CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED August 30th, 2013
BACK in BLACK
For more information on any of the club teams, visit the website:
clubsports.appstate.edu email us at
clubsports@appstate.edu or call us at the
Student Recreation Center (828)262-2100 Director of UREC: Joe Carter carterjr@appstate.edu Director of Club Sports: Erin Sanders sandersec1@appstate.edu Publicity Programmer: Marcie Ried riedme@appstate.edu Executive Officers: Jessie Harrelson harrelsonje@appstate.edu Ashley Cutrell cutrellae@appstate.edu Tyler Grandis grandistw@appstate.edu
THE AUG 30th Edition of the Club Sports Illustrated Edited by Jason Sharpe Designed by Marcie Ried
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CONTENTS 03 MEN’S RUGBY
READ ABOUT OUR NEWEST TEAM
04 WOMEN’S LACROSSE 05 SNOWBOARDING 06 FENCING 07 MEN’S ULTIMATE
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THIS TEAM IS READY FOR SOME SNOW
08 EQUESTRIAN 10 MEN’S BASEBALL
GET TO KNOW YOUR EXECS
12 CYCLING
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13 TRIATHLON 14 WOMEN’S SOCCER 15 Executives’ corner
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16 Upcoming events
SEE WHAT THE CYCLING TEAM IS UP TO August 30, 2013 /// CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
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Men’s Rugby By Jacob Barber, Vice President
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he men’s rugby team’s goals this year are to win the SoCon Conference and to play into the playoffs. Our upcoming events include Rucktoberfest on September 14 and the start of our matrix season the following weekend. Our team is mostly excited to be playing rugby again, and for the Rucktoberfest tournament coming up. Our officers include president Tommy Longo, vice president Jacob Barber, match secretary Daniel Kyle Van Driesen, treasurer Cameron Hunt and club sports representative Ian McNeill. Our traditions as a team include winning, and being very disciplined in the sport of rugby.
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CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED /// August 30, 2013
Women’s lacrosse By Molly Lancaster, VIce President
W
omen’s lacrosse is starting strong this year with around fifteen new players on the roster. Our new officers, Alexis Brundage, Molly Lancaster, Carolyn Genay, Leigh Ann Haigh and Philicia Gibson, have been leading fastpaced practices so all of our girls will be ready to play together in just a few weeks. We are preparing for our first game on September 15 at NC State. We are also looking forward to hosting our own home tournament on September 29. Other than games, we are planning to do some other activities like camping trips, races and ropes courses this semester to help our team bond and to encourage teamwork. Our goal this year is to continue our tradition of being a well-rounded team that likes to spend time together both on and off the field.
Pictures from our first practice
August 30, 2013 /// CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
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Snowboarding By Shannon Hildebrandt, Team Member
S
nowboarding season may still be a few months off, but the team is already making plans to take over the Southeast Conference. Last season was very successful and we’re looking forward to another great year. We’ve received a ton of interest and our returning members cannot wait to hit the slopes and see some of the new talent.
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This season we have a few goals, which are: racing a full women’s team, building up our slope-style team, and sending racers to both regionals and nationals. Our president Tyler Grandis is already doing a wonderful job getting us on track for a fun and successful season. I believe all of our returning members will agree that this year is shaping up to be one of our best so far.
CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED /// August 30, 2013
FENCING By Alex Fogleman, Team Member
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he Appalachian State University fencing club is back in action and ready to get started on another glorious year! To begin with, the club had an astonishing number of around forty interested new recruits during its very first practice of the year, in which they were given a crash-course into basic fencing footwork and drills. During further practices, new fencers will also be taught bladework and how to parry, among other skills that are important when bouting on a fencing strip. In the meantime the ASU Fencing Club is planning on hosting a tournament during the month of November. We hope to have a fantastic turnout and maybe introduce some of our more confident new fencers to the competitive scene after the months of preparation and training that will be put in to this event.
August 30, 2013 /// CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
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Equestrian By Morgan Erlenbach, Team Member
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he equestrian team has so many great things planned for this year! We have hit the ground running with a team of 60-65 girls AND boys this year! Over the summer we had several team members volunteer at the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show to thank the show board for giving us such a generous donation last fall! The weather was beautiful and the team bonded a lot, and we are looking forward to growing together even more as a team this upcoming year! I think I am most excited for the leadership of the team this year! We have a great group of dedicated girls leading the team: president Morgan Erlenbach, vice president Chloe Paddison, secretary Halie Cunningham (who placed tenth at the Intercollegiate Dressage Nationals last spring) and treasurer Lexy Bridges.
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CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED /// August 30, 2013
Alison Davis will be leading the hunt seat team to victory this year and Nikka Hronis is in charge of our ever-growing dressage team. Danielle Plourd is our western captain this year and she will be competing in the fall to be the National Quarter Horse Asociation Queen. We are so proud and lucky to have such talented members! On October 27, the entire team will be helping to host an Intercollegiate Dressage Association Show at our barn, Foothills Equestrian Center, located in Hickory, N.C. Our dressage team is bigger than ever this year so we will be able go get our horses schooled and ready to compete! Riders will be coming from all over to compete; from Salem College, Virginia Tech, Virginia Intermont, Averett University, and Wake Forest University. One of our favorite team traditions is
having a sleepover either at the barn or at one of the horse owners’ houses the night before the show. We get to know each other really well, go out to dinner together and just relax before the big show day! Since the barn is an hour away from campus, we get to sleep in the next morning instead of getting up at 4 a.m. to trek down the mountain! The hunt seat team is especially excited this year because we have a new school that is hosting shows. Averett University is hosting a hunt seat show for the first time in Intercollegiate Horse Show history this year, and they have a gorgeous facility and beautiful horses that they are graciously letting us ride!
After sending several riders on our hunt seat, dressage, and western teams to regionals and nationals last year, we hope that we can continue that this year! We would love to send several more new riders this year and be really competitive – and with all of our amazing, talented new members we are determined to achieve that goal! We are so incredibly proud and excited for all of our new and returning members for a great year!
August 30, 2013 /// CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
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Men’s Baseball It’s hard
By Patrick Sekel, Team Member
“ ’
to beat
a person
who
never
gives up .“ 9
CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED /// August 30, 2013
A
s another school year starts at Appalachian State, so does another season for the men of the club baseball team. After coming up short in making the regional tournament last year, the team looks to bounce back as they have switched conferences, becoming members of the Mid-Atlantic South Conference. They will now be playing teams closer to home, such as Wake Forest, Elon, UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State and ECU. The team has many returning sophomores, juniors and seniors from the previous season, with the addition of many others. The biggest goal the team has this year is to win the conference tournament and make it to the regional tournament in Martinsville, Virginia, like they did two years ago. However, before they can make their run, they need to get back into shape during the fall season.
The team is lead by new officers who, from the day they were elected, were ready to take on the responsibilities given to them. Junior Ben Duncan was elected as the new president of the club, with junior Aaron Norris elected as the new vice president. Junior Mike Aiello has been promoted to treasurer this year, and sophomore Patrick Sekel will take over Mike’s old position as secretary. These four young gentlemen are no strangers to the game and have continued the ritual that has been passed down for years. During warm-ups, each player does a handstand and sees how long they can hold it. The team does this in order to loosen the mood as well as to create some laughs. The men of the club baseball team are ready to face the new challenges that will come with the new season. As the great Babe Ruth once said, “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.”
Some of the upcoming events for the men’s club baseball team are as follows: a home series against UNC-Chapel Hill at Wilkes Community College on September 14-15, an away series against Wake Forest on September 21-22, a tournament in Greenville, South Carolina on November 1-3 and a home series against UNC-Wilmington at Wilkes Community College on November 9-10. The spring schedule has not been officially created between the MidAtlantic South teams and the NCBA (National Club Baseball Association).
August 30, 2013 /// CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
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Men’s ultimate By Austin Olive, Secretary
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he Men’s Ultimate team is getting ready to gear up and be back in action this fall season. This week marks the first week of practice and as usual this years officers are very excited for the new season ahead of us. We are looking forward to competing at a level that the Appalachian State Nomads have never been before, we will be playing top-level competition at tournaments across the region. Our team goal this year is to make it to Nationals, something our team has never done before. With many returning players and a lot of new talent, we are looking forward to meeting this goal. Our first tournament of the season is the Clemson Pow Wow, in Clemson, South Carolina. There will be forty teams competing and it will be one of the largest tournaments we attend all year. We hope to be able to bring out an X/Y Squad in order to retain as many players as we can in hopes of starting up our first B team ever. Practices are at 8pm on State Farm Fields for anyone interested in coming out.
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CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED /// August 30, 2013
Cycling By Zeb Ramsbotham, Team Member
H
ello from Appalachian State’s cycling team! We are really excited about the 2013-2014 school year and season. With many members returning and a lot of interest, we hope this will be one of the best years yet. To help ensure a great year, our officers will be working hard. This year that group includes: president Justin Evans, cyclocross vice president Baird Sills, mountain vice president Matthew McCarter, road vice president Miles Hubbard, secretary Zebulon Ramsbotham, treasurer Wilson Fowler and club council representative Forrest Howard.
Our main goal for the year is to have fun and ride a lot – and we’re already well on the way to accomplish that with events like our Monday frozen yogurt ride at 5:00 p.m. We also want to continue doing well within our conference and disciplines! Winning mountain, cross and road is always nice. A good year of racing will also help with mountain and road nationals being super close to home. Outside of racing and riding, the team wants to have better involvement in our community.
August 30, 2013 /// CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
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T
he 2013-2014 year has started much like the swim in a triathlon: people from all over jumping into the water, trying to find their rhythm in all the chaos. The Appalachian State triathlon club is starting its inaugural year as a club sport. The high-spirited crew has begun to spread the word to the masses through the club expo and by wearing our new gear. With the sport growing on all levels of competition, the club has seen the highest levels of interest to date! For the 20132014 season our team has found three races for our new and veteran members to travel to, compete in and grow as a team. The regular season will last from September to the middle of October, and the goal for the season is to accumulate enough points in the conference to send both a male and female team to compete in the USAT Colligate Nationals in April. This is the first year that the ASU triathlon team will have a chance to compete in the Mid Atlantic Conference, and we really hope to make a splash.
Triathlon By Teagan Miller, Secretary
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Over the summer two of the veteran members of our club, vice president Bobby Willix and Nico Robles, both competed in Ironman races. The Ironman is the crown jewel of triathlon competition; it combines a 2.4-mile swim, a 112mile bike and a 26.2-mile run for a total of 140.6mile race. Bobby completed Ironman Texas on May 18 with a time of 13:54:01. An extremely hot race with a considerably high drop out rate, Bobby struggled through in-race nutrition issues but ultimately crossed the line and earned the title of Ironman. Nico Robles competed in the Louisville Ironman on August 24. Nico had a very impressive swim and was quick on the bike as well. Struggling with his own set of nutrition issues, Nico began to fade but he also found the will to cross the finish line in a time of 12:29:00. We are very proud of our teammates and their accomplishments. Starting off with a bang the 2013-2014 year has nothing but potential and we would love to see triathlon grow as a strong and competitive team for many slightly off endurance nuts!
CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED /// August 30, 2013
Women’s soccer By Bailey Pages, Vice President
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he ASU women’s club soccer team is back at it this year, starting off strong. Practices have begun this week and there are some very talented girls out there. With the fresh new players and our strong returners we are sure to head to regionals this year. Our goal is for an undefeated season, including crushing our rivals UNC-Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech. Last year we made it to regionals but could not go due to numbers and financial reasons. This year we are not going to let this happen. With our three officers, president Ginny Gills, vice president Bailey Pages and secretary Kate Beyersdorf, being seniors, we are sure to keep the momentum up and end this last year as the most memorable. There is a new coach on board, Brett Nelson, who has played “ever since I could walk,” as he would say. Brett is determined to push us and lead us to our ultimate goal this year and we are very gracious to have him. The team is also getting some fresh new jerseys to bring out our swag. The first day of practice was a great turn out and we are all very excited for this upcoming year! Our first game is September 8 at State Farm Fields, so come check us out! We play UNCC at 11 a.m. and then Longwood at 3 pm. SCOOO NEERS!
August 30, 2013 /// CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
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Executives’ Corner MEET YOUR EXECs JESSIE HARRELSON Senior, majoring in Recreation Management From Silver Spring, Maryland President of Women’s Ultimate What she loves: I love that the CS program is almost entirely run by students. Each officer group has the opportunity to run their team exactly how they want to.
TYLER GRANDIS Junior, majoring in Psychology From Asheville, North Carolina President of Snowboard Team What he loves: I love the community and friendship playing a sport creates. My team have become my best friends and I think that is universal between all 20 of the sports. ASHLEY CUTRELL Senior, majoring in Psychology From Chapel Hill, North Carolina. President of the ASU Alpine Ski team. What she loves: Being a part of this team has been a great addition to my college career. They’ve quickly become some of my best friends on and off the mountain. My favorite part of the club sports program is that I am a part of a very high functioning program ran solely by students. This in turn means that we are in charge of the structure of our program and can continue to update the program to meet our needs. I am just lucky to be a part of that and work closely with students and upper administration.
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CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED /// August 30, 2013
Upcoming events Mark your calendars + support SEPT 8:
your fellow mountaineers
WOMEN’S SOCCER First Games against UNC-Chapel Hill at 11am and Longwood at 3pm, State Farm Fields
SEPT 11: Next Club Sports Council meeting at 5pm, SRC Room 202
SEPT 13: Next Club Sports Illustrated, submit articles by the 10th!
SEPT 14: MEN’S & WOMEN’S RUGBY Rucktoberfest MEN’S BASEBALL Home Series against UNC-Chapel Hill at Wilkes Community College
SEPT 15: MEN’S & WOMEN’S RUGBY Rucktoberfest
MEN’S BASEBALL Home Series against UNC-Chapel Hill at Wilkes Community College WOMEN’S LACROSSE First Game at NC State
SEPT 21: WOMEN’S RUGBY Home Round Robin at 5pm, State Farm Fields
SEPT 21-22: MEN’S BASEBALL Away Series against Wake Forest MEN’S ULTIMATE Clemson Fall Pow Wow, Clemson, SC
SEPT 29: WOMEN’S LACROSSE Home Tournament
OCT 27: EQUESTRIAN Hosting the Intercollegiate Dressage Association Show at Foothills Equestrian Center, Hickory, NC
NOV 1-3: EQUESTRIAN Tournament in Greenville, SC
NOV 9-10: EQUESTRIAN Home Series against UNC-Wilmington at Wilkes Community College August 30, 2013 /// CLUB SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
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