For some, athletic participation may lead to a careerif not on the fieldor court, then to allied professions like sports medicine, management andeducation. For others, sports are simply a way to leave the dorm room and do something, healthful. And about that,could anyone say it better than Joseph Addison did in The Spectator, 1711? (Chris Berman, eat your heart out):
“Exercise ferments the humors, casts them into their proper channels,throws off redundancies, and helps nature in those secret distributions,without which the body cannot subsist in its vigor, nor the soul act withcheerfulness.”
Yes sir, “ferments the humors” Sis Boom Rah! (Art Kumbalek)
Intramurals:Playing Outside the Box
MSOE Dodgeball
A dreaded sport amongthe unpopular in grade school, dodgeball gave mean kids a license to bully. Foradults, the revival of the sport gives those who were once weak a chance toredeem themselves. Typically played in gym class during grade school, dodgeballhas once again found popularity at the state-of-the-art Kern Centerat the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). The goal is to eliminatenotannihilateall members of the opposing team by hitting them with a thrown ballor forcing them to move outside the court boundaries when a ball is thrown atthem. Players can also oust the opposition if they catch a ball thrown by amember of the opposing team. Thematch is over once every member of a team has been eliminated. (Annie Vihtelic)
UWM Floor Hockey
With all the differentvariations of hockeyincluding unicycle and underwaterit's probably best thatUW-Milwaukee stuck to a more basic form in intramurals. Floor hockey is afast-moving coed sport played at the UWM Klotsche Center. Though the venue seats up to 5,000people, it is unlikely the center will fill to capacity for a game, even if itis to catch a glimpse of The Silver Bullets, UWM's 2010 spring floor hockeychamps. The game is generally played with a ball rather than a standard puck,and plastic hockey sticks usually take the place of the traditional woodenversion. But the same basic rules of hockey apply to this iceless version, withone major exception: Body checking is not allowed. (Annie Vihtelic)
Wisconsin Lutheran CollegeKickball
Some believe thatkickball is a game for children that should be played by children. Some can'tshake the longing for their favorite childhood game and feel the need to playinto adulthood. At Wisconsin Lutheran College,those latter types are not alone. Originally dubbed “kick baseball,” the sportwas created in 1917 by Nicholas Seuss, supervisor for Cincinnati ParkPlaygrounds. It didn't take long for the sport to become a hit on playgroundsall over the world. Kickball is similar in technique to baseball and is used toteach the same fundamental rules to youngsters. Equipment is minimal, and,aside from the type of ball, the only main difference between baseball andkickball is that the ball is kicked rather than struck with a bat. (Annie Vihtelic)
MarquetteUltimate Frisbee
If soccer and basketballgot together and had a baby, and netball and football got together and had ababy, and then those two babies got together and had a baby, that baby would beUltimate Frisbee, or, as it's commonly called, Ultimate. Played in tournamentformat at Marquette, the sport, created in thelate-'60s by a group of high-school buddies (one of which was Hollywoodmogul Joel Silver), is played between two teams of seven players on a largerectangular field with an end zone on each end. A goal is scored when a teamcompletes a pass of the disc to a player in the end zone. Players cannot runwith the disc, and if the disc hits the ground or is intercepted, then theopposition takes possession. Ultimate is unique in that it is refereed by theplayers themselves according to a code of conduct known as the “Spirit of theGame.” (Sarah Biondich)
Cardinal Stritch UniversityInner Tube Water Polo
As fast and fun as waterpolo is, the tremendous amount of stamina required to continuously tread waterthroughout the game eliminates most of us from ever playing the competitivewater sport. In 1969, the associate athletic director of intramural sports atthe University of California-Davis thought of adding inner tubes to the mix sopeople with no experience, or endurance for that matter, could still enjoy thegame. “Tube polo,” played either in an indoor or outdoor pool, requires players(with the exception of the goalies) to sit in floating inner tubes whileattempting to score points by throwing a ball in a floating net. Becauseplayers are allowed to flip other players off their inner tubes, and becausepropelling in a sitting position can be tricky, a good game of inner tube waterpolo at Cardinal Stritch creates a maelstrom of splashing and laughter. (SarahBiondich)
Superstars
By Annie Vihtelic
Alverno College: Stef WilmoreSoftball
Stef Wilmore receivedAll-Freshman Team honors from the Northern Athletics Conference for her effortsin the 2010 softball season. In Wilmore's triumphant first year behind theplate as a catcher, she led the conference in putouts and runners picked off.She committed just three errors while starting all 40 of Alverno's games.Wilmore is also a threat when she's up to batshe tied for second in the leaguein doubles. Alverno's talented catcher is from Elkhart, Ind.,and studies elementary education.
Cardinal Stritch University:Dean MlachnikBaseball
2010 was a standoutseason for junior third baseman Dean Mlachnik, as he became the first Stritchbaseball player to receive the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic ConferencePlayer of the Year Award. He led Stritch in nearly every offensive category,including a team-best 55 RBIs, and was named to the all-conference team forthird base. Wolves fans look forward to Mlachnik's patience at the plate andcontinued success in the upcoming year.
Marquette University:Natalie KullaSoccer
Natalie Kulla's gift forgoalkeeping has taken her places. In July Kulla returned from England, whereshe took part in the Four Nations Tournament as a member of the U.S. U-23Women's National Team. Inaddition to the overseas excursion, Natalie has found much success on Marquette's turf as well.She was in action for every minute of all 23 games she played during Marquette's 2009 season,and is tied for third place on MU's all-time shutouts list. Kulla, anengineering major, has worked hard to establish herself as one of the top younggoalkeepers in the nation.
MATC: Coach Troy SchmidtGolf
PGA Professional TroySchmidt proves that “superstar” isn't a term limited to players. The MilwaukeeArea Technical College (MATC) coach is eager to work with returning playersfrom last season as well as a group of talented first-year players. He says thecombination of first- and second-year talent should mesh well together on thecourse. Schmidt notes that the biggest challenge the team will face istournament experience, but believes his players will take their lessons frompractice rounds and apply them to the competitive events.
MSOE: Michael SoikHockey
At MSOE, Michael Soikhas learned a lesson that extends well beyond sports and academics: He'slearned to manage his time. Doing so is very important when it comes tomaintaining honorable marks in the classroom as well as on the ice. In the2009-10 season, Soik was named to the All-Academic Team by the MidwestCollegiate Hockey Association alongside four other Raider teammates. Soikachieved another milestone last season by scoring the most goals (14) on MSOE'steam. The senior from Stevens Point, who majorsin mechanical engineering, hopes to play pro hockey in the United States or Europe.
UWM: Danielle JorgensonBasketball
The 2010 basketballseason might have been over, but Danielle Jorgenson continued to rack upaccoladesthe 6-foot-3 center from La Crosse earned the title of the team's Most ImprovedPlayer. As a sophomore, Jorgenson played in 29 games and started the final 16.As a starter, she averaged 8.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. GivenJorgenson's rapidly improving game, Panther fans are excited to see what shecan accomplish over the next two years.
Wisconsin Lutheran College:Bri SteinCross-Country
Though Bri Stein wasinitially hesitant to join the cross-country team for her first year atWisconsin Lutheran, it became one of her core college experiences. Stein has persevered through lengthyinjuries to emerge as an accomplished distance runnershe has shaved more thantwo minutes off of her race times from her sophomore year. The Poynette nativeis majoring in sports and exercise science, and might pursue a minor incoaching. Stein says that her experience as part of Wisconsin Lutheran'scross-country team has been memorable. If she decides to coach in the future,there's little doubt she'll pass on valuable lessons to a new batch of runnersas well.
Old-School Rivals
By Frank Clines
The most prominentversion of the Marquette-UWM athletic rivalry is the most one-sided. Theschools clashed in men's basketball for the first time on Jan. 20, 1917, whenMU defeated what was then called Milwaukee State Normal School 24-16. Since then Marquette has run its dominance in the seriesto 37-0. The last three games came after an eight-season lapse in the rivalry.The Golden Eagles scored 100 points in both 2007 and '08, and won last year 71-51.Those games were all on Marquette's home courtat the Bradley Center, but on Nov. 27 the Panthers willbe the host at the U.S. Cellular Arena.
In women's basketballthe Marquette-UWM rivalry began in 1976, and MU leads the series 24-19. TheGolden Eagles have won 12 of the last 13 gamesUWM won by a point two years agoat the Al McGuire Center.
UWM leads the series inmen's soccer 25-9-3, but Marquettehas won the last two contests for the Milwaukee Cup, the prize in the rivalry.The battle resumes Sept. 1 at UWM. In women's soccer UWM leads 7-6-5, but MUwon last year at UWM. The teams play Sept. 8 at Marquette.
In women's volleyball Marquette beat UWM lastyear in the Panther Invitational. This year the battleground is the MUInvitational on Sept. 11.
For the area's smallerschools, many of the athletic rivalries are for status in a conference, too.The Division III Northern Athletics Conference includes WisconsinLutheran College(Warriors), Milwaukee School of Engineering (Raiders) and Concordia University Wisconsin (Falcons),and the women's sports also include Alverno College (Inferno). Theschools face each other in baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf,softball, volleyball, cross-country and track and field. Concordia andWisconsin Lutheran also have football teams, and they battle on the ice throughthe Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association. CarrollUniversity in Waukesha plays in the D-III MidwestConference, and the Pioneers sometimes play the NAC schools in basketball,soccer, baseball, softball or volleyball. The same goes for the CardinalStritch Wolves, who are in the NAIA's Chicagoland Collegiate AthleticConference. Last season Stritch also took on UWM, the state's only Division Ibaseball team, losing 7-6. Mount Mary College plays several women's sports aspart of the Association of Division III Independents, and the Blue Angels oftenmeet NAC schools. The Stormers of Milwaukee Area Technical College are in theNorth Central Community College Conference but don't usually play the localD-III schools.
