The Fordham University Women’s Soccer team ended their 2011 season with an overall 8-8-3 record, as well as NSCAA Team Academic Award. Head Coach Ness Selmani has been leading the Fordham University Rams for 16 years now and has led the girls to conference championship berths for five of the last eight seasons.

This next season the Rams are looking for yet another berth after adding three new members to the team, including Victoria Camaj of Diamond Bar, California, Joann Murino of Bohemia, New York and Ivana Lahcanski of Rochester, New York. The girls will be affective contributions to an already talented team. Coach Selmani claims the new additions are intense, passionate and aggressive.

With seven Juniors ready to step into their leadership roles as Seniors, in addition to a promising group of underclassmen the Rams are filled with determination and potential for their upcoming 2012 season.

We at www.espor.com wish the Fordham University Women’s Soccer team good luck! The better the Rams get, the better we get.

For more information on the Rams visit: http://www.fordhamsports.com/sports/w-soccer/ford-w-soccer-body.html

-Danica

Coach Frank Kohlenstein and the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers finished their 2011 season with 11 wins, 7 losses and 1 tie, making it Coach Kohlenstein’s eighth straight winning season. In past seasons Kohlenstein has led his team to several NCAA tournament appearances and has been elected Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year on six different occasions.

In congruence with their coach, several Orediggers received post-season honors. Sophomore Tesho Akindele, with an already impressive resume that includes 2010 RMAC Freshman of the year and NSCAA First Team All-American, has done it again. This past season, Akindele earned NSCAA Second Team All-American, First Team All-American honors, First Team All Region and First Team all RMAC after leading the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in total points this season.

However Tesho Akindele is not the only Oredigger with a notable resume. Along with Akindele, Junior Alex Nass and Senior Philip Wilson also earned First Team All-American Honors, as well as All Region Honors. Additionally, Sean Heister, a Junior from Texas was named Second Team All-Central Region.

With only four seniors graduating this spring, the Orediggers’ young and talented team is gunning for another NCAA Tournament berth in the upcoming 2012 season. In order to prepare, the Orediggers’ spring schedule includes a match against Regis University on March 31, the CSM Spring Tournament, as well as the Omaha Cup at Creighton University and finally one last face off against the Air Force Academy on April 18. For more information visit: http://www.csmorediggers.com/sports/msoc/index.

We at www.espor.com wish the Orediggers Men’s Soccer team good luck in their spring season as well as the upcoming 2012 season. The better the Orediggers get, the better we get!

-Danica

The Gonzaga Bulldogs Men’s Soccer team concluded the 2011 season with an overall record of 4-12-2 as well as an impressive ninth straight team NSCAA Academic Honor. The Zags recorded a 3.27 gpa, the highest of all the West Coast Conference teams. The men’s commitment to academics as well as athletics has been a long going tradition that continues to amaze fans.

In addition to the team’s success academically, several Bulldog players earned notable post-season awards. Starting with the freshmen, Clark Phillips and Nathanael Pacheco were named to the WCC All-Freshman squad, making the transition from High School to College appear easy. Not only was Clark Phillips named to the All-Freshmen team, but he also went on to be the WCC Freshman of the Year. In congruence with these two promising freshmen, sophomores Nick Hamer, James Matern and Josh Phillips were all named to the All-WCC second team. With such impressive young talent, the Bulldogs appear to have a bright future ahead of them in their upcoming seasons.

After graduating two seniors this past season, the Zags will be relying on their young talent to continue improving their skills on the field, in addition to maintaining their tradition of Academic Excellence.

We at www.espor.com look forward to watching the Bulldogs grow in their upcoming 2012 season. The better the Bulldogs get, the better we get.

-Danica

For the past two years, the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team has earned a spot in the NCAA tournament, never making it past the first round. However, this past season the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team not only earned a spot in the tournament once again, but proceeded to defeat the #4 ranked Nebraska-Kearney Lopers in the first round, resulting in their first ever NCAA tournament win.  The Orediggers finished the season with an overall record of 19-11 as well as several impressive achievements by players such as Jackie Stabell who became the first All-American in program history and Amanda Massey, the team’s starting setter who was named RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) Setter of the Year. After ending on such a strong note, I can’t help but wonder what next year holds in store for the Orediggers.

This year, the team will be losing their starting setter and only senior, Amanda Massey along with her skills and leadership qualities. Coach Jamie Skadeland acknowledges the fact that there will be an adjustment in store for the team next season, but she also claims that the program “works on leadership development with all players so the transition of losing a key senior/s is as smooth as possible”. In addition to developing leadership qualities in all players, the Orediggers are also focusing their attention on staying in shape during the off-season through a strength and conditioning program that, according to Coach Skadeland, “includes lifting, conditioning, agility, plyometrics and nutrition”. A program that will improve the speed and strength of each player, making the program that much better.

Meanwhile, Coach Skadeland has been on the look out for new recruits that will contribute to the “already ‘programmed’” team. First and foremost, CSM recruits must possess a strong record of academic success. Once academics are in line, Coach Skadeland looks for girls with a competitive edge, an understanding of the game and last, but not least, a flair for leadership. Just recently, the program has recruited two new additions to the team. Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood, a 5’8” setter, and Megan Peterson, a 5’11” middle blocker. Two players who will surely contribute to the program’s success in the upcoming season.

With a strong group of girls returning and the recent additions to the program, the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team gleams with potential. A mix of leadership, hard work and strategy sounds like the recipe for yet another strong season.

We at www.espor.com wish the Orediggers good luck in their upcoming season! The better the Orediggers get, the better we get.

-Danica

www.espor.com customer, Colorado School of Mines is making some great strides in men’s basketball! All season long, the Orediggers have been ranked in the top 25 teams by the coaches’ poll, starting the season off at no.18. This week, however, the Orediggers have managed to steal the no. 4 spot for the first time in Oredigger history after defeating both Regis University and Metro State this past weekend.

The Orediggers’ success came as no surprise to me after having the opportunity to watch the Orediggers in action against the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers about two weeks ago. Watching the team warm up, I was amazed by the height that filled the Oredigger bench. After tip off I soon realized that height was not the only advanteage the Orediggers had. The team appeared to be a well oiled machine with impeccable defense. Oredigger Head coach Pryor Orser claims the program focuses on emphasizing the importance of defense as well as rebounds. These two aspects of the game greatly contributed to the Orediggers’ avail after they held the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers to a mere 19 points in the first half.

Since then, the Orediggers held Regis University to a 40.7 shooting percentage and out-rebounded the Rangers 34-28 along with a hefty contribution of 19 points by redshirt freshman Trevor Ritchie in order to beat the Rangers 75-66 on their own turf. And again, two nights later the Orediggers faced the Metro State Roadrunners. Although both teams were held to less than 50 percent shooting, the Orediggers’ focus on defense and rebounds resulted in yet another victory.

Keep up the good work! We at www.espor.com wish the Orediggers good luck as they finish out their season.

-Danica

The most noticeable difference between these NCAA divisions is the size, Division III being the smallest. Division I is home to many of the country’s largest universities. Often times, Division I is viewed as the first step towards becoming a professional athlete due to the overwhelming amount of participants and intense competition. On the opposite side of the spectrum is Division III, although the numbers don’t even begin to compare the competition is still fierce. Division III is the one NCAA division that does not offer athletic scholarships. Because of this, many argue that Division III athletes are the most passionate. It is assumed that DIII athletes play purely for the love of the game as opposed to playing to keep a scholarship, however this assumption is far from true in all cases. Although DIII athletes indeed play for the love of the game, the amount of time they must commit is far less than that of a DI athlete, leaving plenty of time to put school first and to experience the full range that college offers.

Being a DIII athlete myself, the ability to have a life outside of volleyball was what struck me as most appealing when I was searching for the right school (that and the fact that I could be an outside hitter at a less than average height of 5’7”). In my two and a half years of college I have been able to do well in school, hold a work study job, as well as an internship (at www.espor.com), spend time with great people outside of volleyball and on top of all that, I now have the opportunity to study abroad in New Zealand for a semester.

Playing volleyball at a Division III school has not only allowed me to continue playing the game I love, but it has also provided me with many opportunities that I wouldn’t have had time for at a big Division I school. In my experience, Division III schools strongly support athletics but emphasize the importance of education and opportunity first. This unique outlook is the type of attitude that truly separates Division III athletics from Division I.

-Danica