Challenge - Winter 2007/2008 - Tiffin University

Men’s Basketball
Preview
The Tiffin University Men’s Basketball team will enter its first season
of full-fledged NCAA Division II membership with some major
additions to a Dragon squad that must adapt quickly to a higher
level of competition. “We are a young team that will have to work
hard on both ends of the floor for us to be successful,” said secondyear
Head Coach Rodney Martin.
Senior Chad Roberts became Tiffin’s second NCAA All-American in cross
country, reaching the National Tournament and finishing 28th overall. He
was also an All-Independent selection
The men’s team had strong individual and team performances
throughout the year, and earned their second consecutive championship
by recording seven of the top nine times in the nation
among independent schools. The team finished 16th out of 37
teams at the Southern Stampede, held at Missouri Southern University,
with Chad Roberts finishing with a time of 25:02. At the
Otterbein Invitational, the team finished third out of sixteen teams
and placed three runners in the top sixteen at the event. The team
finished fourth out of ten teams at the All-Ohio Championships at
Ohio Wesleyan, with Roberts (26:07), and sophomores Jason Bumb
(27:34) and Jeremy Lee (27:41) leading the charge for the Dragons.
Roberts and Lee were the top two runners named to the All-ICAA
team, along with Bumb, senior Justin Setty, sophomore Chris Finn,
and juniors Adam Nunns and Thomas Buxton.
The team will return only one starter from last year’s team, but
Coach Martin is excited about the team’s possibilities this year.
“The guys that are here are a talented group that will need to pull
together as a team early. The new players we’ve added along with
the returners should give us a chance to compete at this level,”
said Martin.
Sophomore Alex Strok
leads a young cast
of Dragons into the
2007-08 season. Strok
earned All-Freshman
honors last season
but will be looked
to for leadership on
a talented but new
group of players this
season.
The women’s team narrowly missed out on the ICAA Championship,
finishing in second place behind Flagler College. The team
managed to place four runners in the ICAA top ten. Despite finishing
in 29th place out of 40 teams at the Southern Stampede,
the runners had solid times with sophomore Jessica Clark (19:08)
leading the way in 63rd place, followed by freshmen Heidi Kiesel
(20:16) and Erin Casey (20:37). At the All-Ohio meet, the team
placed four runners in the top 45, led by Clark in 13th place with
a time of 20:29, Kiesel in 27th place (21:46), Alison Ward in 42nd
place (23:30) and Casey in 45th place (23:38). Clark earned her
second consecutive All-ICAA selection, along with Casey and Ward
earning their first ICAA honors. Heidi Kiesel was also named the
ICAA Outstanding Freshmen.
The lone starter from last year’s team, sophomore Alex Strok, will
return as the team’s resident sharpshooter. Strok averaged 10.3 pts
per game while shooting 35% from three-point range in his first
year as a Dragon. Freshman point guard Brian Scott (Chaminade-
Julienne HS) will join Strok in the backcourt, with 6-3 freshman
shooting guard Geryn Reese providing additional support on the
wing. Sophomore Darryl Stinson (8.7 mpg, 2.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg) will
start at forward and will be working in the paint along with 6’5
freshman center Rafael Cuellar.
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