As we inch closer to Finals Week and summer becomes more and more of a reality, let’s take a minute or so to reflect on the great athletic achievements that were accomplished this past season by Blue Streaks athletics before we wipe the slate clean this fall. With that being said, here are my end-of-the-year awards for Blue Streaks athletics:

Male Athlete of the Year: Corey Shontz, basketball. The senior point guard was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III All-America Third Team after posting an impressive season. Shontz averaged 16 points and 4.7 assists en route to becoming the first Blue Streak basketball player to be named to an All-America team in 29 years. Honorable mention: Devin O’Brien (football), Mike Minjock (track and field), Terner Gott (wrestling).

Female Athlete of the Year: Brittany Danilov, softball. The senior stud finished the regular season with a 19-5 record in the circle and an impressive earned run average of 2.33. Danilov also held opponents to a lowly .233 batting average and led the OAC with 177 strikeouts, 66 more than the next best pitcher. Honorable mention: Colleen Harmon (soccer),  Missy Spahar (basketball), Emily Mapes (track and field).

Male Rookie of the Year: Terner Gott, wrestling. The freshman grappler finished with a 26-5 record on the year and was named to the D3Wrestle.com All-Freshman team as the top rookie in the 157-pound weight class. Gott also went 2-0 while winning the OAC title at 157 pounds, earning him a berth at the NCAA Championships in La Crosse, Wis.

Female Rookie of the Year: Emily Mapes, track and field. Mapes put together an extremely impressive year, competing in all three seasons of cross country and track and field. The freshman set the OAC meet record with a time of 11:00.24 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase – a mark 16 seconds better than the next finisher. She also posted the best mark of any Blue Streak in six different events throughout the outdoor and indoor track and field seasons en route to putting together an impressive year of accomplishments.

Follow @ZachMentz on Twitter or email him at

And then Sunday came.

Traveling to Tiffin, Ohio on Sunday, April 29, the Blue Streaks couldn’t keep up with the Student Princes as they dropped consecutive road games against the home team, losing by scores of 7-1 and 10-9.

After an RBI single from senior Tom Hickey in the top of the first inning, the Blue Streaks held a narrow 1-0 lead early in game one of the doubleheader. However, the Student Princes dominated the game from there. Heidelberg responded by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first, claiming the lead for good in game one. The Student Princes tacked on their other five runs during the third, fourth and fifth innings en route to picking up a 7-1 win over the Blue Streaks at home.

Game two of the doubleheader between the Blue Streaks and Student Princes proved to be a much different, much closer contest – but ultimately ended with the same result.

The Blue and Gold again began the game with the offensive fireworks rolling, as they scored two runs in the top of the first to give themselves the early 2-0 lead. JCU then tacked on one more run in the second inning before the Student Princes responded with a run of their own, cutting the Blue Streaks’ lead to 3-1 after two innings. However, JCU responded once again with two more runs, giving themselves a healthy 5-1 lead after three innings of baseball.

Then the offense began to come alive for Heidelberg.

The Student Princes scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth and two more in the bottom of the fifth, claiming a 6-5 lead over JCU in the process.

In the top of the seventh inning, sophomore Jimmy Spagna belted a home run to tie the game at an even score of 6-6. Then, in the top of the eighth inning, a two-out rally proved to be just what the Blue Streaks needed.

With two outs in the inning, junior Joe Veltri walked to get the rally going for JCU. Sophomore Mitch Herringshaw then singled, putting runners on first and second for the Blue Streaks. Hickey then connected on a single, and an error from the Heidelberg left fielder allowed both Veltri and Herringshaw to round third base and score, giving JCU an 8-6 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning.

In the bottom half of the eighth, Heidelberg again proved how potent their offense could be as they rounded off four runs in the inning to take back the lead, 10-8, in the ball game.

In the top of the ninth inning, trailing by two runs, the Blue Streaks tried to put together one last offensive assault. Junior Aaron Miller singled to begin the inning and was followed by another single from junior Ryan Konsler. With runners on first and second, freshman Connor Marrero then sacrificed a bunt to advance each runner over one base. Pinch-hitting for freshman Bobby Sabatino, freshman David Lykens then grounded out to the shortstop but drove in a run in the process, cutting the lead to one for Heidelberg. However, a groundout to second base from sophomore Dan Potter ended the Blue Streaks’ rally, clinching the 10-9 win for the Student Princes over JCU.

The Blue and Gold will next play on Saturday, May 5 in Ada, Ohio as they take on the Ohio Northern Polar Bears in another OAC baseball doubleheader.

[Written by Gabriella Kreuz]

In most seasons, men’s team scores of 76 and 73 for the John Carroll University track and field teams would be enough for  a top-five finish at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships. Despite the efforts by the Blue Streaks, the men’s and women’s teams finished in sixth and eighth place, respectively, this past weekend at the OAC Championships in Wilmington, Ohio.

On the men’s side, junior Mike Minjock jumped a 2012 NCAA Division III-best 7.46 meters to win his first OAC title in the long jump event. Minjock also picked up third place finishes in both the triple jump and 100-meter dash events as well.

“I knew I was ready physically and mentally and I had my best performance of the season,” said Minjock. “My goal is to be the national champion. I feel great, and after the way conference went, I expect to perform even better at the national championships.”

Senior Steven Borowy earned All-OAC status by finishing in third place in the javelin throw event, with a personal best of 52.40 meters. In the pole vault, sophomore Cory Biro cleared 4.25 meters to lock in an eighth place finish.

In the lengthy 10,000-meter run, senior Jake Smith claimed first place while junior Nick Wojtasik came in at seventh place with respective times of 32:11 and 33:15.

“A conference championship had always been one of my goals,” said Smith on his first-ever OAC title. “As the season went on and I kept getting better, I was excited that I finally had the chance to win.”

In the 4×800-meter relay, the quartet of freshman John Cameron, junior Pat Burns, junior Anthony Colbert and sophomore Vadim Spasiuk took home a fifth-place finish with a time of 7:58.639, just .006 behind fourth.

Senior Will Rial stepped his game up in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, as he took third place with a finish time of 9:40.92, good enough to earn all-OAC status. He ran 9:40.92 for a third place finish for all-OAC status.

At the end of the two-day event,  the Blue Streaks finished in sixth place with 76 total team points. Powerhouse Mount Union came out on top with 143 points, while Baldwin- Wallace (115 points), Ohio Northern (112), Heidelberg (98) and Marietta (93) finished in second through fifth place, respectively.

Women’s Track and Field

[Written by Zach Mentz]

Despite only finishing in eighth place out of 10 teams this past weekend at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships, the John Carroll University women’s track and field team put together numerous impressive performances, bringing a close to another exciting year for the Blue Streaks.

With the OAC Championships taking place in Wilmington, Ohio, the Blue Streaks were led by freshman Emily Mapes and sophomore Gabriella Kreuz. Mapes finished in first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with an impressive finish time of 11:00.24, while Kreuz also finished in first place in the 1,500-meter run and a final time of 4:40.83. Because of her performance, Kreuz was named the Dave Lehman Most Outstanding Distance Athlete Award winner.

“I didn’t really anticipate being honored with that kind of award so soon, especially at the OAC Championships,” said Kreuz. “It was just one of those occasions where my brain and body were on the same page, and I ran the way my coaches and teammates believed I could all along.”

In the 4×800-meter relay event, junior Maureen Creighton, freshman Haley Turner and sophomores Nicki Bohrer and Kreuz claimed first place with a time of 9:19.94, a mark eight seconds better than the next. The same quartet also finished in third place in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 4:06.29

Senior Megan Lutz also reeled in more points for the Blue Streaks as she finished in fifth place in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:28.28.

“I always missed practice during its normal time and spent most of the season running at night by myself,” said Lutz. “But the coaches, especially [assistant coach] Kyle Basista, really worked with me to make my last season a possibility.

Mapes finished just behind Lutz, in sixth place, with a finish time of 18:19.27.

The University of Mount Union Purple Raiders won the OAC Championships with a collective 146 points, while Baldwin-Wallace (101 points) and Marietta took second and third place, respectively. JCU finished in eighth with a total of 73 points.

The Blue Streaks are still a young team and should have an exciting year again next spring.

The John Carroll University men’s tennis team has caught fire recently, ending the 2012 regular season by winning three of their final four matches. The Blue Streaks first defeated the Marietta Pioneers by a shutout score of 9-0 on Thursday, April 26 before also defeating the Heidelberg Student Princes by a score of 7-2 on Sunday, April 29.

Against Marietta, the highlight performance perhaps came in No. 1 doubles, when juniors Ryan Mullaney and Rico Certo paired up to defeat their opponents by a dominating score of 8-0. Mullaney also won his No. 1 singles match by a score of 6-0, 6-1.

Against Heidelberg, the Blue Streaks dropped two of the six singles matches before winning each of the three doubles matches, giving themselves an impressive 7-2 win over the Student Princes.

After winning three of their last four matches, the Blue Streaks earned the No. 5 seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament. The Blue and Gold were set to take on the No. 4 seed Mount Union Purple Raiders on Tuesday, May 1.

Women’s Tennis

Winning has become contagious as of late for the John Carroll University women’s tennis team. Coming into last week with a five-match winning streak, the Blue Streaks (12-3, 7-1 OAC) continued their excellent play with consecutive wins over the Marietta Pioneers and the ‘Berg of Heidelberg University by identical scores of 8-1.

Taking on the Pioneers in Marietta, Ohio on Thursday, April 26, the Blue Streaks were dominant from start to finish. Senior Cassie Simmelink won her No. 1 singles match by a score of 8-1 before teaming with freshman Tracy Gibson to win their No. 1 doubles match by a score of 8-2.

Against the ‘Berg of Heidelberg on Saturday, April 28, the Blue Streaks ended their season with another win added to their tally as they defeated the visiting ‘Berg by a score of 8-1.

As the No. 2 seed in the OAC Tournament, the Blue Streaks were set to compete against the No. 7 seed Capital Crusaders at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1.

Editors Note: The women’s team won 9-0 vs. Capital on Tuesday. For updates on the men’s tennis team, please go to www.jcusports.com

Lazenby, the author of more than five dozen sports books, has covered the NBA for many years and has written numerous books on the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Jerry West and Phil Jackson. Lazenby also was also given the 1997 Sports Book of the Year for his work in “Bull Run!”, the story of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. Also a current staff member at the Virginia Tech Department of Communication, Lazenby is a writer that knows the ins and outs of the sport of basketball.

While there are plenty of basketball pundits to give you opinions and feed you information, none may be more interesting or intelligent than that of Lazenby.

With the 2012 NBA playoffs set to begin this coming Sunday,  April 29, there’s no better time than now to gain some insight and perspective on the current hot topics in the NBA with one of the wittiest minds around. Lazenby’s knowledge and insight on the sport of basketball is something that every basketball fan should be aware of.

The following interview took place on Saturday, April 21.

The Carroll News: It’s been a season full of drama for the Lakers, from losing head coach Phil Jackson, hiring Mike Brown, the failed Chris Paul deal, Lamar Odom being traded, Pau Gasol trade rumors and Derek Fisher being traded and all of the hoopla that surrounds the LA circus. Despite all of that drama, is this still a team that can contend for a title?

Roland Lazenby: Yes, I think so. I don’t think they’re favored to any great degree, but they certainly have a recent history of playoff success. I think they’re at least a viable contender. Things change so dramatically when you get into the playoffs. The rotation shortens, so some of their problems with depth and some of the things that plagued them, the turmoil and certainly all of the transition from the things you mentioned – all of those things are less of a factor now. I think the coaches have a little more experience with this set of players. I thought there would be a little more adjustment with the change at point guard, but it’s worked well.

CN: With Kobe having missed seven games with injury before recently returning to the lineup, Andrew Bynum had to take more of a leadership role on the team and his maturity is something that has been a hot topic this season. Do you think that Bynum’s maturity is crucial to the Lakers’ playoff run?

RL: Yes, but I think that’s an instrumental thing. He’s making progress, he has relapses, but that’s why it’s maturity. Sometimes it takes time. Some people are more mature than others and he did come into the league at an awfully young age. A lot of players have come into the league at a young age and sort of gotten lost. That didn’t happen with him. He’s had a lot of support with the Lakers and he’s survived being a young, young player coming into the league. I think he’ll have a good playoff [run].

CN: The dealing of Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks is also something that has been a popular topic this season. He’s had a disastrous season there after winning the Sixth Man of the Year award just a year ago with the Lakers. With Odom now deactivated from the team, who’s to blame in this situation between him and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban?

RL: I think that probably the Mavericks did what they had to do to move forward. They took time with him, obviously he has a big upside. I think he has a number of issues, some on the court, a lot of them off the court, and he just wasn’t able to make the transition after the trade. It’s difficult because Odom has been a player that a lot of people have admired for a long time. Whether you’re a Lakers fan or not, considering all of the difficult things over the course of the years that Lamar has been through, you have to hope that he finds some peace of mind and is able to move forward and maybe keep playing basketball.

CN: Odom’s team, the Mavericks, are the defending champions, but have struggled at times this season, as they are currently only the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference with a record of 36-28 right now. Despite not having the same regular season success they did a year ago, can the Mavericks still contend for a title this year?

RL: I don’t think so. I think the loss of Tyson Chandler was a big loss for them, and I was really surprised at that. Maybe they can. You never know when injuries or other things will occur with other teams, but I don’t really see the Mavericks as a team that can win it all.

CN: What are your thoughts on the drama between Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic this season, considering the latest reports that he’s receiving back surgery and refusing to play for head coach Stan Van Gundy?

RL: It’s a player’s game. He has a lot of power. Some of that power is legitimate, some of it is the power of being in the tour and being so important to [Orlando’s] hopes. Unfortunately, whether his back is bad or not, backs are always areas that are difficult to diagnose. It does seem to me that this diagnosis is pretty clear. He has a herniated disk and there’s not much he can do. In some ways, I think the circumstances have become so insufferable, it brought a reprieve for NBA fans. They’ve sort of grown weary of all the noise out in Orlando.

CN: Do you expect Dwight Howard to be in Orlando come the start of next NBA season?

RL: It could well be. With something like a back injury or back surgery, it’s always a questionable thing. With the situation he’s in, depending on what Orlando wants for him, he’s going to have to play some to establish that he’s ready to go. If they don’t want a lot, that may not be a case. Someone will take a flyer on him without him having to play first. But I think he’ll play for Orlando more next fall unless they get a fabulous deal this summer.

CN: So Dwight will be in Orlando unless a team really blows away the Magic with a deal on the table?

RL: Yes, I don’t think they’ll be in a rush to trade him. I think they will probably trade him unless they find another coach, which is not out of the question. It’s a players game.

CN: Do you think there is any way that both Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard are with the Orlando Magic come the start of next season?

RL: They have some history. People have mended their ways before. This is not the Middle East, it’s not something that goes back a thousand years. It can be resolved, I think.

CN: Since March 1, the Heat are only 17-10 after getting off to a 28-7 start. As of late, they’ve been playing more mediocre basketball, if you will. Should there be a cause for concern in Miami as we get closer and closer to the postseason?

RL: Oh, sure. I think not just a cause for concern, there’s plenty of the real stuff itself. [LeBron James and Dwyane Wade] still have not done enough work convincing people that they know how to play together. These things are complicated because they involve personalities, and as [former NBA coach] Chuck Daly told me many years ago, “the games are simple, the people are complicated.” It certainly looks like the Heat are carrying their share of complications.

CN: Anyone that reads your Twitter feed, even occasionally, would know that [longtime Bulls and Lakers assistant coach] Tex Winter was an influential person in your life. What was the best piece of advice that Tex gave you?

RL: He just gave me 1,000 daily lessons about things. I think there was sort of an open-mindedness about every aspect of the game. What’s best about Tex Winter is he was a guy who was long used to living with the results. You have to see what happens to be a realist. Hopes are things that are pretty cumbersome in basketball. You have to just rely on what happens on the floor, and a lot of people are unwilling to do that. The best of basketball has always come from people who embrace that kind of honesty. Tex had no agenda but competing. It wasn’t about anyone’s reputation, even his own reputation, and that’s hard to achieve, to get to that state of mind. He was an older coach and he certainly never ran from the truth as long as I’ve known him. He would turn his assessments on himself, too. He had players that he liked as people, but he was always very frank about what they were able to do.

CN: Referencing back to the Lakers, give me an overall assessment of how head coach Mike Brown has done this season in his first year in Los Angeles, while having to deal with all of the complications that come with being the coach of the Lakers.

RL: Well, there are all of those complications as they’re Hollywood’s team. There’s no football team in town, so you have all of these people obsessed with the Lakers. They’ve had huge amounts of success. He’s following Phil Jackson, the most unconventional but successful coach in NBA history, who had been brought to the Lakers because they knew he possessed huge amounts of charm towards the public. Mike Brown has the prospects of an aging star, a transition in ownership and all kinds of conflict. He also had his own demons to deal with in terms of offensive basketball and organization. So if you stack all of that up, it seems like a huge mountain to climb, but I think you have to be fair. I think Mike Brown has made huge progress this season. It hasn’t been pretty at times, but I’d have to rate it as a success. Obviously, what happens in the playoffs will color this first year to a large degree, but in advance of that, all things considered, he’s done a pretty good job.

CN: Who is your regular season MVP and what’s your NBA Finals prediction?

RL: It’s tough, I think the whole thing is up in the air. There are a couple of teams that can win it, and I think that the team that probably will win it is Oklahoma City. They’re a young team, they’re not tremendously solid defensively, but they really have some decent depth and I think Derek Fisher helps a lot. It’s so much a guess with a year like this, the shortened season and so many other things, but they seem as solid as anyone to come out of the West. Chicago has a chance, but I still think that Miami will probably survive them and meet Oklahoma City in the championship. That match-up is a toss-up for me, but I would give the edge to Oklahoma. [As far as MVP], I think probably Kevin Durant, who, in my mind, has been the most consistent factor. I think what Kobe has done is pretty remarkable, so I’d probably bring him in there at No. 2.

With another regular season of NBA playoff basketball officially in the books, now comes the beginning of the 2012 NBA playoffs. Many questions surround each team, some more than others, but there’s no doubt that this year’s 2012 NBA playoffs is a wide open race for the championship.

After a shortened, 66-game NBA regular season following a lengthy lockout towards the end of 2011, the 2012 NBA playoffs are finally here. In a matter of only a few short weeks, another NBA champion will be crowned.

For more basketball insight and knowledge from Roland Lazenby, you can follow him on Twitter @lazenby.

The playoffs start this Sunday, and for me, the NBA playoffs is like Christmas has come early this year, despite being just a few short months ago. After a truncated, 66-game NBA season, the playoffs are finally upon us. Many people, including myself, did not even think that an NBA season would happen after a very public, very ugly NBA lockout towards the end of 2011. Now that the playoffs are here though, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

As is the case with every year’s NBA playoffs, there’s once again a multitude of storylines and headlines that will be the hotly debated topics among NBA pundits in the coming weeks.

First off, can the superstar trio of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh finally win a championship together after coming so close one season ago?

Can Derrick Rose put the city of Chicago on his shoulders and lead the Bulls to their first Finals appearance since the Michael Jordan era?

Is now the time for Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder to finally make a statement and win a title?

Can the San Antonio Spurs bounce back from a first round elimination last season and make one last push for a championship?

Are the Boston Celtics capable of pulling off a miraculous Finals run against a difficult gauntlet of Eastern Conference opponents?

Does Kobe Bryant have enough left in the tank to lead the Lakers to the NBA Finals once again, this time searching for his sixth champonship ring to tie the immortal MJ?

With so many questions at hand, there’s only one way to answer them: Let the games begin. What has happened in the regular season since Dec. 25 is meaningless now, and all that matters is the present.

The quest for the 2012 NBA Championship is a wide open race, and I couldn’t be more excited to watch.

Pull up a lawn chair. Crack open a nice, cold … you know. Enjoy the NBA playoffs on your TV screen. Hey, it beats studying for upcoming final exams, right?

Follow @ZachMentz on Twitter or email him at 

Traveling to Marietta, Ohio to take on the No. 1 ranked team in all of DIII baseball, the Blue Streaks knew that the Pioneers would be no easy opponent. After being outscored 26-2 in three losses to the Pioneers’ last season, the Blue and Gold had revenge on their mind while also aiming to stay on their current hot streak, having won five consecutive games before taking on Marietta.

In game one of the doubleheader, sophomore ace Jimmy Spagna took the mound for JCU. Spagna tossed 5.1 innings of spectacular pitching, keeping the Pioneers offense at bay by allowing only two earned runs and two hits. Freshman Tyler Ferretti then came in to relieve Spagna on the mound, and he picked up right where Spagna left off. Ferretti allowed only one hit in 4.1 innings of work, but was also responsible for the game-winning run scored by Marietta. With the score tied at two in the bottom of the 10th inning, Ferretti began the inning by forcing a fly-out. Ferretti then walked the next batter and allowed that same runner to advance to second base on a wild pitch, putting himself in a bit of a jam. With a runner on second and one out, Ferretti then forced an easy groundout to record the second out of the inning while the runner on second advanced to third base. Sophomore Kevin Rosinski then came into the game looking to record the final out of the inning, but eventually ended up allowing the game-winning RBI single, giving Marietta the 3-2 win in extra innings of game one.

Game two would turn out to be quite a different story for both sides, however. The Blue Streaks’ bats came to life early, as JCU scored one run in the second inning before scoring two runs in both the third and fourth innings, giving themselves a 5-0 lead headed into the fifth inning. After tacking on three more runs in the top of the sixth inning, JCU found themselves leading the Pioneers by a score of 8-0. As the two teams were only playing seven innings in the second game of this doubleheader, Marietta could only plate two runs in the bottom of the seventh en route to a loss to the Blue Streaks by a score of 8-2.

“That win was very important to keep us in the running for the upcoming OAC Tournament,” said sophomore shortstop Mark Huddle. “Game one was a tough loss, but we weren’t going to get down on ourselves. We knew if we kept our heads in the game, we would have a shot at beating them in game two. We came out with another great pitching performance and the bats stayed hot.”

The Blue Streaks (16-14, 8-6) have now won six of their last seven games and seem to be peaking at the right time.

“Our team confidence is great,” said Huddle, who finished Sunday with two runs scored and an RBI as well. “Now we just have to come out one game at a time and play the same, if not harder, and try not to miss a beat. If we do that, we’ll be able to compete with any team in the OAC.”

With only limited games left in the regular season, the Blue Streaks will compete next on Saturday, April 28 when they travel to Tiffin, Ohio to take on the Heidelberg University Student Princes in another Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader.

On the men’s side of action, the Blue Streaks, junior Mike Minjock got the ball rolling for JCU early. Minjock won the 200-meter dash with a finish time of 22.29 seconds. Minjock also was a member of the JCU quartet that claimed first place in the 4×100-meter relay event, as he partnered with juniors Anthony Colbert and Bill Zaccardelli as well as freshman Nick D’Amico to record an impressive finish time of 43.46 seconds. Sophomore Cory Biro picked up a first place finish of his own in the 400-meter high hurdles as he finished in 58.17 seconds to pick up the win. Junior DaQuan Grobsmith nailed a distance of 6.65 meters in the long jump event to also pick up a first-place finish for the Blue Streaks. Freshman David Contento rounded out the day for the Blue and Gold by winning the javelin throw event with a final distance of 45.96 meters, more than two meters better than the next finisher.

For the women, success was also contagious as numerous top performers excelled for the Blue Streaks. Sophomore Nicki Bohrer dominated in the 800-meter dash, winning the event by a margin of nearly six seconds with a finish time of 2:18.84. Bohrer also partnered with sophomore Gabriella Kreuz, Shanelle Mosley and junior Maureen Creighton to claim first in the 4×400-meter relay event with a time of 4:10.02. Mosley also picked up a second place finish in the 200-meter dash (26.82) while Kreuz finished in second in the 400-meter dash (1:00.18). Freshman Emily Mapes finished second in the 1,500-meter run as well with a time of 4:51.63. Rounding out the day for the Blue Streaks, sophomore Caroline Kapela claimed second place in the 5,000-meter run with an impressive time of 19:18.96.

Both teams will now shift their focus to the upcoming Ohio Athletic Conference Championships this weekend at Wilmington College. Competition is set to take place on both Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28 with events beginning at 12 p.m. and 10 a.m., respectively.

As the seasons come to a close for both JCU men’s and women’s tennis teams, each team looks to finish out their respective season strong.

After defeating Muskingum by a whopping score of 9-0 on Thursday, April 18, the Blue Streaks men’s team now has only two matches left in the regular season. After squaring off against Baldwin-Wallace on Tuesday,  April 24, the Blue Streaks only have two matches following Baldwin-Wallace as they will take on conference rivals Marietta College (4/26) and Heidelberg University (4/28) in a busy week. While the lone Blue Streaks senior Michael Hulseman looks to close out his collegiate tennis career on a good note, the rest of the team is also focused on turning up their performances.

“Win or we’re done. We have to win or we won’t make it down to Cincinnatti,” said sophomore Sean Graham, referencing the OAC Tournament at the end of the season.

This has been the motivation for the Blue Streaks all season long, as the OAC Tournament is right around the corner.

“[I have to] give it my all and enjoy my last couple of matches. After this, there is no more collegiate tennis,” said Hulseman.

The Blue Streaks women’s team looks to end the season on a seven-game win streak  heading into OAC Tournament play as they have three matches left as well after winning four consecutive matches. The team has already clinched a berth in the OAC Tournament, but are now fighting for the top seed. Each teammate must continue to work hard in order to further their chances at winning the OAC championship.

Three Blue Streaks seniors continue to strive for the best from their teammates as each one wants to bring home the ultimate prize in their final collegiate season – an OAC title.

With limited matches remaining, both the men’s and women’s teams look to finish their respective seasons strong. The desire to complete a task at hand is what motivates athletes to work hard and be successful. Both teams are currently in different situations, but both will nonetheless be competing for the OAC championship at the end of the season in pursuit of another success story.

As someone who has always focused his attention on the NBA, MLB and NFL, I’ve been neglecting the sport of hockey for years like a dog that isn’t yet house trained. I only began watching the sport of hockey at the beginning of this NHL season. Why? I was convinced that the NBA wouldn’t have a season due to the lockout, so I figured I needed to get my sports fix somehow. As a native of Rochester, I’ve always supported the Buffalo Sabres, but never followed the team closely. So as I started paying more attention to the Sabres and the NHL as a whole, I have to admit, this hockey thing is growing on me by the day. Even though the Sabres aren’t in the NHL playoffs this year, I can’t say that’s really affected how much hockey I’ve been watching lately.

Do me a favor: Turn on the television tonight and watch 10 minutes of an NHL playoff game. You’ll notice the intensity, the passion, the talent on the ice and lastly, you’ll notice the physicality of the sport, to say the least. The NHL is considered the fourth sport in America behind the “Big Three” (NFL/MLB/NBA), but so far, the NHL playoffs have been nothing short of a No. 1 sport in my eyes.

Although I’m just a hockey neophyte, I’ve already seen first-hand why most of my friends have been obsessed with this sport for years. The NHL regular season is one thing, but the NHL playoffs are a whole different element. When it comes to playoff hockey in the NHL, you won’t find any players on the ice who are giving less than 110 percent, and that’s one reason that I respect the league.

Even if you don’t know the difference between a red line and a blue line on the ice, or if you know nothing about the sport of hockey at all, give it a chance. The best type of hockey is playoff hockey, and as we inch closer and closer to the Stanley Cup finals in a few weeks, there’s no better time than now to get hooked on the sport that doesn’t get enough due credit in America.

Follow @ZachMentz on Twitter or email him at

After splitting the doubleheader on the road last season in Alliance, the Blue Streaks once again would travel to the University of Mount Union with the hopes of being able to sweep the Purple Raiders on the road. Unfortunately, a lack of timely hitting and consistent pitching eventually doomed the Blue Streaks on Thursday.

In game one, sophomore Jimmy Spagna took the mound for the Blue Streaks. Spagna’s pitching performance was nearly picture perfect, as the only run he allowed on the day came early in the game in the bottom of the second inning. Other than the lone run allowed, Spagna was firing on all cylinders as he scattered six hits and one earned run through six innings of work, but was unable to come away with the win. While Spagna allowed only six hits on the day, the Blue Streaks’ offense only provided four hits of their own, eventually leading to a narrow and hard fought 1-0 loss in game one of the doubleheader against Mount Union. In the second game, the Blue Streaks provided six runs on the offensive side of action, but Mount Union once again outdid JCU by scoring 10 runs. With the Purple Raiders scoring at least one run in five different innings, including six in the first two combined, the Blue Streaks were unable to come away with a win in game two, losing 10-6.

Three days later on Sunday, April 15, the Blue Streaks took to the road once again as they made the lengthy road trip to Westerville, Ohio to take on the host Otterbein University Cardinals. With a bitter taste in their mouths following the consecutive losses to Mount Union, the Blue Streaks knew they would need to dig deep for a pair of road wins against another Ohio Athletic Conference opponent. Luckily, JCU responded to the challenge and took home a pair of wins against the Cardinals, winning by scores of 4-1 and 5-4, respectively.

Sophomore Anthony Libertini took the mound for the Blue Streaks in game one of the doubleheader and put together a spectacular pitching performance of his own. Libertini turned in 5.2 innings of work while only surrendering one run and six hits while striking out four, putting a cap on the Cardinals’ offense. The Blue Streaks scored two runs in the top of the third before scoring again in the fourth and sixth innings, and freshman Tyler Ferretti recorded the save in 1.1 innings of work to secure the 4-1 victory for JCU in game one.

In game two, the Blue Streaks found themselves trailing early by a score of 3-0 after five innings of play. However, JCU would respond with two runs of their own in the top of the sixth inning and one more run in the top of the seventh. With the game tied at three heading into the eighth inning, the Blue Streaks were in need of some late game heroics. Fortunately, sophomore Mitch Herringshaw proved to have the clutch gene once again as he launched a two-run home run to left field, scoring both sophomore Dan Potter and himself to give JCU the 5-3 lead in the eighth inning. The Cardinals responded with one run in the bottom of the eighth, but couldn’t score again in the ninth as JCU took home the 5-4 win in game two.

“Getting both of those wins today was very important,” said Herringshaw of the Blue Streaks’ back-to-back wins over Otterbein on Sunday. “We knew we had to go in there and take two today, and get back on track in conference play.”

With the game-winning home run in the eighth inning of game two, Herringshaw picked up his second home run of the season, both of which have been game-winners. Herringshaw also currently leads the Blue Streaks in an astonishing 10 different offensive categories this season, including batting average (.396), on-base percentage (.455) and RBIs (19).

“I’ve just been trying to not do too much at the plate,” said Herringshaw of his impressive season thus far. “I just try to take what is given to me at the plate and put the best swing on it.”

With the wins over Otterbein, the Blue Streaks completed a 2-2 split on the weekend and now have an overall record of 12-13 on the season, including a 5-5 mark against OAC opponents. The Blue Streaks will next play on Saturday, April 21 on the road against the Marietta College Pioneers.

On the men’s side of action, senior Jake Smith stole the show for the Blue Streaks as he claimed first place in the 5,000-meter run with a finish time of 15:20.54, becoming the men’s lone event winner of the day. Junior Mike Minjock took fourth in both the 100-meter dash and the long jump events, finishing with a time of 10.96 and a distance of 6.54 meters, respectively.

Sophomore Cory Biro also turned in a noteworthy performance for the Blue Streaks, finishing in seventh place in the 110-meter hurdles with a finish time of 15.50 seconds.

For the women, a total of eight different Blue Streaks put together top 10 performances on the day. Freshman Emily Mapes again dominated in the 3,000-meter steeplechase event, claiming first place with a time of 11:02.15.

Sophomore Nicki Bohrer also brought her A-game as she claimed fourth place in the 1,500-meter run with a finish time of 4:48.62. Bohrer also teamed up with junior Maureen Creighton, sophomore Gabriella Kreuz and freshman Haley Turner in the 4×400 relay, and the quartet picked up a fifth place finish with a solid finish time of 4:07.46. Creighton also picked up a ninth place finish in the 400-meter dash with a finish time of 1:01.82. Bohrer picked up a ninth place finish of her own as she recorded a finish time of 2:23.03 in the 800 meter dash event, rounding out an impressive weekend for JCU.

Both teams will next compete at the      Kenyon Invite in Gambier, Ohio this coming Saturday, April 21. The Kenyon Invite will be the last meet for the Blue Streaks before the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships take place the following weekend.

A lengthy road trip to Westerville, Ohio this past weekend didn’t turn out to be as planned on Saturday, April 21 for the John Carroll University men’s tennis team. Taking to the road to battle against Ohio Athletic Conference opponent Otterbein Cardinals, the Blue Streaks fought but couldn’t prevail with a win, falling to the Cardinals by a score of 6-3.

Junior Ryan Mullaney led the way for the Blue and Gold, picking up a victory in his No. 1 singles match against Otterbein’s Ryan Roberts by a score of 6-4, 6-1. Mullaney followed that performance by picking up another win in the No. 1 doubles match as he paired with junior Rico Certo to win the match by a score of 8-4. Freshman Peter Scaniello picked up the third and final point of the day for the Blue Streaks as he defeated the Cardinals’ Dustin Goldman by a score of 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (5-0) in the No. 6 singles match. When all was said and done though, JCU came away with the 6-3 loss to Otterbein.

The Blue Streaks will next compete on Saturday, April 21 as they travel to Marietta, Ohio to take on the host Marietta Pioneers.

Women’s Tennis

While the men’s team traveled to Westerville to face Otterbein, the women’s team stayed home and played host to the visiting Otterbein Cardinals on Saturday, April 14. A solid team effort helped lift JCU to a 5-4 win over the Cardinals at home.

Senior Cassie Simmelink got the ball rolling for JCU as she picked up a 6-1, 7-5 victory in the No. 2 doubles match to claim the first point of the day.

Junior Emily Gorndt picked up a 6-4, 6-3 victory before the freshman trio of Joanne Weber (6-1, 6-2), Erin Davies (6-2, 7-6) and Hannah Baumwell (6-4, 6-3) all picked up singles wins for the Blue Streaks. With all five points coming in singles matches, it proved to be enough as the Blue Streaks defeated the Cardinals by a score of 5-4 on the day.

JCU will next compete this Saturday, April 21 as they join the men’s team in traveling to Marietta, Ohio to take on the Marietta Pioneers as they aim for their fourth consecutive win on the season.

Unlike the NFL and NBA, Major League Baseball did not have a dreaded lockout in the months leading up to the start of the regular season. Instead, all 30 MLB teams have been competing in spring training, taking the tarp off the infield and kicking the dirt off those same baseball cleats.

As much as I may love the NBA and NFL, the MLB, and baseball specifically, holds a special place in my heart. To me, baseball is like water. For those six months of the calendar year when I can’t find baseball on my television screen or at the local field, I’m parched and dying of thirst. Former Cardinals second baseman Rogers Hornsby said it best: “People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do.  I stare out the window and wait for spring.” That’s exactly how I feel for much of the time when baseball season is out of commission.

As the warm weather starts to appear and the sun starts to show its face, you can smell baseball season in the air. Baseball is, has and always will be America’s pastime. It’s a sport that defines much of our culture and goes hand-in-hand with the Fourth of July and apple pie in terms of American traditions.

Each spring, when baseball season returns, it feels like all is finally right with the world again. Baseball, to me, is a drug, and I just can’t seem to get enough of it. When I first started playing baseball at the age of five, it seemed like a foreign language to me. Ironically, 15 years later, I’m still actively playing that same sport that once seemed so foreign – instead this time it’s, in many ways, all I know.

Whether it’s the MLB, college, high school or watching the local youth compete in sandlot games on Saturday mornings, I’m just glad to be able to say I can finally watch live baseball again.

The connection between the sport of baseball and the seasoned baseball diehard is simple, yet complex. Former MLB pitcher Jim Bouton hit the nail on the head when he said, “You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.”

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The Blue Streaks (6-8 overall) started the season by losing each of their first five games, but seem to have turned the corner as of late as they have now won six of their last nine games.

Starting the weekend at the Muskingum Invitational in New Concord, Ohio, JCU was set to square off against Montclair State in their first of two games on Saturday, March 24. With the score tied at three going into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Blue Streaks had a chance to respond and take the lead. A single from junior Aaron Miller proved to be the spark behind a three-run inning for the Blue Streaks, as junior Ryan Konsler scored sophomore Dan Potter with an RBI sacrifice fly. Junior Joe Veltri and freshman Tyler Gerling also knocked in runs with an RBI double and single, respectively. JCU finished the inning by scoring three runs, giving themselves a 6-3 cushion heading into the final inning of play. From there, the Blue Streaks were able to hold off a late rally by Montclair State, winning the game 6-4.

“That was a huge win for us,” said sophomore Mark Huddle, who finished the game going 2-4 with two hits and two runs scored. “Montclaire is a pretty solid team and we just happened to come out and play the better baseball game.”

In the second game of the Muskingum Invitational, the Blue Streaks played the host Fighting Muskies. Unfortunately, Muskingum got the better of JCU as they took a 4-2 lead in the third inning and held on to claim the victory, 6-4.

In their third and final road game of the weekend, the Blue Streaks traveled to Granville, Ohio to take on Denison University. Luckily, JCU had just enough left in the tank to pull out a gutsy and much-needed 3-2 win over the Big Red.

Potter reached first base via a walk in the top of the first inning, giving JCU its first baserunner of the game. Sophomore Mitch Herringshaw then slapped a single to right field, advancing Potter to third base and leaving runners on the corners for senior Tom Hickey at the plate. As he usually does, Hickey connected and singled to left field, scoring Potter and giving JCU the early 1-0 lead which would remain the same until the third inning of play.

In the third inning, it was Huddle who would join the RBI party as he singled to left field, driving in freshman Bobby Sabatino and giving the Blue Streaks a 2-0 lead over the Big Red. Denison would respond with a run of its own in the bottom of the third inning, narrowing the deficit to just one as the Blue Streaks took a 2-1 lead into the fourth inning.

From there, the score remained the same until the sixth inning. In the top of the sixth, Miller singled for JCU, sparking another scoring inning for the visiting team. After advancing to second base on a wild pitch, Miller then found his way home as he scored via an infield single by Veltri that eventually led to a throwing error by Denison’s shortstop. With the defensive error by the Big Red, JCU wrapped up the inning with just one more run to cushion its lead, 3-1.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Denison started a bit of a rally but fell short of tying the game as they could only plate one runner, leaving the Big Red trailing 3-2 going into the ninth and final inning. With a one-run lead and Denison at the plate for its final at bat of the game, junior Patrick O’Brien did his best Mariano Rivera impression as he retired three consecutive batters in the final inning, wrapping up the 3-2 win for JCU.

“We wanted to come out of the Denison game having gone 2-1 on the weekend, and that helps build some momentum heading into this weekend,” said Veltri.

Sophomore Jimmy Spagna finished the game against Denison having pitching 6.2 inning, scattering six hits and allowing only one earned run on the day. Spagna also picked up his second win of the season with his stud starting pitching performance.

“The location of my fastball was working well, and I was able to mix in my curveball as well to keep hitters off balance,” said Spagna. “Our team played great defense behind me too. I pitched to contact and the defense made the plays. Hopefully [the win] will get the ball rolling for us, especially as we head into conference play this Saturday.”

With the win, the Blue Streaks improve to 6-8 on the season and will now shift their focus to conference play, as JCU plays host to Ohio Athletic Conference rival Capital University in a home doubleheader at Schweickert Field on Saturday, March 31. The first of the two games between the Blue Streaks and Crusaders will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, with the second game to follow.

Compared to last week’s eight-and-a-half-hour trip, the journey for the JCU men’s and women’s track and field teams was a hop, skip and a jump away this week. The teams headed down to Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio to participate in the Amy Adams Memorial Meet.

For the men, it was a good day particularly in the throwing events with the quartet of sophomore Anthony Chizmadia, freshman Rocky Mitolo, senior Steve Borowy and freshman David Contento. Together, those four were responsible for scoring 46.5 of John Carroll’s 102.5 points in the shot put, discus and javelin events. Chizmadia especially had a memorable day for himself, claiming his first collegiate title by launching the shot put 13.71 meters. Mitolo was able to snag the second-place spot with a throw of 13.67 meters. Chizmadia wasn’t finished there though, as he also earned second-place honors in the discus with a throw of 41.07 meters.

The throwers weren’t the only athletes that saw success on the men’s team though as the 4 x 400 relay team of Bill Zaccardelli, Nick Williams, Nick D’Amico and Anthony Colbert won its event with a time 3:22.82.

The women mirrored the men in that regard, taking first with their 4 x 400 meter relay as well with a time of 4:06:54. Sophomore Gabriella Kruez, freshman Haley Turner, junior Maureen Creighton and sophomore Nicki Bohrer made up the team that finished just .02 seconds faster than second-place team Rio Grande.

Kreuz had a big day individually as well, winning the 1,500 meter run with a time of 4:47:24.

“Since I’ve never run the 1,500 before I didn’t really think too much which worked to my advantage. I simply just put myself in a good position early on and stayed up with the front pack. I started gaining momentum and I realized I wanted to win it,” Kreuz said.

Four of Kreuz’s teammates also finished in the top 10 in the event. Bohrer was one of them, finishing just two spots behind Kruez in third place, while Turner and sophomore Alyssa Singer were the other two, finishing fourth and sixth respectably.

There was also a bright spot in the field events as well for the women, as freshman Danielle Sample took the triple jump title with a mark of 10.36 meters.

Both the men’s and women’s teams have found success in several places in the first two meets of the season including the relays, distance races, and a plethora of field events.

Now the Blue Streaks’ track and field teams will have a chance to showcase their skills at home at the Julie Zajac Track at Don Shula Stadium this coming Saturday. This will be the first time in over 10 years that John Carroll will host a track meet, and all the athletes are excited to be part of a such a historic event in John Carroll athletics history.

“Like so many kids on our team, this is something I have never been able to do in my entire running career. My high school didn’t have its own track, so I’m pumped,” said Kreuz. “It should be exciting to experience the transformation of our track from being the place where we work our tails off during the week to being a place of competition. Plus there is so much talent on our team that I know it’s going to be a fun and special experience for our athletes and fans alike to be able to compete in front of home supporters for the first time.”

Hopefully for the Blue and Gold, that excitement will turn into results on the track come Saturday.

Men’s Tennis

A three-hour road trip to Ada, Ohio this past weekend didn’t help end the Blue Streaks’ struggles as of late, as JCU fell to the defending league champion Ohio Northern Polar Bears by a score of 8-1 on Saturday, March 24.

Junior Ryan Mullaney was the lone point-scorer on the weekend for the Blue Streaks, winning his singles match against the Polar Bears’ Michael Kathary by a score of 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (10-3).

Senior Michael Hulseman fell just short of picking up a win of his own, losing his match by a narrow score of 3-6, 4-6 to ONU’s Nick Kowalczyk.

With the loss, the Blue Streaks now fall to 3-8 on the season, including a 1-1 mark against Ohio Athletic Conference opponents.

The Blue Streaks will next compete this Saturday, March 31 at home against the visiting Capital University Crusaders at 1 p.m.

Women’s Tennis

Recent struggles continued for the JCU women’s tennis team this past weekend as they played host to the visiting Ohio Northern University Polar Bears at the Paramount Tennis Club in Medina, Ohio. Having lost to Oberlin College on Saturday, March 17 following consecutive wins over Emory & Henry College and Susquehanna University, the Blue Streaks couldn’t get back on the winning track as they lost to the Polar Bears on Saturday, 7-2.

Senior Maria Ciccolini picked up the first win of the day for the Blue Streaks as she won her singles match against ONU’s Michelle Tuma by a final score of 6-4, 6-0. Freshman Joanne Weber picked up the other JCU win on the day, defeating the Polar Bears’ Carly Olmstead in three sets by a score of 6-7, 6-4, 6-1.

With the loss, the Blue Streaks now fall to 5-3 on the season, including a 0-1 mark against OAC opponents this season.

JCU will next compete on Saturday, March 31 on the road in Columbus, Ohio against the OAC rival Capital University Crusaders.

In their first game of the season, the Blue Streaks allowed three runs in the top of the first inning and found themselves trailing early. However, JCU responded with a four-run inning of its own. Junior Aaron Miller drove in sophomore Dan Potter to give the Blue Streaks their first run of the season. Sophomore Jimmy Spagna then joined the RBI party with a single of his own, making the score 3-2 in favor of the Spartans. Following Spagna, junior Ryan Konsler recorded a hit and drove in both senior Tom Hickey and Miller by doing so, giving JCU the 4-3 lead at the end of one inning.

Going into the fifth inning, the score was tied at four between the two teams as Case Western scored a run in the top of the third inning. From there, the wheels fell off the bicycle for the Blue Streaks as the Spartans scored a whopping 14 runs in innings five through eight while the Blue Streaks only managed two runs of their own. With the game in hand, the Spartans secured the 18-6 win in what was a very forgettable game for John Carroll.

“They threw strikes and we didn’t,” said Potter. “They also put the ball in play and we struck out quite a bit. It’s not an excuse, but that stuff happens on opening day.”

Game two of the doubleheader was much different for the Blue Streaks. An RBI single by sophomore Mark Huddle gave the Blue Streaks a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning, but the Spartans would respond with three runs of their own in the bottom of the same inning to give themselves a 3-1 lead headed into the fourth inning.

In the top of the fourth inning, Potter slapped a double to the outfield to drive in two runs for JCU, tying the game at an even score of 3-3. However, the Blue Streaks couldn’t keep the lead for long as the Spartans responded once again with two more runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth inning, making the score 5-3 in favor of Case Western.

Scoring between the two sides would then halt until the eighth inning began.With the Blue Streaks still trailing by two runs, 5-3, Huddle again drove in another run with an RBI double as Potter scored. Sophomore Mitch Herringshaw then hit a single of his own, driving in Huddle and tying the game for the Blue Streaks at five.

However, JCU again couldn’t manage to stop the Spartans as Case Western scored one run in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the 6-5 lead. From there, the Blue Streaks couldn’t muster a run in the top of the ninth, and the Spartans eventually closed out the 6-5 win over the Blue Streaks.

“They had all around solid hitters,” said Huddle. “Our pitching needs to be on their A game every time out and we’ll come around. We need to do the little things right to be a championship caliber team.”

From here, the Blue Streaks (0-2) will  travel to Port Charlotte, Fla. to compete in the SnowBird Baseball Classic over Spring Break. The Blue Streaks won five of their eight games in the same tournament during the 2011 season, and will be looking to improve upon that record while also picking up their first wins of the season. JCU will play Bluffton University, Medaille College, Muskingum University and Moravian College for a packed schedule with a total of eight games in seven days.

“This week of practice has been even more intense than the past few weeks, and we have been focusing a lot on the small things we failed to accomplish on Friday,” said Potter. “We will be ready to go for our Florida trip, no doubt. It will be a good chance to play some good teams in some good weather.”

Losing is not something the John Carroll University club hockey team has been used to this season. After finishing the regular season with a school best 24-12 record, the Blue Streaks really wanted to prove themselves in the College Hockey Mid-America playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Unfortunately, the Blue Streaks (24-13) fell to the Pittsburgh Panthers, 5-1, this past Saturday at the Blade Runners Ice Complex in Pittsburgh, Pa.

After receiving a bye in the first round of the tournament and after an extra night of rest, the Blue Streaks were eager to get on the ice and prove themselves against a Pitt opponent they had swept in their two meetings during the regular season.

Even though the Blue Streaks ended up on the losing end, it was still a hard-fought game by JCU. The lone goal for the Blue Streaks was scored by junior Sean Lattal, as the Blue Streaks couldn’t find any offensive firepower when it was most needed. JCU struggled early to get things going, and uncharacteristic turnovers later cost them and led to goals by Pitt.
The Blue Streaks’ lack of execution on special teams played a huge role in the game as JCU was 0-6 on their power-play opportunities. Meanwhile, the Panther did connect on their opportunities as they finished the game 2-6 on power plays.

“We didn’t take advantage of the mistakes they made,” said junior John Orr. “Going 0-6 on the power play is unacceptable. Special teams played a huge factor in this game.”

Despite the earlier-than-expected exit from the playoffs, the Blue Streaks and their fans can reflect on this season with a sense of pride.
“The season and six-game win streak were great,” said head coach Chris Wilk. “It’s unfortunate our season had to end like this, but I am very proud of this team and our seniors.”

Adding to the accolades, senior Dan Geiger surpassed the 100-point mark for his career, finishing with 106 total points. Senior Geoff Abrahams finished his career as the all-time leading point scorer in JCU history, recording a stunning 165 points in 135 career games.
Despite losing four seniors due to graduation, the Blue Streaks look to have a strong offseason and prepare for their ultimate goal of qualifying for the national tournament next season.

Overall, this season was a step in the right direction for the Blue Streaks club hockey program, as JCU qualified for the CHMA playoffs for the first time in program history, along with recording the most wins in a single season in program history.

“We have a lot of young talent returning next year, so we look to continue right where we left off and build upon that,” said Orr.

On Thursday, Feb. 23, a packed Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center was the site for one of two Ohio Athletic Conference semifinal games, which featured the OAC regular season champion Blue Streaks (18-7, 13-6 OAC) and the Wilmington Quakers (16-13, 11-8 OAC). In the two previous meetings between these teams during the regular season, it was John Carroll that walked away with the win. However, neither of the first two contests had as high of stakes as this one would, as the winner would advance to the OAC Finals for a chance at the conference championship.

Both teams came out ready to fight right from the start, as the game began with back and forth scoring between both teams. However, with JCU up 27-25 with 8:09 to go in the first half of action, the Blue Streaks suddenly lost some of that competitive edge. Wilmington ended the first half on an 18-8 run that had them up eight points, 43-35.

The story in the first half was really the hot shooting of Wilmington, especially that of the team’s catalyst, sophomore Malcolm Heard II. Heard hit eight of the 10 shots he took in the first half, and had a game-high 20 points at halftime. As a team, the Quakers were able to shoot 64 percent from the floor, knocking down 18 of their 28 shots, leading to their eight-point lead at halftime.
It was senior Patrick Sweeney that led the way with eight points for the Blue and Gold at halftime.

All season, it has seemed like adversity has not been a problem for a resilient JCU team that always found a way to fight back with its backs against the wall.
That would be no different in the most important game of the year as well, as a 21-12 run left John Carroll down just one point, 57-56 with a little under 10 minutes to go.

Senior Joey Meyer, last week’s hero against Marietta, flipped the score in his team’s favor by sinking two free throws that put the Blue Streaks up 58-57.
About four minutes later, with just 5:55 on the clock, the score was knotted up at 69-69, and an epic finish was in store.
Less than a minute later, junior Kyle Hubbard hit a layup that put JCU back on top 71-69.
However, sloppy play down the stretch left the Blue Streaks scratching their heads, as they didn’t make another shot in the game until seven seconds remained on the clock. That was a deep 3-pointer by senior Corey Shontz, but by then it was too little, too late.
The final buzzer sounded and the packed stands emptied quietly as Wilmington celebrated a 79-74 win.

“We didn’t think he [Heard] was a great perimeter player,” said coach Mike Moran about what went wrong in their defensive game plan. “At times our pressure broke down, and they got some easy baskets, too.”

The scene after the game was one that would bruise the heart of any John Carroll fan, as hugs, tears and disappointment echoed through the DeCarlo Varsity Center. With the loss, the winningest class in the history of John Carroll University, in all likelihood, played its last game. They finished with an overall record of 83-28 over four years.

With tears in his eyes, senior Mark Hester spoke about what playing with his senior teammates meant to him.

“It’s an honor playing with those guys. All of us are really close, and I couldn’t ask for a greater group of guys to play with all four years,” said Hester.

The one bright side to the sad end to the Blue Streaks’ season is that Shontz was chosen by the OAC as the 2011-2012 OAC Player of the Year.

“It’s an absolute honor,” Shontz said. “I mean, I’d much rather go to the NCAA Tournament than get any of these accolades, but I’ll take it.”

That “team first” attitude that Shontz portrayed can be seen all throughout this historic group of seniors that played every game of their careers for one another.
If these seniors have instilled their wisdom in the next group of players to come through the program, then the future looks very bright for JCU basketball.

The Carroll News: There was a lot of speculation as to what the Cavaliers would do with the first and fourth pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. What ultimately sold the Cavaliers on drafting Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson?
Tad Carper: Well, I think to answer that, you have to understand our draft process. The draft process is something that happens literally 12 months a year. We look at player evaluation with what you hear, what you see, and you also look at the numbers part of it. You look at the person and the people and environment around them too. You add all of that up together over time, because you don’t make a snap judgment on anybody. As we went through that process, it really became clear that Kyrie and Tristan were the two guys that we really wanted to get. It’s a hard thing to pin-point in terms of exactly when a decision is made. We have a very inclusive process, there’s a lot of people involved, and we really rely upon those opinions. At the end of the day, it’s a decision that you can reach consensus on and from there, [Cavs General Manager] Chris Grant makes the final call.

CN: What was special about Kyrie and Tristan that made them stand out to you and your colleagues?
TC: I think the obvious things that you would think of are not only their athletic ability or basketball ability, but their basketball IQ and the kind of people that they are. You combine all of those things, and each of them has the potential to be a very special player. With Tristan, you talk about his motor and how it just keeps going. His relentless pursuit of the ball and protection of the rim fit in well with our culture and our defense-first approach that [Cavs head coach] Byron Scott has. With Kyrie, even with such a small number of games played in college, the workouts backed up everything that we had seen and heard. They’re tremendous people with tremendous potential and basketball IQs all around.

CN: The Cavaliers’ current roster has 10 players who are 25 years old or younger. Do you feel that the roster in place is one that could perhaps be a blue print for success in the future?
TC: We look at a roster as something that is built with the draft and with trades. Those are primarily the two ways that championship teams are built. Free agency comes in a little bit, but if you look back at the course of the last 15-20 years, it’s drafts and trades that bring championships. We try to be very opportunistic and we’re fortunate to have  owner Dan Gilbert who allows us to be very aggressive. We want to take a long-term type of view, because we want to have success that can be sustained. That’s going to be our motivation in terms of every move we make. Every night that Byron and those guys go out on the floor, they’re going to try to win. They’re developing and I think we’re all seeing it. We’re excited to see guys grow and develop. Your roster is never so much of a destination as it is a journey. Even when we were winning 66 games and 61 games, we were still trying to find ways to improve the roster. You’re always asking yourself, “How can we get better?” It’s a balance, but at the end of the day, we’re in a very good position.

CN: Kyrie is having a terrific rookie season as he’s averaging 18 points and five assists per game. Can you speak about the excitement that the whole organization has about being able to build around him going into the future?
TC: This is a very key distinction. We’re not building around Kyrie, we’re building with Kyrie. In fact, we’re building with Kyrie and Tristan and Anderson [Varejao], etc. There’s a distinction between building with somebody and building around somebody. If you try to build with people as opposed to singling a guy out and building around him, we think it’s a much healthier and much more true to our culture. It’s exciting for the organization, the position that we’re in, and Kyrie has been a big part of that. But it’s not just Kyrie. It’s Byron Scott and Tristan and seeing someone like Alonzo Gee continue to develop. It’s seeing a player like Anderson [Varejao] get healthy again and start to really reach a different level of performance, which he has done this year. I think if you wrap all of those things together, it’s a real strong engagement with our fan base that we can feel. We got into the NBA Development League this year with the Canton Charge and now we have the luxury of having our own exclusive development team where we’re able to grow our culture and talent in a very consistent way. Being able to do that breeds excitement in the organization because you have such a clear sense of Dan Gilbert’s commitment to doing this the right way. You hear so much about how fans have to have confidence and hope [in their organization], and your entire organization has to have that confidence and belief and we have that. We’re fortunate because there are a bunch of teams that don’t have that. We’re going to grow with these guys, not around them.

CN: Would you say that the addition of the Canton Charge to the NBA Development League has really helped the development of your players overall?
TC: I think it has. Luke [Harangody] and Christian [Eyenga] have both been down, and we don’t like to use the word “down,” we like to use “over” because it’s hard to picture somebody going down when they’re actually getting a chance to play. We assign players [to the D-League] because they need to play. [The Canton Charge] has been better than what we imagined when we first got into it from both a business and basketball perspective. Canton has been so receptive to us and the Charge has really embraced it, which really helps because we want our guys to be in situations where it matters and the fans care because that’s a great environment. We want our guys to experience that feeling where games matter. I think that the D-League is a league that is growing and developing itself and will continue to get better and better.

CN: Do you anticipate this current Cavaliers team is one that can compete for a playoff spot at the end of the season?
TC: We try to keep a game-by-game approach. We’re not going to label a team as a “playoff team” or not and we’re not going to try to limit them. We don’t think that’s the best way to approach your team, your roster, it’s development itself. The more we start worrying about that, then the less focus we have on tonight and tomorrow night. We really do have a commitment to that game-by-game approach. It’s something that we’ve had as part of our culture, to take care of business right now. We’re going to get better every day, and we’re not going to sacrifice something in the future to make a short-term improvement. It’s a simple approach and concept, but it can be difficult to maintain it.

CN: Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao is having a career year by many standards. There’s been speculation about whether he might be dealt before the trade deadline. How do you foresee that whole situation playing out?
TC: We don’t comment on trade rumors and speculation. That’s all part of the NBA and sports landscape, which makes our sport so compelling and engaging with fans. Anderson is as highly valued in this organization as any player. He’s a big part of who we are and we think he’s a big part of our future too. He’s tremendous on the court and off the court, he’s exactly who we want to be in terms of the way he plays and he’s everything a Cavalier should be and we value that.

CN: The 2012 NBA Draft, albeit a few months away, is right around the corner. Considering how deep of a draft it is, is there a sense of excitement around the organization?
TC: We love the draft. If you’re an organization that values the draft as the top way to improve your team, then the draft is your favorite time of year. It’s an exciting, emotional, energy-charged time of year for us when it all come to a head. All of the data, information, insight and analysis that you’ve made over the prior 12 months comes to a head, and we’re excited for it every year. Here we go again. It’s a great time of year for us and we’re looking forward to it.

Even in a shortened, 66-game season, it’s clear that the Cleveland Cavaliers have made enormous strides since finishing the 2010-11 season with an overall record of 19-63, their second worst mark since the 1981-82 season.
Through 31 games this season, the Cavaliers have already won 13 games, just six less than they won throughout 82 games last season. Cleveland also has already won eight home games this season after finishing the 2010-11 season with just a 12-29 record when playing at home at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland. On the other hand, the Cavaliers won a total of seven road games all of last season and despite not even being halfway through this season, they’ve already won five road games.
All the signs point to a successful future for the Cavaliers in the coming years. Considering the franchise’s game-by-game approach as well as their philosophy of building a team primarily through the annual NBA draft and trades, there’s no arguing that this is an organization that is well-run and it seems as if the waters ahead call for nothing but smooth sailing for the Cavaliers and their fans.
Both Irving and Thompson are currently reshaping the face of the Cavaliers franchise, and combined with sturdy leadership and a young roster full of capable players, there’s no telling what the future might hold for Cleveland in the coming years.

Most Valuable Player: Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 23-year-old stud is having an excellent season, averaging 28 points per game, along with eight rebounds and over three assists. The Thunder have a league best 27-7 record this season, and there’s no doubt that Durant has meant as much to this team’s success as anyone. Other candidates: Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James of the Miami Heat.

Coach of the Year: Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio’s season ended early in 2011 as the top-seeded Spurs fell to the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. With an aging roster and a closing window of an opportunity for the NBA championship, the Spurs have again proved that they’re still one of the best teams in the league this season, and much of that is due in part to Popovich. Despite injuries to guard Manu Ginobli as well as other troubles, the Spurs still stand pat with a 24-12 record and are certainly contenders for the NBA Finals this June. Other candidates: Doug Collins of the Philadelphia 76ers and Tom Thibodeau of the Chicago Bulls.

Rookie of the Year: Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers. To me, this award is a no-brainer. Irving is quickly healing the wound that LeBron James left on the heart of all Cavaliers fans with his spectacular point guard play for the Cavs this season. He’s averaging 18 points and five assists per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the field, including 41.5 percent from 3-point range. With additional pieces around him, Irving could soon be leading the city of Cleveland to the NBA Finals. Other candidates: Ricky Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Bobcats.

Sixth Man of the Year: James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Harden is a spark plug off the bench for the Thunder, and like Durant, is a large part of the reason that OKC is enjoying so much success this season. Off the bench, he’s averaging 16.8 points per game and is averaging nearly four rebounds and four assists per game. Pretty decent for a guy that doesn’t even start, isn’t it? Other candidates: Louis Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers and Mo Williams of the Los Angeles Clippers.

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Senior Sean Gill (22-8, 4-1), freshman Terner Gott (23-3, 3-0 OAC) and junior Bryan Steinmetz (25-8, 4-1) all eclipsed the 20-win mark this season while senior Jim Nemunaitis (19-9, 3-2) and sophomore Todd Gaydosh (17-7, 1-2) also finished the season with impressive records, falling just short of 20 wins.

While the Blue Streaks had numerous high-placing performances, only Gott was able to pick up a first-place finish on Saturday. The rookie defeated Michael Letcher of Ohio Northern, 5-3, in the OAC Finals en route to winning the 157-pound title. With the win, Gott not only improves to 26-3 on the season, but also earned himself to the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships in La Crosse, Wisc. on March 9 and 10.

Steinmetz fell just short of a conference title, losing in the 184-pound finals to Andy Jenkins of Mount Union, 4-2. Nemunaitis picked up a third-place finish at 197 pounds with a 6-1 victory while freshman Phil Kail also picked up a third-place finish at 133 pounds. Junior John Cobos also took third place at 125 pounds with a 3-0 victory over ONU’s Cole Cochran.

Ohio Northern (157), Mount Union (150), and Heidleberg (135.5) all finished ahead of the Blue Streaks (103) at the OAC championships.

For those who are unaware, the John Carroll University men’s basketball team (18-6, 13-5 OAC)  will compete in the Ohio Athletic Conference semifinals tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center. As the top seed in the OAC and the regular season conference champions, the Blue Streaks not only hold home court advantage throughout the tournament, but are also the favorites to win the tournament, although it won’t be easy by any means.

What’s crazy to think about is how the Blue Streaks ended up in this position.

Last Saturday, on the road in Marietta, the Blue Streaks found themselves with their backs against the wall against the Marietta Pioneers. Considering the winner of this game would be awarded the top seed in the OAC Tournament and would be named the regular season conference champion, it’s safe to say that the stakes were high for both sides. Trailing the Pioneers by one, 76-75, with less than 12 seconds remaining in the game, the entire JCU team knew that the time to strike gold was now.

With possession of the ball and the clock inching closer towards  striking midnight, senior Corey Shontz drove to the basket for what looked like it could have been the game-winning layup attempt. However, Shontz instead swung a pass to fellow senior teammate Joey Meyer on the left elbow of the 3-point line. With the entire Marietta crowd holding their breath, Meyer jumped in the air and released a 3-pointer that could clinch not only the game, but the top seed in the OAC Tournament.

Bang. Meyer drained the shot as pure as could be with only 5.4 seconds remaining, and the Blue Streaks went on to win the game.

Now, the Blue Streaks are back home tonight, where they are 9-0 this season, to host the semifinal game. If they win, they’ll host the OAC Finals game on Saturday as well.

As mentioned, JCU hasn’t lost when playing at home this season, and if you’ve watched this team play at all, you can tell there’s something special about this group.

Therefore, JCU students, I ask of you: Please “hydrate up,” come to the game tonight and help turn the DeCarlo Varsity Center into a Thursday night party that will hopefully continue through Saturday.

Follow @ZachMentz on Twitter or email him at

Freshman P.J. Spano got the ball rolling early for the Blue Streaks on Friday as he opened up action by scoring a goal with 17 minutes remaining in the first period. The Zips responded by scoring two goals before the end of the first period and managed to take a narrow 2-1 lead with them into the first intermission.

Coming onto the ice for the second period of action, the Blue Streaks came out on fire, scoring two goals in the first seven minutes of the period as senior Geoff Abrahams and junior Jonathan Orr each found the back of the net. The last 13:25 of the second period would result in no more goals for either team and JCU led Akron by a score of 3-2 going into the final period.

Heading into the third and final period with a slim lead over the Zips, the Blue Streaks turned on their jets and began to pour it on Akron as they scored four unanswered goals in the period. Junior Sean Lattal scored the first goal of the third period with 16:24 remaining in the game and senior John Walter scored minutes later with 13:43 remaining to extend JCU’s lead to three, 5-2. To put the exclamation point on the game, Lattal scored again with 8:06 remaining before fellow junior Jesse Dietrick joined the scoring party with 27 seconds remaining in the game, sealing the 7-2 win for the Blue Streaks.

Saturday’s game against the Zips would be quite the opposite path to a win for the Blue Streaks. Senior Danny Geiger scored two first period goals with assists from Orr and Abrahams on the first and freshman Mike Gionta on the second goal. Early in the second period, sophomore Louie Morici scored a goal of his own with 17:37 remaining in the period to give JCU the 3-0 lead. Shortly after, Geiger scored another goal on a power play to give him three in the game at that point as he increased the Blue Streaks’ lead to 4-0 with 15:33 remaining in the second period.

Akron scored a goal less than a minute later and Geiger responded only 31 seconds later by scoring again, his fourth goal of the game, giving JCU the 5-1 advantage.

In the third period, Dietrick scored for the Blue Streaks to push their lead to 6-1, and from there, the Zips scored three goals in the last 12 plus minutes to settle the final score at 6-4 in favor of JCU.

With the wins, the Blue Streaks not only finish the regular season on a six-game win streak, but they also finish with the most wins in Blue Streaks hockey history and an overall record of 24-12.

“Our regular season record was far better than any of us expected coming into the season,” said Morici. “After realizing what potential and depth we had, we knew we could become a force not only in our league, but on a national level.”

With the regular season now also over, JCU will shift its attention to the College Hockey Mid-America playoffs this coming weekend.

With the No. 2 overall seed in the playoffs, the Blue Streaks will receive a first-round bye and play the winner of Pitt and Slippery Rock on Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Blade Runners Ice Complex in Pittsburgh, Pa.

“It feels great to have the most wins in Carroll hockey history,” said Morici. “We still have yet to accomplish our goal of winning the league playoffs, so we aren’t satisfied yet.”