Men’s Tennis
The Billikens will head to Monroeville, Pa., just outside Pittsburgh, this weekend, April 16-18, for the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship tournament. SLU is seeded fifth and will take on No. 12 Fordham in its opening round match. The match is set to begin Friday morning at 7 (CT).
If the Billikens were to win that first match, the team would then do battle with No. 4 Temple University at 1 p.m. the same day in the quarterfinals.
The semifinal and final matches are slated for 10 a.m. starts on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
The Billikens (9-5) hope to build off of last year’s strong performance when they finished a program-best fourth in the conference tournament. SLU’s lineup is led by two 2009 first-team All-Conference selections, seniors James McArthur and Ken Nordheim, Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively.
Strong doubles play could be the key for a Billiken run in the conference tournament. SLU registered a 30-11 (.732) in dual-meet doubles action during the regular season. The team took the doubles point in 10 out of 14 matches and won all three doubles tilts in eight contests.
SLU only faced off against two conference opponents during the regular season. The team easily dismissed Dayton, 7-0, on March 27 in Ohio, but lost 4-3 at Xavier on March 26.
Xavier is seeded second and is looking for its third consecutive A-10 Championship. George Washington is the top seed and Duquesne, the host, has the last top spot at No. 3.
Men’s Basketball
Head men’s basketball coach Rick Majerus officially announced that Rob Loe, the 6-foot-11 recruit from New Zealand, has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Saint Louis University. The big man had previously only given a verbal commitment to SLU.
“Any discussion about [Loe] has to begin with what a high-character young man he is,” Majerus said. “He is all about team and will be an excellent fit with our players. [Loe] genuinely cares about people, respects his parents and plays the game for all the right reasons.”
Loe became the youngest player to ever play for the New Zealand national team at the age of 17.
Associate head coach, Porter Moser, withdrew his name from consideration for the open head coaching job at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, according to Tom Timmerman of the Post-Dispatch. Moser was one of five finalists for the position and interviewed there on Monday, April 12.
The final interviews were conducted April 14 and a decision could be made as early as today, April 15.
“[The decision is] something I really struggled with,” Moser said. “My wife and I talked about it, I talked with other coaches, I talked with Coach Majerus. I know head coaching jobs are so hard to get. Green Bay is in a league, the Horizon, that’s ranked 11 out of 33, so it’s up there. I came in on the day [Majerus] came on, and we’ve come so far. I feel so vested here, my wife loves it here. I’ve spent so much time recruiting, developing players to get into this position and I want to be a part of it. As much as I want to be a head coach, I want to do it at the right time.”
Moser’s name has been mentioned as the successor to Majerus at SLU when Majerus’ five-year contract expires at the end of the 2011-2012 season. Majerus has publicly voiced his support for that exact transition.
“There are no guarantees I’ll ever get this [SLU] job. [Majerus] has been positive and outspoken about me, but there are no guarantees. But I’m not ready to walk away.” Moser said.
Baseball
The Billikens are in the middle of a four-game road trip after sweeping Atlantic 10 rival Temple in a three-game series last weekend, April 9-11. It was the second straight season that the Billikens swept the Owls in a three-game series.
Senior Bryant Cotton went the distance on the mound and fellow senior Danny Brock provided the pop with a solo homer in a 5-4 triumph in the first game. Alex Alemann worked a complete game in the second game of the series, and Jon Myers drove in a pair of runs in a 6-1 Billiken win. The finale saw a true team effort from the Billiken offense, as everyone in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit in a 13-4 victory to deliver the sweep.
Alemann’s strong work did not go unnoticed, as he was tabbed the A-10 Rookie of the Week for April 4-10.
The Billikens lost to Southern Illinois 17-10 on April 14 to bring their overall record to 19-15 (6-3 A-10).
Next up for the Bills is a three game series in the Bronx, N.Y., against Fordham University. The opening game is set for 3 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Volleyball
SLU head volleyball coach Anne Kordes was recently named the lead head coach for the U.S. Girls’ Select A1 National Team by the USA Volleyball High Performance Indoor Department.
The squad, comprised of girls age 14 and 15, will compete at the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships July 26-30 in Wisconsin Dells, Wis.
Kordes has been involved with the USA Volleyball High Performance program for years as an assistant coach. She was involved with the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team, which competed at the 2007 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championships in Mexico.
In 2000, she served as an assistant for the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team, and in 2001 she was an assistant for the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team.
