The RamPage
Lady Rams Hoops Garners Spot in Top 10 Poll
Posted on 12/12/07 by NCU Sports Information
Despite a short bench and a difficult opening schedule, the Lady Rams will go into the holiday break as the number seven ranked team in the NCCAA DII Women's Basketball Poll.
Currently, the Rams are 3-4 with two of their losses coming to NCAA DIII Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, Minn). Two weeks ago NCU claimed an 11-point victory over ninth-ranked NCCAA Northland Baptist Bible College (Dunbar, Wis). That win served notice that though the Rams have only seven players on their roster, they will be a team to reckon with in the second half of the season.
North Central is also showing their strength in the national stats standings. NCU is currently the number one team in the NCCAA in rebounds per game, averaging more than 52 boards a contest. The Rams are currently fourth in rebound margin, out-rebounding opponents by over 14 boards a game. Defense is also a strong point for the Lady Rams thus far as they are eighth in scoring defense, third in defensive scoring percentage, and first in defensive three-point shooting percentage. They are also second in blocks per game with over five per outing.
Team statistics are often the result of several strong individual performances, and the Lady Rams are strong on that front as well. Junior center Naomi Sanon (Boston, Mass.) is an early season candidate for National Player of the Year. Sanon is in the top 10 in four statistical categories. She is the national leader in blocks and rebounds per game, averaging over three swats and more than 15 boards per contests. The Boston native is also 10th in field goal percentage, shooting over 51 percent from the field. She averages over 19 points a game, placing her sixth in that area.
Sanon's teammates are also strong on the boards, with freshman forward Charity Bowers (Milwaukee, Wis.) and senior forward Amy Sletten (Fergus Falls, Minn.) 14th and 25th in rebounds, averaging more than 10 and eight rebounds per game, respectively. Bowers is also 18th in assists per game, averaging four per contest. Junior guard Robyn Wenstrom (Hartland, Wis.) is shooting well from the outside and is currently 12th in three-point shooting percentage with a 40 percent mark on the season.
The Lady Rams will be away from the court until January 4 when they host the annual NCU Alumni Scrimmage. On
Saturday, January 5, NCU opens the second half of their schedule on the road at UM-Morris. Tip-off at is set at 1pm.
Sanon Named NCCAA DII Women's Basketball Player of the Week
Posted 12/10/07 by Trey Meadows, NCU Sports Information
North Central is proud to anounce that Naomi Sanon has
been named the NCCAA DII Women's Basketball Player of the Week. The
following is the official release from the NCCAA.
Summary for Recipient: Naomi Sanon, Junior Center for the Lady Rams of North Central University
helped her team to a perfect 3-0 week by defeating Pillsbury Baptist Bible
College 64-30, Providence College 51-36, and Northland Baptist Bible College
55-44. After 5 games she is averaging 19.6 ppg, 15.4 rpg, and 3.6 bpg.
Sanon is the national leader in rebounds while standing
second in points per game. She also ranks in the top five in field goal
percentage and blocks per contest.
NCU Wins Volleyball Regional Championship;
Meyerson Regional Coach of the Year
Posted 10/29/07 by Trey Meadows, NCU Sports Information
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. --- Despite being forced into a second elimination match verses Faith Baptist, the North Central Women’s Volleyball team swept the Eagles in three games to claim their second consecutive NCCAA North Central Region Championship late on Saturday night. The Eagles defeated the Rams in an exhausting five game match before NCU could claim their championship in front of a strong home crowd.
North Central, the regional host and number one seed, defeated the fourth seed Crown College (St. Bonifacius, Minn.) 3-0 in a first day match on Friday evening. Then on Saturday the Rams won a hard fought match verses the number three seed Faith (Ankeny, Iowa) 3-1, giving them a birth in the Championship game. Faith was able to make it back through the losers’ bracket to gain a rematch with the Rams.
Though the Eagles played two consecutive matches prior to the championship match, they were able to win a close first game 30-24. NCU answered back with a dominating 30-11 win in game two, but Faith came right back to win game three 30-23. Then NCU forced a final game with a 30-21 fourth game victory. The fifth game saw NCU fall behind early 6-0 before coming back to push the game into six match point opportunities. The Eagles finally clinched an upset over the Rams in a 21-19 thriller.
Following a thirty minute recess, the teams met again for a final elimination game. Meeting for the third time in the tournament and the sixth time on the season NCU and Faith would dual for a chance to play in the NCCAA National Championship.
Faith led for most of the first game with NCU tying several times before finally moving ahead at the first game point, 29-28, then claiming the win 32-30. Using the energy of a great win in game one the Rams controlled game two, winning 30-12. In game three the Eagles rebounded strongly but could not put NCU away despite having five game points and a 29-24 lead. After tying the game NCU quickly clipped off the last two points to earn a 31-29 win and a 3-0 Championship Match victory.
The 2007 Championship gives the Rams their first back-to-back regional championship and their fourth overall in school history. First year Coach Jen Meyerson was recognized as Regional Coach of the year along with Amanda Matson, Jenna Moody, Emily Matson, and Keelie Soloman being named to the All-Regional Team. Solomon was also named the Libero of the year for her outstanding year at the defensive specialist position.
North Central earned a spot in the NCCAA Division II Volleyball National Championship Tournament in Omaha, Nebraska on November 8-10. The seeding and game times for that tournament will be announced later this week.
Volleyball Defeats Faith Baptist; Stays Undefeated in Region
Posted Sept. 26, 2007
by Trey Meadows, North Central Sports Information
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.--- North Central Women’s Volleyball claimed its eighth consecutive win in region after a 3-1 victory over Faith Baptist Bible College on Tuesday night. The final score is not an indicator of how closely contested the match was, as nearly every game came down to the last several points.
NCU claimed the opening game 30-24 but then surrendered game two 30-20. The Rams answered back in game 4 with a 30-22 win and trailed most of the fourth set before breaking a 27-27 tie and claiming the match point in a 30-28 thriller.
The win moves NCU to an 8-0 record against NCCAA North Central Region opponents this year and marks the second win over the Eagles in 2007. During the current eight-match win streak NCU has lost only three games and looks like the favorite to claim the first seed in the 2007 Regional Tournament, which will be hosted by North Central October 26-27.
NCU volleyball next takes the court at home on Tuesday October 2 verses regional rival Pillsbury Baptist Bible College (Owatonna, Minn.) at 7pm.
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Men's Golf: Mid Season Report
By Trey Meadows, NCU Sports Information
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.--- A new era has begun for Ram’s Golf with Todd Monger at the helm and a group of experienced vets leading solid young players toward a dramatic improvement over the 2006 campaign. Monger brings his experience working for Swing Solutions to the NCU golf program following the departure of coach Brian Jensen to Geneva College for a Resident Director position. Swing Solutions is a holistic golf training presentation which features the tutoring of PGA professionals Caroline Bennett-Howe and Steve Howe. They use electronic swing analysis, heart rate monitoring, psychological evaluations, and technical game training to improve the entire golfer.
The improvements were seen right out of the gate when the Ram’s dropped over 30 strokes off their best 2006 round in the season opener against Crown College (St. Bonifacius, Minn.), and narrowly losing 338-340. A week later NCU claimed its first ever tournament play victory at Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, Minn.) beating the host Vikings and Martin Luther College (New Ulm, Minn.) with a program record team low round of 308. The Rams followed up that performance with another win 7 days later by knocking off UM-Morris (Morris, Minn.) and Presentation College (Aberdeen, SD.) at UMM’s home course despite facing a blustery fall storm front that pounded the teams all afternoon.
During this season of dramatic growth the Rams have been lead by senior captain Phil Culham and fellow senior Tyler Adams who both have their eyes on an NCCAA national tournament qualification. Outstanding freshman Dean Goodwin and steady play from sophomore David Thomassen has given the team a top four that will go down as the best in NCU history thus far.
The Rams next play at home Sept. 26 in an NCU quad match, then go on the road in a rematch of the season opener verses Crown Sept. 29. The regular season wraps up with the Annual NCU Invitational at Brackett’s Crossing Oct. 1. Pending qualification the Rams will wait and see if the can then make their first trip to the NCCAA Men’s Golf National Championship Tournament Oct. 8 held in Panama City, Florida at the Edgewood Beach Resort’s Hombre Golf Course.
Athletes of the Week: September 10-16
Posted 9/12/07-- North Central Sports Information
Women's Soccer: Nicole Silvernagel
Nicole came up big in the Lady Rams first win of the season verses Presentation College (Aberdeen, SD) on Tuesday. She opened up play with a goal five minutes into the first half and then clinched the win with an overtime game winning goal. On the season Nicole has three goals and her coaches note her enthusiasm, intensity, and skill leading her to be the top team scorer after four games.
Women's Cross Country: Angela Riley
Angela ran strong for the Lady Rams Cross team in their first meet of the year at St Johns (Collegeville, Minn.), coming in as the 5th team scorer. She dropped 4:54 off of her previous best race on the St Johns' course and set the tone for a big year. Her leadership as one of only two returning runners is shown by races like last Saturday and every day at practice when she is a consistant and hard working runner.
Men's Cross Country: Jesse Richards
Jesse Richards put together a very solid performance in his first ever college cross country race on Saturday at the St. Johns Invitational. He scored as the fourth runner for NCU and moved into the Rams top 25 All-Time list with his 33:50 performance on a tough course. Through the first two weeks of the season he has shown willingness to work hard towards meeting the potential the coaches see in every practice and should be a regular contender for a top five team spot this year.
Monger Brings Excitement as New Men’s Golf Coach
Posted August 13, 2007 at 2:15pm
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota--- North Central University has hired Todd Monger to be the new Men’s Golf Coach. Monger brings a very unique and strong Golf background to a program looking to take the next step into varsity status. With its two top golfers returning and Monger’s added expertise and enthusiasm, Rams golf looks to have an exciting 2007 ahead.
Monger currently serves as a mental game consultant for Wisconsin based Swing Solutions, a company specializing in holistic golf training. Swing Solutions provides swing assessments, technical tutorials, physical fitness instruction, bio-feedback, and psychological insights. Monger has provided his services both in the clinic setting and in the field as a caddie, most recently at the Minnesota and Illinois US Women’s Open qualifier events in 2007. His writing has also been published in International Mental Game Coaching Association in the area of golf instruction on their group website.
Monger hopes to parlay those relationships into valuable partnerships for the NCU golf program. The pre-season practice will include instruction provided by PGA professionals Carolyn Barnett-Howe and Steve Howe of Swing Solutions, along with the introduction of the bio-feedback computer system used in the Swing Solution’s Clinic to help improve rhythm and heart rate in competition. He will also be acquiring new state of the art equipment for the team to use in its indoor and outdoor practice sessions. These efforts will be made with the intent to raise the bar in practices expecting the players to be ready to focus their game each day whether in competition or in training. Each week’s practices will serve as a playoff to see which players will be chosen to represent the Rams at the weekly matches. The best five guys will earn their spot in the meets for that week. Monger plans to focus on emotional control strategies, controlled breathing and heart rate, course management, physiological reactions, and performance in high pressure situations to help each player improve not only on the course but in his everyday life as well.
Monger has also forged a relationship with Theodore Wirth Golf Course in Minneapolis providing a home for the team to practice and play home matches. The Rams will host two meets at Theo Wirth in 2007 and use its practice greens, par three short course, and other amenities for improving the program’s competitive edge.
Practices begins on August 22 and the Rams open their season on August 31 verses Crown College at Theo Wirth Golf Course at 2pm.
Emenecker Annouced as New Men's Basketball Coach
Posted June 23, 2007 at 9:00am
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.—North Central Universiy is pleased to announce the hiring of Trent Emenecker as Assistant Athletics Director and Head Men’s Basketball Coach. Emenecker will arrive on campus in late June, and will commence his full time duties on campus shortly thereafter.
The Rockford, Illinois native brings a wealth of fundraising, teaching, and leadership experience to North Central. He spent eight years as the Head Boy’s Basketball Coach at Catalina Foothills High School, and for the last four years was also Youth Pastor and Pastor of Music at Christ’s Church of Tucson, Arizona.
Emenecker has 10 years of experience teaching high school physical education classes and nine years of varsity basketball coaching experience. As a head coach Emenecker compiled a 151-107 record while taking Catalina to 6 state tournament appearances in eight years. Under Emenecker Catalina had one final four appearance and one elite eight season while going undefeated in region both years.
Emenecker was selected when a group of over 35 applicants was narrowed to a pair of final candidates. The two-day final interview process included several separate interviews with teams comprised of Student Development & Athletics Department staff, alumni, and several Men’s Basketball Student Athletes. Other meetings included a broad spectrum of NCU staff members in the selection process.
As Assistant Athletics Director, Emenecker will focus on athletics recruiting, department fundraising, alumni and booster club relations and various other administrative tasks related to athletics and coaching the Men’s Basketball program.
Baseball Concludes Season at National Tourament
LAKELAND, Fla.- In its first visit to the NCCAA Division II National Baseball Tournament, North Central University made lots of history. They rose above their sixth place seeding to take fourth and sophomore outfielder Ben Wood became the school’s first NCCAA Division II Baseball All-America award winner.
The Rams finished the double elimination tournament 1-2, losing to the eventual national champion Southeastern University (Lakeland, Fla.) in first round play.
They then split a couple of one run decisions; a 7-6 win over the fifth seeded Cincinnati Christian University (Cincinnati, Ohio) and a 6-5 loss to fourth seeded Hillsdale Freewill Baptist College (Moore, Okla.) who was the eventual runner-up.
Before the tournament began, the NCCAA Division II All-American team was released. Ben Wood (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) joined a list of 15 players on that list. Southeastern lead all teams with six players named and Mid-America Christian University (Oklahoma City, Okla.) received three. Hillsdale players received two spots while five schools including NCU received the other nominations.
2007 marked a change in the NCCAA tournament format. Previously the tournament had been an invitational open to teams selected by the national committee. This year the tournament field was made up of five regional champions and one at-large bid.
Host Southeastern beat Hillsdale14-6 in the championship game, clinching their third consecutive national tournament title.
NCU returns a strong core of players from the 2007 roster and should be set to contend for the 2008 national title.
Track Wins First Individual Event National Championship
UPLAND, Ind. – In an exciting and closely decided event jumper Chris Hickox continued his standout track & field season by winning the men’s high jump at the NCCAA National Championship meet on May 4, 2007.
Hickox’ (Mobile, Ala.) won the event by virtue of the fewest jumps taken when he and two other competitors all missed clearing 6-10. Leading up to his winning height of 6-8 Hickox did not miss a jump before his attempts at 6-10. The third place jumper from Cedarville University (Cedarville, Ohio) had only two misses before the final height, while the second place athlete from Malone College (Canton, Ohio) only missed one jump before the last round.
The victory gives NCU its first ever national champion in an individual event and concluded an undefeated season in the high jump event for Hickox.
Other Rams competing in the meet were Freshman Daniel Bare (Portage, Wis.) and Senior John Gieske (Sauk Center, Minn.) who finished 11th and 13th respectively in the Men’s 1500 meters. Rounding out the Rams Nationals team was Senior Ricky Backhaus (Little Falls, Minn.) who finished 20th in the Men’s Javelin.
Hickox also finished 13th in the Men’s Javelin.
North Central Hardballers Headline All-Region Team
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Following the first season of regional play the NCCAA North Central Region announced its All-Region Team along with its Regional Player of the honors.
North Central and Crown College (St Bonifacius) lead the region with 4 players each named to the team. Pillsbury Baptist Bible College (Owatonna, Minn.) had two players named while Trinity Bible College (Ellendale, ND) received one nomination.
Sophomore Outfielder Ben Wood of North Central was named the 2007 Region Player of year for his solid combination of fielding and batting.
2007 NCCAA North Central All-Region Team
Catcher- PJ Davis, North Central
1st Base- Brent Courtney, Pillsbury Baptist
2nd Base- Marshall Mullet, Crown
3rd Base- Rocky Donatelle, Crown
Shortstop- John Patnode, Crown
Outfield- Ben Wood, North Central
Outfield- Matt Fellers, Trinity Bible
Outfield- Danny Grass, North Central
Pitcher- Phil Culham, North Central
Pitcher- Travis Berry, Crown
Pitcher- Kyle Courtney, Pillsbury Baptist
Regional Player of the Year
Ben Wood, Outfield, North Central
Men’s Baseball Makes History, Claims Regional Championship
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - With a 12-4 win over Crown College (St. Bonifacius, Minn.) on May 2, North Central Men’s Baseball made history by claiming the first ever NCCAA North Central Region Championship and punching their ticket for the NCCAA Division II National Championship Tournament.
2007 marked the first year that the North Central Region recognized a regional champion therefore creating an automatic birth into the national tournament. The tournament is to be held at Southeastern University (Lakeland, Fla.) May 9-12, 2007.
The Rams went undefeated in regional play, outscoring their opponents 48-9 in those games three games on their way to a 3-0 record.
North Central will be seeded sixth at the national tournament and will draw the host and number one seed Southeastern University. First pitch for that game is set for 7pm Wednesday, May 9.