It’s hard to believe, but this is the final edition of The Sojourn and my final column of the year. The year has flown by and I’ve had a blast covering Wildcat sports this year as sports editor. For my last column, I decided to take a look back at some of my favorite stories and memories of this year in IWU athletics.
My first story of the year was about Eddy Shigley taking over for Terry Porter as women’s tennis coach. I really enjoyed talking with Coach Shigley. If you think you’re busy, you should see what he has on his plate. Coach Shigley was one of the most genuine people I talked with all year. The women’s tennis program is in good hands with him at the helm.
Another highlight of the fall was the men’s soccer season. Despite a midseason coaching change, the team won 17 straight matches and were ranked as high as No. 4 in the NAIA polls. Unfortunately, the team’s best season in school history was cut short by a heartbreaking loss in penalty kicks to Vanguard University in the first round of the NAIA tournament. That was one of the toughest games I had to cover all year. The team didn’t deserve to go out that early, but it was a terrific soccer game and season. I can’t wait to see the guys take the field under new coach Luke Sanford in the fall.
The most memorable moment of basketball season was Jonny Marlin’s game-winning shot against St. Francis. Yes, this is the second time I’m bringing it up in a column. Yes, I’m still shocked at the comeback the Wildcats made on that January afternoon. Go back and watch the video, you’ll be amazed too.
The surprise of the spring season has definitely been the softball team’s hot start and win streak. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to cover any specific games, but I’ve been impressed with the team’s performance this season and can’t wait to see how far they’ll go in tournament play.
As you can see, it’s been another great year for Wildcat sports. The one thing that has stuck out to me this year is that we as a student body don’t give our athletic teams nearly enough support. We have athletes achieving great success yet we don’t rally behind them as much as we could, myself included. IWU athletes deserve more fans like Daniel McMasters and larger student sections supporting them.
So thank you, IWU athletic teams, for making my job so enjoyable. And thank you, readers, for taking the time to read my take every two weeks all year.