Sports
Ten things to love about Metro sports
NICK TACINAS
tacinas@mscd.edu
Summer is officially over.
Metro students have returned to the college grind, the crowded bookstore, inflated attendance on campus and, of course, schoolwork. Aside from the books and lectures, Metro has a rich sports life outside of classes.
The toughest question for Metro's sports is, can they keep up with last year? The strong tradition of winning is great but there can be a downside. The bar for success is set even higher than the previous year.
Anything else would be insufficient.
Of Metro's fall collegiate programs, three of the teams won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the women's soccer team won the national championship and the men's basketball team was two wins away from a championship, leaving a lot of promise for Fall sports.
Here are the top ten reasons to watch Metro sports teams this fall:
10. Metro club sports
The club sports at Metro offer students the experience of being a collegiate athlete. The average student is able to give it their all. These athletes are playing for themselves, their team and most importantly their pride. When pride and sports come together, competition is always at a high.
No one forces these people to practice, miss work or take their free time; they do this themselves. For hard-hitting action check out the Glorious Bastards Rugby club, the closest thing to football Metro offers. Hockey is back, not only for our neighbors at the Pepsi Center, but for the Roadrunners as well.
The hockey season kicks off Friday, Sept. 30 at the Edge Ice Arena in Littleton. Hockey fans visit http://www.Metrostatehockey.com for more information.
9. Cross country team
Roadrunners, be ready! The school now has a men's and women's cross country team. The RMAC has won the Division II Championship in cross country the past 15 years. Head coach Peter Julian is an accomplished runner, who won a bronze medal in the 1999 Pan-American games. Julian was also a member of the United States World Cross Country Team from 1997-1998 and has nine years of running experience with Team Adidas America (1996-04). His coaching experience includes jobs as an assistant at Santa Clara University and as the head coach at Lincoln High School (1995-96).
After a 30-year absence at the CU time trials, the men finished third and red shirt freshman Sitges Manning finished second.
8. Men's soccer chasing a title
After winning the RMAC tournament last year, the men's soccer team, which went 15-4-2, lost only one player, defensive back Danny Bills. The men's soccer team is a preseason pick to finish second behind Fort Lewis.
Metro lost only two of their last 15 games on their way to the tournament title. The team was hungry and if history repeats itself they will play better and gain more wins. The team also has the RMAC's preseason Freshman-of-the-Year, Pat Laughlin. Full of experience and upperclassmen, the team is poised for a repeat.
7. Volleyball's big comeback
The women's volleyball team (6-5) has gained ground in the division from last year. The team's only loss this season is Sarah Lively. Metro is now a preseason pick to finish third in the RMAC East, behind Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays.
The team is already off to a better record than last year, when they reached the NCAA tournament. I pick them to challenge for at least second place in the RMAC east.
6. Women's basketball
The Metro women's basketball team (24-7 last year) is going to have to rebound after losing two of their top three scorers from last season's conference championship team. The team, however, had a solid bench last season and is returning with its second leading scorer, sophomore Paige Powers. With the addition of junior transfer Jessica Grubb from Lower Columbia College-Washington, solid play from the bench and two freshman guards, the team will be battling against rival Regis for the conference title.
5. Shaun Elbaum
Sophomore transfer Shaun Elbaum, who was named RMAC Offensive Player-of-the Week the first week of the season after scoring a hat trick against Eastern New Mexico. He leads the team with five goals on the season. The addition of Elbaum should help the Metro reclaim and keep its RMAC championship title.
4. Defending a championship
Our national champions, the women's soccer team has set the bar very high and given a deserving ranking in the RMAC preseason poll for this season.
They are holding on to a No. 1 National ranking in NCAA Division II.
Three athletes are worth mentioning: preseason All-RMAC team junior-forward Kylee Hanavan, senior forward Amy Leichliter and senior defender Stephanie Prouty. Hanavan is the preseason pick for the RMAC Player-of-the-Year.
3. New assistant coach
After another strong season by the men's basketball team the team will have some added help for the upcoming season. Part of the 2000 National Championship team, former Metro assistant Brannon Hays returns after a five- year stint as the Colorado Christian University head coach. Hays is 38-18, 23-15 RMAC (.605) in the last two years at Colorado Christian. He was also a part of the 1999 runner-up team at Metro. While Hays was with Metro, the team held a 61-10, 32-6 RMAC record. The return of Hays should ease the burden for head coach Mike Dunlap and his Roadrunners since they are only returning one starter from last year's elite eight.
2. Replacing former champions
The National championship women's soccer team has some big shoes to fill for their title defense. The loss of enforcers Elin Otter and Meisha Pyke, and midfielders Adrianne Almarez and Ymara Guante leaves the soccer team with some big roster spots to fill if anything close to a repeat is going to happen. The team has a 23-game winning streak heading into the season and are 7-0 this season.
1. Roadrunner basketball dynasty
The men's basketball team are perennial champions. The big test for this group of players is to become a new team but keep the RMAC same chemistry. The added experience in the coaching staff could lead to a team conditioned to make the finals