AD Ellen Dempsey Makes Big Announcements

AD Ellen Dempsey releases breaking news.

Hiram, Ohio -- Hiram College's Athletic Director, Ellen Dempsey, dropped by the college's Sports Journalism class for a private press conference with the students. During the approximately one hour long discussion with the class, Dempsey released multiple announcements regarding the athletic department. The press conference also included numerous praises to various teams in the athletic department for their accomplishments this year.

The first major announcement from Dempsey was that Hiram will be creating a new grant-supported, full-time position that carries the title of Assistant Director of Sports Information. Hiram will begin taking applications for the position by the end of this month and it will begin starting in August of the 16-17 school year. The new program will be filled by a NCAA intern, but there is one twist to the plot.

According to Dempsey, she said that "the goal of the program, by the NCAA, is they're trying to create opportunities for women and minorities" and therefore would place emphasis on hiring these groups who are at a higher disadvantage in today's world of receiving these positions.

By doing this, Hiram is taking a proactive approach to breach one of the buzz topics in today's world, which addresses that women are not treated equally or given the same opportunities in the workplace, but more specifically in the numerous male dominated fields that still exist.

The next big announcement that Dempsey announced was that Hiram's fifteenth athletic team, men's volleyball, will be a new sport at the school starting next year. The Men's volleyball team will begin as a club sport for the 16-17 school year, but will embark on its first official Division III season starting in 2017.

According to Dempsey, she said that, "The addition of men's volleyball is part of a larger vision for the future in the Department of Athletics at Hiram College".

Hiram College's Athletic's webpage also added in additional details regarding the recent growth in popularity of the sport. According to the webpage, "in the 2015-16 school year, 75 total colleges and universities sponsored men's volleyball as a varsity sport at the Division III level". Two of those teams from Hiram's regional area include Wittenberg's and Mount Saint Joseph's teams.

Finally, the third and final major announcement that Dempsey made was regarding a new major being introduced and offered at Hiram College. The new major offered will be called the integrative exercise science major. This major is specifically targeted at individuals who may be considering careers in fields such as coaching, physical therapy, athletic training (etc).

Dempsey also discussed the various accomplishments of the different departments within the athletic department. One of the most significant awards Hiram has received includes the Stan Musial Award for sportsmanship, which was awarded to the Hiram College women's basketball team on January 31 of this year. This award was received on the behalf of Lauren Hill's parents, who was the basketball player for Mount Saint Joseph who battled cancer to the very end of her life.

The Hiram College women's soccer team also made Dempsey's recognition agenda as she recognized and applauded the women for their sportsmanship award. The women did not receive a single yellow or red card throughout the entire season this year.

Ellen also made a few additional comments regarding the NCAC Branch Rickey Mentor Program, the new fence put up around the football field, the plans for the new scoreboard on the football field, and some of the new faces for the coaching staff at Hiram year.

An Uphill Battle

An Uphill Battle

Hiram, Ohio - The women's lacrosse team played strong but fell behind a little too far and a little too early in tonight's game versus Notre Dame (OH) College. The Terriers lost 14-8 to Notre Dame (OH) College.

The Hiram women's lacrosse team started off slow in today's match up versus Notre Dame (OH) College. Notre Dame used their speed to jump out to an early lead, scoring multiple unanswered goals giving them the lead. Suddenly, midway through the first half Hiram's offense gained some momentum as they began to counter their opponents attack, scoring four goals. Hiram ended the half in a pretty big hole, with the score being 10-4.

In the second half, the Terriers had solid defense and held the Falcons to only four goals in contrast to the 10 Falcon goals that were scored in the first half. Unfortunately, the Terriers' offensive and defensive efforts could not hold the Falcons long enough to complete their comeback. The final score of the game was 14-8.

Assistant Coach Carly Calapa summed up the game by saying, "This game came down to a lot of unfortunate circumstances...getting goals starts with the draw controls and we weren't winning draw controls tonight".

In the end, the game came down to who could get more shots on goal. The Falcons superseded the Terriers by shooting a total of 33 shots on goal, which was 11 more than the Terriers' 22 shots on goal. Pacing the Terriers' offense were Autumn Osgood with three goals, followed by Sierah Ray and Alyse Gillentine with two goals. Katelyn Slomovitz also chipped in one goal.

After the loss tonight, Hiram drops to 2-2 at home and 1-3 on the road, for a combined overall record of 3-5. Notre Dame (OH) College advances to 1-2 on the road and 2-1 at home for a combined overall record of 4-2. The Terriers play their second conference game versus DePauw (Ind.) on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Women's lacrosse looking for a win

Looking to get back on the right track

Hiram, Ohio - The Hiram women's lacrosse team is looking to get back on the right track after Saturday's loss versus Wooster, snapping Hiram's three game win streak. The Terriers are 2-1 at home and 1-3 on the road, for a combined overall record of 3-4 on the year. The Terriers are already two wins away from tying their combined number of wins from the 2014-2015 season. Hiram is averaging an astounding 9.71 goals per game and is shooting 42.5 percent as a team.

Tonight's opponent is Notre Dame College (OH), who is 3-2 overall this season. The Notre Dame Falcons are 2-1 at home and 1-1 on the road. The Falcons average an impressive amount of goals per game, averaging 13.2 goals. Notre Dame College is on a one game win streak after winning 16-3 versus Franciscan University of Steubenville.

With a win tonight, Hiram would move one more win closer to their single season high of five wins. Hiram would advance to a .500 record at 4-4 as well, putting them in a great position to have the team's best season since the program started just three years ago. For Notre Dame College, a win tonight would put them at 4-2 on the season.

There are no significant injuries going into tonight's game. The first face-off will be at 7 p.m. at Charles A. Henry Field.

Hiram falls 25 - 7 to the College of Wooster

Hiram falls 25 - 7 to the College of Wooster

Hiram, Ohio - The Men's Lacrosse team could not stop the high powered offense of the College of Wooster. The game started off strong in the first quarter, battling back and forth, until the flood gates opened midway through the quarter. The Fighting Scots scored three unanswered goals before Hiram could respond with one. From there on, the trend continued as Wooster would score multiple goals before Hiram could answer back. The leading scorers for the Terriers included Nick Rollason with four goals, Greg Summers with two goals and Jonah Austin with one goal.

Shots on goal seemed to be a problem for the Terriers as Wooster doubled Hiram's shots on goal. In fact, for most of the game, Wooster even scored more goals than Hiram had total shots on goals. Turnovers also seemed to be an issue for Hiram, who had a total of 30, which was two times as much as Wooster's.

Despite the scoreboard, Head Coach Brian Jenkins was able to pull a large number of positives out of this game.

Jenkins said, "Nick had another monster game today. He's had 10 goals in the last two games... and even though it doesn't show up on the stats, Charley Haley probably won about 85 percent of his draws. [Wooster] is a pretty good team. They're in the top 40 and for Charley to be able to man handle that guy like he did at the faceoff was a tribute to him and his hard work".

Looking forward, Jenkins also said, "We have a tough stretch coming up in the next week and we will see how that works out".

Hiram is now 1-5 overall (1-3 at home and 0-3 on the road) and Wooster advances to 7-2 overall (2-1 at home and 4-1 on the road). Hiram with play another conference game against #11 ranked Ohio Wesleyen at Charles Henry Field at 2 on Saturday. Wooster will play another conference game versus Otterbein on Wednesday.

Hiram Men's Lacrosse Looking to Start a Streak

Hiram Men's Lacrosse Looking to Start a Streak

Hiram, Ohio - The Hiram Men's Lacrosse team is looking to start up a winning streak after defeating Franciscan 13-10 on Wednesday and gaining their first win on the season. The Terriers are 0-3 on the road and 1-2 at home this season for an overall record of 1-5. As a new program at Hiram and only in their fourth season, the Terriers are already two wins away from tying the single season wins record of three. The Men's team has been changing up both their defense and offense lately, which helped contribute to their success on this past Wednesday.

Today, the men are playing in their second conference game versus the College of Wooster. Wooster is 3-1 on the road and 2-1 at home for an overall record of 6-2. In fact, only approximately 25 percent of Wooster's roster is from the local area with the rest of the team being from areas where lacrosse is very popular.

With a win tonight, Hiram would move back to .500 in the conference, evening their record out at 1-1 and defeat a very good Wooster team. The Terriers would also start a win streak of two games. On the other hand, Wooster would extend their win streak to four games with a win tonight.

There are no significant injuries going into tonight's game. The first face off will happen at 1 on Henry Field of the Coleman Center athletic complex.

Field of Dreams: Hiram College Baseball Edition

http://www.hiramterriers.com/facilities/fishel

What Exactly is on the Drawing Board?

Hiram, Ohio -- The Hiram College Terriers' baseball team is well in need for some new advancements in their facilities and technologies. When baseball prospects come on a visit to Hiram's campus, it only takes a few moments for them to notice something very strange and say, "Are you serious?". Yes, Hiram College's baseball facility is missing a fence. As a NCAA Division III school, this comes as a shock to most people since most high school players come from schools that have fences. In year's prior, the college has installed a temporary snow fence each Spring for the team, but stands as one of the most depressing fields in the NCAC. Although, rumors are circulating claiming that this may be coming to an end in the near future.

When asked about his opinion of Fishel Field, Hiram's baseball complex, Sophomore Outfielder/Pitcher Kyle Watson responded, "It could use some work. Obviously, the fence is an issue and new bullpens would be nice, but the location is what really sucks. With it being at the bottom of the hill, if it rains, it takes at least two days to dry out".

These are just a few of the problems with Fishel Field. Howard Jenter, who is currently in his twenty-fifth season as the Head Coach of Hiram's baseball team, said, "The playing surface is comparable to anywhere else inside and outside of our conference, especially since they started laser leveling the field. It's the surroundings of the field that needs some work".

During Jenter's time as a baseball player at Hiram and his twenty-five years as a coach, Jenter has seem some cosmetic renovations, such as new dugouts, a new tarp, a new scoreboard and bullpens that he put in himself, but nothing as major as the rumors that are circulating. Thus, he is very excited at the idea of some potential renovations to the field.

According to Hiram College's Athletic Director, Ellen Dempsey, the college has been looking into updating some aspects of Fishel Field. Some of the rumors floating around include a fence, a press box, live stats, Wi-Fi connectivity, a concession stand and batting cages. Even an all turf field has not been ruled out of the equation.

When asked about future advancements, Dempsey responded that "all of the programs here [Hiram College] have three different types of lists for their program. They have needs, wants and can't live withouts".

Thus, there is a hierarchical list of priorities regarding renovations to the field. One of the most important problems to fix is the fence. Although, the problem that had stalled any progress in the past was that the baseball field and grass soccer field overlap, which is why a permanent fence cannot be installed. The most innovative solution consists of a semi-permanent fence, that would have a dual purpose for the baseball field and grass soccer field.

According to Dempsey, the final numbers are still coming in, but one option that is being explored is to contract through the same company that just completed the fencing on the turf field. The fence would be eight feet high around the outfield and five or six feet high around the surroundings that would fully enclose the baseball field. The main feature includes connection pipes that would be installed in the ground along the outfield walls of right field and center field and the far side of the grass soccer field, making it dual-functioning so that it can be moved for both soccer and baseball. This project is estimated to cost $46,000.

Hiram College's Athletic Complex: Via Google Maps

Proposal Idea: Drawn by Corey Stamco

Funding is another topic that came up in conversation with both Dempsey and Jenter. Dempsey brought up a valid point, stating that funding is sometime difficult for donors because they want to help but may only have a few hundred dollars to contribute. As a result, rather than the funds sitting in an account that may not make progress for years, they prefer to have an immediate impact by taking the team out to dinner or donating various equipment.

When asked about a time table, Jenter responded that it is difficult to tell. Jenter said, "Once the athletic department decides to proceed with a plan, they will look for a lead donor who can cover about half of the cost. After a lead donor [expresses interest], others will see the progress and the closeness to the goal".

The entire baseball program of Hiram College is hoping that the "Field of Dreams" will happen sooner than later, but understand the difficulties that come with the process.

Jenter later added, "The facilities can definitely be a drawback [when recruiting], but I think that we match up extremely well with other schools for a small college. We are proud of what we have".

References

Personal interview with Ellen Dempsey (2016, March 21).
Personal interview with Howard Jenter (2016, March 22).
Personal interview with Kyle Watson (2016, March 21).
Robert O. Fishel Field. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2016, from http://www.hiramterriers.com/facilities/fishel

A Round of Golf to Remember

September of 2013 was when it all happened. Jenelle Bayus was in her sophomore year and playing her second season of Division III collegiate golf at Hiram College.

It was the second tournament of the year. The sun was shining and the weather was absolutely beautiful. The team was playing at Ohio Wesleyan University, which just so happened to be in a prime location, located directly across from the Columbus Zoo.

Jenelle remembers the scenery and said, "I remember seeing the zoo animals from a distance. That was really cool!"

She arrived in Hiram College's team vans cool and confident from her pre-tournament ritual: Bayus preferred not to talk to people before her tournaments and tuned out the world by listening to music. She was sporting her red polo on Saturday and then wore her blue polo on Sunday because Tiger Woods wore red on Sunday and she never wanted to match.

In the previous year, Bayus had just an average year. In fact, this team was not much different.

Jenelle said, "We all played like crap the weekend before and coach was yelling at us, telling us how our swing coaches are crap and that they don't teach us anything".

Despite these comments, Bayus returned home to her swing coach for one last lesson before the tournament. It turns out that it paid off. On the first hole, Bayus smacked a drive right down the middle of the fairway.

Bayus said, "I knew from the first hole that it was going to be a great day because the first hole is normally the worst for me".

Bayus finished the day as the best on her team. Despite the team's shooting total of 745 strokes over the weekend, Bayus shot the team's best (low) on both days, shooting 87 on Saturday and 89 on Sunday. Although the team did not do as well as she had hoped and placed eighth out of nine teams, Jenelle could not be any more happy with herself.

Jenelle said, "And to top things off, we got to go to the zoo after we were done playing. And I didn't even lose a ball that weekend!". We both shared a laugh as she sighed through a smile.