Both the SLU Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams were in action last weekend, the men in Tennessee against Austin Peay and the women at home in O’Fallon, Illinois against Omaha.

While in Tennessee, the men’s team came out with a 4-2 win with victories from David Ferragut, Oscar Pachon, Justin Nogalski and Kenji Yanaba. With the win, the men move to an 8-7 record to remain above 500 for the season. The men have two matches remaining against Creighton and UMKC before the conference championship. The women lost in a 0-4 effort, dropping them to 6-9.  

The women’s team fell short of Omaha with a close 4-3 match on March 31. Cassie McKenzie, Ariana Rodriguez and Alba Salinas all posted wins for the Billikens in the effort. The team falls to 6-10 for the season with three more matches remaining before the team travels to the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships in Orlando, Florida.

The men’s team has tied the number of wins in the 2016-17 season and is looking to improve upon that finish. The women on the other hand are looking to rebuild their team after the loss of three key seniors last season that made a run deep into the A-10 Tournament.

Sophomore Cassie McKenzie has stepped into a role as the women’s first singles and has delivered some wins for the Billikens in some difficult matches including wins over Fordham, Davidson and Omaha.

Based on everything he has accomplished already in just his first year as a Billiken, it is hard to believe that freshman high-jumper Alex Oleson has been jumping for just over a year. Alex is a Political Science and Sociology major from Lenexa, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City.

Alex was mainly a basketball player growing up, starting in fourth grade and was able to dunk by seventh. In his freshman year of high school, he was approached by the track coach about joining the team, but he decided to focus on basketball because he was traveling so much for it. He was even considering playing basketball in college and found SLU while he was on a trip to St. Louis, visiting Maryville University for basketball. Alex made the decision to join the track team his senior year of high school. He stopped playing basketball during the spring because most people that age had already signed if they were going to play in college.

In his first track meet, Alex qualified for Kansas University Relays in high-jump, a meet held at KU for both Big 12 college teams as well as the top high schools in Kansas. Every meet following it, including the state meet, was easier mentally for Alex because he had the chance to compete against some of the best collegiate jumpers out there so early in his career.

Originally, Alex was looking to come to SLU as a regular student and wasn’t going to participate in intercollegiate athletics. His high school track coach convinced him to reach out to the SLU track coaches because he thought Alex’s jumps would be close to those of current SLU athletes.  He chose SLU despite the athletics because of the great academics, the location, and he felt that it was a “place that would set [him] up for what [he] wants to be.” He plans on going to law school to prepare for a career working with family law such as lobbying for social workers, a foster care worker or in juvenile law.

Since getting to St. Louis, he said, “My favorite thing about SLU is how friendly everyone is. Everyone is always walking and talking, and you always run into someone you know.”

Despite being somewhat new to the sport, Alex has already broken a school record in the high-jump. He narrowly broke the previous record of 1.99 m (approximately 6’5”) with a 2 m jump (approximately 6’6”). He said that he wasn’t very surprised when he broke the record because in practice, he had cleared up to 6’10”. “It all comes down to form,” said Alex. “I just do the things my coach tells me to get the job done.” Despite clearing 6’10” in practice, in order for it to be registered as a record, the jump must occur in competition.

As a freshman, Alex finished in ninth place in the A10 Conference, just one spot out of scoring for the Billikens. The final placement came down to misses, because a lot of jumpers in the conference go for the same height. In high-jump, each competitor gets three chances at each height before their final score is recorded. A goal he has set for himself is to “help [his] team by getting points in conference and to set [himself] up to score big points.”

Although high-jump is his only event, Alex sometimes wishes he could try other events in meets to pass the time in a long track meet. “If I didn’t jump,” said Alex, “I would probably want to try the 400 because the 4×400 relay is the most exciting event.” He then joked and said, “Actually, 400s are pretty bad, so pole vaulting would probably be fun.”

Alex’s favorite meet as a Billiken so far has been their trip to Rhode Island for the indoor conference championship meet because the team was given the chance to explore and go to the ocean, a big deal for the Kansas native. He also enjoyed competing against the other A10 schools because the track team tends to compete more locally rather than against only conference teams like most other sports.

The SLU track and field team has their only home meet of the season this weekend at the track on South Campus.  

“I don’t like to look at my own stats,” said freshman softball outfielder, Sadie Wise. “I don’t focus on numbers, I would rather go out there and just win.”  

Her strategy must be working because in her first 25 games as a Billiken, Sadie has broken the SLU record for most home runs hit by a freshman in a single season with nine, so far. Not only has she broken a record, she currently leads the team in batting average (.422), runs (25), hits (35), doubles (10), RBIs (28), home runs (9), slugging percentage (.867) and on-base percentage (.500). She has also been named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week three times this season, only 4 weeks into the awards.  She was the first rookie to get the award in 2018 and she has earned it the last two consecutive weeks.

Sadie began playing softball at the early age of five, but unlike most young kids who play tee ball for the first few years, she jumped right into real softball. She began her club career at eight with travel ball and played up through high school. At Kirkwood High School, near St. Louis, she was a four-year varsity player for the softball team and played one year of basketball and ran two years of track.

Sadie started looking at SLU the summer before her junior year of high school and she is extremely happy with the decision she made to stay close to home.

“SLU is my home away from home and I feel so comfortable here. I’ve made so many friends in softball, other sports, in my major, and everyone is so welcoming. The teachers are so nice and helpful!”

She is an Occupational Therapy major despite originally planning on majoring in Physical Therapy.  She was thinking of PT because of an experience in middle school in which she was able to go to work with her aunt who is a physical therapist. In high school, she wanted to consider other majors and found OT.

“I just liked the idea of helping people be more independent and be able to do everyday activities,” she said.

Although they are just a little over a month into their season, Sadie said that there are already lots of great memories with her teammates. “All of us get along so well and my teammates are encouraging and funny.  They make everything a fun time; we have fun no matter what we’re doing,” she said.

A highlight for her is bus karaoke because “it bonded [them] and [they] were forced to be more outgoing. It was a good laugh and everyone was clapping and cheering.”

Softball has allowed her to travel all over the country for tournaments; her favorite was California because she was able to do more than just play softball, such as go to the beach. She is excited to travel to the east coast once conference games start because it has new places to visit and new teams to play.

The Women’s Basketball team had a busy two weeks, finishing up the regular season and participating in the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament. After the tournament, SLU finished the season with a 17-15 overall record. Senior Night was held on February 24 in Chaifetz Arena against Dayton, a team that, before their final game, had not lost to a conference foe this season.

SLU saluted their six seniors with an underdog win over the University of Dayton. At the end of the regular season the team finished with a 15-14 overall and 9-7 A10 record.  After the win, SLU solidified their spot at seventh in the conference and earned a home game for their first round of the Conference Championship.

Following a win on Senior Night, the Billikens were granted the No. 7 seed for the tournament and matched up first with the University of Massachusetts for the first round, which was played at home at Chaifetz Arena. SLU was able to recover from a 16-point deficit in the first half to defeat UMass 70-64 in front of the home crowd. Jackie Kemph scored a team high 21 points—19 coming in the second half—and eight assists in her last game in Chaifetz Arena. Other notable Billikens include Kerri McMahan, who scored 15 points tying her career high. Jenny Vliet also finished with double-digit points in her final game at home with 11, putting her into the 1,000-point club for her career.  

After defeating UMass, the Bills moved on to face No. 2 seed Duquesne University in the quarter final in Richmond, Virginia. The Billikens were able to power past the Dukes for the 71-65 win. Kemph tied her career high with 28 points. Paige Rakers had 15 points on a career high five 3-point field goals and Maddison Gits earned her 11th double-double of the season with 10 points and 15 rebounds. Gits set a school record for most single-season boards with 297 after breaking the previous high of 284 set last year by Sadie Stipanovich.  

The Bills advanced to the semi-final against No. 6 Saint Joseph’s University where they fell short of making the final. The game marked the program’s third consecutive semi-final appearance for the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Billikens fell to the Hawks in their final game of the season with a hard fought 58-49 loss. Kemph led the team with 17 points followed by Rakers who had 14. The Billikens trailed from early on in the first quarter and were unable to gain the lead back.

The Women’s Basketball team had a busy two weeks, finishing up the regular season and participating in the Atlantic-10 Championship Tournament. After the tournament, SLU finished the season with a 17-15 overall record. Senior Night was held on Feb. 24 in Chaifetz Arena against Dayton, a team that, before their final game, had not lost to a conference foe this season.

SLU saluted their six seniors with an underdog win over the University of Dayton. At the end of the regular season the team finished with a 15-14 overall and 9-7 A-10 record. After the win, SLU solidified their spot at seventh in the conference and earned a home game for their first round of the Conference Championship.  

Following a win on senior night, the Billikens were granted the No. 7 seed for the tournament and matched up first with the University of Massachusetts for the first round, which was played at home at Chaifetz Arena. SLU was able to recover from a 16-point deficit in the first half to defeat UMass 70-64 in front of the home crowd. Senior guard Jackie Kemph scored a team high 21 points — 19 coming in the second half — and eight assists in her last game at Chaifetz Arena. Other notable Billikens include redshirt junior guard Kerri McMahan, who scored 15 points tying her career high. Senior forward Jenny Vliet also finished with double-digit points in her final game at home with 11, putting her into the 1,000-point club for her career.  

After defeating UMass, the Bills moved on to face No. 2 seed, Duquesne University in the quarter final in Richmond, Virginia. The Billikens were able to power past the Dukes for the 71-65 win. Kemph tied her career high with 28 points. Redshirt senior forward Paige Rakers had 15 points on a career high five 3-point field goals and Senior forward Maddison Gits earned her 11th double-double of the season with 10 points and 15 rebounds. Gits set a school record for most single-season boards with 297 after breaking the previous high of 284 set last year by Sadie Stipanovich.  

The Bills advanced to the semi-final against No. 6 Saint Joseph’s University where they fell short of making the final. The game marked the program’s third consecutive semi-final appearance for the Atlantic-10 Tournament. The Billikens fell to the Hawks in their final game of the season with a hard fought 58-49 loss. Kemph led the team with 17 points followed by Rakers who had 14. The Billikens trailed from early on in the first quarter and were unable to gain the lead back.  

The SLU Swimming and Diving teams traveled to the Spire Center in Geneva, Ohio for the Atlantic-10 Conference Championships the weekend of Feb. 14-17.  The Billikens came out of the big meet with four golds, one silver, five bronzes, a number of high-placing swims, and four new school records. Senior Ryan McCoy lead the team with three individual golds in the 500 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly, and 100 Freestyle.

The meet started very strong for SLU when the Women’s 800 Freestyle relay team of Erica Morris, Mina Glenesk, Riley Kirby and Elaine Mahon broke the school record, followed by the Men’s 800 Freestyle relay team of McCoy, Collin O’Brien, Grant Streid, and Isaiah Williams finishing first. The Men’s 200 Medley Relay consisting of TJ Halliburton, Justin Mars, McCoy, and Williams also broke a school record to start the meet off on a very strong note.

On day two, freshman Natalie Daniel set a new school record in the Women’s 50 Freestyle finishing in 15th, and O’Brien broke his own record in the Men’s 200 Individual Medley while finishing fifth. Glenesk took third in the 500 Freestyle missing the top spot by less than a second. The Men’s 200 Freestyle relay of O’Brien, Mars, Christian L’Italien, and Streid finished eighth.  

Day three saw the Billikens take first and third in the Men’s 100 Butterfly with McCoy and Williams, respectively. Mars snagged a bronze in the 100 Breaststroke and O’Brien wasn’t far behind to finish in fifth in the same event. The Men’s 400 Medley Relay team of  Halliburton, Mars, Williams, and McCoy found silver. There were a few more top eight finishes on Day three, meaning the swimmers qualified for the championship final. Halliburton and Kirby both finished eighth in the 100 Backstroke and Mars finished in eighth in the 400 Individual Medley.  

The final day of competition wrapped up with a gold by McCoy and three bronze finishes from O’Brien in the 200 Breaststroke, Streid in the 200 Butterfly, and the Men’s 400 Freestyle relay team of Stried, O’Brien, McCoy, and Williams. Glenesk took fifth in the 1650 Freestyle, the longest event of the meet.  

At the conclusion of the meet, the Billiken Women finished eighth overall and the Men finished in fifth, just four points behind fourth.

The Women’s Basketball team returned to Chaifetz Arena on Jan. 31 for an A-10 rematch against Fordham after a buzzer-beating overtime win over George Washington in the nation’s capital. For the second time in two games, the Billikens went into overtime and came out victorious. Following the double overtime win over Fordham, the Billikens improved their in-conference record to 7-3 and their overall record to 13-10 with a win over Davidson.  

Earlier in January at Fordham, SLU lost to the Rams in a close 3-point game. Senior Maddison Gits said, “our team’s mindset was to get payback” going into the game. “All of us had a ‘go get ‘em’ attitude for that game,” she added.

The game was a matinee in front of a few thousand elementary and middle-school-aged children from the St. Louis area for the annual Education Day. Gits said, “playing for a crowd of young kids is awesome! The best part is when the lights go off before the game and they all scream at the top of their lungs. They think that is the coolest thing ever! It’s also very cool to see the different communities coming together to support us.”

The Billikens started off the game with a three-point bucket from Paige Rakers and continued strong to a 10-4 lead, but the Rams were able to replicate the run and take the lead.  They continued their strong offense and held the Bills scoreless for the rest of the first quarter.  

In the second quarter SLU was able to cut the lead minimally and went into halftime with a 14-point deficit. Gits said, “Coach Stone came in the locker room with a fierce look on her face. She was upset with how we executed offensively and how easy people were getting baskets on the defensive end. She told us it was going to be a fight to come back in the game but believed in us that we could do it if we did the “little” things right. By “little” things [she meant], rebounding, hustling after loose balls, and having heart.”   

SLU came out of the locker room fast and were able to tie the game in the third quarter with three 3-point baskets and Jackie Kemph gave the Bills the lead with two minutes left in the quarter. They were able to hold onto a 55-53 lead as the quarter ended.

The Billikens kept the lead throughout the fourth quarter, while the Rams struggled to get shots to drop. Fordham guard Bre Cavanaugh, tied the game with two free throws with just 10 seconds left in regulation, sending the game to overtime. “[The goal] in the first overtime was to jump out and get an early lead,” said Gits. No one was able to gain an upper hand and Jordyn Frantz’s buzzer-beating three-point-attempt fell short, taking the game into a second overtime.

“Our mindset in the second overtime was to stop Cavanaugh from scoring and attack the basket to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line,” said Gits. The Bills got out to a fast start in the second overtime period and were able to put Fordham away for good.  

Gits lead the Billikens with a career-high 34 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks for her fourth consecutive double-double. Kemph and Rakers also reached double-digit points with 21 and 16 respectively. The Billikens returned to Chaifetz three days later for a matchup with Davidson.

SLU won the tip that opened the game and it was all Billikens from that point. Jenny Vliet opened up scoring with a three-point bucket and a layup making the score Vliet 5 and Davidson 0. At the end of the first quarter the Billikens led 18-16 and Vliet was already at the 10-point mark.  

The shooting slowed down in the second quarter for the Bills, but they connected free throws and offensive rebounds to keep the Wildcats at bay. They went into the locker room at the half with a 38-35 lead.

The Billikens started to pull away in the third quarter with Jordyn Frantz connecting both of her three-point shots. The strong offense gave SLU a 10-point lead to take a 64-51 score into the final stanza.  

The Wildcats struggled in the fourth quarter to cut the 13-point lead and the Bills were able to stretch it to 16 points for the 88-72 win. Maddison Gits recorded her fifth consecutive double-double in the contest.  Five Billikens recorded double-digit points including Kemph, Rakers, Vliet, Frantz, and Gits.  

Following the wins over Fordham and Davidson, the Bills traveled to Philadelphia for a matchup with the La Salle Explorers. SLU fell in a tough game 87-76. Kemph lead the team with 22 points followed closely by Gits’ 21, narrowly missing a sixth consecutive double-double by one rebound. The Bills were perfect at the line going 12-12 but it wasn’t enough to shut down the Explorers who out-rebounded SLU, 46-33.

With two wins and a loss, SLU moves to 13-11 overall and 7-4 in the Atlantic 10. The Bills are back in action with a trip to Rhode Island on Feb. 10. They are back at Chaifetz on Valentine’s Day for a match-up with Duquesne at 7 p.m.

The Saint Louis University Women’s Tennis team opened up their season last Friday, Jan. 19 and Saturday, Jan. 20 in Chicago against DePaul University and Northwestern University. The Billikens fell to both the Dibs and the Wildcats, 2-5 and 0-7 respectively.  The team travels to Purdue University next for a match on Jan. 26.  

Sophomore Mariluz Rojo said she is looking forward to traveling all over the country with her teammates this season. The tennis team will travel to Rhode Island, North Carolina and New York for conference matches, as well as Florida for the A-10 Championship Match.  

The biggest strength for the team this year is how passionate the girls are about their sport. Their love for the game is what motivates them every day in practice and in matches. Rojo said, “I want to improve some technical aspects of my game.”

In collegiate tennis, each player plays both singles and doubles giving players the opportunity to try multiple variations of the sport and allows teams to strategize how to use their players to set the team up best for success.

The main goal for the team this season is to win the A-10 conference. The team lost in the third round last season to VCU and are hoping to make another strong run into the playoffs this season. The team finished with a record of 16-8 last year.  

The Saint Louis University Women’s Basketball Team won their first home game of the 2017-18 season in a low-scoring game against the Little Rock Trojans with a final score of 48-45 last Friday. The win brings the Billikens’ season record to 4-5. Senior Jackie Kemph led the Billikens in scoring for the sixth time this seasonwith 11 points and senior Maddison Gits earned her third
double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The game started with SLU controlling the tip followed by six consecutive possessions with no score until Little Rock scored first. The score was only 8-6 in favor of Little Rock after the first quarter of play. Kemph sunk a buzzer-beater going into the half down just two.

The Billikens had a big advantage at the free-throw line shooting .78 making 14 of 18 attempts compared to the Trojans 7 for 15 (.47). Free throws played a big role in the game as the minutes ticked away because SLU trailed by eight going into the fourth quarter.

The game was tied three times in the last quarter before Kemph made what turned out to be the game-winning field goal with just 18 seconds left in the game. Little Rock turned the ball over into the hands of junior Jordyn Frantz who was fouled and converted a free throw to give the Billikens a three-point lead that held for the final buzzer.

Little Rock controlled the lead for 26:51 compared to just 4:33 for Saint Louis. SLU’s largest lead of the game was just three points which didn’t come until just .05 seconds were remaining in the game. The women are next in action in Pullman, Wash. against Washington State University on Monday, Dec. 4 followed by a match-up in Columbia, Mo. against Mizzou on Friday, Dec. 8.

The Saint Louis University Women’s Basketball team traveled to Pullman, last Monday night. The Billikens were coming off a win at home, but were unable to carry the momentum into a win and ended up falling to the Cougars, 85-63. The loss brings their season record to 4-6.

Senior Paige Rakers led the offense for the Billikens with a career-high 14 points shooting five for eight overall and two for three in 3-point attempts. Jenny Vliet and Aaliyah Covington also scored double digit points, both with 12, in the contest. Junior Tara Dusharm grabbed a careerhigh eight rebounds. Jackie Kemph led the team in assists with four, followed closely by freshman Tasia Jeffries with three.

Washington State was able to get a 9-1 edge early in the game and never lost the lead in the game. The closest margin the Billikens were able to achieve was just four points, twice in the contest. At the half, the Cougars led 39-26, but they were able to get a double-digit lead over the Billikens with just under seven minutes remaining in the game, and held on to that for the remainder of the game. In the fourth quarter,
the Billikens were able to come with 13 points of the Cougars, but soon Washington State jumped to a 15-4 run giving them a commanding lead in the dwindling minutes of the game.

The team remains on the road for Friday’s game in Columbia, Mo. at Mizzou for an in-state rivalry matchup. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. The next home game for the Women’s Basketball team is on Sunday, Dec. 17 at 2:00 p.m. against Lipscomb University.

There is a lot that goes into competing as a Division 1 athlete, and similarly, there is a lot that goes into being a United States Marine. Both are prestigious in their own right but each have very similar necessary skills to be successful: Fitness, leadership, and teamwork.

The Marine Corps started working with the Saint Louis University Baseball Team this past August on the team’s fitness as well as their team culture. Captain Thomas Pinnell, a SLU alumnus (class of 2009) and baseball student-athlete, was recently stationed back in St. Louis and decided to reach out to the baseball coaching staffabout sharing some of the ideals that the Marine Corps has because of their reputation for incredible teamwork and leadership.

Soon, word spread to other coaches in the athletic department, including the Women’s Soccer Team, Field Hockey Team and Softball Team, who also expressed interest in working with the Marines in their
training. So far, the Women’s Soccer Team and the Baseball Team have had activities and workouts with the Marines but other teams have events scheduled in the coming semester. The soccer team participated in the Combat Fitness Test, a test that includes a half mile sprint, ammo can presses and an obstacle course that includes various partner activities like a firefighter carry. The women were broken up into teams and raced each other through the tasks while being sure to support their teammates through the rigorous fitness component.

Freshman Haley Cox said, “The workout for the Marines was pretty intense and competitive and I loved it. It helped our team because it made us work together, step up and show leadership by cheering on our teammates, and it tested our team mentally making it stronger.” She also wants to give her team a shout out for winningthe tasks for the day.

Cox said, “I would tell other teams that do this to push yourselves to the limit because it only makes you better and stronger. [Strive] to pick each other up and cheer them on when they’re struggling to lift an ammo can above their head for the 50th time. Have fun with it and surprise yourself with how well you can do.”

The baseball team had a more involved encounter with the Marines which included three different days of fitness training aswell as leadership seminars following the workouts.

Freshman baseball player Ben Livorsi said, “[The workouts] were tough, but we struggled through them as a team, and I think this team-building training will benefit us in the season. It helped us not only get physically stronger, but it helped us build our mental toughness.”

Two of the workouts that the team participated in was a run at Art Hill in Forest Park as well as a circuit workout which included various stations with different exercises at each. The exercises were followed by short, 20-30-minute leadership workshops to improve the team as individual leaders, but also as a whole team with building trust and reliance on their teammates.

Captain Pinnell said, “We want to teach the teams how to think outside the box in leadership and to trust in each other. It is a leader’s responsibility to foster that trust and we want them to think differently about operating as a team.” The Marine Corps often recruits athletes after they finish their undergraduate, collegiate experience because it involves extremely physically and mentally challenging skills that are developed while playing a sport in such a competitive environment. As a recruiter, Captain Pinnell is looking for potential officers and athletes who are “biased to leadership.”

Captain Pinnell joined the United States Marine Corps after graduating from SLU because his whole life he had the identity of “baseball player,” but when he graduated he no longer had that label.

“I wanted a challenge and I wanted to be a part of something bigger and better than myself,” said Pinnell, “I like to compete and I wanted an identity I could be proud of.” You don’t need to be a collegiate athlete to be a Marine after graduation. What you need is drive, determination, fitness,
strong leadership and the ability to work as a teammate. “The Marines are made up of high-caliber people,” said Pinnell.

Despite this being the first year SLU athletics has worked with the Marines, the success they have seen so far is enough to foresee a continuation of the partnership into this spring as well as next school year.