storm

February 22, 2012 By Grace Singer Leave a Comment

Photo by Andy Keller

JU’s Men’s Tennis team competed multiple times this week, securing many victories, but defeats as well. Tuesday and Saturday the team went almost undefeated, sweeping Bethune-Cookman in the singles match and winning all but one doubles match. In addition, they swept Hampton University in singles, but chose to skip the doubles match to avoid inclement weather. However, on Sunday, the team fell short and even the superior performers from Tuesday and Saturday lost matches. Only the freshman duo of Eimon Heywood and Eduardo Martinez won their match, 8-5. The Dolphin’s did not give Florida Atlantic University an easy victory. After displaying a fantastic set of skills, junior Jose Fantova finished in the number one slot on Tuesday and sophomore Larry Condez won his match without giving up a single point on Saturday, both players went three sets before ultimately losing the set to the FAU Owls. JU’s Women’s Tennis also competed on Saturday to improve their 2012 season to 2-3 by defeating Hampton University. Undesirable weather led to the omission of the doubles portion. However, the Women Dolphins displayed their undefeated player, freshman sensation Aline Staudt, with a 5-0 season.

Filed Under: Sports, Tennis

Men’s Lacrosse Sinks Midshipmen

February 21, 2012 By George Wahl Leave a Comment

Photo by Brett Durda

Jacksonville University Mens Lacrosse got into the win column after a huge 13-7 victory over the Midshipmen of Navy at the Moes Southwest Grille Classic at Everbank Field in front of a rowdy 6,100 fans.

Attack TJ Kenary, junior, lead the Dolphins with 4 goals on the day, 2 of which came in the Dolphins big second quarter. JU struck 6 times in the second, opposed to Navy’s 1 second quarter goal. Cameron Mann, Donovan Lang, Rob Wertz and Quint Miller all tailed goals in the second. Lang would net another to finish the day with two goals.

Following a huge offensive outburst against Towson in the opener, Ari Waffle continued his offensive surge with a pair of goals.

JU was out shot 42-24 on the day but still managed to outscore Navy by 6. The Dolphins jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first with goals from Lang and Waffle. When halftime came around, JU had stretched the 2-0 lead to an 8-2 lead.

The Dolphins offense came out a bit slower in the second half. The defense was able to hold Navy to 5 second-half goals to match JU’s 5 second-half goals, giving JU the 13-7 victory.

The Midshipmen brought the score back within 3 goals just to see JU strike back with 3 of their own, slamming the door shut on the Navy comeback.

JU Goalkeeper Peter DeLuca posted 17 saves in the victory Sunday afternoon.

The victory marks their first of the season and more significantly, the first win for JU in the Guy Van Arsdale era.

JU next heads to Durham North Carolina for a showdown with the 2010 National Champion and tenth ranked Duke Blue Devils on Sunday Feb. 26.

Filed Under: Front Page, Lacrosse, Sports Tagged With: ,

Softball Team Splits a Double-Header

February 21, 2012 By George Wahl Leave a Comment

Photo by Brett Durda

Jacksonville University Women’s Softball kicked off their Sunday double-header with 7-6 win against the University of South Carolina. JU struck for 8 hits and capitalized on three Gamecock errors on their way to victory.
Dolphins pitcher Sarah Sigrest went the distance allowing 6 runs on 8 hits while striking out 6. Center fielder Kayla Ouelette and second baseman Karson Tuck led the team offensively with 2 hits each.

Neither team could hold the lead throughout the game. JU and USC went back and forth all the way until the last inning.

JU took their first lead on the bottom of the third with 3 runs. Catcher Sarah Simon went deep to highlight the inning. Shortly after in the top of the fifth, the Gamecocks struck back for 2 runs of their own. Immediately after, JU responded with a 2 run double off the bat of freshman Short Stop Ashley Simon.

In the top of the sixth, South Carolina strikes back yet again to tie the game at 6 runs a piece. The Dolphins regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a sacrifice fly from Sarah Simon, plating Ouellet. JU then held on in the seventh to take the win.

After a short break, JU was back on the diamond to take on Florida International University. Runs were hard to come by on both ends in game two. The Dolphins lone run of the game came off the bat of Meagan Balding who went deep for a solo home run. JU was quiet for much of the game after that.

JU pitcher Dale Townsend took the loss despite her great effort on the mound. JU’s biggest chance came in the fifth. After a lead off strike out, their next two batters got on base. A wild pitch helped them advance to second and third with still only one out. The offense couldn’t pull through in the inning, leaving both runners stranded. JU went on to lose the game 3-1.

The Dolphins (4-7) will now head to Orlando on Friday, Feb. 24 to participate in the two day University of Central Florida Tournament.

Filed Under: Softball, Sports Tagged With:

7 Track Team Titles

February 20, 2012 By Kristine Brown Leave a Comment

Saturday was a monumental day for Jacksonville University women’s track and field as they won their seventh consecutive Atlantic Sun Indoor Conference Title.

This win definitely cannot just be attributed to luck for the Lady Dolphins faced many challenges throughout the season including injury and several changes in team dynamics. Eight of the scorers from last year  graduated and one transferred leaving a lot of room for additions amongst the team. However, even with 6 newcomers, the lady dolphins were able to reign victorious over the rest of the field with a total of 164 points. Kennesaw State University followed with 143 points, their rivals University of North Florida took third with 136 pts., while East Tennessee State, University of South Carolina Upstate, Lipscomb University, and Belmont University followed with 107, 51, 40 and 20 points respectively.

Some of the best finishes in the sprinting events were a first place in the 60-meter with a 7.54 second time and three second place finishes in the 200-meter (24.41), long jump (18-9) and triple jump (39-8) by freshman Shanique Walker, a second place finish in the 60-meter  hurdles by senior Stacey Young, with a time of 8.54, now the current school record .

For the long distance events junior Joane Pierre ran 4 minute, 56.43 second in the mile run to win first place and junior Bienne Freeman ran 2:14.36 in the 800-meter run to also win first place.

Other meet accomplishments include Most Outstanding Freshman Performer which was awarded to freshman Courtney Walker , and the Coach of The Year, awarded to head coach Ron Grigg for his seventh consecutive year of helping the ladies attain this victory.

After a great finish to their indoor season, the teams’ new focus is producing for their outdoor season which will begin March 2 with the UNF Open at Hodges Stadium, according the JU athletics page.

Filed Under: Sports, Track & Field