Sports
Scores of college athletes in limbo as judge weighs NCAA deal : NPR
University of Florida athletes celebrate the women’s team title during the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 11, 2022. Under a proposed legal settlement, many athletes on track and field, swimming and other collegiate sports could see their roster spots eliminated. Steph Chambers/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Steph Chambers/Getty Images […]
University of Florida athletes celebrate the women’s team title during the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 11, 2022. Under a proposed legal settlement, many athletes on track and field, swimming and other collegiate sports could see their roster spots eliminated.
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Steph Chambers/Getty Images
For the Liberty University women’s cross country team, the bad news came last fall.
The team gathered at a coach’s house for a bonfire night. In a different year, it might have been a celebration of a great season. Instead, the coaches had bad news to share: About half the team’s runners might lose their roster spots if a proposed multi-billion-dollar legal settlement was approved by a federal judge.
“It was very much an emotional night,” recalled sophomore Sophia Park. “I was crying. A lot of people were crying, like, feeling that weight of what that meant to have to lose such an awesome thing.”
Last year, the University of Florida’s men’s track and field team won the NCAA outdoor championships. This spring, before they had the chance to defend their title, coaches dropped athletes one by one, corporate layoff-style.
The Auburn men’s swimming and diving team waited in a hallway for one-on-one meetings with their coaches in March. After more than 20 swimmers and divers emerged clearly upset, another athlete commented that it seemed “the Grim Reaper just took you guys out,” said Tate Cutler, a junior who lost his spot. “We were distraught.”
All of them are among the many student-athletes swept up in the legal settlement involving the NCAA and its major conferences. The case, known as House v. NCAA, is poised to transform the way collegiate athletes are compensated. It would distribute $2.8 billion in back pay to former athletes and, going forward, allow direct payments from schools to players, reversing the NCAA’s long-standing tradition of amateurism.
But what originally seemed to be a wonky detail of the settlement — the creation of roster limits for all Division I teams — has emerged as its biggest sticking point. The roster limits would take the place of the traditional scholarship limits in the top level of college sports.
Now, thousands of athletes are in legal limbo as they await the outcome of negotiations between lawyers and the federal judge who must issue her final approval.
“We are going to see how the NCAA wants to play this. If they decide not to [address the roster limits], they will effectively blow up the whole settlement,” said Noah Henderson, a former collegiate golfer who is now the director of the sports management program at Loyola University Chicago.
For many athletes, the damage is done. Schools, acting under the assumption that the settlement would be approved last month, have already cut athletes from teams and told incoming recruits there would be no spot for them. As a result, many students transferred to new schools, or stopped training altogether for the sport they’d spent their lives pursuing.
Golf is among the collegiate sports likely to see cutbacks under the new roster limits.
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Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
Even for those who haven’t left their schools, the months of uncertainty have caused serious stress. And there is no guarantee of a resolution before the end of the school year — or one that won’t increase the cost of attendance for affected athletes.
“It was heartbreaking. I’m not going to lie. It was brutal,” said Cutler, the Auburn swimmer. “The fact that I’m represented in this case, I’m a plaintiff in this case, and I’m getting cut — like, how is that benefiting me? How is the pay-for-play benefiting me?”
Removing restrictions but cutting athletes
Traditionally, the NCAA managed team sizes by restricting the number of scholarships that schools could award in whole or in part. But the goal of the settlement is to remove traditional restrictions on athlete compensation, and as part of that, the scholarship limits were eliminated.
To maintain competitive balance between teams, lawyers negotiating the agreement agreed to limit roster sizes instead. But the proposed limits were smaller than the current level of many Division I teams — meaning schools would have to cut players to comply with the settlement.
Since then, the roster limit issue has gummed up the settlement, which was widely expected to be approved by now. Instead, last month, Judge Claudia Wilken ordered the two sides to go back to the drawing table to find a way to reduce the harm to athletes currently on rosters.
News of the judge’s delay thrilled athletes who thought they’d be cut.
Lance Hollingshead, a freshman golfer at Notre Dame, was so distressed and embarrassed his roster spot would be eliminated that he couldn’t bring himself to tell anyone besides his parents for an entire month.
He was “ecstatic” when he heard the news of the delay. “It was a weight off my shoulders, like I can walk around freely and take a deep breath that hasn’t been taken in quite a long time,” he said.
Yet it’s unclear whether the issue will be resolved in these athletes’ favor. Lawyers negotiating the settlement — plaintiffs’ attorneys representing roughly 390,000 current and former Division I athletes, along with defense counsel for the NCAA and its five major conferences — oppose a grandfather clause.
Acknowledging many athletes have transferred or chosen where to enroll based on roster decisions already made, they argued in a filing last month that “any adjustment to implementation of the roster limits is likely to have a snowball effect that would adversely impact other class members.”
The exact scale of the cuts is difficult to pin down. Lawyers involved in the settlement have downplayed the number: In an April hearing, Rakesh Kilaru, a lawyer representing the NCAA, asserted “something like a couple dozen” would lose their spots on their teams. In a later court filing, lawyers guessed fewer than 200 athletes, “if that,” would be affected.
Based on interviews with athletes who have lost their spots and school officials who have run the numbers for their own programs, those estimates are far too low.
At Ohio State alone, officials anticipated cutting between 150 to 175 athletes if the roster limits were implemented immediately, athletic director Ross Bjork told NPR. Even as the school would add around 90 new scholarships, he said, the cuts to rosters would amount to more than 10% of the school’s current 1,100-some athletes. “You’re looking at programs like rowing, swimming, track and field that have large rosters that have to come down,” Bjork said.
Many universities are cutting roster spots on rowing teams — limiting the number of collegiate athletes eligible to compete in the sport.
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Julio Cortez/AP
And Ohio State is only one of the 150 or more Division I schools that are either required to comply with the settlement or expected to opt into its terms.
Scores of objection letters sent to the court over the past six months reveal the breadth of those affected: More than a dozen swimmers from the top-ranked men’s team at Texas; walk-on football players at powerhouse programs like Michigan and Notre Dame; women’s soccer players from teams across the U.S., including historically Black universities; track and field athletes at Olympic factories like Houston. No sport is immune. Many athletes and parents wrote in anonymously, afraid that speaking out could give their school reason to cut them, too.
Off the team, keeping scholarships, and now in the financial hole
Athletes cut from the team could face unexpected financial burdens, they say, even though the NCAA has advised schools that scholarships cannot be rescinded from athletes cut from teams due to the settlement.
Many Division I schools, including the University of Florida, provide athletes with an all-you-can-eat dining hall, where breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily.
Alec Miller, a sophomore runner at Florida who was cut from the team in March, expects his access to the dining hall would be revoked if the cut is finalized. “That would also be thousands of dollars a year extra that I would now be having to spend,” Miller said.
Many athletes cut from teams could also lose what are known as Alston awards, a kind of scholarship to help athletes cover extra costs of attending college that schools have been allowed to award since a Supreme Court decision in 2021. Under the settlement, Alston awards, which can be as much as $5,980 per year per athlete, would count against a salary cap. As a result, many schools plan to reduce or eliminate them altogether.
Schools also often provide athletes with educational supplies, such as laptops, and tutoring services.
In total, the cost of college could rise by $10,000 or more each year for athletes cut from their teams, even if they keep their athletic scholarships.
For freshman Jessie Cox, another Liberty runner, college sports were a ticket to a college education in pursuit of a career. The seventh of 10 children, she was expected to pay her own way for school, she said.
When she was still in high school, a Division II program in her home state of Pennsylvania had offered her a full ride to run track and cross country, she said. But when Liberty offered her an academic scholarship and a walk-on spot on the team, Cox jumped at the chance to compete at a Division I level.
The news of the roster cuts came less than two months after she arrived on campus. Cox looked into transferring, she said, but soon learned transfers are often less appealing to programs than incoming freshmen.
“It put me in a position where I’m like, ‘Do I stay here, or do I get in thousands and thousands of dollars of debt so I can keep running?’,” she said. “I can’t afford to go anywhere else.”
And no one can put a dollar amount on the emotional toll of this past year.
“For the first month, every day was pretty tough. I can’t lie,” said Hollingshead, the Notre Dame golfer. He felt depressed, he said, until he began talking with other athletes at other schools who had lost their spots.
Then, he began to work to encourage affected athletes to write to the court with their objections. “It was definitely a shock. It sucked a lot,” Hollingshead said. “Then it turned into, ‘Okay, let’s get to work on not giving up on my dream and helping other people not lose theirs as well.'”
Sports
Bulgarian Volleyball Sensation Moni Nikolov Announces Departure From Long Beach State To Turn Pro – The562.org
The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2023-24 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl. It became one of the greatest single seasons in NCAA men’s volleyball history when Long Beach State’s Moni Nikolov stepped off the court Monday night—adding a national championship to his already impressive list of accolades from his freshman season. […]
The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2023-24 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
It became one of the greatest single seasons in NCAA men’s volleyball history when Long Beach State’s Moni Nikolov stepped off the court Monday night—adding a national championship to his already impressive list of accolades from his freshman season. That’s when the question that had loomed all season came to the forefront of his career: Was this the last time we’d see Nikolov in the Black and Gold?
The Bulgarian sensation has gone viral throughout his debut season, with new clips reaching millions of views after each match—played in front of sold-out crowds virtually everywhere the Beach competed. That attention has, of course, reached professional volleyball clubs across the globe, and many have speculated about his departure, expecting him to accept a high-level offer to play professionally.
Just four days after becoming a national champion, Nikolov confirmed those speculations, taking to Instagram to announce his departure from Long Beach State. Nikolov has not announced where he’ll continue his volleyball career.
“Every moment here has mattered. And leaving with a national title is more than I could’ve asked for. With gratitude and pride, thank you, Long Beach,” he wrote.
“It’s always exciting for your players to take any and all opportunities that will allow them to expect greatness in their life. That’s what our program is built on,” said LBSU coach Alan Knipe. “At this point, the options he has available to him are those that very few athletes get. As much as Long Beach State and myself would love to see him stick around and compete for us, he gets the opportunity to fulfill another one of his dreams and get himself ready to try and qualify for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. I’m excited for him and what lies in front of him.”
Knipe has seen this story pan out before—when Nikolov’s older brother, Alex, went one-and-done at Long Beach State as a freshman in 2022. Together, the brothers have left behind a remarkable legacy at the Beach, becoming the only two players in NCAA history to win AVCA National Player of the Year honors as freshmen.
Both brothers also walked away with AVCA Newcomer of the Year and Big West Player of the Year honors. Moni added NCAA All-Tournament MVP honors to his resume on Monday night, capping off an incredible era of Nikolov volleyball in Long Beach.
“It speaks for itself,” Knipe said of the brothers’ accomplishments. “There are two players in NCAA history who achieved Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in the same season. They’re both from Long Beach State, and they’re both from the same family. Enough said. It’s a very special feat.”
It was Moni’s 6-foot-10 frame and remarkable athleticism at the setter position that made him the face of volleyball in the country this year. His soft hands, capable of delivering pinpoint sets, combined with the imposing height and physicality of an outside hitter, made him a nightmare for opposing teams.
Nikolov steps away from the NCAA scene after leading the Beach to a nation-best .398 hitting percentage. He finished fourth in the nation in assists this year with 1,030 (10 per set), while also averaging 1.56 kills per set. Nikolov also recorded the fastest serve in NCAA history at 84 mph, and became the new single-season aces record holder. He finished with 106 aces—breaking Curtis Abram’s 2011 record in 15 fewer sets.
“I think this was the most impactful season anyone’s been able to have,” Knipe said. “What he was able to do from the end line to the new reinvention of what the setting position looks like…The other side is the attention to men’s volleyball and the sellout arenas throughout the country that we played in. I think its gonna be hard for someone to find a player with a bigger impact in one season. And to do that in your freshman year is even more spectacular.”
After his championship win on Monday night, Nikolov called it “the best year of my life,” he told ESPN. Today, Nikolov took to social media to thank his coaches, the fans, and his teammates, whom he refers to as his brothers.
“Dear Long Beach,” he wrote. “From day one, you gave me the tools to succeed on the court. I leave here not just with a championship, but with growth, perspective, and lifelong memories.”
The departure closes the door on the Nikolov era, during which the brothers set a new standard for what had already been one of the best programs in the nation. Many will now remember the Beach because of the Nikolovs, just as the Nikolovs will always remember the Beach. Take it from their father:
“At Long Beach, Alex and Moni were truly satisfied with everything,” he said. “The coaching staff, the teachers, the whole campus, and the people—everything. They love the Long Beach family.”
Sports
Governors Post Second-Highest GPA in Department History, All 15 Varsity Programs Posting a 3.0 GPA
Story Links CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University’s student-athletes posted the second-highest grade-point average in department history with a 3.401 grade-point average during the Spring 2025 semester. “After posting the second-best GPA in department history during the fall, our student-athletes have done it again by topping that mark this semester,” said Austin […]
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University’s student-athletes posted the second-highest grade-point average in department history with a 3.401 grade-point average during the Spring 2025 semester.
“After posting the second-best GPA in department history during the fall, our student-athletes have done it again by topping that mark this semester,” said Austin Peay Vice President and Director of Athletics Gerald Harrison. “I am so proud of our Governors student-athletes and all their hard work during this record-breaking semester! However, none of this would be possible without the hard work of our student-athlete success team, so I want to thank Kristal McGreggor, Bobby Fieman, and Kendell Johnson. Our student-athletes and entire department’s continued commitment to the ‘Total Gov Concept’ can be seen in this sustained academic success.
It is the 16th consecutive semester the APSU athletics department has posted a 3.0 GPA or better and the 19th time in department history. All 15 Austin Peay varsity programs recorded at least a 3.0 GPA or better for the second-straight semester. In addition, the Governors’ cheer team also posted a 3.0 GPA or better for the second-consecutive semester.
Austin Peay also had nine teams finish with a 3.5-or-better team GPA, with two teams posting program record GPAs. The Governors women’s golf team led all programs for the second-straight semester with a 3.969 GPA – the highest single-semester GPA in department history, topping the previous record of 3.964, which was held by the women’s tennis team during the fall 2017 semester.
More than 80 percent of the department’s student-athletes received academic recognition. Seventy-eight of its 338 student-athletes posted a 4.0 GPA during the spring and were a part of the 151 student-athletes eligible for Austin Peay’s Dean’s List recognition, which the university will announce at a later date. Another 120 Governors were named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, which is awarded to graduate students with a 3.0 GPA and undergraduate student-athletes who finish a semester with a 3.0 GPA but do not qualify for the APSU Dean’s List.
A complete listing of the Spring 2025 Athletics Director’s Honor Roll follows this release. Individuals eligible for the Austin Peay Dean’s List are also noted.
Established in 1990-91, the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll recognizes the outstanding academic accomplishments of Austin Peay State University student-athletes. Student-athletes must be enrolled full-time and achieve a 3.0 grade-point average for a semester to earn recognition.
ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SPRING SEMESTER
- PERFECT, PERFECT, PERFECT. 78 Governors student-athletes posted a 4.0 GPA – the ninth time 60 or more student-athletes have posted an unblemished GPA.
- ALL HAIL. Six Austin Peay teams – women’s basketball, women’s golf, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, women’s cross country, and beach volleyball – saw their entire rosters post a 3.0 GPA or better and earn academic recognition. The women’s golf team was the only program to have 100 percent of their student-athletes qualify for the APSU Dean’s List.
- SMASH! BANG! Two Austin Peay teams – women’s golf and men’s cross country – set team semester GPA records.
- ON A ROLL. Sixteen varsity teams’ current streak of semesters with a 3.0 GPA (beginning in Fall 2013): baseball (18), beach volleyball (17), men’s basketball (2), women’s basketball (3), men’s cross country (3), women’s cross country (14), football (2), men’s golf (18), women’s golf (24), soccer (24), softball (20), men’s tennis (24), women’s tennis (24), women’s track & field (14), volleyball (24), and cheer (2).
Spring 2025 Austin Peay Athletics Academic Honor Roll
All student-athletes listed below received academic recognition during the semester. Any student-athletes listed without notation were members of the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll (3.0-3.499 GPA). Notations following a student-athlete’s name indicate the following: (DL) – Eligible for recognition on Austin Peay’s Dean’s List (Undergraduates with 12 hours earned and at least a 3.50 GPA); + – student-athlete played multiple sports, is counted only once in department totals.
BASEBALL (3.332 GPA)
Cody Airington
Nathan Barksdale (DL)
John Bay
Gavin Braunecker
Trevor Conley
Brady Cooper (DL)
Keaton Cottam
Chance Cox
Gus Freeman
Campbell Holt
Austen Jaslove (DL)
Cole Johnson (DL)
Dylan Kazee (DL)
Brody Lanham (DL)
Andres Matias (DL)
DJ Merriweather (DL)
Derrick Mitchell (DL)
Cameron Nickens
Deaton Oak (DL)
Davin Pollard
Paris Pridgen (DL)
Cannon Rice (DL)
Shawn Scott
Kade Shatwell (DL)
Landon Slemp (DL)
Tre’ Speer (DL)
Brody Szako
Adam Walker
Solomon Washington
Jacob Weaver
BEACH VOLLEYBALL (3.839 GPA)
Grace Austin (DL)
Jordyn Beneteau (DL)
Anna Kate Clark (DL)
Alyson Cooper (DL)
Emily Freel (DL)
Angelena Greene (DL)
Bailey Lasater (DL)
Emma Loiars (DL)
Gabriella MacKenzie
Jordan Morris
MEN’S BASKETBALL (3.374 GPA)
Anton Brookshire (DL)
Me’Kell Burries
Darius Dawson
Hansel Enmanuel (DL)
Akili Evans
Terrell Gaines (DL)
Bowen Hammer
Isaac Haney
Quan Lax
Daniel Loos
Tate McCubbin
LJ Thomas (DL)
Sai Witt
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (3.531 GPA)
Rose Azmoudeh (DL)
Jordan Boddie
Jeanine Brandsma (DL)
Nisea Burrell
Abby Cater
La’Nya Foster
Anala Nelson (DL)
JaNiah Newell
Jenny Ntambwe
Briana Rivera
Anovia Sheals (DL)
Nariyah Simmons (DL)
Sa’Mya Wyatt (DL)
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY (3.669 GPA)
Lucas Bales (DL)
Jacob Bormet (DL)
Will Keefer (DL)
Richard Lebron (DL)
Christian Pastrana (DL)
Jacob Schweigardt (DL)
Jake Strader (DL)
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY (3.673 GPA)
Ashley Doyle (DL)
Shaye Foster (DL)
Sydney Freeman
Mary Kate French (DL)
Hallie Mattingly
Jaedyn Stalnecker (DL)
Taylah Upshaw (DL)
FOOTBALL (3.069 GPA)
Rocco Abbagnaro (DL)
Chase Allen (DL)
Kendyle Ball (DL)
Grace’son Beach (DL)
Davion Blackwell
Zak Bowden
Jabari Cathey
Andrew Chamblee
Kendrick Clark (DL)
Mekaih Collins
Matthew Corley (DL)
TJ Cox Jr.
Ethan Crite (DL)
Ward Dorris
Malaki Dowell (DL)
Eli Edwards (DL)
Gavin Edwards (DL)
Mike Evans
Davin Garinger (DL)
Tae Gayden
Samuel Green
Steven Head (DL)
Nicholas Hilliard
Davion Hood
Marcus Howard
Jake Johnson
Miada Jones
Chandler Kirton
Jade Kneeland
Christopher Leftrick (DL)
Jeffson Locke
Robert Merrill
Quincy Milhomme
Tyson Moody (DL)
Jaycob Neely (DL)
James Olsen (DL)
Antori Hamilton (DL)
Alec Pell
Shawn Phillips
Kinstin Reaves
Corey Richardson (DL)
Charles Ross
Courtland Simmons (DL)
Jermiah Skipworth Jr. (DL)
Austin Skoglund (DL)
Jase Skoglund
Austin Smith
Carson Smith
Kenneth Smith
Stratton Smith (DL)
Eli Sutton
Chandler Thomason (DL)
Ardarrius Williams
Breylon Wyatt
MEN’S GOLF (3.254 GPA)
Reece Britt (DL)
Caleb Brummitt (DL)
Grady Cox (DL)
Parker Elkins
Payne Elkins
Michael Long
Patton Samuels
Logan Spurrier
Will Swigart
WOMEN’S GOLF (3.969 GPA)
Jillian Breedlove (DL)
Kaley Campbell (DL)
Maggie Glass (DL)
Abby Hirtzel (DL)
Abby Jimenez (DL)
Erica Scutt (DL)
Autumn Spencer (DL)
SOCCER (3.638 GPA)
Ari Allen (DL)
Lindsey Arnold (DL)
Alec Baumgardt (DL)
Lauryn Berry (DL)
Vivian Burke
Paige Chrustowski (DL)
Brynn Connell (DL)
Sophie Davidson
Ellie Dreas (DL)
Kaylee Hansen (DL)
Clara Heistermann (DL)
Mackenzie James (DL)
Zoey Kalilimoku
Kerigan Kivisto (DL)
Haley Lindquist
Lindsey McMahon (DL)
Alexa Minestrella
Paige Myers
Olivia Prock
Kiley Reese
Kylie Wells
Carolyne Young
Hannah Zahn (DL)
SOFTBALL (3.613 GPA)
Kylie Campbell
Maddy Connolly Hojas (DL)
Maggie Daughrity (DL)
Ashley Diaz
Kiley Hinton
Brie Howard (DL)
Macy Krohman (DL)
Sam Leski (DL)
Ashley Martin
Samantha Miener
Kam Moore (DL)
Emberly Nichols (DL)
Katie Raper (DL)
Raylon Roach
Macee Roberts (DL)
Kayleigh Roper
Sammie Shelander (DL)
Skylar Sheridan (DL)
Jada Sovey (DL)
Emma Thompson (DL)
MEN’S TENNIS (3.768 GPA)
Glen Arnet (DL)
Giovanni Becchis (DL)
Tom Bolton (DL)
Sota Minami (DL)
Riichi Nagatake (DL)
Aeneas Schaub (DL)
Hogan Stoker (DL)
Javier Tortajada (DL)
Bodi van Galen (DL)
Lucas Ranciaro
WOMEN’S TENNIS (3.850 GPA)
Sophia Baranov (DL)
Luca Bohlen (DL)
Alice Bolton (DL)
Pauline Bruns (DL)
Yu-Hua Cheng (DL)
Asia Fontana (DL)
Ayden Kujawa
Elena Thiel (DL)
Denise Torrealba (DL)
TRACK & FIELD (3.371 GPA)
Alexis Arnett (DL)
Busiwa Asinga
Isis Banks
Trinity Bracey
Alijanae Cole
Marcia Dejesus (DL)
Ashley Doyle (DL)
Myra Eriksson
Shaye Foster (DL)
Sydney Freeman
Mary Kate French (DL)
Denim Goddard
Gabrielle Hoskins
Madelyn Kocik (DL)
Hallie Mattingly
Mia McGee
Gabrielle Miller
Chloe Peterson
Seven Pettus (DL)
Neveah Schmeling (DL)
Taylin Segree (DL)
Jaedyn Stalnecker (DL)
Emma Tucker
Taylah Upshaw (DL)
VOLLEYBALL (3.419 GPA)
Reagan Anderson (DL)
Maggie Duyos (DL)
Addi Hultquist
Dani Kopacz
Reaghan Larkin (DL)
Luci Lippelgoos (DL)
Aubrey Stitcher (DL)
Gianna Tagoa’i (DL)
Abby Thigpen
Lauren Wallace (DL)
CHEER (3.144 GPA)
Emma Barnes (DL)
Gracie Brock (DL)
Delaney Brown
Coree Collier (DL)
AJ Crowder
Zach Darnell (DL)
Parris Eddison
Anna Germano
Ellie Gladwell
Anneliese Joyner (DL)
Gabby Lorenzo
Maddy Lund
Gabriella Mignano
Dawn Phillips
Elleigh-Kate Phillips (DL)
Alyssia Ray (DL)
Gillian Reed
Isabella Schmidt (DL)
Emma Stewart (DL)
Bailey Vining (DL)
Caitlin Vining (DL)
DANCE
Jenna Bricks
Faith Collins
Madeline Cummins (DL)
Sydney Fleming (DL)
Grace Henderson (DL)
Abbrianna Manners (DL)
Madelyn Steele (DL)
Maggie Tate
Chesny Wood
Taylor Woods (DL)
Katie Young
Sports
Medina prepares to start youth water polo league
MEDINA, Ohio – The Medina Community Recreation Center recently learned they were successful in obtaining a grant from the USA Water Polo Association and the center is now planning to create a youth water polo league. Parks and Recreation Director Jansen Wehrley announced last month that the city was looking to pursue the $4,000 grant […]
MEDINA, Ohio – The Medina Community Recreation Center recently learned they were successful in obtaining a grant from the USA Water Polo Association and the center is now planning to create a youth water polo league.
Parks and Recreation Director Jansen Wehrley announced last month that the city was looking to pursue the $4,000 grant which will fund the purchase of water polo goals for the rec center’s competition pool.
“There is no formalized water polo in our area, but we have an individual in the hiring process who recently moved to Medina from Utah,” Wehrley said. “He has a lot of experience in doing this and turned us on to the grant.”
The first step in building the league will be to create co-ed water polo practice teams for ages 12 and up and ages 14 and up. According to a press release from the rec center, these teams will learn teamwork and build strength. Training classes will begin May 27 and will run through June 28 Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the rec center. Scholarships are available.
The rec center also plans to offer a Splashball program for children ages 8 to 10. This program is designed to provide basic skills and understanding of the sport. Splashball classes will begin May 27 and will run through June 26 on Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m.
For more information about the program contact Medina Rec Aquatics Manager Steve Rhein at 330-721-6937 or srhein@medinaoh.org.
Sports
Calm & Cool: Francisco’s Fresh Approach Has Lifted Gators
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Gators sophomore golfer Paula Francisco grew up in Spain, a country known for its passionate festivals and rich traditions such as flamenco dancing and bullfighting. Writer Ernest Hemingway became so enthralled by bullfighting that he devoted an entire book to it, “Death in the Afternoon,” in which the late author wrote of […]
Writer Ernest Hemingway became so enthralled by bullfighting that he devoted an entire book to it, “Death in the Afternoon,” in which the late author wrote of the Latin sport as an art form. Gators head coach Emily Glaser can relate. She views a player’s method to scoring on the golf course through an artist’s lens.
Take Francisco, for instance. The talented Spaniard played tennis, beach volleyball, swam and did ballet growing up. She is one of the best athletes on the Gators’ roster and is known for her powerful swing.
Francisco can appreciate the grip-it-and-rip-it mantra made famous by PGA star John Daly in the 1990s. The harder you hit it, the farther the ball goes, and Francisco grew up smashing the ball longer than most of her contemporaries.
“I think that’s kind of my identity on the golf course,” she said. “I think that also comes into my DNA in being Spanish and a little feisty out there, for the good and bad.”
Francisco and her teammates tee off today in the NCAA Championships at the La Casta Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, Calif., Florida’s first trip to the event since 2019. Florida advanced by placing third at the Charlottesville (Va.) Regional, highlighted by the best performance of Francisco’s young career.
The 19-year-old Francisco finished runner-up (67-70-72—209) at 4-under par, a shot behind winner Marie Madsen of N.C. State.
“I have never played a tournament with so much on the table and played so well,” Francisco said. “For sure, one of my favorite tournaments.”
As she has done since the last tournament of the fall season, Glaser walked the round with Francisco at Birdwood Golf Course to offer a calm and wise voice whenever trouble lurked.
She was perhaps more pleased by Francisco’s performance than anyone.
“That was kind of a strategic decision on our part to know that she would be a real linchpin for us if we could get it right,” Glaser said. “She has these physical gifts and part of learning how to score is knowing when and how to use them.”
Francisco played what she called “easy golf” in the first round, shooting a 67 with five birdies, 12 pars and only one bogey. In the second round, more easy golf followed when she birdied three of the first four holes to move to 7-under. But she hit a rough patch later in the round when she had two bogies and a double bogey in a four-hole span.
She could feel the blood pressure rising. She could also hear Glaser’s soothing reminders to stay in the moment and be boring if need be.
“I was kind of starting to doubt myself,” she said. “Coach talked me for a second, ‘slow down, focus on next shot.’ I think that was one of the best moments of the tournament. I was able to reset.
“I’m pretty intense out there. It’s for sure something I wanted to work on this year. My mental game has shifted.”
Francisco finished the final seven holes of the second round with six pars and a birdie to stay atop the leader board heading in the final day. Instead of trying to hit magical shots or take unnecessary risks, she cruised into the clubhouse safely in contention.
“There is sort of this art to scoring and art to golf that I feel like she’s been on that journey,” Glaser said. “I thought she just did a good job of staying in the moment. That’s the funny thing about playing golf. The way to play well is sometimes not very glamorous. It’s kind of boring.
“I told her you are going to have a lot of boring golf in your future, but as a pro, we say boring makes money.”
Francisco joined the Gators a season ago and showed the same promise as when Glaser first spotted her at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland during the 2022 British Girls Amateur Championship. Francisco didn’t win the tournament, but Glaser instantly wanted to know more about Francisco.
“If I didn’t have a sheet with the kids’ names and rankings, I would have for sure thought she was the best player in the field,” Glaser said.
Francisco is an only child and her parents are both professionals in the Madrid area. Her mother works in finance and her father owns a headhunter’s firm. However, with a large extended family, Francisco and her relatives often shared long days on the golf course. She remembers family members telling her about how her mother, Maria, played golf when she was pregnant with Paula.
The game grew on her as she got older and in high school, driven by the goal to play college golf in America, she spent her junior season in an exchange program with the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn. She returned to Spain for her final year of high school and, already in contact with the Gators, she knew where she wanted to go.
Francisco had connections to Florida. She played against former Gators and Spain imports Marta Perez and Marina Escobar growing up.
“There’s kind of a Spanish legacy here,” Francisco said. “I kind of always looked up to them when I was playing junior golf.”
Francisco is making them proud. She enters the NCAA Championships with a team-best 71.7 strokes-per-round average, four top-10 finishes and the best finish by a UF golfer in the regional championship since Kelly Grassel won in 2017.
She is doing with a mixture of homegrown power, budding patience and dash or artistry in the eyes of the coach walking with her.
“A good place to play golf from,” Glaser said. “And numbers don’t lie in golf.”
Francisco didn’t know what to make of her coach’s commitment at first. In fact, she wasn’t sure she liked it at all. But time and performance have provided a fresh perspective.
And a fresh approach on the course.
“I think at first, having Coach put all the trust in you, I didn’t see that as a positive,” Francisco said. “She gives me a lot of peace and trust that sometimes you need being on the golf course for four hours.
“It’s been a game-changer for me.”
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Three Named ILWomen All-Americans – Stanford Cardinal
STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford women’s lacrosse continues to rake in the postseason accolades as three student-athletes have earned Inside Lacrosse/Nike Lacrosse Media All-American honors, the organization announced Friday. Aliya Polisky earned a third team selection while Ava Arceri and Sophia Brindisi were named honorable mentions. Having been named a Midseason Third Team All-American earlier this […]
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Three Place Top 10 at Amherst Last Chance Qualifier
Story Links AMHERST, MA. – The Wesleyan men’s track and field team took Thursday evening to Amherst College to boost a handful of times as they competed at the Last Chance Final Qualifier and saw three members of the team place Top 10 in individual events from the track. Steve Paul ’28 […]
AMHERST, MA. – The Wesleyan men’s track and field team took Thursday evening to Amherst College to boost a handful of times as they competed at the Last Chance Final Qualifier and saw three members of the team place Top 10 in individual events from the track.
Steve Paul ’28 led the way with a fourth-place finish in the men’s 200m dash. Paul, who has broken the program record several times this season, crossed the finish line at 21.45 in the first event for the Cardinals at the meet.
The Cardinals saw another finish at fourth as George Lepska ’25 broke the Top 5 in the 800m. Lepska owns the program record in the event but ran a 1:53.90 on Thursday as his final time.
In the men’s 1500m, Nate Fogarty ’25 came in seventh place, running a final clocked time of 3:58.44.
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