Sports

A look back at Flagler’s first year competing in NCAA Div. II

By Devon Jeffreys and Brian Vigna | gargoyle@flagler.edu

This December marks the end of Flagler’s first full calendar year in NCAA Div. II and it has been a year to remember.

The major announcement was made that because of a NCAA rule change, Flagler is now a year away from full membership in NCAA Div. II, instead of the three- to four- year probationary period originally expected. Though full membership is just around the corner, conference affiliation is still up in the air as Flagler waits on a decision from the Sunshine State Conference.

From Staff | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Flagler got its first win of the season when it routed Tennessee Temple University 86-60 in the opening round of the Newberry College Classic Friday, but they didn’t stay in the win column long.

Classic host Newberry College, No. 24 in NCAA Div. II, beat Flagler 90-45 on Saturday, and the Saints have now fallen to 1-8 on the season.

The bright spot of the win, and much of Flagler’s season so far, has been Brittney Garmon, who led five Flagler players in double figures with 19 points and added 17 rebounds against Tennessee.

By Brian Vigna | bvigna@flagler.edu

NBA basketball is in full swing in early December, and as the east is finally catching up to the perennial powerhouses of the west, people are already picking this year’s winners.

San Antonio and Dallas are both strong candidates in the western conference, while last year’s biggest story, the Golden State Warriors, are quickly falling behind.

By Brian Vigna | bvigna@flagler.edu

Sean Taylor, safety for the Washington Redskins, was tragically shot and killed last week, shocking the sports world.

Taylor, 24, died Nov. 27 after being shot while fighting off intruders at his home. Taylor was shot in the upper thigh, and lost a life-threatening amount of blood during the flight to the Ryder Trauma Center of Jackson Memorial Hospital. Taylor passed away from the injury, several hours after the shooting and before ever regaining consciousness.

By Ryan Day | rday@flagler.edu

Flagler guard D. J. Ferguson knows he and his Saints did everything they could to match the speed and physicality of a Saint Thomas University team that he calls “a top team in the Florida Sun Conference.”

By Devon Jeffreys | djeffreys@flagler.edu

For the Flagler College volleyball team, there will be no trophy, no regional or national tournament but don’t tell them they didn’t win a championship on Friday night because as much as they could, they did.

A team still in its NCAA infancy, with no postseason light at the end of the tunnel, had just one game to look forward to at the end of the year, another match with rival SCAD.

With emotions running high, the Saints managed to overcome their demons, and a 2-1 SCAD lead, to bring home a 3-2 victory and their own little championship.

By Devon Jeffreys | djeffreys@flagler.edu

Golitah 97, David 51

It didn’t end the way that head coach Bo Clark and the Saints had dreamed, no one dreams about losing by 46, but for one night, Flagler College basketball was on the big stage.

“This was an exciting thing for Flagler College,” Clark said. “I wish I could say we won the ballgame 88-84 but I’d probably be dreaming.”

The Saints, playing the role of David, entered the O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida last Thursday as a severe underdog and when it came down to it, Goliath, the two-time defending national champion Florida Gators, was just too big and too strong.

Photo by Tad Mask

By Devon Jeffreys | gargoyle@flagler.edu

With what may be the biggest game — in terms of hype — in school history behind them, the Flagler Saints men’s basketball team now focuses on what’s in front of them: the 2007-2008 season.

The Saints lost their first exhibition game of the season to the Florida Gators 97-51, but the regular season starts Nov. 15 against Trinity College at Flagler Gym.

“Florida is not going to be a true gauge of how good we are,” Coach Bo Clark said. “It’ll be the Rollins and Florida Southern and Saint Leo games, and that’ll be a transition, too.”

By Ryan Day and Will Sandberg | gargoyle@flagler.edu

The Flagler women’s soccer team may be in transition to Div. II, but Coach Teddy Meyer hopes the offensive explosion the Saints had in the 2007 season is permanent.

In 2006 the Saints scored 15 goals all season in 17 matches, less than one goal per game. Flagler forward Annika Hogberg has already scored 17 goals by herself, breaking the college’s single-season record for goals.

“Her [Hogberg’s] impact this year has been a bright spot,” Meyer said. “Last year we had struggled scoring goals.”

Through 18 games so far, the Saints have scored 42 goals, being shut out only twice all year. Compare that to last year when the 2006 Saints scored 15 goals all season and were shut out nine times.

And it’s not just Hogberg and her 17 goals that have been putting the Saints on the scoreboard. Seven players on the team have at least two goals. Freshman midfielder Caleigh Hodgkins and sophomore midfielder Meredith Marshall have scored their first ever collegiate goals this year. Midfielder Tiffany Urquhart, the Saints leading scorer of 2006, has had the pressure taken off in 2007 and is tied for second on the team in assists with midfielder Pam Quimby with four.

Typically when a team improves on one side of the ball, the other side suffers. In 2006, the Saints gave up 51 goals in 17 games, an average of three goals a game. In 2007, goalkeeper Hope McArthur leads a defense that has recorded eight shutouts and given up only 29 goals in 18 games, a 1.63 GAA. She’s faced 152 shots on goal and saved 123 of them, making for a .809 save percentage.

The improvement between last year and this year can be found in their attention to detail and the minor components of the game: