William Penn Athletics News — October 28
William Penn University Athletics
WPU Opens Season 18th
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s basketball team has positioned itself for a big farewell to Division II as the NAIA’s preseason top-25 poll was released Tuesday.
William Penn, which was 24-10 last year and advanced to the national quarterfinals, opens this winter at #18 with 161 points. It is the third-consecutive season that the navy and gold are ranked in the preseason.
Defending national champion Indiana Wesleyan is #1 with 370 points and ten first-place votes. Defending runner-up Midland (Neb.) is tied for second with 2012-2013 national champion Cardinal Stritch (Wis.). Midland has two first-place votes as does #4 Davenport (Mich.), while Northwood (Fla.) rounds out the top five.
#14 St. Ambrose and Grand View (unofficially 39th) also represent the Midwest Collegiate Conference. In addition to its tough league competition, WPU’s non-conference slate is daunting, beginning with Friday’s season opener against #12 Morningside (7:30 p.m. start in Sioux City). The Statesmen will also take on #6 Bellevue (Neb.), #20 Ashford, #34 Ozarks (Mo.), and #37 Briar Cliff.
NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Preseason Rating – October 28, 2014
(Number in parentheses is first-place votes)
1. Indiana Wesleyan (10)
2. Midland (Neb.) (2)
2. Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)
4. Davenport (Mich.) (2)
5. Northwood (Fla.)
6. Bellevue (Neb.)
7. College of Idaho
8. Robert Morris (Ill.)
9. Southeastern (Fla.)
10. Bethel (Ind.)
11. Cornerstone (Mich.)
12. Morningside
13. Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
14. St. Ambrose
15. Saint Francis (Ind.)
16. Union (Ky.)
17. Southern Oregon
18. William Penn
19. Cincinnati Christian (Ohio)
20. Ashford
20. Tabor (Kan.)
22. Cal-Maritime
23. Saint Xavier (Ill.)
24. St. Thomas (Fla.)
25. Concordia (Ore.)
Others receiving votes: Rio Grande (Ohio) 56; Waldorf 55; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 52; Indiana Southeast 50; Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 50; Huntington (Ind.) 49; Northwestern Ohio 30; Dakota State (S.D.) 21; College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 17; Grace (Ind.) 8; Rochester (Mich.) 7; Briar Cliff 5; Indiana East 4; Grand View 3.
WPU Ends Fall Ninth at National Preview Tourney
Pooler, Ga.–The William Penn women’s golf team competed well against some of the nation’s top programs as it finished its fall schedule at the NAIA Fall Preview Monday and Tuesday.
The 16th-ranked Statesmen placed ninth out of 16 teams with a two-day tally of 660 (323-337) at the par-72 Savannah Quarters Country Club. The course will serve as host to the NAIA National Championships next May.
#8 Northwood (Fla.) held off #2 SCAD Savannah (Ga.) by just one stroke at 605 (296-309), while SCAD Savannah shot 304-302. The event featured eight ranked squads, including six in the top ten. The navy and gold finished ahead of two of those ranked programs (#6 Coastal Georgia, #20 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) as well as Grand View and Marian (Ind.)–teams receiving votes nationally.
Elsa Westin of Northwood claimed medalist honors at six-under-par 138 (66-72), while Maggie Yang (Sr., Chino, Calif., Biology) guided William Penn in 14th place out of 87 competitors. Yang shot 78 the first day and 77 the next round for a total of 155.
Demi Coertze (Jr., Johannesburg, South Africa, Digital Communication) was next in a tie for 29th at 161 (80-81), while Natalie Booton (Jr., Mount Pleasant, Elementary Education) was also in the top 50 (T-45th, 79-90–169).
Alexandria Eckenrod (Sr., Mason City, Iowa, Elementary Education) shot 88-89–177 to tie for 64th and Courtney Cunningham (So., Muskogee, Okla., Computer Science) was one stroke back in a tie for 66th at 178 (86-92).
Playing as an individual, Jodi Saito (So., Mililani, Hawaii, Education) was 79th overall at 187 (93-94).
“It was a great experience to be able to play down here as we needed to see how we compared to everyone else in the country,” Head Coach Nik Rule said. “Finishing ninth is okay, but we have a lot of work to do to reach our goal of winning another conference title and returning here in May for nationals. We had a nice result on day one, but certainly did not make the most of a good opportunity to pass several teams ahead of us on day two.”
“We cannot and will not take anything for granted,” Rule added. “We have to continue to work and improve. That is something we will communicate to our players each and every day this winter.”
Statesmen Take Set from Ranked Grand View
Oskaloosa–The William Penn volleyaball team pushed its rival to four sets, falling to #14 Grand View 3-1 in Midwest Collegiate Conference action Tuesday.
The Statesmen (2-26, 0-5 MCC), who lost by scores of 12-25, 16-25, 25-22, 12-25, were outhit .260-.000.
The Vikings (23-12, 5-1 MCC) rolled to any easy victory in the first set, but were tested in the second set as WPU was tied 12-12 at the midway point.
The Statesmen held a .146-.078 hitting edge in the third round. Unfortunately, they could not duplicate that effort to force a deciding fifth set.
Kayce Skocko (Jr., Watsonville, Calif., Business Management) topped William Penn with ten kills, while Shawni Wills (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) added eight of her own.
Leyra Jusino (Jr., Bayamon, P.R., General Biology) tallied 23 assists, while Emily McHugh (Jr., Plainfield, Ill., Pre-Law & Psychology) and Danielle Breeher (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Undecided) each had two aces.
Wills guided the defense with 17 digs and Ana Gutch (Sr., Eddyville, Iowa, Secondary Education) posted three block assists.
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Friday to host Graceland in non-conference play at 7 p.m. The match will also serve as Senior Night.
