By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

After several weeks of hot practices, the Lady Bearcat tennis team opens its season this afternoon, when they hit the road to face the Lady Bluejays of Charleston.

Head coach Leanne Dooley - who also heads the men’s team - expects great things out of the 2011 rendition of the squad.

“We’re going to have a dandy team this year,” Dooley said. “We’ve got a lot of good athletes coming in, especially some of these basketball players.”

The Lady ‘Cats have a slightly lopsided schedule this year. The squad alternates between ‘away, home, away’ in their first three games, and then have six straight home matches.

They close the season with five straight road matches leading into the District Tournament on October 6.

The Lady ‘Cats have three matches this week: they open the season today at Charleston. Wednesday (Aug. 31), they face off with Sikeston at home. Thursday (Sept. 1), the squad goes back on the road against the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules.


All matches this week are scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start.

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Photo Above: Haley Hubbard returns a serve during one of the 'Cats' many practice sessions this summer.

From the Williams Baptist College Sports Information Department

WALNUT RIDGE -- The Williams Baptist Soccer team opens the season on Wednesday, August 31, against Freed-Hardeman University, with new faces and high hopes.

The key new face is the one on the sidelines. Former Williams soccer player Shane Stolz has taken over as the new head coach. Stolz graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from WBC in 2009.  After working two years at Stephens Inc., an investment corporation in Little Rock, AR, Stolz had an opportunity to return to Williams and coach soccer, and he couldn’t pass it up.

“We are trying to change the culture of the team,” said Stolz.  “We want to be a hard working team that possesses the ball. All of our returners have been very good leaders. Our guys are buying into the system so far. If we are better at the end of the day than we were at the beginning it was a successful day, and we are trying to do that every day.”

Stolz thinks his players all have the ability to play a fast paced, possession style game, and he also thinks this style gives his team the best chance to be successful.

“We have a South American feel about our team.” Stolz went on to say.  “These guys have grown up playing the short possession style of soccer that I want my team to play.”

When assistant coach Eric Smith was asked to describe the upcoming season in one word, the word he chose was “New.”  “It’s very new, everything about it,” said Smith. “Coach Stolz is building on the program, but bringing in new philosophies, as well as many new young players.”

Thirteen of the 21 players are new to the Williams soccer program. “We have a very young nucleus that is energetic and ready to go,” said Stolz. “We are looking for contributions out of many of our new guys.”

Lucas Carmargo, a freshman from Brazil, scored a goal in an exhibition played against Northwest Mississippi Junior College last week. Williams won the friendly 2 – 1 with Khalil de Lima scoring the second goal for Williams. De Lima is a sophomore from Brazil and is also a newcomer to the Williams soccer team.

“We looked good for the first 25 minutes,” said Coach Stolz. “After that we got a little tired. We saw a lot of positives but also saw many things we can work on, which is good.”

The Eagles have three upperclassman to go along with a strong nucleus of young players. Harold Owiti, a senior from Kenya, and juniors Esteban Piccinni from Paraguay and Henry Pineda from Green Forest, Ark., will provide experience.

Stolz is looking for leadership and hard work out of his upperclassmen, saying they know that no starting jobs are set in stone, and if they are outworked by a younger player they will end up on the bench. He says having the talented young players helps push the whole team to be better.

“Consistency” was the word Coach Stolz used to describe what he is looking for from his young team.

“A goal of ours is to make the conference tournament for the first time in Williams soccer history. We also want to be a .500 team. We feel that both are very achievable if we play consistently, and the way we know we can.”

The soccer team has a positive outlook on the year, and the players seem energetic and excited about the season. “It’s going to be a good year,” Eagles Captain Lucas Braga said.

The Eagles’ first game is Wednesday, which is also the first day of class at Williams. The game starts at 3:00 p.m.     


Photos Above:

Top Photo: The 2011 Williams Baptist College Men’s Soccer team.

Bottom Photo: WBC welcomes a new head coach this year: Shane Stolz, a 2009 graduate of Williams. He also doubles as the school’s Sports Information Director. 

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Williams Baptist College is a four-year, Christian liberal arts college located in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. DHS Alums Tyler Tanner, a member of the baseball team, and Ryan Windham, a member of the basketball team, are both students at the school.

     

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

ESSEX -- The Lady ‘Cats opened their 2011 campaign in dominating fashion against the Richland Lady Rebels on Monday night.

The Lady ‘Cats swept the contest, winning both the JV (25-16, 25-3) and Varsity (25-19, 25-15) matches in two sets.

“I think we got our first-game jitters out of the way,” head coach Lauren Hutchcraft said. “I thought we were prepared - we got out here and were a little shaky, especially in the first set.”

The ‘Cats were led by a great group of returning players - Lindsey Hindman recorded seven digs and three aces; Hannah Noe recorded seven assists, nine digs, and four aces; Libero Erika Mouser recorded 11 digs and was 8/8 from the service line - and some ‘new blood’ in freshman Jessica Lindsey.


Lindsey, the lone freshman on the varsity squad, put up great numbers in her first match: six digs, five kills, four blocks, one ace, and was 7/8 from the service line.

“Jessica Lindsey, she ended up with four blocks tonight. She is probably nervous, but you can't tell,” Hutchcraft noted. “She’s played phenomenal ball so far, being a freshman that’s pulled up on varsity - especially playing some of the teams we play. I’m glad we got the first game out of the way so she can get over some nerves.”


Despite the lopsided score, Hutchcraft noted the talent of her squad’s opponent. “Richland played well tonight,” she said. “They have some great girls on their team.”


The Lady ‘Cats will face the Kennett Lady Indians in their home opener Tuesday (Aug. 30) night at the BEC. Hutchcraft said the team looks forward to the district matchup, but noted that her team would have to be a little sharper on the court to move to 2-0 on the season.

“We face Kennett tomorrow night at home. They will be a good team, with some really athletic girls,” Hutchcraft said, “and they’re district competition, so hopefully we’re less nervous and play a little better tomorrow night.”

JV action is set to begin at 6:00 p.m., with Varsity action immediately following.

The Dexter JV Team traveled to New Madrid on Monday night to take on the NMCC Eagles in the opening Junior Varsity contest of the 2011 Season. Hopes were extremely high for the young ‘Cats, as they are are full of talent and should prove to be very competitive throughout the season.

The game started on a rough note for the ‘Cats, when the opening kickoff by New Madrid was fumbled. The Eagles' T.J. Clark recovered the fumble and returned it for an Eagles touchdown. The Eagles failed the 2-point conversion, leaving the score at 6-0.

The Bearcat defense stepped up to break the ice by stopping New Madrid in their own endzone for a safety, making the score 6-2.

The ‘Cats offensive machine finally got rolling as quarterback D.J. Dowdy handed off to Brad Wick. Wick powered his way through the Eagles defense for a Bearcat touchdown. The two-point conversion was good with Dowdy's run into the endzone.

The Eagles, however, were not finished as quarterback Willie Jimerson answered with a touchdown of his own. The two-point conversion was no good.

With only 27 seconds remaining in the 1st quarter, Jonathan Foels broke a big 80 yard touchdown run, but the two-point conversion failed. At the end of an action packed 1st quarter of play, Dexter held a 16-12 lead.

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Hand off from Bearcat's quarterback D J Dowdy to his running back Jonathan Foels during Monday nights 24-20 victory over the New Madrid County Central Eagles.

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The flow of the game changed in the second quarter - both teams exchanged their high-powered offenses for a defensive battle. Neither team found the end zone leaving the score unchanged going into halftime.

The offensive shootout resumed in the second half - NMCC scored another touchdown 20 seconds into the frame to take a 20-16 lead.

The Bearcats would not be denied as Dillon Bazarian took a hand off from Dowdy at the 2:57 mark and added another touchdown to the Bearcats' total. Dowdy’s pass to Stevie Payne on the two point conversion was complete, giving the 'Cats a 24-20 lead.

The defense for the Bearcats took control of the football game from that point on. Dowdy made some great plays in the defensive backfield. With a little over a minute left in the 3rd quarter, Dowdy came up with a key interception to stop New Madrid’s offensive drive.

No better defense could have been found than in the final minute of the football game. New Madrid County was driving hard to get back on the scoreboard when the Bearcats' Dakota Southerland came up with a huge second down sack of Jimmerson. Jordan Miller broke up a pass on the third down play,and when all the chips were on the table, Holden Bruce was able to smash all of the Eagles' hopes as he broke through the line of scrimmage, sacking the Eagle's quarterback.

The Bearcats took possession of the football and sent the 'victory formation' out on the field. Dowdy took a knee to run out the clock and hand the JV 'Cats a 24-20 win.

The JV Bearcats will be at home next Monday (Sept. 5) night, when they face the Malden Green Wave at Charles Bland Stadium. Everyone is encouraged to come out and show your support of our young Bearcat athletes. This is a talented group of young men on the JV squad this season, and will be a lot of fun to watch.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

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From the Williams Baptist College Sports Information Department

Volleyball Looks to Build on Recent Success

WALNUT RIDGE --The Williams Baptist College volleyball team has enjoyed success over the last four years, with a combined record of 95 wins and 57 losses. 

The coaches and players believe this year will be another step up for the program.  Coach Eric Newell lead the team to two wins on opening weekend versus Mid-Continent University. 

The team has been working hard the past three weeks, practicing three times a day.

“This year’s volleyball team, despite some setbacks, has excelled in nearly all areas of the pre-season,” Newell said. 

The coaching staff believes the pre-season has showed promise - the players have gotten better each week.

Senior outside hitter and leader Caitlin Wakefield described the pre-season.

“Everyone has been sore, but we are meshing as a team,” Wakefield said. “It has been a fun experience getting to know the new faces and reunite with the returners.”

Wakefield is one of three seniors that Newell believes are proven leaders and great players.  The other two are middle blocker Haley Motley and libero Kelsey Davault. 

Motley led the Eagles in nearly all offensive categories as a junior, while Davault led the Eagles in digs and aces.

“Caitlin leads by example on and off the court,” Newell said of Wakefield.  “She gives 100 percent, 100 percent of the time.”  That work ethic inspires the younger players to work just as hard as her. 

Motley was described as being the leader who makes everyone feel welcome.

“Haley never meets a stranger, and she does a good job of making new players feel welcome and being a vocal leader on the court,” Newell stated.

Newell believes that Davault is taking advantage of her last season of volleyball.  

“It is like she understands this is her last opportunity to play volleyball,” Newell said, “and she is going to take advantage of it.”

Newell is hopeful that the team’s strengths will be defensive and serve-receive.  He has added a student-assistant in Chelsey Politte - a defensive specialist that played for the Eagles each of the last two seasons.

Joe Baldwin will also be returning as assistant coach for the Lady Eagles.

“I am excited. I believe we have a good squad with unlimited potential,” Baldwin noted. “If we work hard, we will achieve our goals.”

WBC’s first home volleyball game will be September 9 at 4:30 p.m., where they will be competing in a double header against Central Baptist College.

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Williams Baptist College is a four-year, Christian liberal arts college located in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. DHS Alums Tyler Tanner, a member of the baseball team, and Ryan Windham, a member of the basketball team, are both students at the school.