Archive for 2011

The Youngstown State women’s basketball team opened practice in preparation for the 2011-12 season on Sunday evening in its first of 30 scheduled sessions prior to the season opener at West Virginia on Nov. 11.

Individual and small group sessions had been held for several weeks, but Sunday’s practice at Beeghly Center was the first session of considerable length with the entire team.

“We’re a lot further along this year than we were last year,” head coach Bob Boldon said. “We’re trying to get as much offensive movement and development in as we can, and defense will come in a couple of weeks.”

Boldon, who is in his second year with the program, has especially noticed an increase an intensity from a year ago.

“Our effort has been fantastic. Your biggest concern [at this time of year] is that your kids are working hard and that they’re learning. We’re doing both of those, and I’m happy from that standpoint.”

Boldon is welcoming newcomers Kelsea Fickiesen,  Ashley Lawson,  Devan Matkin and Melanie Poorman to the program, and he’ll also have the use of redshirt-freshman forward Heidi Schlegel, who missed the final 22 games of 2010-11 with a foot injury. Those five join seniors Tiera Jones, Kenya Middlebrooks, and Macey Nortey (above); junior all-league candidate Brandi Brown; and sophomores Liz Hornberger, Melissa Thompson, and Monica Touvelle.

Boldon inherited a program that had gone 0-30 the year prior to his arrival, and the Penguins improved well beyond their six-win increase. Most indicative was closing the scoring margin by 15.2 points from 2009-10 to 2010-11.  That was the second-best improvement in the country.  The Penguins finished last season by winning three of their final seven contests, and they had shots in the final 20 seconds in three of those losses that would have tied the game.

“They know what it takes to win games, and there’s an expectation of what’s to be done at practice to prepare to win games,” Boldon said. “They’re taking that preparation more seriously than they were a year ago.”

Boldon said the weight room report from the preseason lifting program came back with pleasing results, thanks in large part to a large portion of the team lifting on campus during the summer.

The Youngstown State volleyball team hit .279 as a team and had three players register at least 11 kills in a 3-1 win over Loyola at the Halas Sports Center.

The Penguins recorded their first Horizon League victory as well as their first in a true road contest. YSU had a season-high 11 aces, and the attack percentage was its second-best of the year.

Freshman middle blocker Shannon Watson (Zoarville, Ohio) had a career-high 14 kills and hit .619, and Missy Hundelt (St. Charles, Mo.) had 14 kills and 12 digs.  Jackie Carlisle (Hubbard, Ohio) added 11 kills, and Bri Kern posted five aces and 17 digs. Freshman setter Brianna Bartlett registered 41 assists and 10 digs in her first career start.

Youngstown State hit .423 in the opening set and got four kills from Hundelt en route to a 25-21 win. Three straight kills – two by Carlisle sandwiching one by Hundelt – put the Penguins ahead 14-7.  Loyola climbed to within 15-14 following back-to-back errors, and the Ramblers had the deficit to just one on four more occasions. The final time was 22-21, but YSU got a side out on a service error and closed out the match with a block by Johnson and Missy Hundelt and a ball-handling error.

Loyola broke open a close set by ending the second set on a 9-2 run to knot the match at 1-1. Purcell had nine kills in the set for Loyola.

YSU led by four three times in the early going of the third set, but the Penguins had to continue to fight to take a 2-1 lead. Loyola cut the lead to one six different times, including 23-22. Hundelt answered with a kill for a side out, and Alexis Egler (Clarkston, Mich.) closed out the set with a kill.

The Penguins had six aces in the fourth set, including two from Erika West (Painesville, Ohio) to start the set as YSU scored the first four points. Loyola scored the next two points, but YSU answered with another 4-0 run, which included an ace by Kern. A Watson kill made the score 14-3, and Loyola never cut the deficit to single digits again.

Youngstown State remains on the road to play at Green Bay tomorrow at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Lisa Neeld has been a busy woman lately.  She has stacked her appearances, started filming a reality show for television, continues to sell barbecue sauce, and is a full-time mother.  I became enamored with Neeld when I asked her ten baseball questions at a Scrappers game.  She played along, the good sport that she is, and had fun with a segment that many Playboy models would scoff away from.  A year later, I followed that up with ten boxing questions.  Same playful Lisa, same comical approach, same demeanor.

Neeld is excited about her new reality show, simply called Lisa Neeld: VIP Style.  The show airs at 6:30 in the morning on the WB Network every Thursday.  It is commercial-free and the interview which I conducted will be featured on one of the upcoming episodes, so set your DVR, it is fun to watch.

Having never interviewed a Playboy model before, I was cautious, but brought my highest line of questioning.  Lisa, as always, was very accommodating and honest.  I have a lot of respect for her because of the way she is going about life without the stereotypical priss label. All too many times, albeit an athlete or a musician with some level of fame, certain media outlets are snubbed because a celebrity feels too “big” to be a part of anything less than TMZ or a major publication.

Paneech: Tell me about the reality show.

Neeld: I was doing small reality clips for 93.3, The Wolf, and all of a sudden we got with some friends who would film and edit.  My producer, Mike Kolovich, signed on with us to do it.  It airs every Thursday morning at 6:30 on the CW Network.  It showcases the lifestyle I lead with all of the different roles in comparison to businesswomen and moms.  Things that people don’t necessarily think of associating with me.

Paneech: You were in Playboy.  How does that work with two children?  Is that something you will have to tell them?

Neeld: My children already know.  My first issue came out in 2008 and then I was on the cover in 2010.  When the first issue came out, my son was ten.  We didn’t let him see the magazine, but we did tell him.  I would rather he hear about it from me rather than kids at school who may have heard it from their parents.  I didn’t want to put him in a bad light because I was proud of it.  Playboy is very classy and to be chosen by them, and later land a cover is honorable, but I would never want my children to think that I did something wrong. My daughter is only eight, and when she is old enough, she will know from me.  My children know everything that I do and there is nothing to hide.

Paneech: How about other family members?  Did they chastise you because of your decision?

Neeld: Actually, I have no family.  My mom passed away five years ago.  She raised me as a single parent and I have not had to deal with that issue.  She would have been proud of me.  The whole time I was growing up, she had me in dance line, pageantry, dancing lessons, and modeling.  She would have been very proud and it is sad that she is not able to see the things that I have accomplished like this show.

Paneech: How much charity work do you do?  Also, do you feel obligated to do charitable work, or is it something you enjoy?

Neeld: I have a personal charity that I work with.  I work with Someplace Safe, a charity that works toward the awareness and prevention of domestic violence, which is pretty important to me.  I always try to arrange something that will benefit them.  We have had bowling nights, a blizzard thing at Dairy Queen, sold cut-out hearts, and many other things.  I feel it is a charity which is often overlooked because victims are afraid to speak up.

Paneech: Lets talk about Hugh Hefner.  This guy is like 90 years old, lands beautiful 21 year-old girlfriends, is loaded, and seems unhappy.  At the same time, he seems humble and grounded.  What have your experiences around him been like?

Neeld: I have met him several times at the Playboy Mansion and he is very down to earth.  He is a nice and sweet guy and actually cares about the younger girls.  There are a lot of girls who come through that have had issues or problems and he is actually there offering his support and helping them.  He is an all-around great guy.  I feel like he sometimes gets a bad rap, but he is an amazing person.

Paneech: You seem busier these days than you were two years ago.  Do you have any spare time?

Neeld: I hang out with my children.  We kind of like to stay at home.  I am always out so much and I am not the best cook in the world, I’m not going to lie, so we prefer to hang out and enjoy our time together.  Personally, when I have spare time, I like to run.  I like to work out, box, run – it’s not hyper it’s high energy (laughs).  I would probably want to go to a spa, I guess.  Well actually, the perfect night to me is just staying at home and watching TV.  I don’t have to be “dolled up”, worrying about appearances, so it is nice to just chill out.  I like a good movie, but I am not into the price of popcorn though.

Paneech: A lot of models who have posed for Playboy have been approached to appear in adult movies.  Have you been bothered for that yet?

Neeld: Yeah…  Yeah, I was contacted about a year ago by a competitor of Playboy to do a shoot and we declined.  If it is something I am asked to do that I feel I would be embarrassed telling my son about, then I will not do it.  I won’t cross a line that would potentially put my child in an embarrassing situation.  If people opt to do that stuff, than that is their option, but I will not cross that line.  It is one thing to do appearances and have fun, but nothing too risque.

Paneech: What is with the barbecue sauce?  How did that start and how are sales?

Neeld: The barbecue sauce came about when my friend Guy Hughes, of Guy’s Barbecue, had all of his products lined up at a press conference.  I picked up one of the bottles and jokingly said, ‘Why don’t you make me a sauce and put my name on it.  I can call it Saucy Housewife’.  Next thing you know, we have attorneys checking copyright facts and it wasn’t taken, so a month later it is in production at Summer Garden on McClurg Road and going into a production run of 1,200 cases or some crazy amount.  The Scrappers made it the exclusive barbecue sauce of the stadium and they made pulled pork this season for the first time.  The label on it shows a little too much cleavage so we couldn’t market it at family grocery-type stores.

Paneech: When does all of this get tiring?

Neeld: Never.  I have my days when I want to stay home in my sweatpants and cuddle up with my kids.  However, it is my job.  There are days when I am sure you don’t want to go to work and do your job.  I love what I do and I appreciate people’s support and I never take that for granted.  No matter how many times, or which venue, I get excited that people are making the effort to come and see me, it is pretty flattering.

Paneech: You have barbecue sauce, security, a reality show, a career you love, but the one thing you don’t seem to have is an agent.

Neeld: At this point, I do not have an agent.  I have contacts in California who handle some of the bigger publications and things like that.  I pretty much handle everything else on my own, not necessarily by choice, but because there is too much of the legwork that I have already taken care of and it is just easier for me to handle it myself rather than explaining everything to a third person.  The third person can easily get things twisted.  As long as I can continue to handle it myself, I will.

Paneech: Tomorrow is a school day, your kids will probably be in school.  How will you spend your day?

Neeld: We start off at six.  My son gets his bus at seven, and my daughter goes by eight, so I am in ‘mommy’ role until then.  After that, I immediately get with my trainer and we will run.  Some days it is five miles, other days ten.  The way I look at it, it is job maintenance plus you always feel better after that anyway.  After that, I go right into making business calls and doing some networking.  It is not a typical day because things always change.

Paneech: If I rub this cup of lemonade you are drinking and a genie comes out and says you can have any three wishes, what would they be?

Neeld: Firstly, I would always wish that my children are safe and that nothing bad will happen to them.  Secondly, I would wish to remain happy, not knowing what that will entail over the next couple of years.  Third, I would say I want to be able to adjust to anything. No matter what happens, I would also want a Jeep for my friend, a red Jeep.

Neeld will be coming to a function you may be attending soon, make an effort to meet her, she is definitely not who you would think, in a good way.

In recent years past, Youngstown State would tote out a soccer team that was not very competitive.  The program, which has only been in operation since 1996, has never had a season with more than six wins in a single season.  Head Coach, Will Lemke (above), has things going in the right direction.  With an unusual mix of experience and youth – and not much in between, the Penguins 2011 version for soccer has been competitive and played respectably.

The past was so rough that YSU has never posted a victory against conference foes Wright State, Milwaukee, or Valparaiso.  Going into Wednesday’s game against Detroit, the Penguins hold a record of 3-6-2, but three of their losses are by a single goal and they are 1-0-2 in games that go into overtime.  The biggest difference showing positive progress would have to be the scores.  Comb through the archives and you will see plenty of annual 6-0 losses each season.  This group is far more competitive and seem to be in every game.

“We are in a situation where we are trying to teach this team to win”, commented Lemke.  “We have an issue with physicality to start a game and then we bump it up as we go.  We are looking for consistency from the upperclassmen and applying what we learn into every game.”

“We are playing a vastly more difficult schedule than we have in the past”, noted the coach.  “We are playing competitively and it is a painfully slow, step-by-step process where these players are learning to win at this level.”

Freshman Jade Flory leads the team with seven goals.  Flory is one of eight freshmen on the 2011 roster.  The program has three seniors who have contributed. Kelsey Kempton, Nicole Kline, and Geneva Strelka will play their final six games for the Penguins to close out the season.  Lemke is optimistic about all of the experience he will return next season, knowing that as Freshmen, the eight are gaining valuable experience toward turning the program around.

“We look at film, we look at the positives.  We have had large segments in games where we have outplayed teams”, said Lemke.

“One thing this team does well is a phenomenal job with rebounding from a loss.  Whenever we have had a bad game, we seem to come right back with a good game.  We are very young, but we are starting to gain experience and we have unselfish players who are showing younger players what they need to do to be successful at this level”.

Selected as the best and brightest from the college gridiron, The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today the 127 candidates for the 2011 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments®, a leading provider of not-for-profit workplace retirement savings plans in higher education. The 127 nominees also comprise the list of semifinalists for the 2011 William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation.

Youngstown State senior defensive tackle Andrew Johnson (Above, right) is one of 33 Football Championship Subdivision student-athletes who were nominated for the award.

Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.

The NFF Awards Committee will select up to 16 recipients, and the results will be announced via a national press release on Wednesday, October 26. Each recipient will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, and they will vie as finalists for the 2011 William V. Campbell Trophy. Each member of the 2011 National Scholar-Athlete Class will also travel to New York City be honored Dec. 6 during the 54th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. One member of the class will also be announced live at the event as the winner of the Campbell Trophy.

The Youngstown State softball team posted the sixth-highest team grade-point average in Division I during the 2010-11 school year with a 3.523 GPA. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced its Top 10 All-Academic Teams on Thursday afternoon.

The NFCA Academic Awards program honors both collegiate and high school teams for their submitted GPAs for the 2010-2011 academic year. As a second component of the program, all submitted student-athletes who achieved a 3.50 GPA during last academic year are named as a NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete. The individual honorees will be announced on Wednesday, October 5 on The NFCA Website.

Below is a listing of the top 10 Division I schools:

NCAA Division I
1. Tennessee Technological University – 3.619, 2. Southern Illinois University – 3.611, 3. Robert Morris University – 3.553, 4. Houston Baptist University – 3.551, 5. Bowling Green State University – 3.534, 6.Youngstown State University – 3.523, 7. Troy University – 3.512, 8. University of Alabama – 3.510, 9. East Tennessee State University – 3.495, 10 (tie). Eastern Michigan University – 3.477, 10 (tie). Stetson University – 3.477.

Youngstown State freshman Marta Burak won the Flight A Singles title and teamed up with senior Lauren Hankle to win the doubles bracket on Saturday at the Bucknell Quad held at the Gerhard Fieldhouse on Friday and Saturday.

In her first collegiate competition, the 15-year-old Burak won four singles matches en route to the title over the past two days in Flight A. Because of inclement weather the meet was moved indoors. Burak won in the semifinals 8-3 over Bucknell’s Demi Ieprus and then went on to win the final 9-8 over Hilary Hanson.

In Flight B, Hankle won three matches and reached the finals dropping a 8-1 match to Niagara’s Olivia Rauh. Rauh knocked off the Penguins Gimena Puppo in the semifinals, 8-4.

In doubles play, Hankle and Burak teamed up to win the title. They won 8-2 over Colgate in the semifinals and bounced Bucknell’s Alyssa McAndrews and Jen Bush 8-3 in the title match. Puppo and Carolyn Jesko reached the semis before losing to McAndrews and Bush.

Oct. 2 Results
Flight A Singles
SEMIFINALS – Burak (YSU) def. Demi Ieprus (Bucknell) 8-3
FINALS – Burak (YSU) def. Hilary Hanson (Niagara) 9-8

Flight B Singles
SEMIFINALS – Hankle (YSU) def. Meredith Rock (Niagara) 8-3
SEMIFINALS – Olivia Rauh (Niagara) def. Puppo (YSU) 8-4
FINALS – Olivia Rauh (Niagara) def. Hankle (YSU) 8-1

Doubles
SEMIFINALS – Hankle/Burak (YSU) def. Shea/Wanhanien (Colgate) 8-2
SEMIFINALS – McAndrews/Bush (Bucknell) def. Puppo/Jesko (YSU) 8-6
FINALS – Hankle/Burak (YSU) def. McAndrews/Bush (Bucknell) 8-3

Oct. 1 Results
Flight A Singles
Burak (YSU) def. Kelsey Shea (Colgate) 6-1, 6-1
Burak (YSU) def. Maria Ortiz (Niagara) 6-1, 6-3
Jesko (YSU) def. Ashley Ta (Niagara) 6-1, 7-5
Elena Vidrascu (Bucknell) def. Jesko (YSU) 6-1, 6-3

Flight B Singles
Hankle (YSU) def. Becky Silvers (Colgate) 6-3, 6-4
Hankle (YSU) def. Kristen Bishof (Bucknell) 6-2, 6-3
Puppo (YSU) def. Amanda Golden (Colgate) 6-1, 6-1
Puppo (YSU) def. Jen Bush (Bucknell) 7-5, 6-1

Doubles
Hankle/Burak (YSU) def. Morgan/Silvers (Bucknell) 8-2
Hankle/Burak (YSU) def. Colvin/Vidrascu (Bucknell) 8-6
Jesko/Puppo (YSU) def. Rock/Silvers (Colgate) 8-5
Jesko/Puppo (YSU) def. Schneider/Bishof (Bucknell) 8-1

The Youngstown State volleyball team hurt itself with 30 attack errors, and Milwaukee remained unbeaten in Horizon League play with a sweep of the Penguins — 25-16, 25-12, 25-21 — on Saturday afternoon at Beeghly Center.

The Penguins were held to a -.018 attack percentage, and four Penguins players hit negative for the match. Missy Hundelt had a team-high nine kills, but she also registered 10 errors.  Alexis Egler added eight kills and seven digs, and Jackie Carlisle had seven kills and a .211 attack percentage.

Kerri Schuh and Elizabeth Egerer both had eight kills to lead Milwaukee. Schuh added 11 kills, and Rachel Neuberger had six kills without committing an error. Mackenzie Millis was part of five of Milwaukee’s 10 blocks.

Youngstown State led early in all three sets, but Milwaukee went on runs in all three sets to take sizeable leads.

YSU led 3-2 in the first set before the Panthers scored five straight points on Millis’ serve. The Guins led 3-1 in the second, but Milwaukee went on a 7-1 run to take an 8-4 advantage. Similarly in the third, Millis’ serve resulted in four straight Panthers points to make the score 8-4.

The Penguins battled in the third set, and they nullified a seven-point deficit to tie the score at 16-16 on a Hundelt kill. A Hundelt and Shannon Watson block tied the score again at 18-18, but Milwaukee scored the next four points to go up 22-18.

Youngstown State will hit the road for four matches in six days, beginning with a match Tuesday at Loyola starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Freshman Jade Flory scored her seventh goal of the season, but two first-half goals led Butler to a 2-1 win over the Youngstown State women’s soccer team on Saturday afternoon at StambaughStadium.

The Guins fall to 3-6-2 overall and 0-1-1 in the Horizon League while Butler improves to 7-5-1 overall and 2-1 in the league.

Butler’s Katie Griswold put the Bulldogs ahead 1-0 just five minutes into the game, lacing a shot past YSU goalkeeper Nicole Kline from 20-yards out.

The Bulldogs, who posted 13 shots in the first, to a 2-0 lead at the 37:06 mark when Kelly Mahoney scored her first goal of the year – a header off a corner kick from Stephanie Kaylor.

Flory cut the Bulldogs lead in half at the 62:41 mark with her seventh goal of the season. Flory found the back of the net after a crossing pass from from senior Geneva Strelka. Sophomore Taylor Gapczynski was also credited with an assist on Flory’s goal.

The Guins host Detroit, Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 4 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium.

The Youngstown Phantoms fell behind early Friday night and could not maintain enough momentum to battle back against Team USA in their regular season opener. A slew of penalties kept many of the Phantoms’ offensive weapons off the ice for large portions of the game and Team USA was able to capitalize on their power-play opportunities to come away with the 10-3 win.

“We never really reached a level of cohesion between our lines tonight because we didn’t play very long five-on-five,” Head Coach Anthony Noreen said. “It’s was a hard lesson that we had to learn.”

The first period started out slowly with neither team able to get an edge. That changed with less than five minutes left when Team USA broke the deadlock. The Phantoms found themselves down two men for 1:22 and were able to kill off the one penalty to make it a five-on-four, but could not finish off the other and Evan Allen beat goaltender Matthew O’Connor to put USA up 1-0. Then with 1:49 left in the period Team USA struck again when Trevor Hamilton was able to string a pass to Tyler Motte in the high slot and he put a wrist shot past O’Connor make it a 2-0 game.

Team USA opened up the second period on the power play and did not take long to capitalize. Luke Voltin put one past O’Connor just 19 seconds in. Tyler Kelleher added another power-play tally a little more than two minutes later and JT Compher tapped in a rebound to put Team USA up 5-0 with 13:00 still left in the second.

The Phantoms refused to back down and that was personified by Mike Ambrosia who put his team on the board when he simply outworked the Team USA defense and muscled it past goaltender Hunter Miska off an assist from Ryan Belonger. Ambrosia wasn’t done yet and he found linemate Austin Cangelosi open – short-handed no less – and the Boston College commit tickled the twine to make it a 5-2 game with 8:41 remaining in the period. But with Team USA back on the power play with 1:34left, Voltin added his second of the period to make it a 6-2 game heading into the second intermission.

The third period opened and once again Team USA caught the Phantoms off guard early when Compher beat Sean Romeo, who came on in relief of O’Connor in the second period. Anthony Louis added the fourth power-play goal of the night for Team USA a little more than four minutes later to stretch the lead out to 8-2. Belonger temporarily took the momentum back for the Phantoms with 7:59 remaining when he sniped a wrist shot from the top of the right circle, sending it through traffic to beat Miska high. But in the end, Team USA had built an insurmountable lead and Clint Lewis and Kelleher added late goals to secure a comfortable win.

“The biggest positive that comes out of all of this is it’s just one game,” Noreen said. “We’ve got 59 games to get better. We’re going to go back to work on Monday and be ready to play on Friday [against Chicago].”