In a tough conference match-up against University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh last Thursday, the Marquette Men’s Club Volleyball team fought hard but came up short, winning one game, 25-23, out of four. UWO clinched victory in the first game 15-25 and finished the match with two wins, 17-25 and 15-25, respectively. Fan turnout was significant for the team’s game against UWO, with around 60 people in attendance.

“UWO has grown to be our biggest rival the past few years, so every time we play each other, both teams know it is going to be a slugfest. This one was no exception. We came out a bit flat in the first game and didn’t match their intensity, but then found our step in the second and third game,” said team libero Aaron Brown. “We were disappointed in the outcome, but also took it as a learning experience as we move forward this year as a team. The fan support was great, too. It always helps us when we have a big crowd on hand to support us.”

The Marquette men’s volleyball team is now 2-2 and is looking ahead and working to improve on energy and consistency as the National Championships in Kansas City approach on April 9-11.

“At the end of last semester we sat down as a team and came up with a list of goals we would like to accomplish as a team, some including winning our conference, and placing in the top 10 at Nationals. I think most players would agree that we have gotten off to a slow start this season, but we are growing and learning from our mistakes each day,” Brown said.

Coach Brian Nash said he and the team will continue to work on their focus and energy as they get into their season. “We’re going to keep moving forward, our goal is a top finish in the conference,” Nash said.

Marquette plays in the Wisconsin Volleyball Conference (WVC), a conference that has remained competitive, and produced national champions, for example, Lakeland College in 2008.

“We have arguably the most competitive conference not only in the state or Midwest, but in the nation. Teams such as UWO, Lakeland and UW-Whitewater always present us with a tough challenge when we play, and we know we must come out and play our best. Playing competition like this week in and week out always helps us perform well at Nationals, seeing as we have faced some of the best competition all season long,” Brown said.

The team is traveling to Southern California over spring break to play West Coast teams UCLA, Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount to prepare for Nationals.
“The team hopes this will help us gain an advantage over other Midwest teams having had the experience already of playing a West Coast team,” Brown said.
In April, Marquette hosts the WVC tournament, and the team hopes that along with continued training and hard work, a big fan turnout will cheer them to victory and give them a boost for the national competition, the following weekend.

“Winning in front of our fans would be really exciting and would be a great confidence boost heading into the national tournament the next weekend,” team setter Joe Gacioch said.

The Marquette men’s volleyball team still faces significant challenges from their upcoming opponents, but they are confident in their potential to be a driving force in the WVC. “We have the talent and experience to be a contender in the conference…we still have head-to-head matches against Lakeland and Whitewater that we’re hoping will give us that spark we’re looking for,” outside hitter Jonathon Gasteiner said.

Popularity: 8% [?]

With the Brewers out of the playoffs, baseball in the city of Milwaukee may seem obsolete until next season. But for all baseball fans who want to go to a game instead of sit and watch it on the television, there is still one option open: Marquette Club Baseball.

Most Saturdays and Sundays from September through October, the MU Club Baseball team can be found at Harden Field, 3717 W. Howard Ave, just beyond Leon’s Frozen Custard Drive-In and St. Luke’s Hospital on the south side of Milwaukee.

These games are not just guys messing around on a baseball diamond. The talent and level of play on the field is on par with a NCAA Division III baseball team, as evidenced by MU Club Baseball’s recent win over Milwaukee Area Technical College, which is a Division III team.

“Almost everyone on the team could have played collegiate baseball at the Division III or Division II level,” said Tim Pauly, a junior on the team.
With a record of 8-4, there have been quite a few exciting moments already this season.

“Our team beat UW-Madison twice this September. Anthony Gattuso, team president, told us he has never beat Madison since joining the club team his freshman year. So, to beat a team that has had the upper hand over the years was a great accomplishment,” said Matthew Walters, a sophomore pitcher for the team.

“We beat Division III MATC two times and we have beaten conference powers Madison and UW-Milwaukee two times each also. All these wins were a result of excellent defense and fantastic pitching performances with a little clutch hitting sprinkled in there,” said Gattuso, the team manager and president.

These great moments on the diamond can be attributed to practice and good coaching. Practices usually run one to two hours, four times per week. Gattuso has his players “practice hard on doing the little things right.”

“I just try to help them be their best,” he said.

The guys on the team not only work hard during practice and games; they show how much they love the sport by covering the costs of travel, uniforms and equipment themselves. Marquette University only provides some funding for league fees, and allows the team to use the Helfaer Recreational Center and Valley Fields for practice.

“The university does help out, but the expenses of a club team are far more than what the university provides. When you see a club athlete participating, it’s because of the love of the game,” Walters said.

TJ Petullo, a junior on the team, describes how much he loves the game: “There are three things in my life which I truly love: God, my family and baseball. The only problem is, once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit.

Despite the action, achievement and dedication that the MU Club Baseball team has put forth this year, the team still has trouble attracting fans to their games. Possible reasons for this range from the remote location of home games from campus and that most Marquette students do not even know that a Marquette baseball team exists.

Going to the home games at Harden Field may be a bit of a drive, but if a custard stop at Leon’s is made beforehand, it might just be worth it. And if enough people start coming, the baseball games could be moved to Valley Fields, where more Marquette students would be able to enjoy them.

“It’s fun to watch college athletes play baseball at a relatively high level,” said Jeff Parker, a sophomore first baseman on the team.

MU Club Baseball’s next home game is Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. against University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. If going home is not an option for fall break, maybe seeing a game at Harden Field will be.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Even though there is still more than a foot of snow on the ground, the Marquette Men’s Lacrosse team is getting ready to start their conference season. Although the weather has been a deterrent to practicing outside, as freshman Carl Anderson said, “You just have to deal with it.”The team opens their year this weekend against nationally ranked Illinois. The team is looking to build off of their fall season during which they ended strong and really came together in their last tournament.

Marquette returns basically the same team from their fall season but this semester the team is much healthier. Marquette also returns reigning coach of the year Panchito Ojeda and second team all conference member Andrew Weber.

Marquette is one of seven teams in the UMLL conference which is part of a Division I league of around 100 teams around the nation. The Lacrosse team has 14 new members which makes them very young. Among them is Anderson.

Anderson joined the team because he has been playing lacrosse since he was 10 years old. He also wanted to be a part of a team that was dedicated to winning.

It is this enthusiasm and dedication on the part of the 14 freshmen that has led seniors Andy Hunt and Adam Caccamise to believe that this is the most talented freshman class that they have seen in their four years on the team.

Hunt, one of five seniors on the team, said that he was “more excited for this year than any other in my four year career. We work hard, but also have a lot of fun.”

Hunt and Caccamise have been on the team since their freshman year. While having five seniors on the team does not sound like much, it is rare for the team to have more than a couple seniors because most players do not stay with the team all four years.

The leadership of the five seniors along with a talented freshman class should give Marquette one of its best seasons in recent memory.

The Marquette Men’s Lacrosse season will be highlighted by back to back games April 4 and 5 against University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and then University of Minnesota at Valley Fields. The April 4th match will be played at 7 p.m. under the lights and the April 5th game is scheduled for 3 p.m. The team always looks forward to their home games because they are so few and far between and because of the great crowd support that comes along with the event.

An estimated 500 fans packed into Valley Fields to watch a home game last year. This season Marquette only has those two home games on their schedule, so they are expecting an even larger crowd this year.

One other highlight of the season will be a spring break trip to the Carolinas and Georgia where the team will face off against Georgia Tech, The University of South Carolina and Wake Forrest. Marquette will also travel to St. Paul in April to play conference foe and 4th-ranked Minnesota-Duluth. While Marquette is not nationally ranked, they did receive votes in the poll this year, something that they have not received in seven years. The team was picked to finished 3rd in conference.

Popularity: 17% [?]

College football is one the most exciting sports in the nation. Just look at this year, with an upset virtually every week. This got me to thinking, why doesn’t Marquette have a football team?

Marquette decided to cut the football team after the 1960 season since the team had not had a winning season since 1953 and the University was losing money putting the team out on the field.

At the time, the move could have seemed reasonable. Now, though, college football is a major source of income for universities. According to a 2007 report by CNN, only 15 out of 64 teams in the Football Bowl System (FBS) division (formally Division I-A) that went to a bowl game lost money during the 2006-2007 season.

The 2006-2007 season Florida alone made $32.4 million. Now they are in the SEC and are going to fill seats with a winning team; but that is still an extraordinary amount of money.

According to an NCAA news release from 1996, the average profit for a FBS division school in 1995 was $1.2 million, and I would suspect that since then, it has only gone up.

One big question is where would a Marquette team play? You can rule out Valley Fields. Even if they tore it down, it just doesn’t have the land capacity to house a stadium of the size needed, since the casino is next door and isn’t moving anytime soon.

A stadium would have to be built somewhere in Milwaukee or a suburb close by. Just like the basketball games, Marquette could bus students to the stadium. The cost of a stadium that holds around 50,000 to 60,000 should cost around $140 million, unless Marquette wants to have one of the most state-of-the-art stadiums.

To fund the stadium Marquette could make a deal with the state of Wisconsin that could be like the deal made between the University of Minnesota and the taxpayers of Minnesota. The University comes up with 52% of the funds and the state pays the other 48%.

Marquette could get the money from alumni donations, selling the name rights of the stadium, parking fees and putting in an athletic fee in tuition to raise it an additional $50. This was also a strategy used by the University of South Florida, which started their football program in 1997.

USF has gone 24-14 since joining the Big East football conference in 2003. In a matter of eight years the school was in a BCS conference, and 10 years after the team was founded, they were ranked No. 2 at one point during last season. This proves that a team can start from scratch and quickly rise to a great level of play.

The team did have to spend its first four seasons in the Football Championship System (FCS) conference (formally Division II-A) but now is in the FBS. So Marquette could take a similar path, start a team, play a few years in the FCS to get a team started and then move up.

Since Marquette is already in the Big East for basketball, maybe the conference would let us in for football, which would mean that we would already be in a BCS conference. I’m not saying that it would be easy to bring a football team to Marquette, but it is something worth looking into by the University.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Any other perfect day in Boston, Katie Scheidemantel might have been thinking about the Red Sox game, the clear blue skies or the 70 degree weather.

Any other perfect day, this coxswain from Marquette University’s women’s crew team might not have been thinking about winning at the biggest race in the world for her sport against the stiffest of competition. The 21 year-old in the College of Arts and Sciences might not have prepared to steer herself and four fellow crew members through the dangerous, difficult turns of the Charles River between the banks of Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

But today, she’s ready.
“People outside of rowing don’t realize what the Head of the Charles is,” said Coach Ruth Blahnik. “they don’t understand that it’s the biggest rowing regatta in the world.”
On Saturday, October 20th, Scheidemantel would lead the lightweight women’s four boat to victory at the Head of the Charles Regatta. The women won the race for the first time in Marquette history and breaking the record for the course with a time of 19:19.167(19 minutes and 19.167 seconds).

“This is the first time anyone has done this well on this course, ever!” said Blahnik.

The winning boat included Senior and coxswain Scheidemantal; Senior Mary Kaleta, 22, in the College of Health Sciences; Sophomore Julie Knyszek, 19, in the College of Arts and Sciences; Sophomore Rachel Stoll, 19, in the College of Arts and Sciences; and senior Diana Mitsche, 21, in the College of Health Sciences.

With more than 7,500 athletes and 300,000 spectators, it is the largest two-day rowing regatta in the world. The Head of the Charles Regatta stands just below the Olympics in the rowing world and as the ultimate race in college competition, attracting teams from all over the globe.

WINNING AT THE BIGGEST RACE IN THE WORLD

A timed event, Marquette competed against 32 other boats in the Collegiate Women’s Four race. In order to compete each year, teams either need to enter a lottery system to win a spot or place in the top five percent in their event to guarantee their return. In 2006, the Marquette’s team in the Collegiate Women’s Four race placed high enough to guarantee a fourth place starting position for 2007.

The Charles River continues to be one of the most difficult to navigate and one of the most dangerous courses. Coxswains, who sit either in the bow or stern of the boat, act as the eyes and ears to steer the boat safely to victory. A good coxswain can make or break a boat crew.

“I watched a few men’s eights boats collide on the river before we raced, and my stomach turned,” said Coach Blahnik.

Luckily for the Marquette squad, Scheidemantel had done her homework.

“Every time she comes here, it’s like she’s studying for an exam,” said Diana Mitsche of coxswain Scheidemantel. “She’s been studying for this exam for three years.”

The time Scheidemantel spent studying every turn and bend in the river over the last three years finally paid off. For the first half of the race, Marquette lagged behind competitors William Smith College and Penn State. But coming around the final bend, Scheidemantel sensed the opportunity to strike and pushed the rowers in her boat to sprint.

“This is the part where everyone else is going to die,” Kaleta recalled Scheidemantel screaming through the loudspeaker. “But we are going to win.”

Masking tape stuck to their backs with written reminders on technique, the girls looked to each other for inspiration.

“The general consensus was that we were going to die, we didn’t think we could make it till the end,” said Mitsche.

As they approached Penn State, who began the race in first place, Scheidemantel knew they could win a medal.

THE PERFECT FORMULA

While the coxswain remains responsible for steering the boat, the perfect balance of all five girls made the team a winning combination. The coxswain sits in the bow, or the front, of the boat facing forwards. As the only member of the boat who can see what lies ahead, they have to both steer, direct and encourage the rowers in the boat.

“I don’t like to lose,” said coxswain Scheidemantel.

Sitting directly behind the coxswain, first or bow seat, Mary Kaleta, pushes herself hard to keep the boat in first place.

“[There was] one practice where she pulled so hard her veins turned blue,” said Coach Blahnik.

Seats two and three, Julie Knyszek and Rachel Stoll respectively, provide the power for the boat. Seat two, or the ‘power stroke,’ has the most responsibility for pushing the boat.

The fourth and final spot, Diana Mitsche, called ‘stroke seat’ or just ‘stroke,’ sets the pace and rhythm for the entire boat.

THE UNDERDOGS

Lacking the school funding of the Division I schools they compete against, Marquette’s men’s and women’s club crew teams still rise to the top. The few thousand dollars Marquette gives the team every year is minimal compared to other programs. The rest of the funding has to be made up in dues from club members.

Paying nearly 1000 dollars a year to be on the team, each crew member, according to Coach Blahnik, has dedicated roughly 10 hours per week, every week of the year to training for crew.

“Most girls know that if they want to be competitive on the team, they can’t stop training,” said Mitsche.

Just twenty minutes before the race, the team realized that one of the steering wires for their boat was frayed down to a thread, imperiling the boat and its members. They wrapped it up in duct tape and rowed anyway.

“Duct tape and dreams,” Stoll joked.

A total of 16 members from the women team and 16 from the men’s team made the trip to Boston. And when they were off the water, rowers were busy cheering on their teammates.

“They are very team orientated, that’s why I love it,” said Coach Blahnik.

Every year at the banquet held for the team, Coach Blahnik gives a speech thanking everyone and encouraging returning members. Since she has joined the team, Blahnik has focused on perfecting technique instead of

“When you’re part of the varsity team, you’re a part of my family,” said Coach Blahnik.

Popularity: 17% [?]

t is a quiet, dark Wednesday morning in Milwaukee and a small group of Marquette students meet at 4:45 am to begin practice. Nope, it is not the men’s basketball team, but Marquette’s men’s varsity crew team.

Waking up early is just the beginning for the Crew Team. While a few members drive down to the boathouse, most of the team jogs from campus as a warm-up for their legs; as it will be the core and arms doing most of the work at practice. When all the members of the team arrive at the boathouse, the men go through a series of different stretches, as well as, understandably, a series of yawning.

The temperature at the boathouse does not help. Most of the team wears hoodies or Under Armour to dispell the cold air, but while the hardcore members are just in shorts and T-shirts.

But the team is used to all this by now. With practices at 5 a.m. Monday through Friday with days off only on Thursdays, the routine is not exactly a desirable one unless you are a passionate rower.

On this morning, it is easy to see Marquette has exactly 12 passionate rowers, as Wednesday is one of the last practices before the Head of the Charles Regatta, one of the most prestigious rowing tournaments in the world. The race will contain participants from colleges, high schools and rowing clubs from all over the world.

For the Regatta, the team will be split into two teams: the lightweights, an eightman team of freshmen through seniors and the openweights, a four-man team of mostly upperclassmen. Wednesday’s practice will also have this format.

Before they can jump into the water, the team must retrieve the boats. Inside the spacious boathouse are rows and rows of black and white eight and four member boats, as well as all of the oars and practice rowing machines. Although the warm-up has been fairly easy-going, it is here where the team gets down to business.

“Hands on, openweights,” says Brianne Garrett, head coxswain or the person who sets the pace of the row and steer the boat.

Garrett, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences continues her instructions,“And up, side-step out… shoulders at split…over your head…and walk it out.”

When the boats are out, the two teams lock them down to the dock, fasten the oars and hop in the boat.

“Ready,” says Garrett, “One, two, and row.”

Both the lightweights and openweights plunge into the water and head down the river as coach Mary Spitzer, a recent graduate and a former rower herself follows in a white motorboat. On the way down the river, Spitzer follows the lightweights and their coxswain, Alec Hurley, a sophomore in the College of Communication.

Just five minutes into the practice, the looming Aurora Health Center and US Bank buildings come into view. But the lightweights only have eyes for the water, as the boat of eight men focus on Alec’s instructions of when to row and when to break.

But what the outside observer sees as fluid motion, Spitzer sees as slight inconsistency.

“John, back your blade down as you’re coming into the catch, you’re missing water,” she yells. “Roberto, slow down your knees and sit up tall. Make sure you’re not lunging.”

As they pass the lights of the Third Street Pier, John Hawks Pub and Milwaukee Public Market, it is clear Hurley is the one doing most of the talking.

“Just like that, every stroke, boys,” he says over his microphone headset.

In the eight-man boat, it is also Hurley’s job to call the numbers of the men telling them when to paddle. “Five, six, eight, on the feather,” he exclaims, telling his rowers to bring their oars back parallel to the water, or, the “feather.”

“You should be as square as you can… back that blade down,” he yells as the splash of the oars tries to drown out his voice. “Two, one, straighten ‘er out…reach out all the way as far back as you can.”

When they approach the spot where theywll be turning around, Hurley turns on the heat.

“Pick it up, all in unison! Finish together, under control gentlemen! Slow, don’t rush, slow, DRIVE!”

It is 5:45 a.m. and there is still no sign of the sun. Both of the teams have reached the very wide inner harbor just south of downtown. It is time to go back, but the pace is only about to increase.

Heading back up the river, the two teams prepare for what are known as “Power 10’s,” or 10 extra hard consecutive strokes that resemble a pace for the Regatta.

“Race it like a race,” yells out Spitzer from her boat. “Find what’s gonna work for you in your race and find that rate. Start it like you’re in the chute.”

The two boats line up side by side, but the openweights: captain Mike DeWilde, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, Marc Khatchadourian, a senior in the College of Communications, John Modrzynski, a sophomore in the College of Engineering and John Westfall, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences will be taking off first.

“You guys ready in back?,” yells Spitzer. “ROW!”

With a burst of speed, the four openweights zoom back up the river like men on a mission. They start so fast, Spitzer needs to floor her motorboat to catch up.

They continuously paddle back under all the bridges and the lights of the Milwaukee skyscrapers. With a fourman boat, there are no periods of rest for this group, but they are making it look easy.

The openweights are so steady that Garrett, their coxswain, is lying on her back in the stern like they have done this a million times.

“Keep it together, there we go, just like that,” she says through her headset. However, she is not completely happy with them.

“C’mon guys stop splashing,” she says. “If you guys splash me one more time…”

When the openweights start to approach the boathouse at 6:30 a.m., they will have already finished while both the Marquette women’s team and the Milwaukee Masters are still on the river. The sun is now completely out, providing a glimpse of what a beautiful day it will turn out to be.

Spitzer gets the group to convene. “I know Boston’s a big race and some of you might be nervous,” she says. “But you looked good today.”

But tomorrow is Thursday, so maybe then they can finally get some sleep.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Valley Fields are alive once again with the hard work and positive attitude of the Marquette men’s lacrosse team. The men are back with a vengeance for the spring season with a few fresh faces and the same great attitude. Men’s lacrosse has grown a lot since fall, and is back and better than ever this spring. Through a tough practice schedule and constantly being on the road for away games, the team has kept a clean image and is motivated to improve and be the best team Marquette has ever had.

The guys practice at Valley fields three to four times a week. If that isn’t a commitment in itself, then consider the fact that team members practice from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. all of those nights. They are also constantly traveling in order to play other teams. This spring, the men have already traveled to numerous schools including Vanderbilt in Tennessee, Kansas State, Iowa State, MSU Mankato and the University of Wisconsin at Steven’s Point. For most club teams, this amount of travel is a lot to handle, but the lacrosse team doesn’t mind the grind of the road. For the most part, the men look at the traveling as an opportunity to see places they otherwise may not have gotten the chance to see and as a great team bonding experience. The spring season has brought many new faces to the team, and the traveling has helped bring the guys together and get to know each other better.

It may seem that the spring team has no differences from the fall team, but the spring season has brought many changes. Along with the many new players and the vigorous traveling schedule, the team has also matured to a great extent. In the fall season, there was an excessive amount of new freshmen, which made the team seem young and inexperienced. The freshmen now have played a season and know what it takes to play at the college level. Due to the team’s intense practice schedule and the amount of hard work they have put into their sport, the lacrosse team has made the conference tournament, which means the hard work will become more challenging. But it also gives the club an exclusive opportunity to show off their efforts and make a name for themselves among other college teams.

Keeping up with a promise the team made to themselves, the administration and the Marquette community, the lacrosse team has remained sober and could not be happier about it. Freshman goal keeper Pat Dahl explained that the team has worked hard to stay alcohol-free and the men do not miss it at all.

“We are very strict on the drinking policy,” Dahl said. “The team has learned its lesson from the previous year and we are a better team for it.” The team also has made a great commitment to participate in community service. They already took part in Al’s Run/Walk in the fall, and brought their best to help with Hunger Clean-Up, last Saturday, April 21.

The men’s lacrosse team has made leaps and bounds toward a better team this year, bouncing back from an embarrassing scandal the year before. Throughout the fall season the men built the team back up from the ground and have done nothing but bring positive recognition back to the club. This spring is looking promising for men’s lacrosse as they are continuing to be better than ever.

Popularity: 13% [?]

How hard is it to start an expansion team? To find out, just ask Bob McNair and Bob Johnson, the Houston Texans’ and Charlotte Bobcats’ respective owners. If you need an even better example, shoot an e-mail to two-year owner Stuart Sternberg of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, whose team still hasn’t come close to even a glimpse of the Yankees’ living room from their nine-year crawlspace in the American League East.

Now, obviously the creation of a college club team is less difficult than that of a professional franchise, but the basics of starting a new team — finding players, facilities and financial means — are the same.

For the second-year Marquette water polo team, the transition has not only included accomplishing these three tasks, but also accomplishments where they count most: the pool.

Although the team was officially started last year, 2007 is considered the inaugural year of Marquette’s participation in the Great Plains Division of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA). The Golden Eagles finished with a more-than-respectable 10-6 fall season record in the division, which consists of Marquette, the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, Kansas University and Minnesota State University at Mankato.

Success didn’t just accompany the approximately 20-member team in the regular season, however, as it reached the division championship in its first ever try, eventually falling to Minnesota 16-9. The great season was hopefully one of many to come, said club President, Founder and Treasurer Peter Mohan.

“We have a large recruiting hot-bed in Chicago, and once we tap into that potential, our team can be one of the top in the nation,” Mohan said. “I expect the team to grow every year in regards to popularity and skill, and hopefully next year with a good returning team we can make it to nationals.”

A win in next year’s division championship will give them that opportunity, which, if not for Mohan, would never have been a reality two years ago.

After gathering interest on www.Facebook.com and O-Fest, Mohan then had to ask the Recreational Sports Department for pool time, fill out paperwork to apply for club status and finally go in front of the club sports presidents for a majority vote.

“There was some dissent by some clubs because they felt we would be cutting into their money, but the majority was in our favor,” said Mohan.

Needless to say, he was glad it was.

“I really enjoy the sport and the opportunity was not offered here at Marquette,” said Mohan. “Plus, I knew there were a lot of people here that played water polo in high school.”

One such player is Davor Mitrovic, a four-year starter and All-State selection at Mount Carmel High School in Chicago and the 2006 Great Plains Division MVP.

“I think I was lucky to get selected,” Mitrovic said about his award. “The team was very balanced and everyone contributed; the other teams could not double team anyone because some one else would step up. Guys like Pete [Mohan] and Bob [Conrath] and Billy [Doerr] in the goal were a wall so we saved a lot of energy on defense because we knew if the other team got a shot off Billy could stop it.”

While the fall season is where most of the fierce competition takes place, the team is still active in the spring, and went 2-2 in a tournament at Iowa State the weekend of March 23, defeating St. John’s College of Minnesota as well as the host.

Like all new organizations, however, Marquette has faced some problems dealing with all of the facets that running a club entails. So far this spring the team had to cancel participation in tournaments two times; one for lack of members and the other for lack of transportation.

Nonetheless, Mohan has worked diligently in order to find quality and consistent competition for the team and his efforts have paid off. Marquette, despite not having adequate facilities on campus, will be hosting the 2007 Great Plains Division CWPA Championship at Schroeder YMCA in Brown Deer, a distance advantage the team surely will relish.

“Every other school in our division is at least a five-hour drive, so it will be easier for us to get in a rhythm before our games,” Mohan said. “Also, we should have the entire roster present; a benefit we don’t usually have.”

Popularity: 14% [?]

Usually, basketball, football and baseball come to mind immediately when asked to think about sports. When asked to think about cheerleading, the first thought to come to mind again would most likely be basketball or football. Cheerleading is almost always associated with bigger, more popular male sports and is rarely considered a sport in its own right. The trouble with that, however, is that cheerleading is in fact a sport capable of standing on its own; it is not only a sport, but a rather difficult sport at that.

People associate cheerleading with catchy slogans shouted out by a group of girls on the sideline of a football field or basketball court. A cartwheel here and a wave of a pom pon there is basically what makes up the fundamentals of cheerleading right? Wrong. Cheerleading is one of the most underrated sports today. Although it is sometimes thought of as mindless shouting, it incorporates difficult dance routines, extensive gymnastic tumbling and intricate stunts. Serious cheerleaders practice for hours each day: working on choreography, practicing dangerous stunts and spending time in the weight room building their muscles. Cheerleading is not just a sport to these athletes but a lifestyle. When they are not at practice, they continue to stay fit and remain on a healthy diet so they can perform at a top level.

Cheerleading has been stereotyped over the years as a safe, simple sport with no real risk involved when compared to other sports. The truth of the matter is that cheerleading is one of the most dangerous sports around, and the risk factor has been growing significantly over the past few years. According to a research study done at the Columbus Children’s Hospital in Ohio, there were 22,900 cheerleading related injuries in emergency rooms across the country in 2002 which was a significant increase from 10,900 in 1990. These figures also do not include private consultations for similar injuries, so the actual cheerleading injuries could be much higher. Another study performed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Catastrophic Injury Insurance Program found that in 2005, 25 percent of money spent on claims for student athletes since 1998 resulted from cheerleading accidents. Clearly there is more risk to cheerleading than it is given credit for.

A recent article posted online by the New York Times featured a story about a young woman who was a member of the cheerleading squad at Sacramento City College and was asked to perform a difficult stunt, a stunt that almost cost her her life. In the article, journalist Bill Pennington told of how this young woman was thrown into the air to do a particular flip, but was not caught by her teammates and ended up breaking her neck. Although incidents such as this are not common, they are more prevalent than they may seem and are another illustration of just how dangerous the sport truly is.

Alongside the obvious danger of breaking bones through challenging gymnastic stunts, cheerleading also comes with a great risk for eating disorders which can lead to even more serious problems. Since cheerleaders must remain relatively small to successfully do certain dance moves or become “fliers” (a cheerleader who is thrown into the air), and also to look attractive in the barely there uniforms provided, it is not uncommon for them to be concerned with weight and body image. Along with gymnasts and dancers, cheerleaders are at high risk for developing eating disorders in order to maintain a certain image. The Boston Globe featured a story in 1991 about a young woman at the University of Connecticut who had been kicked off the cheerleading squad for being overweight. She turned to a restrictive diet of water and lettuce for five weeks, and also abuse of diuretics to drop her weight from 147 to 123. She was let back on the team after her massive weight loss, but soon after had to leave the squad for a second time due to severe illness caused by her eating disorder.

Cheerleading continues to be overlooked as a real sport by many and is typically seen as a safe alternative to real sports. When examined closely however, cheerleading comes out on top as one of the most challenging and dangerous sports available today. Think twice before you dismiss cheerleading as a sport for the weak, because chances are that cheerleaders are tougher than they appear.

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Although most of Milwaukee has probably never heard of Boston’s Head of the Charles regatta, crew teams throughout the country had anticipated the event for months. With 7,500 athletes in attendance, it is North America’s largest regatta and the largest fall regatta in the world. Each year, 300,000 spectators travel to Boston to attend the event. Crew teams come from the United States, Canada, Europe and even Asia to compete in 26 different races, ranging in size from one-man to eight-man boats. Of the 7,500 competitors, 24 came from the Marquette club crew team: 12 women rowers, eight male rowers and four coxswains. After 18 hours of bus travel and one day of practice, Marquette shined in competition. Marquette entered boats in four events and was incredibly successful throughout the entire regatta. On Oct. 20, Marquette entered two boats in the competition, one in the Men’s Collegiate four and one in the Women’s Collegiate four. The men’s team took fifth place with an overall time only 3.14 percent behind the leader. The women’s team took seventh, with a time only 4.05 percent behind the winning team. Because both boats had a finishing time within five percent of the winning time, they automatically received a bid to return to the event next year.

On Oct. 21, Marquette had a Lightweight Men’s four and a Collegiate Women’s eight. The lightweight men finished within 10.29 percent of the top boat’s time, and the women finished within 10.53 percent.

Unlike much of its competition, the Marquette crew team is a club sport. Most of its members did not begin rowing until their freshmen year. With that said, Marquette’s high finish is incredibly significant. Many of the competitors are Division 1 teams that recruit students to row. Some of the schools Marquette competed against at the Head of the Charles were: Boston College, Colgate, Northwestern, Bucknell, Penn State, Yale, Brown University and Princeton. There were also international crews among the competition including Ottawa Rowing Club, Undine Barge Club and King’s Crown Rowing Association.

The results and lineups from the event can be found at the Charles’ Web site: www.hocr-timing.org/results/results_schedule.shtml.

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