AT H L E T I C S
When it came to Jennies Basketball, a local establishment created its own posts and made its mark on the players. On March 24, 2018, the Jennies basketball team commemorated an amazing year and national championship win at Warrensburg’s Black Compass Tattoo Company. The company’s Facebook posts featured pictures of the Jennies in the parlor with huge smiles and a signed basketball left behind as a souvenir. In addition to the photographs, Black Compass Tattoo Company proudly boasted, “It’s not every day you get to tattoo NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!” Those national champions worked hard and persevered all season. Skaggs described the team’s attitude by saying, “Our mentality throughout the year and throughout the [national championship] game was ‘refuse to lose.’” Jennies basketball definitely refused to lose when, coached by Dave Slifer and assistant coaches Tammy Slifer and Mike Nicholson, they achieved their championship win by beating
the previous year’s undefeated team from Ashland University in Ohio. While the Jennies basketball team celebrated success on the court, Jennies volleyball, with head coach Flip Piontek and associate head coach Caitlin Peterson, were reaping the rewards of their off-the-court efforts and accomplishments. The team was awarded the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for having a minimum 3.30 team GPA. In addition, many of the team members also made the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Academic Honor Roll. Kasey Hohlen, Kylie Hohlen, Katie Carlson, and Hannah VanBuskirk were all named Fall 2017 MIAA scholar-athletes for having a minimum 3.50 GPA. Further, Tyler Downs and Kylie Hohlen were both honored with the Fall MIAA Academic Excellence Award for having a 4.0 GPA. On the field, 10 players from Jennies softball, coached by Susan Anderson and assistant coach Lauren Curtis, were named to the MIAA 2018 All-Conference Team while several other team members received honorable mentions. Off the field, two Jennies Softball teammates, Katie Giacone and Emily King, found success as members of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). King ’18 had a torn ACL, but prevailed in order to meet her military entry requirements. The “Year of the Jens” saw UCM’s first student athlete, Olivia Sobaski, qualify for the National Division II Golf Championship. The Jennies golf program, with head coach Chris Port, is relatively
new and is an important program hallmark. In addition, three Jennies golfers were named Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholars for attaining a minimum 3.50 GPA.
Jennies bowling, led by coach Ron Holmes, saw team member Paytynn Kuhns honored at the MIAA Conference as Freshman of the Year. Eight Jennies also made the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) 2017-2018 All-Academic team for having a minimum 3.40 GPA. In Jennies Cross Country, with coach Kirk Pedersen and assistant coach Jared Schatz, freshman Mariah Elmore earned Second Team MIAA All-Conference Honors. Academically, Jodi Pedersen was honored with the Fall MIAA Academic Excellence Award for reaching a 4.0 GPA.
University of Central Missouri Magazine
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