SPORTS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014
volleyball | notebook
Continued from page 20
COXSWAIN
Brian Perkins said finding individuals who can maintain the weight requirement all season long is difficult. That was the case during Fall 2013 when the crew team could not find enough coxswains. During that time, Funck, who was friends with a few of the rowers and had gone to some of the races including the Dad Vail Regatta in Spring 2013, would joke with a few friends about being a coxswain on the men’s team. One of the rowers overheard the banter and told her about the team’s actual need for a coxswain. At first, Funck, who is from the small town just outside of Hershey called Annville, was hesitant. “One of my friend said, ‘Seriously, would you like to be a coxswain?’ And I was like ‘No, I don’t know anything about rowing.’ He said, ‘No, seriously, we need a coxswain’ and he gave me the coach’s number.” It was the following week, however, when Funck saw another rower who convinced her of the team’s need for a coxswain, that she emailed the coach. But for Funck, it wasn’t easy to get on the team. Before Funck could actually get in a boat and row with the team, she had to meet with Senior Associate Athletic Director Kristen Foley, the team’s administrator. Funck said she had to meet with Foley to ensure she had the appropriate intentions. “I had to meet with her just to make sure I wasn’t going to cause any issue,” Funck said. “That I wasn’t going to date any of the rowers or anything like that.” Funck wasn’t the only one who was spoken to prior to her joining the team. Perkins, along with head coach Gavin White, sat down with the team prior to her joining the squad. “We told the guys that they have to act like gentlemen,” Perkins said. “They are representing the university, as all athletes do. So they shouldn’t just be gentlemen on the river when they are dealing with other crews out there, they should be gentlemen to each other and to their teammates because something that might be funny with a group of guys might not be funny in mixed company. So putting that in their minds made everything a little better.” With the approval of Foley and the athletic administration, Funck was able to join the men’s crew team for the Spring 2014 season as a novice. This season, Wolanski transferred to the men’s team from the women’s side with less trouble, only needing approval from the women’s team. After rowing on the women’s team for the past two seasons, Wolanski, who is an environmental science major, said she made the switch because of the team’s morning practice schedule and needing to devote more time to academics in the afternoon. While most of the coxswains have had high school experience, Funck has only rowed for 10 months. Nevertheless, her teammates have noticed her improvement in the sport. Junior Hunter Devine said Funck didn’t have much understanding of rowing as a first-year rower, but she relied on the rowers, coaches and coxswains to learn how she could get better. With a boat of up to eight guys on the river looking for direction, Funck said her biggest improvement is her level of authority. “I am not timid,” Funck said. “I am not afraid to say, ‘Guys, put your hands on the [oar], we have to go!” * danielle.nelson@temple.edu @Dan_Nels
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Junior libero Alyssa Drachslin posts a dig against Tulsa last Sunday during the team’s 3-1 victory, its fourth straight win against conference opposition.
DONALD OTTO TTN
Peric helps boost offensive effort The freshman’s 191 kills ranks third on the team this year. GREG FRANK The Temple News As a freshman starting at a new school overseas, Dara Peric said she still expected to thrive in her new role. The freshman outside hitter has started 19 of Temple’s 22 matches and has at least nine kills and nine digs in seven consecutive contests. As an outside hitter, contributions in both statistical categories are expected. But for Peric, who played libero in Serbia, helping on defense comes naturally. “I have always been expected to play good defense,” Peric said. “That’s what [coach Bakeer Ganes] relies on me to do.” However, with the team having lost two of its better offensive talents from a year ago in Gabby Matautia and Elyse
Burkert, offense was a primary is no exception. “The outside hitter is a focus for Peric coming into the position where she should be season. “I was expecting to be an the most skilled player on the offensive player because we court,” Ganes said. To have a freshman at this don’t have that one dominant position indicates player anyGanes entered more,” Peric the season with a said. lot of confidence Whethin Peric and her er it’s on ability to play an offense above her age as or defense, a freshman. Peric said “She was a she has been very important thrilled with recruit for us,” the opporGanes said. “We tunity given to her as a Dara Peric / outside hitter knew how good she was when we freshman. recruited her. But “It feels it certainly helps great honestly,” Peric said. “As a fresh- that she came in and adjusted man and an international one, I very well and right away.” didn’t expect to be a starter right away. But I was really excited Hitting percentage up One team aspect that has because all of the hard work that I put in during the preseason helped earn Temple’s 7-3 start paid off.” in American Athletic ConferGanes indicated he has ence play has been its hitting high expectations for anyone percentage. The Owls entered playing outside hitter and Peric the weekend hitting 25.8 per-
“I was expecting
to be an offensive player because we don’t have that one dominant player anymore.
”
cent on the season, good for Cincinnati in the conference second in The American. Out- home opener in which they hit side hitter Tyler Davis has post- 39.6 percent, and 47.1 percent ed double-digit kill numbers in last week at Tulane. “It takes pressure off of us six of Temple’s previous seven matches, and capped her week- as a team if we can execute on end with a season-high 26 kills offense,” Ganes said. on Sunday. “I think it’s really impor- Hitting dominance continues Despite a road-heavy start tant to play very efficiently,” to the season, Temple has capiDavis said. talized on its Of late, UP NEXT opportunities Davis has been
Owls at Memphis at home in McTemple’s best Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. Gonigle Hall. hitter and conThe Owls are tributed her success toward being able to famil- 6-1 this season at home after iarize herself well enough with weekend wins against Southern the opposition before the match. Methodist and Tulsa. Addition“I think recruiting the ally, only two of the six wins teams really helps because then went to five sets. The Owls will be on the we know where they’re going to road this weekend against be on defense,” Davis said. Ganes, in his fourth season Memphis and Cincinnati before at Temple, said the team’s high returning home for four straight hitting percentage is nothing matches in McGonigle. new. “I think we’ve always been * greg.frank@temple.edu a good offensive team,” Ganes T @G_Frank6 said. The Owls’ two highest hitting percentages came against
Ahmed’s work pays off with starting position AHMED PAGE 20 clear, but not easy – add and maintain the weight necessary for a starting NCAA Division I offensive lineman. Since last spring, Ahmed said he has added about 25 pounds to his 6-foot-3inch frame. The junior played in 10 games, starting five, as a defensive end last season. He was set to enter his junior season with hopes of building on his 2013 game time, until Owls coach Matt Rhule approached him with a plan. “He asked me to switch to the offensive line during spring ball,” Ahmed said. “It was kind of a shock.” In 2013, Ahmed was listed at 255 pounds, hardly the weight of the average offensive lineman in the Division I game. Each of Ahmed’s starting partners on the line this season – junior Kyle Friend, redshirt-sophomore Brendan McGowan and sophomores Eric Lofton, Dion Dawkins – each were listed at 300 pounds or greater last year. “At first I was like, ‘Man I’m a [defensive] lineman, I’m not going to switch over,’” Ahmed said. “But I went back home, I talked to my mom about it and she was just saying, ‘Sometimes you have to trust what the coaches tell
you. You have to trust what he’s saying need to continue to work every day to get to you.’ Rhule knows what’s best. After I better and physically tougher.” went home and I thought about it, I made Ahmed’s first season as an offensive a rational decision on it and ended up line starter has featured its share of high making a great decision.” and low points. One year later as the team’s startThe Owls are 4-3 overall with a pair ing offensive guard, Ahmed has been of American Athletic Conference wins, coming into his own in the trenches as a already an improvement in comparison 285-pounder. to their 2-10 (1-8 The American) result “It was very hard,” he said. “When last year. The offensive line, though, is I was in the spring, I was about 260 blocking for a Temple rushing unit that [pounds]. It was one of ranks No. 104 in DiviUP NEXT those things where sion I with 120.9 yards I was trying to lift Owls vs. East Carolina per game on the ground. Nov. 1 at Noon weights, eat as much as Temple’s rushers comI could, trying to get a bined for 32 yards on 21 thousand calories every meal. But it was carries in the team’s 34-14 loss to Central eating a lot, lifting my butt off and work- Florida this past Saturday. ing as hard as I could on it. Simultaneously, the offensive line “And thank God I was able to put has helped Temple to a 33rd-place tie in the weight on and everything,” Ahmed tackles for loss allowed with an average added. “But right now, I’m just trying to of 4.86. keep the weight since I put it on in such “We’re getting closer every week,” a short time.” Lofton said. “That’s one thing about ofAhmed has started in each game for fensive line. If you’re going to be great, a young offensive line this season that, you have to have chemistry. We try to heading into its schedule, was dubbed by meet by ourselves once every night bethe coaching staff as a work in progress. cause the closer we get off the field, the “We have a high upside,” offensive more we’re able to trust each other on the line coach Chris Wiesehan said. “We just field.”
Plugged in as one of Wiesehan’s chosen starters, Ahmed said he’s making the most of his chance. For the local product of Lindenwold, New Jersey, a town roughly 20 minutes outside of Camden, the opportunity to start each game in front of his family at Lincoln Financial Field is one that has helped him feel at home. “ It’s one of the biggest things [for me] that I’m very close to home,” Ahmed said. “My mom’s able to come to my games and being close to home, I love it.” “The biggest part of coming here, number one, was a good education,” he added. “My mom was trying to drill that into my head. And being close to home, it’s nice to have my mom or just my family come to my games. It’s been really good.” * andrew.parent@temple.edu ( 215.204. 9537 T @Andrew_Parent23