Centre Advances to Face DePauw in SCAC Title Clash

Centre College, the East's No. 1 seed, advanced to its sixth consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship game with a 70-57 semifinal win over division rival and No. 3 East seed Oglethorpe University.

Sophomore guard Bryon Ellis led Centre (20-5, 13-3 SCAC) as he scored a game-high 28 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including an SCAC tournament record eight 3-point field goals. Ellis was 8-of-10 from beyond the arc. He matched former Centre standouts Matt Nestheide (Feb. 25, 2007) and Kris Bentley (March 1, 2009) as the only three to make at least eight shots from 3-point range in SCAC tournament history (since 2003).

Oglethorpe raced out to a 36-34 halftime lead on the strenght of shooting nearly 56 percent (15-of-27) in the first half. The Stormy Petrels (15-12, 10-6 SCAC) could not keep up their hot shooting as the Colonels limited Oglethorpe to 28 percent shooting (7-of-25) in the second half. Centre came into the SCAC tournament as the nation's second leading scoring defense, giving up an average of just 55.3 points per game.

Centre's Greg Ross, a night after scoring an SCAC tournament single-game record 38 points, added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Colonels. Heading into the championship game, Ross is averaging 24 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

Oglethorpe was led by senior guard Joe Kennedy's 18 poins, four rebounds and one steal. He shot 7-of-18 from the floor. Also chipping in for the Stormy Petrels were classmates Alex Richey (15 points) and Todd Ward (11 points).

The turning point of the game came on an Ellis three-pointer which gave Centre a 60-50 lead with 6:28 left in the game. From there, the Colonels were able to extend the lead to 68-54 with just over one minute remaining before earning the win.

Centre advances to the SCAC championship game for the sixth consecutive year and will look for its fourth SCAC championship in the last five years. The Colonels square off against yet another divsison rival in DePauw. These same two teams played for the conference championship a year ago with Centre prevailing 60-56. This will mark the third time that Centre and DePauw meet with an SCAC championship on the line. DePauw won the 2006 championship with a 64-61 win over Centre.

After the game SCAC Sports Information Director Jeff DeBaldo caught up with both head coaches along with sophomore guard Bryon Ellis of Centre.

To listen to Oglethorpe head coach Phil Ponder, click here.

To listen to Centre guard Bryon Ellis, click here.

To listen to Centre head coach Greg Mason, click here.

Oglethorpe Soars to Men's Final Four

Just like their first meeting this season, Oglethorpe had a lead on Colorado College at halftime. However the Stormy Petrels were able to hang on and survive the Tigers' rally and advanced to teh SCAC semifinals with a back and forth 61-58 win.

In a matchup of arguably two of the best players in the SCAC in Colorado College's Nick Rose and Oglethorpe's Todd Ward, it was Ward's Petrels who secured the win. Oglethorpe had a 39-30 lead with 12:09 to play only to see Colorado College mount a comeback similar to the teams' regular season meeting back on Jan. 21. This time Oglethorpe was able to hold on for the win, unlike in the previous meeting.

The Stormy Petrels (15-11, 10-6 SCAC) shot a blistering 61.5 percent (8-of-13) in the second half as seniors Joe Kennedy and Ward combined to score 32 of the teams' 61 points. Ward added seven rebounds and now needs just six rebounds to tie and seven to break the all-time SCAC career rebounding record. Also scoring in double-figures for Oglethorpe was Alex Richey (12 points) and Andrew Steioff (11 points).

Colorado College was led by Rose's 18 points and 10 rebounds. He connected on 7-of-17 shooting. Freshman Ryan Milne added 16 points on 6-of-11 including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Ben Foley had a solid all around game for the Tigers (14-12, 10-6 SCAC) as he scored nine points, dished out six assists, did not committ a turnover and totaled two rebounds.

Oglethorpe advances to the SCAC semifinals on Saturday, February 26 where they will square off against division rival and No. 1 seed Centre College. The Stormy Petrels will make just its second-ever appearance in the SCAC semifinals and the program's first semifinal appearance since Oglethorpe lost in the championship game in 2004.

After the game SCAC Sports Information Director caught up with both head coaches along with senior guard Joe Kennedy of Oglethorpe.

To listen to Colorado College head coach Andy Partee, click here.

To listen to senior guard Joe Kennedy of Oglethorpe, click here.

To listen to Oglethorpe head c0ach Phil Ponder, click here.

Hendrix Tops Oglethorpe 80-57 Advancing to the Women's Semi-Final Round

Hendrix junior guard Samantha Devlin led all scorers with 21 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists as the Warriors knocked off Oglethorpe University 80-57 in today's first game of the SCAC Tournament.

The Warriors used a 45 to 24 rebounding edge to advance to their second s Petrels traight SCAC semi-final round. Senior Christina Byler added 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals as four Warriors were in double figures on the afternoon.

Katie Weeks paced the Stormy Petrels with 11 points and three rebounds in the losing effort. Oglethorpe closes out the season with a 6-10.

Hendrix improves to 16-10 on the season and will face the winner of #2 east seed Centre and #3 west seed Southwestern tomorrow at 1 PM CST from the Hanger Dome on the campus of Millsaps College.

After the game SCAC Director of Communications Russell Kramer caught up with both head coaches along with junior guard Sam Devlin of Hendrix.

To listen to Oglethorpe Interim head coach Fallon Rehmert, click here.

To listen to Hendrix junior guard Sam Devlin, click here.

To listen to Hendrix head coach Emily Cummins, click here.

2011 - SCAC Men's Lacrosse Media Days - Oglethorpe

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference office will conduct its first annual Men's Lacrosse "media days" event beginning Tuesday, February 22.

Day three features a sit down with head coach Jay Gardiner and sophomore goalie John Brewer of Oglethorpe.

This year will mark the inaugural season for lacrosse on the campus of Oglethorpe in Atlanta, Georgia. The Stormy Petrels will take part in just the second season of SCAC Men's Lacrosse.

To listen to head coach Jay Gardiner, click here.

To listen to sophomore John Brewer, click here.

2011 - SCAC Baseball Media Days - Oglethorpe

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference office will conduct its first annual baseball "media days" event beginning Monday, February 7.

Day three features a sit down with head coach Dan Giordano along with senior shortstop Matt Cornwell of Oglethorpe.

Giordano enters his seventh season as the manager for the Petrels after guiding them to a 19-23 season last year, 7-8 in SCAC play. Oglethorpe has posted back to back 15 plus win seasons for the first time since 2001-2002.

Cornwell returns for his senior year after an All-Conference year as a junior. The Boca Raton, Florida native hit .322 from the plate with a team high 46 runs scored and 20 stolen bases. Cornwell also posted a 7-4 record from the mound with five complete games and 61 strikeouts.

To listen to head coach Dan Giordano, click here.

To listen to senior shortstop Matt Cornwell, click here.

SCAC Men's Basketball Podcast

On this week's SCAC Men's Basketball Podcast Director of Communications Russell Kramer caught up with Player-of-the-Week senior forward Todd Ward of Oglethorpe.

Ward averaged a double-double with22 points and 11.5 rebounds per game in a pair of SCAC home wins over Millsaps and Hendrix. He scored 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and tallied two assists to go along with two steals in Oglethorpe’s 72-64 win over the Majors Friday night.

He then posted his 10th double-double of the season with 31 points and 13 rebounds in an 89-77 win over Hendrix. He added three assists and one steal. In the two games, Ward shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the floor. Through 20 games, Ward is now averaging 15.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

To listen to the senior forward, click here.

SCAC Women's Basketball Podcast - Week 1

On this week's SCAC Women's Basketball Podcast Director of Communications Russell Kramer caught up with Player-of-the-Week Sarah Giles of Oglethorpe.

Giles sophomore forward from Marrietta, Ga., has been named SCAC Basketball Player-of-the-Week for games played Monday, November 29 through Sunday, December 5.

Giles averaged 22 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game while leading Oglethorpe their first two wins on the season.

Giles posted 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks in the Petrels 71-55 win over Agnes Scott. In the first conference game of the year against Sewanee Giles posted a game high 26 points and 12 rebounds to go along with five assists as the Petrels held the top scoring offense in the conference to just 54 points. On the week Giles shot 58.3% from the field (21-for-36) including a red hot 12-for-16 night against the Purple Tigers.

On the season Giles is shooting 51.4% from the field (4th in SCAC) averaging 13.8 points, 10 rebounds (3rd in SCAC) and 2.5 blocks (2nd in SCAC) per contest.

To hear Giles the sophomore forward from Oglethorpe, click here.

2010 - SCAC Basketball Media Days - Oglethorpe

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference office will conduct its first annual basketball "media days" event beginning Monday, November 15.

Day three features a sit down with both head coaches Ron Sattele and Phil Ponder along with senior guard Chelsea MacDonald and senior guard Joe Kennedy of Oglethorpe University.

The Lady Petrels storm into this season after posting an 11-16 record a season ago, 4-10 in SCAC play. Head coach Ron Sattele has now lead Oglethorpe to five straight season with 10 or more wins for the first time in school history. Last year the Petrels led the SCAC in blocks with 5.8 per contest. Senior Chelsea MacDonald returns as one of two seniors on the squad after finishing last year averaging 6.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

To listen to Oglethorpe head coach Ron Sattele, click here.

To listen to senior guard Chelsea MacDonald, click here.

Phil Ponder enters his eight season as the head coach of the Petrels coming off a 15-11 campaign last year, 9-7 in conference play. Joe Kennedy (865 pts) returns as one of three seniors on this OU team that has a chance to clip the 1,000 career point mark along with Todd Ward (1,009 pts) and Alex Richey (804 pts). As a junior Kennedy averaged 10 points and 3.4 rebounds a game.

To listen to Oglethorpe head coach Phil Ponder, click here.

To listen to senior guard Joe Kennedy, click here.

SCAC Volleyball Media Days - Day Three

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference office will conduct its second annual "media days" event beginning Monday, August 30.

Day three is a sit down with Oglethorpe head coach Kurt Matthews and Rhodes head coach Sam Lambert.

To listen to Kurt Matthews of Oglethorpe, click here.

To listen to Sam Lambert of Rhodes, click here.

SCAC Women's Soccer Media Days - Day Three

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference office will conduct its second annual "media days" event beginning Monday, August 30.

Day three is a sit down with Oglethorpe head coach Alan Woods, Rhodes head coach Joe Vari and Sewanee head coach Patrick Johnston.

To listen to Alan Woods of Oglethorpe, click here.

To listen to Joe Vari of Rhodes, click here.

To listen to Patrick Johnston of Sewanee, click here.

SCAC Men's Soccer Media Days - Day Three

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference office will conduct its second annual "media days" event beginning Monday, August 30.

Day three is a sit down with Millsaps coach Lee Johnson, Oglethorpe head coach Jon Akin and Rhodes head coach Andy Marcinko.

To listen to Lee Johnson of Millsaps, click here.

To listen to Jon Akin of Oglethorpe, click here.

To listen to Andy Marcinko of Rhodes, click here.

SCAC Baseball Tournament - Oglethorpe vs. Rhodes

Rhodes starting pitcher Tony Pikos had a no-hitter through six full innings before allowing a triple in the top of the seventh and led the Rhodes College Lynx to a 9-4 win over the Oglethorpe University Stormy Petrels Friday afternoon at USA Stadium.

Pikos pitched six plus innings while scattering just two hits, allowed three earned runs and struck out three as the Lynx advanced through the first eliminiation game of the 2010 SCAC Baseball tournament.

After spotting the Stormy Petrels a run in the top of the first, the Lynx responded with five runs in the bottom of the third high lighted by Matthew Burnick's three run homerun. Burnick finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBI and one run scored.

Both teams were held off the scoreboard in the middle innings. Oglethorpe then scored two runs in the top of the seventh to cut the Rhodes lead to 5-3. Jeff Pope broke up Pikos' no-hit bid with a lead-off triple and then scored on Matthew Cornwell's single up the middle. Cornwell later scored on right fielder Stephen Archer's sacrifice fly to right field.

Rhodes responded with a four run eighth inning. Matthew Gilbert singled and then stole second. Gilbert came home on Brent Lindsey's run scoring double to right. The Lynx picked up run scoring doubles from Lynden Pindling and Austin Marcum. Chris Conkell tallied an RBI single to round out the eighth inning scoring.

Oglethorpe tacked on a run in the top of the ninth but that was all the damage it did in the last frame. The Stormy Petrels (19-23) were led by Cornwell's 2-for-3, three run performance. Cornwell was the only Petrel to post a multi-hit game.

Rhodes was led by the middle of its lineup. The No. 3-4-5 hitters were a combined 6-for-12 with four runs and six RBI. Lindsey, Burnick and Conkell each went 2-for-4. Burnick led the Lynx with a team-high three RBI.

Rhodes (25-15) will play the loser of the DePauw vs. Millsaps game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT.

After the game Jeff DeBaldo of the SCAC caught up with both head coaches.

To listen to Oglethorpe head coach Dan Giordano, click here.

To listen to Rhodes head coach Jeff Cleanthes, click here.

2010 SCAC Baseball Tournament - Trinity vs. Oglethorpe

Trinity University, the West Division's #1 seed, rode the heels of Nick Papas, Evan Jones and Dominick Robusto to an 11-7 opening round win over Oglethore University in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

The Trinity trio combined to hit .692 (9-for-13) with five runs score, and drove in seven. Jones was 4-for-5 with a run and two RBI, Robusto was 3-for-4 with two RBI and Papas scored three runs and drove in three others.

Pitching was at a premium as neither teams' starter made it through the fourth inning. Trinity starter Joshua Fink lasted just .2 innings after walking two, hitting a batter, committing a balk and allowing two earned runs. Oglethorpe's Mark Hoban pitched 3.2 innings while allowing 13 hits and eight earned runs.

The two teams both scored in each of their first three innings before the Tigers took a 9-6 lead after five innings. The Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels kept it close but just weren't able to get much going after the fifth. Trinity's Tanner Barron picked up a save after throwing 3.2 effective innings while allowing just one run and struck out three.

Oglethorpe cut the lead to 9-7 with a run in the top of the seventh before Trinity answered with two in the bottom half of the inning for the winning margin.

Michael Hunter picked up the win for the Tigers pitching 1.1 innings while allowing a run and two hits. Hoban was tabbed with the loss for the Stormy Petrels.

Trinity will play the winner of the #2E Rhodes vs. #2W Millsaps game on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Oglethorpe will await the loser of the Rhodes vs. Millsaps game and play at Noon Friday in an elimination game.

After the game Jeff Debaldo of the SCAC caught up with both head coaches.

To listen to Oglethorpe head coach Dan Giordano, click here.

To listen to Trinity head coach Tim Scannell, click here.

Trinity Overcomes Late Seven Point Deficit to Earn Quarterfinal win over Oglethorpe

Trinity University, the #2W seeded team, used a huge performance from junior forward Luke Caldarera to beat #3E Oglethorpe University, 61-52 in an SCAC quarterfinal.

Caldarera scored 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting and fell one rebound shy of a double-double in the winning effort. The junior made a number of closely defended and clutch shots to help the Tigers erase a seven point Stormy Petrel lead with 6:48 remaining in the game.

The lead changed four 10 times and was tied on four separate occasions as both teams struggled shooting all afternoon. Trinity actually shot better from beyond the arc (36.4 percent) than they did from the field overall (24.1 percent) in the first half.
After Oglethorpe forced a 10-second violation, the Stormy Petrels got 3-pointers from Alex Richey and David Allison to increase its lead led to seven, 49-42 with just under seven minutes to play.

Trinity then responded with an 8-0 run over the next four and a half minutes to take a 53-52 lead and did not relinquish it the remainder of the game.

The Tigers' Michael Tobolowsky scored 14 points on 4-for-10 shooting (2-for-5 from beyond the arc).

Oglethorpe was led by Wade Weldon's nine points and Richey's seven. Four Petrels (Todd Ward, Allison, Erik Strong and E.C. Williams) scored six points. Oglethorpe held an 18-7 edge in bench points and out-rebounded Trinity 38-36.

After the contest SCAC Director of Sports Information Jeff DeBaldo caught up with both head coaches.

To listen to Oglethorpe head coach Phil Ponder, click here.

To listen to Trinity head coach Pat Cunningham, click here.

Second Half Surge leads Warriors over Petrels; Advancing to Women's Semifinals

Holding just a five-point lead at intermission, Hendrix College, the top seed from the West Division, outscored the East four-seed Oglethorpe University 38-22 in the second half and cruised to a 73-52 quarterfinal victory Friday evening at Belhaven University.

The victory advances the Warriors to Saturday's semifinal round where they will play the winner of the Centre College and Trinity University.

Hendrix moves to 20-4 with the victory - earning the program its first 20+ winning season since the 1999-2000 campaign.

First-year head coach That McCraken got contributions up and down the lineup - with Christina Byler leading the way with a game-high 13 points and right rebounds. Amanda Morris added 12 points and seven assists and Avery Roller finished with 11 points off the bench for the Warriors. Anna Roane had 10 points.

Oglethorpe, which ends it season at 10-16, was paced by Katie Weeks who had11 points and Chelsea MacDonald, who finished with 10 points.

The two teams combined to shoot 58 free throws on the evening, with Oglethorpe nailing 22-of-27 and Hendrix 22-of-31 from the charity stripe.

The game marked the second time in three years Oglethorpe and Hendrix have faced off in the first round of the SCAC Tournament. The Petrels won a nail-biter over the Warriors, 73-70, in overtime in 2008.

Director of communications Russell Kramer had a chance to catch up with both head coaches and senior forward Christina Byler of Hendrix after the contest.

To listen to Oglethorpe head coach Ron Sattele, click here.

To listen to Hendrix head coach Thad McCracken, click here.

To listen to Hendrix senior forward Christina Byler, click here.

SCAC Men's Basketball Podcast - Week Four

On this year's first edition of the 2010 SCAC Men's Basketball Podcast we will take a look back at the first conference action of the new year. Look ahead to the schedule of games this week as all 12 teams will be in action and finally bring you up to date with the latest conference standings.

The conference office also had a chance to catch up with Oglethorpe head coach Phil Ponder and Centre senior forward Danny Noll.

To listen to this weeks SCAC Men's Basketball Podcast, click here.

SCAC Men's Basketball Podcast - Week Three

On this week's holiday edition of the SCAC Men's Basketball Podcast we will take a look back at last weeks light schedule of action with so many of our student athletes in the midst of exams. Look ahead to the schedule of games this week as team close out their games in 2009 plus troll the polls looking inside the top 25 and finally bring you up to date with the latest conference standings.

The conference office also had a chance to catch up with Austin College head coach Rodney Wecker and Oglethorpe junior guard Alex Richey.

To listen to this weeks SCAC Women's Basketball Podcast, click here.

SCAC Women's Basketball Podcast - Week Two

On this week's SCAC Women's Basketball Podcast we will take a look back at all of last weeks action including the opening weekend of SCAC play. Look ahead to the light schedule of games this week as students begin to tackle exams plus troll the polls looking inside the top 25 and finally bring you up to date with the latest conference standings.

The conference office also had a chance to catch up with Oglethorpe head coach Ron Sattele, Centre sophomore guard Maggie Prewitt and Colorado College forward Becky Luetjen.

To listen to this weeks SCAC Women's Basketball Podcast, click here.

Images from the 2009 SCAC Volleyball Championships - OU vs. CEN; SU vs. TU

Images from the 2009 SCAC Volleyball Championships - Day One - OU vs. COLO