Fairfield's in the future for Schaumburg's Akinola

When Oyinkan Akinola made the trip to Connecticut to visit Fairfield University this past July, she was quite a distance from her home in the northwest suburbs.

"But when I was there, it felt like home," said the Schaumburg senior who is the leading attacker for the Saxons with her explosive arm swing.

Fairfield will eventually become her home after she graduates from Schaumburg next May.

The 5-foot-10 senior committed this summer to the Stags' Division I volleyball program and coach Todd Kress, who has an overall record of 328-239 and was the second youngest coach in NCAA history with 200 career wins. Kress previously was the head coach at Buffalo and Florida State.

"He was super nice," Akinola said of her future coach who recorded four conference Coach of the Year awards, won seven conference championships, made four NCAA appearances, and has coached six All-Americans, nine All-Region players, and more than 40 All-Conference selections.

Akinola was an all-conference and all-area selection for Saxons coach Jeanette Pancratz as a junior.

Akinola knew she wanted to play the sport since her freshman year at Schaumburg and credits her Jane Addams Junior High physical education teacher Stacy Molenda with keeping her on the right path to play volleyball.

"I wasn't very good in seventh grade but she was a great coach and helped me through the whole process," Akinola said.

Now she is in the process of helping to lead Schaumburg's girls volleyball team into Thursday's Mid-Suburban League championship match at Hersey.

Next fall, it will be on to Fairfield where she plans to study business.

"They have a good business school," said Akinola, who is a peer counselor at Schaumburg High School. "And I've really enjoyed my business classes at Schaumburg"

Akinola is all business on the court, leading the Saxons in kills after serving as the No. 2 attacker behind all-area selection Kiana Lewis last year.

"I just love the speed of the game and the intensity," Akinola said. "I love playing good teams because it shows us how we match up."

Akinola matches up with the best of them, and that's why she is headed to a Division I program.

Women's soccer

While playing soccer at St. Viator High School, Taylor Skala earned four varsity letters.

Her 38 career goals ranked third on the school's all-time list.

Skala didn't stop scoring goals when she got to Rockhurst University.

And now, she has scored more goals than any other player in Rockhurst history.

Her pair of goals in the Hawks' 3-1 victory over visiting Southern Indiana gave her 42 for her career to break the former mark held by Katie Kammerer.

Skala scored in the fifth minute with an assist from Jessica Cook. Skala's second goal was her 10th of the season and gave the Hawks a 3-0 lead early in the second half.

The Hawks improved 10-1-2 and 7-1-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

• Lake Forest sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Tenuta (Fremd) improved to 10-0-0 with a 0.90 goals against average this season when she picked up her third shutout of the season and sixth of her career in a 3-0 decision at St. Norbert.

Lake Forest is 14-0-0 overall with six of the victories coming in Midwest Conference play. They are ranked 18th in the nation in the latest D3soccer.com poll.

• Augustana sophomore Jessa Rizzo (Fremd) leads the Vikings (9-3-2) with 7 goals, including five game winners.

Men's golf

Oakton Community College sophomore golfer Will Baumgarder (Palatine) posted the fifth best score with his 75 average in the NJCAA Region IV Men's Golf Tournament played at the Prairie View Golf Course in Byron.

His strong showing earned him a spot on the NJCAA Region IV All Region Team qualifying him for the NJCAA Division II National Championship Tournament, which will be played in Scottsboro, Ala., in May of 2015.

Baumgarder is the first Oakton golfer to qualify for nationals in over two decades.

Men's cross country

Missouri junior Tyler Schneider (Conant) finished ninth with a personal best 8000 meter time of 24:02 at the 28-team Louisville Classic.

Teammate Dan Roe (Buffalo Grove), also a junior, finished 16th in the event with a personal best time of 24:26.

Missouri took third place and improved its regional ranking to seventh.

• Augustana junior Ethan Koch (Prospect) was 78th in 25:50 in the 45-team Wisconsin-Oshkosh Invitational which included many ranked Division II and III teams.

Men's soccer

Matt Briars (Fremd) scored the only goal for Millikin in a 3-1 loss to visiting Wheaton College. Briars was assisted by Nick Abel (Schaumburg) and Zach Solorio (Elk Grove).

• Augustana junior Anthony D'Angelo (Stevenson) leads the Vikings (9-4-1) with 4 goals and he is second with 8 points.

Football

Augustana quarterback Sam Frasco (Prospect) ran for an 11-yard touchdown in the first quarter and that was the only offensive scoring play in the Vikings' 7-2 victory over visiting Illinois Wesleyan.

On offense, Frasco leads the team with 380 yards and six touchdowns on 96 rushing attempts. He has completed 79 of 138 passes (57.2 percent) for 823 yards and an additional six scores. He's been intercepted just three times and has a current streak of 80 consecutive pass attempts without a pick.

• Augustana sophomore linebacker Erik Johnson (Warren) had a key interception in the fourth quarter to help preserve the victory.

• Sophomore linebacker Jack Asquini (Buffalo Grove) is Augustana's leading tackler. His 38 solo tackles, 17 assists and 55 total stops are all team highs. He's recorded 4 tackles for loss, recovered 2 fumbles, forced one and broken up two pass attempts. Augustana junior Frank Kalble (Hersey) leads the Vikings with 6 tackles for loss.

Women's tennis

Augustana sophomore Dana Goggin (Buffalo Grove) won the No. 2 singles championship at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships in Bloomington. The Vikings took third as a team.

She posted a 16-2 singles mark and her twin sister Lauren Goggin (Buffalo Grove) went 15-4 at No. 1 singles.

In doubles, the Goggins comprised Augustana's No. 1 combination and finished the fall with a 16-5 record.

The Vikings finished the fall with a 12-2 dual meet record and a 4-2 CCIW mark.

Women's volleyball

Augustana senior Emily Leazer (St. Viator) has 22 aces, third best on the Vikings (18-7) and she also has 297 digs, which are the second most.

Women's cross country

Behind a 16th-place individual finish from senior co-captain Becca Sund (Palatine), Augustana finished eighth among 30 teams at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitational at Ettrick Golf Club. Sund completed the course in 22:47.29.

Rugby

The Arlington Stallions completed their fall season with a 6-1 record after defeating the South Side Irish Academy 38-6 Saturday in Elgin.

Fullback Erik Washer (Buffalo Grove) was chosen Man-of-the-Match on the strength of his conversion of 4 of the Stallions' 6 tries and his reliability in gathering and returning pressurizing kicks from the Irish.

"Erik's play today was outstanding when under pressure, especially so considering this is his first season playing rugby," said Stallions coach Paul Bergman. "This was a great way to end what is essentially a developmental season to get us ready for the championship competition next spring."

Bergman also saw positive progress in the entire squad.

"Colin Farmer's versatility, Zach Kaminski's intensity and the field generalship of Kevin Anderson and Alex Gountanis were things that we hoped to see evolve this fall and that's exactly what we got from them. Going forward, that bodes very well for us."

The Stallions enter an off-season preparation period that will see the continuation of their Leadership Academy today at the Camelot Park Community Center at 7:30 p.m. where former USA National Team Captain Mark Sawicki will discuss "Self-Perception and Internal Motivation" with team members.

For more information on this exciting opportunity, contact Coach Bergman directly at (847) 845-4982 or go to www.arlingtonstallionsrugby.com.

Wrestling

Registration for the Jr. Cougar Wrestling Club will be held on Thursday, Oct. 30 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Conant High School wrestling room. Anyone in grades first through eighth is welcome to join.

The first practice will be held on Tues, Nov. 11 at 6:15 p.m. and registration will also be held prior to practice.

Each wrestler will need a birth certificate.

Practices will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the Conant High School wrestling room. The registration fee is $160. Any questions can be directed to Brad Bessemer at (224) 622-7189.

• Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com.