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(03/06/13 5:29pm)
In this 2013 season, junior midfielder Harry Baker has proven to be an important asset to the Mercer men’s lacrosse team. The industrial management major has learned how to manage being an exceptional student athlete by shining in the classroom and on the field. So far this season, he’s scored four goals, making him the third leading scorer for the Bears and is tied for second in assists with two. Baker sits down with The Cluster to discuss more of his lacrosse career.
C: Where are you from?
B: I was born and raised in Atlanta, Ga.
C: When did you start playing lacrosse?
B: Around seventh grade when my neighbor found two sticks in his garage.
C: Did you play any other sports?
B: Yes, soccer and baseball.
C: And when did you stop playing soccer and baseball?
B: When I realized how boring they were. Since seventh grade, the only sport I played was lacrosse, until I joined the water polo team my senior year of high school.
C: Why did you stick with lacrosse?
B: My mom never let me play football because she was a nurse and would get scared seeing football players come into the ER with serious injuries. I always wanted to play a contact sport, and she didn’t know what lacrosse was. In my first game, I got hit and I said, “I’m going to play this for good. This is my sport.”
C: You are playing a lot more this year than you did last year. What did you have to do to get out on the field more and really contribute in games?
B: The new coach has put me in a good position and I worked out and trained a lot over the summer. I really focused on getting better and doing what I needed to do to help the team.
C: So far, what do you think of Coach Hannan?
B: He’s pretty incredible. He knows how to win and he puts us all in the right positions to not only make the team better, but also us as individuals better. I can speak for the whole team when I say that we’re very happy with the coaching change.
C: What do you think about your new facilities?
B: Mercer did a really good job. They’ve clearly put the time and the money into making these new facilities top of the line. Being a part of building this program literally from ground up has been such an amazing experience. It’s really cool to see how far we’ve come just in these two years.
C: What do you plan on coming away with this season?
B: We really want to have over a 500 record. We also want to gain the respect of the lacrosse community. Right now, we’re ranked pretty low and we want to start winning games so that other teams will fear us. Having more of that respect will help us bring in good recruits and higher skilled players so that we can be the dominant force in the south.
The Bears have had a solid start to their season so far. This week, Baker and his teammates will travel up to Philadelphia to face St. Joseph’s, before going further north to New York state for another match against Wagner.
(03/06/13 5:21pm)
The Mercer women’s basketball team has a had a more than successful season this year. On the strength of 19 wins, the team posted the nation’s best turnaround when compared to their six wins during the 2011-12 season.
After placing third in the regular season, the Bears now set their sights on the conference tournament to be hosted by Mecer University at Hawkins Arena.
To wrap up the regular season, the Mercer women’s basketball team didn’t have the most ideal finish. The Bears ended their 12-game winning streak in a loss to Northern Kentucky, a blowout win against Lipscomb, and two more losses against Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson.
Despite a double-double by senior Sharmesia Smith, the 69-60 loss at home to Northern Kentucky on Saturday, Feb. 23 was what brought the Mercer’s 12-game winning streak to an end.
The Bears started the second half with a three-point lead, at 28-25, but was unable to keep up with the Norse who took full advantage of a 24-for-30 effort from the free throw line in the final stanza to come away with the road win.
Smith scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and also grabbed 10 rebounds to complete her third career double-double. Sophomore Precious Bridges led the Bears with a team-high 15 points in a losing effort.
The score remained close throughout the opening minutes of the game, before a lay-in by sophomore Alicia Williams gave the Bears a 13-9 lead with 12:39 remaining in the first half.
Some more back-and-forth play continued before Northern Kentucky was able to tie the game up at 23-23 with a three-pointer shot at the 4:16 mark of the first period. The Bears broke away just before half, thanks to a lay-up from Smith to take a 28-25 lead into halftime.
The Bears held the lead for the first three minutes of the period until a lay-up by the Norse gave them the lead for good at 35-34 with 15:35 remaining in the second half.
From there, NKU went on to score five unanswered points to make the score 40-34 and maintained a multiple possession lead for the majority of the remainder of the contest.
Mercer out-rebounded Northern Kentucky 42-29, but the Norse made 27 combined free throws in the contest, the second-most by an A-Sun team in a single-game this season.
In their last regular season home game, the Bears showed their best defensive effort of the season in the 53-31 win over Lipscomb on Monday, Feb. 25 at Hawkins Arena.
Mercer held the Bison to a season-low 31 points and forced Lipscomb into 25 turnovers in the win. Mercer’s 19 wins thus far in the 2012-13 season are the most in a single-season for the program since the 1991-92 edition of the Bears when they went 20-8.
Bridges scored a game-high 18 points while Smith recorded her second-straight double-double with 11 points and career-high tying 17 rebounds.
The Bears wasted no time as they jumped out to a big lead early on in the game.
In the first six minutes of the contest, Mercer put 14 unanswered points on the board to set the tone.
From there, the Black and Orange defense took over. The Bears held Lipscomb to just 16 percent shooting from the field and forced 13 turnovers going into a 25-10 halftime lead.
Mercer started off the second half with the same aggressive play that they used in the first half. With 16:06 remaining in the contest, the Bears had already gone on an 11-2 run making the score 36-12.
For the remainder of the game, Mercer kept a secure lead, never letting the Bison within 19 points for the rest of the way.
Junior Sharnea Boykin tallied nine assists and tied her season-high with four steals in the win.
After a successful senior night win, Smith booked her third-straight double-double and junior Kendra Grant notched the 500th point of her career as the Bears suffered an 89-62 defeat at the hands of Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday, Feb. 28 at Alico Arena.
Grant tallied a team-high 15 points in the loss while Smith registered 13 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. Bridges joined them in double-figure scoring with 14 points. Over the last three games, Smith is averaging 11.3 points and 15.3 rebounds.
Grant’s first shot of the series marked the 500th point of her career in just her 70th game played. Moments later, Smith scored a driving layup to keep matters tight at 13-7 with 15:08 before half.
The Eagles tore off a 17-6 run after Smith’s layup. This gave FGCU a 30-11 advantage with 5:21 left in the half.
Going into halftime, the Eagles extended their lead to as many as 26 making the score 51-26.
To start off the second half, FGCU had a 9-4 scoring edge before sophomore guard Tabitha Bradshaw produced an old-fashioned three-point play that momentarily quieted the crowd. Later in the half, Mercer employed an 11-1 surge in just over two minutes to close within 21, but the stretch proved to be too-little, too-late as the Eagles would go back in front by as many as 29 before the game’s conclusion.
In the last regular season game for the Bears, Williams scored a season-high 19 points, but Mercer couldn’t overcome a slow start and fell to Stetson, 74-60 at the Edmunds Center on Saturday, March 2.
The second straight loss gave Mercer the No. 3 seed for this week’s Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.
For the first time this season, Williams led the Bears offensively, scoring 19 points. She also collected two assists and a rebound in 20 minutes of work. Grant added 17 points of her own in the loss while also posting two assists and a rebound.
Grant started off the contest, scoring in just a mere 14 seconds, only for Stetson to respond with 12-unanswered to stake a 10-point lead before the first media timeout. Mercer fought back to reduce the Hatters’ lead to six, but Stetson moved out to a 13-point lead with just over two minutes left in the half. Williams brought the Bears back, however, with three-straight scores to cut the deficit to 33-27 going into halftime.
Going into the second half, the Hatters sparked an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 14. For a majority of the remaining time, Stetson would lead by double-digits.
After finishing the regular season with two losses, the Bears are hungry for a win. Mercer will begin postseason play in the Atlantic Sun Tournament on March 7 at 6 p.m. versus the No. 6 seed, Jacksonville University. The tournament will be hosted on Mercer’s Macon campus at Hawkins Arena from March 6-9.
(03/06/13 5:17pm)
The Mercer men’s lacrosse team dropped a close one to Towson in overtime last week in Unitas Stadium. Freshman attack Chris Baxa led the team with four goals in the 9-8 loss. Mercer’s loss dropped the team to 1-2 on the season.
Towson set the tempo with a 10-yard shot from inside the box with just over 11 minutes left in the first quarter.
About six minutes later, sophomore midfielder Timmy Geran drove the ball down the right alley, took it behind the goal, and wrapped around to make an impressive diving shot, putting the ball in the back of the net, tying the game at 1-1.
To start the second quarter, Baxa put in his first goal of the day by a fast break off of sophomore midfielder Justin Evan’s face-off win. Towson responded by scoring three more, making the score 4-2.
With eight minutes left in the third quarter, junior midfielder Cole Branch fed Baxa a quick pass inside. Baxa turned for the goal, ripping one into the back of the net. It only took a couple of minutes for a Tiger midfielder to score again. Baxa explained that with the help of his teammates, he was able to have a remarkable scoring day.
“Our midfielders played very well, so we were able to get off good shots,” he said. “Harry Baker, Cole Brach, and Timmy Geran were able to draw double teams which left me open to shoot. Also, Zack Ward was the defense’s main concern, which worked to my advantage of getting open shots. Our offense played fast and we finished our chances.”
At the 5:50 mark of the third quarter, the Bears were trailing 5-3.
Baxa dialed up his third goal of the afternoon with 4:18 left in the third, sparking a streak of five unanswered goals for Mercer to give them the lead. A goal from junior midfielder Harry Baker, two from junior attack Zack Ward, and one more from Baxa gave the Bears the advantage, 8-5.
Within a mere 40 seconds, Towson responded with three goals to knot the score 8-8, sending the contest into overtime. Baxa commented on the Tiger comeback.
“We had the ball on our offensive zone and turned it over twice. We needed to hold the call and kill the clock. Then the third goal was a fluke off of a lucky deflection right into their best shooters stick. But, you can’t just blame the defense for those goals.”
Towson’s attackman netted the game winner with 1:04 left in the first overtime period.
Mercer freshman Mike Nugent made 11 saves while playing the entire game in the goal. He also tallied a team-high five ground balls to help the Bears finish with a 34-33 advantage in the category.
Mercer returns to action at St. Josephs on March 6. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.
(02/20/13 3:44pm)
Under new coach Kyle Hannan, the Mercer men’s lacrosse team started off their season with an impressive win, downing Rollins 13-3 in the official opening of the Moye Football & Lacrosse Complex.
For the first time in the program’s history, Mercer lacrosse opened up with a victory. Along with that team record, junior midfielder Cole Branch set the school record for points in a single game, racking up seven with four goals and three assists. His three helpers also tied the program’s single-game record.
As a team, the Orange and Black tallied up a single-game record of nine assists, with six different players, recording at least one. The Bears’ 10-goal win was also the team’s largest margin of victory in program history.
In the first quarter, the Bears went up to the Tars 8-1 in a shooting advantage to take the lead 5-0 in the first 15 minutes. Mercer would add on four more scores in the second quarter to go into halftime with a dominating lead.
Along with Branch’s four goals, junior midfielder Harry Baker and attackman Zack Ward each put two on the board. Junior attackman John Avent, sophomore attackman Ian Gelback and sophomore midfielder Timmy Geran each tallied one goal as well.
In his first collegiate start, freshman goalkeeper Mike Nugent got the victory by allowing only two goals and collecting seven saves in the win. Baker commented on their performance in their first competition.
“We played pretty well, but we were not content with the win,” he explained. “We hit a slump in the game and lost momentum. We have to learn how to continue to play hard for the full 60 minutes.”
After a solid first win, the competition for the Bears would step up a notch against no. 13 ranked Duke. The three goals scored late in the second half just weren’t enough in the 15-3 loss on Sunday afternoon.
For the entire first half, the Blue Devils dominated offensively. At halftime, Mercer was trailing 8-0, but at the 10:43 mark of the third quarter, Geran put the Bears on the board with an even-strength goal. This was Geran’s second of the year and fourth of his collegiate career.
Ward and Baker both would add fourth quarter scores, but that was not enough in the Bears’ comeback effort.
In the fourth quarter, the Orange and Black were finally able to get an offensive momentum and lead in shots 9-5, but Duke came away with a 50-25 overall advantage in shooting.
Nugent played the entire competition in the goal for the Bears and racked up an impressive 18 saves.
Baker explained that they had a solid game plan, but didn’t execute it the way that they had practiced.
“Sloppy game play and a little bit of jitters didn’t help us to a great start,” he said. “Once we settled down and did what we had been practicing, we started to get the shots and looks we wanted.”
Seven different Blue Devils came away with goals, two of which each had four in the winning effort.
Mercer will be working hard this week in practice to come home with a victory next week at Towson. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Feb. 24.
(02/20/13 3:36pm)
After an impressive opening weekend at the Mercer University Invitational that saw the women’s softball team jump to a 5-1 record, the Bears faltered at the Kennesaw State Tournament and failed to pick up a single win. The Bears are now 5-5 on the year.
With a solid first weekend under their belt, the Bears traveled up the road to play in the Kennesaw State Tournament in Woodstock, Ga. Mercer did not come home with the results they wanted, going 0-4 on the weekend.
In game one of the weekend, the Bears faced UT Martin with Rice starting inside the circle. Rice allowed seven hits over the first three innings although it wasn’t entirely the junior pitcher’s fault. The Bears’ defense committed to three errors that helped lead to the Skyhawks first seven runs.
The Bears were able to claw their way back into the game in the bottom of the third. Mercer scored five runs off a pair of two-run RBI from Rachel Hugghins and freshman Ashton Holt.
Woody scored one of her three runs on the day in the bottom of the fourth to bring the Bears within one, 7-6.Woody led off the inning with a double down the left field line before scoring off a sacrifice fly off the bat of Garmany.
UT Martin extended their lead to 8-6 with a run in the top of the fifth before Mercer took its first lead in the bottom of the sixth.
The Skyhawks substituted pitchers at the start of the sixth, which led to five walks and a pair of Mercer base hits. In turn, this allowed four Mercer runs to come across giving the Bears the outright lead 10-8 into the final inning.
Unfortunately, Nidiffer was not able to close things out. After giving up a pair of lead off singles, Mercer had a shot to turn a quick double play. Haney made a throwing error that sailed over Garmany’s head, allowing one run to score and more importantly left a Skyhawks runner on the base pads.
Nidiffer secured the inning’s second out on the next play, but with a runner on second allowed a two-out double that tied the game again. UT Martin’s very next batter reached on fielder’s choice that scored the game-winning run.
Mercer allowed 12 hits and gave up four errors in the one-run loss.
Despite her best efforts, Nidiffer could not seal the win for the second game of the day against Tennessee Tech. She threw a solid game, but in this match up, it was the offense that cost the Bears the game.
Mercer was limited to just four hits with the lone run coming off the bat of Rea. In the sixth inning, the Bears were trailing 3-0 when Rea took a full count offering deep to left center for her third home run of the season.
Tennessee’s Tech’s starting pitcher threw a complete game, giving up just one earned run and striking out two.
Woody showed an impressive individual performance, tallying two more hits in the game and improving her season average to .464. At this point, she leads the team with 13 hits on the year.
Mercer junior McKenzie Woody tallied two more hits in game two, improving her season average to .464. She leads the team with 13 hits on the year.
The Mercer softball team finished up play at the Kennesaw State Classic on Sunday with two more losses, putting them at 5-5 on the year.
In the first game against SIUE, the Bears allowed four runs to come across in the first. Rice faced just four batters in receiving the start before being replaced by Nidiffer.
Nidiffer came in and quickly settled things down by only allowing just one more run over the next three innings. The Mercer offense did their best to get back into the game. Santana hit her first homerun of the season, a two-run shot to center that cut the SIUE lead to 5-2.
Mercer batters stayed hot as Kennedy led off the fourth inning with the first of her two homeruns on the day, a solo home shot to left center. Still trailing 5-3 later in the inning, Haney hit the first collegiate homerun.
Haney cranked on a pitch with the bases loaded and put the Bears on top, 7-5 with a grand slam to right.
SIUE quickly responded in the fifth. Nidiffer looked strong in retiring the Cougars’ first two batters of the inning. However, Nidiffer hit the next SIUE batter and then allowed back-to-back hits that led to the game-tying runs.
SIUE took the game off an error by Haney allowing the Cougar runner on third to cross over home.
After another disappointing loss, the Bears played their last game of the tournament against Eastern Kentucky University. The game remained scoreless until the Colonels took the lead in the third with an RBI double off Nidiffer who had received the Mercer start.
The Bears did not produce offensively, recording just six hits in the game with Woody equaling half of those.
Kennedy was able to tie the game hitting a solo shot to the left for her second of the day.
Mercer committed a season-high of five errors, two of which occurred in the bottom of the fourth when EKU took the lead.
Nidiffer limited EKU to just six hits of their own while striking out two batters giving up one earned in fourth complete game of the season.
Mercer (5-5) did not come home with the results they wanted at the Kennesaw State Classic, but they will get back at it in practice in preparation to play at Georgia Tech on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
(02/20/13 3:31pm)
The Mercer women’s basketball team has proven to be unstoppable and the team to beat by winning 12 straight games this season. The Bears racked up their ninth straight win on Feb. 9 at home against North Florida, 51-49.
With just 21 seconds left in the game, sophomore Precious Bridges dodged through the North Florida defense to drill a mid-range jumper and give the trailing Mercer Bears a thrilling last-second win.
The Bears clinched a spot in the A-Sun Championship for the first time since the 2009-10 season in Saturday’s win.
Senior Ry’van Buchanan led three Bears in double figures with 16 points while junior Kendra Grant chipped in 15 points to help with the win.
For the first half, the Ospreys came out on top and dominated offensively. With 12:44 left in the first half, UNF had a lead of 14-4.
Slowly Mercer would chip away at the Osprey advantage by tying it up 23-23 at halftime with a Grant lay-in.
Coming into the second half, the Bears fired on all cylinders starting up with a 19-10 run. Grant got off a jumper to give Mercer a 42-33 lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the contest.
North Florida fought its way back into the game and was able to tie the score at 46-46 with 1:41 left in the game.
The Bears and Ospreys exchanged buckets over the next two possessions, giving North Florida the 49-48 advantage, setting the stage for Bridges’ last second heroics.
After the impressive buzzer-beater win, the Bears won yet another game leading them to a 10 game win streak. Head Coach Susie Gardner captured her 200th career victory after downing Jacksonville 68-61 on Feb. 11 at home.
Senior Sharmesia Smith led four Bears in double-figures with a career-high 16 points. Bridges put up 12 points while Buchanan and sophomore Alicia Williams each had 10 points to join Smith in the scoring column.
Both teams started the contest trading buckets until a lay-up by Buchanan gave Mercer an 18-13 lead with 7:26 remaining in the first half.
The Bears lead got to as large as seven points until Jacksonville began fighting back. The Dolphins ended the half on an 8-0 run to make the score 27-26.
Coming out into the second half, the Bears were reenergized and ready to take the lead. A Bridges jumper put Mercer in front 37-33 with 17:08 left in the game.
Jacksonville did not give up, retaking the lead with a jumper, making the score 51-50 with 9:24 remaining in the second half.
The shot clock was quickly winding down when junior Sharnea Boykin put the Bears ahead by drilling her first three-pointer of the entire 2012-13 season to make the score 62-57 with 2:40 to go in the game.
With tremendous efforts, the Dolphins tried to come back and cut the Bears’ lead to just four, but Bridges nailed a long jumper with 1:16 left to seal the win for Mercer.
To rack up their 11th straight win, the Orange and Black traveled to Johnson City, Tenn. to beat East Tennessee State, 67-58, on Saturday evening.
Grant led all scorers with an impressive 23 points. Bridges also added 20 points of her own.
Mercer jumped out to a 12-6 lead early on, but ETSU ripped off a 9-3 run capped with a fast break lay-in to tie the game at 15-15 with 9:49 in left in the first half.
Even with Grant’s outstanding three point plays and back-to-back baskets, the Bucs kept the lead for the rest of the first half.
Going into halftime, ETSU had the lead 34-33, after Bridges made a jumper to keep things close.
To start the second half, Mercer came out more aggressive and on top, scoring the first nine points of the period to take a 42-34 lead with 14:35 remaining in the second half.
With 12:58 to go in the second half, Buchanan put up five straight points to extend the Bears’ lead to nine making the score 47-38.
Mercer continued to put points on the board, using back-to-back lay-ins by Williams and another three-pointer by Grant to push its lead to 59-42 with 7:28 left in the game.
From that point forward, the Bears kept control of the game, never allowing their lead to dip below nine points to secure the win.
After their 11th victory, the Bears knew that every game after that would not come easy.
USC Upstate proved a force to be reckoned with as the Bears had to score in the last minutes of the game to take the lead and earn a 55-54 win against the Spartans on Feb. 18.
Junior Precious Bridges led all players on the evening with 20 points, while sophomore center Teanna Robinson pulled down a career high 16 boards.
Mercer jumped to an early 11-6 lead, but USC Upstate battled back to take the 12-11 lead.
At halftime, the Spartans carried a 25-24 lead.
The second half saw Mercer struggle in the beginning, but light up the court at the end.
At one point USC Upstate had a seven point lead, but the Bears rallied back and were able to get the win.
The Bears now return to Macon for their final two home games of the 2013 regular season starting with a tilt against Northern Kentucky on Feb. 23. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Hawkins Arena.
(02/06/13 3:37pm)
After an impressive five-game winning streak, the Mercer women’s basketball team looked to add three more wins to their record when they played on the road against Lipscomb and Northern Kentucky and then at home against Kennesaw St.
Starting off in Nashville, Tenn., Precious Bridges lead the Bears with a career-high of 36 points to defeat the Bison 74-70 on Friday, Jan. 26 at Allen Arena.
Bridges’ 36 points are the most scored by any player in the Atlantic Sun Conference this season and the most scored by an A-Sun player in a single-game since then sophomore Briana Williams netted 39 at Kennesaw State on Feb. 12, 2012.
For the most of the first half, the Bears held the lead, but Lipscomb never quit fighting. With 6:36 remaining in the stanza, the Bison tied up the game at 22-22.
Battling back and forth, the teams exchanged the lead twice before Bridges netted a long jumper with just seconds remaining to make the halftime score 34-34.
For the first part of the second half, the Bison stayed on top. Although the competition was tight, Lipscomb was able to jump out in front 47-40 with 13:20 left in the game.
After four straight scoring possessions, Mercer was able to fight back and bring the Bison’s lead down to just three with a driving lay-up by sophomore Alicia Williams, making the score 53-50.
Finally, the Bears were able to take the lead again, but that didn’t last long. Lipscomb came right back with back-to-back three pointers, setting the score at 62-57 with 6:27 remaining in the game.
Williams put up five straight points for the Bears to give them a chance to win. With only one minute left in the game, the score was 68-68.
From there, Grant took over offensively draining jumpers in the Bears’ next two possessions, the second putting Mercer up 72-70 with a mere 11 seconds left in the game.
In the successful comeback for the Bears, Williams finished with a season-high 17 points while sophomore Teanna Robinson grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.
To continue their impressive six game win streak, Mercer added one more to the board in a 77-67 road victory over Northern Kentucky on Monday, Jan. 28 at the Bank of Kentucky Center. Three of the Bears placed double figures in the winning effort.
Bridges lead the team with 20 points in the win, including 16 in the second half, to extend her personal streak of 20 or more points up to six-straight contests.
Grant poured in 19 points while Williams chipped in with 14 points to help the Orange and Black defeat the Norse.
For the first 10 minutes of the game, Northern Kentucky controlled the pace of play. The score was 12-8 with 10:30 left in the half.
Mercer fought back and took the lead 17-12 with 9:25 left in the first half after 9-0 run capped by a jumper by sophomore Tabitha Bradshaw.
The Orange and Black continued to fight offensively, using four points by Williams at the end of the half to go into the locker room with a score of 32-35.
To start up the second half, Grant single-handedly widened the Bears’ lead by scoring 10 points in the first four minutes of play making the score 42-30 with 16:35 remaining in the contest.
However, with 5:10 left in the game, the Norse were able to pull within six at a 59-53 score.
From there, the Orange and Black proved to be too much by dominating offensively and hitting clutch free throws to secure the win.
Junior Sharnea Boykin had 10 assists compared to just one turnover while Robinson had seven rebounds and four blocks in the win.
Finally after a two road games, the Bears were back in action on their home court. On Saturday, Feb. 2, Mercer used their tough defense to defeat in-state rival Kennesaw State in a 57-36 match up.
With this win, Mercer has now won eight in a row, making this the longest winning streak since the program turned Division I in the 2002-03 season. The eight-straight wins are the most consecutive victories for Mercer since ripping off 14 in a row as a Division II member in 1984-85.
Mercer held Kennesaw State to 36 points on 30 percent shooting from the field. Ironically, it’s the first time the Bears have held an opponent to under 40 points in a game since downing the Owls 60-38 in January of 2010
Bradshaw lead the team with 12 points, while classmate Williams threw up 10 points and six rebounds.
With 4:25 remaining in the first period, the Owls were on top, 18-13. It took longer than usual for Mercer to begin firing on all cylinders, but finally, with a 13-4 run capped by a Bradshaw three-pointer, the Bears went to the locker room with a 26-22 halftime lead.
For almost the entire first five minutes of the second stanza, Mercer’s defense was able to hold Kennesaw State to zero points. Along with their remarkable defense, the Bears’ offense went on a 10 point run to make the score 36-22.
From that point on, Mercer’s lead continued to expand. The Bears ended the game with a comfortable lead of 21 points.
In the contest, the Orange and Black recorded a season-high 12 blocks while holding a decisive 32-0 advantage in bench points.
On Feb. 9, Mercer will continue its three-game homestand when the North Florida Ospreys come to town. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Hawkins Arena.
(02/06/13 3:23pm)
The Mercer Men’s Baseball team looks to have yet another successful season this year as they kick it off next weekend against Ohio State at the Snowbird Baseball Classic in Sarasota, Fla. on Feb. 15.
After a disappointing loss in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship last year, the Bears are coming back with a strong veteran team to get the title. In the 2013 Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason Coaches’ poll, Mercer was picked to finish tied for first.
“We are a really good team that is loaded with talent,” said David Teasley, senior pitcher for the Bears. “As long as we play up to our caliber all season, there is no reason that we shouldn’t justify this preseason honor and bring another championship back to Mercer.”
The Bears also had four players named to the A-Sun Preseason All-Conference team. Senior shortstop Evan Boyd, junior designated hitter Nick Backlund and outfielder Derrick Workman, and sophomore third baseman Chesny Young were all voted to the team.
While hitting .335, Boyd lead the league with 42 walks and 20 doubles. Last season, he was an A-Sun All-Conference second team selection as a junior. Boyd enters his senior season just 44 games, 223 at-bats, 37 runs scored, 13 doubles and 30 walks away from setting the Mercer all-time career record in each respective statistic.
Last season, Backlund lead the A-Sun Conference with a .381 batting average, a .668 slugging percentage, 85 hits and 149 total bases. The San Jose, Calif. native finished second in the league with a .471 on-base percentage and 58 RBI, tied for second with 16 home runs and third with 51 runs scored.
Along with his A-Sun preseason honor, CollegeBaseballInsider.Com also recognized Backlund in an interview, he was named Louisville Slugger Preseason First Team All-American and a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason First Team All-American.
Although Backlund had such a stellar season in 2012, he says that he is still striving to perform even better to lead the Bears to an A-Sun Conference Championship win.
“This last offseason I really focused on getting into the best shape of my career,” said Backlund. “I have been very focused on not dwelling on past accomplishments and making sure I am dialed into the moment so I can be the best hitter I can be without distraction.”
Workman was selected to the A-Sun Conference first team and the A-Sun Conference All-Academic team as a sophomore. He finished 12th in the A-Sun Conference with a .333 batting average on the strength of 70 hits and ranked ninth in the league with a .422 on-base percentage.
Young is one of only two sophomores on the team after being named the A-Sun Conference Freshman of the Year and a Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American in 2012. He had a sparkling debut season for Mercer, ranking third in the A-Sun Conference with a .367 batting average, fourth with a .443 on-base percentage and seventh with 79 hits.
Senior pitchers David Randall and David Teasley look to come back stronger than ever after having a very successful 2012 season.
“Our team has done a lot to prepare for this season,” Teasley explains. “I know that I am expected to pitch in many games and I have to be in great shape. We have done a lot of conditioning so that we will be able to pitch as much as we can to help the team out.”
Last season, Randall ranked second on the team with 82.1 innings pitched and sixth in the A-Sun with 76 strikeouts. The left-handed pitcher only allowed two home runs last season while inducing a team-high 110 ground ball outs, and held opposing hitters to a .257 batting average.
Teasley enters his senior season just 36 outings shy of breaking the all-time NCAA career record of 150 relief appearances, set in 1991 by Stetson’s Tom Hickox.
In the 2012 season, Teasley turned in one of the best seasons by a reliever in the nation as a junior and was voted onto the A-Sun All-Conference second team. He lead the A-Sun with 40 relief appearances while ranking fourth in the league with five saves and tied for sixth with seven wins. He struck out an impressive 49 batters in 47 innings pitched and held his opposing hitters to a .205 batting average.
The side-armed specialist ripped off a streak of 12-straight scoreless relief appearances last season. During that streak, Teasley struck out 15 batters and allowed just three hits in 12.1 innings pitched.
With such a talented group of players coming back this season, a championship win is almost in their hands, but Backlund says that they can’t get caught up in all of the preseason predictions.
“The only thing that matters is what we do between the white lines,” Backlund explains. “If our team plays together and is consistent, I think that when it comes down to the conference tournament, we will be competing for a title and we expect to come out on top.”
(01/23/13 4:39pm)
The Mercer women’s basketball team suffered through a tough 74-41 defeat in its Atlantic Sun Conference opener against Stetson on Dec. 31 at Hawkins Arena.
Mercer’s scoreless streak for more than six and a half minutes from the end of the first half through the beginning of the second allowed for Stetson to pull away for the win.
Junior Kendra Grant was the only Mercer player in double figures with 15 points while classmate Sharnea Boykin handed out a game-high eight assists.
Both teams started efficiently on the offensive end, with Stetson taking an early 10-8 advantage. Grant gave the Bears their first lead of the afternoon as she converted an old-fashion three-point play for an 11-10 lead at the 14:59 mark of the first half.
With 9:00 left, Stetson went in front 26-15 after earning points on four straight possessions. Mercer battled back to close within seven, but the Hatters scored the final nine points of the period to take a 37-21 lead into halftime.
For the entire second half, Stetson dominated. The Hatters’ lead extended to as many as 36 before the final buzzer sounded, ending the game with 74-41 loss for the Bears.
After a tough loss to Stetson, the Bears were hungry for a win against Florida Gulf Coast on Jan. 2 at home. Unfortunately, the Mercer women’s basketball team was not able to overcome the Eagles’ strong offense.
FGCU hit 14 three-pointers and shot 54 percent from beyond the arc to pull away in the second half and secure the win.
Sophomore Precious Bridges scored nine points to lead a struggling Mercer offense that struggled throughout and shot just 31 percent from the field on the evening.
At the start of the game, Mercer was able to get on top as sophomore Alicia Williams drove to the baseline for a bank shot and a 2-0 Bears lead. Just 16 seconds later, the Bears lost their advantage as the Eagles responded with a three point shot.
With just under 14 minutes left in the half, Mercer lost a 9-7 advantage when FGCU knocked down another three-pointer. This shot marked the start of a 14-2 visitor run that lasted for 5:19 of game action, putting the Bears behind by double-digits.
At the halftime buzzer, Mercer trailed the Eagles 31-20.
In the second half, the Bears were unable to stop FGCU. The Eagles went on a 20-6 run in the first eight minutes of the period.
The final score was a disappointing 71-46, the fourth straight loss for the Bears. But Mercer would quickly prove that they could overcome their losing streak as they traveled up I-75 on Jan. 5 to defeat their in-state rival Kennesaw State.
The Bears had four players score in double-figures in the contest to come away with an impressive 71-46 victory at the KSU Convocation Center.
Mercer shot 46 percent from the field and held Kennesaw State to just 25 percent shooting for the game.
Junior Kendra Grant and sophomore Precious Bridges each scored 16 points apiece while senior Ry’van Buchanan poured in a season-high 11 points and sophomore Teanna Robinson racked up a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. This would be her second double-double of the season.
The Bears jumped out to a quick start early on. With 15:37 remaining in the first half, Bridges had put in 6 points, giving the Bears an 11-4 lead.
Kennesaw State managed to cut the Bears lead down to just five before back-to-back baskets by Bridges and sophomore Tabitha Bradshaw. The Bears went into the locker room with a 33-24 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Bears continued to fire on all cylinders scoring the first seven points to take a controlling lead of 40-24.
Mercer held a 20-plus point lead for the majority of the contest, leading them to their first A-Sun Conference win of the season.
The Bears looked to add wins to their conference record by traveling to Jacksonville, Fla. to beat the Dolphins at Veterans Arena on Jan. 12. Senior Ry’van Buchanan was a standout player in the impressive 72-68 comeback over Jacksonville University.
The victory was Mercer’s first road win over Jacksonville since 2006 and equals the 1999-2000 squad for the latest in the season Mercer has had a .500 winning percentage or better.
Buchanan netted a career-high 32 points, the most by a Bear this season. Sophomore Precious Bridges was not far behind tallying 22 points, her fifth 20-plus showing, to go along with two assists and two steals.
The Bears started quickly, using 12 early points by Bridges to take a 14-9 lead with 13:52 remaining in the first half.
Despite the Orange and Black’s hot shooting, Jacksonville stayed within striking distance and eventually took a one-point lead at 29-28, after a fast break lay-in with 4:01 left in the first stanza.
The dolphins extended their lead just before halftime to make the score 40-35.
To start off the second half, both teams continued to score at a high rate. Buchanan scored six early points, keeping the Dolphins lead at five with 13:31 still remaining in the game.
Throughout the second half, both forces continued trading baskets, bringing the score to 61-56 with 6:20, the Bears trailing.
An old-fashion three-point play by junior Kendra Grant made it just a one possession game, at 63-60, with 5:04 to go in the game.
Finally after a jumper by Buchanan, Mercer took their first lead of the half with a score of 68-67 and a mere 2:13 remaining in the contest.
After a tough comeback fight against the Dolphins, the Mercer women’s basketball team still had one more game on the road to finish. On Jan. 14, the Bears traveled not too far up the street to defeat North Florida 56-43 in the UNF Arena.
Mercer is now on a three-game winning streak, its second of the season, and is off to its best start in Atlantic Sun Conference play since the 2009-10 season.
To help lead the Bears to another victory, Precious Bridges put in a game-high 23 points, her second straight 20-plus scoring effort of the season while Kendra Grant joined her in double figures with 13 points.
Both teams had a slow start offensively, but the Ospreys were able to jump out to a 12-8 lead with 10:17 left in the first half.
Mercer responded, however, using back-to-back old-fashioned three-point plays by Grant and Bridges to take a 16-15 lead with 7:29 to go in the first half.
Alicia Williams threw up a jumper just before halftime to take a 24-17 lead going into the locker room.
In the second half, Bridges put up four-straight points making the score 36-25 to extend the Orange and Black’s lead with 12:19 remaining in the game.
Bridges once again answered the call with back-to-back mid-range jumpers when it started to look like UNF was going to come back. Bridges put the Bears ahead 48-36 with 5:18 left in the contest.
UNF got no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
Junior Sharena Boykin handed out six assists while sophomore Teanna collected 11 rebounds, her third-straight game with 10 or more.
The Bears then took to the court at home earning their fourth-straight victory 72-55 against USC Upstate.
Senior Kendra Grant came out hot scoring seven of Mercer’s 11 points in the opening minutes propelling the Bears towards victory.
At halftime Mercer held a 37-16 lead.
In the second half, the visting Spartans were able to outscore the Bears, but their efforts were not enough as they could not come back from the first half deficit.
Precious Bridges led all scorers with 23 points on the day, while Alicia Williams chipped in 15 of her own.
Sharnea Boykin led all players in assists and steals with 9 and 4 respectively.
Susie Gardner and her squad were at home once more this time earning their fifth-straight victory against ETSU.
The first half was highly contested as and Mercer walked into halftime with a narrow 41-37 lead.Mercer came out for the second half on fire outscoring their opponents 38-27 to earn the 79-64 win.
Kendra Grant led all scorers with 24 points while teammate Precious Bridges was not far behind with 23.
Sharnea Boykin dished out 15 assists in the win.
The Bears travel to Nashville on Jan. 26 to take on the Lipscomb Bison.
Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.
(01/23/13 4:38pm)
Mercer lacrosse player Cole Branch is always on the go. From class, to practice, to homework, to workouts, this athlete always has a busy schedule.
At 7:00 a.m., Branch rolls out of bed and turns on the shower to start his day. Each morning for breakfast, the standout athlete consistently prepares himself scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, bacon, a bagel and cream cheese and a big glass of orange juice; a good hearty meal to get him through the day.
From his apartment, the double major in marketing and management heads to his first class, Entrepreneurship, which begins promptly at 8:00 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday.
With little time between classes, Branch heads straight from Entrepreneurship to Human Resource Management.
Finally at 10:40 a.m., he takes advantage of his break and gets in a meal. Sometimes he’ll head to the dreaded “caf,” but usually Branch will heat up a bowl of pasta at his apartment.
At about 12:05 p.m., Branch heads to his last class of the day, Business Writing and Communication.
After sitting through three long classes, the student athlete’s day is far from over. When Branch gets out of class at 1:30 p.m., he again returns to his apartment to get in one last meal to fuel up before his workouts begin.
On paper, practice is from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., but to keep his body healthy and to stand out on the field, Branch spends far more than two hours at the newly built training complex, Drake Field House.
“After injuring my shoulder in high school and then again my freshman year here, I really try to be diligent in taking care of my body by getting into the training room about an hour before practice and doing shoulder exercises,” Branch explains.
He also gets in the hot tub to warm-up his muscles before stretching out his legs and lower back. Once Branch is loose, he heads down to the field to get about 15 minutes of shooting in to warm up.
“It’s important to be loose going into practice, especially when it’s cold outside. Not only does stretching really help prevent injury, but if I’m loose and ready to go right at 3:30 when practice starts, I can give 100% from start to finish and don’t have to take time to warm up my muscles,” says Branch.
After a solid practice under new head coach, Kyle Hannan, Branch heads back into the field house to meet with his coach and go over some of their offense.
“With a new coach, we all have to learn a completely new offense. A few of us meet after practice to go over how we did and what we need to change and do better going into the next practice. It’s a lot of work and a lot to learn, but I’m really happy with the changes that are being made and look forward to the success we’ll have this season,” Branch says with a small grin on his face.
Finally at about 6:30 p.m., Branch showers off in the locker room and heads back to his apartment to make himself dinner.
As tempted as he is to get into bed and relax, Branch must take advantage of the little time he has to do his schoolwork. The exhausted yet hardworking student athlete goes to the library for a couple of hours to work on a paper or presentation that he might have coming up or just do some simple marketing textbook reading and assignments.
Although it is quite rare, some nights Branch doesn’t have homework and actually has “free-time.”
“If have any time to myself, I like to play basketball, but usually I just relax and catch up on my favorite television shows like ‘Workaholics,’” says Branch.
When all of his homework and studies are complete, Branch can finally call it a night. He gets into bed, sets his alarm for 5:30 a.m., and quickly falls asleep hoping to get in enough rest before 6:00 a.m. conditioning that the team has every Wednesday.
For the past two seasons, Branch has been one of the Bears’ leading scorers and has played in all 27 games that Mercer lacrosse has competed in. Never settling for anything, the exceptional lacrosse player looks to perform on the field even better than previous seasons along with leading his team to success. The Bears’ first game will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9 against Rollins at home on The William H. Anderson II Family Field.
(01/23/13 4:34pm)
The Mercer men’s Tennis team kicks off their season at Auburn on Saturday, Jan. 19 while the women begin on Friday, Jan. 25 at Alabama State.
After a solid fall season, the Bears look to continue their success throughout their spring season when winning is most important.
On the girls’ side, there are many new faces. Five out of the seven players are freshmen and the other two juniors. After hard training in the offseason, juniors Amanda Bertani and Lucie Payrat look to lead this young team to a Conference tournament win.
Last season, Payrat lead the team in wins (7), while Bertani tied for third in wins (2). Both had a successful fall season with Bertani going 3-0 at the Steve Baras Classic at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.
All five of the freshmen have much to bring to this Mercer team with high school honors such as MVP and making the All-Region team. Roxy Bartz, Isabel Dennis, Natalie Franklin, Kealee Heffner and Liza Klyachkin join Bertani and Payrat to complete the 2013 Mercer women’s tennis team.
The men have many new faces as well. With a nine-man team this season, four of the players are freshman. Anderson Scarpa and Austin Emmet will be joining the team along with twin brothers Arnav and Arsav Mohanty.
Junior Elbert Beekman spoke of the incoming talent saying, “I think that we might have a tough start to the season because (almost) all of our freshmen are in the line-up and they do not have any experience playing at college level.
“It’s a good thing we have a lot of matches before conference starts so that they can all gain some collegiate experience before conference play. Our upperclassmen can help them with this, and they already are doing so in practice.
“But matches are the best practice of course and so its good that our season is starting now and that we have a lot of matches over the next two months.”
At the Duckworth Family Fall Tennis Classic in Clemson, S.C., Arnav Mohanty won two matches to advance him into the final bracket before losing a 6-1, 6-2 decision to Clemson.
Last season, sophomore Vincent DeLise was tied for the team lead in singles wins (10) and was the team leader for men’s doubles victories (10) playing in the No. 2-3 slots.
Along with DeLise, seniors Peter Tauchner and Victor Dias and juniors Elbert Beekman and Joao Pagan will join efforts to have a more successful season than 2012.
“We should definitely be able to do better this year than last. We just missed out on making the conference tournament last year, but we should make it to the tournament this year and then we have just as much chance to win as any of the other teams there,” said Beekman.
(01/23/13 4:29pm)
In 2010, the Auckland, New Zealand native, Kate Alemann, decided to take her basketball career out of her home country and into the United States. For her freshman and sophomore year of college, Alemann played basketball at Mineral Area College, a two-year public community college located in Park Hills, Missouri. After completing two years at MAC, she now attends Mercer and has been a great addition to the women’s basketball program. Standing at 6’3”, Alemann’s height and aggressiveness has helped bring the team to a 9-7 overall record, already exceeding their win record last year at 6-23. Taking time out of her busy schedule, Alemann sat down with the Cluster and discussed more of her basketball career.
Cluster: Where are you from?
Alemann: I’m from Auckland, New Zealand
C: Is it different playing in the United States than at home?
A: It is quite different playing here than playing in New Zealand because there are so many more players, so it’s a lot more competitive. Also, basketball isn’t a hugely popular sport in New Zealand because most athletic girls play netball and boys [play] rugby, so all of the money goes into those sports. Basically, there are no real competitive teams for basketball in New Zealand after high school, so if you want to keep playing competitively you have to either get a scholarship in the U.S. or move to Australia to play professionally.
C: How old were you when you started playing sports?
A: I started playing netball when I was 11 and got asked to join the basketball team at 12 because I was already 6’1”. At first I didn’t want to play but I’m glad I tried it out even though I wasn’t the most coordinated child. Oh yea and netball’s basically like a girly basketball with a whole lot less contact, no dribbling, and you are restricted to certain areas of the court as you either play defense, shooter or midcourt. You have to be quite fast and explosive, and have really good passing and catching skills and timing to get intercepts.
C: What is your greatest memory in basketball?
A: My best basketball memory was beating our rival team in the semi-final at under 19 [years old] nationals in New Zealand. I had originally tried out for this team because they were expected to win the title with ease, but after not making it I moved to a smaller team, and we ended up in the national final over them. I think that was probably one of the best games I had ever played at the time, too.
C: And the worst?
A: My worst memory is losing to a team we had beaten in regular season, in the regional tournament last year at junior college. It was horrible because I played terrible, so I feel completely responsible for knocking my team out in my last year there.
C: Once you’ve graduated and are done playing Division I basketball, do you still see yourself being involved with basketball or sports in any way?
A: I don’t know where I’ll be after graduating. I want to go to medical school, so I don’t see myself playing and practicing a whole lot while I’m there, but I have always wanted to go to the Olympics or Commonwealth Games, and coming from such a small country makes it a bit easier to make the team and potentially have that opportunity.
C: To wrap it up, how do you plan on finishing out this season?
A: The team is pretty happy with our success so far, but the job’s far from done! Coach [Susie Gardner] keeps reinforcing that we can beat any team in our conference but we have to take it one game at a time, and our goal going into the A-Sun Tournament is to be the team that no one wants to draw in playoffs because they know that we can beat them. With that in mind, our goal for the end of the season is to win the A-Sun Tournament and go to the NCAA tournament.
Alemann and the Bears return to action on Jan. 26 when they take on the Bison of Lipscomb University.
(11/28/12 11:00pm)
The Mercer cross country teams traveled to Tallahassee, Fla. to conclude their 2012 season at the NCAA South Regional Championships. The men placed 12th and the women finished 24th at the Apalachee Regional Park course.
In the history of the Mercer men’s team, the 12th place finish out of the 26 teams was the best ever showing at the NCAA Regional meet.
Sophomore Lukas Steinheber placed 36th individually and was the Bears’ top runner with a time of 31:48.3. After a successful four-year career, senior Jacob Law completed the season with 39th place and a time of 31:54.1.
“Being able to continue running into college has been a blessing for me and due to that all I felt was content after finishing my last race,” said Law when asked about his cross country career.
“I have had a great four years [with] the team and have been lucky enough to get faster each year. I knew that as I started my last race that all I really had to do was leave it all on the course and the rest would work its self out,” he added.
These two extraordinary times helped set the program’s 10K team average to 32:47.4 with the help of Andrew Weems, Sony Prosper and Hunter Honeycutt as well. This is almost a full 40 seconds faster than the previous record of 33:26.98 at Alabama in 2010.
Steinheber’s and Law’s times also set the program’s top two times ever recorded at the 10K distance.
Weems, Prosper and Honeycutt all finished within 12 seconds of each other. Weems pulled in the third fastest time of the team with 33:20.0, finishing 111th overall. Prosper finished three seconds later with Honeycutt not too far behind.
The women’s team once again saw another fall record in this season’s last competition. Senior Katlyn Will displayed a time of 21:05.0 in the 6K distance, beating teammate Kacie Niemann’s record of 22:13.95 at the NCAA South Regional in 2010. Will finished in 39th place overall in the race leading the team to a 24th place finish in the 29-team field.
When Will reflects on her first and final season at Mercer University and her final race as a Bear she said, “It felt absolutely awesome to end the season on such a great personal record. I could not have asked God for a better ending to an awesome season. I had an absolute blast at this race,” said Will.
“I have never been so relaxed or enjoyed a race so much. I thought I was going to be upset when I got done, but I just felt so blessed by God to have such a great college career that I was happy and content,” she added.
The men’s team will be losing two seniors this year while the girls will be losing three. Jacob Law, Andrew Weems, Kacie Niemann, Kasey Knapper and Katlyn Will will all be graduating in the Spring of 2013. Niemann will go down as one of, if not the best, cross country runners in Mercer history.
She holds seven of the top times ever run by women’s runner in the Bears’ record book and is now a two-time All-Academic selection carrying a 3.97 overall GPA.
Niemann was also named an All-Conference selection based on her performance in the Conference championship.
(11/28/12 11:00pm)
Despite their disappointing season-ending loss in the Atlantic Sun Championship, there were many high notes this season for the Mercer women’s soccer team.
This season was arguably one of the best seasons in program history. Not only was their record outstanding, but six players racked up personal accolades as well. Junior defender Devon Fry, senior midfielder Patricia-Anne Upson, freshman goalkeeper Maggie Cropp, sophomore forward Tess Patton, sophomore midfielder Lauren Gassie and senior midfielder Patricia-Anne Upson were all honored with Atlantic Sun awards.
Fry and Upson were named to the All-Atlantic Sun First Team while Cropp and Patton picked up second team honors. Upson was also honored for her hard work off the field along with Gassie and Hesse. They were named to the Academic All-Atlantic Sun Conference team for excelling in their schoolwork. The Bears led the entire A-Sun by having three representatives on the All-Academic Conference Team.
“Our team chemistry is strong and organized, which allowed us to do so well this season,” said Gassie when asked about her and her teammates success. “As a captain and senior, PA [Upson] was a dominant leader on and off the field. She was named first team due to her nonstop hard work and dedication for the game. Devon [Fry] was also named first team as a defender. She organized our back line and held our team chemistry together throughout the year as a voice in the defense.”
Fry and Upson helped guide the Bears to one of the best defenses not only in the A-Sun, but also in the nation. Mercer ended the regular season leading the A-Sun and was 16th best in goals against average in the country. Upson commented on her spectacular defensive efforts.
“I have always believed that the best way to be a leader is to lead by example. I tried to live my life on and off the field in a way that would help my team be successful.”
Cropp was also a big factor in this incredible average. She carried the lowest goals against average in A-Sun history and also leads the nation in this category. She only allowed three goals all season and just two in conference play, leading the A-Sun in both save percentage and goals against average.
Gassie, Hesse, and Patton ended up leading the team in goals, racking up six this season.
The Bears’ overall record this season was 13-5-3, 6-1-2 in conference. This would be the best record for the women’s soccer team in Mercer history. It seemed as though the Orange and Black were going to go undefeated in conference this year, but Florida Gulf Coast got the best of them in both the regular season conference championship and a second time in the A-Sun Championship.
“As disappointing as the loss was I couldn’t ask for a better team to end my career with,” said Upson. “These girls worked hard every day and gave it everything they had until the last minute. We had an amazing season, we broke the record for most wins. I look forward to watching these girls be even more successful in the future.”
In preseason polls, the Bears were expected to finish sixth in the regular season. They exceeded all expectations this year under their new head coach, Tony Economopoulos.
(11/07/12 11:00pm)
After a hard fought 2-1 win over Northern Kentucky on Thursday, Oct. 25, the Mercer men’s soccer team clinched a spot in the Atlantic Sun Tournament for the fifth-straight season. This has been Mercer’s best record after 16 games since 2002.
The win over Northern Kentucky extended the Bears’ undefeated at-home record to 6-0-0.
Little time was wasted at the start of the game when the Bears jumped out to an early lead in the first 10 minutes of the game. This was the fifth time this season that the Orange and Black took an early lead. Junior Ryan King played a ball in to senior Richie Edmondson who one-timed a pass to sophomore Ehjayson Henry for a beautiful goal to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
Just minutes later, the Bears were able to keep up the offensive pressure and scored another goal with the Edmonson-Henry duo. Henry fed a ball down the field for Edmonson to slip past the Northern Kentucky keeper, giving Mercer a 2-0 lead by the ninth minute.
By the 23rd minute, the Norse were able to fight back and find the goal. Off of a free kick from about 22 yards away, they were able to place the ball just out of reach of Mercer goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh, making the score 2-1.
Coming out of halftime, the Bears were almost able to extend their lead. Junior Brady O’Brien sent in a corner kick that senior Will Betts jumped up and headed on the goal, but the NKU goalkeeper leapt into the air and tipped the ball just over the bar to hold the Bears at a 2-1 lead.
Despite multiple chances for the Norse, the score remained and the Bears won the game. Ranjitsingh made a remarkable eight saves to secure the win and increase his league-leading save percentage up to 84.4 percent.
After two more days of hard work at practice, the Bears traveled to County University Soccer Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C. to take on the USC Upstate Spartans. With two goals in the final 12 minutes of play, Mercer was able to steal a 2-1 comeback win.
With the win, Mercer was able to clinch the No. 2 seed and a first round bye in the Atlantic Sun Tournament.
Although the Bears didn’t take the lead until the 80th minute, it was evident that they had offensive control throughout the entire matchup. Mercer outshot Upstate 16-5 and held a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks.
In just the fourth minute of the game, junior Ehjayson Henry was able to get a shot off past the USC Upstate goalkeeper, but it was saved off the line by a Spartan defender, keeping the game scoreless.
Although the Bears were clearly dominating the run of play throughout the majority of the first half, the home team was able to get on the board first, just before halftime. A Spartan defender collected a pass at the top of the box and put a shot on goal that was deflected by a Bears defender and passed goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead going into the half.
Going into the second half, the Bears knew that giving up was not an option. The Bears kept pushing forward and the pressure finally paid off. Edmonson launched a cross into the box that skipped past a few USC Upstate defenders and right to sophomore Carl-Oscar Andersson, who slipped a shot into the net to tie the game at 1-1 in the 78th minute of play.
Little time was wasted before the Bears took the lead. Merely three minutes later, Andersson sent in a beautiful cross that Henry was able to head into the goal past the lunging Spartan goalkeeper to take the win.
There was much hope going into the last regular season matchup against Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday, Nov. 3. With a win, the Bears would host the Atlantic Sun Tournament by earning the No. 1 seed. A huge crowd of 600 came out to support the Mercer men’s soccer team, including many families and friends to honor the seniors at their last regular season home game. Despite the solid momentum and the cheerful fans, the Bears were unable to finish the game with a victory.
With a 1-0 win over the Bears, FGCU captured the 2012 Atlantic Sun Conference regular season crown for the third year in a row. They will be hosting the A-Sun Conference Championship in Fort Myers, Fla.
Senior Richie Edmonson gave a solid effort in the competition and almost gave the home team a lead late in the first half. He collected a long ball and fired a shot on the net that hit the post keeping the game scoreless.
The Bears nearly scored again in the second half when freshman David Murtaugh ripped a low shot that dribbled just outside of the far post.
In the 52nd minute of the game, FCGU put one on the board. An Eagles midfielder collected a loose ball at the top of the box and hit a one-time volley past Ranjitsingh to put them up 1-0.
With one more chance left to tie the game, senior Josh Shutter took a free kick from about 25 yards away, but it was blocked by an Eagles defender to seal the win for FGCU in the 78th minute. Shutter commented on their efforts.
“There was obvious disappointment throughout the team, but we have to move on and take care of business now and not dwell on this game…We must go into this week of training and continue to better ourselves and get healthy for tournament play,” said Shutter.
“Our goal now is to win the A-Sun tournament and make the NCAA tournament, but we can only do so by keeping focused and taking it one game at a time,” Shutter added.
Mercer will be going into the A-Sun Championship this weekend with the No. 2 seed. The Bears have a first round bye and will play either No. 3 seed East Tennessee State or No. 6 seed Jacksonville University in the semifinals on Nov. 9.
(11/07/12 11:00pm)
After having such success this season, both the men’s and women’s cross country teams had arguably their best showing in the Atlantic Sun Championship meet on Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Buckingham Cross Country Course hosted by Florida Gulf Coast.
For the second consecutive year, the women’s cross country team finished in sixth place, with two runners placing in the top 10. This was the first time in Mercer history that the women’s team had placed two individuals in the top 10. The Mercer men’s team finished in fifth overall, the team’s first top-five finish since 2000.
Kacie Niemann and Katlyn Will each finished with times to earn top 10 honors for the Mercer women’s team. This was the first time since 1999 that the women’s team had a competitor finish in the top 10. Both Niemann and Will were named to the A-Sun All Conference team because of their excellent performances.
Niemann took eighth place with a 5K time of 17:47.3, setting yet another Mercer program record. This time was six seconds faster than her previous personal best. Niemann became the only female runner to be named a three-time All-Conference athlete. Will took 10th place with a time of 17:57.5.
For the men’s team, senior Jacob Law finished just shy of the top 10 with an 11th place finish. This was one of his best performances as well, with a Mercer men’s overall record time of 25:23.9 in the 8K race. This made Law the third runner in Mercer men’s history to become a two-time All-Conference selection. Law commented on the work ethic of the entire team, and his record-breaking performance.
“We as a team have been pushing harder than ever before. Our weekly mileage has never been higher over the summer and our intervals have been extremely fast. Running a personal best at conference felt great but was merely the product of having such great training partners and an encouraging team to build me up,” Law said, “Finishing strong at conference my senior year was enthralling, but it’s also hard to leave a team that is progressing at such a quick rate.”
Sophomore Lukas Steinheber took a top-20 finish as well with a time of 25:46.3, which positioned him in 17th place.
“The [Mercer] Cross Country program has been steadily improving each year that I have been here and there are two main factors that I believe contribute to this trend. First and foremost, we have continued to obtain runners that are serious about not only their personal goals but about improving the program as well,” said Law. “Second, we train a little bit harder and farther each season and little by little we have been able to work our way up in the conference. It would be no surprise to me for the team to continue to move up in the conference over the next few years.”
Both the men’s and women’s team look to finish strong as they wrap up their season at the NCAA South Regionals in Tallahassee, Fla. on Friday, Nov. 9.
(11/07/12 11:00pm)
After such great success last season for the Mercer men’s basketball team, the Bears look to continue to succeed in the 2012-13 season. Although the Bears won the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, this year they will strive to accomplish what they came just short of doing last season, winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament and earning a berth to the “Big Dance,” the NCAA tournament.
“I think the only thing we have on our mind is winning the conference championship,” said Langston Hall, junior point guard. “We know how talented we are and have to just play Mercer basketball night in and night out.”
This year’s team has been picked as the favorite to win the Atlantic Sun Conference in a couple of annual preseason polls. In addition to the team predictions, junior Langston Hall, junior Jakob Gollon and junior Daniel Coursey have already picked up personal honors.
Hall was named a Preseason All-Conference Player for the first time in his career. At the end of last season, he was an A-Sun All-Conference first team member, a National Association of Basketball Coaches’ (NABC) All-District player and the MVP of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Hall averaged an exceptional 11.4 points per game, 4.2 assists per game, and 3.4 rebounds per game.
Gollon was recognized by the league’s coaches after starting all 38 of Mercer’s games last season and finishing the year ranked among A-Sun leaders in scoring average (24th – 10.5), rebounding average (8th – 5.9), assists per game (10th – 3.3), steals per game (7th – 1.6), assist-to-turnover ratio (11th – 1.1) and average minutes played (9th – 31.8).
Coursey finished as the league leader in blocks last season, setting a program record with 88 rejections. His average of 2.32 blocks per game ranked 31st in the nation and helped the team finish 12th among Division I programs in field-goal percentage defense (38.6 percent).
Even with these remarkable honors and statistics, there is still always room for improvement.
“We all have been just trying to get better in every way because we know that we are going to have a target on our back every night and we are going to get every team’s best,” said Hall. “We are working most on communication. I think we needed to get a lot better at that.”
The Bears know that they can’t let their success last year get to their heads. They have been practicing just as hard, if not harder than ever this preseason to prove themselves to be the best this season.
“As far as preparation goes, we’ve done just about as much as we can. Everyone has given a great effort during team workouts and have done plenty on their own time as well,” said Jakob Gollon, redshirt junior and team captain. “I’ve been here long enough to know what it takes to win, and I can tell you that we’re on the right track.”
The men’s basketball team hits the court for the first time this season on Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. at Hawkins Arena against Sewanee.
(10/24/12 9:00pm)
In an unfortunate loss to the No. 17 team South Florida on Oct. 10, the Mercer men’s soccer teams’ four-game winning streak came to an end.
USF proved to be the more dominant team for the duration of the first half until Mercer regrouped at halftime. Throughout the second half, Mercer nearly netted several times for the tie, but could not seem to find the goal.
Goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsing kept the game scoreless by saving a shot from a USF player in the 11th minute.
The Bulls kept up the offensive pressure and struck for the only goal of the match just minutes later off of a shot just outside of the 18-yard line into the upper-left 90 of the net. This goal gave USF the lead in the 17th minute of the first half, 1-0.
In the second half, Mercer came out determined to score. Sophomore Ashani Samuels intercepted a pass and fed a long ball to freshman Jason Sayers, who ran onto the attempt and fired a shot that was tipped wide by the USF keeper in the 54th minute of play. The score remained 1-0.
The Bears had another chance in the 73rd minute when senior Josh Shutter collected a deflection and launched a shot just over the crossbar.
In the 87th minute of play, Shutter sent in a free kick from midfield that freshman Juan Jose Morales back-flicked on the net but was pushed just wide by the USF keeper once again to seal the win for South Florida.
After losing to USF, the Mercer men’s soccer team was hungry for a win. The Bears traveled to Jacksonville, Fla. to beat the North Florida Ospreys, giving them a perfect Atlantic Sun Conference record of 4-0-0. This is the first time that Mercer has been 4-0-0 in an A-Sun Conference play since 2002.
The first half was a pretty even match-up. Both teams got off shots, but the Bears put one on the scoreboard first. Junior Ehjayson Henry fed a ball through to senior Sharpe Sablon, who avoided the UNF goalkeeper and slipped a shot into the back of the net, giving Mercer a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute of play.
From then on, the Bears maintained offensive pressure and almost increased their lead, but the attempted goal off of a header from freshman Will Jones was saved by the North Florida goalkeeper. There were no more goals scored for the remainder of the half.
Mercer continued to control the game offensively during the second half, yet at a slower pace by working the ball around the back line and midfield.
UNF began to fight back, but the Bears responded by putting more points on the board in the last six minutes of play.
Mercer increased their lead to 2-0 when freshman Jason Sayers collected a failed corner kick clearance and fired a shot that was redirected by Henry and in for a goal in the 85th minute.
Just moments later, the Bears put the game out of reach for the Ospreys when Sayers started a one-man counter attack and laid off a ball to junior Ryan King who ripped an attempt past the UNF goalkeeper and inside the far post, making the final score 3-0.
Mercer keeper Greg Ranjitsingh made two saves in the match, earning his A-Sun leading seventh shutout of the season. Ranjitsingh is now tied for the most shutouts in program history, and the sixth-most shutouts in the Atlantic Sun Conference history.
In hopes to finish the weekend with one more win, the Mercer Bears traveled across town to Jackson University on Saturday, Oct. 20. Despite their tenacious efforts, the Bears fell to the Dolphins 2-1.
Mercer out-shot Jacksonville 26-10 and held a superior 11-0 advantage in corner kicks, but lost for just the third time in its last 13 games.
Although Mercer dominated offensively having a 10-5 advantage in shots for the first half, Jacksonville got on the board first early. A shot by JU was fired from 25 yards out that beat Ranjitsingh inside the far post to give the Dolphins a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute of play.
Mercer refused to let up and finally their aggressive play paid off in the 78th minute. Junior Ryan King ripped a shot on the net that was blocked by the JU keeper, but sophomore Carl-Oscar Andersson was there for the rebound and slid a shot into the goal to tie the game up at 1-1.
However, the Dolphins responded quickly and retook the lead for good merely 34 seconds later. JU let off a shot from left field that beat Ranjitsingh and sealed the win for the Dolphins.
There are only three games left in the regular season for the Mercer men’s soccer team. The Bears will host Northern Kentucky on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. on Bear Field.
(10/24/12 9:00pm)
So far this season, junior Lacey Fears has proven to be one of the best women’s golfers in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Fears has already earned two Atlantic Sun Player of the Week Honors this season, along with winning the LPGA Invitational and placing second in the Eat a Peach Collegiate. After a disappointing loss in conference playoffs last season, she seeks to redeem herself and take the championship title. Fears sat down with the Cluster to discuss more of her golf career.
Cluster:Where are you from?
Fears: Warner Robins, Georgia
C: How old were you when you started playing sports?
F: I started playing golf at six years old.
C: Did you play any other sports when you were younger? If so, what sports?
F: I played soccer and basketball.
C: You were on the All-Conference team last year. What did you do coming into this season to prepare to continue competing at that level?
F: Being named to the All-Conference team last year gave me the confidence I needed going in to this season to perform at the best of my ability.
C: Obviously your hard work has paid off. You’ve had one of your best seasons so far getting two Atlantic Sun Player of the Week honors. Describe your emotions after these accomplishments.
F: I am very excited that I have played well so far this season because normally I play my best golf in the spring so it is nice to get my confidence up and going prior to the championship season.
C: How would you describe yourself as a player?
F: I just love playing the game. I think the key to my success has always been staying in the moment and not getting ahead of myself. I try not to let myself get too high or too low. Golf is a game where you can’t let yourself get too comfortable. There is always something you can get better at.
C: What is your greatest memory in golf?
F: My greatest memory is winning the LPGA tournament because it was a very competitive field and I played the course better as a junior than as a freshman.
C: And the worst?
F: The worst was probably losing in a playoff at conference. My grandmother had just passed away the day before and I was planning to dedicate the win to her. This loss also kept me from getting a bid to NCAAs.
C: What do you do to prepare for each golf match?
F: To prepare for a tournament mentally, I visualize myself winning and try to get in the moment. Physically, I try to work on the parts of my game that I think will be most crucial at the course we are playing that week.
C: Once you’ve graduated and are done playing Division I golf, do you still see yourself being involved with golf or sports in any way?
F: Ideally, after I graduate I am planning to go to Qualifying School and try to qualify for the LPGA. If that doesn’t pan out, I hope for a career in coaching a college team or teaching.
C: To wrap it up, how do you plan on finishing out this season?
F: Last year was heartbreaking at conference since I lost in a playoff for low medalist, so I am definitely hungry to win the A-Sun Championship. There is a lot of talent on the team this year and we have a great shot at winning if we all play for each other.
With only one tournament left this fall season, the Mercer Women’s golf team hopes to finish strong, giving them a solid momentum going into the spring. Furman University will be hosting the Bears in Spartanburg, S.C. at the Lady Paladin Invitational on Oct. 26.
(10/24/12 9:00pm)
Both of the Mercer men’s and women’s cross country teams finished very well at the 2012 Will Wilson Citadel Invitational held on Saturday, Oct. 16. The men’s team took first overall while the women’s team came in second.
These results would be the best for both teams this season. The men had five top ten finishers and the women placed three. Going into the Atlantic Sun Championship, this performance was just what the Bears needed.
Individually, both the men’s and women’s teams had runners place in second and third. Sophomore Lukas Steinheber and senior Jacob Law paced the Bears with two of the top three times on the day.
Steinheber set a new record for Mercer at the 8k distance with a time of 25:14.95. This was also his personal best time.
Law’s time of 25:43.33 was good enough for third place overall and was about 15 seconds faster than fellow teammate Sony Prosper who finished sixth with a time of 25:58.72.
Freshman Hunter Honeycutt and senior Andrew Weems also had top ten finishes for the Bears. Their finishes helped the team obtain an average time of 25:53.52, which is the second-best average for an away race in the program’s history.
On the women’s side, seniors Kacie Niemann and Katlyn Will again battled for top honors with Will getting the best of Niemann on Saturday.
“It has been awesome to run with Kacie this year,” said Will. “She is a great training partner. She has helped me push harder in training, which has helped me achieve my personal goals. She is very encouraging and motivating.”
Will finished with a time of 17:42.42 which ranks as the top finish ever for a Mercer female cross country competitor at the 5k distance, and her personal best.
Will commented on her performance,“It felt awesome to achieve my best time. The best time that I beat this past weekend was a personal record that I set my freshman year, so it was great when all the hard work that I have put in paid off. But of course, all the glory and honor goes to God. I could not have run as fast as I did without his help.”
Niemann was not too far behind her, posting a time of 17:58.67 for her third sub-18 minute finish of the season. Junior Lena Hamvas also had a solid showing, placing in the top 10 at eighth overall with a time of 18:30.53.
As a team, the women posted an average time of 18:41.98 for second place overall and in the process, set the team record for the best team average.
The Bears will take the next week to prepare vigorously for the A-Sun Championships that take place on Oct. 27 in Ft. Myers, Fla.