The Observer, November 9, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 10
Spartan Notebook
Football banged up for regular season finale
Quarterback Dan Whalen may not be available to play in tomorrow's game against Ohio Wesleyan. In the second quarter of last week's game against Washington University, Whalen injured his knee, possibly chipping a bone. He played through the rest of the game, but pending the results of an MRI he may miss a possible playoff game. Angelo Mirando or Greg Kingscott could get the start.
Wide receiver Tim Cowdrick was injured on the offense's first play of the second half, and was helped off the field. He was diagnosed on the sideline with a severe high ankle sprain in his right leg.
Good ol' boys
The Spartans are ranked 18th in the American Football Coaches Association's poll, which is the measure that determines who gets a postseason berth. In other polls, the Spartans are ranked significantly lower. D3football.com's rankings don't have the squad in the top 25 and Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette doesn't place Case in the top 40. These sites tend to favor more established programs, even when those school's records don't merit their lofty rankings.
Peaking
Case's cross country teams are busy preparing for tomorrow's NCAA Great Lakes Regional at Calvin College, their biggest test up to this point in the season. The seventh ranked women's team is nearly assured of a spot at nationals, but the men are on the bubble.
"We're going to have to stay ahead of the orange," said coach Kathy Lanese, referring to Ohio Northern and Heidelberg. The men will be fighting those two schools for the third through fifth spots, which give them a chance to be named an at-large team for the national meet. "If we run as hard as we can, we can't be disappointed," said co-captain Mike Werneiwski.
The results of which teams have qualified for nationals will be posted at 3 p.m. Sunday at ncaasports.com. If both teams make the cut, the university will charter one bus so that students can support the team in Northfield, Minn., where the national championships are to be held.
Sound smart
A critical offensive stat in volleyball is the hitting percentage. It's calculated by subtracting total kills from total errors, then dividing that number by total attempts. On a less complicated note, kills per game is calculated by dividing total kills by total games played.
