Volleyball looks to start fresh with new coach at UAA

From the University of Alaska Anchorage newspaper The Northern Light

By Mirinda Nick, Aug. 26, 2008

Media Credit: Courtesy WNCC [Click to enlarge]

With several new teammates and a new championship winning Nebraska-native coach, the 2008 season for the Seawolf volleyball team of 2008 has had a tasteful beginning.

Chris Green takes the head coaching position after nine years at Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff, Neb. There he led the Cougars to 453-55 record, including a NJCAA Div. I national championship in 2007.

The addition of the new coach, Chris Green, has also brought the addition of freshmen and transfer athletes Stacy Miesner, Cortney Lundberg, Jackie Matthisen, and McKenzie Moss are each new to the team and to UAA.

"We have a long list of expectations for them," said Head Coach Chris Green, about the Lady Seawolves.

"Hopefully one of the reasons why they chose to come here is for the people that are here, the coaches, the community that they see when they come on their visit, and eventually the program will be successful enough that one of the reasons that they come is for our success in volleyball."

Green said that the team has a high sense of goals, and that they want to be competitive and do well within the conference.

The team had a disappointing 2006-07 season, notching only five wins. Previous head coach Michelle Earl resigned at the end of last season, finishing her three-year tenure with a 17-53 record, going 7-45 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

Green said that the team is facing tough competition within the conference. UAA is ranked in 8th in the GNAC for hitting percentage and blocks, and 9th for kills, assists and opponent hitting percentage.

"We definitely want the players to improve as the season goes along. We are not going to worry too much about wins and losses. We want to keep getting better as a team, and compete well; especially in the GNAC," Green said.

As students and teammates, the player will be watching their every move to meet the coach's anticipations.

"We outlined a lot of expectations on the first day," Green said. "As far as what we expect from them each and every day of practice, what we expect from them as students, our expectations for them as people in the community, and as young ladies in the community."

Green said he was enthusiastic about making the transition from Junior College to Div. II, and that he looks forward to what the season has to bring.

"We have a very tough preseason schedule and it is going to prepare us very well towards those high expectations that we have with GNAC," Green said.

Former WNCC baseball player Phillips Orta promoted from Kingsport to Savannah

Guerra has been promoted to High-A St Lucie and RHP Brant Rustich has been placed on the disabled list, the New York Mets announced Sunday. Right-handed pitchers Michael Olmsted and Phillips Orta have been promoted from Rookie-level Kingsport to replace Guerra and Rustich with Savannah.

Guerra, 23, was stellar in 10 appearances with the Sand Gnats, going 1-1 with 2 saves and a 1.75 ERA. The right-hander recorded 34 strikeouts against just 2 walks in 10 appearances. The San Felix, Venezuela native was signed by the Mets as a non-drafted free agent in 2007.

Rustich, from San Diego, Calif., went 3-4 with a 3.62 ERA in 20 appearances (8 starts) with the Gnats. The 23-year-old suffered a right arm stress fracture.

Olmsted, 21, made two starts with the Gulf Coast Mets before being promoted to Kingsport. The Huntington Beach, Calif. native went 1-1 with a 1.83 ERA in four starts with the K-Mets. Olmsted was selected by the Mets in the ninth round of the 2007 draft. Olmstead will be Savannah's starting pitcher tonight in Charleston.

Orta, from Bolivar, Ven., went 4-4 with a 2.05 ERA in 14 games (3 starts) with the K-Mets. The 22-year-old was selected by the Mets in the 10th round of the 2006 draft. Orta appeared in one game with Savannah in 2007.

The Gnats begin their final road trip of the season tonight in Charleston, S.C. They return home for a season-ending three-game homestand with the RiverDogs on Saturday with Fan Appreciation Night. For tickets and more information, call 912.351.9150 or visit www.sandgnats.com.

Kabalis earns MVP honors at Molten Invite over the weekend

Three Western Nebraska Community College volleyball players earned recognition at the Molten Invite in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in which the Cougars went 8-0 in winning the opening tournament of the 2008 season.

Kaleinani Kabalis, Fatima Balza and Nayka Benitez were named to the all-tournament team, which was released over the weekend.

Kabalis, a freshman from Hilo, Hawaii, earned another honor at the tournament, garnering co-most valuable player honors, sharing the honor with Iowa Western’s Barbara Conceicao. Kabalis finished the tournament with 47 kills. Kabalis had a double-double performance in the win against Hutchinson Community College, finishing with 10 kills and 11 digs.

Other members of all-tournament team include Celeste Bonter and Ann Wagner of Iowa Western, Katja Stepanova and Nile Whaley-Garrison of West Plains, Holly Reynolds of Jefferson College, Karie Downing of Indian Hills, Ashley Beyer and Ashley Kimball of Kishwaukee, and Emily Calderon-Reyes of Hillsborough.

The Cougars, 8-0 and winners of their last 21 matches dating back to last season, will compete in the Crystal Inn Salt Lake Invitational Friday and Saturday, looking to win that tournament for a third straight year.

WNCC opens play in the tournament Friday at 8:30 a.m. against North Idaho College, followed by matches with Hutchinson at 11 a.m., Indian Hills at 1:30 p.m., and Lakeland Community College at 4 p.m. WNCC will also face Salt Lake Community College Saturday at 10:15 a.m. before entering bracket play.

WNCC volleyball wins Molten Classic with unblemished record

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -- The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will soon make Council Bluffs, Iowa, their second home after capturing another title in less then a year.

WNCC, after capping off the 2007 season with a national championship at the Mid-America Center, started their defense of the national tournament by capturing the Molten Classic championship by finishing the two-day tournament with an unblemished record.

After winning all four matches on Friday, the Cougars started day two with three wins in straight games. WNCC registered a 25-17, 25-15 win over Southwest Missouri-West Plains, and toppled Hutchinson Community College 25-16, 25-20. The Cougar women followed up with an impressive showing against Hillsborough Community College out of Florida, 25-9, 25-15.

The Cougars capped the tournament with a thundering victory over Cloud County Community College 25-10, 25-18.

WNCC coach Giovana Melo couldn’t be happier with the accomplishments of her team after the first tournament.

“It feels good to be 8-0 and I can take a little breath now,” she said. “We can enjoy this accomplishment for a day and then work on things for next weekend with other ranked teams.”

What was impressive about WNCC’s eight victories was that five of the teams they faced were ranked in the pre-season poll.

“They are excited,” Melo said. “They are happy to beat teams that were ranked and to prove to everyone that we should be ranked.”

WNCC started the day with an impressive win against Southwest Missouri-West Plains. In that contest, Fatima Balza finished with seven kills and 10 blocks.

Also for the Cougars, Paulina Piezga had eight kills and eight blocks; Kaleinani Kabalis had three kills, 10 digs, one ace and six points; Cami Weimer had three kills; Sabina Piegza had five blocks, 1 ace, eight points and 26 set assists; Brooke Blomencamp had four digs; Nayka Benitez had seven digs; and Grenner Quinones had seven points and two aces.

WNCC followed that win with a hard-fought win against Hutchinson as they used strong serving and hitting to get the win.

Kabalis paced the team with a double-double, recoring 10 kills, 11 digs, one ace and four points. Balza finsihed with nine kills, four blocks, and four points.

Also cor WNCC, Paulina Piegza had six points and three blocks; Sabina Piegza had seven digs, two aces, five points and 24 set assists; Benitez had six digs and one ace; and Naomi Flinders had one ace.

Then, the Cougars flexed their depth in a quick match against pre-season ranked Hillsborough. In fact,.

Paulina Piegza paced the Cougars with 11 kills and six blocks. Kabalis finished with six kills, nine digs and five points, while Balza had five kills, six blocks, three aces and 10 points.

Also for WNCC, Sabina Piegza had four blocks, three aces, six points and 25 set assists; Quinones had eight digs, one ace and five points; Benitez had five digs; and Flinders had five digs.

WNCC finished off the championship run by disposing of Cloud County 25-10, 25-18 as Paulina Piegza finished with 10 kills, two aces and four points.

Also for the Cougars, Whitney Roth had five points and five blocks; Weimer had three kills and three digs; Balza had five kills; Kabalis had four kills and three solo blocks; Blomenkamp had four points; and Sabina Piegza had 27 set assists.

Melo said that what really contributed to the championship drive was the talent of players as every one that played, contributed and played well.

“Every single player that got in did a good job and I was able to play around with the line up this weekend,” she said. “They all did well.”

The Cougars (8-0) will need that kind of same performance next weekend whtn they compete in the Salt Lake Invite in Salt Lake City. Melo said they will face Indian Hills, Hutchinson and North Idaho College in pool play on Friday.

WNCC soccer teams split with Barton County, women win 3-1 while men fall 5-0

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team utilized a strong defensive effort in their season-opening contest in Great Bend, Kan.

The Cougar women received two goals from Ashley Quintana to register a 3-1 victory over Barton County Community College.

The Cougar men weren’t as fortunate against Barton County, falling 5-0 to the No. 11 team in the nation.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said his women’s squad played lights out in the win.

“Barton was much improved over last year,’ he said. “We were just very creative on the attacking side and had good flow. At no time was I threatened in the game. They just played very strong.”

Both squads settled for a 1-1 tie at intermission. Anna Jacobo scored on a Brooke Dudley assist.

The second half, the Cougars took control as Quintana netted both goals. Quintana’s first goal came off an assist by Jaime Gastelle. Jacobo recorded the assist on Quintana’s second goal.

Rasnic also praised Taylor John’s defensive effort against Barton’s top scorer Yesenia Garcia.

“Taylor stepped up today,” he said. “We had her against Yesmenia Garcia and she had her marked and slowed her down.”

WNCC recorded 10 shots on goal compared to Barton’s five. Cougar goal keeper Terri Huntington recorded four saves in net.

The men weren’t as fortunate as they faced an extremely talented Barton County squad.

“Their defense was so good. They were a better team,” Rasnic said. “Right now we have some work to do, and it is not the defense. It is the mid-field area.”

The Cougar men finished with just five shots on goal compared to Barton’s 12 shots. Cesar Bazana recorded seven saves in net.

WNCC will have two more matches Sunday in Great Bend. The women will play Hutchinson Community College at 10 a.m. followed the guys meeting Garden City Community College at noon. Rasnic said that Garden city is another good squad, who had the No. 2 team in the nation San Jacinto College down had halftime on Saturday.

WNCC volleyball team claims three more wins agains West Plains, Hutchinson and Hillsborough in second day of Molten Classic

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team continues to cruise along in the season opening tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

After winning all four matches on Friday, the Cougars started day two with three wins in straight games. WNCC registered a 25-17, 25-15 win over Southwest Missouri-West Plains, and toppled Hutchinson Community College 25-16, 25-20. The Cougar women followed up with an impressive showing against Hillsborough Community College out of Floridah, 25-9, 25-15.

Against West Plains, Fatima Balza finished with seven kills and 10 blocks; Paulina Piezga had eight kills and eight blocks; Kaleinani Kabalis had three kills, 10 digs, one ace and six points; Cami Weimer had three kills; Sabina Piegza had five blocks, 1 ace, eight points and 26 set assists; Brooke Blomencamp had four digs; Nayka Benitez had seven digs; and Grenner Quinones had seven points and two aces.

WNCC was just as impressive against Hutchinson with a strong hitting and serving game. Kabalis paced the team with a double-double, recoring 10 kills, 11 digs, one ace and four points. Balza finsihed with nine kills, four blocks, and four points.

Also cor WNCC, Paulina Piegza had six points and three blocks; Sabina Piegza had seven digs, two aces, five points and 24 set assists; Benitez had six digs and one ace; and Naomi Flinders had one ace.

Then, the Cougars flexed their depth in a quick match against pre-season ranked Hillsborough. Paulina Piegza paced the Cougars with 11 kills and six blocks. Kabalis finished with six kills, nine digs and five points, while Balza had five kills, six blocks, three aces and 10 points.

Also for WNCC, Sabina Piegza had four blocks, three aces, six points and 25 set assists; Quinones had eight digs, one ace and five points; Benitez had five digs; and Flinders had five digs.

WNCC wraps up the tournament with a match against Cloud County. If teh Cougars defeat Cloud County, they will wrap up the tournament championship. An All-tournament team will be announced after the tournament as well.

WNCC volleyball go 4-0 in first day of Molten Classic without dropping a game

Photos of the first day of the Molten Classic located at wncccougars.albumpost.com

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team returned to the site where they captured their first national championship last November and wasted little time in showing their dominance at the Molten Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

The Cougars swept through the first day unbeaten without dropping a game en route to picking up four wins, including a sweep over Kishwaukee Community College in a battle of last year’s national champions.

Kishwaukee won the Division II title and were pre-season ranked No. 1 going into the tournament. The Cougars, unranked in the pre-season after capturing the Division I title, swept past Kishwaukee 25-20, 25-22

WNCC started the tournament by downing preseason top-10 ranked Indian Hills Community College 25-15, 25-12, and then finished the day by pasting Southwestern (Iowa) community College 25-13, 25-13, and then No. 11 Marshalltown Community College 25-7, 25-15.

“I am extremely happy. I can breath a little bit,” first-year coach Giovana Melo said. “I was nervous coming in and I know they were two because we weren’t sure where we were. Now, we saw we can do pretty well.”

And, after day one, Melo says this team can go a long way with the depth they showcased on the court Friday.

“I am pretty impressed with how we play together and how hard they worked and how hard they played,” she said. “I am really happy with them. I thought everybody played really well. I thought the Polish kids played really well together. I thought everyone played well together and they all stepped up when it was time to step up.”

Melo was really impressed of how her young team battled against a championship team like Kishwaukee.

“That was a good game. I felt in the first game, we were able to stop them because we did a really good job on their outsides,” she said. “Then we let them go in the second game a little bit. But we were able to pull it together and win the match in two games. That was real good for us.”

In the battle of the national championship teams, both squads looked strong. Kishwaukee entered the WNCC match after opening up their season with a 3-game win over Southwest Missouri-West Plains.

Kish quickly took a 10-7 lead over the Cougars only to see the Cougars come storming back behind three service points by Gregner Quinones to tie the game at 15. WNCC continued stretching the lead in the opening game, taking a 17-13 lead on a Kaleinani Kabalis kill.

Sabina Piegza expanded the lead to 20-15 on two service points and the Cougars went up 22-16 on another hammering kill from Kabalis as they went on to win 25-20.

Kish ran out to a 6-1 lead to open the second game and continued leading through the early stages. Things soon changed as sophomore Nayka Benitez served up three straight points to take a 16-14 lead.

Both teams battled back and forth until Kabalis pounded down a kill to put WNCC up 21-19. Sabina Piegza pushed the lead to 23-19 on two service points to help the Cougars move to the win.

Fatima Balza paced the Cougars wiith eight solo blocks and eight kills. Kabalis finished with nine digs, five and four blocks, while Paulina Piegza had seven kills and two blocks. Naomi Flinders finished with seven digs and seven blocks, while Quinones had five digs and six points.

Also for WNCC, Benitez had 10 digs and six points, while Sabina Piegza had five points, five blocks and 15 set assists.

The Cougars were just as impressive in their opening season win against Indian Hills, sweeping to the victory behind a balanced offensive output and a strong blocking effort. Balza finished with six kills, five solo blocks, and Kabalis had eight kills and four blocks.

Also for WNCC, Sabina Piegza had 15 set assists, seven digs, six blocks, six points and three kills; Quinones had four kills and four digs; Benitez had 11 digs; Cami Weimer four points, and Paloma Alvarez had two kills and four blocks.

Against Southwestern, Balza served nine straight points to put the Cougars up 11-1 and they never looked back in getting the win.

Paulina Piegza paced the Cougars with 11 kills and five solo blocks. Kabalis finished with six kills, three solo blocks and five blocks. Also for WNCC, Balza finished with 15 points, seven digs and two aces; Brooke Blomenkamp had five blocks and six digs, Whitney Roth had three solo blocks, Sabina Piegza had 16 set assists, six points, two aces, five digs and two kills; and Quinones had thee digs.

WNCC was just as impressive in the day’s final match, a 40 minute win against Marshalltown as Kabalis quickly put the came out of reach by serving eight straight points, including three aces to put the Cougars up 16-4. Kabalis finished the game with 12 points, three aces, five kills and four digs.

Balza and Paulina Piegza paced WNCC with seven kills each. Paulina Piegza also had four solo blocks.

Also for WNCC, Benitez had five digs and three blocks; Weimer had three digs; Quinones had three digs, two aces, and eight points; and Sabina Piegza had 14 set assists, three blocks, four points, and 10 digs.

One of the reasons for the Cougars dominance on the day was their blocking, where they totaled a number of solo blocks from everybody that played the front line. Melo said they worked hard in the off season on their blocking and it paid off.

“We have been working on blocking a lot and it is something that we have been emphasizing,” she said. “It is something that is really important. I thought we blocked really well and we served really well.”

WNCC will conclude the Molten Classic Saturday with four more matches Hutchinson, SW Missouri-West Plains, Cloud County and Hillsborough.

WNCC volleyball team opens season with two wins

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team wasted little time in showing their dominance at the Molten Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

The Cougars swept through their first two opponents, dropping Indian Hills Community College 25-15, 25-12, and Kishwaukee Community College 25-20, 25-22. The win against Kishwaukee was a battle of 2007 national championship teams as Kishwaukee won the Division II title last November, while the Cougars claimed the Division I title.

In the battle of the national championship teams, both squads looked strong. Kishwaukee entered the WNCC match after opening up their season with a 3-game win over Southwest Missouri-West Plains.

Kish quickly took a 10-7 lead over the Cougars only to see the Cougars come storming back behind three service points by QGregner Quinones to tie the game at 15. WNCC continued stretching the lead in the opening game, taking a 17-13 lead on a Kaleinani Kabalis kill.

Sabina Piegza expanded the lead to 20-15 on two service points and the Cougars went up 22-16 on another hammering kill from Kabalis as they went on to win 25-20.

Kish ran out to a 6-1 lead to open the second game and continued leading through the early stages. Things soon changed as sophomore Nayka Benitez served up three straight points to take a 16-14 lead.

Both teams battled back and forth until Kabalis pounded down a kill to put WNCC up 21-19. Sabina Piegza pushed the lead to 23-19 on two service points to help the Cougars move to the win.

Fatima Balza paced the Cougars wiith eight solo blocks and eight kills. Kabalis finished with nine digs, five and four blocks, while Paulina Piegza had seven kills and two blocks. Naomi Flinders finished with seven digs and seven blocks, while Quinones had five digs and six points.

Also for WNCC, Benitez had 10 digs and six points, while Sabina Piegza had five points, five blocks and 15 set assists.

The Cougars were just as impressive in their opening season win against Indian Hills, sweeping to the victory behind a balanced offensive output and a strong blocking effort. Balza finished with six kills, five solo blocks, and Kabalis had eight kills and four blocks.

Also for WNCC, Sabina Piegza had 15 set assists, seven digs, six blocks, six points and three kills; Quinones had four kills and four digs; Benitez had 11 digs; Cami Weimer four points, and Paloma Alvarez had two kills and four blocks.

WNCC will have two more matches on Friday, taking on Southwestern (Iowa) Community College and Marshalltown Community College this evening. The Cougars will have four matches on Saturday as well against Hutchinson, SW Missouri-West Plains, Cloud County and Hillsborough.

WNCC women's soccer team opens season Saturday against Barton County in Kansas

It is not hard to see the look of confidence and excitement on the faces of the Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer players entering this weekend’s season opening matches in Great Bend, Kan.

The players know how much talent is littered on the squad, and that talent-laden team is anxiously looking on topping last year’s 10-win season. The Cougars will open the season Saturday against Barton County Community College followed by facing Hutchinson Community College Sunday.

“We are really excited to started,” freshman Shawna Michaelis of West Jordan, Utah, said. “We heard a lot of things about us being a stronger team then last year, so we are really hoping for some good things this year.”

Is this team better then last year’s 10-7-2 team? Sophomore Andrea Ardito, who was a key mid-fielder last year, thinks so and can‘t wait to get the season started for real.

“I think it will be fun to begin the season. We will play against some strong teams [this weekend],” she said. “The teams we will play have strong defense because the girls are fast and they are big. But I think we will be fine and have a good chance to win.”

The Cougar women enter Saturday’s contest against Barton County on a high after their 3-0 performance against Dana College in a scrimmage on Monday. In that contest, Keah Brost, Anna Jacoba and Ashley Quintana each netted goals for the Cougar women against the four-year school.

The team also performed well in a scrimmage against CSU-Pueblo, falling 2-1 to the four-year school.

“The first one we did fairly well,” Michaelis said. “We didn’t have set ups for some out of bound plays, but the second game we did really well. We played a lot better as a team. [In the scrimmages] we found some areas that we are really strong at and some we are weak in. We have a little bit of an idea of how good we will be this year.”

The Cougar women return nine players from a year ago with eight seeing plenty of action a year ago. Returning in net is Terri Huntington, of Bluffdale, Utah. The other goal keeper will be freshman Andrea Burger of Ft. Collins, Colo.

The other sophomores include Ardito, Maria Garcia, Claudia Gomez, Alisha Ropkin and Ashley Quintana of Aurora, Colo., Mara Crouch of Hillsdale, Mich., and LeeAnna Paxton and Jessica Arregiun of Greeley, Colo.

While these nine sophomores have one year under their belts of college soccer, the incoming freshmen are quickly making an impact on the team. That is good news for WNCC soccer fans.

“I think the girls are really interested in learning,” Ardito said. “And that is nice for the team because it helps us so we can play as a team and play together.”

Michaelis said that Jacobo and Paxton have really impressed her with their early season play.

Jacobo, a freshman from Aurora Central High School in Aurora, Colo., is a player that has been drawing plenty of attention from her teammates. Michaelis said Jacobo has a strong finish and will be counted on for a lot scoring. She also said that Paxton is the team’s playmaker from the mid-field area.

The freshmen do compliment the returners, giving the Cougar women plenty of depth and competition for positions.

Other freshmen that look to make an impact include Gering High graduates Keah Brost and Taylor Johns, as well as Scottsbluff High graduate Laura Abbott. Shaylee Williams, of Plain City, Utah, is also gaining praise. Williams is the cousin to Bre Perkes, Cougar soccer player the last two years.

Other freshmen include Jaime Gastelle, a mid-fielder from Ft. Collins, Colo., and Brooke Dudley a mid-fielder from Loveland, Colo.

And, after three weeks of 3-a-day practices, that included a 6 a.m. conditioning session, the players are anxious to get the season started for real, and get away from the “all-day” practice sessions. But, they realize, the regular season will feature some stiff competition, including taking on Region IX power Laramie County Community College, who has become a national power in just three years, which included finishing in the top five of last year’s national rankings.

WNCC will tangle with LCCC twice during the regular season -- Sept. 10 at Cheyenne and Sept. 30 at Scottsbluff.

After this weekend’s contests, WNCC will travel to Arizona next weekend to face Paradise Valley Community College and Phoenix College, before facing Butler County Community College Sept. 1 in Denver. WNCC’s first home contest is slated for Sept. 5 and 7 when they face Western Wyoming Community College and Iowa Western Community College.

But, to be successful this year and possible setting a school record for most wins a season, Michaelis and Ardito said they need to keep improving each and every game.

“We [can go to nationals] but we need to keep on improving and playing as a team and with everybody playing together,” Ardito said. “We should be fine.”

Michaelis said this team can put up the numbers from the 2003 inaugural team, which set a school record of 19 wins and came within one game of a trip to the national tournament.

“I think we will do really good,” she said. “Coach [Todd Rasnic] says if we really come together and we work as good as we can, then we can be unbeatable. It seems like it will be a good season.”

2008 Women’s Soccer Roster
Andrea Burger, freshman, Ft. Collins, Colo.; Terri Huntington, sophomore, Bluffdale, Utah; Maria Garcia, sophomore, Aurora, Colo.; Claudia Gomez, sophomore, Aurora, Colo.; Jessica Arreguin, sophomore, Greeley, Colo.; Jaime Gastelle, freshman, Ft. Collins, Colo.; Mara Crouch, sophomore, Hillsdale, Mich.; Shaylee Williams, fresh, Plain City, Utah; Alisha Ropkin, sophomore, Aurora, Colo,; Andrea Ardito, sophomore, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Ashley Quintana, sophomore, Aurora, Colo.; Shawna Michaelis, freshman, West Jordan, Utah; Keah Brost, freshman, Gering, Neb.; Taylor Johns, freshman, Gering, Neb.; Laura Abbott, freshman, Scottsbluff, Neb.; Brooke Dudley, freshman, Loveland, Colo.; LeeAnna Paxton, sophomore, Greeley, Colo.; and Anna Jacobo, freshman, Aurora, Colo.

Men's soccer opens season Saturday against Barton County

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s soccer team knows that strong defense will be the key when they open the season this weekend at Great Bend, Kan.

On Saturday, WNCC’s defense will be solid as the team takes on No. 14 Barton County Community College. The Cougars will also face Garden City Community College on Sunday.

“All the sophomores know what we need to do against Barton,” sophomore Shayne Tower, a Scottsbluff graduate, said. “They are a good team and we just want to beat them. We will be underestimated because of our size, but we have a lot speed on our team.”

The Cougars are hoping to utilize that speed this weekend against two opponents which WNCC lost to last season -- 3-2 to Barton Count and 1-0 to Garden City. And, if the Cougar men is to pick up a couple wins, it will depend on their defense, which was shaky in their two pre-season scrimmages last weekend.

“We found a lot about our defense [last weekend],” Tower said. “ That was biggest thing. We let some goals go into the back of the net. Still, we are pretty ready. Our defense might be a little shaky, but we will get there. We have a lot of experience. We just have to get things organized.”

The Cougars have been working hard on getting organized defensively, and it is not a matter of not having good players, it is just getting everyone playing on the same page.

“The defense is a little shaky right know,” freshman Jesus Duque said. “But I know when the season starts and after a few games, we will be ready to go.”

The one area that the team isn’t lacking talent in is the offensive side of the ball. Tower said they have plenty of speed and scoring ability on the frontline.

Freshmen Austin Albers of Spearfish, S.D., and Tony Rocha of Denver, Colo., along with sophomore Lazaro Torrez of Aurora, Colo., are what Tower call the Triple Threat.

“We will be very good at scoring,” Tower said. “Freshman Austin Albers is amazing on top. He has a lot of quickness. He also has help with Lazaro and Tony, the triple threat up there.”

The other forward on the team this year is Nathan Southard, a freshman from North Platte,

The mid-fielders include Austin Roy, a freshman from Littleton, Colo., Mark Zigray and Nikko Ouzounis, sophomores, and Matt Hoffman, a freshman, both from Windsor, Colo., Brandon Ludens, freshman from Aurora, Colo., Morgan Wall, sophomore from Scottsbluff, Spencer Duque, freshman from Spearfish, S.D. nd Duque.

Making up the defense includes Tower, Josh Ivey, a freshman from York; Tanner Herian and Tim Iodence of Alliance, Tyler Erb, a freshman from Grand Island, Ryan Dawson, freshman from Venezuela, Luis Anya, fresh from Aurora, Colo., Antonio Herrera-Young, sophomore from Windsor, Colo, and Carlos Miranda, a sophomore from Caguas, Puerto Rico.

Tower and Duque said there is plenty of talent on the team to put together a winning season. Last season, the Cougars finished the season 8-10.

“We are going to be good,” Tower said. “I hope we do better then last year’s team. We have a lot of good players. We are way faster than we were lasat year and we work together better.”

After three weeks of 3-a-days, Duque said this team has blended into one unit. What helped the most was last weekend’s scrimmages against CSU-Pueblo and Dana College, even though they lost.

“We connected pretty well in the two scrimmages,” Duque said. “I didn’t think we would connect that well with each other right away, but in our second scrimmage we really connected well. We let a couple balls by that we should have had on miss communication, But, we are working on that. Once we get that down, we should be alright.

The Cougars, my far, do not have an easy schedule. After this weekend, where they face the No. 14 in the country with Barton County, they will head to Arizona to face the No. 1 ranked team of Yavapai College before meeting Phoeniz College.

The Cougars’ first home match will be Sept. 5 against Western Wyoming Community College at the Lander’s Complex.

Tower said the key for the Cougars, at this point of the season is to start strong on both sides of the ball to get the defense some continuity on the field.

“We have to start out strong. We can’t start off slow,” he said. “We need to knock the ball around and get some balls in the back of the net.

2008 Men’s Soccer Roster
Cesar Bazana, sophomore, Americana, Brazil; Carlos Miranda, sophomore, Caguas, Puerto Rico; Antonio Herrera-Young, sophomore, Windsor, Colo,; Spencer Krueger, freshman, Spearfish, S.D.; Jesus Duque, freshman, Scottsbluff, Neb.; Morgan Wall, sophomore, Alliance, Neb.; Shayne Tower, sophomore, Scottsbluff, Neb.; Nathan Southard, freshman, North Platte, Neb.; Lazaro Torres, sophomore, Aurora, Colo.; Tony Rocha, freshman, Moraz, Mexico; Brandon Ludens, freshman, Spearfish, S.D.; Matt Hoffman, freshman, Windsor, Colo.; Gustavo Rincon, freshman, Venezuela; Tim Iodence, sophomore, Alliance, Neb.; Luis Anaya, fresh, Aurora, Colo.; Josh Ivey, freshman, York, Neb.; Mark Zigray, sophomore, Denver, Colo.; Tyler Erb, freshman, Grand Island, Neb.; Ryan Dawson, freshman, Venezuela; Austin Albers, freshman, Spearfish, S.D.; Austin Roy, freshman, Littleton, Colo.; Raul Sanchez, freshman, Alliance, Neb.; Tanner Herian, freshman, Alliance, Neb.

Prince Albert's Bourdons making past, present and possibly future mark at community college in Nebraska

From the The Prince Albert Daily Herald website
Three softball-playing Bourdon sisters, two positions - catcher and third base - and all three might end up playing for the same junior college in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

"They are three of the nicest girls that I've ever met, too, good at school and they all kind of look alike," said Jen Ferguson, who coached the Prince Albert sisters for eight seasons.

With tuition and books paid for on a half-ride scholarship, Jaclyn Bourdon has signed up for Western Nebraska Community College's two-year education program.

She hopes to teach math after graduation.

Lauren Bourdon, the oldest, already played in Nebraska and has transferred to the University of Georgia for the upcoming season.

Megan Bourdon, 16, is a lifelong catcher with one year of high school remaining. Interested in attending Western Nebraska but not yet committed, she earns pretty high praise from Ferguson.

"Megan is in my opinion probably the best midget-aged catcher in Saskatchewan," said Ferguson.

Feasting on bunts that trickle up the foul lines, Jaclyn's throwing arm is her bread and butter, which made switching to third base this year that much easier.

"I've always kind of been an infielder and I've always kind of played first base," said Jaclyn. "It's pretty much the same thing, just opposite side of the field."

Away from the watchful eye of mom and dad, is Jaclyn going to be able to cope with everyday little details such as laundry or groceries? After all, Nebraska sure isn't Saskatchewan.

"No, that's for sure. I'm a little bit nervous. I know that the coach down there takes good care of us, so I'm not worried about her," said Jaclyn.

As far as leadership goes, Jaclyn is Tonto to Megan's Lone Ranger. The youngest sister is used to making her presence heard, while Jaclyn is her quieter opposite.

"As Megan is sort of the sparkplug or kind of the voice on the field, Jaclyn is the quiet, calming effect on the field," said Ferguson.

Along with another midget Prince Albert Aces teammate, Lori Earl, Megan and Jaclyn were knocked out of provincials in July. But all three were recruited to play with the junior version of the Aces at the Western Canadian junior B women's softball championship on the weekend in Prince Albert.

The host squad claimed the Western crown Sunday at Prime Ministers' Park.

Having played at Westerns prior to this year, Megan says winning tastes better the previous result.

"I've gone to Westerns before and that's the first time I've won gold," said Megan.

by -- RICK NORTHROP, The Prince Albert Daily Herald

Jaclyn Bourdon fields a ball at third base while helping the Prince Albert Aces win the Western Canadian junior B women’s softball championship on the weekend in Prince Albert. Jaclyn will follow her sister Lauren to Western Nebraska Community College this fall. Herald photo by Adam Hawboldt

WNCC volleyball team enter season unranked in pre-season polls

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will have a little bit more incentive entering this season after winning the national championship last November.

The Cougars, who became the first team in WNCC history to win a national tournament, are unranked in the National Junior College Athletic Association poll, which was released Wednesday.

The lack of being ranked might be a good thing for this year’s squad. And, that is exactly how first-year head coach Giovana Melo is entering the season as the team prepares for Saturday’s Alumni Scrimmage, which begins at 7 p.m.

“The poll should just be an incentive and nothing else,” she said. “I do not care about what they think of us or not of us. We are just going have to prove it on the court.”

Miami Dade College, the team the Cougars beat last November for the national title, is on top of the pre-season polls followed by Frank Phillips College, College of Southern Idaho, Iowa Western Community College, and Blinn College.

Rounding out the top 10 includes Salt Lake Community College, University of Arkansas-Ft. Smith, Missouri State University-West Plains, Arizona Western College and Hillsborough Community College.

The Cougars will see six of the top 10 teams sometime this year.

Other teams the Cougars will or could face that are in the top 25 include No. 11 Casper College, No. 12 Indian Hills Community College, No. 13 Jefferson College, No. 15 Northeastern Junior College, No. 16 Seward County Community College, and No. 18 North Idaho College,

Melo still believes this year’s team should be ranked, but said they will have to just show everybody on the court how good they are.

“I do think we should be ranked because of our past results,” she said. “After winning a National title, I do not understand how we can not be ranked. But, I guess we are not ranked because we are a young team and I am also a new coach at WNCC."The news of WNCC not being ranked came a day after Melo experienced one of those weeks that was tough emotionally. Earlier in the week, Melo spent time at the hospital with two of her players – Nayka Benitez and Gregner Quinones. Quinones spent a couple hours in the emergency room, while Benitez spent a couple days. Both are now out of the hospital and ready to get back on the court."This week took a lot out of me not just physically but mentally,” she said. “However, I knew they needed me. Especially being from a different country, they don’t have any families here with them so I have to take the parent's role and take care of them as if they were one of my kids. I spent most of my days trying to get them better. I don’t think I even came to the office in the past two days."

Melo, who played for the Cougars in 2001 and 2002 seasons, said a coach is not only there to lead on the court, but also for them if they need help outside of the gym.

“My players have always meant everything to me,” she said. “I have always cared for them more than anything else. It is just the way I am. If they work hard for me, I will do the same for them when they need.

“I think if you do not care for your players, you should not be coaching any sports. They are your athletes. I know some coaches won’t go to the extreme of spending time in the hospital with their players, but that is just who I am. I will do anything for them as long as they work hard.”

The Cougars have one more week of practice before opening the season for real Aug. 22-23 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Cougars will face eight opponents in the two days. WNCC will take on Indian Hills Community, Kishwaukee Community College, Southwestern Iowa and Marshalltown Iowa on Friday, and then MSU-West Plains, Hutchinson Community College, Hillsborough Community College and Cloud County Community on Friday. West Plains, Hillsborough and Indian Hills are all ranked in the top 12 of the pre-season poll.

This years team, which fans can get a preview in Saturday’s alumni scrimmage which begins at 7 p.m. at Cougar Palace, includes three sophomores and nine freshmen. Returning players include Nayka Benitez, who was named the NJCAA Libero of the tournament at nationals last November, and Fatima Balza, an NJCAA all-American.

WNCC to host open practice Thursday at Scottsbluff High School

In a few weeks, the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will begin their defense of a national title, when they compete at the Molten Classic at Iowa Western Community College.

In the meantime, first-year head coach Giovana Melo is giving the public an opportunity to see this year’s team in action. On Thursday, Aug. 14, the Cougar women will host an open practice for the public at 3:30 p.m. at Scottsbluff High School for anyone to come out and watch.

Melo said this is away to get involved in the community.

“I want to get the community involved because they are important to our program,” she said. “Being in Scottsbluff, I want to get Scottsbluff more involved into the program. Scottsbluff high school volleyball is getting better and I want to get our team involved with them as well. I also want to get our names and faces out there for the people to see, and the people can see my style.”

WNCC will have another public showing this Saturday, Aug. 16, when they will host their annual Alumni Scrimmage. The scrimmage is slated for a 7 p.m. start at Cougar Palace.

The Cougars season will open for real on Friday, Aug. 22 at the Iowa Western Invite, where they will play eight matches in two days. The team is slated to face Indian Hills Community College, Kishwaukee Community College, Southwestern Community College and Marshalltown Community College on Friday. Saturday’s opponents will be Hutchinson Community College, Hillsborough Community College, Cloud County Community College, and Southwest Missouri-West Plains.

Scottsbluff's Marsden to play baseball for WNCC

Submitted by Jeremy Woznick, Star-Herald Sports Reporter

As a prep standout in four sports, Scottsbluff High School graduate Trace Marsden certainly had plenty of opportunities to continue his athletic career at the collegiate level.

But in the end, Marsden recently decided to start his career at the next level as a member of the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team.

"I just felt baseball would be a better fit for me and WNCC is a good place to start," said Marsden, who also excelled for the Bearcats in football, basketball and track and field. "Hopefully, if things go well here, I'll be able to go somewhere else a little bigger and keep playing."

As a three-year starter for the WESTCO Zephyrs senior legion baseball team, Marsden developed into one of the top offensive and defensive players in the region. He started nearly every game at shortstop over the last two seasons and was one of the Zephyrs' team leaders in most offensive categories, including leading the team in stolen bases this summer.

As fine tuned as Marsden is on the diamond with a bat and a glove, it's his overall athleticism and desire to win that quickly caught the attention of WNCC baseball coach Mike Jones.

"The thing that really stands out to me about him is he's just a super athlete and he's been a winner in everything he's done," Jones said. "Because he's such a good athlete, and can do so many things with his speed, his strength and his size, we're not sure what exactly is going to be the best position for him right now. He can play so many places."

Jones said a possible place for Marsden could be in the outfield. The Cougars return no starting outfielders to this year's team, so the competition for playing time at all three spots will be up for grabs.

"Right now our plan is to work him out in the outfield and see how well he does in the outfield," Jones said. "He was a great receiver in football and we think that might be an easy move for him. Our outfield is completely wide open."

Although Marsden's played the last two seasons at shortstop, he's willing to compete for any position on the field.

"It will be a change, but I think it will be fun," Marsden said of moving into the outfield. "I just want to play wherever I can to help the team out the best I can."

Marsden's decision to stay close to home will allow him to re-join his former Zephyr and Bearcat teammate Dallas Liptac on the WNCC squad. Liptac will be in his second year with the Cougars and will be competing for the starting catcher's job.

"It was always fun playing with Dallas," Marsden said. "He's always encouraging and he helps me quite a bit. It will be nice working with him again."

Marsden also said his decision to play at WNCC will allow his older brother, Tanner, to continue watching him. Trace credits Tanner for being a big inspiration to him.

"It's going to be fun," Marsden said. "Whenever you move up in any sport, it's going to be a lot more competitive and that's something I'm looking forward to.

"Playing under Mr. [Mark] Moran also helped prepare me for this. He taught me a lot about the game and the different situations you face."

Marsden had a sports year to remember as a senior. Before excelling for the Zephyrs this summer, he helped the Scottsbluff football team to a Class B state playoff berth and the Bearcat basketball team to a district runner-up finish. He also ran on Scottsbluff's 1,600-relay team that won an All-Class Gold Medal at the Nebraska state track and field meet in May.

Last month, Marsden was voted the No. 2 male athlete on this year's Star-Herald Dynamic Dozen Athletes of the Year List.

The WNCC baseball team opens practice on Aug. 26. Jones said he's expecting a roster size of around 31 players at the opening practice. In addition to Marsden, another local player joining the team this year is Brady Sanchez. Sanchez was a member of the Chappell Buckley Bombers team that qualified for three straight state tournaments and won a Class C state championship in 2007.

"The freshman class looks pretty good," Jones said. "We don't return a lot of guys from last year's team. There will be a lot of new faces and a whole new attitude. We're going to build things on fundamentals and hard work, and I feel we have a group of guys that fit that mold."

Joining Marsden and Sanchez in this year's freshman class that Jones is high on is right-handed pitcher Tim Kupfner. Kupfner, from Boulder, Colo., is the younger brother of former Cougar starting pitcher Josh Kupfner.

WNCC also received a boost to its roster when Dan Bauer decided to return to school this season. Bauer, a relief pitcher from Minnesota who features a nasty slider, sat out all of last season after being an integral part of WNCC's run to a Region IX championship in 2007.

Scottsbluff’s Abbott signs with WNCC soccer

The "Bearcat Pride" T-shirt that Laura Abbott wore Thursday when she signed a letter of intent with Western Nebraska Community College told the story for the Scottsbluff High School graduate.

Abbott's pride on the field, along with her passion for soccer, came full circle her senior season for Scottsbluff.

Now, that passion has led the talented soccer star to the next level after signing to play soccer at WNCC.

"I think this year she decided to go to that next degree," Scottsbluff coach Chad Larson said. "She was voted team captain and you just could see her conditioning on the field. She did a really good job of holding the ball and creating scoring opportunities. She scored some goals herself and even played keeper. She was a pretty well-rounded player and was just awesome on and off the field."

Abbott, who was leaning on playing soccer at Midland Lutheran College, decided that staying at home to play was a better choice.

"I choice WNCC because I just want to play soccer, and the other schools that wanted me, were too expensive," she said. "WNCC is a good program. I talked to the coach and hopefully he can move me somewhere."

Abbott had a tremendous year on the playing field, which raised her stock at playing college soccer. The mid-fielder earned Star-Herald all-region first team honors in helping the Bearcats to a 7-6 record before falling to Gering in the semi-finals of the Class B district tournament.

"Personally, I thought I did better then I have ever done," Abbott said about her senior season. "I have always loved soccer, but this year was the year I really started to get into it a lot. As a team we did really good. We had a lot of team unity."

Abbott credits her passion for the sport to Bearcat head coach Chad Larson.

"Personally, I really liked what Chad did as a coach," she said. "I think he was more into it and had a lot of love for the game, and so that made me want more love for the sport, too. He really inspired me."

Larson said Abbott's success is due because of her hard work.

"I know she can be as good as she wants to be and I know Todd will push her to be even a better player and improve the skills that she has been working on the past couple of years," he said. "[Coach Todd Rasnic] will probably put her in a couple different positions then where we had her, because she had to be in certain spots for us. He will have a little bit more flexibility where he can put her. I am looking forward to coming up and watching her play."

Rasnic said Abbott will probably be playing the right mid-fielder position and is excited to be getting a local talent like Abbott.

"Our local programs have none a good job of developing players and it is great when one of the players chooses to stick around here," he said. "I know Laura had opportunities at other places and we were fighting to get her to come back and stay with us for a couple of years. I think she will be a great addition to the team.

"I agree with her and Chad's assessment. What I saw when I was looking at Laura is that passion for the game came through. We want to bring on players that have the same type of drive and passion in the sport that us coached do. I think Laura has it and I think she will be a great addition."

Abbott not only excelled on the soccer field, she also was also a key member of the Bearcat cross country team this past year.

"That [running cross country] is something amazing because she never none cross country before and she just decided to do it," Larson said. "She worked hard at it and did very, very well at it."

Abbott has been working out while playing soccer on a traveling team this summer coached by Gering soccer coach John Scott. That traveling team will compete in a tournament in Steamboat Springs, Colo., next weekend.

After that tournament, captains training for the college team will begin July 28 with the first day of practice set for Aug. 1. Abbott is not only looking at the new challenges of college soccer, but playing alongside Gering's Taylor Johns and Keah Brost, who signed with the Cougars in May.

Speedy Hoffman to play soccer for Cougar men

Story published in the Windsor Beacon in May

Even a mysterious injury couldn’t slow down the Windsor 400-meter relay team Saturday at the Class 4A State Track and Field Championships at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood.

The foursome of seniors Matt Hoffman and Brian Hanlin and juniors Scooter Wiles and Bob Barbour smoked past the competition en route to the first state title for a Windsor track and field team or individual since 2000 when Bob Harms won the discus.

The same foursome ran the race last year, using this season to hone in on their time.

Overall, Windsor’s boys finished 11th with 30 points and the girls took 15th with 24.
The four posted a school record with a time 42.49 seconds, which would have been good enough for third at the 5A level, to beat rival Greeley Central by almost three-tenths of a second.

“I didn’t know how it was going to turn out because all the teams were close together,” Hoffman said. “As the race kept going on, and we were pulling away a little bit, I was thinking ‘Wow, we’re going to win this.’”

Windsor was powered by smooth handoffs throughout the race and Hoffman slammed the door shut on the final straight-away to win the title. The Wizards were seeded second going into the finals after a preliminary time of 43 seconds, but came into the state meet with the fastest time of the season, up to that point.

Wiles led off the race with a strong first leg and Hanlin, Barbour and Hoffman, in that order, kept the pressure with each stride. But once the race was over, jubilation hit the four runners as two years of working together finally paid off.

“I wanted to win it for all of us because we’ve been together for two years and it means a lot to me,” Wiles said.

Last season, the four ran a 43.93 in the state finals and placed eighth, but head coach Conrad Crist helped the kids shave off over a second on their time.

“They basically stepped up their training and performance to another level,” Crist said. “Their handoffs were just perfect and that gained us speed. Scooter had a great start off the blocks to get us going and from there on out it just flowed.”

The team had it’s share of frightening moments over the past year and it almost fell apart three days before the start of the meet. Hoffman was plagued by a swollen right knee, an injury he had no idea how he got, but it healed just in time for the meet.

Wiles partially tore his anterior cruciate ligament during the basketball season, but elected not to have surgery until the summer. Barbour ruptured a disk in his back during football and underwent surgery in the winter, and Hanlin fought off illness after illness all year in time to prepare for state.

Though the team went through its fare share of injuries, confidence was never an issue.

“Right when he (Wiles) went out of the blocks I just knew,” Barbour said. “I had that feeling like, ‘We have this.’”

Hoffman and Hanlin will now leave Windsor on top and embark on new adventures in college next year. Hoffman will attend Western Nebraska Community College to play soccer while Hanlin will travel to Boulder and enroll at the University of Colorado.

Hanlin would like to run track for the Buffaloes, but for now will enjoy his team’s achievement.

“It’s been really awesome,” Hanlin said about his two years with his three teammates. “I think, really, the thing that let us win is that we came together.”

School Records set in 2008
Girls
Pole Vault — Chelsea O’ Connor, 9 feet 6 inches
400-meter dash — Emily Elliott, 59.21 seconds
800 — Lauren Bowers, 2:20.0
400-meter relay — Mallory Duran, Katie Hazel, Rachel Weakland and Emily Elliott, 49.77
800 relay — Duran, Hazel, Weakland and Elliott, 1:46.8
1,600 relay — Bowers, Hazel, Ellery Miller, Elliott, 3:57.02

Boys
400 relay — Scooter Wiles, Brian Hanlin, Bob Barbour and Matt Hoffman, 42.49
800 relay — Wiles, Hanlin, Barbour and Hoffman, 1:29.72
3,200 relay — Cal Englert, Chris Ullom, Seth Bott and Zane Hyland, 8:00.09

2008 State Placers
Girls
Shot Put — Katie Olson, 35 feet, 11.5 inches, 7th
Triple Jump — Weakland, 34 feet, 0.75 inches, 9th
Pole Vault — O’ Connor, 9 feet, 6 inches, 7th
400 relay — Duran, Weakland, Hazel and Elliott, 49.77 seconds, 5th
800 medley — Duran, Weakland, Hazel and Elliott, 1:50.72, 5th
1,600 relay — Bowers, Hazel, Elliott and Miller, 3:57.02, 3rd

Boys
400 relay — Wiles, Hanlin, Barbour and Hoffman, 42.49, State Champions
100-meter dash — Hanlin, 11.15 seconds, 5th
200 — Hoffman, 22.0 seconds, 9th
300 hurdles — Adam Winick, 41.94, 9th
800 relay — Wiles, Hanlin, Barbour and Hoffman, 1:30.30, 5th
1,600 relay — Englert, Ullom, Bott and Hyland, 3:31.34, 9th
3,200 relay — Englert, Ullom, Bott and Hyland, 8:01.26, 3rd

Former Cougar baseball player tabbed Omaha World Herald All-Nebraska baseball player of the year

From the Omaha World Herald website.

His time with Bellevue University lasted just one season, but Ulysses Roque made it count.

Roque was named Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year and helped lead the Bruins to an MCAC tournament championship, their second in as many years.

"Ulysses knows how to win," Bellevue coach Mike Evans said. "He's a great competitor, and he's the kind of kid that, when he was pitching, we felt we had a chance to win against anyone in the country."

Roque, an honorable mention All-American, is the honorary captain of The World-Herald's All-Nebraska NAIA team. The squad is chosen by NAIA coaches in the state.

The 6-foot, 220-pound Roque fooled hitters with his one-seam fastball, which Evans said was a rare pitch to see. It dove to the hitter's feet at nearly 85 mph.

But after suffering a loss in his first start, the pitcher from Florida also showed his resourcefulness and guile.

Roque won 12 in a row before being handed his second loss to Embry-Riddle University in the NAIA World Series, finishing 12-2 overall and 9-1 in conference play.

"When he walked out there, you could never tell if he was going good or bad," Evans said. "But you knew he was going to go out there and be as tough as nails."

Roque's 12 wins ranked fourth among all NAIA Division I. He ranked 17th with a 2.20 ERA, and he led the MCAC in conference games with a 1.50 ERA.

"After that first game, he said that it's not going to happen again," Evans said. "And it's neat to have a guy on your team like that. I just wish I could have had him for more than one year."

Roque recently signed with the Southern Illinois Miners of the independent Frontier League to replace closer Travis Hope, who suffered a rotator cuff injury. In his debut, Roque went six innings, allowing seven hits, giving up two earned runs and striking out two.

Evans said he knows Roque will do well for the Miners.

"He will compete just like he did for us," he said. "He's not going to be intimidated."

On a journey that took Roque through family hardships in Coral Gables, Fla., Evans said, the pitcher found a life of simplicity and camaraderie through baseball in Nebraska.

"Everybody on the team just loved his personality and being his teammate," Evans said. "Everything he did was for the team and not for himself."

World-Herald All-Nebraska NAIA baseball team
Psn: Name, school.........................Record/Avg.
P: Zane Cascini, Nebraska Wesleyan.........................6-1
P: Ulysses Roque, Bellevue.........................12-2
C: Joe Jeanjaquet, Hastings..........................370
1B: Matt Huggins, Midland Lutheran.......................321
2B: Tim Jacoby, Midland Lutheran..........................361
3B: Nolan Koehn, Midland Lutheran..........................372
SS: Bret Compliment, Hastings..........................336
OF: John Richards, York College..........................426
OF: Mike Mendenhall, Doane..........................429
OF: BJ Juelfs, Concordia..........................357
OF: Nick Damas, Bellevue..........................420
DH: John Rust, Nebraska Wesleyan..........................382
U: Pat Morey, Hastings..........................256
Honorary captain: Ulysses Roque, Bellevue.
Honorable mention: Drew Farley, Dave Powell, Matt Anderson, Josh Northrup, Brett Scarpetta, Bellevue; Jack Holmberg, Casey Rodriguez, Concordia; Quentin Connealy, Austin Lunn, Robert Riggs, Dana; Bryan Dutcher, Tim Engelhaupt, Chris Williams, Doane; Leigh Jochimsen, Hastings College; Mike Burdine, Adam White, Midland Lutheran; Andy McGowan, Jared Meays, Corey Petersen, Steve Schaffer, Nebraska Wesleyan; Gary Hall, Jonathan Harder, Will Hays, Mark Houck, Peru State; Nick Jones, Kellen Love, Dylan Connolly, York College.

Former WNCC softball players Marsico, Ventoza to play against Team USA softball team in Bound 4 Beijing softball tour

The USA Softball National team is preparing for next month’s 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China with a Bound 4 Beijing tour across the United States. And, for three area players with local ties, they will get a chance to play against Team USA, the reigning World Champions.

Chadron State junior-to-be Stephanie Hillman and former Western Nebraska Community College player Kari Marsico will be part of the South Dakota softball team that will take on Team USA July 15 in Rapid City, S.D., while former WNCC and current University of Washington softball player Jessica Ventoza will compete against Team USA July 10 in Spokane, Wash.

All three players said this is a dream come true to play against some of the top softball players in the world.

“I am really excited and it will be a fun experience to get to play against the best team in the world,” Ventoza said. “It will be a great experience. It will be tough but it will be fun because not too many girls get to play against the best in the world and the best players in the world. It will be fun to see what I can do against them and compete.”

Hillman is steal in disbelieve that she will be playing against the best in the world.

“It is awesome to say the least,” she said. “I have been playing the sport since I could remember and now I get to play against the best in the sport. It is hard to even think about it. Once I step on that field, it will be surreal.”

The three college players earned the right to play against Team USA through different avenues. University of Washington softball coach Heather Tarr asked Ventoza if she wanted to play against TEAM USA. Ventoza didn’t hesitate in saying yes, so Ventoza along with her Husky teammates Ashley Tuiasosopo and Alicia Blake will be facing the likes of Jennie Finch, Cat Ostermann and Monica Abbott.

“I am looking forward to meeting Jessica Mendoza and Crystal Bustos. That will be fun,” Ventoza said. “And then depending who pitches, it will be fun to play against Jennie Finch and Cat Ostermann. I am just excited for all of them and it will be a great experience.

While, Ventoza didn’t have to go through a try out to play against Team USA, Hillman and Marsico, both Rapid City natives, had to try out for the chance to play against the best softball team in the world. Only players with South Dakota ties, whether through high school or college were eligible to try out for the all-star team.

“Playing softball all my life [since I was six years old], I knew this was going to be my last year for collegiate softball and I could have my last game be with Armstrong or have an opportunity to play against the Olympic team,” Marsico said. “For me to say my last collegiate softball game was against Team USA, in the last year they had softball in the Olympics, is priceless.”

Hillman, who grew up as a pitcher in high school but has played first base primarily at Chadron State, said she had butterflies when trying out for the team.

“I had butterflies when trying out for the team that was going to play against the team, but it wasn’t like I was really nervous,” Hillman said. “At the same time, I thought, ‘what do you have to lose.’ It is a once in a lifetime thing for you so you have to go for it.”

It still hasn’t set in that the three are actually going to be playing against Team USA.

“I didn’t even know what to say when I found I made the team,” Hillman said. “It is just so big to me that even right now; I don’t think it has set in that I am going to play the US Olympic team. I know I am, but it hasn’t set in. I think once we start practicing it will hit me. I am stoked about it and excited. I am really excited and I think we will be having a really good group of girls and we will have a good team.”

Tickets for the Rapid City game July 15 at Post 320 Pete Lien Field are sold out. Marsico said at one time there was a waiting list of 700 individuals that wanted tickets, so they added another 500 seats to the baseball diamond that was turned into a softball field for the event.

Marsico and Hillman will start practices next week for the contest, and will also have a day where they can hang out with Team USA. Ventoza will also begin practice next week for her chance to play against the USA softball team.

Chances are that Team USA will come away with a win. Team USA lost just once on the Bound 4 Beijing tour sponsored by Kentucky Fried Chicken, and that was to the University of Virginia Tech 1-0. In fact, Team USA was no-hit by Virginia Tech, a team that made the College Softball World Series. Team USA has a 50-1 record so far on the tour.

“You have to be realistic, this is the US Olympic team, so you probably not are going to win,” Marsico said. “But we are going to try to give them the best competition. We can and put on a good show and try to win. But this is the best team in the World, so we probably not going to win.”

Ventoza and her Washington teammates had a chance to watch Team USA play in California in March when they went to a Cal-State Fullerton tournament in March and she it won’t be easy to pull out a win.

“Anything can happen. Virginia Tech beat them. I don’t know the girls I am playing with, but it will be fun. I am just going to go out and play and whatever happens, happens,” Ventoza said. “They are a lot bigger in person, but they are pretty nice. It was cool to step on the same field as them and now playing against them will be even better.”

For the three players, though, they won’t get a chance to play for Team USA since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is eliminating the sport after this year.

“That would be amazing to get to play for Team USA,” Ventoza said, “But, I know they are taking it out of the Olympics and it is unfortunate for the softball world because it is starting to get big and grow a lot. It would be great to play on a USA team of some sort.”

Marsico and Hillman agreed.

“It is a huge disappointment that they are taking it out of the Olympics just because it is associated with baseball,” the WNCC career home run hitter said. “I think they overlook softball and the kind of competition and vive it brings to the Olympics. Just because Team USA is so dominate, I don’t that is a good enough reason to take it out of the Olympics. I think it is a huge sport especially for women’s sports. A lot of women’s sports are overlooked.”

Hillman said dropping softball from the Olympics will be a big blow to the sport.

“I think [dropping softball at the Olympics] will be a big hit to softball in general,” she said. “That was the epitome or as high as you could get in softball, and now we are not going to have that. I think it will take a hit to the softball programs.”

Marsico, in fact, is thankful to get the opportunity to play another softball game. In fact, she never thought she would even have this kind of softball success coming from Rapid City. Marisco played for the Cougars in 2005 and 2006, and them played the last two years at Armstrong Atlantic, earning pre-season conference honors her senior season.

“Being from Rapid City, there are not a whole lot of opportunities to play college softball,” she said. “When I had the chance to come to Western Nebraska, I didn’t know what to expect at all. After I had a good sophomore season, I never thought I would be in Savannah, Georgia. And now since I am here, I never thought I would be playing Team USA.

“It is every girls dream to do play for Team USA or keep playing after college, and they do have those women’s fast pitch leagues. But, I think it is a good way to end my career against team USA.”

Former Cougar coach Chris Green to help with Setter/Hitter camp on July 7-8

Western Nebraska Community College first-year head coach Giovana Melo has announced that former coach Chris Green will help with the July 7-8 Setter/Hitter camp. It will Green’s final time on the volleyball court of Cougar Palace before heading to the University of Alaska Anchorage, where he accepted the head coaching position in March.

Green, who was the Cougar’s head coach the past nine years and helped led them to the college’s first national championship last November, will instruct the hitters during the camp. Melo, who was an all-American setter for the Cougars in 2001 and 2002 before moving on to the University of Arizona State, will instruct the setters.

The Setter/Hitter camp is for girls in the 11^th and 12^th grades. The camp will run 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-3:30 p.m. each day. The cost of the camp is $75.

The Setter/Hitter camp is designed to fine tune setting and hitting techniques. The camp will be an intense camp with a lot of reps and one-on-one instruction. The camp is limited to 24 hitters and 12 setters, and there are still openings.

For more information on the camp, contact Melo at 308-635-6028 or at melog@wncc.net. A camp brochure can be downloaded from www.wncc.edu and then College Athletics.

WNCC to host soccer camp July 21-25

Western Nebraska Community College, along with the RECCOS Futbal Clulb, will host a soccer camp for individuals ages nine and up from July 21-25 at the Landers Soccer Complex in Scottsbluff.

The camp will have two sessions. Recreational players will attend from 9 a.m. to 12 noon all five days, while competitive players will have their camp from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. each day. The cost of the camp is $90 for one session and $160 for both sessions. There is a $10 discount per player if more then one player from a family is attending. The cost for children 8 and under is $75.

The aim of the recreational camp for is to help all ages with their soccer abilities. The camp will have fun and creative activities planned, as well as small-sided games. Players 8 and under will attend from 9 – 11 a.m.

The evening camp is aimed more for the advanced and competitive players. This camp will be more intense then the morning session, with fun and creative activities planned as well as small-sided games.

Also, during the advanced camp, there will be a 3-day goal keeping session for anyone interested in improving their goal keeping skills. That mini session will be directed by Gering High School boy's coach Justin Clark.

The soccer camps will be directed by WNCC men's and women's soccer coach Todd Rasnic, along with assistant coach Jim Miller. Past, current and incoming Cougar soccer players will also help with the camp.

For more information on the camp, contact Rasnic at rasnict@wncc.net or at 308-635-6150. A camp brochure can be downloaded at www.wncc.edu and then College Athletics.