Coaches' Blog

Blogger: Steve Jenkins, Head Men's Basketball Coach
Date: 3/3/2010

Strong Finish to Regular Season

Our guys made a really strong run to finish up the regular season alone in second place in the HAAC by winning 9 of our last 11 games and going 15-5 in the Heart, and 19-11 overall. The second place finish gives us an automatic berth in the national tournament in Kansas City, but our guys are hungry to play well in the HAAC tourney and bring home the tournament title. That will not be an easy task, and that action starts tonight with a quarterfinal game against Benedictine at the Ashcroft Center. The Crusaders are assured of a home court in the semi-finals if we win tonight. Should that happen, we would face the winner of the Mid America Nazarene v. William Jewell game tonight in Liberty. The winners of the two semi-final games Friday will play on Monday, March 8, at the site of the higher seeded team.

Each year our first goal is to win the regular season title. Since Central Methodist already did that, our next order of business is to win the conference tourney. It is nice to hold our "get out of jail free" card, but we prefer to head to KC on a winning note and not after a loss in the HAAC tourney. We will have to play very well to accomplish that. Our opponents will be even more hungry. At this point only Central Methodist and Evangel are assured of a national tournament berth.

Blogger: Debbie De Almeida, Women's Tennis Coach
Date: 2/27/2010

Building our program even stronger...

Hello all! At Evangel Tennis we have quite a few exciting things happening this week. First of all we have a new player signed on for next season and we are very happy to welcome Marcela Rosales to the team. Marcela is from EU tennis player, Maria Martinez's hometown of Leon, Mexico. From my perspective, the great thing Marcela will bring to our team is that she will continue to add strength to the top of our ladder. One thing Marcela told me is that she gives 100% in everything she does. What a great Biblical principal to live by! As a coach, that shows me what an outstanding and dedicated player she is and not only to her sport, but with her studies. Marcela is going to be an outstanding addition in 2010-2011 opening up more opportunities to compete with stronger teams within the NAIA and also NCAA D2. We are very happy to have Marcela on board and know she is going to be a great asset to our team! Glad to have you on the team Marcela!

The second thing to note that is exciting news for us is that for the first time the tennis team will be traveling to Orlando, Florida during Spring Break! We will be playing teams from across the nation that will also be taking advantage of the warm Florida weather. We are slated to play strong NAIA and NCAA D-2 teams. This will get us ready for our conference play. We have a very solid conference and as we continue to gain strength and momentum, going to Orlando will really help us get ready to play tough matches we have this season.

Next Sunday we will be attending church together in Orlando which will be great to worship together and be challenged by the pastor's message for the week. I am still looking for a church for us to attend so if you have any ideas...I would love to hear them! I can see the Orlando has some great church choices but I am trying to narrow it down to one:)

Well, check out our Facebook fan page 'Evangel University Tennis' for updates and pictures of our trip to Orlando. Pray for our safety and for an injury-free week!

Coach Debbie

Blogger: Jerry Breaux, Head Softball Coach
Date: 2/22/2010

Season Opening Weekend

We finally got our season underway this past weekend (feb. 19-20) in the Ft. Worth Cowtown Tournament. Our pre-season weather has not allowed us any outdoor time going into this tournament so I wasn't sure what to expect.

We won game 1 against Northwood for a 6-3 win with sophomore pitcher Kaitlyn Hasty giving us a complete game. It was a good opening game and win for us and rightly so, because the next 4 games were tough ones. Game two was against Texas Wesleyan and freshman Tori Sizemore pitched very well in a losing effort...we just didn't give her much offense losing 3-2. Game three we expected a tough game with Rogers State, and it was. We dominated the game til the 7th when the bottom fell out on us. Leading 6-2 in the 7th, RSU hit 3 HR's in the inning to tie it up. Game went extras into the 10th before RSU hit another long ball on us for 10-8 win. We had golden opportunity to win this game in the 9th but a passed ball with 2 outs allowed RSU to tie it up to send it into the 10th.

On Saturday, we played Oklahoma Baptist and once again reminiscent of the RSU game, we led 3-0 going into the last frame or so...then OBU pulled out the sticks and hit the long ball on us as well to tie it and win it. Tough loss for sure. We then met up with Northwood again and our team had nothing left for game 5 of the weekend dropping a 3-1 decision. The RSU and OBU games apparently took it's toll on us.

Our team is young and it showed up this weekend...we will have to be patient and teach this team to persevere with resilience; at some point this team will mature and take off...there's no question in my mind...this team will eventually take off like a rocket...it is loaded with talent and speed...even though the pitchers are young, I feel it's one of my deeper talented pitching staffs I've had in awhile. I'm confident and sure they will win for us. We are igniting the rocket right now and it may take a little more time to launch from the pad than I thought, but when it does, it will take off, it will fly and soar! After all, my Saints won the Super Bowl so who can doubt anything right!!

Our next game is scheduled to be at home on Thursday the 25th but the field is still not dry and ready...so more than likely it will be rescheduled for April 1 which is the date already in place for the make-up. We are then scheduled to go Rogers State for a single game with RSU and a single game with Grandview College on Saturday the 27th. I know the team is anxious to get back on the field ASAP. Adios till next time!

Blogger: Debbie De Almeida, Women's Tennis Coach
Date: 2/22/2010

Start of the 09-10 Season

Evangel Tennis had an outstanding performance at the Principia Invitational this past weekend.

The top flight in singles was won by our very own, Maria Martinez!!! She defeated the NCAA D2 #1 of Truman State University 6-4; 6-1. We were very proud of her!

In fourth place in the top flight as well (in singles) was Janelle Quesenberry who had a great semis and backdraw bracket matches losing both in a third set tie break to Truman State.

In singles flight 2, Kristie Bond won the backdraw bracket and was third in the flight defeating Wadlow from Missouri Baptist University 6-0;7-5. In the same flight, Katie Schuller rolled her already sprained ankle so we retired her during her first match played. In her place in the consolation bracket, Larissa Davidiuk who played 2 spots higher filling in for Katie, did a great job and one her first consolation match against Greenville 6-2; 6-4 and then in the quarters finals, lost to Hayes from Webster.

In singles flight 3, Natalia Gochicoa played her very first match back from ACL surgery last Spring and strongly defeated the #6 player from Principia 6-1; 6-2 and later lost to a very strong Truman (D2) player 0-6;0-6. In the backdraw, Gochicoa became the #4 ranked in the flight losing in the tie break to Roberts from Missouri Baptist.

In doubles, Flight A we made a change since Katie was injured and Bond/Qusenberry did outstanding against Principia handedly defeating their opponents 8-1. The girls were the #2 finisher in that flight losing to the #1 team from Truman State losing 6-8. Outstanding play for the first time playing together and finishing 2nd!

In doubles, flight B despite Hannah Ball's shoulder injury, Martinez/Ball lost in the toughest semifinal match (which should have been the final match up) to Truman losing 8-2 but they won the backdraw 8-0 against Webster's #2 team. Martinez and Ball for Evangel finished 3rd in the flight.

In doubles, flight C brought us another backdraw victory with Gochicoa/Davidiuk having to readjust to playing together because Bond moved to #1 doubles to replace the injured Schuller. The girls stepped it up and finished 3th in the flight winning against Webster in the back draw finals 8-4.

The girls did so well!!!! I am so proud of them!

Next up: The girls will travel to Orlando, Florida for a series of Spring Break match ups.

If you are a tennis player, we would love to talk to you! We are currently looking for players for 2011-2012. Become a fan of our tennis team on Facebook!!! You can find us on Facebook at EVANGEL UNIVERSITY TENNIS.

Blogger: Debbie De Almeida, Women's Tennis Coach
Date: 2/22/2010

Power Week Update

Hello everyone!

Well, it has been a while so I thought I would update you on the blog post I had earlier in January. The week prior to the tennis team practicing on the courts during the Spring Semester, we have a week where we meet and have different speakers that come and give the girls talks on a variety of areas dealing with mental, physical and spiritual topics related to sports.

Frank Tristan, an Evangel graduate (2003) was our first speaker for the week. Tristan, a dual athlete at Evangel for both Football and Baseball spoke to the girls about the ABC's of Mental Toughness.

Shelby Castillo, also an Evangel graduate (2003) spoke about her personal experiences as an athlete dealing with the mental game and also applying biblical principles that every athlete can relate to and be challeneged in hearing.

Wrapping up the week, the girls watched a documentary about Michael Jordan and I lead them through some exercises/activities relating to the video. The video was a huge hit...the girls really identified as a group what characteristics made him such an amazing athlete motivating not only himself but his teammates.

The girls learned a lot by hearing Frank and Shelby first-hand and it made them even more excited for the season to start.

I am looking forward to next year's Power Week with our 10-11 season line up:)

Blogger: Jerry Breaux, Head Softball Coach
Date: 2/11/2010

February Report

February has been a tough weather month so far. It has been bitterly cold with one snowfall after another. Not good for our softball season. We have been cancelled in the first two weekends of our schedule. We are now looking at the third weekend of February to get our season going in the Cowtown Tournament in Ft. Worth. Let's pray and hope the weather is good in Texas to get our season going.

This is one of the toughest winters we've had in terms of trying to get outdoors for practice and games. Usually in January or February, the weather allows us some outdoor time but not this year...it's been very cold and snowy. The fields are in no shape for practices or games. All of our practices are indoors and I'm grateful we have a nice indoor facility to workout in. But, we are going "stir crazy" being inside and trying to keep our practices creative and fun but yet a challenge. Eventually the weather will break and the season will be underway. Till then we keep anxiously awaiting for the weather to give us a break and get it going. One way I break things up is to watch reruns of the Super Bowl...you know the World Champion New Orleans Saints ...especially the Terry Porter interception!! Somehow this rerun will never get old or boring with me...Go Saints! Go Crusaders! Adios till next time!

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baeball Coach
Date: 2/9/2010

Baseball Weather?

Well, it looks like the snow is going to be going away for a few days. After just getting rid of about 6-7 inches off our field, we narrowly missed another 3-4 inches the last two days. Due to warmer temperatures, the snow that was falling did not stick very well so we only got about an inch.

If we can get above freezing for a few days this week we might actually get to play this weekend. We have a 4 game series vs. Harris-Stowe State University starting on Friday. This comes after our first two double headers against William's Baptist and College of the Ozarks were snowed out.

Hoping for some "baseball weather". Wish us luck!

Blogger: Steve Jenkins, Head Men's Basketball Coach
Date: 2/5/2010

Defense Keying Crusader's Success

Our basketball team is making good progress as we start the second half of the conference season. Our defense continues to be the key to our success. Last week at Graceland we gave up 49 first half points and found ourselves down by 10 points. But we limited Graceland to only 28 second half points while we got hot and scored 51 points to win by a 90-77 score. Spud Harbour led four Crusaders in double figures with 28 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Jon Huskisson chipped in 17 points, Cale Ramsey scored 15 points, and Chad Gillaspy had his 7th double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Last night we won our third consecutive game with an exciting 69-62 home win over Lindenwood to complete the season sweep of the Lions. It was anything but easy. Lindenwood is a very talented team, but they have struggled winning road games in the conference this year. Cale Ramsey sparked our team with his defensive effort that included 4 steals, and also led the team in scoring with 15 points. Jon Huskisson achieved his first double-double of the season with his 14 points and 10 rebounds. But our defense did a great job containing LU's big inside guys while still making it tough on their perimeter shooters. Lindenwood shot only 40% from the field for the game and only 26% from the 3-point line. The win kept us in the HAAC race with a 9-3 record, good for a second place tie (in the loss column) with William Jewell.

Baker University comes to town tomorrow, Feb. 6. The Wildcats are winless in the conference in 12 tries, but have just not been able to get over the hump even though they have played several teams very tough. Our guys cannot afford to take this game lightly. When you are in a tight race, every game is the most important game of the season. I am asking our guys to give their best effort of the year.

Blogger: Steve Jenkins, Head Men's Basketball Coach
Date: 1/26/2010

First Half of the HAAC race

The Crusaders completed the first half of the double round-robin Heart of America Athletic Conference schedule Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, with an 82-70 win at home v. Avila University. The victory leaves the Crusaders' HAAC record at 7-3, and in a 3-way tie for second place with William Jewell College and Missouri Valley College. Benedictine College could also join the second-place tie with a victory tonight at Mid America Nazarene University in a make-up game previously postponed due to icy weather. Central Methodist remains atop the conference standings with a 9-1 record, their only blemish being a 9-point loss at Benedictine 10 days ago. But I think the conference is so balanced and so deep with good teams that the title is still up for grabs and there are at least 7 teams that still have a legitimate shot at winning the league race. Evangel's three losses are to Methodist (by 2 at home), at Valley, and at Jewell (by far the worst performance our team has given all season). We were 5-1 at home and 2-2 on the road. But the second half schedule leaves us with only four home games and six road games. So we have our work cut out for us. It is critical to finish in the top 3 spots in the league because our conference gets three bids to the national tournament in Kansas City in March.

So it is one game at a time for us. If we play well, we can win each of those remaining games. If we don't play well, we could also lose each of the last ten games. Our guys are working hard and are excited about the possibility of qualifying for the national tournament.

I want to thank each of you who have sent congratulations on the 500th victory of my coaching career here at Evangel in the game v. Mid America Nazarene on Jan. 14. I have been blessed to have great assistant coaches and so many outstanding players over the 28 seasons that I've been the head basketball coach.

Blogger: Debbie De Almeida, Women's Tennis Coach
Date: 1/18/2010

Starting off the 2010 Season

Hello everyone! I just wanted to drop a line and tell you about all the great things happening with Evangel Tennis! We are so excited for this Spring. The girls have worked so hard and every year our hard work brings us to new levels. This Spring Break, we will be going to Orlando, Florida and playing matches against nationally ranked NAIA teams and also competing against NCAA Division 2 schools to get us ready for our NAIA - HAAC Conference matches.

We have future plans to travel as a team including international tennis tours being blended with missions opportunities. We are looking forward to the planning process for these trips that will be starting this season.

On the recruiting front, Evangel Tennis is having their best year yet! We have many girls that are interested, which is raising the level of player that we are signing which continues to add strength to our team. We have Anna-Claire Hoover, a senior from Dallas Christian School in Dallas, Texas joining us next year. Welcome aboard Anna-Claire!!! We have a few more recruiting decisions to still make and I hope to wrap those up in February. Our earliest yet:)

If you are a tennis player, we are interested in talking to you! We are looking ahead to seniors graduating in 2011. If you are interested in playing tennis at Evangel, one of the first steps in the process would be to email me so we can get the ball rolling:) I would love to help you in any way and being a graduate of Evangel...I can tell you first hand the education at Evangel that you would receive is one of the best you can find! Come build lasting memories with us here at Evangel and with EU Tennis!

This week we will start practice with what we call POWER WEEK. POWER WEEK is a week we devote as a team to equip us on physical, mental and spiritual levels as we start the season. We have several speakers coming in to talk to the girls on different topics and after this week I will come back on the blog and let you know how it went!!! I am very excited for POWER WEEK and the motivation it brings to the girls and also encouraged to see the girls on the team getting all the support they need from each other, from me as their coach, and also the others that come and invest in our team. Not many schools have the dynamic and team concept we strive for and it is great to see each year how much stronger we become!

Have a great day!!!

Coach Debbie

Blogger: Steve Jenkins, Men's Basketball Coach
Date: 1/8/2010

Cold Weather/Cold Shooting

Our Crusaders finished the semester on a strong note by knocking off #6 in the NAIA DI poll, Lindenwood, in St. Charles, by the score of 70-67. The upset was particularly stunning because we were without the services of Chad Gillaspy, out with a stress fracture in his foot. Chad is our second leading scorer and leading rebounder. But our team really played well, particularly at the defensive end of the floor. Lindenwood missed some shots late and we made key baskets when we had to, and we escaped with a "w" to remain unbeaten in the conference at 3-0.

We had a 21 day layoff until our next two games, which were with Daemen College on Dec. 31, and Long Island University at C. W. Post Campus on Long Island, New York, on January 2. Everything about our trip was great, except for the basketball. The snow and cold temperatures outside matched our cold-shooting inside as we suffered our two most lop-sided losses of the season by 22 and 27 points respectively. Both our opponents were good and they played very well, but we played our two worst games of the season by far. We shot 30% for the game vs. Daemen, and only 40% vs. C. W. Post. But we combined that with our two worst defensive efforts of the year as both opponents torched us. That was very disappointing.

We did get to see some of the amazing sites in The Big Apple. New York is an amazing place, at least to visit. I'm not sure I would want to live there. I'm just a farm boy, you know. Most of our players had never been to NY either, so it was a great trip for them. It would have been nice to have a couple more days to see more things, but we have business to attend to in the HAAC race.

Last night, January 7, on a bitterly cold winter evening, we hosted league co-leader, Central Methodist University, at the Ashcroft Center. I thought our defensive effort was outstanding, but we still struggled to make baskets and shot only 38% from the field for the game. Even worse was the 8 for 20 free throw %age, including going 0 for 6 the second half. Still we had a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime when CMU missed the front end of a 1 and 1 free throw with 5.8 seconds left in the game. Chad Gillaspy (first game back since early December) grabbed the rebound and outletted to Cale Ramsey who drove the length of the floor only to miss the contested layup at the buzzer. It was a heart-breaking loss, but I saw some good things from our team, especially with our defensive and rebounding effort.

There's no time to pout about this loss. Benedictine comes to town tomorrow afternoon at 4 PM for another conference battle. On Monday we go to Missouri Valley for our third game in only five days. Benedictine comes in with a 2-1 record in the league, 9-3 overall, after losing at home last night to William Jewell College by 5 points. Missouri Valley beat visiting Lindenwood last night by 14 points for their first win in the conference this year.

I want to thank all the fans who braved the elements last night and came to our game. We still had a pretty good crowd despite the fact that our student body is still not back from the holidays (classes resume next Wednesday). We hope to thaw out our baskets tomorrow and shoot the ball much better than we have the past few games. Hope to see you there.

Blogger: Jerry Breaux, Head Softball Coach
Date: 1/4/2010

A New Year and Decade

Happy New Year 2010 to everyone. It's hard to believe that a decade has already passed...seems like yesterday we were all gearing up for Y2K and now, it's 2010. Time flies!

A new semester is also here and classes and our season will soon be starting up. The dorms open January 10 and classes begin January 13. Our first team meeting will happen on the 13th and then our fitness workouts start up on the 14th. Team practice officially begins on Monday the 18th. Our season kicks off Saturday February 6. Our February schedule is busy as we get 2010 season rolling. If the weather cooperates we will be able to get almost 20 games in for the month of February.

The big event coming up for EU softball is the Olympic Weekend clinic we will be hosting at the end of January. We are excited about this event as Olympians Crystl Bustos and Caitlin Lowe will be our guests speakers and clinic instructors. In addition, my good friend Howard Carrier who is also Bustos personal hitting coach, will also be with us as a speaker and instructor. Howard's work and input with our program has been invaluable. He has made himself a well-respected instructor and teacher among the nation's softball community and we appreciate his help and work. Howard and I started this clinic together some 5 years ago and started bringing Crystl (and now Lowe) with him every year. This is an exciting event to be able to bring Olympian players to Springfield and our campus for this special weekend. For those interested, you can contact myself (breauxj@evangel.edu) or call my office if you have interest in registering to attend this event. The dates are Friday January 29 from 6:30-9:00 PM and Saturday January 30 will be hitting sessions for players (8:30 to Noon) and (2:30 to 6:00 PM). Friday the 29th is when the Olmypians and Howard will be speaking and sharing about many things with a Q-A time. This is open to the public and you can pay at the door on Friday. For the Saturday sessions you must pre-register as space is limited for players. Should be a fantastic weekend that offers alot of instruction and inspiration for all. Adios till next time.

Blogger: Jerry Breaux, Head Softball Coach
Date: 12/14/2009

December Report

Semester is winding down and it's almost Christmas time! Our team is wrapping things up taking final exams and will be checking out to go home soon. I know they are ready for a break and to spend time with family and friends for the holidays. The coaches look forward to the break as well!

We will kick things off again January 13 when classes start up as well as our team meetings. Team workouts start up again around January 18. Our season will begin February 6 as our opening day (weather permitting). This is the earliest opening we've ever had and if the weather cooperates, our season will be underway.

We are very excited about this team and we're ready to go. But first, we celebrate Christmas and the New Year. We wish all of our families and friends a very merry 2009 Christmas and very happy 2010 New Year! And never forget as it never gets old, Jesus is the reason for the season! Adios till next time. (oh yeah, how 'bout my New Orlean Saints?? Go Saints!!)

Blogger: Steve Jenkins, Head Men's Basketball Coach
Date: 12/8/2009

First Third of the Season Wrap Up

Before the season started, I wasn't sure we would win many games this year, but we have done pretty well so far (6-4 overall, 2-0 in the HAAC). We really could, or even should be 9-1. Our young team has blown double digit leads late in two games (at C of O where we lost in overtime, and Oklahoma Wesleyan here-OWU is ranked #1 in the nation in D-II, is the defending NAIA DII champs, and has won 28 straight games, breaking Evangel's record of 27 consecutive wins in the 2002 season). Our starting post man, 6-9, 230 lb. athlete, Mike Storey, broke his foot with about 10 minutes to go in the OWU game, had surgery to insert a screw in his foot, and won't be back until mid-January at best. We also lost on a busted play buzzer beater the next day vs. Park University in overtime after relinquishing a 4-point lead with about 2:00 to go. Our leading scorer, Spud Harbour, didn't dress vs. Park because of sickness. He really shouldn't have played either the C of O game or the OWU game that week, because he had bronchitis and the flu. The next weekend we played very poorly and lost by 14 points in our game at #7 pre-season ranked Georgetown, KY, but they are pretty good. They had lost by only 12 points to both NCAA DI's, Louisville and Florida State. Our guys bounced back the next afternoon and beat Cumberland, TN. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Evangel traveled to Jeff City and beat NCAA Div. II Lincoln University by the score of 63-61. Our season had opened with two good wins down in Texas (the opener over Texas Wesleyan-ranked # 17 this week in NAIA D-I, and the second game over SAGU). But Oklahoma Wesleyan is still the best team we have played to this point. We just aren't the same team without Big Mike patrolling the paint, but the other guys have stepped up as we have started the conference off with two wins(@ Baker, 72-48, and a home win over Graceland 86-78). This modest 4-game winning streak is mainly due to our defensive field goal percentage (teams are shooting only 40% for the entire season against us).This, more than any other statistic, has allowed us to be where we are record-wise, because we have not shot the ball very well as a team all year. In order for us to have a chance to stay in the hunt for the HAAC title, we really need to improve our offensive efficiency and still maintain our effectiveness at the defensive end of the floor.

Thursday, we go to Lindenwood. They are rated # 6 in the NAIA D-I poll this week, and have won 5 or 6 games in a row, so we will have our hands full. Final exams start Friday, so our guys have an awful lot on their plates this week. After finals we take a break until December 26, when we return to practice for our two games in New York on Dec. 31, vs. Daemen College, and January 2, vs. C. W. Post. Daemen is currently ranked #17 in NAIA Div. II. C. W. Post is an NCAA Div. II team that went 30-1 last year, with their only loss coming in the quarterfinals of the NCAA DII National Tournament in overtime to eventual champion, Findlay University, OH. There is no doubt that we have played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. Now we need to translate that into a strong showing in the HAAC.

We do extend our warmest greetings to each of you for a very Blessed Christmas season and the happiest of New Years.

Steve Jenkins