TERRE HAUTE — When the 2005 season ended with St. Mary-of-the-Woods hosting the national United State Collegiate Athletic Association women’s soccer tournament and with a relative successful season for the Pomeroys themselves, SMWC coach Mike Aycock said he and his players could have never predicted what transpired Thursday.
SMWC announced that the soccer program would suspend its program for a year, hoping greater roster numbers will harken a return for the sport in the 2007 season.
“They didn’t see it coming, partly because I didn’t see it coming either. We had some kids transfer and we had some injuries,” said Aycock, who noted that some walk-on possibilities didn’t work out either.
Coaches and administration made the decision when the team came up short of enough healthy players to play safely this fall. According to Aycock, the Pomeroys had 11 healthy players available to start the season, the bare minimum needed to field a full team.
“I think it was primarily a safety and morale issue. Being a fairly new program, we’ve played with small numbers before, but when we got better and the schedule got better, we wanted to avoid playing numbers down,” said Aycock on the decision.
Aycock noted that the numbers crunch came to a head just before the season began.
“This really didn’t materialize until this summer. You work as hard as you can to get 13 or 14 people, but a few hard things happened. One very fine young woman [freshman forward Errika Garcia] tore her ACL, for example,” Aycock said.
According to the SMWC news release, the remaining players, who endorsed the decision to suspend play for the 2006 season, will train and play in a competitive indoor league in a small-sided format to continue strengthening their skills.
Aycock said the current seniors will play in an indoor league where the numbers crunch isn’t as severe.
Aycock says current recruiting efforts are very promising, and he expects the team to be strong in 2007.
“I’m very confident [soccer will resume at SMWC] and the reason I am is we already have seen several times more players who are 2007 graduates,” Aycock said. “We’ve had a lot more contact and some [verbal] commitments.
“We do tell them that it’s like starting over, and for the players who are already here, we’re doing this for them too,” Aycock continued. “They’d be in a situation where the program can’t produce success very easily. They’d be working hard and getting little out of it.”
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
The Woods suspends college soccer program
Decision made when team came up short of healthy players
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Secret weapon: Kelsey Rosselli finishing Woods career with a bang
At Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, reporting game results to the Tribune-Star after a win or a loss is not always a high priority.
So when one of its athletes enjoys an outstanding season, like senior Kelsey Rosselli is doing for the Pomeroys’ softball team in 2013, media publicity doesn’t always follow.
In fact, her efforts almost seem like a government secret.
Rosselli’s name might sound familiar to longtime Terre Haute softball followers because she was a standout for North High School, from where she graduated in 2009.
Since then, she’s helped The Woods finish runner-up in three straight U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national tournaments in 2010, 2011 and 2012. -
A time for firsts: SMWC seniors have national title aspirations
Even though St. Mary-of-the-Woods College has won eight national titles in softball in the last 16 years, seniors Sara Goelz and Jessica Jonas are among the many current Woods players who have not been part of a national championship team.
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Federal audit says SMWC should return $42M in student aid
A federal audit says St. Mary-of-the-Woods College should return $42 million in loans and grants made to students between 2005 and 2010, something the college plans to challenge.
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This underdog has its day
It’s been an up-and-down regular season for the St. Mary-of-the-Woods College women’s basketball team, but it concluded on a definite uptick.
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The mane attraction: Woods students learn about careers in equine world
A horse can be a powerful therapeutic tool, something Chris Marks knows firsthand.
“I’ve seen children with autism speak their first word to a horse,” causing their parents to “dissolve in a puddle of emotion,” said Marks, chairman of the Equine Studies program at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College.
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Rose, The Woods post weekend victories
Rose-Hulman relied on a balanced scoring attack and a strong defensive effort to earn a 55-44 women’s basketball victory Saturday over Mount St. Joseph.
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SMWC topples Rose-Hulman
After a sluggish first half for both teams, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College found enough offensive rhythm in the final 20 minutes to outlast host Rose-Hulman 51-41 in the 19th annual Clabber Girl Trophy women’s basketball showdown Tuesday night inside Hulbert Arena.
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METRO ROUNDUP: SMWC’s Runyon wins USCAA cross country title
Blinding snow and freezing temperatures couldn’t stop Saint Mary-of-the-Woods junior Stephanie Runyon, an education major from Noblesville, from becoming the 2011 U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association women’s national champion in cross country Friday.
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Trimmed roster may benefit SMWC
“Less is more” is a statement with many, many meanings, attributed to many, many sources through the years.
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Dottie King becomes 16th president of St. Mary-of-the-Woods College
As the mother of six children, Dottie King learned early on the importance of setting priorities and achieving the right balance between family, education and work.
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Pomeroys battle to second at national championship
Eight times, St. Mary-of-the-Woods has captured some form of a national championship in softball.
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Shearing Time
You’ve probably never seen a haircut quite like this.
Alpacas, remarkably sweet-looking members of the camel family, were getting their annual shearing last week at the White Violet Center for Eco Justice at St. Mary-of-the-Woods. -
SMWC puts up fight in tourney
St. Mary-of-the-Woods downed Judson 6-2 Sunday morning in the semifinal round of the 2011 USCAA national softball championships, earning a trip to the best-of-three title series.
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BREAKING: St. Mary-of-the-Woods College names Dottie King as 16th president
Dottie L. King, Ph.D. has been appointed the 16th president of St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, the board of trustees announced today.
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Ex-Wildcat finds new home at Woods
Many people find “the path of least resistance” as a preferable way to proceed in life. After all, less risk is involved with a sure thing.
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NEW: St. Mary-of-the-Woods College announces academic changes
St. Mary-of-the-Woods College announced today a refocus of its academic programs. An afternoon news conference is under way at SMWC, which posted a notice about the changes on its website, www.smwc.edu.
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Marian holds off Rose women’s second-half charge
Marian University relied on a strong defensive effort to hold off a second half Rose-Hulman charge and earn a 61-52 women’s basketball victory Saturday afternoon.
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Influx of new players has Pomeroys on rise
With a steady influx of “Killer B’s,” the fortunes of the St. Mary-of-the-Woods’ women’s basketball team are once again on the rise.
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Woods soccer goes 1-1, earns national honors
St. Mary-of-the-Woods returned from the United States Collegiate Athletic Association soccer finals with a 1-1 record and a host of national honors.
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Six St. Mary-of-the-Woods teams compete in national tournaments
St. Mary-of-the-Woods College athletics celebrates the end of a phenomenal year during the 2009-10 season as six teams competitively competed in national tournaments.
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Rosselli, other Valley talent leads Woods into national softball tourney
The St. Mary-of-the-Woods softball program is no stranger to national tournaments.
The Pomeroys claimed some form of a national championship in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008, the last several sanctioned by the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). -
St. Mary-of-the-Woods plans Saturday commencement
St. Mary-of-the-Woods College will celebrate its 169th commencement Saturday. Graduation activities will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the traditional baccalaureate mass in the Church of the Immaculate Conception.
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Woods, Rose softball teams split doubleheader
Rose-Hulman and St. Mary-of-the-Woods College split a softball doubleheader that featured the longest athletic contest in history between the two schools on Friday night.
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Ring Day a much anticipated event at The Woods
Ring Day is a much anticipated and special day for most students, but for two St. Mary-of-the-Woods External Degree students in particular it was an especially great experience this year.
- Injury bug bites: St. Mary-of-the-Woods basketball trying to get and stay healthy A myriad of injuries have plagued the St. Mary-of-the-Woods women’s basketball team in recent seasons, forcing the Pomeroys to compete on numerous occasions with just seven, six and sometimes only five players able to play.
- The Woods appoints new vice president for development St. Mary-of-the-Woods College President David G. Behrs has announced the appointment of Serafina I. Spatola as vice president for development.
- St. Mary-of-the-Woods takes fourth in national tournament
- The Woods celebrates 168th commencement More than 140 students are expected to participate in St. Mary-of-the-Woods College’s 168th Commencement Ceremony on Saturday.
- Untold Stories: Film takes unique look ‘Inside Iraq’ At 7 p.m. Monday, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College will present “Inside Iraq: The Untold Stories,” which will include a film showing and discussion with the director of the film, Mike Shiley. The presentation, which will be in the Cecilian Auditorium of the SMWC Conservatory of Music building, is part of the College’s Four-Star series, and it is being co-sponsored by the SMWC Student Activities Committee. The presentation is free and open to the public.
- TH to promote ‘Crossroads of Higher Education’ at Statehouse Terre Haute may lie near Indiana’s western border, but business, education and government leaders want state lawmakers to know that the city that bills itself as the “Crossroads of America” is also the “Crossroads of Higher Education.”
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