Sports - The McKendree Review

20Mar

By Megan MeloneNo Comments

Profiles, Sports

Senior Spotlight: Martina Hicks

By Megan Melone, Writer Photography from McKendree Athletics Martina Hicks is a senior biopsychology major with a minor in biology. Martina is the 2022-23 Academic All-GLVC and a recipient of the James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award, as well as the secretary for SAAC (Student Athletic Advisory Committee). I interviewed Martina about her time at McKendree and her plans for the future: Where are you from? HICKS: I am from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho originally. But the last four years I’ve lived in Hamilton, Montana. Why did you decide to come to McKendree? HICKS: My senior year was COVID. I originally was on the brink of playing golf in college. In Idaho, golf is a spring sport, so I didn’t get a spring season, and that made me push towards looking at schools. McKendree...

20Nov

By Elma Oijens SjoelinNo Comments

Sports

Women’s Soccer: Queens of the GLVC

By Elma Oijens Sjoelin, Sports Writer Title photo by Pat Knapinski Two weeks ago, the McKendree women’s soccer team made their way to Peoria, Illinois to take care of business. The business was the GLVC Championship, and they took care of it! Dubbed the queens of the GLVC, the team flew to Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan last week to play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Being a part of the team, I have the privilege to share these experiences with my teammates, and winning the GLVC Championship was something truly unforgettable. We drove up to Peoria, Illinois to partake in the championship, which this year was played on neutral ground. After a three-hour long bus ride, we arrived at Corwin Clatt Stadium in East Peoria, Illinois and did a training s...

Women’s Volleyball: A Team That Knows How to Make Their Mark

10Nov

By Elma Oijens SjoelinNo Comments

Sports

Women’s Volleyball: A Team That Knows How to Make Their Mark

By Elma Oijens Sjoelin, Sports Writer Title photo retrieved from McKendree Volleyball Instagram Fall sports are reaching the end of their respective seasons, so I wanted to put a spotlight on the women’s volleyball team. The team is very busy this time of the year, especially since they travel a lot. I was not sure if any of the players would have time for an interview, considering that they are known around campus to excel in their academics as well. I figured that they do not have much time between studying, practices, and classes, so I was beyond grateful when junior Amber Williams agreed to do an interview and share some of her thoughts on the team, their season, and how she and her teammates managed to balance and come through on the court as well as in the classroom. Willia...

Women’s Bowling: New Head Coach Shawn Bibee Returns to Bearcat Country

27Sep

By Elma Oijens SjoelinNo Comments

Sports

Women’s Bowling: New Head Coach Shawn Bibee Returns to Bearcat Country

By: Elma Oijens Sjoelin, sports writer Photos collected from 2023-24 Women's Bowling Roster (https://mckbearcats.com/sports/womens-bowling/roster) As the fall semester has kicked off, several athletic programs at McKendree are mobilizing toward successful pre- and regular seasons. A new school year also presents new beginnings, opportunities, and changes. For one program, such changes include a new coaching staff. Last year, the women’s bowling program placed 4th in the NCAA Championships and earned the ITC Championship Title concluding the 2022-23 season earlier this year. The program has a history of winning, and the players are known to excel inside the classroom and on the lanes, earning both athletic and academic titles and awards. They now face new challenges and opportun...

<strong>Set Yourself Up for Success: How Student-Athletes at McKendree Prepare for Competition</strong>

30Mar

By Elma Oijens SjoelinNo Comments

Sports

Set Yourself Up for Success: How Student-Athletes at McKendree Prepare for Competition

By: Elma Oijens Sjoelin It was not until college that I started reflecting on how I prepare for my soccer games. I never really had a standard routine, but when I came to McKendree, I met other student-athletes who knew exactly what they needed to do to prepare for competitions. I found it interesting how different everyone’s routines were, and after listening to and observing what my friends did to prepare for games, I was inspired to create a routine for myself. I quickly realized that what I did before my soccer games affected my performance, but I also realized that what worked for others did not always do the trick for me. I had to try different things and constantly change my game day routine to find out what worked for me. My game day routine is still a work in progress. To find...

Women’s Bowling: Defending the National Title

3Mar

By Elma Oijens SjoelinNo Comments

Sports

Women’s Bowling: Defending the National Title

By: Elma Oijens Sjoelin Photos provided by Anna Warkel By far one of the most successful athletic programs at McKendree University is the women’s bowling team. Last year, they won the NCAA bowling championship, and with a winning history behind them, the women’s bowling team is now aiming to defend their national title. A history of winning comes with high expectations and a lot of pressure, and when you are number one, others are hungry to knock you off the podium. In fact, on February 10th, the NTCA (National Tenpin Coaches Association) ranked the McKendree women’s bowling program as number one in the nation on their National Coaches Poll. Although the bowling team is busy managing academics and bowling this time of the year, Anna Warkel, a second-year student who com...

Off-Season with McKendree Women’s Soccer

24Feb

By Elma Oijens SjoelinNo Comments

Entertainment, Sports

Off-Season with McKendree Women’s Soccer

By: Elma Oijens Sjoelin Photography: Provided by Elma Oijens Sjoelin As we are slowly approaching the middle of the spring semester, many winter and spring sports at McKendree are currently finishing or just starting their competitive seasons. We see and hear a lot about how it is going for our classmates who are representing McKendree when competing, but have you ever wondered what some of the fall sports are up to during the spring? One of the sports teams at McKendree currently in their off-season is the women’s soccer team. Last year, the women’s soccer team went undefeated in the Conference games for the first time ever in the history of the program. After the regular season, they claimed a spot in the national tournament and made it to the first round. They were then ...

14Feb

By Elma Oijens SjoelinNo Comments

Sports

Wrestling in the Hett: A Historic Event

Written by and photos taken by Elma Oijens Sjoelin On February 7th, 2023, something historical happened on the campus of McKendree University. For the first time in history, a sporting event was held in the Russel E. & Fern M. Hettenhausen Center for the Arts, commonly known as “The Hett.” The Hett has always had a busy schedule of hosting art events, plays, shows, and fairs, but never before had a sporting event been held in the spacious state-of-the-art facility. The McKendree men’s wrestling team had the honor of hosting and winning a duel against Davenport University on the Hett stage. The wrestlers added another win to their record with a final score of 55 points to McKendree and -1 to Davenport. McKendree totaled five pins and two technical falls in their win against...

28Oct

By Dylan PowellNo Comments

Sports

Women’s Soccer: Undefeated

By: Dylan Powell, Head Sports Writer Images provided by Elizabeth Goldstein This season for the McKendree Women’s soccer team was not only excellent, but historical. For the first time ever, the team posted an undefeated record of 12-0-5, with a conference record of 8-0-4, earning the #2 seed in the GLVC tournament. The program is also nationally ranked at #19 by the USC DII Poll. The GLVC Tournament begins on October 30th, when the Bearcats will take on the University of Indianapolis at home on Leemon Field. Gametime is stated to start at noon. Those of us at The Review encourage as many fans as possible to attend and cheer on our nationally ranked team as they begin a long road to a potential championship. When asked about the playoffs and conference tournament, ...

Yuval Halpert: From Israel to McKendree, and Back

2May

By Dylan PowellNo Comments

Sports

Yuval Halpert: From Israel to McKendree, and Back

By: Dylan Powell, Head Sports Writer Yuval Halpert is a 21 year old freshman forward for the McKendree Men’s DI Hockey team. Recently, Halpert has taken on another position: forward on the Israeli national hockey team! Yuval grew up just south of Tel Aviv, Israel. “I started playing inline hockey when I was 9 and moved to ice when I was 12. I fell in love with the game of hockey and traveled all over the world playing it” noted Halpert. He first made the Israeli National Team when he was 15, playing in the under 20 year-old class world championship, and since then participated in 9 world championships. Halpert also racked up 2 gold medals, and 1 silver, participating as captain of the under 18 year-old and under 20 year-old teams from 2018 to 2020. Photo provided by Dylan P...