Spartans hit Boston & The Big Apple--By Emily Mueller

This past weekend we reached the halfway point of UAA play, but don’t ask me how the time went by so quickly. We traveled to Boston and New York City to face Brandeis University and New York University. Sadly, we were missing one of our teammates. Chelsea Peck couldn’t make it due to shoulder surgery. She was definitely missed, but we felt like she was there because she sent inspiring texts to us throughout the weekend. I’m also happy to say that her surgery went well.

Our basketball weekend started a little early. On Thursday morning, a very lucky six of us who didn’t have class got to practice before we finished up our packing and prepared ourselves for the trek to the RTA station. During our ride, a few of us were privileged to meet some very interesting characters. We all made it to the airport and onto the airplane. As we were situating ourselves in our seats, we found out the flight was delayed, so we all made our way back to the gate where everyone got a lot of (cough) homework (cough) done. Eventually, we got back on the plane and had a safe trip to Boston.


Directly after the flight, we went to the famous Hard Rock Café for dinner (thank you Mrs. Henry!!!). After dinner we were let loose to explore all Boston had to offer. Due to the cold, we weren’t outside exploring for very long, but we did find Cheers (where everybody knows your name). Around 10 pm, we made it to the Double Tree Inn, and I ate one of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten in my life.

Friday morning we woke up early for our shoot around. Because we took the earlier time slot, we were left a lot of time in between the shoot around and our pre-game meal to do more homework! Erica, Evy, and Nikki were lucky enough to get to take a chem. test (proctored by none other than Professor Reimer) during this time…I’m sure they all aced it.

After eating at a nice little Italian restaurant, we bussed to the Brandeis gym, where we unfortunately lost. It was a tough loss to handle, but through it we gained the tools to learn how to be a better team and how to play together.

Saturday morning we woke up early again for a lovely 4 hour bus ride to New York City. We got to our hotel (Radio City Apartments) with enough time to drop off our luggage and then go out and find somewhere to eat before practice. After practice, we got to our hotel and we had about 45 minutes to get ready for our Alumni dinner. For most of us that would be plenty of time, however there were three or four girls to most rooms and only one bathroom to a room. We were also having some issues with the elevator. Let’s just say it’s not a good idea to try and squeeze 12 people into an elevator only meant for about 6 (you’ll end up going down…not up).

By some miracle, we all made it down to the lobby very close to being on time. We then walked through streets of New York City to the pizzeria where our Alumni dinner was being held. This was the first time I had ever experienced NYC and I’m sure people could tell. I was walking around with my jaw permanently dropped pointing and oohing at everything I saw (most notably a very large Borders that Chelsea Lasky and I would very much like to visit sometime…what can I say, we go to Case). After the dinner, we were once again set loose upon the city. I still can’t believe how exciting everything was. There was an advertisement on every wall, bright lights everywhere, and taxis racing through the streets (I’m sure of this because I was nearly run over by a taxi…twice).

Sunday morning we were pumped and ready to play. We left for the gym at 11:30 so we could watch the guys’ team play. About 3 minutes into the game, an alarm started going off. At first everyone was annoyed, but didn’t think anything of it…until the announcer told us to evacuate the building. We made it outside and watched as the fire trucks made their way to the gym. After a few minutes of waiting, we were allowed to go back in.

Before we started our game, Evy lead us in a new pregame ritual. We put our arms around each other’s shoulders, swayed side to side and made some NOISE. It was a great way to get us all pumped for the game. Despite a lead in the first half, we ended up losing to NYU, but the effort was definitely there. Next week, we get the chance for revenge as we face NYU and Brandeis again in our House.

First UAA Basketball Road Trip Goes Into OT

First UAA Basketball Road Trip Goes Into OT
By Sophomore Sarah Milligan (Canton, OH)

The start of University Athletic Association games is always an exciting time. There is not only great competition, but great opportunities to travel around the country. UAA teams are consistently ranked in the Top 25 of Division III basketball. The games are fast paced and very physical. The competition and traveling make UAA’s the best and most anticipated part of the season.

Last Thursday, we loaded the bus for our first UAA trip and left for Rochester, New York. After about a five hour bus ride, we got situated in the hotel and went to the gym for practice. After practice, we went to our team’s favorite barbecue restaurant —Dinosaur Barbecue.
As soon as we sat down, large platters of barbecued chicken, beef brisket, potatoes, corn, rolls and cornbread were brought out to us. The amount of food on the table was slightly overwhelming, but after the first delicious bite all worries were gone. We cleared every platter of food and enjoyed every bite! My favorite was the beef brisket.

The next morning after our shoot around, we went to a delicious sandwich and bagel shop called O Bagelo’s for our pregame meal. The sandwiches were made with thick homemade bread and tasted wonderful.

We were ready to face our first UAA opponent — Rochester. The game was intense. It was fast paced, as expected, and the score was close throughout the game. Unfortunately, we were outrebounded and ended up losing the game despite our great effort. It wasn’t a winning night for the Spartans, as the men lost their game too. We all were tired after the game but didn’t have much time to sleep because our flight to Atlanta was at the crack of dawn the next morning.

We had to wake up at 4:45 a.m. on Saturday morning in order to catch our flight — everyone was exhausted. We finally made it to Atlanta around 12:30 p.m. and briefly stopped at the hotel before leaving for another practice. We were so tired we didn’t know how we would make it through a practice, but we knew we had to be prepared to beat Emory. Saturday night in Atlanta, we went to the Fox Sports restaurant downtown. It was a really fun atmosphere with great food. We were even in the same room as a retired NFL player and a group of players who were trying to get drafted.

We woke up Sunday morning ready to beat Emory. We finally recuperated from the early plane flight and were excited to get on the floor. Our team got off to a slow start, but thanks to a great second half we were able to come away with our first UAA win of the season! Now, we were ready to get home for the first day of classes, but there was a slight problem. We found out that our flight had been delayed 3 hours because of power outages at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. We were disappointed we would be getting home late, but were happy our flight could still make it in. We arrived at the airport and someone yelled, “Hurry, the flight is now on-time! It leaves in twenty minutes!” We all ran up the non-moving escalator to the desk and to our dismay, our flight had been cancelled! We were shocked and disappointed to be missing the first day of class, but the situation was out of our control.

We stayed at the Westin Hotel near the airport, went to a place called Joe’s to get some food, and then called it a night. The teams were split up on three flights Monday — one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. The first flight was to leave at 9:20 a.m., but ended up getting delayed an hour. We thought we were in for another rough day at the airport, but thankfully no other flights were delayed or cancelled. We were finally home safely and glad to be back on campus after 5 long days. It was an exciting and memorable trip and I look forward to the rest of the season!

Posted by Creg Jantz at 09:09 PM Comments

First Road Trip! By Marissa Miles

I woke up on Friday morning full of excitement (well technically I guess the first thing I could think about upon hearing my alarm was hitting the snooze button- but then after that, like I said, total excitement.) I knew it was going to be a great day for me, better yet, a great weekend. I was about to revisit a city that I knew pretty well. We were off to Pittsburgh for our first overnight trip of the season to team up with CMU in an effort to triumph at the annual UAA-OAC Challenge. Not only was I going home, I was about to experience my first ever real road trip with the team- something that I now know, thanks to Erin Hollinger, involve the three best things in life- basketball, sleep, and food. After this weekend, I can honestly say that I agree with Erin one hundred percent.

It all started as we boarded the bus, complete with fifteen girls, a load of Subway, our new travel bags (side pockets included!), and a selection of movies. The activities that took place on the bus ride were pretty typical… sleeping, studying (on a Friday, I know, typical Case students), eating, listening to music, sticking gum on a teammate's forehead- you know everything you would imagine it to be.

Soon enough, we were in Pittsburgh and ready to battle John Carroll for the rights to “Own the Beachwood Cheesecake Factory,” as coach put it. Well, we did that- and after the game there was even more excitement to come. A home cooked meal, something that I have learned is a rarity for a college student, awaited us upon arrival at the house of Chelsea Peck. Dinner was amazing! From there we were headed to our hotel, where, after a quick team meeting, we were free to hang out, enjoy each other’s company, and get some rest- we had another big day ahead of us.

Breakfast was served at the hotel in the morning, followed by a trip back to campus for a quick practice. We had enough time to grab some Panera Bread (more food!) and get focused as tip off was quickly approaching.

A few hours later we stepped on the court ready to win another basketball game. We weren’t battling for Cheesecake this time, but what we were about to do was make a statement that CWRU Women’s Basketball would be a team to beat in Ohio, which was why we were determined to defeat Marietta. Again, we came away victorious, and were off to have another warm meal on our plates (I know two in one weekend, it’s incredible I’m telling you!!) at Ashleigh Tondo’s house.

After stuffing our stomachs to their fullest capacity, we were back on the bus en route home to Cleveland. Looking back, it was a great trip- 2 games, 2 victories, a ton of food, and a hotel bed that puts my shabby little dorm room mattress to shame. I had a great weekend with my teammates, and I can only imagine what else is to come!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Last Friday the Spartans continued our tradition of a Halloween costume contest at the beginning of practice. The turnout this year was phenomenal and is really going to force bigger and better things for next year!

Coach Blade and Coach Halicki dressed as twins as they pulled off the Thing 1 and Thing 2 look. Coach Reimer dressed as “the Golf of Mexico” complete with a sombrero and a golf club.

The freshmen, in true team spirit, dressed as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Emily Mueller found herself a head taller than everyone as Snow White after finally having her costume shipped to Case earlier that day. Let’s just say double checking the zip code is a good idea before trying to ship things from out of state! The other seven freshmen found their personalities matching up with their characters from Bashful Nikki D’Amico to Happy Marissa Miles.

The sophomores continued the teamwork trend as the three blind mice followed by the junior team dressing as Kanye West, Taylor Swift, and of course, a microphone to fight over.

The seniors stood as individuals as Kristyn Atkins dressed as a Christmas tree completed with lights that she could plug into the wall and brighten our practice. Ashleigh Tondo dressed as Coach Reimer from the short blonde hair to the whistle to the folded paper sticking out of her shorts. It was a rather frightening imitation that won first prize along with the freshman group.

Soon after determining a winner, we all changed back into practice clothes to get down to business. Practice was difficult and challenging as we look to improve each day and prepare to take on Cleveland State this coming Friday. It is going to be a fun challenge and we are all looking forward to playing some basketball and starting the season!

And so it Begins! by Chelsea Peck '12

For some, the changing of the leaves, the bitter cold breeze, and the shortening of the day means the beginning of the winter season, but for the members of the Lady Spartans Basketball Team, it means only one thing… the beginning our official season (basketball season that is). (Chelsea pictured on right w/ Sarah Milligan)

When you step out onto the floor on the first day of practice, the atmosphere is something that you really can’t put into words. Each player contains so much energy and excitement. It is essentially the day that you have worked for since the end of the previous season. New faces, new talents, and new skills all come together to create a new team, our team. The first day is full of expectations, some of nerves, joy, excitement, and even fear.

As a second year player, I had a lot of expectations for this season based off of last year. The first three practices of last season were definitely the most difficult practices that I had experienced thus far as an athlete. Therefore, when I stepped out onto the floor this year, the memories of the sore body and the conditioning came flooding back. As a team, we all had the common understanding that practice was going to be difficult, but in the end, we all knew it was definitely worth it and that no matter what, we were going to get through it.

Practice started with the usual jump roping and stretching. With the resounding word “team” echoing through the gym, our huddle dispersed and practice officially began. We ran through a series of competitive drills that stressed the importance of teamwork and pushing one another to get better. By the end of the two hour practice, our bodies were sore. It was an effort to make it through the last five minutes of conditioning, but we knew, together as a team, we not only could do it, but we had to do it. Our practice ended the same way it began, with a huddle.

The second and third days were similar to the first day. We started practice off with a huddle and ran through a series of difficult drills that pushed our limits. Although it was a struggle to get through each drill, we went through it together, as a team. Our wills were tested and our bodies were sacrificed as we made it through each drill. After the last ten minutes of conditioning were completed, a sigh of relief came across the team. Well, it could have been a sigh of relief or just catching our breaths but either way, we had made it through our first three days of practice. These first three days have set the bar and the expectations for the rest of the season and although they were difficult and a struggle to get through, we made it through, all together, the 2009-2010 Spartans. (Pictured left, members of the team jump rope to begin warm-ups.)

Case Athletes Give Back by Ashleigh Tondo

Case for Community Day is an annual event in which Case students give back to the community. Case Association of Student Athletes (CASA) organizes a sports clinic for inner city schools in the area where the students can play volleyball, soccer, track, football, and basketball with our student-athletes. The athletes and coaches from these specific teams volunteer their time to lead the kids through drills to make a day of fun and learning.

Our team was split into two groups, with help from Coach Reimer in Adelbert gym and Coach Blade in the Veale Center. I was stationed in Adelbert gym with Coach Reimer, some fellow teammates, and members of the softball team. Although we had to play in the dark, due to malfunctioning lights, it was a fun experience and it is always great to teach the game of basketball.

The stations consisted of passing, shooting, ball handling, and rebounding which were lead by Caitlin Henry, Sydney Berry, Erica Iafelice, Marissa Miles, Sarah Milligan, with our softball players, Mary Kruszka, Kayla Lang, Anneliese Fetterman, Lauren Wolz and Katie Slivar. Mary and I were in charge of the ball handling station where the kids learned how to properly dribble and protect the ball.

I thought I was doing a good job of keeping their attention, but soon realized I couldn’t compete with the volleyball pole sticking out of the ground. I guess the kids had more fun swinging around that then learning how to dribble. Needless to say when that plan fell through we decided to do dribble relay races—that seemed to be a hit.

I think my favorite part of the day was when we watched three of girls sing while doing a step dance. Each girl was called out during the song and did a split or cart wheel as the steps and clapping persisted. I believe it went something like, “we so fly (stomps), we so fly

(stomps), Shakira so fly (split)” and this continued for a few minutes until each girl was able to do their own pose. It was really comical to watch and put a smile on everyone’s face.

After numerous drills, water breaks, huddles, and a couple bruises, the day soon came to an end. We were all tired and our energy was spent, but it was a satisfying experience knowing that each of us made an impact in their lives and provided them with a day of fun.

Spartans Race for the Cure!

This past Saturday, we laced up our running shoes and headed downtown for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It was a beautiful day for running—the sky was clear, the sun was shining and there was a nice cool breeze.

We all met up at Starbucks to walk to the RTA Rapid station, but we ended up sprinting! We were walking leisurely under the bridge on Euclid, and all of the sudden we heard the rapid above us. Kristyn was leading the way—she dropped into a dead sprint! We all followed suit and bolted around the corner, up the stairs and onto the platform. Miraculously, we all made it on the train and it ended up being a great warm-up for the race!

When we finally got downtown, we met up with Coach Reimer and Coach Blade. We ended up splitting into two groups so that some of the girls could register for the race. We didn’t think about how hard it would be to find each other again among thousands of people! When my group was looking for Coach Blade’s group, we were drawn to the main stage area. Little did we know we were about to get a real warm up! Island music started playing and the announcer introduced a jazzercise instructor! Immediately, Caitlin, Erin and I jumped up and joined in. We shaked and shimmied our way to a sweat doing the Zumba moves. After the warm-up, it was time to start the race. (Erin Hollinger, Caitlin Henry and Sarah Milligan pictured left to right.)

The streets were crowded with people, and we still couldn’t find the rest of the group. When we got the front of the pack, we realized that the race had already begun for the runners! We quickly started running and began playing catch-up. We figured the rest of our teammates were at the front of the group, so it was our goal to find them. Somewhere in the middle of the race we caught up with a few of our teammates. It was great to find them and have some extra encouragement during the race! As we ran around Cleveland and past the Browns Stadium, the finish line was in sight. Everyone who finished early was waiting at the finish line to cheer the others on. It was a great to have so much support! We finished up with some ab-work and then found the free ice cream! The race was a great team bonding experience, and it was for a great cause! I can’t wait to participate again in the years to come. (Marissa Miles, Ashleigh Tondo, Coach Reimer, Awesome Pink Dude, Erica Iafelice, Erin Hollinger and Kristyn Atkins pictured left to right.)

The same afternoon we all drove out to the Farm to have a cookout with the boys’ team. We had a little difficulty finding the Farm, but after turning around about 4 times on the same road we finally found it. It was a fun afternoon of eating, playing cornhole and catching up with each other. It was a great day filled with the best teammates—I can’t wait to see what this season has in store for us! (Spartan men's and women's basketball teams pictured below.)

Meet our First Year Spartans--Caitlin Rudge

Hi! My name is Caitlin Rudge, and I am from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Even though I am a huge Steeler/Penguins fan, and of course, despise the Cleveland Browns, I am very excited to spend the next 4 years of my life at Case Western.

When I visited Case last year, I quickly realized it was the place for me after talking with Coach Reimer and meeting the team. In addition, the academic reputation that Case has also made my decision that much easier.

I’ve had an extremely hectic and fun summer. I started it off by traveling to Punta Cana, Domincan Republic where I enjoyed 7 days of pure laziness while I layed on the beach. Just a week after I returned, I was then off to the Outer Banks, North Carolina. As for the rest of the summer, I worked a little, played some basketball, and spent some more time by the pool. Now, I am doing all of the last minute things before I move in on Sunday.

As my summer comes to an end, I am very excited to come to Case where I will be majoring in Nursing. I hope to one day become a Nurse Anesthetist, and I know that Case’s Nursing program will certainly prepare me for this.


See you all soon! Can’t wait to get back playing some basketball!