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Learn about NSU
NSU SPORTS 101
May 20, 2015 | nsucurrent.nova.edu
By: Randa Djabri @RNDranda1
When it comes to sweaty competition and recreation, NSU has much to offer its students. Through its Division II sports program, NSU offers a variety of sports for competition and staying fit. Men’s sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and track and field. Women’s sports offer an additional three sports: tennis, rowing and volleyball. Here are some sports highlights from our teams to help you get to know the teams. Basketball This year was eventful for the Sharks’ basketball team. The 2014-2015 season included a 27 out of 33 win record for the women’s team, who also played in the Elite Eight Quarterfinals for the second time in three years. The men’s team had an overall 12 wins out of 28 games this past season. Cross country The men’s and women’s cross country teams each finished third overall at the 2014 Sunshine State Conference Championship. Both the men’s and women’s teams ended the season with a big accomplishment, as they finished fifth and seventh, respectively, at the NCAA South Region Championship. Soccer The soccer team’s fall season included six wins out of 17 games and two ties for the men’s team. This year was also remarkable for the men’s soccer coach. Giuseppe DePalo, who has been at NSU since 1998, completed a 12-month program to earn his Union of European Football Association (UEFA) B Coaching Diploma. The women’s team won eight out of their 14 scheduled games for the season. Swimming and diving A NCAA top-10 finish is an achievement for any program, especially for a program that is still relatively new. NSU’s women’s swimming and diving team, in its fifth season, has become that team. The men finished seventh, and the women finished fourth at the NCAA Division II Championships with six individual first-place finishes and three national records. The team also earned 14 All-Sunshine State Conference honors. In addition to team achievements, Head Coach Bonewit-Cron, who has been with the team since 2009, was featured in SwimmingWorldMagazine. com. Rowing The rowing team, who won the 2013 NCAA National Championship and have won six conference championships, finished second overall at the Sunshine State Conference Rowing Championship this year. Several rowers were also named to the All-Sunshine State Conference team, and senior Roche Woodard was named the Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week.
Tennis The tennis team entered in the first NCAA Regional Rankings of the 2015 season as the second-ranked team in south Florida after reaching No. 4 in the ITA National Rankings. In addition, Head Coach Stephen Schram was named the 2015 ITA South Region Coach of the Year. Volleyball This past year, the volleyball team won 13 out of 28 season games and played in the South Region Crossover Tournament. Junior Sydney Cook was named to the All-Sunshine State Conference Second Team for the third time and the 2014 Daktronics All-South Region Volleyball Second Team. Golf This season had a lot of accomplishments for the Shark golfers. The men’s and women’s golf teams finished up at the 2015 SSC Championships with the men placing second and the women only two strokes behind the fourth titlists. The men brought home their firstever NCAA Division II National Championship, and the women captured their fourth straight NCAA National Championship in 2012. Softball and Baseball The men’s baseball team had an eventful year. The team was selected as the No. 2 seed in the NCAA South Region for the South Region tournament and won the Sunshine State Conference championship. In addition, baseball player Justin Garcia was featured in the Miami Herald for his 24 homeruns and was named SCC Player of the Year. Head Coach Greg Brown was named SCC coach of the year and several other players earned All-SCC honors. This is not the first year, however, that the baseball team shone beyond the baseball complex. In 2009, the program had an important milestone when four Sharks were chosen in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. On its part, the women’s softball team was voted third in the Sunshine State Conference pre-season poll by the conference head coaches this year. The women also moved up two spots in the latest NCAA South Region Rankings to seventh place during the 2014 season. Track and field This year, men’s track former runner and NSU alumnus Michael Wilson competed in the Central America and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico. The fame wasn’t limited to NSU alumni this year, as NSU sprinter Talyn Washington competed in the 200-meter dash this against former United States Track and Field Olympian Walter Dix, finishing just over a half second off to the former silver medalist. Both track and field teams recently finished second at the 2015 Peach Belt Conference Championship.
FOR NON-ATHLETES Intramural sports If you’re not too serious about competitive sports, intramurals are a great way for you to get active and have some fun. Intramural sports offer range from soccer, basketball and racquetball to volleyball and other sports. Go to rec.nova.edu/ intramurals/index.html for more information.
PICTURES COURTESY OF NSUSHARKS.COM The NSU basketball, baseball, and swimming and diving teams.
Fitness Programs There’s yet another option if you’re into fitness but not interested in team sports. The RecPlex offers different group exercise classes at various times throughout the day. These classes offer great opportunities for you to relax from your stress, lose a few pounds, condition your heart or even find muscles you didn’t know you had. Whatever you’re looking for, there’s something for you.