Sports
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www.jcunews.com
Sept. 15, 2016
Joe’s Journal
Men’s Golf
Sports Editor
Sports Editor
Goodbye Sunday Scaries
For the majority of the year, Sundays rank as the worst day of the week in my book. The whole idea of the ‘Sunday Scaries’ is an all too real thing in my life. But from the months of September to February, Sundays go from the day I dread the most to the day I wish would not go by so fast. The only thing in the world that could change my feelings for Sundays is the start of the NFL season. Football is back and my productivity level between the hours of noon and 10:00 pm drop so dramatically that all I can do is sit and watch God’s greatest creation. Goodbye Sunday Scaries and hello football. The NFL season brings new meaning to the day that is barely considered part of the weekend. It brings with it the many friends and family traditions for every game on every Sunday. The weekly tradition of discussing how the extremely low odds of a successful Chicago Bears season is still possible in our overly optimistic tones and the yearly tradition of gathering to draft our annual fantasy football league is what I look forward to the most through the football-less summer months. At the end of the day, I love the NFL and I love the new meaning it gives my Sundays. It is the single greatest thing invented in the United States since the 20th century, in my humble opinion. Football brings this country together and this amazingly unifying ritual that comes every Thursday night, Sunday and Monday night is becoming contagious. For myself, this football season is what has binded my friends over our time in college. Being away from home and my peers being scattered all over the map, the NFL schedule, games, fantasy line ups and betting lines is what has kept us together over the past three years. During the football season, our group chat takes a much needed hiatus from talking about beef sandwiches and weekend plans and engages in the ever important topics the NFL season brings. Betting lines, fantasy football trade propositions and one-sided analysis of each of the weekly games provide a much needed change and much more intelligent conversation piece for the group chat. Yes, I will admit, the NFL season really does prove to me that my beloved Chicago Bears are just a terrible team, although I do pick them to win the Super Bowl every year, but I will still watch. I watch, I get my hopes up and I cry because that is what I have done every Sunday during these sacred months. I have done this since I started to walk and I have always done it in the loving and compassionate company of friends and family. I love the football season and everything that it brings. I truly do cherish the time on Sundays that I get to spend with friends and at the stadium with the die-hard fans. This is football season, this is what gives my Sundays new meaning and this is what gets the ‘Sunday Scaries’ out of my life. Contact Joe McCarthy at jmccarthy17@jcu.edu
Women’s Golf
John Carroll ‘B’ leads pack JCU earns second in opener Joe McCarthy
Joe McCarthy
The Carroll News
The familiar grounds of the pristine Shaker Heights Country Club welcomed the field of eight teams to the start of the 2016 season. John Carroll’s depth would be the largest surprise of the afternoon after the Blue Streaks “B” team took the top prize at the Pat Flowers Invitational. John Carroll’s quintet that comprised the “B” team ended afternoon play with an overall score of 304, placing the hosts three strokes ahead of Heidelberg University “A” representatives in the first of two John Carroll-hosted events for the Fall. Otterbein University’s “B” team, John Carroll’s “A” team (309) and Otterbein’s “A” squad tied with Lakeland Country Club
(310) to round out the top five on the afternoon. JCU’s four leading golfers in the group shot a 77 or better. Sophomore Chris Sloe and junior Brian Boyle led the John Carroll front when each scored 75 (T-4, +5). The junior trio of Andrew Bitton, John Schnur and Connor O’Grady each finishing together tied for the seventh spot with a 76 score on the afternoon. Six golfers represented the hosting Blue and Gold in the top-15 golfer at the invitational. Five JCU golfers were slotted in the top-10. Nick Scharf of the Lakeland Country Club (OH) led all scorers with an even 70 on the day. Editor’s Note: JCU’s next action will be the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament on Sunday, Sept. 18.
Joe McCarthy Sports Editor
Perfect weather conditions opened the 2016 season for the John Carroll University women’s golf team. Cool temperatures and slight winds at the Tannehauf Golf Course in Alliance provided the setting for a second place finish in the Raider Fall Invitational. The Blue and Gold earned a team score of 357 to earn second place in the five-team field. JCU finished the afternoon just one stroke better than the third place Westminster University team (358) and just off the pace of host school The University of Mount Union (325). Freshman Anna Rastetter set the pace early for the Blue and Gold after taking fifth place in the individual scoring. Rastetter registered
Photo courtesy of JCU Sports Information
an impressive 42 on the front nine and 43 on the back for a team-best 85. This was the first collegiate action for the freshman from Maple Grove, Minn. Rounding out the Blue Streak delegation in the top ten of individual finishes was sophomore Mary Hunt. Identical 43 scores on both halves of the 1,556-yard course earned Hunt an eighth-place finish. Junior Michele Whiteleather chipped in a solid performance for the Blue and Gold. The junior shot a total score of 92 to finish with a T-17 position in the field. Freshman Sarah Beckwith (T-22, 94) and junior Adrienne Metzger (T-22, 94) rounded out the John Carroll representation on the 72-parr course. Editor’s Note: JCU returns to action for the John Carroll Invitational teeing off on Sunday, Sept. 18
Photo courtesy of JCU Sports Information
Junior John Schnur chips out of a bunker at Shaker Heights Alex Eddy shot an impressive 48 on the back nine to finish Country Club for the JCU Fall Invitational. Schnur had an indi- with a 101 overall score in individual play at the Raider Fall Invividual finish of T-7 with a score of 76 on the afternoon. tational. JCU manufactured a 357 team score on the afternoon.
Women’s Volleyball
John Carroll adds to win column during busy weekend John Alfes
Assistant Sports Editor
A successful showing at the Hanover Tournament in Hanover, Ind. snapped a two-game losing streak and evened the 2016 John Carroll University Women’s Volleyball team’s record at 5-5. The Blue Streaks finished the week 3-3 with victories over Anderson University (3-0), Saint-MaryOf-The-Woods College (3-0) and Spalding University (3-0). The three losses came against Notre Dame College (2-3), Case Western Re-
serve University (2-3) and Hanover College (1-3). Julianne McGervey led the team in kills with a mark of 11, 9 and 12 in each winning match, respectively. Kit O’Shaughnessy continued to be the key distributor with a teamleading 81 assists between the three contests. McGervey factored in 39 kills in the four matches over the weekend, which led the team in that category. On the season, McGervey ranks second in kills to Alexa Webber (79). Also on the JCU leader board is Leah Switalski (70),
O’Shaughnessy (67) and Madeline McDowell (57). O’Shaughnessy holds the team lead for assists by a wide margin with a total of 324 in nine matches played (six starts). The team’s decisive three-game winning streak was recently snapped this past Saturday, Sept. 9 against Hanover College (1-3). The hard fought battle was highlighted by the play of Webber and McDowell with 25 combined kills. The hosts of the weekend tournament outmatched JCU 64-52 in the kills category and had one less error to yield themselves a sixth victory.
Photo courtesy of JCU Sports Information
Junior Leah Switalski was an offensive leader for the Blue Streaks in weekend play after earning 28 kills and two blocks. The junior ranks second on the team with 70 kills in 2016.
It has been an up and down season for head coach Michele Benoit and company as the team has had a pair of two-game losing streaks to go along with the aforementioned three-game winning streak. John Carroll will play one more out of state tournament on Sept. 23 and 24 for the CMU Doubletree Invitational in Pittsburgh. The Blue Streaks open up conference play on Saturday, Oct. 1 against Wilmington at home. Consistency and hard work will likely be the route the team will have to take with OAC Championship aspirations in mind. “I think we can make improvements in every area of the game, but I am proud of the way the team worked together and fought for every point,” said Coach Benoit earlier this season. The Blue and Gold return back to Ohio this upcoming week with matches against Oberlin on Thursday, Sept. 15 and Hiram next Tuesday, Sept. 19. The former of two has a 7 pm start time and marks the first game played inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center this season. Editor’s Note: Coverage of the Wednesday, Sept. 15 John Carroll women’s volleyball action can be seen on jcusports.com. Live stats, live video and post game coverage will by provided by the John Carroll Sports Information department.