Club Sports Illustrated - May 6

CLUB SPORTSILLUSTRATED

05.06.16

CLUBSPORTS .APPSTATE .EDU

*To see entire version of the 2016 Club Sports Photo Competition winner see page 35.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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ARCHERYSNOWBOARDFENCINGICE HOCKEYWOMEN’S RUGBYWOMEN’S VOLLEYBALLEQUESTRIANMEN’S SOCCERALPINE SKIWOMEN’S ULTIMATECYCLINGCLIMBINGWOMEN’S SOCCERMEN’S ULTIMATEWOMEN’S LACROSSEMEN’S RUBGYTRIATHLONWOMEN’S BASKETBALLMEN’S LACROSSEBASEBALLSWIMCLUB SPORTS SYMPOSIUMCLUB SPORTS BANQUET

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For more information on any of the club teams, visit the website:

clubsports.appstate.edu email us at: [email protected]

or call us at the Student Recreation Center (828)262-2100

Director of UREC: Joe Carter [email protected]

Director of Club Sports:Erin Sanders [email protected]

Coordinators for Competitive Sports: Chris Carr [email protected]

Heather Marshall [email protected]

Executive Officers: Chad Deaver [email protected]

Olivia Chason [email protected]

Patrick Sekel [email protected]

February 19th Edition of Club Sports Illustrated Edited by Kristen Poole, UREC Publicity Programmer and App State Student

Cover Photo taken by Drew Bennett

ARCHERY3

One Team, One Target

ARCHERY

Article by: Brittany Rountree

Team Position: Club Sports Representative

Photo submitted by: Amanda Tamer

Photo submitted by: Brittany Rountree

“We may shoot as sole competitors, but we all wear the same name on the front of

our jerseys.”

ARCHERY 4

Being an archer holds a different significance for each shooter. For some, archery is about building people up; when asked what archery meant to her, one of App Archery’s recurve coaches, Echo McMichael stated that it’s about “[being taught an] amazing skill, but also creating a community of friends that share this fun experience.” For the team’s compound coach, Andrew Mosteller, archery is about having an escape. As he puts it, “Archery takes all the stresses and troubles of life, and I am alone. Just me and my bow. That is why I love archery.” The beauty of the Appalachian Archery is that the myriad of reasons for which each member picks up a bow converges onto the same target, love of the sport.

This year, App Archery competed for the first time as a club sport, marking a milestone in the club’s journey. The club has competed in two Rinehart competitions, North Carolina and Georgia, not to mention several other Vegas style and 3D competitions. The competitive team even placed first as a team at a collegiate competition hosted by the Wildlife Commission this past spring semester. App Archery has also had the honor of building relationships with the members of more seasoned teams belonging to such schools as UNC-Charlotte and Wake Forest. In retrospection of the past year, the team boasts growth among even the most competitive of shooters and the passionate introduction of many novice archers to the sport. “It’s amazing watching a club of 12 grow to a club sport team of 32 competitive members,” reflects April Ormand, the team’s current President. “I can’t wait to see

what App Archery does in the future. We really have prepared ourselves to shoot ourselves into first place.” As summer nears and the season draws to close, the team is only becoming more excited and driven for the things to come. April Ormand passes on leadership of the team as she graduates to Jared Stratton who emphasizes that “Appalachian Archery is a Team despite the nature of individual based competition. We may shoot as sole competitors, but we all wear the same name on the front of our jerseys. We win and lose as a family. I look forward to continuing this warm atmosphere next year as President!” Stay tuned; like an arrow, App Archery is always moving forward.

Photo submitted by: Kaitlyn Reed

SNOWBOARD5

A letter to all the Gnarcats out there,

Even though our season has been finished for quite some time now, as a whole, our members are still active. Most participate in other sports, board sports, from longboarding to skateboarding, wakeboarding to surfing; each member has a distinct background from which they flowered into snowboarding. Though, we cannot actually snowboard, carpet boarding is the next best thing. Talks of summer sessions at Snowflex, a carpet based mountain base at Liberty University, is only a short four and a half hour drive away. Now, some might say that is too far for fake snow but not us. This multimillion dollar facility is more than adequate. It can curb just about any need for riding you may have. Some of our members say that this “carpet” can even be refreshing, as it is soaked with water to allow you to slide. Mixed with other technologies, this is the closest we can get. Not to mention you can launch off a jump into a giant balloon. Soon though, very soon, there will be snow again. Something like 8 months and yes we’re counting. It’s basically a job, spending six plus hours a day on a mountain, most would consider it a career. Heck, we do. It just isn’t fair, our season is so short. We need Boone to return to its natural state. Boone lives to be covered in snow, you know it looks better. Just wait, when the snow starts falling again you will see more boarders than ever. Everywhere…

So until next snowfall,

Snowboarders out.

A Letter to All the Gnarcats Out There

SNOWBOARD

Article by: Patrick Clifton

Team Position: Secretary

Photos submitted by: Patrick Clifton

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End of Year Reflection

FENCING

Article by: Lauren Brackett

Team Position: Public Relations Officer

FENCING

Throughout this year, the team participated in tournaments at a variety of universities, including Clemson, UNC Greensboro, East Carolina, and UT Knoxville. We planned to compete at other universities during this past semester, like the University of Georgia and Wake Forest, but couldn’t make it due to inclement weather. Our members brought home several medals after placing in men’s saber and epee at multiple tournaments in the fall. I also won 1st place in women’s foil at the SIFA tournament after an intense losing steak to Georgia Tech’s women’s foil. The SIFA tournament was hosted by ECU. Our epee team won 3rd place and our men’s sabre won 1st place at the North Carolina Open at ECU in early March.

Thanks to our new equipment that we bought earlier this year, our sabre team has gone from nonexistent to gold medal winning in a matter of months. Our foil team is small, but we’re hoping to expand for more new members next semester and get some new weapons at some point. As usual, our epee team is very strong and competitive. Our President and Vice President are both epeeists and will be graduating this spring. They have made huge contributions to our team and have been the backbone of our program this year.

In practice, we work on point control dills and compete against each other in mini

tournaments. Every Thursday night after practice, we go to Macado’s for the appetizer deal and enjoy hanging out as a team. It is definitely hard to see this year come to an end, but we’ve accomplished so much and I know our seniors will do great things after graduation. We’re excited to watch our team grow as we continue to recruit new members next year!

Photo by: Sean Cobb

Year in Review and Glimpse into the Future

ICE HOCKEY

Article by: Zane Sink

Team Position: Club Sports Representative/ Two-Way Forward

ICE HOCKEY7

“As we look forward, the future of App

State Ice Hockey has never looked

brighter.”

As the 2015-2016 ice hockey season draws to a close, we can reflect on the year with great pride. This season has seen a great deal of growth throughout the team in incredible ways. Compared to the 2014-2015 season, the team had nearly twice the number of consistent players. In addition, the team formed new contacts with teams far from Boone and outside of North Carolina. Consequently, we played more than twice as many games as we did last season. Although the core of the team was mostly the same, new life was brought to us. We were much more competitive with every team we played even though we typically had far fewer practices and less time on the ice. Off of the ice, members of the team spent much more time together as friends than we did last season. The identity of the team has morphed dramatically from a struggling, underfunded team to a competitive, flashy one. Our newest class of freshmen athletes have helped drive

this team to another level of competition, and each member of the team’s freshman class is set to return next season, meaning that the team will experience a high level of growth, assuming that a similarly sized class of freshmen athletes is brought in. As we look forward, the future of App State Ice Hockey has never looked brighter. The size of the team is very likely to grow, and there are already new contacts with teams and rinks being formed. On top of that, many returning players saw great development throughout the season, and will push our team to be even more competitive than we were this season.

Overall, the team is very proud of the strides taken to improve our club this year, and the future only seems to look better. As we move forward, the team hopes we can do our part to be ambassadors for not only Appalachian State University, but also for the sport of ice hockey.

8ICE HOCKEY

All Photos submitted by Bryce Suriano

At the end of our matrix season, AHO has had plenty of time to relax, but also think about the coming year. Although we didn’t have the matrix season we wanted, AHO is grateful for the experience and lessons we can take away from the semester as a whole. We all hope to take this year as a whole and move forward in our endeavors.

Last semester, AHO did a tremendous job, ending with only one loss. With the loss of some of our superstar players and making a lot of space to fill, we did our best in battling this matrix season with all we have. The new people we recruited this semester were vital in building our team back to be on top! AHO was very happy to end our season on a win, especially for our

seniors, however, we are not content with this semester as whole. We plan on breaking it back down to the basics so that next semester AHO will come back with a technical edge on our other teams. We are hoping to recruit a lot of great people with a new flux of freshman coming in and build them into big, tough, rugby machines. We know things we need to grow on and we plan on working our hardest to get our weaknesses to become strengths. Quick wit and tough skin are what AHO needs to develop more of, and that’s exactly what we plan to work on. AHO also plans to have some more bonding time. As much as we do love the competitive side of being a club sports team, making friends and having fun is also just as important to us.

AHO Can’t Wait to Come Back

WOMEN’S RUGBY

Article by: Rachal Arokiasamy


WOMEN’S RUGBY9

All Photo’s submitted by Lance Wilson

“Once AHO, always AHO. Oderint dum mutant”

In rugby, it is impossible to win as an individual. We all need to work together as a team, with support, in order to be the best we can. So, we plan on bonding a lot with everyone and keeping good vibes around so that we can bring that onto the field with us, and off the field, to become the most effective cohesive group possible.

Some things AHO is proud of is our executive board. There have been ups and downs this year, but overall, our executives, including captains, have kept this team running smoothly. We have had great communication, for the most part, and hope to even improve of that, because no one is perfect. We also did a great job of keeping high hopes and determination all year. This semester took a great toll on us and it’s hard to be passionate about a sport when you’re consistently losing. AHO, however, fought until the end and because of that, we were thankful enough to get a win as the end of our season. This passion and positivity is something we plan on keeping up and passing to all our teammates. This is what AHO is about and what keeps people on the team, also.

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We want our new recruits not only to love the game, but to love us as well. Coming to the end of it all, we have out annual dinner/social where we can all sit together and talk, relax, and just enjoy each other’s company. AHO wouldn’t want to end the semester any other way.

Overall, we have been very proud of all our accomplishments and time this semester. It may not have been the best, but we did try our best and that’s what truly counts. Also, if you’re interested in joining our team for the fall 2016 semester, you can still get in contact with us now or over the summer so you can get our emails! You can contact us at [email protected]. You can also check Club Sports website soon (clubsports.appstate.edu) to get in contact with any of our officers. We would all love to see you join our family! Happy summer!

Going Out with a Bang

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Article by: Ayron E Walker


WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

“With seven teammates and a hard-working attitude, this team

excelled in their pool play.“

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Women’s Club Volleyball went out on a positive note this season. With ASU 2 team placing second in the home tournament, and the National’s team making big in Louisville, Kentucky with only seven team members. Now that all the game play and practices are done, it’s time to think about changes to the club that the executive board will making for next semester. With a fresh and new executive board, the club wants to make changes to the environment of the club and the budget.

Player Riley Dixon says, “I’m really excited about this new executive board. I think they all will bring new ideas that will help propel our club forward.”

With that being said, the new environment could not be set without the success and positivity that the club let on. After holding a home tournament in early April, ASU team 2 made it to the finals while the national team and ASU 3 played well in pool play. The weekend after the home tournament the nationals’ team packed up drove to Louisville, Kentucky to compete among more than 400 volleyball teams. With seven teammates and a hard-working attitude, this team excelled in their pool play.

The end of this season brought a lot of wins for Club Volleyball and a lot of new beginnings that the teams are excited about.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL 12

All Photos submitted by Mike Collins

Finals Ride

EQUESTRIAN

Article by: Corinne Bergman

Team Position: Treasurer

It has come that time of year again that everybody dreads the end of the semester. The ending of the spring semester is very bittersweet as most of our team mates will be going separate ways for the summer. Our Vice President elect, Hampton Kennedy, will be spending his summer in Keystone, South Dakota working at a bed and breakfast and which we know will lead to an awesome summer. Others are staying in Boone to enjoy the beautiful summer weather. While others will be returning home for the summer to work. However, we still have to get through the last stretch of the semester which at times can be the toughest.

For the equestrian team we feel as if we are on a downward stretch since we have successfully hosted our first schooling horse show ever at Blowing Rock Equestrian Preserve on Saturday, April 23rd. We were very pleased as to how well the show went and so were many of the competitors at the show.

EQUESTRIAN13

Photo submitted by: Sophia Twarog

We used this show to help get our teams name out there and not only that but we gave a percentage of the profit to Horse Helpers of the High Country. Horse Helpers of the High Country is a local horse rescue that our team members go for some volunteer opportunities. We are very thankful to one of our team sponsors Blowing Rock Equestrian Preserve for allowing us this wonderful opportunity of hosting this show at their beautiful facilities.

Finally, to our graduating seniors I would like to wish each and every one of you the best of luck in the next chapter of your lives. I know you all will do great things in this world, but we will miss you all very much here in Boone. I hope everyone has a wonderful summer and I am very excited to see what next year has in store for the Equestrian team.

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Photo submitted by: Donna Kobashigawa

EQUESTRIAN

Photo submitted by: Amy Hudnall

A Successful Season

MEN’S SOCCER

Article by: Chris McGurrin


In the year of the Men’s Club Soccer club inception, the newborn organization exceeded its own expectations by leaps and bounds in an incredibly successful first year. Thanks to two years of dedicated hard work put in by Ryan Bateman, the club was able to reach the developmental tier of club standing. This achievement was met with great enthusiasm by the student body, with tryouts hosting over 100 players. From this pool of players, a travel squad was selected along with multiple teams which successfully participated in the local Boone Saloon League.

The first semester for the club team was highlighted at the regional tournament in Gainesville, Florida for the travel squad. The tournament underlined the squad’s incredible mental toughness and resolve. The team entered the tournament as undefeated conference champions in the regular season, but still had to take on tough group stage play against NC State, MTSU, and Virginia Tech, the regional champions over the last two years. App State went on to not only beat Virginia Tech but advance from the group stage into the quarterfinals, where they faced UNC Chapel Hill. At this point in time, the club team had only three substitutes, no coach, and no trainer. This, compared to the heavily funded Chapel Hill squad with an entire second string, a coach, and a trainer meant incredible effort was necessary, and a truly incredible effort was delivered. App State took UNC to extra time, and then defeated

the team on penalties – a huge win against the Chapel Hill team which eventually went on to win the national tournament. App State then went on to face Florida State University in the semifinals, but unfortunately lost in extra time.

Overall, the squad finished in fourth place at the regional tournament which was undoubtedly a fantastic achievement in the club’s first year. This, in addition to the overwhelming involvement and dedication made by the players and executive officers was perfectly encapsulated by receiving the “Outstanding Club Sport” award at the CSIL Student Organizations banquet this spring. The club team as a whole would like to thank the executive officers for getting the club to where it is today, and wish all of the graduating seniors the best of luck in the future. The future looks very promising for the Appalachian State University Men’s Club Soccer team.

Photo submitted by: Chris McGurrin

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Setting Goals

ALPINE SKI

Article by: Dylan Cross


The Appalachian State Alpine Ski Team had a successful 2015-2016 season. At every conference race we had top five finishes for men, and top 15 finished for women. The ski team had a strong presence at regionals conference, with racer Ian Oliver placing third in the slalom event. Oliver was given a bid to compete in national’s, unfortunately he was injured before the national’s event and was not able to compete. Although the race season doesn’t start until second semester next year, the ski team will begin dryland training at the beginning of next semester to prepare for the race season.

The alpine ski team will begin recruiting new skiers in the fall of 2016. We are eager to grow in membership and bring new talent to the team. The ski team has multiple members graduating this spring, including Dixon Styres and Brooke Laing. Styres has served as the team’s president for the past two years and has shown great dedication towards the program. Laing served as secretary and treasurer during her years on the ski team. All of the ski team seniors will be missed next year.

The alpine ski team has accomplished many goals this year, and next ski season cannot come soon enough. The team plans to work hard to grow in membership and in competition. All racers are looking forward to setting and accomplishing their personal goals next year to boost the team’s overall

performance. The race schedule will not be announced for next year until the fall semester of 2016, however the team will be preparing for its upcoming races all of fall semester.

Photo submitted by: Dylan Cross

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Introducing the Newbies

WOMEN’S ULTIMATE

Article by: Lindsey Rotche


It’s that time again. The season is just about over and we are looking ahead to the season to come. We had a totally killer last tournament at ECU. Winds were absurd, plays were great, and much sunburn was had. And fun. That too. It was fun. Anyways, with our last tournament over, we are preparing for the season to come. Here are those new goons that will be running the team. Watch out everybody.

Co-Captain/Vice President:Meredith Abercrombie. You got it. The one and only Meredith Abercrombie. Not only does she have some killer dance moves, she is quite the player too. She is all modern and sutch too. You should really see her rap. It’s quite impressive. Anyways, she will be the boss lady on the logistical side of the team. The other teams are totally gonna be jealous.

Co-Captain/President:Good ‘ol Bree Pacey will be leading the team on the field. This cheese is a boss. It will be her third year as an officer (dang….), and she is ready to rule. A goon off the field, she is a force to be reckoned with on the field. Expect some totally rip roarin’ captaining and playing from this lady.

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All Photos by Corrie Malone and Danny Niwinski

Secretary:Sarah-Cabot Morris. Yup, good ‘ol Scab Picker. She is bundles of fun and a killer player. She will totally rock the email train, and get stoked for her club sports articles. They will be a force to be reckoned with. Just like her. She is a force to be reckoned with.

Treasurer:Rachel Dodgen the sass master. She is gonna deal with all that Mo-NAY. She’s clutch. An awesome handler and also an awesome sass-tastic dancer and fun haver. Yup, she’s got it all under control. Rolling in dough she will make sure the Nonads are financially sound.

Club Sports Rep:Ashely Funderud. Fun-da-rudeeeeeeeee. This up and coming no longer rookie will be reppin’ the Nonads hard core in those club sports council meetings. She is killer on the field even for this being her first year and she will be killer in the conference room. Watch out everyone. Funderud is here.

Publicity Chair:Anna Twigg. Yup, twiglet, little stick, what have you. This lady is the lady for the job. When she’s not saving caterpillar’s lives or snagging some discs out of the air, you will see her repin the team on social media. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, what have you. She will be the lady for the job.

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19 CYCLING

Glancing Back, Sprinting Forward

CYCLING

Article by: Hunter Hill


Photo submitted by: Greg Sloyer

The ACCC Championships were held at NC State last weekend and it was a huge success for the team. The road race was held on Saturday. Miles Hubbard came out with the win for the Men’s A field with a couple of seconds of a lead on the rest of the pack. On Sunday the criterium was held adjacent to the Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh. The team swept the podium in the Men’s A race with Zeb Ramsbotham taking his first collegiate win this season. A fourth App State rider came in 5th.

Overall, our team has had extreme success this year with Mountain Bike Season taking off without a hitch in the Fall, followed by Cyclocross, and ending with Road. Our riders came out strong with support and showings in the races. App State is definitely one of the top teams in the ACC. The members of the team are dedicated to the sport and it shows during the races. In two weeks we end the collegiate season with Nationals held in Marshall and Burnsville, NC. We have been very fortunate to have all of our Nationals races on the East Coast this year. During Nationals, only our top riders compete with the nation in extremely challenging races for a three-day period. The competition is steep, but we have faith in our team members

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Photo submitted by: Matt Sloyer

“App State is definitely one of the top teams in

the ACC.”

21 CLIMBING

I think I speak for everyone when I say that this last month has flown by. We cannot believe that we are cruising to the end of yet another amazing year of climbing team. In the fall, we excitedly anticipated one of our favorite outdoor bouldering comps at Hound Ears Country Club right here in Boone. We were all super psyched and couldn’t wait to pull on the sharp, small features that the Hound Ears boulders are notorious for. Unfortunately, the weather was not our friend. Due to rain and miserably cold temps, the competition got postponed at first, then cancelled altogether and moved to a new spring date. The new date was set for April 16th, and we are still giddy over how awesome of a day it was. We woke up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning, ate a hearty breakfast, and hit the road to the boulders. Once we arrived at the boulder field, we checked in at the registration table, then settled in on our crash pads to wait for the welcoming remarks. After the rules were stated, climbing began. We all started off kind of slow...we had a whole day to climb as many boulders as we wanted! After a nice warm up, things really got started and we all began trying boulders that were a little more difficult. The weather was beautiful! The sun was shining and the temps were absolutely perfect.

After a long day of climbing some truly amazing boulders, we returned to the

campground with dirty feet and beat up skin. What a day! The climbing community is the best! Dinner was served and the party commenced, with competitions in speed climbing, crash pad stacking, and arm wrestling. After some raffle prizes were given out, awards began. Climbing team Vice President, Carter Smith, took home 3rd place in Men’s Advanced. This was a huge accomplishment for him, for the competitors at Hound Ears are some of the strongest climbers in the southeast. We are so proud of him!

We certainly are sad to see the season come to an end, but we are more psyched than ever to come back and crush in the fall! Most team members have plans to climb as much as possible over the summer, and the training psych is high! Climb on, friends!

Climb On!

CLIMBING

Article by: Sarah Farrar


Photo submitted by: Sarah Farrar

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Reflecting on the spring semester, I couldn’t be more proud of my teammates and how far our team has come. We took a 180 turn from our shaky fall season to a spring season full of victories. We won a total of two games in the fall and went six games without ever scoring. That was definitely not something to brag about. This spring season we went 13-1-1 and were Coastal Carolina Tournament Champions beating Eastern Carolina University 2-1, Old Dominion University 4-0, College of Charleston 2-1, and Clemson 2-0 in the final. This was the first time in ever in Women’s Soccer that we have won an entire tournament. I truly believe that the hard work, dedication, and results from the season brought the team closer. The stress of losing was eliminated and the team was eager to continue the winning streak. This was something that we had not seen in the previous season. We had our will and

want to play good soccer back. The team was now spending time together outside of soccer, which improved the team dynamic. With becoming so much closer as a team, it made it difficult to say goodbye to our graduating seniors. We will be losing our president Carly Wilson, goal keeper Cayla Miller, and midfield/forward Becca Schenk. Lucky for us, Carly and Becca will be continuing their education as graduate students at Appalachian State University! So hopefully they will find the time to continue playing with the team! As for Cayla, she will sadly not be sticking around. She is moving onto a new chapter in her life hoping to pursue something in dentistry. We hope the best for all three of you and miss you dearly already. Congrats on everything you have accomplished so far and thank you for playing a role in the Appalachian State Women’s Club Soccer success story.

The Year Coming to an End

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Article by: Ellie Prim


Season Highlights

MEN’S ULTIMATE

Article by: Otto Solberg and Sam Jenkins

Team Position: Secretary 2015-2016, Secretary 2016-2017

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“The fall season was highlighted with

back-back shutouts at ECU, a great home

game against App Alumni, and Captain Benj

Thomsen forgetting to wear sunscreen.”

All Photos submitted by: Otto Solberg

The Appalachian State Men’s Ultimate team, The Alien Mountain Nomads, have certainly trekked across some mountains this year. Starting the year with 14 graduating seniors, and with all new officers, no one was sure where the year would take the team. The Nomads took in a small group of rookies in the fall and began practicing.

Starting with the basics, the Nomads learned the funky ways of Ultimate and began competing. The Nomads traveled to two fall tournaments and hosted the annual Blue Ridge Blowout. The fall season was highlighted with back-back shutouts (donuts) at ECU, a great home game against App Alumni, and Captain Benj Thomsen forgetting to wear sun-screen.

After a fall of learning the basics, the Nomads took their skills to four spring tournaments, and some traveled the spring break co-ed tournament with the girls team in Myrtle Beach. The spring was highlighted with a windy comeback over Navy, catching too many Callahan’s (defensive scores) to count, winning the spring break tournament, endless Ci’Ci’s trips, realizing that “Bug Catcher” Myles is always open, and Spencer cutting his hair into a bowl cut in a hotel bathroom.

While most of our team will return next year and take on a group of rookies, we will be loosing three seniors. Kevin Byerly, Alex Nicholos, and Josh Louie.

Kevin Byerly was captain last year but stuck around for a fourth year of play. He is a athletic defensive player with inspirational leadership skills and a dirty high release flick throw. As humble as always Kevin said “The best part of playing has been seeing myself and my teammates develop around me. When I started out, I couldn’t throw at all. But, the supportive environment on the team helped me and my closest friends to become much better players.” Josh Louie led the team as of our main handlers this year. He was never afraid to drop hammers or break the mark. He “started playing in high school and wanted to keep playing”. He definitely will not miss “having super late practice times”.

Alex Nicholas has been playing for Nomads since his freshman year. He returned from injury this year to handle on the offensive line and was certainly a force to be reckoned with. He said, “I didn’t really know anyone yet on the team I hadn’t become “Party Pat” but the memory is getting the D and the scoring my first ever college goal at a tournament hosted by George Mason. Everyone cheering me on and giving me high fives is part of the reason why I fell in love with Ultimate Frisbee”

The Nomads wish the best of luck to the seniors as they graduate and move on to bigger and better things.

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25 WOMEN’S LACROSSE

We got to finish off the season at ECU a couple weekends ago playing four big teams from our conference. It was our last chance to show other teams that we weren’t messing around, and although we did not win every game, we definitely accomplished that goal.

First, we faced UNC Charlotte, a team we defeated at our home tournament as well as the ECU tournament last semester. We went in there ready to play, feeling more unified than ever, and defeated them for a third time. It definitely got everyone’s confidence up in preparation for our next game which was against UNC Wilmington. This game brought some more challenges, but we still pulled out a high scoring win against them, and really showed them how well our attack could work together to get points on the board. Then, Sunday rolled around, and we faced ECU, a long time arch rival in our conference. Although we began with a strong presence, keeping the score tied at 3-3, they overpowered us in the second half. It was unfortunate and not a good beginning to the day, but then came NC State. They are also a tough opponent to face, so we prepared as much as we could and went out ready to play them. It was an amazing game for defense. Defense had really been improving throughout the semester since there were many new players, but in this game, they really clicked as a group. Because of the defense, the game was held to a close score, but

unfortunately we could not get enough goals on the offensive end. Overall, the team left it all on the field, and had a great time doing it. It was as much as you could hope for in a team.

Since those were our last games of the year, we are having our end of the year banquet which will consist of paper-plate awards for each player as well as an MVP and Most Improved award. We will be doing this at Woodlands because who doesn’t love some good BBQ! It’s been a wonderful year, and hopefully next year some new recruits and leadership can continue making a great impression as the App State Women’s Lacrosse team.

The Final Tournament

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Article by: Emma Evans

Team Position: Club Sports Council Representative

Photo submitted by: Katherine Miller

26MEN’S RUGBY

The AHO Men’s Rugby team experienced yet another great academic. It all started this fall with a great recruiting class of nearly 20 new players. Those new players were quickly thrown to the fire in regards to learning the game and starting to prepare for the conference matrix season that started in the first week of September. Unfortunately a loss to ECU in the first conference game of the season is not the ideal way we wanted to start but after that loss we turned the season around immediately and ended up winning our next 4 games by a huge margin in those games. Our 4-1 regular season record qualified us for the Conference Final Four Playoff which took place in Myrtle Beach, SC in early November. Unfortunately we lost in the final four to Southern Conference powerhouse UNC-Wilmington, but nonetheless, we still had all the reason to hold our heads high.

The spring semester is typically treated more of like an exhibition season, meaning the

games are scheduled by the teams and not the conference and a win/loss doesn’t necessarily affect your season positively or negatively. With that being said, we still took our spring semester very seriously but we took a different approach this semester, and that was to spend a lot of our time developing the younger players as we are graduating 13 seniors in May, all of which start. We scheduled various 15’s and 7’s matches throughout the state and strictly let the B-side (younger/developmental players) receive all of the playing time. They showed tremendous improvement throughout the semester ultimately winning 3rd place in our annual 15’s tournament hosted by us. The A-Side team ended up winning first in the tournament as well.

2015-16 was yet another great year for the gentlemen of AHO Rugby and I look forward to watching them succeed for many years down the road.

A Year in Review

MEN’S RUGBY

Article by: Cam Hunt

Team Position: President

Photo submitted by: Julie Mazzarella

This year has been a wonderful year. The triathlon team just went to the National Collegiate Championships. It was some of the greatest moments of our lives. Around 130 different colleges attended the Championships with 1,100 athletes. The triathlon team has also been extremely lucky to have five great officers to run the program. I had the honor to sit with each officer and ask him or her some questions.

William Harrison Rumley (President), Abilgail Helene Duffy (Vice President), Rachel Sledge (Treasurer), Charles Alexander Haugh (Club Sports Council Representative), Caroline Wagner Hellen (Secretary)

CH: Why did you join the team?Will: I joined the team because I found myself developing a sedentary lifestyle my sophomore year and wanted to make more friends who could help me train.Abby: I’ve always been a runner but never a cyclist or a swimmer really. I saw the team at club expo, went up and talked to our president Will, and the rest is history. Oh yeah that, and the swing dance team wouldn’t take me.Rachel: I joined the team

after doing my first triathlon the summer of my sophomore year. I didn’t have a lot of friends at App and I thought being on the team would be a great way to meet people with similar interests. Alex: I joined the team because I wanted discipline of three combined sports instead of focusing on one individual.Me: I heard there was free food at the end of each race so I jumped right on board! I really joined the team because I did a few triathlons in high school and I wanted to get back into it. I am glad I did because it was one of the best decisions I made in college.

CH: What do you like best the swim, bike, or run portion? Why?Will: I was a really competitive swimmer in high school so I LOVE the swim portion. Also, open water swimming is something that most people don’t have the opportunity to do, and it’s liberating to swim in a giant lake or river.Abby: Lets be honest, does anyone actually like swimming….? I didn’t think so. I would have to go with cycling because it is what I would say I suck the least at but I think I enjoy running just as much. I’ve starting loving cycling more the more I explore Boone and the rest of the High Country.

Rachel: I love the bike section! It’s definitely one of my strengths and I like being able to see the beautiful areas we get to race in. Alex: Swimming is my favorite leg of the race because it is the easiest of the 3 for me and it is usually where I get ahead.Me: I enjoy the running portion because I am able to drink Gatorade on the side of the road and butt slap my teammates to keep them moving. Also, if that Gatorade is diluted or lemon-lime flavored I kick the table over.

CH: What song do you beat pop to when you are on that last mile of the race? What keeps you going?Will: “Run Boy Run” by Woodkid obviously...Abby: Weirdly enough for some reason when I am dying that last mile, church songs from like Vacation Bible School always pop in my head… I have no idea where they come from but I just go with it. I think it is probably due to the fact that I am so close to dying, any ounce of faith helps. Rachel: This is embarrassing, but either “Stronger” by Kanye West or “Stayin Alive.” Sometimes I just count running beats or challege myself to run to something in the near distance and repeat. Alex: Anything Kanye.Me: Well Caroline, we both know

Officer Interviews

TRIATHLON

Article by: Caroline Hellen


27 TRIATHLON

with “I’m A Slave 4 U” because by this time the race is kicking my butt but then right when I am about to end I change the song to “Piece of Me”. It just sums up my whole race because I probably rocked it.

CH: Who would you marry and who would you vote off an island out of the officer crew?Will: I would marry Caroline Wagner Hellen because “Will Harrison Rumley Hellen” would be a sick name. I would vote off Abby for obvious reasons...Abby: I would marry Mr. Charles Haugh. I believe he would make a great significant other. Hands down I would PERSONALLY throw Caroline Wagner Hellen off of the island. We have no use for her anymore.Rachel: I would probably marry Will because he has a puppy. Voting off the island? Maybe Alex? He got that stank face.Alex: I would marry Caroline Hellen because she will always be my lover and I would vote Abby Duffy off the island because if I didn’t, I think she would end up killing me anyways.Me: Can I marry myself? Is that legal yet? Well I guess I would marry William Harrison Rumley. That is one fine tall, dark, and handsome man. I would vote off Abilgail Duffy. She kinda smells.

CH: What has been your favorite moment while being on the team?Will: My favorite moment of being on the team is definitely every time I see someone who is new to the sport finish their first race! Also, our race in Wilmington last September was awesome and really gave our team a chance to bond and have fun.Abby: Without a doubt would of

been when the team went to the Whitewater Center’s Tuck Fest, a 3-day event full of races, scavenger hunts, and good music. As we struggled both up and down the insanely muddy hills during the run Saturday morning, my favorite part was when one of the members, Meagan, went rolling down a hill behind me. She got to the bottom and just sat there for like 30 seconds before we all busted out laughing. That was such a hard race but we turned it into a competition to see who could get the dirtiest.Rachel: My favorite moment was White Lake Spring last year. It was over finals so a lot of people couldn’t go, but we had just enough people to go to volunteer and race to get enough budget points to host a race. We mad a fun weekend out of it and spent the day before practicing open water swimming at the beach and ate doughnuts.Alex: My favorite moment while being on this team was crossing the finish line to my first half ironman this past fall. The race was very long and it had taken me several hours to complete. Seeing everyone’s faces screaming for me as I crossed the finish made me appreciate this team so much. Me: I would have to say my favorite moment was when Will and I were volunteering at a race. The van driver literally rolled up to a random cornfield and pushed us out. We were stranded for hours throwing water bottles at cyclists. One cyclist missed both of our hand-offs and started to yell at us saying “I NEED WAAATTTEEERRR” over and over. Our little sunburnt bodies could not stop laughing the rest of the day.

28TRIATHLON

Photo submitted by: Patrick Duffy

Photo submitted by: Caroline Hellen

Photo submitted by: Judith Medrano

All Good Things Must Come to an End

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Article by: Jordan Cobb


As the year comes to a close, the App State Women’s club basketball team ended the year with all they had. The other weekend, April 22nd – 24th, the girls participated on the National Tournament held at Ohio State University. The girls played Maryland first and won, but unfortunately could not pull out the win when playing against Prairie View A&M and Bradley later in the tournament. The team was obviously upset that they lost, but they knew that they were going to be right back there next year.

The seniors of the group consist of Madison Thomas, the president of the group, and Carly Hall, the only player to have played on the team all four years.

“I’ll miss being able to travel to places I’ve never been to.” said Thomas. “Being able to travel with friends, and just able to enjoy my

weekends and having this time to get away from school. It’s bittersweet leaving, but I know the girls next year will continue doing well and having fun, and that’s all I could ever ask for as I leave them behind.”

Carly Hall also had a few words to share on the topic of leaving.

“Club basketball has been a huge part of my college career. It helped me meet lifelong friends and my college roommates. I’m going to miss the organized competitive basketball but I’ll definitely continue playing pick-up and adult leagues. I will miss the crazy road trips with my best friends and having a team who is like a family.”

The whole team is very upset to see these two go, but they can’t wait to see what they do in the future!

29 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

30MEN’S LACROSSE

Appalachian State Men’s Club Lacrosse ended the year on a surprisingly positive note. While, the team didn’t win their conference, the Southeastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC), the team is quite pleased with the progress they have shown and hopeful for next year’s team. The Men’s Club Lacrosse team only won one single game here at Appalachian State last season, and this year they have turned their record around to having won seven total games. Last year the team ended at 1-6 and this year drastically improved their record to 7-3. The team even made the semifinals in the SELC tournament in Atlanta.

The three seniors of the team, Will Nassif, Grant Simpkins and Jake Villas led the Men’s Lacrosse team in many ways. This year the team won their first playoff game, improved practice and game attendance significantly, and made history for the club lacrosse team. Jake Villas, the goalie for the team led the country in save percentage at one point in the year at 82%. Will Nassif was the team leader in assists, and Grant Simpkins corralled the defense to win seven games.

In the conference tournament in Atlanta, the team faced College of Charleston in the first round of the playoffs. The Appalachian State team pulled out their first playoff victory defeating Charleston after being down a few goals early 16-10. In the following game Appalachian State faced Kennesaw State, the fourth ranked team in MCLA Division II

lacrosse. While the mountaineers battled early on, the Owls pulled away and defeated Appalachian 17-7.

The season may have ended in a loss, but not all thoughts were negative. “I think we look very promising for next year,” says rising Senior and new president of the lacrosse team Matt Frizzell. All of the players and coaches hope to start a tradition of going to the playoffs and becoming the SELC champions. While we hate to see the seniors move on, they have provided Appalachian State Men’s Club lacrosse with the foundation to grow and become a dominating club lacrosse team among the SELC and the nation.

Consistently Improving

MEN’S LACROSSE

Article by: Jack Rich

Team Position: Midfielder

Photo submitted by: Morgan D’Appollonio

The Club Baseball team finished up its season with conference series matchups against Elon and East Carolina. The Mountaineers fell out of playoff contention after losing a home series against UNCW and spent the last two series of the season including more of the team’s members in competition and celebrating the end of our seniors careers.

Starting pitcher Mike Aiello spent five years on the team, and was a member of the team that appeared in the NCBA Division I World Series in 2012. Mike pitched 14.1 innings this season, averaging eight strikeouts per nine innings and only one walk. Mike was always willing to lend a hand when needed and was one of the wisest players on the team.

Outfielder and first baseman Graham Barnes also played for five years and was a member of the World Series team. While he was hampered by an ankle injury in the fall, Graham bounced back to appear in 6 games for the Mountaineers in the spring, hitting .250 with an RBI. Graham was the beloved (and sometimes hated) team clown and one of its oldest members, and will be lovingly remembered for all time as “Grandpa”.

Relief pitcher Eric Janken put in

four strong years for the club. While not the fastest pitcher, he was always effective and easily the most entertaining. The team intellectual, Janken plans on pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in the near future after studying English at App State. One can almost hear him reciting Othello in the dugout during games. Teammate Mike Aiello was sometimes the only member of the team who truly understood “Jankens”.

First baseman Jon Smith appeared in 11 games in his final season, hitting .324, with five RBI’s and three runs scored. Jon came to the team after transferring from Guilford College after his freshman year and had an immediate impact on the team. He was the team gym rat and was affectionately known as “Quadzilla”, a name which struck fear into the hearts of our opponents.

Pitcher Caleb Whitaker played only two years on the team, transferring from Catawba Valley Community College. He made four appearances in relief for the Mountaineers this season, pitching 5.1 innings, earning just one run. In his two seasons he was one of the team’s most consistent members of the bullpen, and under the tutelage of pitching coach Eric Janken pitched his most successful

season of his club career.

Infielder Patrick Sekel only appeared in six games in his final season on the team, but hit .375 and knocked in a run. But it was Patty’s help off the field that are truly worth mentioning. Patrick spent his junior year as the team’s President and his senior year as its Executive Officer at the Club Sports level. Pat is one of the biggest reasons the team is where it is today. He was truly a driving force behind this club and these past two seasons would have been far less successful without his leadership and knowledge.

The remaining members of the App State Club Baseball team would like to thank its graduating seniors for their leadership and years of dedication. Good luck in the real world!

31 BASEBALL

Baseball Celebrates it’s Seniors

BASEBALL

Article by: Brooks Maynard


Photo submitted by: Patrick Sekel

Season Highlights

SWIM

Article by: Olivia Bear and Katrina Huff

Team Position: Vice President and Secretary

32SWIM

The Appalachian State Swim Club had a very fun and successful year! We competed in 5 in-season swim meets against various club swim teams across the East Coast. Recently, we finished the season on a high note in Atlanta, Georgia for our National Meet. This meet consisted of 83 teams across the country and close to 2,000 swimmers. Appalachian State Swim Club placed in the top 20, which is a first in our team’s history. We also had more swimmers from our team attend this meet than previous years. Almost all of our records were broken this season, some of which are almost 10 years old.

Another season highlight was the High Country Invitational, our home meet, which we hosted back in the Fall semester at the Student Recreation Center. A total of eight teams competed at our pool. We had a large Appalachian fan base which consisted of volunteers as well as those who just came out to cheer on the team. Hosting this swim meet was a great way to bring revenue to our team as well as utilize our school’s facilities. After the swim meet, all of the teams came together for an organized social. This was a great way for our swimmers to get to know other swimmers from teams across the Carolinas.

Throughout the course of the year, we bonded as a team both in and out of the pool. Some highlights of our team bonding include participation in the annual Polar Plunge held on campus, hiking trips, team dinners, and getting to know each other on the road while carpooling to our away swim meets. We got to know each other outside of the pool, which helped us to motivate each other in the pool as well and become a more cohesive team. We could not have accomplished what we did this season without our volunteer swim coach and advisor, Richard Miller. Despite having a busy schedule of his own, which included training for and competing in Masters swim meets, Richard devoted hours of his time to helping us improve in the water. Although Richard will not be coaching our team next year, we are confident that our strong student leaders will rise to the challenge to make next year go swimmingly!

Photo submitted by: Olivia Bear

Photo submitted by: Austin Criss

Photo submitted by: Olivia Bear

33 CLUB SPORTS SYMPOSIUM

CLUB SPORTS SYMPOSIUM

New Club Sports Officers for the 2016-2017 school year had the chance to learn about the bigger picture of the Club Sports Program on Sunday, May 1 at Broadstone during the annual Club Sports Symposium.

New officers were educated on a few great topics including Club Sports 101, Social Media, Leadership, Club Sports Culture, and had the chance to meet with the new Club Sports Executves Sophia Twarog, Angena Lebarre, and Nikko Weeman.

We are looking forward to a great year!

34CLUB SPORTS SYMPOSIUM

CLUB SPORTS BANQUET

35 CLUB SPORTS BANQUET

Special guests in attendance included Asstant Vice Chancellor Mr. Matt Dull, Vice Chancellor Ms. Cindy

Wallace and Associate Vice Chancellor Mr. Leroy Wright.

The Triathlon Team won the 2016 Club Sports Photo Contest with

“Sunrise Swim” by Drew Bennett.

The 2016 Club Sports Banquet was held on Thursday, May 28 at Broadstone to celebrate all the

Club Sports teams and their accomplishments throughout

the year.

36CLUB SPORTS BANQUET

Triathlon President, Will Rumley, was named Officer of the Year.

Ice Hockey was named Turn Around Team of the Year

Mr. & Mrs. Little presented the Rich & Tasse Little Team of the Year

Award to the Triathlon Team.

30MEN’S LACROSSE

LEARN MORE ABOUT CLUB SPORTS

GO TO CLUBSPORTS.APPSTATE.EDU

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Club Sports Illustrated - May 6

Documents

Transcript of Club Sports Illustrated - May 6