University of Evansville - LinC Yearbook (Evansville, IN)

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Cross Country Starts Aces Toward Second All-Sports Trophy by Craig Bonhert No one thought it could be done but myself and a small handful of runners. Not the Administration, not the opposing teams, not anyone. It took a complete effort on the part of everyone and a couple of super efforts from a few. Those words came from UE cross country coach Jeff Korb, who, in his second year at the helm, guided the Aces to their first conference championship in cross country. Taking a team that Korb termed pathetic at best two years ago, he recruited and pushed those recruits to their best performance and displaced Butler as the defending Heartland Collegiate Conference distance champs. After receiving conference Coach of the Year honors, Korb re- signed his position to devote his time to his family ' s busi- ness. However, in his two-year tenure, the Aces harriers went from a neglected group of running fanatics to confer- ence champions who commanded and received the respect of their peers. Clues to the outcome of the HCC meet were given two weeks prior, when the Aces competed in the Little State meet on Notre Dame ' s campus in South Bend. The Aces placed fifth, running ahead of all other HCC teams while edging Butler out by one point. Improving on the ninth- place showing off the previous year, UE issued a warning that they were a team to be reckoned with. For the first time in the team ' s history, they ended with a winning record, compiling a 39-21 total, compared to last year ' s 25-35 numbers. Senior Bob Copeland, the only runner lost to graduation from a young and talented group, was given the Motiva - tion Leadership Award. Other Aces earning team honors were: Gib Riffle as the Most Improved Runner; Dave Den- ny for the Outstanding Athlete; and Don Marshall for the Outstanding Performance, when he battled back from a bout with mononucleosis to take tenth place in the HCC. As a team, the Aces also finished fourth in the Mid-western City Conference championship. 16 CROSS COUNTRY

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Aces Match Soccer ' s Finest but are Robbed • of Post-Season Berth by Craig Bonhert Back in the good old days, Jesse James and his com- padres used a gun to rob people. UE head soccer coach Fred Schmalz couldn ' t be blamed for thinking the tradition is still alive in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but the tools of the trade have changed to a referee ' s whistle. For the second year in a row, Schmalz and his soccer Aces took on the Panthers of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for the chance to earn a berth in the NCAA post-season cham- pionship, and, for the second year in a row, the Aces were denied that opportunity by a one-goal defeat at the hands of the Panthers. However, the means to the end were questionable. Two of the Aces players, forwards Davies Bellamy and Just Jensen, were ejected from the match by the referee, who red-carded them for dissention without first showing them the yellow card, as is standard practice. The Aces would not be denied a goal, though, as freshman sensation Rune Bjoro squeezed a free kick into the net while the Aces were playing at a two-man deficit. But once again the referee ' s whistle sounded. The man in black disallowed the Aces goal, saying the kick did not touch two Panther players. When overruled by the linesman, the referee then said he had not blown his whistle to begin play. Commented Schmalz afterward, ' Tt was obvious that we were not to win that game. But the Aces did win games. Twelve, to be exact, along with six losses and three ties. This year also marked a first, as the Aces hosted their first Purple Aces Soccer Tourna- ment, which brought top-ranked squads like Cleveland State and then-No. 1 -ranked Alabama A M to town to compete with the 14th ranked Aces. The Aces took second in the tournament to A M ' s first while placing Jensen, Bellamy, Gerard Homer, Pat Burns, and Scott Westbrook on the All-Tournament Team. Although the six losses look like a lot the Aces played against many of the top-ranked teams in the nation and demonstrated they have earned the right to stand along- 18 SOCCER