Last year the Saints finished their season strong with a 27-21 record (12-8 in league play) and so far this season is shaping up to be even better.

 “We have an experienced team,” said senior pitcher Mike Kaiser. “Many of the players are four-year starters and we feel that we can win many games this year.”

Despite the team’s optimism, there have been obstacles in their preparation for this spring.

“The fieldhouse being under construction has created many problems, mostly with arm conditioning,” said junior outfielder Kennen Less.

Like other AQ teams, the fieldhouse construction has forced the team to train at different local facilities, such as the Elite baseball facility and the CAT.

“Distance is key in arm conditioning and neither of those buildings have enough space to allow us to be ready for Florida,” said Less.

Senior infielder Adam Farrell had this to say – “We still have some progress to make and Florida will be a very good measuring stick.”

      Even with these problems, spirits are high with the Saints.“I think we all expect to have an even better year than we did last year and that means contending for a conference championship,” said senior pitcher Joe Welton. “We’re dreaming of more.” 

As spring training continues, the team should be able to overcome these small speed bumps and put together another quality season come spring. Over spring break the Saints will play ten games in seven days during their trip to Florida. 

The Saints used an explosive offensive attack last season hitting a team total of 38 home runs with a .340 team batting average on their way to a 39-14 overall record. This season, the team will not be relying on power so much but rather the team’s great versatility.

The team will start their 2010 season on their spring break trip to Tucson, Arizona where they will play in 12 games over a six day period. After the Arizona trip the team will play two games in Indiana before participating in the Olivet Nazarene Invitational beginning March 26 in Bourbonnais, Ill.

In fact, the Saints do not play a home game until their March 31 date with Spring Arbor.

Even when the team does return to Grand Rapids, they still will not have a true home field (because of fieldhouse construction plans). Because of this, the team is putting themselves in the mindset of having every game act as a road game. Despite the obvious hassles of traveling, the team is confident that it will not affect their play too greatly.

“I think it will feel like an away game no matter if we are scheduled ‘home’ or not,” said sophomore Kim Lohman. “We have to travel every day as it is just to get to practice so I don’t think that being on the road for games will affect us too much.”

Regardless of where the team plays its games, whether it be home or away, look for the versatile Saints to put together another very successful season and compete for the WHAC title this spring.

The season starts for the Saints on March 2 in a game against Olivet College’s club team. Following that match, the team will participate in a five game tournament in Louisville, Kentucky. over spring break. The team hopes that the stiff competition in Louisville will prepare them for the season.

 “With how we have been playing in practice, I think Kentucky will be a big success for us and a great way to kick off our season,” said team co-captain, sophomore Annie Parks.

Freshman co-captain Brianna Shefferly hopes the trip will bring the team even closer.

“The trip should be very beneficial. It will also help us to get a good jump into the spring season for all of our games,” said Shefferly, a midfielder. “It will be nice for all of us to play on a real field and the full size again.”

The snowy field has been an issue for the team. “We’ve been trying not to let the massive amounts of snow get in our way but naturally it does cause problems for us,” said Parks.“We love our beautiful turf field and are looking forward to the day that we can actually see it and play on it, but until then we will continue to wear our boots to practice.”

The winter practices have given the ladies not only time to improve upon their skills, but also their sense of teamwork.

“When go out on the field we completely forget about everything else and do everything we can to walk off the field feeling accomplished,” said Parks.

Students will have a numerous opportunities to catch the Women’s team hit the field after break.

“To quote Rihanna: we go hard and we just don’t let up,” said the junior defenseman. This is a statement that is sure to be proven true in the upcoming Aquinas Men’s Lacrosse season.

Last fall, the Saints hit the field for a series of scrimmages. “The fall was a lot of fun. Coming in as a freshman it was a great time to jump in and meet the old guard. Also, we got to beat up on Ferris State, which is nice,” said freshman defenseman Connor Sutton.

“We had a huge win and I hope that momentum carries over into the spring,” said junior midfielder Matt Schousen.

Sophomore Midfielder Jacob Jeffers also felt the fall helped the team saying “The fall scrimmages gave us some time to see where the incoming players fit into all our game plans so we should be ready to go when the actual season comes around.”

Men’s Lacrosse, though a relatively new team to the Aquinas landscape, is attracting a following.

The team has been scrimmaging since the return from break, and will begin official game play March 6 against Appalachian State. The game will take place in Boone, N.C., far from the chill of Grand Rapids. Other games that week will be against Southern Virginia and Coastal Carolina. “I have always loved the idea of traveling together early in the season,” said Head Coach Luke Griemsman.

The players seem to be looking forward to the trip south as well. “We will definitely come out of it with a winning record and make a name for AQ outside the conference,” said Sutton.

Look for the Saints winning attitude to lead them to a successful season this spring.

The men took second to Siena Heights, and women took second to Cornerstone.  While many individual athletes had outstanding performances, both of the teams fell short of their goal of first place.

The Saints will rest this weekend before heading down to the NAIA Indoor National Championships, which begin March 4th in Johnson City, TN.

Sophomore Eddie Seymour says that the team should be stronger in the outdoor season.  Men’s track won the outdoor championship last year, and team members, including Seymour, expect that accomplishment to be repeated this year.

“The competition might be harder in outdoor this year,” said Seymour. “Before Saturday, everyone was psyched about winning.”  Seymour says the loss has fueled the Saints to drive to win the outdoor championship.

These athletes know, however, that they have to go into stiff competition with passion and strong will.  Head coach Dave Wood said that he does not think the team can just expect to win, but that they have to come in and take it.

One luxury the Saints will be furnished with in their outdoor season is the new Houseman Field, which was given a multi-million dollar face-lift this past year.  It will provide a comfortable outlet for the team as they finally return to familiar territory and have a place to call home.

The Saints will host multiple meets at Houseman Field this upcoming spring as they work towards redemption and another WHAC outdoor title.

Name

Class: Freshman

Sport: Track & Field/ Cross Country

Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI

High School: Northview High School

After graduating from Northview High School in May 2009, Carly Plank burst onto the cross country scene at Aquinas College.

Carly became WHAC conference champion and aided in the team’s performance at nationals in Washington last fall, despite facing adversity. Carly battled plantar fascilitis, an inflammation of a tendon in the foot, through the end of her high school career and during the fall 2009 cross country season. The injury took over a year to heal.

Still, earlier this year Carly broke the indoor track 3000 meter record with a time of 10:08.07

Carly’s excellence and competitiveness in her sport stems from the passion she feels about running at AQ.

“Running on the Aquinas track and cross country teams has been one of the best experiences of my life.  I have grown as a person and as a runner.  All of the girls on the team are really good friends, and we are like a family.  We all work so hard to reach our goals as well as the goals of the team,” Plank said.

In addition to being a tremendous asset to the cross country and track teams, Carly is a member of the Aquinas Chemistry Society, as she hopes to become a wildlife biologist.

Carly also shows her love for James, her Old English sheepdog, and the love of all animals by putting in multiple hours volunteering at the Kent County Humane Society every week.

Because of her performance on the teams, her participation in the Aquinas College community, and the hours she has dedicated to the Grand Rapids community, Carly is this week’s “Saint in the Spotlight”.  Congrats Carly!

The Saints won their final regular season home game—the last for seniors John Lierman, Ty Motley and Matt McDonald—against UM-Dearborn 60-44. After a sloppy start full of turnovers by both teams, the Saints pulled away thanks to 14 points by freshman forward Zach Eddy and hot three-point shooting by McDonald. Sophomore forward Jake Shockey pulled down 12 rebounds in the win.

An upset of then 14th ranked Davenport followed the win against UM-Dearborn. Behind tough team defense and 29 points from Lierman, the Saints were victorious 69-53 The Saints held Davenport to just 33% shooting from the field and held a 15 point advantage at halftime. It was the first regular season home loss for Davenport since their facility opened in 2008.

After the big win against Davenport, the Saints suffered a loss at Concordia in which the home Cardinals made 19 three-point field goals. Motley led the Saints with a season high 19 points, and Lierman added 15.

Just four days later the Saints hit the road again for a game at Indiana Tech.  Aquinas needed a win to clinch the #3 seed in the WHAC postseason tournament and did just that by defeating the Warriors 63-56.

“We bounced back and played a good game,” said Lierman. “Indiana Tech is better than their record and we played well against them.”

 Motley and Lierman lead the way with 17 points apiece, while Shockey added 9 points and 13 rebounds.

The Saints finished the regular season record of 19-11, 9-5 in the WHAC.  The team finished 3rd in the WHAC behind Cornerstone and Davenport and will host 6th seeded Indiana Tech in the first round of the conference tournament on Wednesday, February 24th. The game will take place at 7:30 p.m at Grace Bible College. An at-large bid to the National Tournament is not likely, so the Saints need to win the conference tournament in order to advance. The team has been playing very good basketball over the last three weeks and Lierman thinks it’s the best the team has played all season. 

“We’re confident we can make a run at the conference championship.”

Currently, Lazic is playing in Germany for the Licher BasketBaeren (Basket Bears). Licher plays in the Pro B League, the third highest basketball league in Germany.  They play their games in the city of Crailsheim, Germany.

Lazic, who graduated in 2009, was a two-time WHAC Player of the Year and two-time NAIA All-American selection.  He left Aquinas as the programs 5th all-time leading scorer.

Originally from Bosnia, Lazic attended Forest Hills Northern High School. He is one of two foreign players on Licher’s team. 

Licher has struggled this season with a 3-17 record, but Lazic has put up impressive numbers since joining the club.  In his first 12 games, Lazic averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He shot 59.8% from the field in nearly 30 minutes per game.

                Jean Boot, who has taken art classes at Aquinas, felt that the works on display in the faculty-juried show reflected the diversity of the art department at Aquinas.  “It really represents a good cross section of all the things students do here,” she said. 

And the students do a lot.  Concepts and ideas represented in displayed  art pieces were as varied as the different media they were made out of. Many submissions to this year’s art show were whimsical and humorous, such as Jaymes Miller’s found objects sculpture that looks like the offspring of a fly and a shattered video camera and Dorothy and Candace Rabourn’s terra cotta cat-shaped vessel, named Charlie.  Others works were kept subdued and scholarly, such as junior Bernadette Porrier’s Shadow Sphere, a study of light and geometric shapes.  

Students and the general public were very enthusiastic about the exhibition at the packed gallery opening this past Sunday.  “Everything’s displayed amazingly,” said Mykayla Farley,  an Aquinas art student with several pieces on display.  “We have a great art department.” 

Pam Vander Jagdt, a freshman with a series of collograph prints on display, felt that the show was a chance to display the talents of the art students at Aquinas.  “It gives us an opportunity to show what we do in art,” she said. 

Don and Linda Laughter, a couple from Ada, came all the way to Grand Rapids for the gallery opening.  They were not disappointed.  “It’s very impressive,” said Linda, “The number of different media is astounding.” 

However, the couple feels that the show could have been promoted more in the outside community, having been informed of the show by word of mouth from art students themselves. 

Farley thought that the Aquinas community could have been better informed about the show as well.  “It could have been exposed more on campus than it was,” she said. 

Regardless of advertising, Art department chair Ron Pederson is confident in the exhibit.  “Whether or not the show is a success remains to be seen,” he said, “But other art faculty have been saying this is a very strong show.”

Many people question the value of such art shows in today’s world.  However, Pederson feels that art is a natural human action and won’t be going away any time soon.  “Looking at a painting or a sculpture is like listening to poetry or jazz music,” he said.  “The part of art that’s most important is the spirituality of art.  You can’t identify the spirit, but you can feel it.  Going to a show allows you to feel that spirit.”

“I even talk to art students about this idea that every work is a conveyor of spirit.” 

Students and the public alike continue to see the significance and value of art.  “It’s extremely important to us,” said Linda Laughter.  “Art’s timeless, something that reaches over generations,”  said Don, “We just don’t get art in Ada.” 

Miller has his own, more down-to-earth reasons for studying and making art.  “I’m doing what I love, and I’m confident that I’m going to get a career in it,” he said.  “I’m going to be happier in the long run.”

According to the Gorillaz official fan site, fans.gorillaz.com, all the members of the band have ended up on Plastic Beach, “The most deserted spot on the planet” where their new album has been recorded. Plastic Beach is described on the page as a floating island of “the detritus, debris and washed up remnants of humanity.”

The official web site features a new “orchestral trailer,” a video showing panning and detail shots of the Gorillaz’s new hide-out while a haunting orchestral track plays in the background. Plastic Beach has a house that looks like a cross between a modernist architect’s design and an evil scientist’s secret lair perched on a mushroom shaped rock formation. None of the band members make an appearance, but the orchestral trailer sparks curiosity for the new album and how or if this new Gorillaz headquarters will be incorporated into music videos.

Excited long-time fans or anyone curious can listen to the new single “Stylo” on the official site. “Stylo” is reminiscent of “Demon Days” with some loops of electronic melodies and a mix of hip hop and rock in the vocals. Damon Albarn, one of the creator’s of Gorillaz, has said, “I’m making this one the most pop record[s] I’ve ever made in many ways, but with all my experience to try and at least present something that has got depth.”  This  album features guest artists such as Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Lou Reed, De La Soul and Bobby Womack among many others.

The album will first be released March 8, 2010, in the UK and then in the U.S. March 9, 2010. Gorillaz will also be headlining the final night of the Coachella music festival in Indio, California on April 18, 2010, with their new lineup.