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TARTAN SCOREBOARD

SPORTS

THE TARTAN Nov. 9, 2011

WOMENS: Highlanders looking for breakthrough season in 2012

From page 9
they can go we just remind them that its days like this when you do not give it all you have to create a Winthrop. The returning players will do their best to keep a repeat of last years happening again as well. Victoria Hamilton, Ashley Buckhannon and DaNaria Erwin Spencer are all key returning junior guards who will bring experience to the Highs back court this year, and help mentor some of the freshman class. Spencer has already reaped rst team all preseason team honors and will certainly earn more honors as the season progresses. But Coach Ngongba also feels that players who may not have played to their full potential in the previous years will step up this year. One such player is junior forward Sarah Tabb who Ngongba said, We expect her to really step up this year and do some things we havent seen her do. This years team has no seniors, so someone will have to step up and take charge. Ngongba also believes the recruiting class coming in is sure to be promising as well. Five freshmen will hope to contribute to the already young team. The three new guards joining the team are Ashia Holmes, Ayana Avery, and Kiera McIvor while the front court adds La-She Walker and Jordynn Gaymon to the team. With the addition of these ve freshmen, the roster tops out at 13 players with six juniors and two sophomores. The season will start out tough with games against Wake Forest, University of Virginia and Davidson College, so the team will have good competition to get ready for conference play. The team has never had a winning record in non-conference play so that will be a goal this year. The Big South will be competitive as always but Coach Ngongba feels their old foe Liberty University will still be the toughest opponent they face in the conference even though they split the series with them last year. Theyre still mad at us for beating them last year at their place and they are just a team that works hard all the time, Ngongba explained. But the Flames, who were awarded the No. 1 seed, also hit a speed bump in the tournament last year falling to Gardner-Webb University in the rst round. Im sure they are just like us after the Winthrop game, we got in the weight room and got better and I feel sure they did the same thing, Ngongba said. But Coach Ngongba also felt like the loss in the rst round was the extra push the team needed to work hard and focus on their goal of receiving a bid to the NCAA tournament. I do not know if we would have worked this hard over the summer had we not lost to Winthrop, Ngongba said. Comparing this team to other teams in the past was a no brainer for Coach Ngongba, I really like this group. They are just so focused and they understand they are in college and only have four years to accomplish their goals so they have a sense of urgency about them. I love coaching this team, they are fun to be around and its just a good group. When the season begins on Nov. 12, the players will have to be all business as they try to secure that elusive Big South title. But just because they are serious during the season does not mean they dont have fun. This years team has great chemistry and all of them get along well. But there are also some jokesters on the team as well. The team tricked Ema [Reskoska] and told her that Paranormal Activity was a love story, Ngongba said. And she is terried of horror stories, so she sat in the movie theatre with her hands over her eyes the whole time. The team also Saran Wrapped an assistants car last year, but Ngongba said they were smart and decided not to do it to hers. They know better, she said with a laugh. They are just really close, the upperclassmen take care of the underclassmen and its just a close, silly group. They have spent so much time together its like they know what the other one will do on the court, its just instinct. My head is bloody, but unbowed is a line that really stood out to Coach Ngongba in the poem Invictus. This year, the Highlanders will have to keep that in mind if they want to achieve their goal of making a long run in the postseason. There are going to be moments on the court when it is tough but you have to go back to your foundation which is us being Invictus, Ngongba said. The Highlanders will play their rst game of the season against Eastern Mennonite University on Nov. 12, at 3 p.m.

Mens Soccer
W T L W Virginia Tech Gardner-Webb Liberty Winthrop 2-1 0-0 0-3 3-1

Big South: 4-4-1 Overall: 9-8-1 (Thursday, Nov. 10, 12:00) --@ Liberty

Womens Soccer
L T W W Campbell UNC Asheville Liberty Campbell 1-2 1-1 4-1 1-0

Big South: 8-2-0 Overall: 15-5-1 (NCAA Tournament)

Field Hockey
L L L L Richmond Davidson California Paci c 0-1 1-2 2-5 1-3

NorPac: 2-4-0 Overall: 7-13-0 (Season complete)

Volleyball
L L W W Winthrop Liberty High Point Campbell 0-3 2-3 3-0 3-2

CHRISTIAN STEPHENS | The Tartan Freshman guard Kiera McIvor is one of ve RU freshmen who will have to learn quickly in 2011 as the season draws near.

Big South: 7-5 Overall: 13-14-0 (Friday, Nov. 11, 7:00) -- @ UNC Asheville (Saturday, Nov. 12, 5:00) -- @Gardner-Webb

MENS: Highlanders gearing up for rebuilding season

From page 8
new coach was a good choice and well have a good season with [him]. We all have a common goal, explained senior forward Johnathan Edwards. We all want to win, we all want to be as good as we can be, and coaches want that and the players want that, so thats one thing we have in common. You know, if we come together like weve been coming together, good things are going to happen for our team. The coach has been pushing us; the coach has been working with us, trying to just make us as good as we possibly can be by the time the season comes around. The Highlanders will be facing some challenging non-conference opponents in the rst games of their schedule, including Penn State University, Kentucky University, George Mason University and Maryland University. A good bit of talent, said Smith. If we come out and play hard, we can prepare ourselves for the Big South with those teams, and I think coaches and administration they set us up with a good non-conference schedule to get us ready for the Big South. The Highlanders nished last year with an overall record of 5-24, and a 2-16 conference record. This year some of the tougher Big South teams they played will be returning, looking to cause Radford just as much grief as they did last year. Though last year and this year are considered to be rebuilding years after the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons, in which Radford claimed the Big South title then a year later came in second place in the regular season, the Highlanders have their hopes high, and arent letting the rankings bother them. This year I feel as if no one is a tough opponent, Smith said. To me, we have a new beginning and everyone starts 0-0. Its a new season until we get along in the season. Everybody shows what theyre capable of but, as for right now, I dont think anyone in the conference is tough. Jonathan Edwards spoke briey on some of the teams Big South opponents this year. Asheville is pretty good this year, Edwards explained. Theyre predicted to be number one; Virginia Military Institute always has a good team, Coastal Carolina should be pretty good this year, but you know, every game is going to be a challenge for us. Everybody wants to win just like we do, so were going to have to just grind and put our teeth in and come together as a team that can do the things that we set out to do when we got here, and thats to win. Last year Radfords Big South opponent Coastal Carolina, nished with a conference record of 16-2, and UNC Asheville came in third place with a conference record of 11-7. The two teams met in the Big South championship, and Asheville eventually claimed the title. Predicted to be number one in the conference, the Bulldogs will be a particular challenge for the Highlanders. The two teams will meet this year, rst on Jan. 2, 2012 and then again on Feb. 11, 2012. Radfords conference schedule will include 18 regular season games. Weve got Jareal, hes coming back from being on an all freshman team in the Big South last year, Edwards said, were expecting a lot from him, were expecting a lot from Blake Smith, and Im expecting a lot from myself. Im one of my biggest critics, so I just want to go out and have the best seasons I can have. We have Chance Smith, Tolga, Lukas, Daniel Mitchell, Allen; most of us were here throughout the summer and since the beginning of school to set the tone for the younger guys that have come into the program, so weve all been working hard. Weve just been working hard, working constantly, working diligently just to be the best team that we possibly can be. The Highlanders will nally get a chance to see their new system, along with a few new additions to the roster, in action when they start the season on Nov. 11 against Delaware University at home in the Dedmon Center. The Highlanders will end their opening weekend with a Nov. 12 match up against the Shenandoah University Hornets in a night contest scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.

COACHES: New sta looks to provide stability, leadership

magical Final Four run during the 2010 season. Kyle Getter joins the RU coaching staff after previous stops at VCU and Liberty University, where he entered the Division I level as an assistant coach just before the start of the 2008 season. Its been encouraging to see guys improve from day to day here in the offseason. To see our guys continue to learn a whole different system has been pretty enjoyable, especially with the amount of work everyone has put in, Getter said. Every situation is what you make of it: if you spend too much time dwelling on the negative, youre wasting that much time that you could be spending on getting better. The three coaches have come together under Jones to turn around a program that, up until the 2010 season, had been considered one of the best in the Big South Conference. A disastrous 2010 campaign, though, derailed the program and eventually cost former Head Coach Brad Greenberg his job amid allegations of ethics violations. The new staff, in conjunction with Head Coach Jones, is promoting an atmosphere built around hard work and high character players. I think that from a numbers standpoint, were going to have to play unselfishly and play as a team, Getter said. I think the future is bright, but success really starts with leadership. Right now, everyones in the same boat. We just have to all start paddling at the same time in the same direction. The Highlanders will play their first game of the season on Nov. 11 against Delaware University in a contest scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Notes of Worth

CHRISTIAN STEPHENS | The Tartan Freshman forward Jalen Carethers is one of six freshman on the squad this year.

Courtesy of RU Athletics

From page 8
the Yellow Jackets advanced all the way to the Division III NCAA Final Four and enjoyed a regular season record of 26-7. Now in his first year at RU, Byers looks to provide a fresh face and a burst of energy into the program. Its been a whirlwind trying to get everything together before the season, but its been great to see the guys start to come together and for our chemistry to start to build as were getting our new system and building our culture, Byers said. You come to work refreshed every day because you know that its just another day we can use to get better. The last member of the new staff is a man who served with Mike Jones as a fellow assistant coach at Virginia Commonwealth University under Head Coach Shaka Smart during the Rams

Radford University Womens soccer received numerous Big South awards on Nov. 2. Head coach Ben Sohrabi was named Coach of the Year. He led the Highlanders to 15-5-1 overall record and an 8-2 record in the conference. Sohrabi has been coaching for 18 years (16 at RU). The upcoming NCAA tournament will be the fourth time hes had a team make an appearance. Another notable award was given to sophomore defender Tyler Drake as she was named Defensive Player of the Year.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

The number of goals womens soccer sophomore forward Sahar A aki scored in the semi- nal game of the Big South tournament. The Highs ended up defeating Liberty 4-1. However, the clutch hat trick from A aki wasnt the rst three times shes found the back of the net. She led RU in goals in the regular season with nine, despite only six starts. The Highs won the Big South tournament on Nov. 6 with wins over UNC Asheville, Liberty, and Campbell.

COURTNEY EARLL | The Tartan Mens Basketball added six freshman over the summer, compared to just two seniors returning.