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Paul
Sherar - The Appalachian
Mavis
Clapp, pictured here during a recent practice, underwent strenuous rehabilitation
in an effort to regain her playing ability after tearing her ACL in the
spring of 2000. Clapp has three goals, one assist, seven points and one
game-winning goal this season.
Clapp
shows versatility after injury
Difficult
season thus far for Mountaineer women
Andy Morris
- Sports Beat
The
pop came, followed by intense pain.
It was the spring of 2000 during a women’s soccer game at Kidd Brewer
Stadium and Appalachian State University’s Mavis Clapp planted her
foot, but her knee took a fateful twist.
“I thought I had broke it, but I found out the next day that I had
torn my anterior cruciate ligament [ACL],” she said. “I took
it pretty hard because I knew that I would be out for a while.”
Clapp, a senior midfielder from Knoxville, Tenn., was forced to sit out
the season and watch the Mountaineers from the sideline.
“We had the surgery right away, but she needed at least six months
to get ready,” said Appalachian women’s soccer coach Ben Popoola.
“We didn’t want to bring her back right away, and we wanted
to make sure she was ready to play.”
Watching her teammates from the sideline instead of on the field proved
to be a strange experience for Clapp.
“It was different and pretty hard for a while,” she said. “But
I got used to it and tried to provide a lot of support for the team. It’s
probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through.”
Popoola said Clapp’s absence last season proved costly for the Mountaineers.
“She’s a very key player for us, and we didn’t have a lot
of speed on the outside midfield without her,” he said. “But
we’re very happy to have her back.”
But to get back took months of intense training. Clapp did rehabilitation
exercises two times a day, which included icing her knee as well as work
intended to strengthen and improve balance.
“It was really painful at first,” Clapp said. “Once I got
used to it, it was really just hard work.”
For Clapp, the work was worth it to be where she belonged.
“I knew that the field was where I should be,” she said. “Soccer
is what I love to do, and I wanted to be back with my team and playing
the sport I love.”
Since her return, Clapp has started every game and earned three goals
and an assist.
Her first time back on the field produced mixed emotions for the senior.
“I was nervous and worried about hurting my leg again,” she
said. “But I was also excited and wanted to play well.”
Teammate Alana Parrett, a sophomore, said Clapp always works at 100 percent.
“She’s a very dedicated and hardworking player,” she said.
“You wouldn’t know that she is coming off an ACL injury.”
Due to several injuries on the team, Popoola said it was necessary to
move Clapp around the field to keep the team together.
“We moved her to the middle, and she has dominated it,” he said.
“She’s really keeping things together for us right now.”
Popoola said Clapp leads the team through her play, not her voice.
“She’s a quiet leader, but you can tell by the way she plays
and the intensity of her game that she has high standards,” he said.
“She’s one of our strongest players.”
Clapp also serves as a leader off the field to younger players.
“With me being a sophomore, I know that I could go to her for advice
because she’s a senior and has a lot more experience,” said
Parrett.
“She’s the type of player you always want to have on your team,”
said Popoola. “You can always count on her, on and off the field.”
AHO
Rugby comes out on top with 2001 Rucktoberfest success
Jarde
Kavlock - Club / Intramural Sports
Despite
the cold snap that struck Boone Saturday, the second annual Rucktoberfest
rugby tournament went off without a hitch.
“Some of the teams from further south didn’t like the cold,”
said Appalachian State University men’s AHO Rugby club president
Patrick Mannion. “But we didn’t mind it.”
“The [University of Florida] girls made a big dog pile to try to
keep warm,” said junior Ayanna Horne, who played for the ASU women’s
rugby club as well as Southern Thunder, a “motley team including
some ASU players.”
Horne injured her knee while playing for Southern Thunder, but it was
one of the few injuries of the weekend.
Mannion said the teams appreciated the presence of the Watauga Area Rescue
Squad.
“We had a lot less injuries than last year,” said Mannion. “This
year we had ambulances at the field, ready to help out in the event of
any injuries.”
Horne’s knee injury was only minor, and she should be off crutches
and back on the field in a few weeks, she said.
The ASU men’s A-squad stormed through the tournament, winning every
game they played en route to defeating Georgia Southern University in
the final.
“It was awesome,” said Mannion. “We played some of the
best rugby I’ve seen us play.”
Mannion was unable to compete himself due to a broken leg he suffered
in practice before the season’s first game.
The women’s club didn’t fare quite as well, but made a strong
showing, winning three of five games.
In Saturday’s round-robin play, it defeated Radford University and
East Carolina University before losing to eventual second-place finisher
Clemson University.
“If the game had been longer, we had the potential to beat Clemson,”
said senior Brook Evans. “We usually play 40-minute halves, but for
the tournament we only played 20-minute halves.”
ASU went on to beat Duke University on Sunday, but fell to North Carolina
State University; a team Evans said has improved a lot.
Clemson, the number-one team in the Rugby South Union, was defeated by
the University of Virginia in the championship game.
After Saturday’s games, a huge social event was held that included
all of the tournament teams and other partygoers willing to stand in line
and pay the $5 entrance fee.
The party, initially scheduled at the veterans-affiliated Boone Armory
for the second consecutive year, was cancelled at the last minute due
to heightened security and concerns in the wake of America’s preparation
for war.
The party was moved to Boonedocks, which charged the team $3,000 for use
of the building. Boonedocks then charged a $5 entrance fee to patrons,
and the ASU rugby clubs provided alcohol for $5 a cup.
“We were just able to break even at Boonedocks,” said Mannion.
“We would have been able to get more people in the armory, but there
was nothing we could do about it.”
According to Evans, all of the visiting teams had a great time at the
social, and the women’s teams even got together and sang its rugby
anthems.
Mannion said they did get anything but good comments from the teams involved,
and all are looking forward to Rucktoberfest 2002.
“I’d like to thank everyone who was involved – my teammates,
the club and intramural sports office, and our sponsors, Black Cat and
Peabody’s,” said Mannion.
“I think this year’s tournament showed that we are not only
a great team but a great organization,” he said. “A lot of people
thought last year’s tournament was a fluke, but this year we proved
ourselves and got Boone on the rugby map.”
Paul
Sherar - The Appalachian
Appalachian
State quarterback Joe Burchette hands off to a teammate at practice
earlier this week in preparation for a bout with Georgia Southern Saturday
at 3:30 p.m.
Mountaineers
gear up for Eagles in renewal of SoCon rivalry
Chris
Boyce - Varsity Sports
When
the Appalachian State University football team takes the field against
the top-ranked Georgia Southern University Eagles this Saturday at 3:30
p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium, there will be no room for error.
The eighth-ranked Mountaineers, fresh off a 28-22 loss to Furman University
in which little went right for Appalachian State, know that any chance
of winning the Southern Conference will have to come at the expense
of Division I-AA’s most dominant team.
The Eagles lead the nation in rushing yards per game with nearly 382
yards per game and 26 rushing touchdowns. Georgia Southern’s Adrian
Peterson leads the Eagles with 715 net yards with 13 touchdowns.
Peterson’s last outing, a 105-yard, two-touchdown performance against
Western Carolina University, broke the NCAA Division I-AA record of
most 100-yard rushing games with 36. The Eagles dominated the Catamounts
50-14.
The Mountaineers struggled in many facets of the game against the Paladins
Saturday, racking up penalties and failing to win the field-position
battle.
One of the few things the Mountaineers did accomplish was shutting down
Furman star Louis Ivory, a feat that Appalachian State head football
coach Jerry Moore said means little now.
“There’s no comparison to those two players,” said Moore.
“He [Peterson] and their quarterback [J.R. Revere] are their team’s
offense. You’re not gonna shut them down because they’ve got
too many weapons.
“The thing is to try to eliminate the big play from them as much
as you possibly can. I think if you can do that and put some points
on the board then you’ve got a chance.”
History seems to side in the Mountaineers’ favor.
Appalachian faced nearly an identical situation in 1999 after losing
to Furman in Greenville on the fifth game of the season. The Mountaineers
bounced back to defeat the number one-ranked Eagles the following week
in Boone.
In the last four seasons the Mountaineers have defeated Georgia Southern
twice, both in Boone, and lost twice in Statesboro, Ga.
In addition, Appalachian State has split the Furman/Georgia Southern
contests five out of six years and beat both during a season in the
1995 campaign.
But regardless of history, Appalachian State has major obstacles to
overcome both on offense and special teams.
The Mountaineers accumulated 11 penalties for 83 yards against Furman,
adding to its conference-leading 419 yards penalized. This total is
116 yards more than the second-most penalized team, the Eagles.
Moore said the Mountaineers’ offense would not undergo changes
this week, but a reduction in penalties and a focus on special teams
must be addressed.
“I don’t think change is necessary,” said Moore. “I
think execution is necessary. One of the big things to hurt us offensively
has been the penalties.”
“Big ballgames are generally decided by the kicking game and special
teams. We let them run a kickoff back on us, we punted poorly and we
knocked a ball on the 2-yard line into the end zone. Those are three
things right there that are enough to get you beat.”
But Moore maintained the Mountaineers have what it takes to knock off
the Eagles on Saturday.
“We’ve got a good football team,” said Moore. “The
thing we’ve got to do now is take care of some business. We can’t
do any finger pointing and just go out there and win nine ball games
because were good enough to do it.”
Mountaineers
sharpen skills for Pre-Nationals
Michael
Gilliland - Contributing Writer
The
Appalachian State University cross country team is preparing to travel
to Greenville, S.C., this weekend for Saturday’s NCAA Pre-Nationals
at Furman University.
The men’s team goes into the event ranked sixth in the Southeast
District, and the women’s team is currently 13th in the district.
Head coach Mike Curcio says he is pleased with the team’s progress
so far this season. “The men’s team has seen some good improvement
out of our mid-level runners,” he said. “Our top-five scorers
have switched every meet that we’ve competed in. Our depth would
be our best strength. This is reflected in our sixth place ranking in
the district.
“On the women’s side, the same thing has happened. We’ve
had a lot of sophomores that have really stepped up.”
Curcio also mentioned that the team’s training has shifted to a
more intense, less dense phase, which is designed to prepare for the
Pre-Nationals this weekend and the upcoming Southern Conference (SoCon)
Championships on Oct. 27.
Improvements and adjustments will be needed this weekend, as ASU will
face its toughest competition of the year.
About 70 teams will compete, including the University of Colorado, Stanford
University and North Carolina State University, the top-ranked team
in the Southeast District.
Appalachian’s chances are vastly improved with the return of Joe
Halin, the SoCon top male runner this season.
Halin is coming back from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the
Blue Ridge Open Sept. 28.
“It’s fine now. It’s not really much of a factor for
me,” said Halin.
“I train all summer for conference. Conference is my focus.
But, in terms of importance, this event will probably give us a chance
to gauge ourselves against the top competitors from around the country,”
he said.
Curcio said the team was excited to have its number-one runner back
at 100 percent.
The fact that the event is being held on familiar ground at Furman University
may also give the Mountaineers a small advantage over some teams. ASU
finished third at last year’s Furman Invitational.
The NCAA’s Southeast District Championships and National Championships
will also be held at Furman in November.
“I’m just excited knowing that they’re in our conference
and it’s a course we know and it’s within driving distance.
That’s why we’re excited about it,” said Curcio.
While hopes are high for Saturday, the Mountaineer team seems to be
going into the event with modest expectations.
“We’re not going in with any preconceived ideas. We know there
will be some really talented teams there. We are going to go in there
and have some fun and see what we can do against the big boys and the
big ladies,” said Curcio.
While a poor showing can do little to hurt ASU, a strong finish could
have huge benefits. The event has a large effect on who gets the 14
non-automatic bids to the National Championships next month.
A team missing out on one of the two automatic bids from each of the
eight regions could improve its chances by beating some of those top
16 teams in the Pre-Nationals.
“This event will have major national repercussions,” said
Curcio.
“I’m looking forward to watching everyone run. Having that
many athletes somebody is going to do well. All of the events are part
of the big picture.
This weekend, we’re just excited about competing against some of
the best athletes in the country,” he said.
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