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.

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.

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.

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).

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).

McCracken listened to New-Spangler, the first recipient of the Jeeninga Fellowship of Archeology, relate her experience to her Christian walk and biblical understanding. “That was when I started thinking about applying for the fellowship,” McCracken said. Once her archeology class visited the Oriental Museum in Chicago, she knew for sure. [Photo to left: McCracken explores a Syrian bunker discovered by the team she worked with. It was used between 1967 and 1973 and is on the edge of the Bethsaida property.]

McCracken studied Christian ministries at Anderson University. “I knew I wanted to do overseas ministry,” she explained. She thought the trip would help her discover more about her faith and be more relevant overseas. McCracken also explained, “I wanted to go on the fellowship to have a better understanding of the history and culture surrounding the biblical text.”

Along with the educational, spiritual and cultural experience, McCracken was most looking forward to inviting her father on the second half of her trip. She and her father always shared a love of history, so exploring ancient lands with him was a once in a lifetime experience.

McCracken was only hesitant about one thing, her mother was very sick with cancer. “I prayed that God would make this an easy decision for me,” McCracken said. “Either my mom would be fine and I could go, or she would be gone.” When she called her mother to tell her about the trip, her mother was excited for her and encouraged her to apply.

“When I opened the letter, it said ‘Congratulations, you have been selected to go to Bethsaida, Israel, as the 2009 Jeeninga Fellowship of Archeology recipient,’” McCracken remembered. “At first I was ecstatic, but then my heart sank. I knew my mom would be gone soon.” Her friends and family encouraged her to be happy and enjoy the opportunity. However, she approached the faculty members who selected her for the fellowship about her situation. She let them know she might have to drop out at the last minute, depending on her mom’s condition. They reassured her that the fellowship was hers whenever she wanted to take it.

In April McCracken’s mother passed away. “Everyone at home was wonderful to my family, but one part of Israel I looked forward to was the joy of not being known,” said McCracken. “No one would ask how I was or make me think or talk about my mom because they did not know my story.” [Photo to right: McCracken explored a 17th century Druze fortress built into a cave along the side of Mount Arbel.]

In the beginning of June, McCracken arrived in Bethsaida, Israel, where disciples Peter, Andrew and Philip were born. It is thought to be the place where Jesus fed thousands by multiplying fish and bread and also where He healed the blind man.

The first two weeks of her trip McCracken worked on the dig. All day the group dug, discovered, photographed, excavated, photographed again and cleaned artifacts only to repeat the process. Mostly McCracken found dirt, rocks and pottery shards. “You might think pottery is boring, and I did too,” she said. “Then I touched a piece and realized no one had touched it in over 2,000 years. Maybe a woman made dinner for her family with it, or a child carried water in it. Either way it was cool.”

One night McCracken and another girl in the group sat by the Dead Sea. “We went down there to lay and read, but as usual we spent the entire time talking and never even cracked open our books,” McCracken said. “As we talked about our lives, eventually my family came up in conversation. I told her about how my mom died five weeks earlier through tears streaming down my face.” McCracken’s new friend was moved by the story and encouraged her to share it with the rest of the group. Eventually she did and found what she called, “the joy of being known.”

The second part of her trip started with an adventure to Jerusalem. “A group had gone without a guide the weekend before, so I took a taxi to the bus station, got on a bus and thought I would be fine. I got off the bus and everyone dispersed… I soon realized I was lost in Jerusalem,” she remembered. McCracken quickly found another cab and asked for a ride to her hotel.

Finally, her father came and spent two weeks sightseeing with her. “Each morning we got up and read the scriptures that pertained to where we were going that day. It really brought the scripture to life and made me read the Bible completely differently,” McCracken explained. “Being able to have my dad there with me meant the world.”

McCracken said her journey to Jerusalem taught her a lot about our place in the world. At the end of her presentation she displayed a picture of herself in Israel on the screen. As the picture of McCracken faded into a picture of the world, she stood at the front of the room and explained, “There is so much more than this and so much more than us.” [Photo below: McCracken had the opportunity to see historic sites she had only imagined. Here, the Sea of Galilee is visible from the McCracken’s perch on the top of Mount Arbel.]

— Elizabeth Vincent is a junior from Greenfield, Ind., majoring in communication arts and minoring in political science. Vincent is an associate with Fifth Street Communications, writing on behalf of Anderson University Communications.

Anderson University is a private Christian university of 2,700 undergraduate and graduate students in central Indiana. Anderson continues to be recognized as a top Christian college: in 2008, U.S. News and World Report ranked Anderson University among the best colleges and universities in the Midwest for the fourth consecutive year. Established in 1917 by the Church of God, Anderson University offers more than 65 undergraduate majors and graduate programs in business, education, music, nursing and theology.

• Date: November 13

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.

Faculty of the Falls School of Business have walked a long side the students to make the FLOP reality. It took the support of Dr. Terry Truitt, dean of the Falls School of Business and direct involvement of Prof. Greg Heberling and Dr. Emmett Dulaney to help make it happen. But, in the end, it was the hard work and creative entrepreneurship of the students that has made the business a success.

After closing down for the summer, the two co-owners are back at it again, re-opening The Flop’s doors for the fall semester of the 09-10 school year. “I honestly never thought we’d be back after the summer,” says Brown. “But we had such a good experience, a very educational experience, the first time around, so we decided to have a go at it again.” Brown adds that the restaurant’s rebirth wouldn’t have been possible without the support of faculty members and fellow students.

The Flop operates every Friday and Saturday night from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. The menu features their signature batter in three varieties (buttermilk, whole wheat, and chocolate) with dozens of items to be mixed into the batter and served on top. MacInnes received the recipe from his father, who acquired it through interesting means. “My dad used to wash dishes at a little local diner called Highway Host,” he explains. “When he left, the secret recipe was his severance package.”

Brown is quick to note the changes in The Flop this time around. “We’re making sure to do everything right this time,” he says. “It’s no longer a project, it’s a real business, so we’re crossing every T and dotting every I. Everyday we’re finding new ways to apply what we’ve learned in class over the past four years to The Flop.”

Anderson University is a private Christian university of 2,700 undergraduate and graduate students in central Indiana. Anderson continues to be recognized as a top Christian college: in 2008, U.S. News and World Report ranked Anderson University among the best colleges and universities in the Midwest for the fourth consecutive year. Established in 1917 by the Church of God, Anderson University offers more than 65 undergraduate majors and graduate programs in business, education, music, nursing and theology. Falls School of Business is one of Anderson University’s largest academic departments offering eight undergraduate majors as well as MBA and DBA programs. The school is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) and is a member of the Christian Business Faculty Association (CBFA).

Porter teaches courses in Christian ministry, particularly in the areas of sacred music, liturgics, and worship. Her research and publications explore the interface of theology and church music from the early church to the present. She received her PhD from the University of Surrey, UK.

Porter will be sharing in a variety of church and seminary venues, including a mini-seminar on leadership and worship on Wednesday, April 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Anderson University School of Theology also announces the 2011 Harp Professor in Residence, the Rev. Dr. Paulson Pulikottil, dean of academic affairs at Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, Maharashtra, India. Pulikottil received his PhD from the University of Sheffield, UK, in the area of Old Testament focusing on the Qumran texts.

Pulikottil will teach at the seminary and offer public lectures during his semester stay in Anderson, Indiana (January through May 2011). Pulikottil is also pastor of the Community of the Redeemed (CORE) church in Pune, India.

The Harp Professor in Residence at the Anderson University School of Theology is an endowed program by the Harp and York Families. The dean of the School of Theology identifies and selects the Harp Professor related to his or her support of the seminary degree programs. Click here to see a list of past Harp Professors in Residence.

Anderson University is a private Christian university of 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students in central Indiana. Anderson continues to be recognized as a top Christian college: in 2008, U.S. News and World Report ranked Anderson University among the best colleges and universities in the Midwest for the fourth consecutive year. Established in 1917 by the Church of God, Anderson University offers more than 65 undergraduate majors and graduate programs in business, education, music, nursing, and theology.