The Observer, October 19, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 8
Spartan Notebook
Home court advantage: The volleyball team is 7-3 in the friendly confines of Horsburgh Gymnasium. "You could tell we 
were comfortable, and didn't have to put up with the stresses of traveling. It was nice to see all of our families and friends out to watch us play," said outside hitter Elise Snell. The second UAA Round Robin drew a good crowd that was engaged in the match. During one timeout in the match against Rochester, a group of fans sustained a long whistle, prompting an official to jokingly display a red card.
File this under 'shameless plug:' Star quarterback Dan Whalen and running back Greg Meyer, who scored the game-tying touchdown in Case's overtime win against Carnegie Mellon, have something very important in common. It isn't that they're both sophomores and it isn't that they both play football. The answer we're looking for is 'they're both sports writers for The Observer.' That means that this newspaper can take the credit for Saturday's win. E-mail notes of thanks to observer@case.edu.
Resistance is futile: Washington University has dominated volleyball in the UAA. Since 1987, Wash U. has won the UAA Championship 18 times. Rochester won in 1988 and Emory won in 2005. Case's best finish was in 1991, when they were runner-up to guess who. However, the conference is slowly becoming more evenly matched. Emory lost in five games to Wash U. and Brandeis and Carnegie Mellon gave them a run for their money. The Bears' head coach, Rich Luenemann, guided the team to a national championship in 2003 and, in his 23 years as head coach, has a record of 281-36.
Brew nominated: Case senior linebacker Tom Brew has been named a semifinalist for the 2007 Draddy Trophy given out by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF). The NFF announced its 153 semifinalists on its website. This marks the second year in a row Brew has been selected as a semifinalist for the award.
The Draddy Trophy is one of the most sought-after awards in college football, as it recognizes players not only for their performance on the field, but their community leadership and success in the classroom.
Bloggers welcomed: The CWRU Athletics Blog first allowed the Case Community, internally and externally, to follow the Spartan men's basketball team on its journey through Brazil. Now readers will be privy to a first-hand account of what life is like as a student-athlete and collegiate coach, as written by the athletes and coaches themselves. So far this season, some of the university's best athletes have given people the chance to read about their experiences, both on and off the field. Women's soccer player Amy Bishara, cross country's Dominic Smith, and most recently, football's Greg Meyer have given readers an all-access pass to what life is like as a student-athlete at Case. Every week, a different student-athlete or coach will post his/her thoughts and feelings about life on the road and other interesting experiences on and off the field. You can read their stories at http://blog.case.edu/varsity/.
