CASE ATHLETICS IN THE NEWS...
November 17, 2007
FOOTBALL ADVANCES TO ROUND TWO OF THE NCAA PLAYOFFS...
CLEVELAND, OH - The Case Western Reserve University football team needed all 60 minutes to keep its perfect season alive this afternoon, as in its first playoff game in school history, the Spartans won a 21-20 nail-biter over the Pride from Widener University to move on to the second round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
The Spartans were down 20-15 with 1:27 remaining in the game, when sophomore quarterback Dan Whalen (Willoughby, OH - pictured on page one) led the Spartans on a 14-play, 73-yard drive, capping it off by hitting senior wide receiver Jeff Mayer (Vermillion, OH) in the end zone with two seconds left on the clock for the game-winning touchdown. Whalen converted on three fourth downs on the final drive.
“We've been in this type of situation before and I think it's a situation that Dan [Whalen] really responds well to,” said Case Western Reserve Head Coach Greg Debeljak. “I knew we definitely had a chance as long as the line held up and they did a great job.”
With the win, the Spartans improve to 11-0 on the year and will host Wabash College next weekend at Case Field at 12:00 p.m. in the second round of the playoffs. Wabash defeated the College of Mount St. Joseph 31-21 in its first round game in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
The Spartans were down 14-3 going into the fourth quarter, but like the team has done so many times before this season, they played solid defense and relied on Dan Whalen and the Spartan offense to bring the team back. And they did just that.
“We knew there was enough time with two timeouts left and we could take it in chunks,” Whalen said. “After we got the first fourth down and we started to get downfield I was pretty confident we could score and Jeff [Mayer] made a great catch at the end to win it.”
Whalen led the Spartans on a 14-play, 72-yard drive to put the score at 14-9, and on the next drive, Whalen hit freshman wide receiver Shaun Nicely (Willoughby, OH) on a 97-yard bomb to put them ahead, 15-14 – their first lead of the game. The 97-yard touchdown pass is the longest play from scrimmage in Case Western Reserve football history.
The Pride would answer back, as southpaw quarterback Matt Campbell led Widener down the field 50 yards, capping it off with an Ian Decker one-yard touchdown run to put his team up 20-15 with 1:27 remaining.
Whalen finished with a game-high 306 yards through the air on 26-of-47 passing, throwing two touchdowns and one interception on the afternoon. Mayer and Nicely combined for 14 catches, 222 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. Mayer's game-winning touchdown grab was his first touchdown as a Spartan.
The Spartans turned the ball over three times on the afternoon, while the Pride turned it over twice, including a Mike Tuertscher (Cincinnati, OH) interception in the second quarter. Tuertscher finished the game with a team-high eight tackles in the victory.
The Spartans totaled over 400 yards of total offense for the seventh time this season, as they totaled 440 yards on the afternoon, while holding Widener to 262 yards.
ABOUT CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY … Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826 and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research, service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering, Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work.
http://www.case.edu. ...
meanwhile November 17, 2007
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY FINISHES SIXTH AT THE NCAAs…
CLEVELAND, OH - The Case Western Reserve University women’s cross country team placed sixth out of 32 schools at the 2007 Division III NCAA Cross Country Championships at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.
Amherst College finished first overall with 120 points, followed by Plattsburgh State (SUNY) in second with 159 points and Washington University (MO) finished third with 194 points.
The Spartans finished 15 points behind fifth place Geneseo (SUNY) and nine points ahead of seventh place finisher, DePauw University.
Case Western Reserve finished 10th last year at the 2006 Division III NCAA Cross Country Championships and this year's sixth place finish is its best [men or women] in history.
Senior Esther Erb (Richmond, VA-pictured on page one) paced the Spartans, finishing in 27th place with a time of 22:02. Erb earned All-America status for the second straight year.
Junior Kristen Bowhers (Rochester, NY) finished 41st (22:24), freshman Justine Jeroski (Murrysville, PA) placed 84th (22:51) and junior Britta Kumley (Solon, OH) finished 114th (23:05). For full results click here.
"Were the highest finishing cross country team [men or women] in Case Western Reserve history," said Head Coach Kathy Lanese. "So I'm extremely pleased. Esther didn't have a typical "Esther Day", but I have to give her a tremendous amount of credit for her entire season. I'm so proud of all our team."
ABOUT CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY …Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826 and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research, service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering, Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work.
http://www.case.edu.Good day for sports at Case today. Our sports teams having really been improving these past few years and it's great to see some Spartan Spirit emerging amongst the geeks.(those wonderful lovable geeks) On to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl!
