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(10/22/04 4:00am)
Billie Jean King was 11 years old in 1954 when she was held out of a
photo because she was wearing a tennis skirt.
At that point she knew she wanted to change things, but it was not
apparent how influential she would be until 18 years later.
Title IX was adopted in 1972 and designed to prohibit sex
discrimination in federally assisted education programs, like athletics.
Talk about perfect timing.
Tennis player Bobby Riggs challenged King to a match in 1973, with
the intent to show how superior male athletes were to women athletes.
Riggs said that even the much younger King, 29 at the time, was no
competition for him because of his manhood.
In what was tabbed “The Battle of the Sexes,” the two faced
off at the Houston Astrodome in 1973. In front of 30,472 fans and an
estimated 40 million watching on TV, King defeated Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
“I remember watching it and cheering for her, but it was not the
women that needed to be convinced that we could play,” said CMU
softball coach Margo Jonker. “The general public and a lot of the male
population needed to be reminded of it.”
Jonker said Title IX has had a huge impact on her career. She was
playing softball at West Ottawa High School in Holland when the law was
adopted, and playing at Grand Valley State when King defeated Riggs.
“My career has advanced tremendously from Title IX,” she said.
CMU field hockey coach Cristy Freese said King’s accomplishment was
huge.
“She had a lot of pressure on her and for her to still do that was
incredible,” Freese said. “A lot of women thought they could go do
something that they might have thought otherwise before that.”
King was donned a savior by many, and received numerous accolades
for her accomplishment. The Associated Press named her the Female
Athlete of the year in 1967 and 1973. Sports Illustrated gave her the
same award in 1972 and Time Magazine named her Woman of the Year in
1976.
Jonker said women’s sports coverage has not gotten the attention it
deserves.
“Title IX was a law basically saying that male and females
were to be given equal opportunity,” she said. “Do you see 50 percent
coverage for women’s athletics across the country? It’s not even close
and this is 30 years later.”
(10/22/04 4:00am)
At 3 p.m. today the field hockey team hosts Indiana at CMU’s new field
hockey complex.
It’s about damn time for a home game.
The team will play just four home games this season, even though it
was scheduled to host seven.
Delays in construction of the new venue forced the team to play
three home games in East Lansing.
Are you kidding? Four home games out of 19?
The $650,000 field was supposed to be ready by Sept. 13, but instead
the team has been on the road for seven consecutive weeks.
That is ridiculous.
The resurfacing of Kelly/Shorts Stadium left the field hockey team
without a place to play, but what if the roles were reversed?
Force Brian Kelly and the football team to have to practice indoors
during the hot summer months. Have football play its first six games on
the road. It would never happen.
That is how CMU treats its field hockey team.
Makes it go through all these hardships to play on a field that will
have temporary seating and no fence to stop the balls from rolling for
miles. Hell, they didn’t even put the scoreboard up until Thursday.
Hopefully it works.
Forget all that. Don’t worry that the whole situation was a slap in
the face to head coach Cristy Freese, who is in her 19th year as head
coach.
Just forget it. I’m sure CMU already did.
Putting up money for the venue was an admirable thing that needed to
be done. If the team was left without a place to play, Athletics
Director Herb Deromedi may have been faced with a bit of a Title IX
dilemma.
But CMU ponied up when it needed to, ensuring the Chippewas get four
home games in 2004.
Thanks, but no thanks.
CMU did not put a timetable clause in the contract, thus allowing a
scapegoat. Deromedi said the window of completion was so short,
finishing on time would be tough enough.
Sorry, not buying it.
But forget all that. It doesn’t really matter. What does matter is
that the stands be packed for CMU’s game today and Saturday’s 3 p.m.
game against Ball State.
Show the support the university did not.
The Chippewas are 6-7 overall, and in fourth place in the MAC. With
three conference home games remaining, CMU has a chance to move up and
snag the No. 3 seed heading into the MAC Tournament.
People could even pretend like it’s a football game. Show up and
tailgate for a little while before the game, and then stumble in
half-drunk. But don’t leave early, this team is actually halfway decent.
The field hockey team will play its collective heart out this
weekend, no matter how many people show up for the game. Show some
respect for a team the university felt didn’t deserve any.
Life Assistant Sports Editor Dominic Adams at sports@cm-life.com.
(10/22/04 4:00am)
It seems for now, at least, the debacle is finished: The women’s field
hockey team will play on its new field today for the first time.
It is the first game on the new field built for the team after being
displaced from its original playing space — Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
What’s too bad, however, is the team was supposed to start playing
on the new field a month ago.
The construction of the field was surrounded by controversy and
uncertainty since its inception.
The Board of Trustees were unaware the Athletics Department would
need to build a field after the new turf was installed in Kelly/Shorts.
The location of the field was not immediately known. The funding for
the field — $650,000 — needed to be scraped together.
It is not unreasonable to say the project was thrown together, which
is evident by the late opening.
“It wasn’t a smooth process by any means,” said Clint Huhn,
assistant athletic director for facilities, of the building process. He
said the construction was marred from problems with the weather, the
product, the funding and a whole host of other issues.
For its first few home games, the team was required to play at
Michigan State University.
That was unacceptable.
In a story this summer when the field was approved for construction,
Athletics Director Herb Deromedi said this of the team being able to
play on its own field, which he called “their laboratory.”
“This is where they establish leadership qualities, they are able to
find themselves and go through adversity and sometimes those things
serve them well — long after their last semester of competition.”
It is true.
We can all hope, though, they do not carry on the leadership
qualities demonstrated in the building of this field. For the five
seniors on the team, that final semester will include only four home
games.
The university, after kicking the team out from its venue, should
have made sure a field would be ready for the first game of the season.
Could you imagine Central Michigan University’s Athletics Department
requiring the football team to play its home games at MSU because its
field was not ready?
We couldn’t either.
(10/18/04 4:00am)
This is the fourth installment of a six-part series about Title IX
CMU was on its way to create equal opportunities in sports before
legislation enforced the idea with Title IX.
“We were working toward creating more opportunities for women in
athletics way before the mandates,” said Marcy Weston, Senior Associate
Athletic Director. “By the time Title IX was implemented in 1972, we
didn't feel threatened because we were already well on our way to
making great strides.”
Twenty-seven years before Title IX was adopted, CMU was competing in
field hockey and basketball.
In the 1960’s, three more sports were added for women: golf,
swimming and diving, and gymnastics.
“By the late ’60’s we were competing in four or five events per
sport because that’s all people thought were necessary for women,”
Weston said.
Pushing for equal opportunities in sports was Fran Koenig, Weston’s
mentor at the time.
Weston said, Koenig had the right attitude and was the prime mover
in creating equality in athletics at CMU.
“It helped that we had the support from the athletic director and
the university president, therefore we did not hit many roadblocks,”
Weston said. “We felt that Title IX was a good reminder just in case we
would forget our mission.”
With the implement of Title IX, CMU was able to push for more
competitions in women’s athletics.
Basketball increased its number of regular season games in 1974 from
17 to 27 and began competing in NCAA tournaments. CMU hosted the
National Championships for gymnastics in 1977 and women’s
basketball in 1980 because of Title IX.
Athletic Director Herb Deromedi said Title IX has continued to
create more and more opportunities for women in athletics.
“It provides them (women) with an opportunity to compete in
intercollegiate athletics, be able to expand their programs and have
teams staffed with qualified coaches,” he said.
CMU now has eight women’s sports while there are seven men’s sports.
In the ’80s men's and women’s golf, tennis, swimming and men's
gymnastics all were cut from the budget because of budget issues, not
Title IX.
Title IX has created opportunities for women at CMU and across the
nation, but at the same time many men’s sports are taking cutbacks.
“It has been very good for women’s athletics across the board, at
CMU and nationally,” said men’s head track coach Jim Knapp. “However, a
number of men’s sports have been eliminated or cut back severely. In
track alone, the MAC only has six teams competing out of 13 schools.”
Knapp said, each year he is directed to cut his teams
down to a smaller number.
He said he does not know whether Title IX has helped athletics at
CMU.
“I expect that women’s athletic programs are better than they were a
few years ago,” Knapp said. “However, Title IX has not helped my
program. I feel that if it is continued to be interpreted and
implemented the way it is today it will continue to devastate men’s
athletics at CMU and nationally.”
Weston does not see cuts in men’s athletics taking place because of
Title IX though.
“Title IX in it and of itself has not hurt men’s sports and does not
have to,” Weston said. “It all relates to how administrators elect to
distribute funds. Men’s Olympic sports are being cut because of budget
problems. However, the legislation was never designed to disadvantage
men’s sports.”
(10/18/04 4:00am)
Scoring goals has been a problem for the field hockey team in recent
games.
Junior Alisa Folk didn’t have a problem scoring three goals
against Miami in a 3-0 win Saturday.
Central is 6-7 overall and 3-4 in the Mid-American Conference and
will play its next game Friday at home against Indiana.
“I found myself in the right places at the right times a lot,” Folk
said.
Folk has scored four goals this season.
The Chippewas have not scored three goals in a game since a 5-0 win
against Stanford in the second game of the season. Central also had not
scored more than one goal against a conference opponent all season.
“When our offense gets going it is hard to stop,” said coach Cristy
Freese. “Alisa has been playing the left side and it has made it easy
to get good shots on goal.”
Folk and freshman Allyson Doan connected twice on the game, with
Doan collecting assists on Folk’s first two goals.
Folk’s final goal of the game came off a penalty corner — a play
designed specifically for her. She took the pass from senior Kristy
Reed and capitalized on the corner shot.
CMU’s defense did not allow a shot or penalty corner by Miami, on
its way to its fourth shutout of the season.
“Our defense carried us,” Folk said. “Miami could barely get the
ball past the 50-yard line in the second half.”
Sophomore goalkeeper Danielle Frank made three saves in the game.
Freese is hoping this win can give the team momentum going into the
final three conference games of the season.
“We are trying to get on a roll and string a few wins together going
in to the postseason,” she said. “Winning one game isn’t a streak.”
Central lost to Louisville Friday 4-1 for the second time this
season.
Sophomore Cortney Blanchard scored 10 minutes into the second half
to tie the score at 1, but the Cardinals dominated the rest of the game.
Louisville out shot CMU 14-5 and had a 12-6 penalty corner
advantage.
(10/15/04 4:00am)
The women’s field hockey team finally got its first chance to play at
the new field hockey complex Wednesday.
Unfortunately, it was a month late.
“It was nice to get some fresh air,” said coach Cristy Freese. “The
field is brand new, so it is not broken in yet. It takes some
practicing and playing on it to get it in good shape.”
CMU accepted a bid from FieldTurf of $650,000 and Thomas Trionfi,
director of purchasing, initially said the field would be done Sept. 13.
The Chippewas were forced to move three home games to Michigan State
University because of construction delays. The Chippewas will play just
four games from its 19-game schedule on the new field.
Although a scoreboard still needs to be installed prior to the
Chippewas’ next home game, Clint Huhn, assistant athletics director for
facilities, said the field has to be done by Oct. 22 when CMU hosts
Indiana.
“It better be done, or my butt’s on the line,” he said. “Hopefully
the scoreboard will be here this week and they can install it early
next week.”
Moveable bleachers and a type of netting to prevent balls from being
lost will round out the additions to the field. Both are temporary
fixes for CMU before permanent structures are put in place.
“We do want to put in permanent bleachers and a fence around the
field,” Huhn said. “That is stuff that no one gave us money for, and we
are trying to figure that out.”
No special ceremony will take place prior to the first game because
both Freese and Athletics Director Herb Deromedi wanted to wait until
next year.
“We decided to dedicate the field next year so then we can give past
players the chance to come back,” Deromedi said.
With the slow-moving construction process, the team had not
practiced outside the entire season.
“The field feels good with the stick work, and it’s just exciting to
be outside,” Freese said. “We have been inside since Aug. 16 and I know
the players are really excited to be out there.”
Deromedi told CM Life for a Sept. 10 story many factors went into
the delay of the field completion.
“There were some engineering delays after the bid was awarded. Also
the weather affected the time table, as often is the case,” Deromedi
said.
(10/15/04 4:00am)
Coach Cristy Freese said it is easier for the field hockey team to
prepare for an opponent it has already played this season.
Central (5-6, 2-3 MAC) has rematches with Louisville Friday and
Miami University Saturday.
“We can watch the tape from the last game and figure out what we
didn’t do well,” Freese said. “We aren’t changing anything we do
— we just have to do what we do better this time.”
CMU beat Miami (4-8, 0-5) 1-0 Sept. 24 behind junior Erica Takach’s
goal. She leads the team with six goals.
Central lost to Louisville 4-1 Sept 25.
Scoring goals has been a problem. The Chippewas are averaging 1.5
goals per game, compared to 2.5 goals per game last season.
“Scoring had been a concern of mine, but after scrimmaging this week
I know we are going to put the ball in the cage more,” said senior back
Michelle Fogle.
The team’s leading returning goal scorer from last season, senior
Kristy Reed, has just two goals. Reed scored 12 goals last season and
13 in 2002.
Reed is not the only player who has not met her goal output from
last season.
Junior Alisa Folk scored seven goals last season and didn’t score
her first goal of the season until Saturday’s 2-1 victory against Ohio.
“They have had a lot of good shots on goal they just didn’t
convert,” Freese said.
The defense has more pressure put on it when the team isn’t
producing on offense.
“Our defense is good enough to only allow one goal per game,” Fogle
said. “We may not get the shutout every game, but we are that good to
only allow one goal.”
Louisville and Kent State both stand at 4-1 in the MAC and look to
separate themselves from the rest of the conference.
Central still has a chance to win the MAC regular season title with
five games remaining, but has to start winning consistently.
It also must get some losses from Kent State, who hosts Ohio
Saturday.
(10/15/04 4:00am)
The club hockey team hopes to use its newly acquired momentum against
at a tough Michigan State team Sunday.
(10/13/04 4:00am)
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was formed in
1971, giving women the first opportunity to compete against other
universities.
It gave women the opportunity to compete in intercollegiate national
championships.
As the precursor to NCAA sponsored athletics, Senior Associate
Athletic Director Marcy Weston said the AIAW got things rolling for
women.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the AIAW paved the way for women
in intercollegiate athletics,” she said. “Fran Koenig, who was my
mentor when she was here, was a state officer in the AIAW. They just
got volunteers who wanted to give women the opportunity to compete.”
Koenig was the former Athletics Director for Women at CMU.
Title IX was adopted a few short months after the AIAW began
drafting its first bylaws. At the time, universities were broken down
into two divisions — a large college and small college division.
Central competed in the larger division, with the likes of Michigan,
Michigan State, Western and Eastern Michigan, Grand Valley State
University, Wayne State and Oakland University.
Before becoming an administrator at CMU, Weston coached basketball,
field hockey and volleyball, compiling a record 417-266-16 in 14 years.
She was the most successful in volleyball, going 391-134-14 with a .738
winning percentage.
That was not all she did.
“In the spring I would help with softball,” Weston said. “I would go
over and help check eligibility and help run the tournament.”
Mary Bottaro was a field hockey coach at CMU from 1976-85 and said
the AIAW and Title IX worked hand-in-hand.
“Tittle IX helped AIAW and vice versa,” she said. “I don’t know if
we would have had programs for women if someone hadn’t started the
AIAW.”
But, the AIAW did not have as many restrictions as the present-day
NCAA. For example, Weston said female athletes could transfer as many
times as they wanted without penalty, as long as it was for “academic”
reasons.
In the late 1970s, the public began pressuring the NCAA to pick up
women’s athletics.
“People who were in charge of AIAW asked the NCAA if they would take
over, and they said absolutely not,” Weston said. “There was no money
involved in the AIAW and they didn’t want any part of it. So we just
kept on moving along.”
When women’s national competitions started drawing media attention,
the NCAA’s interest began to peak. The NCAA and the AIAW battled in
court and the AIAW lost out.
Women started competing in the NCAA in 1982, the same year CMU
joined the MAC.
“The NCAA is more of a business, even though they say they are
non-profit,” Weston said. “But it’s more of a business operation. AIAW
was more student centered, and the NCAA was more institution centered.”
The transition did not go as smoothly for all of the women’s
athletics at CMU. The field hockey team was unable to compete in a
national tournament after joining the MAC because there was not a
postseason tournament to decide a conference representative. The MAC
began sponsoring postseason tourneys in field hockey in 1987.
“You could tell the difference because there were not any
tournaments,” Bottaro said. “It was definitely a step backward, and as
a coach I wasn’t very happy with being out of the AIAW because we
didn’t have a national championship to play for.”
An important landmark in the progression of women’s athletics, the
AIAW provided a much-needed stepping stone for women to have the
opportunity to participate in intercollegiate athletics.
(10/11/04 4:00am)
Editor’s note: This is the first installment in a six-part series about
Title IX. The rest of the series will run in the Sports section.
The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created
equal.
Throughout United States history, women have fought to change that.
The modern women’s movement achieved a historic victory on June 23,
1972 when Title IX became a law.
“In my opinion it (Title IX) was the single most important piece of
federal legislation in the last 32 years,” said Marcy Weston, CMU’s
senior associate athletics director.
Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in both
public and private educational institutions receiving federal financial
assistance.
As assistant athletics director for compliance at CMU, Derek Van der
Merwe is familiar with NCAA educational and athletic issues of equality
and opportunity.
“Title IX was a benchmark piece of legislation,” Van der Merwe said.
“It helped in propelling women’s athletics and insuring equity between
men and women in education.”
The origin of Title IX lies in the 1965 presidential Executive Order
11246 which prohibits federal contractors from discrimination in
employment based on race, color, religion and national origin.
The order was amended by president Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 to
include discrimination based on sex and was renamed Executive Order
11246 as amended by Executive Order 11375.
Playing field hockey at Ohio State University in the late 1970s made
CMU field hockey coach Cristy Freese appreciate Title IX.
“Once Title IX opened opportunity, there was a really big boom in
women’s athletics,” Freese said. “Before Title IX had an effect, it
would be really foreign to see a woman even outside running, but now
women are working out all over the place.”
Bernice R. Sandler, a professor at the University of Maryland in
1967, was the first person to use the new executive order for the
benefit of women, and on March 9, 1970, U.S. Rep. Martha Griffiths made
the first speech in the U.S. Congress about discrimination toward women
in education.
In June and July of 1970, U.S. Rep. Edith Green, then chair of the
subcommittee that dealt with higher education, made the first
legislative step toward the enactment of Title IX by holding hearings
on the education and employment of women.
Weston said she appreciates the time and effort that these three
women put into Title IX.
“They were monumental forerunners and pioneers,” Weston said. “They
had a lot of foresight to be able to get that bill through Congress.”
When Green’s hearings were finished, she appointed Sandler to become
the first person in U.S. history on a congressional committee to work
specifically in the area of women’s rights.
The bill formed by the committee was first supposed to be part of an
amended Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibited
discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in any
program receiving federal assistance.
However, African American leaders thought their coverage would be
weakened by an amended Title 6, so Green proposed a new title, Title IX.
The proposed bill would apply to both public and private schools and
would protect women from discrimination in education.
Congress passed the bill on June 8, 1972, and on June 23, 1972,
President Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law.
CMU Athletics Director Herb Deromedi praised Title IX for its
revolutionary measures to insure women’s equality in education.
“When Title IX was passed, there was an increase in the number of
female participants in athletics,” Deromedi said. “There was also an
increase in sports offered for females, scholarships for females and
the staff size for female sports.”
The U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare spent three
more years finalizing Title IX into specific regulations, and President
Gerald Ford signed the new regulations into law on May 27, 1975.
These regulations designate special Title IX coordinators to oversee
education, make school systems perform Title IX self-evaluations and
make public issues of sex discrimination.
“Title IX really set the base and opened the doors for female
opportunities in education,” Weston said.
Van der Merwe stressed that Title IX is more than just equality for
college athletics.
“Many people are so consumed with revenue and marketability of
college sports that people forget that academics is the main priority,”
he said.
Title IX information taken from
http://www.edc.org/WomensEquity/pubs/digests/digest-title9.html
(10/08/04 4:00am)
Kent State beat the field hockey team twice last season on its way to
becoming regular season Mid-American Conference champions.
Central will get a chance to avenge both losses this weekend
with road games at Ohio today and Kent State Saturday.
Central (4-4, 1-2 MAC) is the only conference team with a .500 or
better overall record.
“This weekend could make or break us as far as what we are going to
do in the regular season,” coach Cristy Freese said. “We need to
play to our potential this weekend.”
Sophomore Danielle Frank will be back in goal against Ohio. She has
split time with freshman Sarah Mancuso the past two games and Freese
believes she is ready to take over the starting role.
Frank missed four games because of a pulled hamstring.
“Unless the trainers tell me any different, Danielle will be back in
the goal,” Freese said.
Ohio is 3-9 overall and also is 1-2 in MAC play.
Chelsea Mearig leads the Bobcats offensive attack with five goals
and three assists.
The Chippewas offense will look to take a lot of shots on Ohio
goalkeeper, Jennifer Cote who gives up four goals per game but also
ranks first in the MAC with 104 saves.
“We hope we can get a lot of shots on goal and get some past her,”
Freese said
Central averages two goals per game.
Freshman twin sisters Kate and Amy McGowan have made an immediate
impact at Kent State (4-6, 2-1 MAC). Kate McGowan leads the MAC in
goals with nine and is second in points scored with 21.
Amy McGowan plays the mid-back position and has helped Kent State
record two shutouts this season.
“I am not surprised at all that they are excelling in league play,”
Kent State coach Kerry DeVries said. “They are two very talented
athletes who play at a high level.”
DeVries said Kent State will have to play well to beat Central.
“Central plays aggressive hockey and are strong on both sides of the
field,” DeVries said.
(10/06/04 4:00am)
CMU, we have a problem.
(10/06/04 4:00am)
Michigan State’s field hockey team scored two goals in the first 1:38
of the game en route to a 8-2 victory Tuesday in East Lansing.
Central’s record falls to 4-5 while No. 3 Michigan State improves to
12-1.
“The score doesn’t really indicate how we played,” said coach Cristy
Freese. “Once we settled down we did some good things. We don’t have
anything to hang our heads about.”
Senior Stasia Burroughs scored her first career goal on a break away
to pull CMU within one goal at 2-1. That was as close as Central would
get as Michigan State turned up the intensity and scored three more
goals to lead 5-1 at halftime.
“I would have much rather had a win than a goal,” Burroughs said.
Burroughs moved to center back this season from left back. She said
she hasn’t had a difficult time adjusting to it and said she thought
the defense played well against the Spartans high-powered offense.
“When we gave them space they could do just about anything they
wanted to,” Burroughs said. “But when we got up in their face and
didn’t let them go wherever they wanted, they were very controllable.”
Freese said she sees Burroughs stepping up and becoming a real
leader on the team.
“She is setting the pace for everyone else right now,” Freese said.
Freshman Katie Lincoln scored her first career goal in the second
half on her first career shot.
Veerle Goudswaard scored four goals and Annebet Beerman scored two
goals to lead the Spartan offense.
“This is the best offense we will see all year,” Freese said. “They
could probably be a Final Four team.”
MSU outshot Central 24-9, but the Chippewas did gain the advantage
on penalty corners 9-8.
Freese used two goalies in the game. Freshman Sarah Mancuso started
the game and made 11 saves in the loss. In the 42nd minute , sophomore
Danielle Frank entered the game and made one save.
Central continues on the road Friday with a game at Ohio and a game
at Kent State Saturday.
(10/04/04 4:00am)
Coach Cristy Freese juggled her lineup prior to Sunday’s game against
Ohio State in search of finding aggressive players.
The strategy worked as Central won 2-1 to improve to 4-4 on the
season.
“I put four freshmen in the starting lineup to shake things up a bit
and it worked,” Freese said. “We also switched the system a little and
got some things done.”
Ohio State scored a goal in the first half to take a 1-0 lead into
halftime.
Then the Chippewas mounted a comeback.
Freshman Allyson Doan scored a goal on an assist from senior Kristy
Reed and junior Erica Takach scored the game-winning goal.
“The game was pretty even,” Freese said. “They had more shots on us,
but we did a good job of getting in the circle.”
Freshman goalkeeper Sarah Mancuso played the entire game after being
pulled Saturday against Ball State.
“She made the necessary adjustments,” Freese said. “She needed to
let the shots come to her more instead of trying to go get balls she
couldn’t get.”
Junior Laura Glaza said she thought the team responded well to
Freese’s lineup change.
“We have confidence in everyone on the team,” Glaza said. “It
doesn’t matter who plays, we all knew it was time to step up.”
Central struggled in a 4-1 loss to Ball State Friday.
Cortney Blanchard scored her first goal of the season in the 63rd
minute of play on assists from seniors Michelle Fogle and Stasia
Burroughs.
It didn’t take long for Ball State to score its first goal. Just one
minute and 53 seconds into the game, Chantelle Isacc scored a goal that
was assisted by Lindsay Quay. Quay then scored a goal to make it 2-0.
Quay scored another goal in the second half and Theran Teach closed
the scoring for the Cardinals.
Danielle Frank split time in goal with Mancuso. Frank played in her
first game since injuring her hamstring against Michigan Sept. 17.
Each goalkeeper gave up two goals.
“We put Danielle in to try and give a spark to the team, but it
didn’t work,” Freese said. “We took her back out because we didn’t want
to injure her any further.”
Central will play at No. 4 Michigan State Tuesday.
Even though MSU is one of the best teams in the country, Central is
not intimidated.
(10/04/04 4:00am)
Life on the road will only get tougher for the field hockey team as the
season progresses.
(10/01/04 4:00am)
Taking harder and quicker shots is the key for the field hockey team
this weekend as it plays its next seven games on the road.
Central plays at Ball State Saturday at 2 p.m. and then will travel
to Ohio State at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Chippewas are 1-1 in the MAC and 4-4 overall. They are the only
team in the conference with .500 record or better.
“We have worked hard on taking harder and quicker shots in
practice,” said coach Cristy Freese. “We need to put the goalkeeper
under more pressure.”
The players know they must capitalize on more shots if they are to
win on the road.
“We have done a lot of shooting drills and tip drills to try and get
the offense going,” said sophomore Erin Dottery. “The second chance
after the initial shot is important to get.”
Freese said the production out of the forward line needs to
improve.
“Our entire forward lines need to step up,” Freese said. “I don’t
want to put the pressure on one person, but we need to create
opportunities.”
Junior forward Alisa Folk scored seven goals last season and figured
to be one of the teams top goal scorers this season, but she has yet to
score a goal.
The Chippewas leading returning goal scorer, senior Kristy Reed, has
only scored one goal this season.
Central has lost three of its last four games, but the team is not
discouraged by the rough stretch.
“We come in with a positive attitude every practice and work hard so
we can come back and play well this weekend,” Dottery said.
Ball State is 2-7 overall, but is in first place in the MAC at 2-0.
Central hasn’t played the Buckeyes since 2000, when OSU won 9-0.
(10/01/04 4:00am)
The field hockey team will again have to play its next scheduled home
game at Michigan State because of delays in the construction of the new
field hockey venue.
Central’s home game that was scheduled for Oct. 5 against Michigan
State also has been moved to East Lansing. The Spartans are ranked No.
4 in the nation and it will now be a home game for them.
The Chippewas split their first two “home” games of the season last
week.
Is having to play home games in East Lansing fair to the field
hockey team?
Athletics Director Herb Deromedi doesn’t see it as a fairness issue.
“This is not a question of being fair, it’s a question of playing
the games,” Deromedi said. “We have a great field hockey team and they
want to play the game.”
But this is a fairness issue. CMU is a Division I-A university and
all its teams should have a facility enabling them to play home games
in Mount Pleasant.
The team had a stadium to play in until Kelly/Shorts Stadium
was renovated and the new FieldTurf was deemed unfit to play field
hockey on. This is in no way the football team’s fault. They deserve
the best surface to play on as well.
A number of complications allowed this predicament to happen. There
has been engineering delays and the turf didn’t arrive in Mount
Pleasant until this week.
But why has the athletic department put itself in this position in
the first place?
The board of trustees didn’t approve construction on the field
hockey venue until June 25. The new turf for Kelly/Shorts Stadium was
approved March 5. Didn’t the athletic department know then a new field
hockey stadium was going to have to be built when they decide to
renovate Kelly/Shorts?
The project was originally supposed to take 10 weeks and that
deadline had passed. There was no contract saying the field was going
to be done on a certain date. Wouldn’t that be a smart thing to do to
ensure that the field hockey team had a home field?
The athletic department projected the FieldTurf at Kelly/Shorts was
projected to be done by mid-June, but it wasn’t done until August.
No matter how much of an injustice this has been to the field hockey
team, one would never know that any player or coach was affected by it.
The whole team uses an attitude of “we don’t care where we play; we
only care about who we play.”
There is no doubt that the team is focused only on the games being
played because coach Cristy Freese has instilled that mindset in the
team. That is what any good coach would do with their team when faced
with adversity.
The only good thing to come out of this situation is in times of a
tight budget Michigan State University is not charging CMU to use its
facility.
There is no need to place blame on anyone why the field hockey venue
was not completed by Sept. 24 for Central’s first home game. Rather,
someone needs to step up and take responsibility for the new field not
being ready.
Life Sports Reporter Jason Rising can be reached for comment at
sports@cm-life.com.
(09/29/04 4:00am)
Construction delays have forced CMU’s field hockey team to move its
Oct. 5 game against No. 4 Michigan State to East Lansing.
The move will give MSU a home game, and CMU will be on the road
until Oct. 22 when it hosts Indiana.
“Certainly it’s an advantage for them to have it as a home game,”
said coach Cristy Freese. “I m not really concerned we’re not having it
as a home game, I’m concerned we’ll be on the road until Oct. 22.”
The Chippewas will have played 13 away games before their first home
contest and will play just four home games compared to 14 away games.
“The bottom line is there is nothing we can do about it,” Freese
said. “It’s hard, yes, but we have to do it, so we can’t sit here and
cry about it.”
Freese said the circumstances will only make her team stronger.
“The bottom line is that if we win, it’ll be under extraordinary
circumstances,” she said. “When Oct. 22 rolls around we will probably
hop in the bus and go around the block a couple of times because we’ll
be so used to it.”
Men’s cross country ranked in top 20
After winning the Central Collegiates, Craig Fuller’s team finds
itself back in the Top 25.
The United State Cross Country Coaches Association Poll tabbed the
Chippewas at No. 19 in the country.
The team will compete this weekend in the Great American Cross
Country Festival in North Carolina. The invitational features numerous
nationally ranked teams, but CMU has had success there before. In 2002
CMU placed second overall, and went on to finish No. 9 in the nation.
(09/27/04 4:00am)
Field hockey coach Cristy Freese was not happy with her team’s lack of
desire after Saturday’s 4-1 loss against Louisville.
“Louisville flat outplayed us,” Freese said. “They just wanted it
more. On one of their goals they made a diving touch with their stick.”
The loss dropped CMU’s record to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the MAC.
The Cardinals got a quick lead after Kimberly Hughes scored less
than three minutes into the game. Sophomore Alicia Balanesi tied the
score for CMU just over a minute later on a pass from senior Stasia
Burroughs. Louisville would score three unanswered goals for the win.
CMU could only notch seven shots on goal against the Cardinals while
Louisville took 15 shots at freshman goalkeeper Sarah Mancuso.
“It is a learning experience anytime you have a freshman at
goalkeeper,” Freese said. “But things can only get better for her.”
Junior Erica Takach said the Chippewas were the slower team against
Louisville.
“They weren’t any better than us, but in that game they were always
two steps ahead of us to every ball,” she said. “I know personally I
had a horrible game, and the difference was they just beat us to the
ball.”
When CMU did have opportunities, they could not convert.
“We couldn’t finish in the circle,” Takach said. “Louisville’s
defense was good, but it’s not like we couldn’t get the ball down
field. We couldn’t finish or get our shots off quicker.”
Freese said CMU needs to improve in areas of the game but she is
confident the team will regroup and be ready for next weekend.
“We took one step forward Friday and three steps back
Saturday,” Freese said.
The Chippewas started off MAC play with a 1-0 win against Miami
Friday. Takach scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season. It was
her third game-winning-goal. The goal came off of a direct shot on a
penalty corner, and was assisted by seniors Michelle Fogle and
Burroughs.
“Most of my goals come from corners,” Takach said. “When we are down
or the score is tied, I really try to step it up.”
Freese said the Chippewas lack the ability to take control of a game
for good.
“We still need to score more goals and put teams away when we have
the chance,” Freese said. “We controlled the whole game against Miami,
but we needed to capitalize better. Our defense carried us.”
Central had 13 shots on goal compared to four shots for Miami. The
Chippewas also attempted 11 penalty corners.
Mancuso recorded her first shutout of her career in just her second
start, having to make just four saves.
(09/24/04 4:00am)
Students can take part in a crossfire debate, catch up on CMU sports or
laugh at fellow students, all courtesy of a student-run television
station.
Moore Hall TV students are ready for another season, with a lineup
that kicks off at 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday in front of the Bovee
University Center.
Students who show up may get a chance to be on the award-winning
MHTV in addition to receiving free food and merchandise.
One of the new shows this year, “The Way It Is,” will feature one
conservative and one liberal student debating issues in a “crossfire”
style, said co-host Ben Sanders.
“We are really excited about how things are shaping up,” the Burton
senior said. “Our show, in particular ... will give students another
way to be informed and take part in the discussion.”
The show airs at 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. In addition to a
debate, a correspondent will survey the opinions of Mount Pleasant
residents to see how they feel about issues.
The other new show, “Deskies,” is a half-hour sitcom focusing on the
lives of seven college students who work at the front desk in a
residence hall. Their friendship and the hilarious situations they find
themselves in are the driving force of the program.
Kevin Corbett, broadcast and cinematic arts assistant professor and
MHTV faculty adviser, said between 50 and 100 students join MHTV in a
given year. Students work in all areas, from on-screen talent to
cameras to the executive staff.
MHTV airs between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday. On
campus, MHTV is on channel 34 and off campus it is channel 23.
Hopefully, the two new shows and two returning shows will result in
a fourth Michigan Association of Broadcasting Station of the Year
Award, said Kattee Going, Columbus senior and promotions director and
events coordinator.
Two shows that are back from last year are “Central View” and “MHTV
Sports.” “View” is a weekly newsmagazine show based on things happening
in and around Mount Pleasant, while “Sports” is a 90-minute show
focusing on CMU sports that do not usually receive air time.
West Olive graduate student and “Sports” director Dan Empson said
his show gives people a chance to see the games they couldn’t make it
to. The first show will be the volleyball game and the next shows will
cover soccer and field hockey.
“The hope is that we can get some of the team members out,” Empson
said. “Then, people will get a chance to watch the game with people who
actually played in it.”
