Haas, Bielik headline stellar fall season
By Mike Scott
Assistant Sports Editor

“The state of the union is strong!”

Pause for both houses of Congress to rise and applaud.

While this line was used by former President Bill Clinton once upon a time to describe the state of the good old U.S. of A., it could definitely be used to describe the state of the Demon Deacon athletic program, as the fall semester has been the setting for numerous impressive performances by Deacs in many different sports.

We’ll start out with the highest honor, a national championship. After many strong showings in fall matches where team score was not kept, junior tennis player Bea Bielik took home such an honor with her victory at the National Indoor Championships. Bielik and fellow senior Janet Bergman were also runners-up in the tournament in doubles. The duo, as well as Bielik herself, will be among the handful of favorites for springtime national championships.

The men’s tennis team also had a strong showing in many matches, although they also did not keep any team scores, as the fall season is looked at as a tuneup for the spring season for the teams. Sophomore David Lowenthal provided the highlight individually, as he finished second in the ITA Region II Championship, gaining himself entrance into the national indoors, where he had a strong run before falling in the quarterfinals.

Speaking of being No. 1 in the country, the men’s golf team reassumed a once-familiar position as the top team in the land this fall when it enjoyed a few weeks atop the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings before ending the season at No. 2. As was often the case in the past, this Deacon success has been led by members of the Haas family. Head Coach Jerry Haas is the man responsible for putting this talented group together, while sophomore Bill Haas shared a national ranking parallel to the team’s as he enjoyed the top spot for a number of weeks before ending up at No. 2. The team got its national attention thanks largely to two second-place finishes, at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate and The Preview.

The showing at The Preview was especially impressive for three reasons: it is yearly one of the top tournaments in the country, held with top-flight competition at the site of the upcoming NCAA Championship; the Deacs finished only one shot back of the champion; and junior Brent Wanner won the tournament individually.

The women’s golf team also enjoyed a strong fall, with a second-place team finish at the Lady Paladin Invitational, a third-place showing at the Dodge ACC/SEC Challenge and a fourth-place finish at the Tar Heel Invitational. Also, Head Coach Dianne Dailey received high honors with the LPGA Coach of the Year Award for her efforts with last year’s team, which finished 15th nationally.

Staying on the topic of No. 1, we come to the field hockey team, which held the top spot in the country for several weeks this fall, finishing its season by winning 13 of its last 15 games and reaching the finals of the ACC Tournament and the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

Unfortunately, those two losses came to the same team in ridiculously close games.
First, in the final of the ACC Tournament, the Deacons fell to the Terrapins on the strength of a controversial Maryland goal in the last five minutes. Then, in the Final Four, the Deacs and Terps fought an epic battle, one that surely ranks among the best games in the history of the sport. In the national semifinal, the two titans ended regulation tied at two, ended the first overtime tied at two and appeared headed for penalty strokes until the Terps found the back of the net with a mere 57 seconds left in the second overtime.

While the loss left the Deacons two wins short of their goal of a National Championship, their season was nothing short of spectacular. Senior Jemima Cameron was named ACC co-Player of the Year, first-team All-ACC and has been nominated for the Honda Award, which is given annually to the nation’s best player.

The one accolade missing from the above sports is a conference title. There is no such void in the cross country department, as sophomore Nathan Sisco stayed perfect in ACC Championship races, bringing home the ACC individual title as his team placed second. The Deacons then finished third in the regionals, advancing on to the NCAAs, where they finished 19th overall, paced by senior Chris Estwanik’s 48th-place posting.

The women’s team finished sixth in the conference and did not advance out of the regional, but there was one bright spot, as freshman Anne Bersagel finished 13th at the ACC meet and then advanced to nationals, where she placed an impressive 57th.

The award for the most exciting teams goes to the soccer department. The men’s team won their ACC quarterfinal match over Duke in an extra period before falling to regular season champ Virginia 1-0 in overtime in the semifinals. After a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament, the Deacons lost to American in the second round, ending an impressive season. Sophomore Jeremiah White led the conference in goals and in scoring and was named first-team All-ACC. Sophomore goalkeeper William Hesmer earned second-team honors.

The women also proved to be cardiac kids. They won their first-round match in the ACC Tournament over Clemson on penalty kicks after the tie could not be broken in two overtimes. After falling to UNC 3-0 in the ACC semifinals, the Deacons were selected to the NCAA Tournament field. Unfortunately, they were on the wrong end of a thriller here, falling in overtime to William & Mary 1-0. During the season senior forward Emily Taggart became the university’s all-time leading goal scorer. Taggart and senior defender Stacy Roeck were named to the first team All-ACC, while senior midfielder Sarah Kate Noftsinger earned second-team honors.

Perhaps the most noticed season on campus was the football team’s. First-year Head Coach Jim Grobe did a masterful job turning the program around in his annual campaign, posting a 6-5 record and gaining bowl eligibility one year after a dismal 2-9 performance that was wrought with ineptitude. What’s more, the record could easily have been better.

The Deacons were in most every game until the end, suffering only one loss by more than seven points. It looks as though Grobe may be capable of turning this once downtrodden program into a perennial winner.

The volleyball team also had a strong season, finishing with a 20-11 record, the fourth straight year that Head Coach Valorie Baker’s team has posted 20 or more wins. The team finished fifth in the ACC regular season standings and fell to Florida State in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

Finally, and most prominently, there is the men’s basketball team and new Head Coach Skip Prosser. Prosser has guided his team to a 5-2 record, with a strong run in the Preseason NIT, where they advanced to the finals before falling to Syracuse.

Yes, all things seem to be well in Deacon sportsland. Just get ready for the spring.