SID Blog

First weekend in the books for Northwestern athletics and I can't believe its Wednesday already...where does the time go??? We've been working hard on getting all the fall sports updated, pictures, player bios, rosters, stats, programs, etc...still have some work to do with a few of the sports but should be done with that task this weekend. Then its on to preparing for winter sports!

The Red Raider Volleyball Classic was as good as advertised. We had several outstanding matches featuring ranked teams, many of which went five sets. Coach Van Den Bosch's squad played a pair of epic, five-set matches against sixth-ranked Biola and RV Jamestown. In Saturday's match against the Jimmies, the Raiders got outstanding performances from their seniors, Kaitlin Beaver, Bobbie jean Rich and Hillary Hanno, who went for over 20 kills. It was good to see the entire squad elevate its level of play, especially when the match was on the line. More of the same this weekend as the Raiders will play four more matches in two days at the USF Classic. We'll get the preview up on Thursday.

The women's golf team turned in an outstanding performance in last Friday's season debut despite the windy conditions. The Raiders tied for second with the defending GPAC champions and NAIA T'ment qualifier Dakota Wesleyan, and finished two shots in back of team champion Midland Lutheran. Maggie Rozenboom picked up right where she left off last season with a second place finish while fellow senior Sara Horn had her best finish as a Red Raider. Coach Hoftyzer also got some good performances from his freshmen. The team will head to Storm Lake this weekend to take part in the two-day Buena Vista Invite.

Both soccer  teams made their season debut last weekend. The men's team played to a double-overtime tie (1-1) against Ashford on Friday and suffered a 0-1 defeat to Cardinal Stritch on Saturday. Coach Swier's club dominated play against CSU and outshot the Cardinals but could not convert any of the scoring chances into goals. They will get tested over the Labor Day Weekend as they play three matches out west at the Westminster Labor Day Classic in Salt Lake City. The women's team, despite losing both matches, played well, scoring in each match. Three freshmen led the way offensively in Alyssa Duren, Alli Dunkelberger and Kate Fonte.

The NAIA released its women's cross country preseason rankings and the Red Raider women's team received votes. They were one of three GPAC teams in the coaches' poll. The teams still have one week to prepare for their season opener in Sioux Falls, S.D.

This weekend, as most of you know, the Red Raider football team makes its season debut against the defending champion USF Cougars. It should be a packed house at DeValois and if you don't feel like battling the crowds, make sure you watch/listen to the game via our NWC webcast with Dean Calsbeek on the call. You can also follow the game on Twitter as I will be doing frequent updates.

Until next time...

One week down and for the Red Raider fall athletes and coaches, that first week can be overwhelming. Each day, the team have at least two, sometimes three, practices per day, along with team meetings, conditioning, lifting and the like. By the time Saturday rolls around, coaches, athletes and the athletic trainers are relying on adrenaline just to get them through. It will be a little more normal this week, whatever normal is, as classes get rolling on Tuesday, but teams are frantically trying to prepare for their fast approaching season openers.

On Saturday, several of the teams held scrimmages. Volleyball team hosted Iowa Lakes Community College in the morning while the football and soccer teams held intrasquad scrimmages. We managed to take some photos of most of those events and posted them on-line...we'll also keep taking practice pictures and posting those on-line. The weather was nice for most of the week but it did get a little warm towards the end, especially on Saturday. Another warm one today (Monday) but then things are supposed to cool down, something I'm sure our athletes will appreciate.

Hard to believe but it's only four more days until our season openers in women's golf, both soccer teams and volleyball. This weekend will be intense as we are hosting in all of those sports, including the 20-team Red Raider volleyball classic. We will be webcasting the Red Raider volleyball matches so make sure you tune in...the soccer games will be on the grass so unfortunately we won't be able to broadcast those, but we will post the scores and recaps as soon as they are done. Same with women's golf. One side note...our volleyball team will be scrimmaging the alumni this Wednesday night, JV at 6:00 and the varsity to follow. So come out if you want to get an early preview of this year's volleyball team!

Until next time...

Here we go! The 2010-11 Red Raider athletic season has officially begun as approximately 230 athletes, representing five of our fall sports teams, are on campus, taking part in preseason practices. Our golf athletes will report later this week and early next week so all seven teams will be in action. Hard to believe that our soccer, volleyball and women's golf teams will have their season openers next week...man, where does the summer go??

Quick rundown...nearly 115 football players reported to camp this past weekend and the team opened practice on Monday morning. The coaching staff conducted two more practices and held positional meetings throughout the day. The rest of the week will pretty much follow that same schedule. Very large recruiting class brought in by Coach Achterhoff and his staff.

Coach Van Den Bosch and his staff had 24 athletes report to preseason practice and the team went through two workouts on Monday...two more scheduled for today. I should mention that next Wednesday, Aug. 25, the teams, both JV and varsity, will scrimmage the alumni, beginning at 6:00pm.

The women's soccer team had over 30 athletes report to camp, under the direction of head coach Blake Wieking. Plenty of new faces there as Coach Wieking brought in 19 freshmen. Same with the men's team and coach Swier...plenty of new faces out there on the field. Both teams have a full practice schedule for the rest of the week.

One quick side note...congrats go out to our head baseball coach and assistant SID, Brian Wede, who became a dad for the third time last night as his wife, Nicki, delivered a healthy baby girl last night!

Looking forward to another great year of Red Raider athletics and keeping you informed on some of the many happenings here at Northwestern College.

Until next time...

Tonight, the womens' basketball team goes for its second national championship in three years and third overall as they take on Shawnee State of Ohio. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:05 pm but it could be later if the men's championship game goes overtime...they won't start the women's game before the men's game is done. Coach Woudstra and his staff really has NWC playing at a high level but the Bears will be a formidable challenge...should be a great one! The Red Raiders have shot very well at the tournament with Becca and Val among the leaders with 11 and 15 three-pointers, respectively. Let's hope it continues tonight!

Randa Hulstein eclipsed another milestone/record as the senior is now the career leader in rebounds at the tournament with 147. She already holds the single game record in the 26-board effort in last year's semifinal vs Morningside. Earlier in the tournament, Randa scored her 1,000th point, just the 23rd player to do so in the program. Congrats!

It's great to see such a large crowd at the games...they show crowd shots every so often and it's good to see the Red Raider faithful support the team.

As far as the men's tournament goes, last night we had two really great games...the first was a March-Madness Classic...with Walsh down two with 1.8 seconds left. They throw the inbounds pass to their 6'6 leaper who hits their shooter who is dashind down the lefthand side with a pass and the guy knocks the game-winning three-pointer down with no time left...wow! The whole place was in shock! The play aired on Sports Center this morning. In the second game, the defending champions went down in a close one to cinderella Saint Francis, the 15th seed. End of a great career for the player of the year, Steve Briggs, who came up just seven points shy of breaking Brandon Woudstra's tournament scoring record. I hope tonight's game is just as good...but quick so I can get to watching our women's game!

More later...

Two weeks and four games left to go in the GPAC regular season and well, let's just say there is a lot that can happen between now and late Saturday night, Feb. 20, when the GPAC office releases the brackets for the tournament championships.

The women's team faces two big challenges this week in 12th-ranked Morningside, one of just three teams to defeat the Raiders, and top-ranked Hastings, the team the Raiders are not only chasing in the national standings but in the GPAC one as well. We get the Mustangs at home Wednesday night so come out and cheer the Raiders on in this crucial match-up.

The men's team plays the same two teams as the women and the games are just as important for Coach Korver's squad. Currentyl in sixth place in the GPAC, the Raiders need these two games to remain in the hunt for a first-round bye. They have Briar Cliff in their sites but also have a Dordt team, currently two back in the loss column, looking to pass the Raiders up with a late season surge. Again, come out and support the Raiders!

As you can see, the final two weeks of the regular season are huge for all the teams involved...there is a lot to be decided within our conference!

Baseball team got off to a good start this past weekend, taking 3-of-4 up at the Dome. Both the track and field and wrestling teams were also in action this past weekend...check out the website for the recaps of those events.

Put the tennis and softball pictures up on the website along with updating the player bios...make sure you check out the new info!