The Golden Eagle Men’s and Women’s Cross Country team left their marks in the SLIAC Championships this past weekend garnering many awards.  Abram Deng posted the second best 8K time this season among the SLIAC men with a 25:17 on the 8K course. He was named SLIAC Runner of the Year and First Team All-SLIAC for his performance. Haile Jemane, a sophomore, earned Second Team All-SLIAC for the second consecutive year with a time of 26:52 and a 10th place finish. Junior Eric Yepez was also Second Team All-SLIAC with a 12th place finish and a time of 26:56.  James Borengasser also a member of the 2011 SLIAC All-Sportsmanship Team.  The Men finished 3rd out of 8 schools competing.

Coach Alessandro had this to say about Abram’s weekend, “Abram has worked incrediby hard since he began running here at Spalding University.  His dedication to the sport and drive to be successful is why he has accomplished as much as he has. Abram has set a standard for Spalding University cross country athletes. His success will change our program forever. ”

Spalding’s women’s team had 1  freshman and 1 sophomore lead the way for them, having freshman Janika King and sophomore Samantha Cave both  named Second Team All-Conference. King finished 12th overall with a time of 25:04, while Cave placed 14th with a time of 25:24.  Samantha was also named to the 2011 SLIAC All Sportsmanship Team.

Tags: Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country by rshockley
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The Spalding University volleyball team played host to Fontbonne University last night for their last regular season home game.  This match was a makeup game from October 15^th.  Spalding defeated Fontbonne in 3 straight sets improving the conference record to 12-2 sitting at 2^nd in conference with 2 more matches. 

The golden eagles jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the first set and kept that momentum throughout.  They went on two decisive runs of 16-6 and 9-4 to close out the first game 25-10.

Once again in the second set they jumped out to an early 7-4 lead, but Fontbonne had some momentum of their own tying the score at 11.  However, Spalding did not feel this pressure as they went on a 14-3 run to win 25-14.  The 3^rd and final set went like the first 2 as the Golden Eagles cruised to a 25-15 victory.

Alex Marquardt (Atherton) and April Fisher (Male) led Spalding with 10 kills apiece.  Jessica Luker added 20 kills to her total for the season which ranks her 4^th in the SLIAC.  Elisa Burkman once again led with 2 serving aces which put her ranked 2^nd in the SLIAC with 49 SA’s. 

Spalding will finish up their regular season this weekend when they travel to Principia to take on Principia and Blackburn College.  If they Golden Eagles win both matches they will sit atop the SLIAC and will either be Conference Co-Champs or hold the title alone.

Tags: Women's Volleyball by rshockley
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The Golden Eagles traveled to Eureka, Illinois this past weekend to take on the Red Devils of Eureka College.  The Women’s side took care of business in the first match of the day beating the Red Devils     3-1.  Spalding’s Men’s Soccer fell short losing 4-1.

The Lady Golden Eagles took the game to halftime leading 2-1 behind goals from Kim Truster and Bailey Frantz.  Bailey Goode added an insurance goal in the 2^nd half and Spalding won the match 3-1 improving to 3-12 on the season.

“This was a very good win for the girls,” stated Coach Kevin Cromwell.  “Hopefully we can build off of it.”

The Men did not get started off on the right foot going into half time at 4-1.  The second half a motivated golden eagle team showed up and generated many opportunities  hitting the post twice and getting one goal reversed. However, nobody could find the back of the net and the final score ended at 4-1 Eureka.

“Our men played well for long stretches today,” added Cromwell, “but we still have to learn how to keep our focus for the full 90 minutes.”

The Lady Golden Eagles are back on the road Tuesday October 25^th when they take on Centre College.  Both teams will be at home this Saturday October 29^th taking on MacMurray College.  These are the final home matches for Spalding as well as it being Senior Day.  Game times are Men 11:00am Women 1:00pm ET.

Tags: Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer by rshockley
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St. Louis, Mo. – The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) has announced the Athletes of the Week for the week of October 10-16.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Spalding University’s Abram Deng, a junior from Louisville, Ky. (Central), has been named the Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week for the week of October 10-16. This marks the third time this season that he has earned the honor.

Deng set a new school record with his time of 25:30.30 on the 8K course at the Wilmington College Fall Classic. He finished 10th out of 298 total runners, breaking his old record by nearly 30 seconds. Spalding placed 15th out of 26 schools competing.

Spalding’s next meet is the SLIAC Championships held in Hillsboro, IL on October 29th.

Tags: Men's Cross Country by rshockley
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The Spalding University Volleyball team played host to Blackburn College today and swept the Beavers in straight sets 25-7, 25-6, 25-13.

In the first set, Spalding jumped out to a commanding 8-1 lead. The Golden Eagles continued to control the game going on a 10-4 run making the score 18-5. Spalding continued to ride their momentum into a easy 25-7 win. The Golden Eagles were lead in kills by Carrie Woods with four, in assists by Kirsten Snyder with seven, in digs by Jessica Luker with four, and in aces by Casey Wilkerson and Elisa Burkman with two apiece.

The second set, much like the first, started with the Golden Eagles exploding to a 9-1 lead. Spalding continued to over-match the Beavers going on another 10-4 run making the score 19-5. The Golden eagles went on a 6-1 run to finish the game out with a 25-6 win. Spalding was lead in kills by Alex Marquardt with three, in assists by Samantha Young with eight, and in digs by Ashley Arnold with four.

In the third game, the Golden Eagles, Spalding started the game leading 8-3.  Spalding controlled the middle part of the match with an 11-6 run making the score 19-9. Spalding would go on to win 25-13.  The Golden Eagles were led in kills by Alex Marquardt and Elisa Burkman with three a piece, Kirsten Snyder had 7 assists, Ashley Arnold led in digs with 7, and aces by Elisa Burkman with three.   

Spalding’s match versus Fontbonne University has been rescheduled for October 26^th at 6 pm.

Spalding is on the road next weekend in St. Louis when they take on Webster University and Fontbonne University at Fontbonne.

Tags: Women's Volleyball by rshockley
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Yesterday the National Fastpitch Coaches Association released the 2010-2011 NFCA Division III All-Academic Team & All America Scholar Athletes. Finishing second in the nation in overall GPA was Spalding University’s Softball team who posted a 3.65 GPA as a team. To go along with this honor, the team placed seven players on the All Scholar Athlete team. Those players were Amanda Zwicker, Katy Flanagan, Liz Schooler, Paige French, Peyton French, Katie Phillips, and Sarah Goff.

“All the credit goes to the young ladies for buying into what we are about here at Spalding,” stated Head Coach Art Williams. “The ladies worked hard in the classroom and I could not be more proud of them!”

Last year the team finished with one of their best seasons in recent years posting an overall record of 21-14 and a conference record of 11-5 which was good for 3^rd place. Also for the first time, the team advanced to the Small College World Series in Akron, Ohio where they lost in the semi-finals and took home 3^rd place.

To see complete rankings of the All Academic teams please visit: http://www.nfca.org/pagebank/?id=1919

Tags: General, Women's Softball by mstawski
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The Spalding University Golden Eagle Volleyball team hosted Franklin College tonight for 2011 Senior Night.  The Golden Eagles have 5 seniors; Allison Dietzman, Jessica Luker, Kirsten Snyder, Alex Marquardt, and Carrie Woods. Spalding made Senior Night a memorable one for these 5 young ladies winning in straight sets 25-14, 25-12, 25-18.

The first match started with both teams going point for point making it 3-3. Spalding then went on a 9-1 run making it 12-4 and forcing Franklin to call a timeout. The Golden Eagles never let up from the break and expanded their lead to make it 21-11. They then coasted in for an easy game one win 25-14. The Golden eagles were lead in kills by senior Alex Marquardt with four, in assists by senior Kirsten Snyder and Sarah Schott with five, and in aces by Sarah Schott with two. Casey Wilkerson, senior Jessica Luker, Sarah Schott, and Stefanie Spalding all lead Spading with two digs a piece.

In the second match, Spalding used the momentum from the first game to jump out to a 6-3 lead. The Golden Eagles then went on a 5-0 run making the score 11-3, forcing Franklin to call another timeout. Spading rode their momentum for the middle of the game making the score 17-9. The Golden Eagles controlled the rest of the game winning 25-12. Spalding was lead in game two in kills by senior Alex Marquardt with three, in assists by senior Kirsten Snyder with six, in digs by senior Jessica Luker with five, and in aces by Elisa Burkman with four.

The third match started as the previous match did with the Golden Eagles going up 6-3 right away. Spalding then continued their dominance doubling their lead to make it 12-6. The Golden Eagles coasted through the middle part of the game maintaining a comfortable 19-13 lead. Franklin never got any closer and Spalding won in easy fashion 25-18. The Golden Eagles were lead in kills by Elisa Burkman with five, and in digs by senior Jessica Luker and Stefanie Spalding with five a piece.  

Spalding is on the road this Thursday taking on the Asbury Eagles at 7pm.

Tags: Women's Volleyball by rshockley
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St. Louis, Mo. – The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) has announced the Athletes of the Week for the week of October 3-9.

MEN’S SOCCER – OFFENSIVE
Spalding University’s Wes Miller, a senior from Louisville, Ky. (Male), has been named the Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for the week of October 3-9.

Miller, a 6-0 forward, scored three goals and tallied one assist in two games played last week. He had one goal and one assist in a 4-3 loss to MacMurray College. Miller also added two goals in a 3-2 loss to Blackburn College.

WOMEN’S SOCCER – OFFENSIVE
Spalding University’s Bailey Frantz, a junior from Lagrange, Ky. (Oldham County), has been named the Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for the week of October 3-9.

Frantz, a 5-5 midfielder, led Spalding in scoring last week to contribute to their first two wins of the season. She had two goals in a 4-0 victory versus MacMurray College. Frantz added two more goals in a 4-2 win over Blackburn College.

VOLLEYBALL – OFFENSIVE
Spalding University’s Alex Marquardt, a senior from Louisville, Ky. (Atherton), has been named the Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week for the week of October 3-9.

Marquardt, a 6-0 middle hitter, recorded 56 kills and 12 blocks in four matches played last week. She set a school record for kills in a single match with 23 in a 3-1 win (25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22) versus Webster University. She also posted a .381 attack percentage in that match and posted two block solos and two block assists.

Marquardt recorded 15 kills and three block assists in a 3-2 loss (25-22, 21-25, 27-25, 26-28, 13-15) to Greenville College. She had six kills and four block solos earlier in the week as the Golden Eagles lost to non-conference opponent Oakland City University 3-1 (18-25, 11-25, 25-20, 25-27), and she added eight kills, one block solo and one block assist in a 3-1 non-conference loss (23-25, 25-23, 24-26, 21-25) to McKendree University.

Tags: Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball by mstawski
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The Spalding University Women’s soccer team started their winning ways this past weekend with victories over MacMurray College and Blackburn College.

Thursday, Spalding defeated MacMurray College 4-0 behind a 2 goal game by Bailey Frantz (Jr. Oldham County).  Kim Truster and Ariel Vaughn added goals for the golden eagles in the 35^th minute and the 37^th minute.  This was Spalding’s first win of the season and it came in a convincing way.

Head Coach Kevin Cromwell stated about the victory, “I am very happy for the girls to get their 1^st win of the year.  They have kept their heads up through some difficult times and have continued to improve.  I am very proud of them.”

Saturday, Spalding hosted Blackburn College and took their momentum from Thursday into the game beating the beavers 4-2.  Bailey Frantz once again had 2 goals while Kayleigh Hockenbury tallied her first goal of the 2011 season.  The golden eagles would add an own goal in the 73th minute for their 4^th.

Spalding is at home tomorrow 10.11.11 against Principia College.  Game time is 1:00 pm ET.

Tags: Women's Soccer by rshockley
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The Spalding University volleyball team traveled to St. Louis this past weekend to take on Webster University, Greenville College and McKendree College.  The golden eagles entered the weekend undefeated in SLIAC play at 8-0 and were taking on 2 of the top 3 teams. 

Spalding took down Webster University (9-2) 25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22 in the first match and headed into Saturday still undefeated in conference.  Alex Marquardt led with a school record 23 kills and Elisa Burkman also added 17 kills in the victory.  Jessica Luker, Stefanie Spalding, Casey Wilkerson and Kirsten Snyder collectively had 71 digs leading the way defensively.

Saturday did not fare as well for Spalding dropping the first match versus pre-season number 1 Greenville College, 22-25, 25-21, 25-27, 28-26, 13-15.  Spalding beat Greenville earlier in the season in only 3 sets.  Alex Marquardt and Elisa Burkman combined with 28 kills.

The 2^nd game Saturday the golden eagles took on D2 provisional McKendree College in a non-conference match.  The golden eagles started off the match at 1-1 and had a little momentum going into the 3^rd set.  However, losing the 3^rd 26-24 really took it out of Spalding and they were unable to win another set losing 23-25, 25-23, 24-26, 21-25.

The golden eagles are back in action Tuesday 10.11.11 at home vs. Franklin College 7pm.

Tags: Women's Volleyball by rshockley
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