Recruitment season begins

Molly Pelowski has wasted no time in recruiting the future stars of the Central Michigan University Women’s Field Hockey team.  

Pelowski announced on Nov. 17 that for her first recruitment class at CMU, she will be adding 3 Chippewas to her roster for the upcoming season.

Those future Chippewas include:

Sarah Mesko (Chelsea, MI)

• Position: defender/midfielder
• Six-year varsity starter

Photo Credit: The Sun Times News

Willow Guenther (Novi, MI)

• Position: midfielder/forward
• Three-year varsity starter and letter winner

Photo Credit: MLive

Abigail Ebersole (Duncannon, PA)

• Position: goalkeeper
• Four-year varsity letterwinner

Photo Credit: PennLive

With two of the three recruits being Michigan natives, it will be a bit of a change from the team’s previously recruited classes, which consisted mainly of out-of-state and international players. Mesko and Guenther will be attending CMU beginning in the Fall of 2016, however, Ebersole, plans to enroll in Winter of 2016.

Pelowski is excited to announce her first recruiting class. In an interview with CMU Athletics Pelowski said, “We are in the business of winning championships and building champions. I know these athletes will help to elevate the level of play and embody the values of our program. These three athletes are willing to commit to the work that must be done to earn wins on the field and in the classroom.”

By: Halle Sobczak

NCAA Tournament Update

The tournament field is down to the final four.  Syracuse, North Carolina, Connecticut, and Duke are the four remaining teams vying for the division one national title.  The number one seeded Syracuse Orange secured their semifinal bid with a comfortable 5-0 win over Princeton in the quarterfinal round.  Number two North Carolina edged the University of Michigan 1-0 in the quarters.  Connecticut also made their way into the semis by way of a 1-0 victory, eliminating Boston College.  Duke overcame three-seeded Virginia in a 2-1 thriller.  Syracuse faces Connecticut this Friday, November 20th at noon, followed by North Carolina vs. Duke at 2:45pm.  One of these schools will be crowned champion this Sunday, November 22nd.  MAC representative Kent State fell to Massachusetts 1-0 in the first round of the tournament after capturing their second consecutive MAC tournament championship with a thrilling double overtime win over Miami.  The Chippewas and the rest of the Mid-American Conference can now look forward to next season.  Check out the tournament bracket at the NCAA website.

By: Isaac Bessey

CMU'S Kaysie Gregory earns All MAC honors!!

The Mid-American Conference field hockey tournament came to an end on November 7th, with Kent State defeating Miami in a double overtime. Two days prior to this however, the MAC recognized athletes around the conference, naming the 2015 all-conference members.

Photo Credit: cmuchippewas.com

Of those members, Central Michigan University had one member recognized. Kaysie Gregory, a senior from Rome, NY, was named second team All MAC for her efforts throughout the season. This is actually the second year in a row that Gregory received second team All MAC honors for the Chippewas.

In 2014, Gregory played in all 19 games, starting in 18 of those games for a team who went on to win the MAC. She also finished second on the team in goals (6), tied for the team lead in points (19), and actually led the team in assists (7). Moving onto 2015, the senior midfielder did nothing but lead her team. She ended the season starting all 17 games for Central Michigan. Also, she lead the team in goals (7), was second on the team in assists (4), and finally scoring at least twice as many points as any player on her team (18). The next closest was Maude Stalars, who added 9 points for the Chippewas. Kaysie ends her career with the Chippewas having scored 16 goals, 15 assists and 47 points.

MAC All Conference Honors

Freshman of the Year: Paula Portugal, Miami

Player of the Year: Bea Deachant, Miami

Co-Coaches of the Year: Kathleen Wiler, Kent State & Inako Puzo, Miami

2015 All-MAC First Team

Ines Delpech, Sophomore, Kent State

Madison Thompson, Junior, Kent State

Edel Nyland, Sophomore, Longwood

Jennifer Burris, Senior, Longwood

Alysa Xavier, Junior, Miami

Bea Deachant, Senior, Miami

Carla Romagoso, Junior, Miami

Paula Portugal, Freshman, Miami

Mariona Heras, Sophomore, Miami

Liz Young, Junior, Missouri State

Adele Sammons, Senior, Ohio

Maria Russell, Sophomore, Ohio

All-MAC Second Team

Lexi Kavanaugh, Junior, Ball State

Kaysie Gregory, Senior, Central Michigan

Alayna Harris, Senior, Kent State

Alison Harmatz, RS Sophomore, Kent State

Andre Rinehart, Junior, Kent State

Lil-Sophie Archerwinter, Sophomore, Longwood

Caroline Pritchard, Junior, Miami

Charlie Redhead, Senior, Missouri State

Patrice Ahl, Senior, Missouri State

Clarissa Leickly, Senior, Ohio

Kendall Ballard, Freshman, Ohio

By: Michael Greenwood

The end of an era and the beginning of another

Friday marked the end of the 2015 season for the Central Michigan University Women’s Field Hockey team. While the season may not have turned out quite as successful as first year coach Molly Pelowski would have hoped, the Chippewas pulled through to earn their second win of the season in their final game.

This final game of the season marked the end of an era, as the Chippewas said goodbye to seven seniors who have been a crucial part of the Chippewas' roster for the past four years. 

Kaysie Gregory (11) 

Photo Credit: Central Michigan University Field Hockey

Kianne Hinkle (16) 
Elaine Materise (18) 
Taylor McKeon (21)
Olivia Shagam (23)
Morgan Ripley (25) 
Sadie Lynn Reynolds (26)

In an interview with Central Michigan UniversityAthletics, Pelowski said she approached the seniors prior to the game with a little advice, “‘Play this weekend like it’s your first. Drink in the experience of everything because it’s going to be your last and you want it to be memorable and you want to go hard.’”

However, the closure of this season also marks the beginning of an era as well, Pelowski's coaching career at CMU. Although this is the first time in her coaching career in which she has not seen a post season game she said, "I'm a first-year coach so there's a lot of things I don't know. Now I think I'm understanding the role more."

The Chippewas ended their three-game losing streak with a 4-1 Mid-American Conference win over Ball State. They finished their season 2-15 overall and 2-4 in the MAC.
           
                                                               By: Halle Sobczak

Chippewas End Season as Winners

The Central Michigan Chippewas played their final game of the 2015 season against the Ball State Cardinals on Friday.  In what could be considered the Chippewas' strongest performance of the year, Central handed Mid-American Conference opponent Ball State a 4-1 loss.  The win came behind two goals from senior Elaine Materise, seven saves from senior goaltender Sadie Lynn Reynolds, and two assists apiece from seniors Kaysie Gregory and Kianne Hinkle.  The seniors stepped up in their final game wearing a Chippewa uniform, leading the team to a statement victory with their strong play and leadership.  It was a fitting end to many great careers and a memorable way to go out.  According to the official site of Chippewa Athletics, it was the first multi-goal game of Materise's career.

The win should give the Chippewas and coach Molly Pelowski momentum and a lot to build on going into the offseason and next year.  Central Michigan finished the season 2-15 overall with a 2-4 record in conference play in their first year under coach Pelowski.  Chippewa Athletics quoted the coach saying  "It's been a season of a lot of challenges and winning makes everybody feel better, makes everything better, and we were able to finish this win off.  So many good things happened today both for our individual players and the coaching staff.  Lot of work to do in order to continue to build the foundation."

By: Isaac Bessey