New Men’s Basketball Coach Hired at SHU

Joe Pechota was recently named the new men’s basketball coach. Pechota was the head coach for seven seasons at Brescia University, an NAIA school in Owensboro, Ky. Pechota led the Bearcats to appearances in the last two Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference finals. Prior to coaching at Brescia, Pechota was an assistant at NCAA Division I Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne for six seasons, and also was an assistant at Ferris State and Alma. Pechota was an all-conference player at Concordia, graduating in 1995 with a degree in physical education. He earned his master’s degree in sport administration from Central Michigan University in 2001.

Competitive Cheer and Dance Begins in 2012

Siena Heights announced the addition of a competitive cheer and dance team to its athle- tic department. The new squads will start in the 2012-13 academic year, bringing the uni- versity’s total number of athletic teams to 20.

The Saints named Angie Sword as their first cheer and dance coach. Sword was most recently the coach at Adrian College from 2008-12. Sword brings a strong background to the Saints’ new program. She is a certified member of the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators. The NAIA has identified cheer and dance as an emerging sport. A total of 93 NAIA teams are compet- ing in 2011-12.
Along with competing, Sword will have the program involved in projects both on campus and in the community. “On campus, we want to promote school spirit,” she said. “We want to help keep people on campus and get more fan support. We want to keep that spirit and energy level up. We’d also like to get out there and do things in the community and work with different interest groups. We want to get people out to sporting events and get more exposure for Siena Heights in general.”

Sword graduated from Purdue University in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. As a Boilermaker, she was the Girl- in-Black—one of two twirling positions in the Purdue Marching Band.

Football

The Saints (8-1) under head coach Jim Lyall finished their inaugural season by defeating Robert Morris (Ill.) 14-3 at O’Laughlin Stadium. SHU played primarily a club and junior varsity schedule, outscored its opponents 348-99 and allowed just 212 yards per game on defense. However, a highlight was an impressive 28-26 victory at NCAA Division II Kentucky Wesleyan. Travis Damron led a very balanced Saints rushing attack with 420 yards and eight touchdowns, while quarterback Matt King threw for 704 yards and seven touchdowns. On defense, the Saints were led by Chris Vann, who had 9 ½ sacks and two interceptions as a defensive end. Derek Head had a team-best 31 ½ tackles, while SHU intercepted 13 passes and recovered 10 fumbles. Next fall, the Saints will compete in the Mid-States Football Association, one of the top NAIA conferences in the nation.

Soccer

Men: Senior Doug Dawson was named second team All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference after a vote of the coaches. Dawson leads the Saints with six goals and 15 points. He also was named to the all-academic team. Senior Joe Deneweth was tabbed to the honorable mention squad, while junior Nana Ampong and seniors Darrell Gudenau and John Faraj also earned spots on the all-academic team. Ampong, a native of Ghana, was chosen as the team’s Champions of Character recipient as well as being named to the Capital One Academic All-District Team, which is chosen by the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America. Ampong, a junior accounting major, is also a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete. The Saints finished 6-10-3.

Women: Alessia Vagnini scored the game-winning goal with 1:38 remaining to lift Siena Heights to a 2-1 upset win of host Aquinas and claim its third consecutive Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament title. The Saints (13-8) advanced to the NAIA national tournament for the fourth time in six years, falling to 10th-ranked Spring Arbor 1-0. Juniors Alessia Vagnini and Hannah Ulrich were named to the All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference first team. Vagnini had eight goals and 19 points and Ulrich seven goals for the Saints. Junior Daniela Dedvukaj and senior Katelyn Hawarny were named second team as defenders, while freshman Crystal Wilcoxen was named at keeper. Mackenzy Hickner and Carlee Pallett were tabbed to the honorable mention team, while earning academic all-conference were Ulrich, Vagnini, Katelyn Combs, Hickner, Alyssa Hoff and Amanda Martino. Martino was also the team’s Champions of Character recipient. Ulrich, a midfielder, was named an NAIA honorable mention All-American.

Basketball

Women: The Saints (20-12) recorded its first 20-win season since 1978-79. SHU was stopped by top seed and sixth-ranked Davenport in the conference tournament semifinals.
Senior forward/center Nikki Hughes was named second team All-WHAC after averaging 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Senior Raina Chambers was named to the third team, while freshman Morgan Warfield was chosen to the All-Newcomer Team. Sophomore guard Grace Howrigon also surpassed the team’s single-season assist mark. Earning academic all-conference honors were Hughes, Taylor Langenderfer and Samantha Wolford, while Kendall Acho was the recipient of the Champions of Character Award.

Men: Sophomore Cecil Clark was named to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference’s All- Newcomer Team. He led the Saints in scoring at 14.1 points per game. Zack Craig and Danny Calcatera were each named to the academic all-conference team, while Dan Pollock was selected as the Champions of Character repre-sentative. The Saints finished 7-24 under interim head coach Bobby Plumer.

Golf

Al Sandifer will serve as the head coach for the Siena Heights men’s and women’s golf teams. He has previously served as head coach for the Saints’ soft- ball, men’s golf and men’s basketball programs. Most recently, Sandifer was the Saints’ men’s basketball head coach for four years He led the Saints to a 61-64 overall record before taking a medical leave of absence from the program in 2011-12.

Volleyball

Women: The Saints (15-16) won their first two matches in the conference tournament, including an upset of second seeded Corner- stone, to advance to the semifinals for the first time in many years. The Saints’ tournament run came to an end as Northwestern Ohio ousted SHU. Freshmen Halie Baker and Lindsey Adams were honored by the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. Baker, a setter, was named second team All-WHAC, while Adams, an outside hitter, was chosen the conference’s Co-Freshman of the Year. Senior Nikki Hughes earned academic all-conference honors while Bailey Mutter was the team’s Champions of Character recipient.

Cross Country

Women: Senior Lyndsay Payne was 68th (19:09) and Beth Heldmeyer 176th (19:53) for SHU at the NAIA national meet. Payne and fellow senior Kelly Ferguson were each named Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes. The women placed fourth at the conference championships, with Payne (third) and Heldmeyer (fifth) earning all-conference honors.

Men: The Saints were led by All-American Jesiah Rodriguez, who finished 29th at the NAIA cross country national championships at Fort Vancouver, Wash. Rodriguez finished in 24 minutes, 50 seconds, placing within the top 30 requirement to earn All-American honors. David Weeks was 55th (25:18) and Justin Bateson 122nd (25:55) as the Saints placed 15th. SHU was second at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference meet, with Rodriguez placing second and Weeks fourth. Both were first team all-conference. Justin Bateson was eighth to earn second team honors.

Indoor Track & Field

Women: Freshman Phoenix Duncan missed a national title by a championship jump-off, finishing second in the high jump at the NAIA national indoor track and field championships. Duncan  jumped 5 feet, 7 ¾ inches to earn All-American honors for the Saints. Lenzey Stidham also earned All-American honors after placing fourth in the pole vault (11-9 3/4). SHU finished 19th as a team. Duncan was also named the Most Valuable Performer of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference indoor championships. The Saints finished third as a team. Duncan set a school record in the event with a jump of 5 feet, 8 inches. Other conference winners for SHU were Stidham in the pole vault and the 4×400 relay. Morgan Choszczyk earned the Champion of Character award while Lyndsay Payne, Choszczyk, Carrie Zubke and Kelly Ferguson were academic all-conference.

Men: Doug Dawson broke his own school record in earning yet another All-American accolade at the NAIA nationals. Dawson ran a time of 47.33 seconds in the 400 finals to place third. Logan Moore didn’t make the finals in the 60 meter hurdles but shattered the school record time with a clocking of 8.19. The final school record was set by the distance medley foursome of Zach Widner, Jesiah Rodriguez, Calvin Sullins and Ryan McElyea. They combined to break a 28-year-old record with a time of 10:01.1. SHU finished 21st as a team. Behind Most Valuable Performer Calvin Sullins and Coach of the Year Tim Bauer, the Saints continued their conference dominance by winning their fifth straight Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference indoor title. Sullins was second in the long jump, third in the triple jump and 60 hurdles and fourth in the high jump to earn MVP honors. Claiming individual championships were Dawson in the 400, Justin Bateson in the 3,000 and Logan Moore in the 60 hurdles. The 4×800 team also took first place. Bauer was also the Champion of Character coach, Sabin Enerson received the Champion of Character award while Kyle Armstrong, Doug Dawson, David Weeks and Josh Madden earned academic all-conference.