Elmhurst in playoffs despite loss
After a loss on Friday in the CCIW Tournament semifinals, the Elmhurst women's volleyball team was in risk of its season being over. However, with an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championships, the Bluejays will live to see another day.
Elmhurst will play in familiar territory when it starts its playoff schedule against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The team was sent to the Carthage regional, where it just finished playing the CCIW Tournament. Including the CCIW champion Carthage team, the conference sent three teams to the playoffs, with Carthage and Millikin.
The 30-8 Bluejays will be making their fourth consecutive NCAA appearance, reaching the Final Four two years ago. If they hope to continue their postseason success they will need to start by beating a Wisconsin-Whitewater team that finished 26-8. There is also a looming rematch with Carthage in the regional finals.
Things kick off for Elmhurst on Thursday. Its Wisconsin-Whitewater match will start at 12:30 p.m. at Carthage. The playoff schedule is unrelenting, and each victory in the regionals would be followed by the next game on the following day.
Wheaton:
The wins continue to pile up for the Wheaton College football team. A 13-7 victory that saw the Thunder stop Illinois Wesleyan in the final minute to keep its perfect record. With the win Wheaton earned at least a share of the CCIW championship and owns the playoff tiebreaker against North Central.
One more win and Wheaton will have secured its first outright conference title and undefeated season since 2003. With at least a share the Thunder won its second title in three years.
Wheaton will close the regular season on the road against Carthage on Saturday. After playing Carthage the Thunder will learn about its playoff opponent. The team failed to make the NCAA playoffs the last time it won the conference title in 2012 due to a tiebreaker and losing out on an at-large bid.
Benedictine:
Benedictine has begun the search for its next men's and women's track and field coach after James Kluckhohn announced his departure.
Kluckhohn, who had been the coach for both teams since 2008, will leave for an administrative position with North Central. During his time with Benedictine, the team showed growing conference success. The men's team won back-to-back outdoor conference titles in 2011 and 2012 with Kluckhohn winning conference coach of the year in both years. The men's team has also had back-to-back NCAA appearances with one All-American.
In his final statement with the team, Kluckhohn said his decision to leave Benedictine was at least partially made in an effort to balance his career and family.