Go Big Red!

An inside look at one of the 24 clubs on campus.

Where the magic happens. (Photo courtesy of SHU WC on Facebook)

Who

Sacred Heart University Weightlifting Team

What

The Snatch (lifting the bar from the ground to arms length overhead in one motion) and the Clean & Jerk (lifting the bar from the ground to the shoulders then hoisting it from the shoulders to arms length overhead) are the only two lifts in the sport of weightlifting.

The sport is showcased globally every four years at the Summer Olympics and is regulated by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).  The IWF’s United States affiliate is USA Weightlifting.  The Sacred Heart Weightlifting Team is a registered club with USA Weightlifting.

Where

Practices are held in the weightroom of the William H. Pitt Center on Wednesday and Friday (5PM-7PM) and on Sunday (11AM-1PM).

Why

“Since I have been on the team, I have met many new people and made many new friends.  We push each other and make it fun at the same time.” – senior lifter AJ Cohen

“My experience on the club has been great.  We have a good bunch of guys and girls, and we have a good bond with one another.” – junior lifter Zander Behzad

“I have never been a part of a more welcoming team.  Joining this team was one of the best decisions I have made at Sacred Heart.  However, I wish I had not waited until my senior year to capitalize on my love for the weight room.” – senior lifter Michelle Grosodonia

“As a new member of the team, my teammates have been extremely welcoming.  Every practice they offer words of advice, cheer, and push me to attempt weights I did not think I was capable of lifting.  I love the atmosphere so far.” – senior lifter Chelsea Carlson

“I have loved working with the team.  It’s always fun watching the members progress from learning the lifts to getting down the technique and achieving new PR’s.” – manager Ania Kadlof

When

There are 2 competitions left for the Spring 2012 season:

1) USAW NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CHAMP’S @ SHREVEPORT, LA (APRIL 13-15)

2) WEST HARTFORD OPEN @ WEST HARTFORD, CT (APRIL 29)

How

For more information/interest on the SHU Weightlifting Team, contact Head Coach, and 5-time New England Champion, Joel Quintong here.

Take a look at senior lifter and 94kg New England Champion Don Johnson attack the SHU record books

See the full profile I wrote for The Spectrum (the SHU student newspaper) and all my articles

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Located just 50 miles from East Rutherford, New Jersey (home of the New York Giants) and 120 miles from Foxborough, Massachusetts (home of the New England Patriots), Sacred Heart University is caught in the middle of this epic Super Bowl rematch.

So, what’s the buzz on campus?

Super Bowl XLVII MVP Eli Manning and his Giants hope to upset the Pats once again. They are 3 point dogs. (Photo courtesy of Rant Sports)

Senior Erika Wicke from Norwalk, CT

“I’m going to be rooting for the Giants.  I am a huge fan.  I know we can win again.”

Professor Dr. Sid Gottlieb

“I’ve followed the Giants since I was a kid and will be rooting for them big time in the Super Bowl.”

3-time Super Bowl champion, Tom Brady, hopes to avenge 2008's loss. Big Blue denied the Patriots a 19-0 season, a feat never accomplished in the 92-year history of the NFL. (Photo courtesy of Davis Liu)

Freshman Jeff Flanagan from Plymouth, MA

“I am rooting for the Patriots.  I grew up watching them my entire life.”

What about neutral fans? (Photo courtesy of Green Parrot)

LukeWischnowski, SHU QB

“As a QB, I would like to see both quarterbacks play well and make good throws to their talented receivers.”

Super Bowl Intern, senior Caroline Campo

“I was in complete shock,” said Campo of her selection. “Interning at the Super Bowl is an opportunity of a lifetime. I am so excited, lucky, thankful, and, just overall, ecstatic.”

LEAVE A COMMENT AND TELL US WHO YOU THINK WILL WIN SUPER BOWL XLVI

The Sacred Heart University Pioneers men’s basketball team was absolutely dominated by Northeast Conference foe, the Wagner College Seahawks (Staten Island, NY), 73-54, Wednesday night at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield. CT.

Shane Gibson averages 20.7 ppg to lead the NEC. The Pioneers needed two of him tonight. (Photo courtesy of sacredheartpioneers.com)

Storyline

Sacred Heart (10-12, 4-5 NEC) shot poorly from wire -to-wire and was fatally reckless with the ball.  Wagner (16-4, 7-2 NEC) rode the hot hands of their sharpshooters and the athleticism of their suffocating defense.  The Pioneers had a 4-3 lead early on, but the Seahawks ripped off a 15-1 run, never looking back.

Key Stats

Sacred Heart shot 3-20 (15%) from beyond the arc.  They came into the evening 1st in the NEC in 3-point percentage (38.1) and 43rd in the nation.  This was in sharp contrast to Wagner, who drilled 11-21 (52.4%) of their 3-point attempts.  The Pioneers also turned the ball over a ridiculous 19 times, leading to 25 Wagner points.

Players of the Game

SHU

Red-shirt junior guard Shane Gibson (Killingly, CT).  The NEC’s leading scorer dropped 20, his 10th 20-point showing in the last 11 games.

WC

Senior guard Tyler Murray (Toronto, Canada).  The NEC’s top 3-point shooter scored each of his 21 points from downtown.

Unsung Hero

Sacred Heart red-shirt junior center Nick Greenbacker (Coventry, CT).  The Pioneer captain scored 14 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, raising his season averages of 2.9 and 2.0, respectively.

Quote of the Day

“It was a complete team effort, everyone was turning it over.  It’s hard to win when you turn it over that many times.”

-Greenbacker

Coach’s Corner

“(Wagner) has nice balance, they did what they had to do.  I thought we battled them on the boards, it’s just that you can’t give it away.”

- Sacred Heart Head Coach Dave Bike, who’s 34 years at one institution only trails 1 active coach (Jim Boeheim, Syracuse).

Turning the Other Cheek

“We go hard tomorrow at practice and leave this one at the door.  Everyone should get a good night’s rest and be ready to work tomorrow and be ready to take on Mount on Saturday.”

-Gibson

Next

The Pioneers remain home to battle another NEC opponent,  Mount St. Mary’s (4-16, 2-7 NEC), on Saturday at 3:30pm.

The Sacred Heart University men’s basketball team needed late heroics from two key upperclassmen on Saturday to defeat in-state foe Central Connecticut State University, 62-61, at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, Connecticut.

In front of 1,368 fans on “Pack the Pitt” day, Sacred Heart Pioneer redshirt-junior guard Shane Gibson, the Northeast Conference leading scorer, hit a fade-away jumper with 6.7 seconds left on the clock to win the game for Sacred Heart.

Gibson’s game-winner followed a crucial steal by senior forward Stan Dulaire, who logged 24 minutes off the bench.

The Northeast Conference (NEC) matchup, featuring the top four scorers in the conference, played out like a heavyweight fight, with 13 ties and 13 lead-changes.

The Central Connecticut Blue Devils (9-9, 6-2 NEC) started the game cold, only scoring two points in the first four minutes.  But freshman guard Kyle Vinales, the NEC’s third-leading scorer, got hot, sinking three 3 pointers en route to 16 first half points and 20 for the game.

Following a 9-0 Central Connecticut run, Sacred Heart (10-11, 4-4 NEC) sophomore guard Chris Evans evened the contest at 27 with a layup.  Evans finished the game with nine points.

However, Vinales and senior guard Robby Ptacek, the NEC’s fourth-leading scorer, ended the half converting two free throws each, giving Central Connecticut a 31-28 halftime lead.

The second half continued to be a slugfest, with each team exchanging blows.  The Blue Devils took their largest lead of the night when senior forward Ken Horton, the NEC’s second-leading scorer, laid one up and in 50-seconds into the half for a 33-28 advantage.  Horton notched his 26^th career double-double, turning in 25 points and 14 rebounds.

Sacred Heart would climb back, only to turn the ball over down one with 22-seconds remaining, setting the stage for Dulaire.

Under the Pioneer basket, Horton attempted to in-bound the ball to Ptacek.  Dulaire dove for the pass and intercepted it, making the play of the game.

“We doubled Ptacek and he cut to the ball,” said Dulaire.  “I tried to stay with him and I saw Horton was looking right at him.  I know if I get the steal we have a chance to win.  So, I just dove and, luckily, I got it and called a timeout.”

Sacred Heart used the timeout to plan for the win.

Gibson in-bounded the ball to Dulaire, who gave it to freshman guard Phil Gaetano.  Gaetano passed it to Gibson and cut to the corner.  With two defenders on him, Gibson found Gaetano, who passed up an open look, dribbled into the paint, and sent it back to Gibson.  Gibson dribbled once and put up the clincher, falling away.

See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkyeBhos6_s&feature=player_embedded

Ptacek got a look, tried a three, but missed and the buzzer sounded, giving the Pioneers the victory and avenging a December overtime loss to the Blue Devils.

“After Stan gets the steal,” said Gibson, who finished with a game-high 26 points, “we congratulate and thank him because it gives us another opportunity to win.  {Head Coach Dave Bike} just said get the ball and take the shot.  I knew they were going to be all over me, so I saw Phil in the corner and gave him the ball.  He went baseline, found me in the corner, and I pump-faked and hit the shot.”

“We wanted to get Gibson a chance to touch it,” said Bike, in his 34^th year at the helm of his alma mater.  “Phil could have got a shot off but he was looking for Shane and, fortunately, Shane ended up getting the ball and made a tough shot.”

The Pioneers play the third game of a four-game home stand when they host Wagner tomorrow night at 7:00pm.

The Lindenwood University women’s ice hockey team notched the school’s first ever victory against a Division I program Friday night at the expense of Sacred Heart University.

In front of 113 freezing fans at the Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the Lady Lions (5-21-0) struck early before dominating the Pioneers (8-13-1) the rest of the way.

Just 1:22 after the puck dropped, Lindenwood junior forward Sarah Oliphant (Battleford, Saskatchewan) took the assist from junior defenseman Amy Stober (Hays, Alberta), beating Sacred Heart sophomore goalie Alexius Schutt (Elk River, MN) for a quick tally.

The Lady Lions, celebrating their initial year in the NCAA, would not look back.

It was déjà vu all over again to begin the second, as – 1:22 into the period – Lindenwood freshman forward Caitlyn Post (Clarkston, MI) received the feed from freshman forward Kendra Broad (Patrolia, Ontario) and put it over Schutt’s stick and into the back of the net for a 2-0 advantage.

5 minutes later, Lady Lion sophomore forward Allysson Arcibal (Vista, CA) attacked Schutt’s right side once more, sending one over her right shoulder on assists from sophomore defenseman Katie Erickson (Elk River, MN) and junior defenseman Brett Lobreau (Dryden, Ontario) for a 3-0 lead.  Lobreau is Lindenwood’s captain, while Erickson and Schutt were teammates at Elk River High School in Minnesota.

The Lady Lions finished the scoring in the third period when freshman forward Alison Wickenheiser (Germantown, MD), cousin of deceased NHL star, Doug Wickenheiser, burned Schutt on a pass from freshman forward Sydney Gorzitza (Vulcan, Alberta) to stamp the final ticker at 4-0.

For the Pioneers, it was a game of missed opportunities.

Sacred Heart failed to convert on 6 power-play chances, 2 in each period, dropping their power-play percentage to 9.3% on the season.  They did sustain pressure on those chances, and at times throughout the game, but Lindenwood goalie, freshman Taylor Fairchild (Overland Park, KS), stopped all 25 shots that came her way.  Pioneer senior defenseman and captain, Nicole Palazzo (Rocky Hill, CT), who ranks 6^th all-time in assists for the program, got off 5 of those shots, but was turned aside each time and finished with a -1 rating.

The loss is Sacred Heart’s third in a row and a tough one to swallow, especially against a team so young and inexperienced on this level.  The Pioneers have only scored 4 goals in the 3 losses and head coach Tom O’Malley needs to find an answer for the lack of offense.

Sacred Heart has another chance against the Lady Lions on Saturday afternoon at the Wonderland of Ice.

If you can’t make the game, please check out http://livestats.prestosports.com/sacredheart/.  It’s a great resource to track the game as if you were there.

Thanks for reading!

The women’s volleyball team is off to California for their first round of NCAA’s. It has been quite an interesting ride for the Pioneers. Last year they finished as Northeast Conference champions and went on to play Nebraska and lost. However this year, they made the ride just as exciting.

The Pioneers were tied with Long Island University at the end of the regular season as regular season champions. Since both teams finished in first place, it was unknown as to who would host the NEC tournament. When they looked at regular seasons stats, LIU and SHU had both lost and beat each other. So what did it come down too? A coin toss! Now, I do not know if it just me, but this is the craziest thing I have ever heard.

So the Pioneers went to Long Island for the tournament in hopes of getting that conference championship ring and proving they deserved it all…again.

The Pioneers were first matched against Central Connecticut in the semi-finals and finished 3-1, prevailing over the Blue Devils. Their next match would be against, Long Island. The two first place teams meet in the finals! The Pioneers came out on top and won 3-1. This is the second year in a row as conference champions.

They are now on the road to Stanford in California. The game is Friday, December 2 at 10:00 p.m. EST. Good luck to the volleyball team!

“I just didn’t feel like losing today.” – #25 Shane Gibson (Killingly, CT)

Gibson, a redshirt-junior, dropped a team-high 16 points – all in the second half – to lead the Sacred Heart University Pioneers to a 77-64 victory over the Brown Bears Sunday afternoon in front of 434 at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, CT.

Sacred Heart (4-3) returned stateside from a 9-day Mexican road trip in which they went 1-3 in the 2011 Cancun Challenge; while Brown (3-4) traveled north from Virginia after disposing of Monmouth in the NIT Season Tip-Off.

The teams exchanged blows until, midway through the first half; Pioneer head coach Dave Bike summoned his bench.  Redshirt-freshman Steve Glowiak (New Britain, CT) answered the call by breaking the 15-15 tie with a jumper.  Glowiak would go on to net 9 – all in the first half – and Sacred Heart took a 35-27 lead into the break.

The Pioneers’ lackadaisical defense once again reared its ugly head to begin the second half.  After erasing a 15-point deficit, the Bears took a 49-48 lead with 12 minutes left on the back of two 4-point plays.

“Somewhere along the line we weren’t playing as good defensively as we should,” said Bike.  “That’s got to get our attention; we got to be ready for both ends of the court.”

Brown would stretch their lead to 3, but Bike’s boys had the answer.

Gibson hit 2 jumpers to take back the lead – setting the stage for sophomore Louis “The Dagger” Montes (Brockton, MA).  In a 5-minute span, Montes tallied 10 of his 13 points to go along with his game-high 9 boards.  With the game still in doubt at 59-55 in favor of Sacred Heart, Montes delivered the dagger 3 that all but ended it.

“In the second half, {Bike} said be ready,” Montes said, “you can take as many shots as you want as long as you get rebounds.  That was my game.”

Despite allowing the Bears to shoot 46.2% from the floor, the Pioneer bench, led by Montes, was too much for Brown to overcome.

As the month changes, so does the Sacred Heart schedule.  The Pioneers open Northeast Conference play against in-state foe Quinnipiac on Thursday (December 1, 2011) in Hamden.

Quinnipiac was ousted by Robert Morris in the semifinals of last season’s NEC tournament.  The Pioneers failed to qualify – a fact that must change if Big Red Nation wants to go Dancin’.

Check out this link to see the upcoming events for Sacred Heart Athletics!

http://www.sacredheartpioneers.com/composite