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ASU alumna Morrison wins bronze in Olympics
Compiled from staff reports
Appalachian State University alumna Melissa Morrison won
her second Olympic medal Tuesday, earning a bronze in the women’s
100-meter hurdles at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Morrison finished with a time of 12.56 seconds, just 19-hundredths
of a second behind the Olympic-record time set by fellow American Joanna
Hayes.
Olena Krasnovska of Ukraine took the silver with a time
of 12.45 seconds.
Morrison also earned a bronze medal in the same event at
the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia.
Morrison, a 1993 graduate of Appalachian State with a bachelor’s
degree in psychology, won 12 individual Southern Conference championships
and was a 1993 All-American in the 100-meter hurdles.
She still holds school records in the 100-meter hurdles
(13.24 seconds) and the long jump (20-5.25 feet).
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Jonathan Williams | The
Appalachian
First string goal keeper Kate J.
Ryno blocks a shot from a team member in practice. |
Field hockey looks to take conference
by Brad Norman
Senior Staff Writer
A season after winning a share of the NorPac East Division
Championship, the Appalachian State University Field Hockey team anticipates
taking the next step this fall.
“We didn’t accomplish everything that we wanted
to last year,” junior goalkeeper Kate Ryno said.
“Last year we tied for first in the division, but
we did not win conference. We are looking forward to winning conference
this year.”
The team will have to win conference without their two
best players from last year, however. Nara Brookes and Bridgette Burkhardt
graduated, leaving behind a large void on the field.
Brookes led the league in goals last season with 20, collected eight assists
and was the NorPac Player of the Year.
Burkhardt led the team in assists with 12, was a co-captain
and was selected to the NorPac first team.
However, the other nine starters from last season return.
“Losing two [players] is a pretty small number, but
I think that the two we are losing were big presences for us,” head
coach Mandy Latz said.
“They were phenomenal leaders, but we are creating
a new chemistry, a new dynamic, and we’re moving forward.”
Being counted on to fill the void offensively is senior
Caroline Smith.
Smith finished second on the team in total points last
year with 10 goals and four assists, and the team will need more of the
same this year.
As a co-captain this season, Smith looks to the example
set by Brookes and Burkhardt last year.
“Their character and personalities kept us positive
and they were excellent role models,” Smith said. “I look
up to the way they were there for us and I hope that I can be like they
were as far as filling that [leadership] role.”
Sophomore Erica Mushcamp also returns and will play a larger
role in the offense. Mushcamp was the team’s youngest offensive
force last season, finishing third in goals and total points.
Despite nine starters coming back, ASU also recruited five
talented freshmen to complement the experience already returning.
“One of our strengths this year is that we have depth
at every position and everybody has a chance to play,” Ryno said, “The
[freshmen] have the ability to step in and play right away.”Coach
Latz said her squad is so balanced that everyone will be able to see
some playing time this year,
“I’m going to have a very difficult time making
the starting line up because we have a lot of excellent people contending
for spots,” Latz said.
Everything appears to be in place for ASU to have a successful
season: a nice mix of experience and youth, a tough out-of-conference
schedule to help them prepare for the conference slate, and, perhaps
most importantly, the desire to build off last year’s success.
“We know how hard we worked to get there [last year],
but we have to work even harder this year to get to where we were last
year,” Ryno said. “We tasted success but we have so much
further to go.”
“I think, as of this point, we’ve started something
and we are going to build on it. From 2002 to 2003 we saw a big improvement
and we’re going to have to work just as hard this year to see a
small improvement. I think we set of standard of success and we’re
going to build on that,” Latz said.
Volleyball sets sights on second conference championship
by Brad Norman
Senior Staff Writer
For the first time since the 1995 campaign, the Appalachian
State University volleyball squad enters the season with the chance to
win the conference championship for the second straight year.
Although the team must replace three departed seniors,
including conference first-team member and team MVP Katherine Dean, ASU
still has the depth coaching to make another serious run at the title.
Much is expected of senior Amber Mangrum, who enters the
season with a chance to break the all-time assist record at ASU.
Mangrum had 1,419 assists last year, second most in school
history, and needs 1,341 more this year to break the record held by Joanne
Myers.
Mangrum’s intelligence on the court is fueled by
her performance in the classroom. She achieved a 4.0 GPA for the entire
year, one of only 48 athletes to achieve such a feat.
Appalachian remains deep at outsider hitters, where Samantha
Giudici, Kali Rumberger and Rebecca Sorensen all return.
Also returning is Chrissy Finch, who missed 2003 with a
knee injury. Finch stayed in volleyball shape by playing club volleyball
while rehabilitating.
“I am extremely excited about the experience and
depth we have at outside hitter,” second-year coach Chad Callihan
said in a statement. “It is a talented and athletic group that
will push each other in practice to become better everyday.”
If there is a chink in the armor, a position that is not
as strong as other positions on the floor, it is middle blocker.
ASU lost two seniors, Dean and Jackie Jennings, and the
only returning player at that position is Stefanie Panzer. Panzer may
not be 100 percent when the season starts she had off-season surgery
on her left foot.
Callihan said the success of his team largely depends on the health of Panzer
as well as the development of freshmen middle blockers Cali Cooper and Dianna
Thomas.
“[All of the freshmen] should catch on quickly,” Callihan
said in a statement.
“The biggest adjustment for a newcomer is getting
used to the speed of the game.”
Although Appalachian won the conference title last season
with a 13-5 conference mark, they finished the season at 16-17 overall,
going 2-11 in out-of-conference play.
The non-conference schedule does not get any easier this
year, with games against Liberty University and perennial SEC-power University
of Tennessee.
The team also won an award during the off-season. The American
Volleyball Coaches Association awarded the team the 2004 AVCA Team Academic
Award, an award that goes to volleyball teams with a cumulative 3.3 GPA.
Only 46 Division I programs received the award.
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