Every athlete writes a fairy tale ending to their playing days, but very few get to realize that finish.
USC Upstate’s Justin Crawford got his opportunity on day one of the Atlantic Sun Conference Track & Field Championship. And he made the most of it, matching the meet record and breaking his own school record with a vault of 4.75 meters.
“It was a real emotional day because this was my last collegiate meet,” reflected Crawford.
The senior faced some stiff competition on his way to the title.
Wind was gusting behind and across the runway at Hodges Stadium to such a degree that many potential-record breaking performances in the vertical jumps and sprints will likely be nullified.
“The wind was a real factor, but I was just in the zone. I was mentally prepared to compete today,” Crawford said.
UNF David Shepherd was the overwhelming favorite to win on paper. His vault of 4.95m is the top performance in the conference this year, but Crawford cleared 4.75m meters on his first attempt to put the pressure on the freshman. Shepherd would fault on all three attempts at the height to help seal Crawford’s gold medal.
Finally, a rough start to the season had cast some doubt on his season.
“The season started out rough for him and we were concerned,” stated Spartans head coach Jimmy Stephens. “The UNF guys have been jumping great and it was a battle with the wind, but Justin was tough and ready to go.”
That doubt all seemed to disappear today.
“I thought I could do it. Everyone will tell you they can but to actually coming out here and do it is something else. I was really proud of myself,” said Crawford. “I haven’t been jumping very well this year, but it all came together the last two weeks. I am really glad it did.”
Coach Stephens wrapped it up well as he reflected on Justin’s Friday afternoon effort.
“It’s awesome. Justin has always been one of the most consistent vaulters I have ever coached. Every time it comes down to crunch time he is there and ready to go. Obviously, it was very emotional for him and I was really happy for him,” Stephens said.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Mack Eyes Repeat and Personal Improvement
Some people prefer to be the hunted and some prefer to be the hunter, but Kennesaw State’s heptathlete Naomi Mack can deal with either.
“It motivates me to come into the meet as the defending champion, but on the other hand I never really worry about my opponents and their performances I just try to focus on performing my best in each event.”
At last year’s meet, Mack entered her first A-Sun heptathlon with her only previous championship experience being a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter dash and a runner-up spot in the 4x400m as a freshman. However, Mack performed as a season veteran in the seven events with top-three finishes in every event except one and added a first-place finish in the 800m.
Her well-rounded performance gave Mack the gold medal in the heptathlon to go along with the A-Sun Championship Meet record by 300 points. Mack narrowly defeated Jacksonville’s Tiffany Bromfield by seven points, but had to storm back as the hunter from a 221-point deficit after day one to earn the gold medal.
In this championship, Mack begins day two on the other end of the spectrum as the hunted, leading her closest competitor by 164 points only three events remaining. Her event wins in the 100m hurdles and shot put have already trumped her win total from last season, but more importantly to Mack she has performed better three of the four events thus far.
“It’s a different mindset for me because if I can go into a meet and set a personal record in each of my events, but still not win then I feel better than if I win the heptathlon but don’t set any personal records.”
Tomorrow, Mack can get the best of both worlds by wrapping up the A-Sun Championship with a heptathlon gold medal as well as new personal records.
“It motivates me to come into the meet as the defending champion, but on the other hand I never really worry about my opponents and their performances I just try to focus on performing my best in each event.”
At last year’s meet, Mack entered her first A-Sun heptathlon with her only previous championship experience being a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter dash and a runner-up spot in the 4x400m as a freshman. However, Mack performed as a season veteran in the seven events with top-three finishes in every event except one and added a first-place finish in the 800m.
Her well-rounded performance gave Mack the gold medal in the heptathlon to go along with the A-Sun Championship Meet record by 300 points. Mack narrowly defeated Jacksonville’s Tiffany Bromfield by seven points, but had to storm back as the hunter from a 221-point deficit after day one to earn the gold medal.
In this championship, Mack begins day two on the other end of the spectrum as the hunted, leading her closest competitor by 164 points only three events remaining. Her event wins in the 100m hurdles and shot put have already trumped her win total from last season, but more importantly to Mack she has performed better three of the four events thus far.
“It’s a different mindset for me because if I can go into a meet and set a personal record in each of my events, but still not win then I feel better than if I win the heptathlon but don’t set any personal records.”
Tomorrow, Mack can get the best of both worlds by wrapping up the A-Sun Championship with a heptathlon gold medal as well as new personal records.
Pilote Hopes to Turn Near Misses into Celebrations
Stetson head coach Pierre Pilote is no stranger to adversity. In his 18 years, the dean of A-Sun men's tennis coaches suffered more than seven losses just three times. The third time occurred this year, as the Hatters absorbed their most losses since 1995 - his second season at the helm.
The Hatters opened the 2011 dual match season with nine straight wins, and appeared well on their way to their fourth 20-win season in the last five years, but then junior captain Maksim Levanovic suffered a shoulder injury in the team's third conference match.
The injury sent Stetson into a tailspin, losing four of the next five matches, but with Levanovic back in time for the postseason, Pilote speaks of the invaluable experience his team gained competing without their captain.
"We started the season 9-0 and everybody was on full throttle," he said."We were looking forward to the nationally ranked teams we were about to start playing - we lost three very close matches. Then when Maksim Levanovic was about to beat the Player of the Year in the conference, [Campbell's] Davy Sum - serving at 5-3 he suffered an injury, an injury that kept him out for a month-and-a-half."
His squad's mental toughness has been forged in the furnace of heartbreak as well as injury. A year ago, the Hatters pushed the standard bearer of Atlantic Sun tennis, the (then) three-time defending champion ETSU Buccaneers, to the brink in the championship round. After finishing runner-up in the four previous A-Sun Championships, the previous three to ETSU, the Hatters finally had ETSU on the ropes, but a third-set injury to Didrik Berg severely limited the sophomore's mobility, and the Bucs' dynasty survived.
"After maybe three or four days of staying in my house, contemplating what just happened, I think everybody started looking forward to the season - a chance to show again what kind of team we have," Pilote said. "From the first practice on we didn't look back. We didn't want Didrik to feel that it was his fault in any way that we lost that conference championship. It was nothing he could have changed. It we keep bringing it up, it doesn't serve much purpose."
Through his career Pilote has coached numerous athletes, and holds a great deal of affection for all of them, but his fondness for this his 18th edition may exceed them all.
"It's a group - Maksim Levanovic, Njal Stene and Cesare Gallo - all came together as freshmen," Pilote said. "They were a group of men that look a long time to recruit...so that recruiting year was very important to us. They are just great young men; they're thoughtful, they work hard, they are amazing students without much motivation from me. They think about me - tonight we were supposed to go out to dinner, but they said 'no coach, you need your rest for tomorrow' you know I don't think many teams would pass a free dinner. I would just say they care."
If the Hatters can deliver a first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament, the painful memories of all the previous near-misses will wash away, and Pilote will finally celebrate an A-Sun championship with his players, his team, his friends.
The Hatters opened the 2011 dual match season with nine straight wins, and appeared well on their way to their fourth 20-win season in the last five years, but then junior captain Maksim Levanovic suffered a shoulder injury in the team's third conference match.
The injury sent Stetson into a tailspin, losing four of the next five matches, but with Levanovic back in time for the postseason, Pilote speaks of the invaluable experience his team gained competing without their captain.
"We started the season 9-0 and everybody was on full throttle," he said."We were looking forward to the nationally ranked teams we were about to start playing - we lost three very close matches. Then when Maksim Levanovic was about to beat the Player of the Year in the conference, [Campbell's] Davy Sum - serving at 5-3 he suffered an injury, an injury that kept him out for a month-and-a-half."
His squad's mental toughness has been forged in the furnace of heartbreak as well as injury. A year ago, the Hatters pushed the standard bearer of Atlantic Sun tennis, the (then) three-time defending champion ETSU Buccaneers, to the brink in the championship round. After finishing runner-up in the four previous A-Sun Championships, the previous three to ETSU, the Hatters finally had ETSU on the ropes, but a third-set injury to Didrik Berg severely limited the sophomore's mobility, and the Bucs' dynasty survived.
"After maybe three or four days of staying in my house, contemplating what just happened, I think everybody started looking forward to the season - a chance to show again what kind of team we have," Pilote said. "From the first practice on we didn't look back. We didn't want Didrik to feel that it was his fault in any way that we lost that conference championship. It was nothing he could have changed. It we keep bringing it up, it doesn't serve much purpose."
Through his career Pilote has coached numerous athletes, and holds a great deal of affection for all of them, but his fondness for this his 18th edition may exceed them all.
"It's a group - Maksim Levanovic, Njal Stene and Cesare Gallo - all came together as freshmen," Pilote said. "They were a group of men that look a long time to recruit...so that recruiting year was very important to us. They are just great young men; they're thoughtful, they work hard, they are amazing students without much motivation from me. They think about me - tonight we were supposed to go out to dinner, but they said 'no coach, you need your rest for tomorrow' you know I don't think many teams would pass a free dinner. I would just say they care."
If the Hatters can deliver a first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament, the painful memories of all the previous near-misses will wash away, and Pilote will finally celebrate an A-Sun championship with his players, his team, his friends.
New Coach Pleased with First Championship Win
Interim UNF head coach Chastity Bradley walked into a championship situation. The Ospreys had claim their first Atlantic Sun Conference Women’s Tennis Championship a year ago and entered 2011 among the favorites in the conference.
However, the team had to find a replacement for head coach Rodrigo Puebla after he left for Iowa State less than two weeks prior to the beginning of the spring season. After a 2-2 start, Bradley directed the Ospreys to nine wins in their next 10 matches – including a 4-3 victory against eventual regular-season champion ETSU.
“At the very beginning, I was hired and very next day I was holding practice,” Bradley said. “The girls were very welcoming. Every single day they showed up ready to practice at 110 percent. They did have a lot of expectations with winning the championship last year. I’ve told the girls from the very beginning ‘let’s go win one match at a time’ – which was our goal as this tournament. We didn’t worry about the seedings, but let’s just go out and win one match at a time.”
Narrow 4-3 losses to Campbell and Stetson resulted in UNF earning only the fourth seed for this week’s A-Sun Championship. After dispensing crosstown rival Jacksonville for the second time in less than a week, the Ospreys set up a rematch with ETSU. The Ospreys own the last two victories by A-Sun members against the Buccaneers. In addition to this year’s win in March, the Ospreys claimed that A-Sun Championship by toppling the top-seeded Buccaneers in the title match.
The UNF title defense opened in strong fashion starting with the teams of Victoria Krook/Melinda Doak and Danielle Day/Melanie Aguirre earning wins in doubles to snag the opening point. The lead grew to 3-0 when Aguirre and Day scored straight-set wins. However, Jacksonville scored a win from Virginia Iwinski and threatened to seize even more momentum until Krook quelled the comeback effort by defeating Flavia Nagayama in the third set after losing the second-set tie break.
“I had complete confidence in my girls,” Bradley said. “I was getting a little nervous at the end, but my senior [Krook] clinched it for me.”
Coach Bradley “one match at a time” mantra held up on Thursday, will it help carry the Ospreys back in to the final against ETSU? She and her team will find out beginning at 9 a.m.
However, the team had to find a replacement for head coach Rodrigo Puebla after he left for Iowa State less than two weeks prior to the beginning of the spring season. After a 2-2 start, Bradley directed the Ospreys to nine wins in their next 10 matches – including a 4-3 victory against eventual regular-season champion ETSU.
“At the very beginning, I was hired and very next day I was holding practice,” Bradley said. “The girls were very welcoming. Every single day they showed up ready to practice at 110 percent. They did have a lot of expectations with winning the championship last year. I’ve told the girls from the very beginning ‘let’s go win one match at a time’ – which was our goal as this tournament. We didn’t worry about the seedings, but let’s just go out and win one match at a time.”
Narrow 4-3 losses to Campbell and Stetson resulted in UNF earning only the fourth seed for this week’s A-Sun Championship. After dispensing crosstown rival Jacksonville for the second time in less than a week, the Ospreys set up a rematch with ETSU. The Ospreys own the last two victories by A-Sun members against the Buccaneers. In addition to this year’s win in March, the Ospreys claimed that A-Sun Championship by toppling the top-seeded Buccaneers in the title match.
The UNF title defense opened in strong fashion starting with the teams of Victoria Krook/Melinda Doak and Danielle Day/Melanie Aguirre earning wins in doubles to snag the opening point. The lead grew to 3-0 when Aguirre and Day scored straight-set wins. However, Jacksonville scored a win from Virginia Iwinski and threatened to seize even more momentum until Krook quelled the comeback effort by defeating Flavia Nagayama in the third set after losing the second-set tie break.
“I had complete confidence in my girls,” Bradley said. “I was getting a little nervous at the end, but my senior [Krook] clinched it for me.”
Coach Bradley “one match at a time” mantra held up on Thursday, will it help carry the Ospreys back in to the final against ETSU? She and her team will find out beginning at 9 a.m.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Cardiac Hats Add to Lore
The final round of Atlantic Sun Women’s Golf Championships used to be more formality or a coronation for the second-round leader. From 2003 through 2008, the second-round leader went on to claim the title.
Fortunes for those in back of the leader started changing in 2009. Stetson and Campbell swapped positions between the first and second records and the Camels entered the final round in front by three. However, thanks to a team score of even par, the Hatters became the first school to come back from a final-round deficit since Campbell rallied against UCF in 2002.
The Hatters made a more improbable comeback last year at Venetian Bay. They stood in fifth place and 12 strokes back of ETSU. Using a record-setting team score of 2-under 286, they successfully held off the competition by a single stroke, completing the largest comeback at the A-Sun Championship in 10 years.
These two comebacks all lead into today. Through the first two rounds, the Hatters fended off slow starts to stay within shouting distance of the leaders. On Monday, they played the opening nine holes in 8-over par to fall off the pace, but a closing nine score of 2-over brought them within four of first-round leader Kennesaw State. A slow front side again on Tuesday nearly cost the Hatters. The deficit within the second round approached double digits, but steadying play on the back nine, combined with other teams falling back to the pack meant the Hatters needed only to make up a deficit of three.
Fortunes for those in back of the leader started changing in 2009. Stetson and Campbell swapped positions between the first and second records and the Camels entered the final round in front by three. However, thanks to a team score of even par, the Hatters became the first school to come back from a final-round deficit since Campbell rallied against UCF in 2002.
The Hatters made a more improbable comeback last year at Venetian Bay. They stood in fifth place and 12 strokes back of ETSU. Using a record-setting team score of 2-under 286, they successfully held off the competition by a single stroke, completing the largest comeback at the A-Sun Championship in 10 years.
These two comebacks all lead into today. Through the first two rounds, the Hatters fended off slow starts to stay within shouting distance of the leaders. On Monday, they played the opening nine holes in 8-over par to fall off the pace, but a closing nine score of 2-over brought them within four of first-round leader Kennesaw State. A slow front side again on Tuesday nearly cost the Hatters. The deficit within the second round approached double digits, but steadying play on the back nine, combined with other teams falling back to the pack meant the Hatters needed only to make up a deficit of three.
“I think that we always believe we have a chance to win,” junior Lauren Cate, who has been a part of all three comebacks, said. “We never stop trying and we know that we have a chance to win. We go out and leave everything on the table.”
After a four-over-par front side, the Hatters reached the top of the leaderboard, holding a one-stroke lead as they and the Camels hit the back nine. From there, the four scoring Hatters collected seven birdies, including three on No. 18, en route to shooting a 1-under par back nine and leaving the field behind, ending with a 12-stroke advantage.
“This morning [head coach Floyd Kerr] said not to play against Campbell and Kennesaw State, but more to just play the golf course and see what happens,” tournament medalist Alexandria Buelow said.
The A-Sun tournament started the day after the Masters, the tournament long associated with the phrase “it doesn’t start until the back nine on the final round.” Stetson’s back-nine charge locked up a third straight conference crown and put Hatter golf in exclusive company. They became just the third A-Sun school in the 22-year of the championship to win three straight conference titles.
The Hatters will make a third appearance at NCAA Regionals next month looking to build on consecutive 19th-place showings in 2009 and 2010.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Four¬-Way Fight in Store for Final Round
In the 21 previous editions of the Atlantic Sun Women’s Golf Championship, the conference has never had to implement the team playoff format to determine a winner. Entering the final round of the 2011 A-Sun Championship, the league’s policy manual might have to be dusted off as four teams will begin play separated by three strokes.
Campbell moved up the board into top position thanks to consistent play from its four scoring golfers. The Camels overtook Kennesaw State to lead the Owls by two strokes. Due in part to ever-changing weather throughout the back nine on Tuesday, the Camels’ leading score of 24-over-par 600 represents the highest score to lead through 36 holes in five years.
As the leaderboard tightened late Tuesday, one team already in the clubhouse saw its deficit shrink to the three strokes it must now overcome. When two-time champion Stetson finished play on Tuesday, the Hatters stood in fourth place, eight back of then-leading Kennesaw State. However, once the final putts fell and the tallies came in for Kennesaw State, Campbell and ETSU, the Hatters had forged a tie with the Buccaneers for third and only three back. As head coach Floyd Kerr informed his team of its standing and of the knowledge that sophomore Alexandria Buelow had moved to the top of the individual leaderboard, the team collectively expressed surprise.
The Hatters have claimed each of their two A-Sun crowns by staging final-round comebacks. At this same course in 2009, they found themselves also trailing Campbell by three shots. They rallied by shooting the lowest team score in event history, an even-par 288 to nip the Camels by two strokes. Last year, they faced a more daunting task, entering the final day needing to overcome a 12-shot hole and surpass four teams. The “Comeback Hats” needed every bit of a second straight record-setting final round, a 2-under 286, to edge the Owls by a single stroke.
Not to be discounted in this four-way clash is ETSU. Like Campbell and Stetson, the Buccaneers have a championship pedigree, winning in 2008 and added an at-large selection to NCAA Regional play last year. Like the Hatters, the Buccaneers have shot rounds of 10-over 298 and 17-over 305 to sit three shots in back of the pace-setting Camels. The Buccaneers could gain an advantage by owning one of Wednesday’s early tee times. ETSU’s five will go out in front of Campbell, Kennesaw State and Stetson and like the Hatters last year, could post a number for everyone to try and match.
Despite their hiccups, the closest challenger remains Kennesaw State. The Owls can point to one hole, the par-5 ninth and with proper correction could reclaim the top spot. In Tuesday’s round, the five Owls played the hole in a collective 8-over par, with everyone taking at least a bogey. Contrast those performances with Monday’s, where the five made two pars and three bogeys on the hole. That five stroke difference contributed to the Owls going from three strokes up entering the day to the two behind they find themselves following the round.
Will the never-used team playoff come into effect in the early afternoon hours on Wednesday? Follow the progress at GolfStat.com.
Campbell moved up the board into top position thanks to consistent play from its four scoring golfers. The Camels overtook Kennesaw State to lead the Owls by two strokes. Due in part to ever-changing weather throughout the back nine on Tuesday, the Camels’ leading score of 24-over-par 600 represents the highest score to lead through 36 holes in five years.
As the leaderboard tightened late Tuesday, one team already in the clubhouse saw its deficit shrink to the three strokes it must now overcome. When two-time champion Stetson finished play on Tuesday, the Hatters stood in fourth place, eight back of then-leading Kennesaw State. However, once the final putts fell and the tallies came in for Kennesaw State, Campbell and ETSU, the Hatters had forged a tie with the Buccaneers for third and only three back. As head coach Floyd Kerr informed his team of its standing and of the knowledge that sophomore Alexandria Buelow had moved to the top of the individual leaderboard, the team collectively expressed surprise.
The Hatters have claimed each of their two A-Sun crowns by staging final-round comebacks. At this same course in 2009, they found themselves also trailing Campbell by three shots. They rallied by shooting the lowest team score in event history, an even-par 288 to nip the Camels by two strokes. Last year, they faced a more daunting task, entering the final day needing to overcome a 12-shot hole and surpass four teams. The “Comeback Hats” needed every bit of a second straight record-setting final round, a 2-under 286, to edge the Owls by a single stroke.
Not to be discounted in this four-way clash is ETSU. Like Campbell and Stetson, the Buccaneers have a championship pedigree, winning in 2008 and added an at-large selection to NCAA Regional play last year. Like the Hatters, the Buccaneers have shot rounds of 10-over 298 and 17-over 305 to sit three shots in back of the pace-setting Camels. The Buccaneers could gain an advantage by owning one of Wednesday’s early tee times. ETSU’s five will go out in front of Campbell, Kennesaw State and Stetson and like the Hatters last year, could post a number for everyone to try and match.
Despite their hiccups, the closest challenger remains Kennesaw State. The Owls can point to one hole, the par-5 ninth and with proper correction could reclaim the top spot. In Tuesday’s round, the five Owls played the hole in a collective 8-over par, with everyone taking at least a bogey. Contrast those performances with Monday’s, where the five made two pars and three bogeys on the hole. That five stroke difference contributed to the Owls going from three strokes up entering the day to the two behind they find themselves following the round.
Will the never-used team playoff come into effect in the early afternoon hours on Wednesday? Follow the progress at GolfStat.com.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Owls Take First Step Towards Completing Ascent
When Kennesaw State made its first appearance in the Atlantic Sun Women's Golf Championship field - in 2009 - the Owls finished fourth. A year later, they moved up to second and during the final round found themselves atop the leaderboard only to be caught by a record-setting performance by Stetson.
The Owls returned to the site of their first A-Sun Championships, Victoria Hills Golf Club in Stetson's home city of DeLand, Fla. off a successful season that featured the first team victory under the direction of head coach Rhyll Brinesmead; the program's first A-Sun Golfer of the Month - awarded to Ket Preamchuen for November - and a ranking of No. 74 in the latest GolfWeek.com ratings - the best within the A-Sun.
“This [year] is our third competing at the A-Sun,” Brinesmead said. “We were fourth in 2009 and second last year. We’ve progressively moved up, so our goal this year is obviously to come away with the championship,” Brinesmead said.
Monday's first round saw FGCU, Mercer, Campbell and ETSU all hold the lead at various times during the day before the Owls rode a steady back nine performance to emerge from the pack atop the standings for day one. Their team total of 6-over-par 294 tied the lowest first-round score in A-Sun Championship history. History rests in the Owls’s favor as seven of the last eight first-round leaders have gone on to win the A-Sun title. Dating back to the start of the event, 1990, 14 of 21 first-round leaders went on to win the championship.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start – we turned at [6-over par] and maintained that, so a really solid back nine,” Brinesmead said. “Our goal was to come in and get off to a solid start – have a little cushion going in round two.”
A sign of the level where Brinsmead has lifted the program to comes from the fast that although it was only two years ago that the Owls debuted at the A-Sun Championship, the lineup has undergone a complete revamping as none of the players that played in 2009 made up this year’s championship lineup. Brinesmead brought pairs of sophomores and freshmen plus senior Abby Fitzgerald to DeLand this year.
The mostly young team handled early-round stumbles and with two rounds equal or better, the Owls could be flying back north with their first A-Sun crown.
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When the second round wraps up, where will Kennesaw State find itself in the standings? We welcome your thoughts in a comments section, at http://twitter.com/atlanticsun or facebook.com/AtlanticSunConference
The Owls returned to the site of their first A-Sun Championships, Victoria Hills Golf Club in Stetson's home city of DeLand, Fla. off a successful season that featured the first team victory under the direction of head coach Rhyll Brinesmead; the program's first A-Sun Golfer of the Month - awarded to Ket Preamchuen for November - and a ranking of No. 74 in the latest GolfWeek.com ratings - the best within the A-Sun.
“This [year] is our third competing at the A-Sun,” Brinesmead said. “We were fourth in 2009 and second last year. We’ve progressively moved up, so our goal this year is obviously to come away with the championship,” Brinesmead said.
Monday's first round saw FGCU, Mercer, Campbell and ETSU all hold the lead at various times during the day before the Owls rode a steady back nine performance to emerge from the pack atop the standings for day one. Their team total of 6-over-par 294 tied the lowest first-round score in A-Sun Championship history. History rests in the Owls’s favor as seven of the last eight first-round leaders have gone on to win the A-Sun title. Dating back to the start of the event, 1990, 14 of 21 first-round leaders went on to win the championship.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start – we turned at [6-over par] and maintained that, so a really solid back nine,” Brinesmead said. “Our goal was to come in and get off to a solid start – have a little cushion going in round two.”
A sign of the level where Brinsmead has lifted the program to comes from the fast that although it was only two years ago that the Owls debuted at the A-Sun Championship, the lineup has undergone a complete revamping as none of the players that played in 2009 made up this year’s championship lineup. Brinesmead brought pairs of sophomores and freshmen plus senior Abby Fitzgerald to DeLand this year.
The mostly young team handled early-round stumbles and with two rounds equal or better, the Owls could be flying back north with their first A-Sun crown.
-----------
When the second round wraps up, where will Kennesaw State find itself in the standings? We welcome your thoughts in a comments section, at http://twitter.com/atlanticsun or facebook.com/AtlanticSunConference
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