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Raven men travel to Alma for basketball opener

November 15th, 2009


mbasketballThe Anderson University men’s basketball team will travel to Alma College on Monday for the season-opener at 7:30 p.m.

The Ravens return two starters and seven lettermen from last year’s team, which finished 15-12 overall and 7-9 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and advanced to the semifinal round of the conference tournament.

Junior Andrew Jones is the leading returnee, averaging 11.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 2008-09. Junior Gabe Miller is the other returning starter, averaging six points, 3.1 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game last year.

Other lettermen include senior Josh Bellamy juniors Ty Riddle (7.3 ppg), Zach Gray and sophomores Brock Morrision (4.8 pppg, 3.1 rpg) and Marcus Bledsoe.

Newcomers are Andrew Bowman (Greenwood), Grant Fulton (Highland), Ryan Harter (Anderson), Michael Horner (Liberty Christian), Kyle Morgan (Rushville) and Tommy Strine (Lakewood Park).

After the opener, the Ravens host Kalamazoo on Saturday in the home opener at 7 p.m. They host Defiance in the HCAC opener (Dec. 2) and play non-conference home games against Augustana (Nov. 28), Wittenburg (Dec. 12), Trine (Dec. 19) and Oberlin (Dec. 3o) as well as road dates with Platteville (Nov. 24) and Earlham (Dec. 21) before New Years Day.

They finish the HCAC schedule with a road game at Hanover (Feb. 20) before the conference tournament starts the following week.

The Ravens are led by fifth-year head coach Tom Slyder, who has a 47-58 record.

AU women open 2009-10 campaign at St. Mary’s

November 15th, 2009


wbasketballThe Anderson University women’s basketball team will open the 2009-10 season with a road date at St. Mary’s College on Tuesday night in South Bend at 7 p.m.

The Ravens return two starters and eight lettermen from last year’s 15-11 team that finished in second place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 12-4 mark.

Senior Tiffany Bowsher is the leading returnee, averaging 9.4 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game last season. The forward has been All-Conference the last two years and was on the All-Freshman team her first season. Junior Lauren Leisure is the other returning starter, averaging 7.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 2008-09.

Other returning lettermen include seniors Laura Baden (3.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg), Shawna Wuethrich, junior Ellen Thompson (5.1 ppg, 3 rpg) and sophomores Hannah Wickard, Kate Barwick, Danielle Eng and Brittany Stafford.

Newcomers to the team this season are Courtney Prater (Lapel), Amanda Didier (Fort Wayne), Brooke Edwards (Rushville), Stephanie Geeting (Winchester), Melissa Stachovic (Tucson, Ariz.) and Amy and Ashley Wuestefeld (Batesville).

After the opener, The Ravens host their own Tip-Off Tournament on Friday and Saturday at O.C. Lewis Gymnasium. They open HCAC play at Defiance (Dec. 2) and play thre conference and three non-conference games before traveling to Orange, Calif., over the Christmas break for a pair of games (Dec. 29-30). They finish the regular season with a home date against Hanover (Feb. 20) with the HCAC post-season tournament starting the following week.

Ravens fall at Manchester in season finale

November 14th, 2009


brunnemer_webThe Anderson University football team lost to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Manchester College 31-17 on Saturday at Burt Stadium in North Manchester in the Bronze Ball Game.

Nick Sharp led the Ravens with 299 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns, completing 20-of-39 passes in relief. AU threw for 320 yards in the game.

Nick Jackson and Keith Thomas both cracked the 100-yard receiving mark and Zac Brunnemer led the Ravens with nine receptions for 89 yards. Jackson finished with three catches for 107 yards, including an 82-yard TD, and Thomas added four catches for 101 yards, including a 49-yard TD.

Luke Hurst had a 55-yard run on a fake punt and senior John Sims led the backs with 34 yards rushing.

AU outgained Manchester in the game 392-356, including 320-204 through the air. However, the Ravens lost the turnover battle 4-1, including three fumbles.

Tristan Cork booted a 48-yard field goal in the fourth quarter in his final game. The kick was the second longest in school history and he has four of the five longest field goals in school history, including a school-record 51-yarder.

Hurst led the defense with 16 tackles and a pass breakup and finished the season with a team-high 101 stops. Todd Taylor had 12 tackles and Ryan Hildenbrand added 10 stops. Leonard Wells chipped in with eight tackles, including his team-high 11th sack of the season.

AU finishes the season 1-9 overall and 1-6 in the HCAC.

Raven men 13th at Rose-Hulman XC regional

November 14th, 2009


mxcThe Anderson University men’s cross country team finished 13th in the 38-team NCAA Div. III Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Terre Haute.

Kirk Saunders led the Ravens with a 28th place finish in a time of 26:42.45 and Jake Wyatt was right behind him in 29th place in 26:45.81.

Other AU finishers were Bill Digman (57th, 27:17.43), Jeff Vibbert (101st, 27:54.12), Eric Linn (147th, 28:31.70), Taylor Holmes (149th, 28:34.02) and Emby Duncan (157th, 28:44.26).

AU women 24th at Cross country regional

November 14th, 2009


wxcThe Anderson University cross country team finished 24th at the NCAA Div. III Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Terre Haute.

Ashley Bordner led the Ravens with a 74th place finish in a time of 24:32.05.

Other AU finishers were Erica Moffitt (78th, 24:34.55), Courtney Clevenger (126th, 25:26.41), Ashley Casterline (191st, 27:29.25) and Kayla Miller (197th, 27:48).

Raven trio named to HCAC men’s soccer squad

November 12th, 2009


msoccer1Anderson University soccer players David Droeger, Austin Fridley and Matt Young were named to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference 1st Team for the 2009 season on Thursday.

Droeger led the Ravens with six goals and 15 points and was second in assists (3) and shots (42) while Young topped the Ravens in shots (51) and had three goals, two assists and eight points. Fridley had three goals, three assists, nine points and 42 shots.

Matt Robinson and Stephen Brown were named to the All-HCAC 2nd Team. Robinson led the team with four assists and was third with three goals and 10 points. Brown had seven shots.

Ruben Oliva was named the Freshman of the Year. The rookie was second on the team in goals (4) and points (11) and fourth with 34 shots.

AU finished 8-11-1 overall and 5-3 in the HCAC. They lost to HCAC champion Transylvania in the semifinals of the conference tournament.

Morency wins Defensive MVP; Weatherford All-HCAC

November 11th, 2009


morencycaitlinAnderson University senior Caitlin Morency has repeated as the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Defensive MVP for the 2009 season. Senior Carol Weatherford joined Morency on the All-HCAC 1st Team.

Morency led the Ravens and the HCAC with 687 digs and 32 service aces and also had 13 kills and 10 assists in 116 games. Weatherford finished with a conference-best 157 blocks to go with a team-high 301 kills. She also had 119 digs and 27 service aces.

Seniors Kate McCollum and Jessica Berlin were named to the All-HCAC Honorable Mention team.  McCollum was second in kills (286) and digs (294) and also had 24 service aces and 46 blocks. Berlin finished with 143 kills, 47 digs, 26 service aces and 19 blocks, despite playing in only 53 games due to a season-ending injury before conference started.

Stephanie Weinman was named to the All-Freshman team. She had 93 kills, 25 assists, 54 digs and 36 blocks.

weatherfordcarolAU finished 17-15 overall and 4-4 in the HCAC before defeating Hanover in the conference tournament. They lost to Mt. St. Joseph in the semifinal round of the HCAC tourney.

Clark, Rocholl named to All-HCAC 2nd Team

November 11th, 2009


wsoccerAnderson University women’s soccer players Carlie Clark and Katie Rocholl have been named to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference 2nd Team for the 2009 season.

Clark finished with a goal, an assist and three points on 20 shots this season while Rocholl had 13 shots for the Ravens.

AU finished the season 2-15-2 overall and 1-6-1 in the HCAC.

Engineers spoil Senior Day at Macholtz Stadium

November 7th, 2009


jackson_webThe Anderson University football team lost to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Rose-Hulman 37-6 on Saturday at Macholtz Stadium for Senior Day.

Freshman Nic Jackson led the Ravens with 54 yards rushing on eight carries and caught four passes for 71 yards, including an 18-yard TD on the final play of the game. He added 98 more yards on four kickoff returns to finish with 223 all-purpose yards in the game.

Freshman quarterback Jacob Walker finished the game 13-of-32 for 147 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Michael Joyce caught four passes for 28 yards and freshman Zac Brunnemer added three catches for 26 yards. Freshman Keith Thomas added two receptions for 22 yards.

Freshman safety Mitch Tuttle led the defense with 14 tackles and two pass breakups. Junior Ryan Hildenbrand had nine tackles and sophomore Jared Millikin added eight tackles and an interception. Senior Chance Benbow added eight stops in his final home game.

AU drove 99 yards in 12 plays on its final possession, taking up the final 2:09 of the contest. The Ravens finished with 205 total yards, including 147 through the air.

AU (1-8, 1-5 HCAC) travels to Manchester next Saturday in the season finale for the Bronze Ball. The game will be carried live from North Manchester on the internet broadcast at 1:30 p.m.

Volleyball team falls in HCAC tourney semifinal

November 7th, 2009


volleyball1The Anderson University volleyball team defeated Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Hanover College in four games, but lost to No. 2 seed Mt. St. Joseph in four games in the semifinal round of the HCAC post-season tournament on Saturday at Founders Hall in Bluffton, Ohio.

Against Hanover, the scores were 15-25, 25-22, 25-22 and 25-19. Carol Weatheford led the Ravens with 10 kills and 13 blocks. Kate McCollum had nine kills, six digs and Tara Roberts had six kills, 15 assists, 14 digs and seven blocks.

Taylor Cox had 20 assists, 11 digs and Caitlin Morency added 14 digs. Stephanie Weinman and Molly DiRuzza chipped in with six kills and two digs each.

Against Mt. St. Joseph, the scores were 20-25, 25-18, 25-21 and 21-11. McCollum led the Ravens with 10 kills, seven digs and five blocks. Roberts had 14 assists, 11 digs, six kills and Weatheford had five kills, five blocks and two digs.

Cox had 15 assists, four digs and Morency added 19 digs. Allee Donaghy added seven digs and Sydnie Garber four blocks and three kills. DiRuzza chipped in with five kills and Weinman four kills.

AU finishes the season 17-15 overall and 4-4 in the HCAC.