Dreamweaver Marketing Associates News and Views: NCAADivisionII

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Tuesday, January 7, 2014

SRU Ranked 23rd in National Poll

SRU earns No. 23 ranking in final D2Football.com national poll

LIBERTY, Mo. – Slippery Rock University was ranked 23rd in the final D2Football.com national poll released Monday.

The Rock, who finished the season with a 9-3 win-loss record, had the fifth-highest ranking among the 49 teams that competed for the Super Region 1 championship. Region champion West Chester (13-2) led the pack with a No. 8 ranking, followed by Shepherd (11-1) at No. 13, Winston-Salem State (10-2) at No. 15, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion Bloomsburg (10-2) at No. 16 and The Rock.

SRU was ranked 20th in D2Football.com’s final regular-season poll before losing its final two games. The Rock wound up at the No. 21 team in the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.

The final two Rock losses came at the hands of teams ranked above them in both the D2Football.com and AFCA final poll. SRU dropped a 42-38 decision in the PSAC championship game at Bloomsburg (No. 16 in AFCA final poll) and fell by a 27-20 score at Winston-Salem State (No. 14 in AFCA poll) in first-round action of the NCAA Division II national playoffs.

The NCAA postseason appearance was The Rock’s first since 1999. The Green and White won the PSAC-Western Division championship for the second time in the last three seasons before coming up short in the conference championship game.

The Rock’s 2013 squad featured 18 seniors, headlined by second-team All-America performers Quindell Dean (linebacker) and James McCombie (punter) and PSAC-West Offensive Athlete of the Year Nigel Barksdale (quarterback).

Rock head coach George Mihalik will welcome back eight offensive starters and five defensive starters for the 2014 season. Included in that list are all-region offensive tackle Cory Tucker, first-team All-PSAC-West safety Austin Miele and second-team all-conference performers Teddy Blakeman (running back), Jaimire Dutrieuille (wide receiver), Shamar Greene (running back), Julian Harrell (tight end) and Matt Peacock (defensive end).

The Rock’s 2014 schedule features an Oct. 18 date with Mercyhurst at “The Big House,” Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057
Office: 724.738.2777
Fax: 724.738.4761
Cell: 724.421.5658
Email: robert.mccomas@sru.edu
www.sru.edu

A ROCK SOLID Education

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates. Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping. Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business. www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Rock Quartet Earns Honors

Rock football quartet earns first-team Hansen all-region honors

BROOKFIELD, Ill. — Nine members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference runner-up Slippery Rock University football team were named Monday afternoon as members of the Don Hansen Football Gazette All-Region Committee’s 2013 NCAA Division II All-Super Region One squad.

The Rock had the second-highest number of first-team selections and tied for the second-highest total number of student-athletes honored among the 49 Super Region 1 teams.

Region champion West Chester placed five players on the first team, while The Rock had four and regional runner-up Shepherd and PSAC champion Bloomsburg had three each.

Shepherd led the overall squad with 10 selections, Bloomsburg and Slippery Rock had nine each, New Haven posted seven and West Chester, Shippensburg and East Stroudsburg each had six players honored.

Senior quarterback Nigel Barksdale,

senior punter James McCombie, senior wide receiver John Schademan and redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Cory Tucker each earned first-team status to headline the list of Rock student-athletes honored.

Senior cornerback Anthony Saunders earned second-team all-region honors from the Hansen committee,

while senior linebacker Quindell Dean, junior safety Austin Miele, senior nose guard Tony Papley and senior defensive tackle Derek Walker were named to the Hansen committee’s third team.

The first-team and second-team All-Region selections advance to a national ballot from which the 2013 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team will be named later this month.

The Hansen committee all-region honors were the latest in a long list of postseason awards presented to Rock football student-athletes.

All nine Hansen first-team all-region selections earned first-team All-PSAC-West honors, as did senior linebacker Gary Allen.

The Rock also placed five players on the All-PSAC-West second team. That group included juniors Teddy Blakeman (running back), Julian Harrell (tight end) and Matt Peacock (defensive line), sophomore wide receiver Jaimire Dutrieuille and redshirt freshman running back Shamar Greene.

All four of The Rock’s first-team Hansen committee all-region performers had previously received Daktronics first-team all-region honors in voting by sports information directors. McCombie subsequently earned second-team All-America honors in that competition.

Dean had earned second-team All-America honors from BSN and was also a second-team Daktronics all-region selection.

Barksdale, McCombie and Schademan also earned third-team All-America honors from Beyond Sports Network, while Tucker was named to the BSN’s honorable-mention list.

Rock head coach George Mihalik was named by his peers as both the American Football Coaches Association Division II Super Region 1 and PSAC-West Coach of the Year award recipient.

The Rock finished the 2013 season with a 9-3 win-loss record, claimed their second PSAC-West championship in the last three seasons and earned their first NCAA Division II playoff berth since 1999. The Green and White were also ranked 21st in the final AFCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 national poll and 23rd in the final D2Football.com national poll.

Bloomsburg senior running back Franklyn Quiteh, the 2013 recipient of the Harlon Hill Trophy awarded to the top Division II football player in the nation, was named as the Hansen committee’s Super Region 1 Offensive Player of the Year, while Shippensburg defensive end Jake Metz was selected as the region’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Shepherd freshman return specialist C.J. Davis garnered the Special Teams Player of the Year honor, New Haven cornerback Najae Brown was named Freshman of the Year and West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan received the Super Region 1 Coach of the Year honor.

The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen started and published Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988. Don Hansen’s Football Gazette began selecting Division II All-Region squads in 2003.

Super Region 1 is compiled of 49 football-playing universities from four conferences including the PSAC, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Mountain East Conference and Northeast-10 Conference. A total of 40 teams and 130 players were represented on this year’s Hansen all-region teams.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

SRU's Mihalik Coach of the Year

Rock's Mihalik named as AFCA regional Coach of the Year

WACO, Texas – Slippery Rock University Head Football Coach George Mihalik was named Tuesday as
the American Football Coaches Association's Division II Region 1 Coach of the Year.

Mihalik received the honor in voting by his head and assistant coaching peers in the region, which includes 30 teams from the Pennsylvania State Athletic, Mountain East and Northeast-10 conferences.

The AFCA regional Coach of the Year honor was the third earned by Mihalik, who was previously honored in 1997 and 1998.

Mihalik earned his latest honor by leading The Rock to a 9-3 overall record, the outright Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division championship and their first berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs since 1999.

The Rock's all-time leader in career wins with a 176-106-4 record in 26 seasons, Mihalik currently ranks second among active PSAC head coaches and fourth among active Division II coaches, as well as fifth on the PSAC's all-time wins list.

Mihalik-coached Rock teams have won or shared six PSAC-West titles since 1997, earned two conference runner-up finishes and competed in four NCAA playoffs.

In recognition of his leadership abilities, Mihalik, in addition to the three regional honors, has received five PSAC-West Coach of the Year honors and two awards from officiating organizations.

The coaching awards are but a few of the prestigious honors that have been bestowed on Mihalik.

Mihalik has been inducted into five different halls of fame: SRU Athletic (1997), Butler Area Sports (2001), Cambria County Sports (2006), Pennsylvania Sports Western Chapter (2012) and Bishop Carroll High School (2012).

Mihalik was a charter member of the Ebensburg high school's Hall of Fame.

In typical Mihalik fashion, The Rock head coach shared the credit and honors.

"I have always maintained the coaching awards I have been fortunate enough to receive should be cut up and presented to the assistant coaches and players," Mihalik said. "Throughout the years, I have had the good fortune of having excellent assistant coaches and players. They deserve the credit."

The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association's five divisions:
Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA.

The winners were selected by active members of the AFCA, who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.

The 2013 Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized Jan. 14 at the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner at the 2014 AFCA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind.

McCombie Earns All America Honor

SRU's McCombie earns second-team Daktronics All America honor

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Slippery Rock University senior punter James McCombie was named Wednesday as a second-team member of the Daktronics, Inc., All America Football Team.

The All America honor, voted upon by sports information directors at the 168 football-playing NCAA Division II institutions in the nation, came on the heels of McCombie being named earlier this month as a first-team All Super Region 1 performer.

McCombie also earned first-team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division honors in voting by the division’s head football coaches.

A native of Nicktown, Pa., and graduate of Bishop Carroll High School in Ebensburg, McCombie ranked first in the PSAC and fifth among NCAA Division II punters last fall with a per-punt average of 43.2 yards.

McCombie had 12 punts that traveled 50 or more yards last fall, headlined by a career-best-tying 74-yarder in the season opener at Northwood. McCombie also had 13 of his 53 punts land inside the opponents' 20-yard line this fall and only nine result in touchbacks.

A park and resource management major at SRU, McCombie finished his four-year career as The Rock’s first-team punter with a 40.5 yards per punt average.

McCombie had six punts that traveled 60 or more yards, 34 punts that traveled 50 or more yards and 67 that landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line during his 208-punt college career.

McCombie was the second member of The Rock’s PSAC-West champion, conference runner-up and NCAA playoff-qualifying team to earn a second-team All America honor. Senior linebacker Quindell Dean earned that status earlier this month from Beyond Sports Network.

The two All America performers were included in a group of 18 seniors on this year’s Rock squad, which compiled a 9-3 overall record and earned an NCAA playoff berth for the first time since 1999.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

SRU Football Earns Playoff Berth

Rock football team earns NCAA playoff berth

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – After watching other teams have all the fun for the last 13 seasons, the Slippery Rock University football team is going dancing again.

The Rock were the No. 5 seed in the six-team NCAA Division II Super Region 1 field announced Sunday afternoon by the NCAA office via a videoconference on www.ncaa.com.

As a result, the Green and White, who earned their first NCAA tournament berth since 1999, travel to fourth-seeded Winston-Salem State University for a first-round game Saturday.

SRU, which lost a 42-38 decision at Bloomsburg University in last Saturday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship Game, takes a 9-2 record into the NCAA opening-round game.

Winston-Salem State, last year's national runner-up, owns a 9-1 record. The Rams' final game, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association title game, was canceled last Saturday in the wake of an altercation at the pre-game banquet last Friday.

Virginia State, which was the No. 6 team in the super region ranking a week ago, received a postseason ban after one of its student-athletes was arrested for assaulting Winston-Salem State's starting quarterback.

The Rock, one of only 24 Division II teams that punched their dance ticket Sunday, had a seven-game win streak snapped by last Saturday's loss in Bloomsburg.

Winston-Salem State has won nine consecutive games after losing its season opener to UNC-Pembroke.

Shepherd University of West Virginia, the super region's only unbeaten team (10-0), received the No. 1 seed in this year's Super Region 1 competition. PSAC champion Bloomsburg (10-1) earned the No. 2 seed with its win over The Rock last Saturday.

American International College (9-2), the Northeast-10 Conference champion, earned the No. 6 seed and will travel to third-seeded West Chester (10-1) for a first-round game Saturday.

Shepherd and Bloomsburg, as the top seeds in the super-region competition, earned first-round byes.

The winner of the Rock-WSSU game travels to Shepherd for a second-round game Nov. 30, while the West Chester-American International winner goes to Bloomsburg for a second-round game.

The highest-seeded team at the conclusion of second-round action hosts the super-region championship/national quarterfinal game Dec. 7. The national semifinal is scheduled for Dec. 14 with the national championship game set Dec. 21 at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Ala.

The NCAA playoff appearance will be the fourth for a George Mihalik-coached Rock team. SRU competed in three consecutive playoffs from 1997-99, highlighted by a regional championship in 1998.

The Rock earned the No. 1 seed in the region in 1997, 1998 and 1999, when they hosted and won a first-round game each season. SRU also hosted and won second- and third-round games in 1998 before losing an opening-round game to PSAC-Western Division rival Indiana (Pa.) in 1999.

SRU's bid for the national championship ended with a second-round loss at New Haven (Conn.) in 1997 and a national semifinal loss at Carson-Newman (Tenn.) in 1998.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Peacock Named Player of the Week

Rock's Peacock earns BSN national Player of the Week honor

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University football junior defensive end Matt Peacock was named Monday afternoon as a Beyond Sports Network Division II Player of the Week.

Peacock, who hails from Stockton, Calif. (Merrill F. West High School), earned the honor by recording five tackles behind the line of scrimmage in last Saturday’s 55-21 win at Seton Hill University that locked up the outright Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division championship for the Green and White (9-1 overall, 6-1 PSAC-W).

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Peacock had 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 quarterback sacks to pace a Rock defensive effort that resulted in a school-record-tying 10 QB sacks. The team effort, which also saw The Rock hold Seton Hill to 50 rushing yards on 50 carries, matched a 10-sack performance in 1991 vs. California (Pa.).

Peacock leads the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in fumble recoveries with two and is tied for fourth among conference players in quarterback sacks with eight for minus-53 yards.

A Rock-solid candidate for postseason all-star honors this fall, Peacock also ranks third on the team in tackles for loss with 11 for minus-64 yards.

Peacock, who starred at San Joaquin Delta Community College before joining The Rock, has collected a total of 33 tackles in the first 10 games this fall. Peacock has also been credited with five quarterback hurries, one pass breakup and one fumble forced.

Peacock’s selection marked the eighth time this fall a Rock football student-athlete was named as a Beyond Sports Network national Player of the Week award winner and the second time in as many weeks a Rock defensive player was honored, Senior linebacker Quindell Dean was recognized one week earlier.

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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Rock Receives Votes in National Poll

Rock receive votes in AFCA Division II national poll

WACO, Texas – Slippery Rock University was included in a group of teams that received votes in the American Football Coaches Association Division II national poll released Monday.

The Rock, unbeaten after two games this fall, received two votes from a panel of head coaches representing the four super regions within the NCAA Division format.

The national ranking was The Rock’s first since they were among the teams that received votes in the 2012 preseason poll. That ranking came on the heels of SRU being listed in the AFCA top 25 four weeks during its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference runner-up season in 2011.

SRU was one of five PSAC teams and one of 10 Super Region One teams that received votes in this week’s AFCA poll.

Defending PSAC champion Indiana (Pa.) was ranked eighth, followed by the PSAC’s Bloomsburg at No. 13, Mountain East Conference member Shepherd at No. 15, defending regional champion Winston-Salem State of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association at No. 19 and the PSAC’s West Chester at No. 20.

Joining The Rock in the group of 21 teams that also received votes were PSAC-Western Division rival California (Pa.), Concord of the MEC, New Haven from the Northeast-10 Conference and Shaw from the CIAA.

Enhancing The Rock’s chances of moving up in the poll is the fact they play three of their ranked rivals head-to-head this fall. SRU hosts Indiana (Oct. 12) and California (Nov. 2) and travels to Bloomsburg (Nov. 16).

The Rock’s immediate concern is Saturday’s noon date with PSAC-Western Division rival Gannon University (1-1) in Erie. The Green and White will look to snap a string of five consecutive losses in games played along the shores of Lake Erie. SRU’s last win in Erie was a 2002 triumph over Gannon.

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Friday, August 16, 2013

Luiz Santos Signs Pro Contract

Former Rock standout Luiz Santos signs professional contract

Luiz Santos, who signed with Liga Sorocaba in the Brazilian Professional League, will be the third member of last winter's NCAA Division II playoff-qualifying Rock men's basketball team to play on the next level

8/11/2013

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Former Slippery Rock University men's basketball standout Luiz Santos has signed a contract to play professionally in his home country of Brazil, Rock head coach Kevin Reynolds announced Sunday.

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division "Defensive Player of the Year" last winter, Santos is scheduled to report Monday and begin a career with Liga Sorocaba in the Brazilian Professional League, Reynolds said.

"We are excited for and proud of Luiz," Reynolds said. "We are happy to see his play rewarded, and we are proud he earned his degree from SRU this summer."

A 6-foot-10, 230-pound native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Santos averaged 6.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and started all 32 games last winter for The Rock's NCAA Division II playoff-qualifying squad.

Santos, who played two seasons at SRU after starting his career at Marshalltown Community College in Iowa, was the third member of last winter's Rock squad to sign a professional contract.

Rock leading scorer and leading rebounder Devin Taylorrp, a forward, signed a contract with the Etzella Ettelbruck Basketball Club in Luxembourg's premier, Total League. Guard Darious Clark signed with BBC Gréngewald Hueschtert in the Luxembourg second league.

This year's pro signees increased to five the number of Rock student-athletes who have gone on to play at the next level in Reynolds' five seasons as SRU's head coach.

Denell Stephens recently signed his fifth contract to play in Luxembourg's Total League, where he is one of the top players. Kyle Camper played one season in Germany after joining Stephens as the mainstays on The Rock's PSAC semifinalist squad in 2008-09, Reynolds' rookie season as head coach.

Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057
Office: 724.738.2777
Cell: 724.421.5658
Email: robert.mccomas@sru.edu
www.sru.edu

A ROCK SOLID Education

Friday, May 31, 2013

SRU's Kengor Earns More Honors

Kengor earns two more All-America honors

Rock junior shortstop Will Kengor was named Wednesday as a third-team All-American by both the American Baseball Coaches Association and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association

5/29/2013

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University junior shortstop Will Kengor collected his second and third All-America honors Wednesday when he was named to third-team status by both the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Wednesday's honors came on the heels of Kengor's selection last Friday as a second-team Daktronics, Inc. All-America performer in voting by the nation's NCAA Division II sports information directors.

Missouri Western State University's Michael Schulze was named as the top shortstop in the nation by all three organizations. Mount Olive College's Mike Mercurio was the ABCA second-team All-America shortstop, while Benedict College's Lydell Moseby earned second-team NCBWA honors.

Kengor led the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and ranked second among all NCAA Division II hitters with a .449 batting average last spring. Kengor's average was 33 points higher than his closest PSAC rival in 2013 and was the fourth-best single-season mark in Rock history.

A left-hand-hitting leadoff hitter for The Rock, Kengor led the PSAC and tied for second nationally with eight sacrifice flies and ranked second in the PSAC in total hits (79) and on base percentage (.502), third in triples (5), fourth in slugging percentage (.597) and sixth in doubles (16). His hits total was the seventh-best in Rock history. In addition, Kengor led SRU in runs batted in (28) and stolen bases (12 of 15) in 2013.

Prior to being named to the three All-America teams, Kengor was named to first-team All-Atlantic Region honors by the ABCA, NCBWA and SIDs and was a first-team All-PSAC-Western Division selection.

Kengor led SRU to a 31-21 final record, a fourth-place finish in the PSAC-Western Division final standings and a conference-best, eighth-consecutive appearance in the PSAC's postseason tournament during the 2013 season.

The Rock, under the leadership of 28-year head coach Jeff Messer graduate only three members of their 2013 squad.

Kengor was one of only four Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference student-athletes who earned ABCA All-America honors, one of five PSAC players who earned NCBWA All-America honors and one of six conference players who earned Daktronics All-America honors.

A native of Pittsburgh and graduate of Central Catholic High School, Kengor was joined on the ABCA third-team All-America list by Shippensburg University infielder Pat Kregeloh, California (Pa.) catcher Kyle Petty and Millersville University pitcher Chris Murphy.

Murphy and Petty both received first-team NCBWA All-America honors, as did Shepherd University outfielder Ryan Messina, while Pitt-Johnstown second baseman Jake Warner and Millersville first baseman Zach Stone were second-team selections. Joining Kengor on the NCBWA third-team list were Winston-Salem State's Tyler Hickernell (designated hitter) and Travis Moore (outfielder), along with Shippensburg pitcher-first baseman Pat Kregeloh.

--
Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057
Office: 724.738.2777
Cell: 724.421.5658
Email: robert.mccomas@sru.edu
www.sru.edu

A ROCK SOLID Education

Friday, April 5, 2013

The Rock Announces 2013 Football Schedule

SRU announces 2013 football schedule

The Rock will play five home games and six road games this fall, starting with the Sept. 7 season opener at Northwood University in Michigan

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The 2013 Slippery Rock University football schedule, which was released Tuesday by veteran head coach George Mihalik, presents another stiff challenge to the Green and White in their quest for Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and NCAA Division II regional honors.

The Rock face six teams that finished the 2012 season with a winning record and three teams that competed in the NCAA playoffs: PSAC champion and Super Region One runner-up Indiana U. of Pa. (12-2 final record), conference runner-up Shippensburg (11-2) and Bloomsburg (10-2).

SRU also takes on Mercyhurst (9-2), California, Pa. (8-3) and Kutztown (7-4) programs that had winning seasons in 2012.

All told, The Rock’s 2013 rivals compiled a 73-53 (.579) win-loss record last fall.

The Rock will play six road games and five home games in 2013.

If there is an upside to The Rock’s 2013 schedule it is the fact SRU will host four games against teams that had winning records last fall.

SRU’s home opener is a Week 2, Sept. 14 date with Shippensburg. The Rock also host Mercyhurst (Sept. 28), IUP (Oct. 12) and California (Nov. 2), along with backyard rival Clarion (4-7) in the fourth annual Milk Jug game Oct. 19.

The game vs. Shippensburg will be held as part of SRU’s Friends & Family Weekend and the Slippery Rock Borough’s VillageFest event.

The annual SRU Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held as part of the home football weekend revolving around the game against Mercyhurst, while The Rock’s 2013 Homecoming Game foe will be Clarion.

The Rock’s season opener is a Sept. 7 road game at Northwood University in Midland, Mich. The Timberwolves had a 5-6 record last fall.

SRU also visits Gannon (3-8), Kutztown (7-4), Edinboro (4-6), new PSAC rival Seton Hill (0-11) and Bloomsburg.

Interesting sidenote: The Rock will face three teams under the direction of first-year head coaches. Drew Folmar ascended from the offensive coordinator position to the top position at Kutztown, longtime defensive coordinator Paul Darragh is the interim head coach at Bloomsburg and Isaac Collins takes over the reins at Seton Hill after serving as head coach at Division III Widener College.

The complete 2013 Rock football schedule is as follows:

Sept. 7 at Northwood, Mich., noon
Sept. 14 SHIPPENSBURG, 6 p.m. (VillageFest/Family Weekend)
Sept. 21 * at Gannon, TBA
Sept. 28 * MERCYHURST, 6 p.m. (Hall of Fame)
Oct. 5 at Kutztown, 1:05 p.m.
Oct. 12 * INDIANA (PA), 6 p.m.
Oct. 19 * CLARION, 2 p.m. (Homecoming)
Oct. 26 * at Edinboro, Noon
Nov. 2 * CALIFORNIA (PA), 1 p.m.
Nov. 9 * at Seton Hill, 12:30 p.m.
Nov. 16 at Bloomsburg, Noon

HOME GAMES IN BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS

* PSAC-Western Division games

--
Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057

Saturday, March 23, 2013

SRU Upsets Winston-Salem State in First NCAA Win

Rock men upset #16 Winston-Salem State, 69-67, to record first-ever NCAA tournament opening-round tournament win

Devin Taylor had game-high totals of 27 points and 15 rebounds and Tabari Perry scored the game-winning points on a layup with 2.6 seconds left Saturday to lift SRU (23-8) to victory

WEST LIBERTY, W. Va. – Slippery Rock University recorded its first-ever NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament opening-round victory Saturday afternoon with a 69-67 win over 16th-ranked Winston-Salem State University in the Atlantic Regional hosted by West Liberty University.

With the win over the second-seeded Rams (21-7), the sixth-seeded Rock improved their season record to 23-8 and matched the school record shared by three previous teams for single-season wins.

Most importantly, the Green and White earned a berth in Sunday’s 5 p.m. second-round game, in which they will meet Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division rival Indiana U. of Pa. for the fourth time this season.

Third-seeded IUP (25-5), winners of two of the three previous meetings with SRU this winter and the No. 10 team in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Division II national ranking, advanced to Sunday’s action with a 76-68 win over conference rival East Stroudsburg, the No. 6 seed, in Saturday’s first opening-round game.

Junior swingman Tabari Perry drove the left baseline and scored off an assist from junior guard Sa’Quan Davis with 2.6 seconds left to play to account for the winning points in The Rock’s win Saturday.

Perry then put the exclamation point on the win when he blocked a last-second jump shot by Winston-Salem State standout Justin Glover and grabbed the loose ball as the final horn sounded.

Devin Taylor

Senior forward Devin Taylor recorded game-high totals of 27 points and 15 rebounds to lead The Rock attack, while both Perry and senior forward Gerald Brooks finished the game with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Joe Thompson muscled his way to team-high totals of 19 points and 11 rebounds for Winston-Salem State, while Glover had 15 points and six rebounds and Michel-Ofik Nzege chipped in 13 points and six rebounds.

The Rock shot 39% (23 of 59) from the field, made three of 14 (11%) shots from 3-point range and sank 20 of 27 (74%) free throws in the game.

SRU also won the rebounding battle by a 46-40 margin, but were on the high side of an 11-8 turnover comparison.

Winston-Salem State made 35% (24 of 68) of its action shots with a 6-of-15 showing from 3-point range

and hit 13 of 21 (62%) free throws.

Rock Hardballers Top West Chester

Jovanovich, Schneider lead Rock hardballers past West Chester

Kevin Jovanovich collected three RBIs and Kyle Schneider struck out nine batters in Sunday's 4-1 win over the defending NCAA Division II national champions

3/17/2013

AUBURNDALE, Pa. – Junior utilityman Kevin Jovanovich collected three RBIs and sophomore right-hander Kyle Schneider struck out nine batters Sunday afternoon to lead Slippery Rock University to a 4-1 win over West Chester University in a battle of NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional baseball teams at Lake Myrtle Park.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for The Rock, who improved their season record to 10-4.

West Chester, the reigning NCAA Division II national champion, saw its season record fall to 5-7-1.

Jovanovich gave SRU a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning, then added a two-run single as part of a three-run seventh-inning eruption by The Rock.

Senior second baseman Matt Curtis and junior shortstop Will Kengor were each 3-for-4 as part of a nine-hit Rock offensive attack. Junior catcher Ryan LaRose earned a bases-loaded walk to push across the final Rock run in the seventh inning.

Schneider allowed one earned run on six hits and walked three batters in the first seven and one-third innings to pick up his fourth win in as many decisions this spring.

Junior right-hander John Kovalik struck out two batters in the final one and one-third innings and picked up his fourth save of the season.

The Rock continue their spring-break schedule when they take on Hillsdale College of Michigan in a 10 a.m. single game Monday at Chain O'Lakes Park in Winter Haven.