The Washtenaw Community College Sports office has released the winter semester sports schedule. All interested students must be registered for at least three credit hours during the term and have at least a 2.0 grade point average.
Coed ice hockey, located at the Veteran’s Ice Arena, will have tryouts on Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. After that, practices will be held on Mondays and Thursdays with competitions on Sundays and Wednesdays. Students must be at least 18 years old and need to bring their WCC ID card.
Women’s basketball tryouts will be held on Jan. 15 from 9:30-11 p.m. Practices begin at 9:30 p.m. on every Tuesday and competitions are held on Thursdays at 7 p.m. or possibly later. All events are held at the WCC Health and Fitness Center. Students must be at least 16, with a WCC ID card.
Men’s basketball, which will hold its events at the WCC Health and Fitness Center, has two tryouts. Both are from 9:30-11 p.m. with the first on Jan. 16 and the second on Jan. 23. Students must register in room 116 of the Student Center before the tryouts. Practices will be held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning at 9:30 p.m., while competitions are on Mondays and start at 7 p.m. or later. Students must be at least 16, with a WCC ID card.
Coed wrestling tryouts will be on Jan. 22 and 24, 7-9 p.m. Practices are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-9 p.m. Matches will be on the weekends. All wrestling events occur in the Police Academy Training Room in the Morris Lawrence building. Students must be at least 18, with a WCC ID card.
The coed Running/Walking Club will have its first meeting on Jan. 28 at 4 or 5 p.m. in SC 116. Students have the option of attending either time. After that, practices will be held on Mondays and Thursdays at the same times, with competitions on the weekend for those that are interested.
Tennis events will be located at the Chippewa Tennis Center. Participants should register between Jan. 14 and 25 in SC 116 as spaces are limited. Practice is on Mondays and Thursdays from Feb. 4 through Feb. 28, 9-10 p.m.
Coed bowling will meet at Colonial Lanes every Friday beginning Feb. 8 and ending March 1. Events will begin at 5:30 p.m. and students must register between Jan. 28 and Feb. 6 in SC 116.
Community Room Tournaments continue this semester, with events being held Monday through Thursday for the weeks of Jan. 14 to 17, 28 to 31, Feb. 4 to 7 and 11 to 14. The Jan. events will go from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and the Feb. events are from 6-7 p.m. Tournaments include table tennis, air hockey, foosball, and billiards. On applicable Wednesdays, only a dart tournament will be held in SC 116.
WCC women's soccer coach Krystal Brisse watches on as her team runs drills at a recent practice. Brisse said she is pleased with her team's good start, but thinks there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Washtenaw Community College women’s soccer coach Krystal Brisse stood in front of her team during practice last Monday to address them after their first loss of the season. Her message was simple:
“I don’t care if you’re a starter or not, if you don’t hustle, you won’t play,” she tells her team
That’s the type of comment you hear from a coach who is trying to motivate a team, particularly a team that maybe isn’t living up to expectations. But for the WCC women’s soccer team there were no expectations, largely because this year’s team is the first outdoor squad the college has ever fielded.
“I had a good feeling about our team. They’re aggressive, strong girls,” said Brisse. “I don’t want to say I was surprised, because I knew the skills were there, but we were definitely ecstatic to win our first two games.”
Last year, the college’s women’s soccer team played indoors.
But the newly formed team wasted no time and stormed out of the gate, winning its first two matches of the season before losing 3-1 last weekend against Oakland University.
Because the team is in its first season, the players are still learning how to play with one another on the field, while trying to build relationships off the field.
“So far I feel like we’re coming together very well,” said Asia Wood-Papenhagen, 18, from Ann Arbor. “The way we come together during the game, it doesn’t show that we’re not together all the time.”
Team co-captain Stacey Bolands, 19, from Ann Arbor dribbles the ball during a drill at practice last Monday. Bolands said the team is coming together nicely despite it being the club's first season together.
With the team only able to practice on Monday and Thursday each week, it’s hard to coordinate everyone’s schedules so they can meet for practice.
“It’s a little difficult just because we don’t get everyone practicing at the same time,” said captain Stacey Tipton, a 19-year-old graphic design major from Adrian. “Maybe not this past weekend, but the game before that, we played great together, like we had been practicing together all the time.”
Still, the team has found a way to be successful due to the players’ ability to play multiple positions.
“They’re in shape, athletic girls. They’re definitely multi-faceted players and that helps,” Brisse said. “Wherever we need them to play, they step up.”
One way the team is trying to improve the bonds that are usually formed on the field is by spending time together away from the game. Whether it’s eating dinner together before or after games or just meeting up to hang out, the team feels like it’s coming together, players say.
Stacey Bolands, 19, from Ann Arbor, can see the difference in this team from the previous indoor team of the past.
“It wasn’t a good program,” Bolands said.
A culinary arts major, Bolands actually played against the WCC team last season, but when she saw the changes that were taking place this year, she wanted in.
“The bonding and the format of the team is a lot better,” Bolands said. “One of the things has to be the coach. She pushes a lot for us to bond together and work as a team.”
With 19 girls on the team and skill levels ranging from experienced to never playing the game before, coming together as a team was a must for the Wolfpack. Brisse said that even if some of the girls have little experience, they still help the team.
“It’s great that (the inexperienced players) can come in and give our other girls that have little bit more experience, a little bit of a rest,” Brisse said. “It helps out in their picking up of the game.
“As long as you work hard and give it your all, you don’t know what you’re capable of, unless you try. A lot of the girls have stuck with it.
“It’s a family. They come here every week and we have fun.”
Photo Credit: Przemek Ozog | WCC wrestling Coach Scott lucas (left), 45, of Westland shows Chase Snider, 20, of Hartland and other members of the wrestling team hand technique.
Wrestling team gives grapplers a second chance on the mats
John Barajas thought his wrestling career was over. The 21-year-old journalism major from Westland hadn’t competed since his high school days at John Glenn High School. But thanks to the newly formed club wrestling team, Barajas has been given a second chance at the sport he loves.
“I missed it a lot,” Barajas said. “It gives me motivation to do something again. Wrestling was all I knew in high school. I missed the competitiveness, and this brings back good memories.”
Barajas was one of nearly 20 students who attended the team’s first practice last Tuesday night. While the practice didn’t involve much grappling, coach Scott Lucas was happy to see the turnout and get to know his team.
“I couldn’t be more excited with the opportunity for wrestling in general and for the young men and women in this area,” Lucas said. “Wrestling in the state of Michigan, the opportunities are few and far between.”
Lucas, 45, is a retired fire chief from Westland who also spent seven years as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan University. He competed at Michigan State from 1985-87.
Although in its infancy, the club team will be able to compete against other club teams in the state, according to Lucas.
“We’ll be able to compete with Grand Valley, U-M Dearborn and Mott Community College,” Lucas said. “We’ll also be able to compete with varsity programs at open tournaments.”
While competing against other schools is a welcomed opportunity, for the grapplers the opportunity to get back on the mats is the only thing that matters.
I wrestled for two years in high school, and I felt like I didn’t have enough years,” said Prince Kapoor, an 18-year old engineering major from Plymouth. “So this is cool that I’m a wrestler again.”
Chase Schneider, of Hartland, qualified for the state tournament all four years he was in high school. The 20-year-old criminal justice major is hoping to recapture his favorite aspect of the competition.
“The feeling of accomplishment, getting your arm raised after a match is always a nice feeling. It’ll be nice to have that back,” Schneider said. “I’ve wrestled for so long in my life, when I saw the flyer I thought ‘why not go and get back on the mats?’”
As enthused as the team is to get going, Lucas said the first couple weeks will be a feeling-out process for him and the wrestlers as they learn more about what the wrestlers’ skill levels are and how they can improve.
“We’re going to work in slow, we don’t want to run anybody off,” Lucas said. “We have everything from people who have never wrestled before to young men that were quite accomplished in high school.
“We have a wide variety and we want to really keep and develop everybody. If we can keep the guys that are new and develop the ones that have been around, it will make us a better team in the long run.”
As the team gets going and the season progresses, Lucas expects the number of competitors to continue to grow.
“I expect that after these guys get out and talk to people they know that wrestle, that we’ll have even more interest,” he said.
The team practices every Tuesday and Thursday from 7p.m. to 9 p.m. in ML 110. There are no costs to students, and the team is open to anyone who meets basic standards for competing in Club Sports at WCC.
It’s do-or-die time for Washtenaw Community College’s men’s volleyball team.
Holding the third-place position in the league with a 17-13 record, the Warriors face off with the second-place team, Net Set (17-10), on Dec. 8 in the first round of playoff games being held through the Ann Arbor Rec. and Ed.
The Warriors are the only volleyball team vying for a championship with almost no experience.
Physical therapy major and captain of the team, Jon Denys, 21, of New Hudson, describes the situation as ironic.
Benjamin LopezThe Washtenaw Voice
Doug Hatfield, 18, of Pinckney, a physical therapy major, spikes the ball.
“In the beginning, I thought our team was decent, but a lot of the players have made large strides towards becoming team players,” he said. “Everyone being dedicated has really helped us get to this and it helps that everyone has natural athletic talent.”
After playing on last year’s team, Denys attributes such early success to the accommodations of Club Sports.
“We’re trying to run plays. It’s not just show up and drop-in,” he said. “We actually have a coach here every day mentoring us, and everyone’s a student.”
While the team’s coach, Doug Tan, 31, of Belleville, has defeated Net Set before, he says his team will play just as hard in their match-up this week.
“I already knew the team was going to go pretty far to the play-offs, because of their potential, even though none of them had played organized volleyball before,” he said.
Not only have the Warriors never played organized volleyball, Tan has never coached a team before.
“For a coach that’s never coached before, he really sets the standard high for us to win every game,” Denys said. “Coaching during games, that’s a huge difference from last year. We have a coach calling time-outs and forcing us to gather our thoughts.”
Earlier in the season, the Warriors suffered the loss of their best player due to a knee injury. Aerospace engineering major Michael Willette, 19, of Ypsilanti, believes the injury hurt the team but gave a chance for others to strengthen their skills.
“It gave everyone else a chance to play and learn his position,” he said. “But we definitely could have used him.”
Denys believes the injury was just one obstacle to overcome, but the circumstance gave physical therapy major Doug Hatfield a chance to learn to play setter.
Club Sport Coordinator Erica Lemm thinks that the playoff games really show the character of the coach and players.
“I was impressed within the first three weeks of their season,” she said. “They knew positioning and they played together well when only one of them knew organized volleyball.”
While this is the first step in the right direction for the newly reorganized Club Sports to prove its viability, Lemm hopes it can inspire other teams to overcome their obstacles.
“This is huge for Club Sports, but even bigger for this team, and I hope other teams can learn from this success story,” Lemm said. “I am truly so proud of them.”
His teammates call him “Dr. White Chocolate” on the court. Off the court, he’s Kenny Grimm. The 41-year-old Ann Arbor resident will now represent Washtenaw Community College on one of its two men’s club basketball teams.
An astounding 48 students attended both practices held on Nov. 2 and Nov. 5, forcing Club Sports to form a second men’s team to give everyone a chance to compete.
For Grimm, a liberal arts major, to be selected when he didn’t even think he had the second chance to play is nothing short of amazing – at least for him.
Benjamin LopezThe Washtenaw Voice
E’Sean Hogan, left, attempts to block Deron Wilson, right, from dribbling the basketball.
“I was just glad I showed up, and making it was a surprise,” he said. “Being selected to be an ambassador to your school out of 48 people after not playing for so long is an honor.”
Men’s basketball coach Michael Mosley looks at it as a challenge worth embracing.
“I think it gives more of a realistic look to Club Sports being more competitive and more than just drop-in,” Mosley said. “It’s comparable to a varsity and junior varsity team and gives players the opportunity to advance.”
And while a new coach will be added to Club Sports before the first game on Dec. 4, Mosley has already had to act quickly to revise a practice that accommodated so many players.
“I’ve done this before, so I’m used to the dynamics,” he said. “The plus side is it poses opportunities and gives Team A someone to practice with inside the college.”
Club Sports Coordinator Erica Lemm said forming two teams is right in line with her idea of always having a place for students to compete if they’re willing and eligible.
“Another reason there are two teams is because some students that came to tryouts are not current students so they cannot play until January,” she said. “I wanted to have extra spots for these students and can make changes to the roster on Jan. 21.”
While budget was of concern as to whether or not Club Sports could afford two men’s teams, Lemm had already done her homework in that department.
“For most sports, they run two seasons typically played in the fall and the spring,” she said. “For basketball, the season runs from December to March so it was easy to find the money because I budget two seasons for each sport.”
While Team A has 12 players on the roster and Team B has eight on its roster, the new coach, when hired, can make changes and additions to the roster in January.
Players can move from Team B to Team A if interested. A tryout would be conducted if Team A had space on its roster.
“We’ve already done it with one person and it can be done again,” Mosley said.
In the Ann Arbor Rec and Ed league, Team A will compete in the B division and Team B will compete in the C Division. The difference in competition is minimal, but Lemm also didn’t want both teams competing with each other.
“By having them compete in different divisions, they will compete on different days in the week,” she said. “I’m hoping this will create a support amongst all three basketball teams (men’s and women’s).”
Business major, E’ Sean Hogan, 19, of Ypsilanti admits to be being out of shape, but welcomed the opportunity to compete.
“I was on the freeway when I got the news and literally got out of my car and put my hands in the air,” he said. “I was that excited.”
Saran Naqshbandi is often seen playing Ping-Pong dressed in hijab in the Student Center in between classes like so many others.
The new Ping-Pong drop in sport offers a safe sanctuary to participate in a sport that doesn’t require contact with men. As part of her Muslim religion, a contact sport such as football or wrestling would be deemed inappropriate for the 17-year-old biology major from Ann Arbor – when competing with men who aren’t family.
“Contact with other men would bring feelings up,” Naqshbandi, said. “It is against our belief system and because we’re not used to that kind of culture, it would change the meaning around.”
Jared AngleThe Washtenaw Voice
Students play Ping-Pong in in front of the Club Sports office in the Student Center.
Naqshbandi explained that if a Muslim woman is interested in a particular sport, it is certainly embraced by her religion. Sometimes other accommodations must be made to compete.
“For example, I’m in a martial arts class with men and women,” she said. “I’m allowed to compete with the other women and my brother who is also apart of the class.”
Zeinab Aisheemary, 18, of Ann Arbor, a biology and chemistry major, is also seen playing a lot in between classes learning the game because of the set-up of the table.
“My friend and I picked up the paddles and were playing as if it was tennis. We were hitting it back and forth rather than being gentle and one of the main guys of the table taught us,” Aisheemary said. “I didn’t know how to play until two weeks ago.”
And they are not alone. Sign-up’s for playing are being conducted in between games, and more than 15 people at one time have been seen waiting to get on the table to play.
“From 10 a.m.-5 p.m., it’s literally in use the entire time,” said Erica Lemm, Club Sport coordinator. “It’s very rare to see the table get a break.”
The addition of Ping-Pong is new to Club Sports, and its sudden popularity came as a surprise. While preparing for the Ping-Pong tournament that took place on Nov. 16-17, Lemm brought the old table out from the basement of the Student Center to ensure it was in good working condition.
“As I wheeled it in,” she said. “Before it was even out of the box, people were surrounding the table wanting to play. It’s exciting.”
Initially, the table was set up directly in front of the Club Sports office with half of it taking up the space in front of The Sweet Spot. It was moved to the sitting area, so students could play and the Club Sports staff could better supervise it.
“For now, the students have been extremely respectful and we haven’t had any issues with how the table is operating,” Lemm said.
Bruce Williams, 32, of Detroit, an automotive engineering major, considers himself a regular at the table and enforces the rules of signing up and getting waivers from each new player.
“Whenever I’m not in class, I’m here at the table,” he said. “I spend about four hours a day and use it as a de-stress between classes, especially when I have a big test.”
And while the table is here to stay, Linda Jachum-Owczak, Club Sports assistant, emphasized that beginners like Naqshbandi and Aisheemary are always welcome to play.
“Everyone has been terrific sportsmen,” she said. “They don’t care if you’re a beginner, and they’re willing to teach anyone.”
When you first observe Johannes Boehme doing his thing on the volleyball court, he appears intense to the point of intimidation while having fun and making friends.
The casual observer would never suspect that Boehme is living in a strange land without the support of his family or friends across the Atlantic Ocean.
A business major, Boehme, 22, of Gera, Germany was selected to participate in a year-long exchange program called the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals. Boehme is one of 75 German scholarship recipients spread throughout the United States. He is at Washtenaw Community College in a program designed to strengthen ties between the younger generations of the two countries.
And he’s doing his part.
Jared AngleThe Washtenaw Voice
Johannes Boehme, 22, Gera, Germany, Business
Not only is Boehme a member of the men’s soccer and volleyball teams, but he is also an official for intramural sports.
Boehme is known to be one of the many frequent players at the Ping-Pong table in the Student Center. Erica Lemm, Club Sports coordinator, describes Boehme as multi-talented.
“Johannes is a very intense player. When he’s there, he’s there to play,” she said. “He’s a good role-model talent wise.”
Typically in the exchange program, the students would live with a host-family that could oversee his actions while in the U.S. Instead, Boehme is living in a house with three roommates, all about the same age as him and studying or working in various areas.
“It’s really different, because I am the only one in the program living without a host family,” Boehme said.
He’s enjoying life here. Boehme finds some things that many Americans take seriously, like the Michigan-Ohio State football game and college rivalries in general, rather amusing.
“We don’t have all of these college teams,” he said. “In Germany, everything is in their separate clubs. Schools don’t have teams, and you must go to the city to compete in a club.”
Recently, in preparation to go home, Boehme enrolled in the University of Leipzig and is saddened that he can’t compete on a sports team at school there.
His father, Mirko Boehme, 44, is extremely proud of his son for making it into such a prestigious program.
“I have no fears of him being in America, and wish the best for him,” Mirko said. “I hope he’s found some good friends and created a support base here in the U.S.”
As described by his parents, Boehme has always been an athlete and did well both in sports and academics.
“I hope when he comes home, he’ll be way more independent,” Mirko said. “In the U.S., he has to take care of his own obligations rather than us, as his parents, mentoring him.”
After the Fall semester, as part of his program, Boehme will have to find a job for the rest of his tenure here, in a concentration related to his major. Unfortunately, he’s facing several challenges, just like most U.S. citizens trying to find work.
“I’m looking for a job now, but not finding anything as of yet,” he said. “I didn’t realize how difficult it was going to be to find a marketing or business position.”
Men’s volleyball coach Doug Tan said Boehme will be missed when he has to leave the team.
“Johannes is instrumental in every aspect of the game, whether it be passing, hitting or serving,” Tan said. “He was probably the best player to tryout when he came to us.”
Lemm will also miss him around the Club Sports office.
“When he comes out to the Ping-Pong table, other students fight for him to be on their team,” she said.
Despite losing an essential player next semester, Tan but is looking forward to being a fellow teammate with Boehme in a recreational league in Ann Arbor.
“Doug has always joked with him on the court that if the situation gets too intense, to say his words in German,” Lemm said. “He’s a funny guy and is always encouraging of the young guys on the court who haven’t played organized volleyball.”
For Jeremiah Baron, being affiliated with the National Intercollegiate Running Club Association is the next step for teams competing in Club Sports at Washtenaw Community College to become more competitive.
“Last year when I competed, I ranked middle of the pack or ranked a little higher,” said Baron, 29, of Ann Arbor, a double major in secondary education and human services.
NIRCA is a central governing body for running clubs across the nation. Any club team can compete in this affiliation.
NIRCA provides central competitions, support and networking opportunities for each club. Before its founding in spring 2006, most club teams would compete in local road races, local invitations or worse, they didn’t compete at all.
Club SportsCourtesy Photo
Left to right: Jeremiah Baron, Dante Michael, Joshua Sanchez, Benjamin Jacoby, Sean Owsley, and Joe Maki are members of the National Intercollegiate Running Club Association, pictured here just before a race.
Previously, the running club only participated in local road races such as Big House, Big Heart and Turkey Trot – both held each fall. Tiffany Stoddard, 23, of Ypsilanti, Club Sports assistant, is excited for the club to be competing with other colleges.
“The feedback from the team is exciting,” Stoddard said. “Last year, we would only compete in local fundraising events, and now we have a chance to compete as a team together.”
WCC’s running club is the first team to join a club league. They will compete in one to two races this year, each set up just for local collegiate running clubs.
“All the teams want to play against other colleges and we are trying to work up to that point,” said Erica Lemm, Club Sports Coordinator. “This is the first step in that direction.”
Free for the first year, the second year of accreditation will require dues ranging from $200-$600, depending on how many runners register for next season.
Baron sees the stiffer competition as a push to train harder.
“The trails are different and the distances are different,” he said. “The past race helped me realize where my endurance level was with other students in my age level.”
More than two months into the Fall season, Club Sports has proven its viability on campus by adding more drop-in and intramural sports. Demand has increased while some sports are still struggling for more players.
In addition, a drop-in ping-pong club has been added to the front side of Club Sports in the Student Center.
Meantime, men and women’s basketball teams are being formed to start competing in mid-November. Men’s soccer is showing some struggles, but with new leadership the team hopes to continue to improve. New coaches have been named for all three teams.
Michael Nightingale, Women’s Basketball
Recently, Michael Nightingale, 40, of Adrian, graduated from Sienna Heights with a degree in sports management and plans to use that training in getting the women’s basketball team prepared for the season.
He said that if he has players capable of moving up to the next level to a four-year college, he intends on training and mentoring to the best of his ability.
Nightingale got his start coaching at Lutheran School, and that continued for 10 years. After his school closed due to budget cuts and low enrollment, he moved to Tecumseh with his wife and three children.
For the last four years, Nightingale has been coaching boys’ Amateur Athletic Union basketball.
And while tryouts were just completed last week, Nightingale has a general idea of what’s in store for him.
“I expect to be competitive right off the bat and then keep building on that,” he said. “I have high expectations for the team.
Erica Lemm, Club Sports coordinator says that the women’s basketball team in the past has only received enough women through tryouts to play games with no substitutes and that leaves little room for injuries or other commitments.
“I’m hoping that’s going to grow due to his excellent attitude,” she said. “He’s really passionate about teaching basketball and running sporting events.”
Michael Mosley, Men’s Basketball
Michael Mosley’s basketball career began at Glen Oaks Community College located in Centerville. After leaving gocc, Mosley, of Indianapolis, went on to play for two years at Adrian College.
Mosley played briefly in the Continental Basketball Association for just a few months before leaving to start a family, and he found work with Ann Arbor Public Schools as a paraprofessional specializing in autism.
Recently, Mosley graduated with a master’s degree in athletic administration. He hopes to pursue community college athletics on a more aggressive level.
“Before applying for the position, I was wondering when WCC was going to invest some of their resources and some of their commitment towards athletics,” he said. “And I’m very glad they are now.”
Mosley hopes to get players interested in moving on to the next level, but is careful to stress the pressures put on a college athlete.
“I try to be realistic about what other opportunities that athletes might have on a competitive club team,” he said. “I think it’s important to stress how serious athletes affiliated with the ncaa, or other organizations are. They lift, eat well and hire outside training to be the best.”
And while it can be daunting to an athlete at the community college level, Mosley is quick to encourage players with the skill level and commitment.
Lemm believes Mosley will have a tough job putting together a team at tryouts due to the high turnout expected.
“It’s going to be a lot for him to narrow down,” Lemm said. “He seems very excited and knowledgeable. I’ve only heard good things about him.”
Michael Mistaleski, Men’s Soccer
Michael Mistaleski, 56, of Oakland County, is no stranger to coaching soccer. After all, he’s been the coach of Gabriel Richard High School’s boys’ soccer team since 2005.
Not only has Mistaleski’s G.R. team won four consecutive Catholic High School League division championships, but he’s also been named “Coach of the Year” five times by the division.
And while the team has had some ups and downs with games, Mistaleski is willing to coach them to a higher level.
“They play like they’re a family and are really close-knit,” Mitaleski said. “They are really open and responsive to anything they know is going to make them better.”
Lemm thinks that all the team needs right now is one win.
“I think Michael can really get them there,” she said. “He comes with a lot of experience. I think with that experience, he can easily nurture the team.”
Since June 30, Club Sports has served 291 participants in a variety of club and intramural athletics.
This number is up by 126 versus last year, when from June 30, 2010 to June 29, 2011, the program had only 165 participants.
Erica Lemm, Club Sports coordinator, attributes such early success to aggressive marketing and the addition of intramural and drop-in sport programs.
“Just the fact that the office is always open and the staff knows what’s going on is a huge change,” she said. “Having events go on outside the office, like ping-pong, is drawing attention.”
And Pete Leshkevich, director of Student Development and Activities, attributes all this year’s work to Lemm and her staff.
“Erica has really jumped in and blew away all of our expectations,” Leshkevich said. “She really turned it up a notch. It’s been impressive watching what she’s been doing with the program. The entire staff there has really taken on the challenge of getting people active.”
Club Sports now has 12 club teams, in addition to 14 intramural activities and six drop-in sports.
Tiffany Stoddard, club sports assistant, also thinks the image created has changed the perception of the campus.
“We’ve put more fliers out around campus, sent more broadcast emails,” Stoddard said. “Erica is always looking for ways to help students and willing to try out new ideas if interest is there.”
