Bear Talk The newsletter for athletics at Southwest Missouri State University

Vo lume 18, Number 5 May/June 2000 Lady Bears rack up postseason accolades ong after the end of the 1999-2000 Rachel Johnson basketball season, honors continued (#34, pictured during NCAA play against L to come to Coach Cheryl Burnett's Auburn) and Sarah Lady Bears. Singer were the Lady Star guard - the nation's Bears' only seniors top scorer with a 27.8 average- was invit­ during the 1999- ed to tryouts for the U.S . team that will 2000 season. "I wish I was a good enough play in the R. Williams Jones Cup from speaker to really say July 16-20 in Taipei, Taiwan. She was how special these among 44 other top women's players invit­ two have been to ed for the late-May tryouts. u. s," Coach Cheryl Burnett said at the Stiles earned first-team all-Missouri Lady Bears ' annual Valley Conference honors for the third postseason banquet. straight year, and she became only the sec­ ond player in MVC hi story to repeat as Most Valuable Player. Teammate Tara Mitchem also was first-team all-Valley, and Melody Campbell was named to the MVC all-defensive team. Stiles al so was a consensus All-America by being named to every All-America team. She earned All-America honors from Kodak, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, The Associated Press, the Women's Basketball News Service and Women's Bas ketball Journal. Stiles was second team GTA/CoSIDA Academic All-America after earning first­ team all-district honors. Senior Rachel Johnson was a second-team all-district hon­ oree. w Stiles, a junior, and senior Sarah Singer f­ I were co-winners of the Lady Bears' ~ z Prestige Award at the team's annual post­ >w season banquet. >:: In a rollicking night of honors attended SMS' all-time leaders in steals and 3-point­ to us," Burnett said. "Johnson has gotten by more than 600 ardent fans, Stiles also ers. Johnson and Singer were the team's more out of her ability than any player I've received the Fast Break Club's only seniors. coached. Singer has never had a down Award and Award. "I wish I was a good enough speaker to day." Singer, a defensive standout, is among real ly say how special these two have been See Lady Bears, page 4 Peaks and valleys punctuate baseball Bears' 2000 season

obust hitting has long been a trade­ Also batting over or near .300 were mark of the baseball Bears, and the Collier, Ben Margalski, Firlitt, Mike R past season was no exception. Bowen, Matt Gardner, Kays and Lawson. With a team batting average hovering It was a season-long series of peaks and near .300, Bears bats boomed almost from valleys for Coach Keith Guttin's Bears, the get-go. In the fourth game of the year, who saw their fortunes shift abruptly with they banged out 24 hits and scored 25 runs. season-ending injuries to two mainstays. In They also scored lO or more runs on 11 mid-April, pitcher-left fielder John other occasions. Rheinecker and center fielder Dante A typical example of the Bears' batting Brinkley collided while chasing a fly ball. onslaught was the team's final road trip of Both were lost for the year. the season - a four-game se1ies at Wichita At the time, Rheinecker had a staff-lead­ State University. ing 5-2 pitching record with a 2.85 ERA. In After losing the opener 5-3 , the Bears addition, he was batting .339 with 19 hits beat the Shockers 7-6 and 11-10 in a in 56 at-bats, with two homers. Saturday twin bill before dropping the A high spot in the season occurred when Sunday finale 16-13. Howard, a standout performer throughout In the Wichita series, freshman outfield­ the year, was invited to the USA Baseball er Corey Lawson had nine hits in 18 - Camp. He will bid for a spot on the USA at-bats; sophomore outfielder Ryan Howard National Team in tryouts June 16-21 in was 8 for 17 with a pair of home runs; The Baseball Bears have had an outstanding season Tucson, Ariz. He was one of the first group and senior shortstop Dan Firlitt was 7 when it comes to hitting, with the team batting average of 20 college players selected. of 18. hovering near .300 and eight team members batting Another peak has been the team's expe­ over or near .300. At that juncture of the season, Howard rience of playing the final 15 home games had 13 homers, and senior outfielder Nick of the regular season at Price Cutter Park in Kays has 13 . Kays was the team's RBI After the road finale at Wichita, Ozark. It has been a major plus for the pro­ leader with 40, just ahead of Howard and Howard led the team in hitting, with an gram, which has long been recognized as junior third-baseman Mike Collier. average of .369. one of tbe best in the nation. BT

1 Five seniors say farewell; new prospects sign with Hinson fter losing five seniors from last season's 23-11 Bears basketball A team, Coach Barry Hinson indicat­ ed it was time to reload. And that's exactly what he did during the spring recruiting season. Four outstanding prospects signed with the Bears: • Power forward Mike Wallace, 6-6, and point guard Robert Yanders, 5- I 1, both from SMSU-West Plains • Forward Daniel Novak, 6-7, from Weatherford (Texas) Junior College • Guard Luke Dobbins, 6-1, from Tahlequah, Okla., an incoming freshman. Add to this imposing list two top prep prospects who signed letters of intent last fall: 6-2 guard Donnie Williams of Turrell, Ark., and 6-7 forward-center Manwell Randle of Country Club Hills, Ill. Also, 5-11 guard Jason Gilbert will transfer to SMS from Arkansas. Gilbert, a standout three-point shooter from Mountain Seniors Kevin Ault (right) a11d Allen Phillips (second f rom right, shown with Jim Ferguson and Coach Barry Hinson) shared this year's SMS Player of the Year Award. View, Ark., will have two years of eligibili­ ty after sitting out next season. ing leader (2,262 points) in the large school Ron Bruton and William Fontleroy, went Credentials of the incoming players read category. out with great ovations at the team's post­ almost Like a basketball who's who. Meanwhile, serriurs-Kevin-A-ult and season banquet. -- "Once again, we' ve signed a very good Allen Phillips shared this year's top post­ "This is like the final chapter of the player from a very good program," Hinson season honor- the SMS-Coors Player of book," Ault said. "There are just a lot of said after inking Novak, the last of the the Year Award. great memories." signees. He termed Novak "the final piece Another senior, Eric Judd, received the Especially from the past season, as the of the puzzle. I will admit the puzzle looks Guy Thompson Award as outstanding grad­ Bears, picked to finish fourth in the a lot better now that it's finished." uating senior. Missouri Valley Conference, finished sec­ Novak, a former member of the Ault, who had an outstanding four-year ond (a scant game from the top spot), Slovakian Junior National Team, averaged career at SMS, averaged 10.6 points. He advanced to the finals of the MVC tourney 15 .3 points, 8.6 rebounds and five assists made 62 three-pointers, second on the team and beat Southwest Methodist University in last season. to Phi llips' 71. the first round of the NIT before losing at "He's a player we've wanted from start Ault finished as SMS career leader in Mississippi in the second round. to finish," Hinson said, echoing what he games played (123), starts ( 115), minutes Other Bears individual postseason awards: had said about the two West Plains stand­ (3 ,802) and steals (243). He was second in • Most Improved Player: Scott Brakebill outs, Wallace and Yanders. career three-pointers (254) and eighth in (No. 2 scorer at 11. I and rebounder at Yanders has the potential to be the scoring (1 ,508). 5.8) team's floor leader, and Hinson said, "I Phillips led SMS in scoring last season, • Co-Newcomers: Travis Walk and Charles don 't believe I've seen very many players with a 13-point average, earning second­ Gaines with the explosiveness of Mike Wallace." team all-Missouri Valley Conference • Hardest Worker: Matt Reuter As for the incoming freshmen, Williams honors. • Defensive Player of the Year: Bruton was "Mr. Basketball" in Arkansas. Randle Judd as a senior had 33 three-pointers • Leadership Award: Judd was a key player on a power-laden Illinois and made 87 percent of his free-throw • Offensive Player of the Year: Phillips prep quint, and Dobbins ended his high shots. • Steals Award: Ault school career as Oklahoma's all-time scor- These three, along with fellow seniors • Personality Award: Fontleroy. BT Despite disappointments, softball Bears looking forward to 2001 ven though they fell short of their preseason goals, the soft­ ball Bears ended the year upbeat and eagerly looking toward E the next season. No, they d.iC!n 'tcapture theMissourtVa11ey Conrerence title (tying for fourth at 10-8). And no, they didn't qualify for the NCAA postseason tourna­ ment. And yes, they were ousted from the MVC tournament in two games (for only the second time in school history). But they were "that close," losing 2-1 and 2-0. They did, however, wind up with another 30-win season (30- 28), and the young Bears of Coach Holly Hesse gave notice that they fully expect to be in the title hunt a year from now. In short, the future appears extremely bright. As SMS entered MVC tourney play in May, the starting lineup included just two seniors, center fielder Sarah Madden and catcher Tawnya Grout. What's more, two sophomores and a freshman headed the pitching staff. The other starters: juniors Jami Canada, first base; Jessica Gorham, third base; and Meghan Brilhart, left field; sophomore Annie Medico, shortstop; and freshmen Jessica Goggin, first base; Amanda Bean, right field; and Staci Wattie, designated player. Hitting over .300 were Jennifer Reynolds, .429; Gorham, .339; Madden, .318; Wattie, .317; and Bean, .315. Freshman Melanie Fisher, in limited action, hit .500. A first baseman, she missed much of the season due to a head injury sustained during the Lady Coach Holly Hesse's softball Bears ended their 2000 season with more than 39 Bears basketball season. wins, and the group is looking forward to a bright 2001. Those pictured from left Hitting .250 or higher were Medico, .290; Canada, .277; Grout, during a spring competition are shortstop Larissa Shepherd, left .fielder Meglw n Brilhart, and center fielder Sarah Madden. See Softball, page 4

2 Bear Briefs

Bengals pick Bears' St. Louis in NFL draft - record her senior year. She finished her career ranked fourth on Southwest Missouri State University tight end Brad St. Louis was the SMS career record chart in both scoring (1,441) and ­ selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the ing (881). Reed played professionally in Portugal 's First Division National Football League player draft. last season, averaging 24.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, St. Louis was the 210th selection overall in the draft and after being the final cut by three-time defending WNBA champi­ reported in May to his first mini-camp with the Bengals' rookie on Houston Comets. and free agent prospects in Cincinnati. The Bengals' regular pre­ season camp will begin July 21 at Georgetown (Ky.) College. The Men's swimming wins Valley title- Freshman Bengals drafted St. Louis as both a tight end and a deep snapper. diver John Waldron was A four-year letterman and three-year starter for the Bears, in named Diver of the Year at the 1999 season St. Louis became the fust SMS gridder ever to the Missouri Valley gain selection to two postseason all-star games in the same sea­ Conference Swimming and son. He played in the 75th annual East-West Shrine Bowl in Palo Diving Championships in Alto, Calif., on Jan. 15 and then played in the Hula Bowl in Carbondale, Ill., in February, Wailuku, Hawaii, on Jan. 22. helping lead the SMS men's St. Louis, a 6-4, 250-pounder, put up the best pass receiving swimming and diving team to numbers of any tight end in SMS history and also handled virtual­ its first-ever Missouri Valley ly all the SMS long snap duties for punts and placekick attempts Conference title. during his time with the Bears. SMS men's Coach Jack He's a three-year Gateway Football Conference all-league fust Steck and Evansville's Clark team selection and was named to the Gateway academic all­ Campbell were named Men's conference team for three years. He was on the 1998 NACDA Swimming Coaches of the Division 1-AA all-star team and was a captain on the 1999 SMS Year, and SMS diving Coach squad. Jeff DiNicola was named John Waldron His final total of 93 passes caught is sixth best in SMS history, Valley Diving Coach of the and his 1,074 receiving yards rank seventh on the all-time list. Year. The SMS women's swimming and diving team finished He's first in both categories among SMS tight ends and is the fourth in the conference. first SMS tight end ever to record more than 1,000 receiving yards. Women's soccer receives five 2000 commit­ Eskridge signs with New England Patriots - ments - The Southwest Missouri State University women's SMS defensive end John Eskridge has signed a free agent con­ soccer program, corning off a trip to the finals of the Missouri tract with the New England Patriots of the National Football Valley Conference tournament in 1999, has received five commit­ League. ments from high school seniors to attend the university and begin The Patriots have signed Eskridge as a linebacker, and he playing for the Bears in 2000. reported to his first rookie-free agent mini-camp with the ball "This incoming class will really accent the young, talented club in May in Foxboro, Mass. team we have returning," SMS Coach Rob Brewer said. "Each of Eskridge, a 6-4, 230-pound native of Tampa, Fla., transferred the five has been a winner on her high school team, and this gives to SMS at the start of the 1999 season and played in 11 games for us an influx of talent to replace our first graduating recruiting the Bears with two starting assignments. He had 22 tackles class. Each is the kind of hardworking player we look for to con­ among his 36 total stops, and that number included 19 tackles tribute to our program." totaling 43 yards in losses for opposing ball carriers. He had two Forward Mary Litvan is a three-year starter at Springfield sacks and one forced fumble. Catholic High School. As a junior, Litvan was a lA-3A all-state Eskridge came to SMS in 1998 as a transfer from the performer after scoring a school single-season record 37 goals for University of Southern Mississippi. the Fighting Irish. Goalkeeper Katie Holsopple is a three-time all-conference and Reed attends WNBA 's Mystics training camp - all-district standout at Broomfield (Colo.) High School. During Former Southwest Missouri State University women's basketball her career at Broomfield, Holsopple has started every varsity standout Roshanda Reed is attending the WNBA's Washington game in her career entering her senior year. Mystics training camp for the Defender Lisa Martel has started the past three seasons at upcoming season. Duncanville (Texas) High School. A tenacious defender, Martel All WNBA teams are allowed helped the Panthers to a league title during her four prep seasons. to carry 18 players on their train­ Forward Katie DeCarlo has been a two-time all-state performer ing camp rosters, up from 16 at West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley High School. DeCarlo was players last season, to accommo­ named all-state in leading Valley to a runner-up finish in the state date the high number of free tournament last season. agents this season. Midfielder Stephanie Schultz is a four-year starter for Tlie"Mystics willp lay two pre­ Mehlville High School in St. Louis. She is a three-time all-district season games during training performer and was named all-state honorable mention as a camp, both against the three-time junior. BT defending WNBA champion Houston Comets. The Bears Fund donors support the university's athletic program by contributing at any of these levels- Hall of Fame Club, $10,000 or The final Bear Talk Vol. 18, No. s more; AII·American Club, $4,000 or more; Champions Club, $2,000 roster will or more; Diamond Bears Club, $1,000 or more; Gold Bears Club, Roshanda Reed be set $600 or more; Silver Bears Club, $300 or more; Bruin Club, $150 or Named to more; Cub Club, $50 or more. For information concerning The prior to the Templeton Guide: Bears Fund, contact Brent Dunn, director of athletics development, SMSU, (417) 836·4143. the May 31 season opener against the Colleges that Encourage Orlando Miracle. Character Development Southwest Missouri State University is a community of people with "I'm excited to get this opportunity respect for diversity. The university emphasizes the dignity and to prove myself," Reed said prior to leav­ equality common to all persons and adheres to a strict nondiscrim· ing for Washington. "The Houston train­ ination policy regarding the treatment of individual faculty, staff and ing camp taught me a lot on what it takes Editors students. In addition, in accord with federal law and applicable Stacey Funderbur1< and Laura Vaughn Missouri statutes, the university does not discriminate on the basis to succeed at that level, and I used that Writers of race , color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, disability experience last season in Portugal. I've Paul Kincaid, Don Payton, Chris Johnson, Rob Rodgers or veteran status in employment or in any program or activity offered got a shot, and I'm going to make the and Marl< Stillwell or sponsored by the university. The university maintains a grievance Photography procedure incorporating due process available to any person who best of it." SMSU Photographic Services believes he or she has been discriminated against. Southwest Reed, a native of Kansas City, Kan ., led Missouri State University is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action the Missouri Valley Conference in 1998- Bear Talk is produced for The Bears Fund donors by the Office of employer. Inquiries concerning the grievance procedure, Affirmative 99 and ranked 21st nationally, with 10.0 Publications in cooperation with the Department of Athletics and the Action program, or compliance with federal and state laws and Development and Alumni Office of Southwest Missouri State guidelines should be addressed to Melissa Manning, Affirmative rebounds per game, while her 320 total University, 901 S. National, Springfield, Mo., 65804. Third class Action Officer, Office of Human Resources, 128 Carrington Hall, 901 rebounds broke the SMS single-season postage paid at Springfield, Mo. S. National, Springfield, MO 65804, (417) 836-4252. Bear Talk Non-Profit Organization Southwest Missouri State University U.S. Postage PAID 901 S. National Avenue Springfield, MO Springfield, Missouri 65804-0089 Permit No. 1555

Lady Bears, from page 1

Also at the banquet, Johnson received the Scholar-Athlete Arkansas opener kicks Award; junior Carly Deer received the Fast Break Club's Rebound Award (5 .8 per game); and Campbell, also a junior, off 2000 grid schedule received the Defensive Award. Campbell led the team in assists and was second to Deer in steals. It was indeed another banner year for the Lady Bears, who posted a 23-9 record. The season ended with a 78-74 loss to he Southwest Missouri State University football Auburn in the NCAA Midwest Region at Penn State University. Bears will kick off the new century against Cotton Stiles ended her junior year with 30 points against Auburn, finish­ T Bowl champion University of Arkansas Razorbacks in an 11-game 2000 season schedule announced by Athletics ing the year with 890 points. Recruiting, too, wound up on a positive note. Director Bill Rowe. The Bears will move into their second season under head "We really feel it's a phenomenal recruiting class," Burnett coach Randy Ball and will face six home games for the fourth said after two Brazilian standouts from Bacone (Okla.) College season in a row, with the home slate evenly divided with two signed with the Lady Bears. contestants each at Plaster Field in September, October and They are 5-9 point guard Erica Vicente and 6-4 forward-center November. The Bears will again have six Gateway Football Erika Rante, who led their team to a 25-6 record. Conference contests mixed in with a non-league schedule. Vicente, who was National Juco All-America second team, The Razorbacks will be the headline non-conference foe. averaged 17 points, nine assists and four steals. Rante averaged 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots during her two­ The Bears also will face holdover foes Tennessee-Martin year junior college career. and Southeast Missouri State University from their 1999 Last fall, SMS signed three players: 6-7 junior college center slate, while neighborhood rival Missouri Southern State Kinga Kiss, from Jefferson County Junior College; 6-4 Stephanie College of Joplin and Division 1-AA power McNeese State Busbey from El Dorado Springs; and 5-8 Morgan Hohenberger return to the slate. The Bears last played Missouri Southern from Cooper, Texas. in 1988 and last met McNeese State in 1997. "I think it's one of the best recruiting classes in the country," SMS opens at Arkansas on Sept. 2 in the Bears' first Burnett said. "We definitely filled the needs of our team for next 1 meeting with the.Razorbacks.in 76..,years. Rowe noted-that year and beyond." ------the Arkansas game has been moved from Fayetteville to For the ninth straight year, SMS ranked in the top eight nation­ War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. ST ally in attendance, averaging 7,6 12 for 18 home dates. Two "retirements" were announced following the season. Bears Football 2000 Guard Starr Ryan, a junior hobbled by injuries throughout her career, announced her retirement, as did former Lady Bears Sept. 2 Arkansas Assistant Coach Chuck Williams. ST Sept. 9 Missouri Southern State Sept. 16 McNeese State Sept. 30 Youngstown State* Softball, fram page 2 Oct. 7 Indiana State* Oct. 14 Western Illinois* .268; and Sarah Nemlowill, .250. Oct. 21 Southern Illinois* Leading the team in runs-batted-in was Wattie, with 43 , fol­ (SMS Homecoming) Oct. 28 Northern Iowa* lowed by Gorham with 29 and Medico with 20. Wattie paced the Nov. 4 Tennessee-Martin team in home runs, with seven. (SMS Family Weekend) Leading the pitching staff were sophomores Jessica Davis (12- Nov. 11 Southeast Missouri State 10, 2.30 ERA) and Tauni Kennemer (13.8, 2.37 ERA); and fresh­ (SMS Veterans Day Observance) man Nemlowill (5-10, 3.10 ERA). Nov. 18 Illinois State* Although they didn't advance through the tourney this year, no Home games (bold) at Plaster Field, Springfield school has dominated MVC tournament play like SMS. They entered this year's event with a 51-27'MVC tourney record. No *Gateway Football Conference games other MVC team bad won 40 games. SMS won consecutive titles and NCAA berths in 1996, '97 and '98. BT

SMS Athletics Web Page KTXR Live Web Broadcasts MVC Web Page http://www.sports.smsu.edu http://www.ktxrfm.com http://www.mvc.org

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