A publication of the Aurora University Spartan Club Booster Organization — Fall 2007
Welcome to the first electronic edition of the Spartan Report! The Aurora University Athletic Department is dedicated to bringing you the latest news from the 18 teams that comprise our program. Our new format will provide more flexibility in our reporting and will include features on individual athletes and updates relating to the athletic program. We hope you enjoy the quarterly issues of the Spartan Report and welcome your comments and suggestions.
Thanks for being part of the Spartan Club Booster Organization!
Stories in this Issue:
Spartans on the Air
The 2007 AU Homecoming football game on October 20 will be broadcast live on the airwaves and Internet. If you are unable to attend the game, tune in to WKKD 1580 AM (Aurora, IL) or WMCW 1600 AM (Harvard, IL) or online at www.wmcw.net to hear the Spartans in action. The broadcast will begin at 12:30 p.m. with the Spartan pre-game show. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.
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 Men’s Cross Country: Going the Distance to Victory
The men’s cross country team has had a very good start to the 2007 season. They have competed in five meets and placed in the top four in four of these events. AU won the Wisconsin Lutheran College Invitational.
Top performers for the Spartans are sophomore Jake Schlueter and senior Derek Babson. Both have finished in the top 15 in the events with Schlueter having the top Spartan finish this season (fifth at the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warrior Invitational).
The Spartans have two events remaining until the Northern Athletics Conference Meet on October 27, where they will attempt to defend their 2006 conference championship.
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 Women’s Cross Country: Running Toward Success
The women’s cross country team started out slow in their first event, but has been gaining ground as the season continues. After a 12th place finish in their opening meet at the Elmhurst College Earlybird Invitational, the Spartans have placed second (Concordia University – Chicago Cougar Classic) third (AU Spartan Cross Country Classic), and won the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warrior Invitational in their next three competitions.
Sophomores Morgan Jacquette and Megan Cinto have been the top performers for the Spartans so far. Jacquette has two top 15 finishes including a first place finish at the Cougar Invitational. Cinto has contributed two top 20 finishes.
The Spartan women’s cross country team will continue to work toward repeating as Northern Athletics Conference Champions.
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Football: Searching for IBFC Championship
This season, the Spartans return a majority of last year’s starters and welcome a large group of newcomers to the team. Leading the way through three games for the Spartans on offense have been sophomore running back Ryne Reder (149 carries for 658 yards and seven touchdowns), senior fullback Brent Harner (seven catches for 112 yards) and punt returner Sean Saglin (20 returns for 173 yards).
Defensively, AU has been led by sophomore linebacker Mike Budzinski (59 tackles, two quarterback sacks and one interception), junior linebacker Chris Jackowiak (38 tackles, three quarterback sacks and one fumble recovery) and junior defensive back Matt Meyer (35 tackles, one interception and a pass break-up).
For the season opener, the Spartans traveled to Milwaukee to play against future NAC foe Wisconsin Lutheran College. Unfortunately, what many anticipated would be an AU victory, turned out to be an unexpected loss, 23-13.
The following week AU kicked off their home opener against Coe College. This game did not go well for the Spartans either, as they lost 37-7.
AU received a much needed weekend off after two difficult games and came back to play the Illini-Badger Football Conference portion of the schedule with the opening contest against MacMurray College at AU Field. That break paid off as the Spartans defeated MacMurray 47-0. AU went on to defeat Greenville College the following week 16-0 before traveling to Concordia University (WI) and dropped a tough 24-0 to the Falcons, before also dropping a 20-17 double overtime game at Benedictine. The Spartans sit at a 2-4 overall record and are 2-2 in the IBFC.
The 2007 AU Homecoming football game on October 20 will be broadcast live on the airwaves and Internet. If you are unable to attend the game, tune in to WKKD 1580 AM (Aurora, IL) or WMCW 1600 AM (Harvard, IL) or online at www.wmcw.net to hear the Spartans in action. The broadcast will begin at 12:30 p.m. with the Spartan pre-game show. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.
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Men’s Golf: On Par for Conference Championship
The men’s golf team has made impressive showings in their five tournaments of the season. They placed second at the Marian College Invitational, fifth at the University of St. Francis Invitational, twelfth place at the Edgewood College Invitational and fourth at the Benedictine University Invitational. With the ever important Northern Athletics Conference tournament Championship on the horizon, the Spartans look to continue the momentum for a NAC title.
The top performers for the Spartans are Shane Roland and Cameron Parker. Roland tied for second place at the St. Francis Invitational. Parker tied for fourth place in the years opening tournament at the Marian College Invitational.
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 Women’s Golf: Repeating as NAC Champions
The women’s golf team was successful in their efforts to repeat as the Northern Athletics Conference champions and on the way to the title showed they were the toast of the NAC.
On the season, the women’s golfers captured two tournament championships (AU Spartan Classic and NAC Championships) and two second place finishes (Benedictine University Invitational and Edgewood College Invitational).
Freshman Kristen Richardson was the individual medalist at three of the six tournaments: Edgewood College, where she shot a two-day score of 173 (87/86); the AU Spartan Invitational, where she shot a two-day score of 179 (91/88); and the NAC Championships where she shot a two-day score of 173 (84/89). For her efforts, she was named NAC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year as well as All-Conference.
Joining Richardson on the NAC All-Conference team were Senior Brittany Butcher (second place at the AU Invitational and NAC Championships), sophomore Lindsey Pilmer (seventh at the AU Invitational and NAC Championships) and senior Allison Sperling (ninth at the AU Invitational and 13th at the NAC Championships).
Freshman Erin Lapp and sophomore Emalee Lehr were vital in leading AU and Head Coach Chad Johansen (2007 NAC Coach of the Year) to a second Northern Athletics Conference championship.
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 Men’s Soccer: Proving to be a Regional Competitive Force
New players dominate the men’s soccer team which has recently completed a month of away games. Despite the initial challenges for the team, the players have achieved a present 7-2-3 record overall (4-0-1 in the Northern Athletics Conference).
The Spartans began the season with a home opener against Carleton College, winning 1-0 on a goal from senior forward Tyler Klotz. The Spartans then departed on a month long road-trip series which started on September 7 and ended on October 6 against Maranatha Baptist Bible College.
For the second and third game of the season, the Spartans traveled to Kentucky where they competed against Wabash and Centre Colleges in the Centre College Tournament. The Spartans defeated Wabash 2-0 and tied Centre 1-1 through double overtime. Junior Chase Corricelli was named the Tournament Offensive MVP and senior Drew Taylor was named the Tournament Defensive MVP.
The Spartans returned to Illinois to take on North Central College and racked up a 5-1 win with senior Danny May recording a hat-trick (three first-half goals) and Corricelli continued his offensive output with two goals and one assist.
AU then traveled to Mequon, Wisconsin, to play the NAC opener against Concordia University (WI), the team that beat the Spartans last year in the NAC semi-finals (1-0). This year, however, the Spartans defeated Concordia 1-0 with Corricelli scoring the lone goal.
Two heartbreaking defeats followed, 6-1 to Wheaton College (2006 NCAA Division III national runner-up) and 2-0 to the University of Chicago.
The Spartans have since gone 3-0-2, winning against NAC foes Concordia University, Chicago (2-0), Milwaukee School of Engineering (5-0) and Maranatha Baptist Bible College (4-1) and tying Dominican University (1-1 double overtime) and University of Wisconisn–Oshkosh (1-1 double overtime), both are regional and nationally ranked teams.
Through the first seven games, AU is led offensively by Corricelli (12 goals and one assist), May (five goals and one assist) and Klotz (three goals). In net, the Spartans are led by a pair of freshmen, Kevin Soderstrom (2-1-1 record, two shutouts and 16 saves) and Matt Ness (5-1-2 record, three shutouts and 30 saves).
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 Women’s Soccer: If at First You Don’t Succeed…
After a rocky start this season, the women’s soccer team bounced back from an original 0-2-1 record, to their present standing of 12-2-1 (8-0 in Northern Athletics Conference).
In the two opening games of the season, the Spartans traveled to Pennsylvania to compete with Westminster College and Grove City College. Unfortunately, the Spartans tied Westminster (1-1), and lost to Grove City (2-1). In the third game and home opener, the Spartans faced the 2006 NCAA national champion, Wheaton College Thunder. Though the Spartans managed to score the first goal of the game, and their first ever against Wheaton, the Thunder quickly countered with a goal of their own. Wheaton wasted no opportunities and took advantage of the few mistakes AU made during the game, eventually tallying the final score of 5-1.
The Spartans are learning from these three games and are aiming to finish the rest of the season on a high note. Kicking off their current winning streak began against Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the Spartans won 4-1. Since then, AU has played Benedictine University, Concordia University (WI), Wisconsin Lutheran College, Kalamazoo College and Rockford College. In those five games the Spartans outscored their opponents 30-0.
AU has also played and defeated NAC foe MSOE (4-1), Elmhurst College (5-1) and NAC foe Maranatha Baptist (4-1) on their current 12 game win streak.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jenny Jarvis has been superb in net for the Spartans, as she has compiled a 12-2-1 record with 53 saves, seven shutouts and a 0.87 goals against average. Offensively the Spartans have been led by sophomores Jessica Novickas (13 goals and one assist) and Nikki Counsell (three goals and eight assists) and junior Allison Bailey (seven goals and six assists).
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 Women’s Tennis: Players Continue to Show Determination
The women’s tennis team concluded the 2007 fall season with an overall record of 5-8 and 5-5 in the Northern Athletics Conference.
The Spartans, led by new coach Mike McKenzie, defeated conference rival Benedictine 7-2 in their first NAC match-up of the year and went on to a sixth place finish at the NAC Championships.
Freshman Siri Nelson was named NAC Rookie of the Year as she had a 7-3 record in NAC play at No. 1 singles and a 5-5 record at No. 1 doubles with partner, senior Jalitza Colon.
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 Volleyball: Hoping to Serve Up More Wins
As a young team with no seniors, it is crucial for the AU volleyball team to stay consistent in order to build unity and strength. As of now, the Spartans are 9-16 overall, 4-6 in the NAC.
In the opening season tournament at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, the Spartans began with a 3-1 record. At the tournament, AU was able to beat Finlandia University (3-0), Marian College (3-1) and the University of Chicago (3-2), but lost to the host, St. Norbert (3-0).
The next weekend the Spartans hosted the Jim Coleman Memorial Tournament, but did not have a very successful run, with an initial win against Mount Mary College (3-0). The Spartans lost the next three games. Evening their record at 4-4, the Spartans then traveled to Milwaukee to face off against the newest NAC opponent, the Milwaukee School of Engineering in the NAC season opener. Unfortunately, the Spartans lost (3-2).
The Spartans then faced another difficult game against Rockford College, where they were unable to clinch a victory in a decisive fifth game, losing 3-2. Returning to their home court, AU achieved a victory against Wisconsin Lutheran College (3-1). The victory did not carryover for the Spartans, however, as they traveled to the Wheaton College Thunder Classic. They won only one game.
Since the Wheaton tournament, AU is 3-3 with wins over NAC opponents, Alverno (3-0), Edgewood (3-1) and Marian (3-0) and falling to Maranatha (3-2), Concordia University Chicago (3-1) and Lakeland (3-0).
The Spartans have been led by sophomores Jill Smart (3.60 kills per game and 2.24 digs per game), Amanda Hills (6.11 assists per game) and Sara Stark (5.24 digs per game).
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Spartan Spotlight: Heather Skeen
Team Captain, Women’s Soccer
Junior from Loveland, Colorado
Majoring in English and psychology
Why did you choose to come to AU and get involved with athletics?
I knew I wanted to play soccer in college. Once I visited AU, I felt very comfortable with the campus and all the people I met. The successful history of the program also influenced my decision.
What do you like most about your team sport?
That my teammates are dedicated to playing well as individuals and at the same time, we have a passionate desire to play great as a team.
What benefits have you gained from participating in athletics at AU?
I’ve grown a lot as a player and as an individual — and I’ve have made lifelong friends in the process.
What has been the most memorable moment with your team?|
Last year in the NCAA tournament when we lost to Wheaton College, 2-0. Wheaton College went on to win the entire tournament by two goals or more, and shut out all the other teams, so we felt really proud of our effort.
How do you balance being on a Division III athletic team with your other responsibilities and interests?
Athletics at AU blends well with all other aspects of my life. Though soccer demands at least a few hours of my day six days a week, I have plenty of time to concentrate on my studies. I’m also able to spend ample time with people outside of soccer. I believe my involvement with soccer has helped me learn about friendships, self-discipline, organization, responsibility, and time management much better than I could have learned on my own.
Which class has been your favorite here at AU?
If I had to pick a favorite class, I would probably choose Understanding Wellness because of the diverse activities involved with the course. We visited a Hindu temple, a Jewish synagogue, and an Orthodox church; had McDonald’s representatives defend the menu as healthy after watching the movie, Supersize Me! and reading Fast Food Nation; and participated in a discussion led by a relationship therapist.
Which AU sport (not counting your own) do you most enjoy watching?
Though I enjoy watching several different AU sports, men’s soccer or men’s basketball are my favorite. I am most familiar with soccer, so I understand it and like the actual sport the best. The crowd and passion of the players are what make watching the men’s basketball team very exciting.
What is your favorite campus-sponsored extracurricular activity?
I went on the trip to see Blue Man Group last year for the first time with a few friends and it was really creative and interesting.
What do you enjoy about AU’s location?
I like that Aurora is relatively suburban, but still a large city with different activities and entertainment available. I also like the fact that Chicago is so close.
What is your favorite time of the year at AU?
I don’t have an absolute favorite time of year at AU. I do really look forward to the seasons changing though, and appreciate the first few weeks of changing weather.
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 AU Incorporates State-of-Art ImPACT Testing
Every year since 2004, new AU student-athletes have taken the ImPACT test. The test helps individuals recover safely from head injury, specifically concussions. Objective screening of players is one of the greatest benefits of the ImPACT testing. Given that we can’t see the brain, like we would a broken arm or bruised leg, we often rely on subjective reporting from the individual. By using ImPACT, though, we no longer use a chart and simply tell an individual that they can’t play for a week. Now, student-athletes undergo a “normal” neurocognitive exam (ImPACT) and if they are symptom-free, they can return to practice.
ImPACT testing can measure “how injured” the brain is based on how the individual “scores” on the ImPACT. While there are standards, generally individuals take the test prior to injury to create an individualized baseline. It is important to test all student-athletes in order to establish their personal baseline since it can vary.
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 From Pounding Volleyballs to Pounding Nails
by Jill Smart, AU Volleyball Team member
Recently the AU volleyball team took its skills off the court and brought them to different use working with Habitat for Humanity. The team helped build a house for the Gomez family of Aurora.
When we first arrived at the building site, each player was assigned a different job. Tasks included sanding, installing door knobs, molding, painting, and even electrical work. We were able to work closely with Mr. and Mrs. Gomez, as they also contributed to the construction of their soon-to-be new home.
Despite the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Gomez, along with two of their four children, are hearing impaired, that did not stop them from communicating their admiration and appreciation regarding our participation in the project. During a break, Mrs. Gomez handed our head coach, Jamie Walters, a paper plate with a written message on it: “Please tell your girls that I want to say thank you for helping build the house. Let us know when you have a game because we would like to watch the ladies play someday.”
This project gave new meaning to the word “team” because it brought light to the idea that a “team” is not just a group of women on the volleyball court. A team is every person working together to help accomplish a common goal. What could have been a better goal than helping to make this deserving family’s dream come true?
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Spartans In Action!
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