Wayne State Athletics Records Second Best National Finish Ever

The Wayne State University athletics program placed 21st place in the final 2009-10 NCAA Division II Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings released this week by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).  This is the second-highest finish in school history (WSU was 11th in 2008-09).

"The summer 'break' is more satisfying when you consider our final national ranking," stated WSU Director of Athletics Rob Fournier.  "Since the national ranking reflects overall competitive success, our 21st in the country finish is a credit to the hard work of student-athletes, coaches and staff.  And when considered with our academic achievement of 61 percent of student-athletes above a 3.00 and 7,555 hours of community service last year, those same individuals can feel good about how they represented Wayne State University."

After garnering 220 points from winter sports (90 from women's swimming/diving, 85 men's swimming/diving, and 45 from men's and women's fencing), the five Warrior spring sports squads combined for 234.5 points as all five teams qualified for NCAA post-season play in the same year for the first time in school history.

Softball led the way with a seventh place national finish (73 points), while men's golf earned 61.5 points by virtue of its 14th place finish at the national championship.  Women's tennis accumulated 50 points after advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament (17th place national finish).  Both the baseball and men's tennis squads tallied 25 points.

The 454.5 total points for WSU is the second-highest mark in school history, trailing only the 2008-09 total of 499 points.

Wayne State has had its top nine all-time NACDA finishes in the last nine seasons, including six years of the last seven in the top 10 percent of Division II.

Volleyball Inks Two More For 2010

Wayne State University head volleyball coach Phil Nickel has announced that two additional prospective student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to enroll at WSU in the fall and join the volleyball program, bringing Nickel’s recruiting class to a total of six.

Harrison Township native and L’Anse Creuse graduate Jessica DeLeeuw was a four-year letterwinner for the Lancers. She was an all-state selection her senior season and was named MVP of the Macomb Area Conference Red Division. The 5-7 setter was a two-time all-region and a three-time all-city honoree. DeLeeuw, a two-year team captain, also received academic all-state honors in 2009-10 and graduated as the valedictorian of L’Anse Creuse this past spring.

Jen Finkbeiner, a 5-11 middle blocker from Saline, played four years of varsity volleyball for the Hornets and, despite missing her senior season due to an injury, was a two-time all-conference and offensive player of the year selection. She led the 2008 squad in hitting and blocking as Saline went 45-15-2. Finkbeiner, who also played basketball as a freshman, was on the honor roll at Saline and graduated with honors.

“We are excited to add two more players to our 2010 recruiting class,” said Nickel. “Jess and Jen are both great players and great people who are going to add a great deal to our program.”

DeLeeuw and Finkbeiner will join fall signees Nicole Arends, Kristen Bulkiewicz, Kris Vulaj and Amanda Wetherill as the Warriors begin the 2010 season September 3-4 in Indianapolis.

A BIG Congratulations to the Wayne State Softball Team

Warriors Earn Trip To College World Series With 7-1 Win

WSU to make second World Series Appearance in school history.

DETROIT -- The seventh-ranked Wayne State University (52-11 overall) advanced to the Division II College World Series with a 7-1 triumph over visiting Ashland University (36-13 overall) in the second game of the best two-of-three Midwest Super Regional at the WSU Softball Stadium.

WSU will play at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, May 27 vs. Hawaii Pacific.

The Warriors were the visiting in the tournament format which has the higher seed home for game No. 1, with the lower seed serving as home team in game No. 2.

Junior Rachel Spaccarotelli (Ray, Mich. / Romeo) led off the top of the third with a walk.  Pinch-runner Makelle Barski (Trenton, Mich.) advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore second baseman Lauren Histed (Shelby Twp., Mich. / Utica).  On a 3-1 offering from AU starter Emlyn Knerem (23-5), sophomore right fielder Alison Allen (Redford, Mich. / Farmington Hills Mercy) laced a double to right center scoring Barski.

The Eagles tied the contest in the bottom of the fourth on a one-out double by Alyssa Kelley.

Wayne State responded by scoring five runs, all with two outs, in the top of the fifth.  Freshman center fielder Steph Foreman (Cambridge, Ont. / Preston) had a leadoff single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Barski.  Following a ground out, Allen drilled a 3-0 pitch, that was supposed to be ball four of an intentional walk, up the middle but AU second baseman Carrie Hosier made a diving stop to keep the ball in the infield.  Senior shortstop Jaci Banton (Richmond Hill, Ont. / Cardinal Carter ) hit a laser that bounced to the left field fence on an 0-2 pitch scoring both runners and putting WSU ahead 3-1.  Sophomore third baseman Rebecca Stanley (Waterloo, Ont. / Waterloo C.I.) battled until a 3-2 count before smacking a two-run home run over the center field fence.  Sophomore first baseman Becca Ryan (Westland, Mich. / Dearborn Divine Child) completed the back-to-back four-baggers with a solo shot over the left field fence.

With a five-run cushion, WSU senior pitcher Casey Hanes (Richmond, Va. / Douglas Freeman) retired nine of the final 11 Ashland batters for her 42nd win (42-6)of the season.  Hanes tied the WSU career mark with her 72nd victory, in only two seasons.

Foreman scored the game's final run in the sixth.  She reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a pinch-hit single by senior Nicole Abel (Kitchener, Ont. / St. Mary's).

WSU out-hit Ashland 9-3, and led in extra-base hits 4-2.

Hanes struck out eight and walked two while allowing three hits and one earned run.  Knerem went 4.2 innings in the circle and surrendered six earned runs on eight hits with one walk and one strikeouts.  Logan Hursey pitched the final 2.1 innings allowing one unearned run on a hit with four strikeouts.
 

Volleyball Announces 2010 Schedule

DETROIT - The 2010 schedule for the Wayne State University volleyball team has been announced. The Warriors will begin their 36th season of volleyball Sept. 3-4 at an invitational hosted by the University of Indianapolis.

Of Wayne State’s 17 scheduled opponents, nine qualified for the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The Warriors will be tested immediately, as they open with a match Sept. 3 against Indianapolis. The Greyhounds went 38-2 last year and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, where they lost to the eventual undefeated national champion Concordia-St. Paul.

Wayne State will also meet Tusculum and Truman State, two NCAA regional qualifiers in 2009, as well as West Virginia State before opening its GLIAC schedule Sept. 7 at Hillsdale.

The Warriors will play their first home matches at the Matthaei on Sept. 10 against Lake Erie, which is joining the GLIAC this season after transitioning from NCAA Division III, and Sept. 11 versus Ashland.

The schedule includes three Sunday matches, beginning with a Sept. 19 matchup at Ohio Dominican, another new GLIAC member in 2010 and formerly a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Panthers will come to Detroit on Sunday, Oct. 24. Wayne State’s other Sunday match is Sept. 26 as WSU hosts Grand Valley State.

The third annual GLIAC/GLVC Crossover will be held Oct. 15-16, with a site and schedule to be determined. Following the Crossover, five of WSU’s seven remaining matches will be played at the Matthaei, leading into the 2010 GLIAC Tournament beginning Thursday, Nov. 11.

Wayne State finished its 2009 season with a 19-9 record, the most wins since 1998 and the best winning percentage since 1997. The Warriors have qualified for the GLIAC Tournament each of the last two years under head coach Phil Nickel.

Warriors 2010 Schedule

		University of Indianapolis Tournament
Friday	September 3	University of Indianapolis	1:30 PM
		Tusculum College	6:00 PM
Saturday	September 4	Truman State University	9:00 AM
		West Virginia State University	1:30 PM
Tuesday	September 7	@ Hillsdale	7:00 PM
Friday	September 10	Lake Erie College	7:00 PM
Saturday	September 11	Ashland	7:00 PM
Saturday	September 18	@ Tiffin	7:00 PM
Sunday	September 19	@ Ohio Dominican	2:00 PM
Friday	September 24	Saginaw Valley State	7:00 PM
Saturday	September 25	Ferris State	4:00 PM
Sunday	September 26	Grand Valley State	2:00 PM
Friday	October 1	@ Findlay	7:30 PM
Saturday	October 2	Hillsdale	4:00 PM
Friday	October 8	@ Lake Superior State	4:00 PM
Saturday	October 9	@ Northwood	4:00 PM
Fri/Sat	October 15-16	GLIAC/GLVC Crossover Tournament	TBA
Friday	October 22	Tiffin	7:00 PM
Sunday	October 24	Ohio Dominican	2:00 PM
Thursday	October 28	@ Ashland	7:00 PM
Saturday	October 30	@ Lake Erie College	2:00 PM
Tuesday	November 2	Findlay	7:00 PM
Friday	November 5	Michigan Tech	7:00 PM
Saturday	November 6	Northern Michigan	4:00 PM
Thursday	November 11	GLIAC Quarterfinals	7:00 PM
Saturday	November 13	GLIAC Semifinals	TBA
Sunday	November 14	GLIAC Finals	TBA
Thu/Fri/Sat	November 18-20	NCAA Regional Tournament	TBA
Thu/Fri/Sat	December 2-4	NCAA Fall Festival	TBA

Athletics Hosts Academic Recognition Luncheon

The Wayne State University Department of Athletics honored the 124 Warrior student-athletes and cheerleaders who recorded at least a 3.50 grade-point average for the Fall 2009 term during its 10th annual Academic Recognition Luncheon held Thursday at Historic St. Andrew's on the WSU campus.
Seven Deans' Award winners were also recognized for having the highest cumulative grade-point average among all student-athletes in that particular college:

* College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Marlon Leone, Men's Tennis

* College of Education - Brady Cooper, Baseball

* School of Business Administration - Vince Bechard, Men's Cross Country

* School of Social Work - Jessica Condeni, Volleyball

* College of Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts - Meghan Luzod, Women's Tennis

* College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences - Sharon Gill, Women's Tennis

* College of Engineering - Roberto Gomez, Men's Tennis

Spring Season Wrap Up

Last weekend, the Warriors participated in a spring tournament at Bowling Green State University.  In the first match, the Warriors took on the host Falcons, splitting the two sets 25-27 and 25-22.  It was an exciting, and spirited match.  In the second match, the opponent was the Bowling Green Alumni team, which had some really good players.  We played well in the first set, winning 25-21.  In set two, the line-up we put on the floor just didn't click, and we struggled to get anything going. 

After lunch, we played Wright State, a school I coached at many years ago.  We played well again in set one, winning 25-18.  We lost a little momentum in the middle of set two, but fought back, only to fall short 24-26.  That put us at 3-3 in pool play, and matched us up with Bowling Green again for the final match of the tournament.  We played hard, but it was obvious that we were starting to run out of gas.  We dropped both sets, but it was a great way to finish our spring season.

We were very happy with the our spring season, and are very excited about the 2010 fall season.  The schedule will be released by the end of April.  We look forward to seeing you at some matches this fall.

Go Warriors!