For the third consecutive year, Belmont and Jacksonville matched up in the Atlantic Sun Championships. It was the Bruins’ third straight trip to the finals, and the second time they would face the Dolphins for the title. Despite the recent history between the teams, Belmont stormed to the program’s first conference championship, sweeping Jacksonville 30-22, 30-24, and 30-11. Four Bruins were named to the all-tournament team, and setter Colleen Nilson was named Most Valuable Player.
Game one belonged to the Bruins, as the team jumped to an early 9-3 lead and then pushed the advantage to 17-10. Jacksonville pushed to close the gap, but a four-point run behind all-conference first team member Katie Tobiasz’ strong serving, opening the game to 23-14. The Dolphins made one final push, rallying to 23-19, but Deane Webb’s squad finished strong, pushing the score to 27-20 and finally winning 30-22 on three consecutive kills by A-Sun second team member Emily
Cahill, Cat Mundy, and Katie Tobiasz.
The Bruins recorded two blocks in the opening game to JU’s four, but the Belmont block party began to kick in during the second game. Down 7-9, the Bruins rattled off 12 consecutive points behind aggressive serving from Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Colleen Nilson and five blocks, blowing open a 19-10 advantage.
Jacksonville rallied to within two points as late as 24-22, but Belmont did not falter as they took the second game 30-24. At the intermission, Belmont already had two players with double-figure kills in sophomores Cat Mundy and Emily Cahill. Through the first two games, five different players tallied four or more digs for Belmont, while no Dolphins had more than eight kills.
“It was a team effort all around,” commented Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year Deane Webb after the match. “We took what JU gave us, and we generally have enough offensive options to get through, and that was
the case today.”
Belmont continued to overwhelm the visiting Dolphins in game three, as Jacksonville did not score a pair of consecutive points until scoring two in a row to make the score 29-11. Belmont put the game and match away on the next point, however, winning the championship in straight sets.
Six different Bruins recorded an ace in the match, led by Colleen Nilson, with three. Jacksonville managed just one ace in the match. Belmont out-hit the Dolphins .291 to .038, with JU hitting -.194 in the final match, with five kills and 11 errors.
“Our serving and passing today made for a large point swing before the second touch. Our passers played very well and helped keep us in our system. Players stepped up in spots and helped us remain consistent during our runs as well as theirs,” noted Webb.
Colleen Nilson highlighted the all-tournament team, and was joined by teammates Jaye Schuler, Cat Mundy, and senior Katie Tobiasz. Stevenique Richardson recorded six kills and two blocks in the match,
and was named to the all-tournament team. Lindsey Rutherford and Ann Mullins from Lipscomb University were also named to the Atlantic Sun all-tournament team.
Jacksonville won a tightly contested match for the conference title in 2004, finishing off the deciding game five 15-13. The Bruins returned the favor in 2005, sweeping the Dolphins in the semi-final match en route to the final against Florida Atlantic. The Bruins won the first game before falling in four games to the Owls a year ago.
The Bruins will wait to learn their destination regarding the NCAA Tournament during the selection show one week from Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CST and will be televised on ESPN U.
Belmont Sweeps Jacksonville In Atlantic Sun Final
SURS to Take Place November 30
The third annual Science Undergraduate Research Symposium (SURS) will be held Thursday, November 30, from 3 – 6:40 p.m. in the Beaman Student Life Center.
SURS will begin with a talk from the keynote speaker, Dr. David Miller, associate professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University. The title of his talk is “Wiring the C. Elegans Motor Circuit; Turning Off the Wrong Genes to Make the Right Connections.”
At 4 p.m., there will be a reception and student poster session. Thirty-five posters will be presented with nearly 50 student participants. Beginning at 5 p.m., 13 student papers will be presented with 16 students participating (each presentation will last about 15 minutes).
The keynote address and presentation of student papers will take place in rooms A & B. The reception and poster session will take place in the Beaman Meeting Room Lobby and the Atrium West Lobby.
PR Majors Participate in “PR Day” at University of Tennessee
Six Belmont students and one Belmont faculty member were among 200 professionals and students from throughout the region participating in a public relations conference, “PR Day,” held on the University of Tennessee campus November 3. The morning session was keynoted by the national president of the 20,000-member Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Cheryl Procter-Rogers of HBO. Attending from Belmont were Brittany Adams, Krista Farmer, Val Horton, Anne Roberts, Sara Taylor, Rachel Waller and Bonnie Riechert, faculty advisor to the Belmont University chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). The students are majors in public relations and journalism, and several are officers of the Belmont Chapter of PRSSA.
Elliott Receives Platinum Video Award
James Elliott, Assistant Professor of Music Business, recently received a platinum video award for his song, “Time That Is Left,” which he co-wrote with Mark Schultz and is on the album, “Mark Schultz Live….A Night of Stories & Songs.” The plaque commemorates the Recording Industry Association of America certified platinum sales of more than 100,000 copies of the Word Records DVD “Mark Schultz Live…A Night of Stories & Songs.” The DVD won a Dove Award in April for Long Form Music Video of the Year. The song, “Time That Is Left,” originally appeared on Mark’s album “Stories & Songs,” and also was included on the movie soundtrack album for the film, “End of the Spear.”
ATO Reaches Out to the Community
The brothers of Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) recently participated in two community service activities to help Nashville’s children. Members of ATO helped volunteer coordinators at the Monroe Harding Children’s Home set up for a fundraising event at the home – the brothers pressure washed the stone steps in the front lawn, cleaned bathrooms and helped cut six hours of setup time out of the schedule for the event organizers.
ATO hosted a haunted house the Friday before Halloween for children in the after-school program Youth Encouragment Services (YES). Over 70 children were on the Belmont campus for their annual Fall Festival and participated in the haunted house.
Alum Finds Success With Hit Song
Hillary Lindsey, a music business alumna, was featured in The News-Reporter from Wilkes County, Georgia. Lindsey wrote the country music hit, “Jesus, Take the Wheel” that went No. 1 for Carrie Underwood. “Jesus, Take the Wheel” was named the song of the year by the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Click here to read the article.
PRSSA Award
The Belmont Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), chartered in 2005, received its first national recognition Monday night when the winners of the first Plank Center Ethics Advocacy Awards were announced at the national PRSSA conference in Salt Lake City. Belmont’s chapter received second place in the competition among 270 chapters nationwide, an award which carries a $750 cash prize to the chapter. The award recognizes the student chapter’s commitment to promoting ethical behavior, including its role in the Nashville Public Relations Society of America chapter’s “Do the Right Thing” ethics workshop hosted on the Belmont campus in September.
Physical Therapy Graduation
The Physical Therapy graduating class of 2006 is the first class in the history of the program to have every member of the class successfully pass the National Physical Therapy Examination on the first attempt. Belmont University School of Physical Therapy also enjoys a 100 percent overall pass rate for the past three years.
Belmont Men’s Basketball Opens Season Tonight in the NIT Season Tip-Off
The Belmont men’s basketball team opens its 2006-07 season tonight in the NIT Season Tip-Off in the Gaylord Entertainment Center when it plays UNC-Wilimington at 9:30 p.m. They will play again tomorrow evening in either the consolation game at 5 p.m. or the championship game at 8 p.m. Click here to read an article in The Tennessean about Belmont’s 2006-07 team.
UPDATE (11/14/06)
Despite rallying from an early double-digit deficit to take a second half lead, Belmont fell to defending Colonial Athletic Association Champion UNC-Wilmington, 88-83, in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament from the Gaylord Entertainment Center.
Belmont (0-1) plays Fordham Tuesday evening in the NIT Season Tip-Off consolation game. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. CST.
UPDATE (11/15/06)
Belmont defeated Fordham Tuesday evening in the NIT Season Tip-Off consolation game 56-49. The game marked the first time in the NCAA era that Belmont won a game without a double-figure scorer. Four Bruins led the way with nine points a piece – Justin Hare, Shane Dansby, Matthew Dotson and Keaton Belcher.
Cusic Quoted in Times-Picayune
Dr. Don Cusic, professor of music business in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business, was quoted in a story in The Times-Picayune in New Orleans. Click here to read the article about Loyola University’s music business program and Cusic’s insights into studying the music industry.
