Eagles gone Wildes
Benedictine volleyball coach Jennifer Wildes knows a thing or two about success.
Wildes (formerly Olson) was one of the most decorated student-athletes in Benedictine history, starring in both volleyball and basketball.
So it probably isn't too much of a surprise that after back-to-back 20-win seasons, Wildes has the Eagles humming along with a 12-1 record in, her third year as head coach. Benedictine has won all three of the tournaments in which it has participated and is 2-0 in the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC)
At Lake Forest last Saturday, the Eagles knocked out host Lake Forest in three straight and scored a big win over regional rival and nationally-ranked North Central in four games.
The team is led by returning all-conference seniors setter Angela Vitto and middle hitter Danielle Mikos and freshman outside hitter Kayla Leyden.
Men's basketball: The Benedictine men's basketball team has a date with Division I Northwestern on Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan arena in Evanston.
It will be the Eagles' first meeting with a Big Ten team. In recent years Benedictine has faced Division I Northern Illinois in an exhibition game (2005-06) and in regular season games, they lost to both Eastern Illinois and Loyola in 2004-05.
"We are obviously excited at the opportunity to play at Northwestern," said coach Benedictine coach Keith Bunkenburg. "This will be a tremendous atmosphere for our players and fans, alike. It will not only be great from a competition standpoint, but also something for our players to remember for the rest of their lives."
DuPage: Last weekend was a memorable one for the College of DuPage women's tennis team.
The Chaps (8-1) swept an unusual pair of doubleheaders, defeating Waubonsee Community College and Rend Lake in doubles on Saturday, and then coming back on Sunday and winning the singles competition against the same two schools.
Coach Jim Bowers' Chaparrals swept all nine matches against Rend Lake and went 8-1 against Waubonsee
Abby Conover (Naperville North), Alyssa Arnold (Wheaton North), Blaire Hufford (Glenbard North) and Jacquelyn McMahon (Montini) both won a pair of singles matches.
Ashley Shannahan (Willowbrook) collected a singles win against Waubonsee, while Jenny Green (West Chicago) and Rebecca Davis were both victorious against Rend Lake.
Sweeping their doubles contests were the teams of Conover and Green, Arnold and Hufford and McMahon and Davis.
"We've been practicing really hard and the results are taking care of themselves," said Bowers.
Wheaton: Senior quarterback Zach Ullrich (Wheaton North) has been named the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts in leading the Thunder (2-0) to a 55-14 win at Washington (Mo.) last Saturday.
Ullirch completed 16 of 23 passes for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns. His longest toss of the day was a 73-yard connection with Chris Fossum, leading to Wheaton's fourth touchdown.
Ullrich leads the CCIW in passing with 244 yards per game and is the league-leader in total offense with 248 yards per game.
Cross country: Both the Thunder men's and women's cross country team opened the 2007 season with wins at the Spartan Cross Country Classic at Aurora University last Friday.
Senior Brandon Mull won the men's 8K race with a course-record 26:12.76. Matt Field (Wheaton Academy) finished second and Daniel Ball (Wheaton Academy) was third in the six-team field.
Lisa Baumert won the women's 6K eight-team competition with a time of 22:57.28, Marah Borgman finished second and Laura Krist (Neuqua Valley) was sixth.
North Central: The women's soccer team is off to a 3-2-1 start after posting a win and a tie at the Cardinals' Sal Vaccaro Tournament last weekend.
Sophomore Laura Peterson leads the team in scoring with 4 goals including the winning tally in the 1-0 victory over Mount Mercy last Friday.
Sophomore keeper Elise Manzie (Naperville Central) has recorded 4 shutouts in 6 games, with 20 saves and a .81 goals-against average.
"It all starts with our defense," said coach Jenni Kapanen. "Manzie has been rock-solid in goal and our backline of Jessica Stephen (Benet), Lisa Link, Mary Boscarino and Laura Mueller and Stefani Masterton in midfield, have been improving every game."
Elmhurst: Patrick Ambriz was named the CCIW Defensive Player of the Week in helping Elmhurst (2-0) to a 36-13 win over the University of Chicago last Saturday. Ambriz, a senior safety, finished the contest with 6 solo tackles including a pair of quarterback sacks. He also picked off a pass and returned it 30 yards to set up an Elmhurst touchdown.
Running back David Wilharm accounted for three of the Bluejays offensive scores with a pair of touchdown receptions and a 1-yard touchdown run.
Men's soccer: The Elmhurst men's soccer team (5-1-1) scored a pair of wins last week, defeating Benedictine 2-0 on Wednesday and the University of Chicago 2-1 on Saturday.
Elmhurst has already surpassed last year's win-total.
The Bluejays have scored 16 goals in 7 games, lead by Jake Pahr, who has 5 and 2 assists, and Jon Brehm, who has scored 3. Against Chicago, Pahr and Jacob Misel each scored a goal and registered an assist.