Eagles ready for Fall championship Season
Volume 4 • Issue 2 Bird Watching is a monthly newsletter, published for fans and supporters of Embry-Riddle Athletics.
Eagles Ready for Fall Championship Season Volleyball
As the fall sports season comes to an end, Embry-Riddle has five teams ready to make runs at conference titles. Both soccer teams as well as the volleyball team are in the upper half of their respective league standings, while the men’s cross country team is currently ranked sixth in the NAIA and is the only Sun Conference team ranked among the top 25. Women’s Soccer The Eagles wrapped up the regular season on Oct. 26 with a 5-0 victory over Warner to conclude a perfect 9-0 Sun Conference season. ERAU won the North Division and traveled to West Palm Beach to face Northwood, the South Division champs, in The Sun Conference Regular Season Championship on Wednesday, Nov. 5. Backed by goals from Emmie Johannson and Nina Joergensen as well as a shutout from Olivia Lynch, the Blue and Gold took down the Seahawks by a score of 2-0. With the win, the Eagles have secured a berth in the NAIA National Championship and will take part in the Opening Round on Nov. 22. The Opening Round matchups as well as host sites will be announced on Nov. 16.
Hannah Gray
Embry-Riddle is 17-9 overall and currently tied for first place in The Sun Conference with an 11-1 record with two regular season contests remaining. The Eagles are tied with St. Thomas, but the Bobcats own the tiebreaker over ERAU by virtue of having won more points in the schools’ two headto-head meetings. If the Bobcats and Eagles both finish 13-1 in league play, STU will host the conference semifinals and finals. The Eagles will receive a bye through the quarterfinal round, which will take place on Nov. 11. The semifinals and finals will be held Nov. 14 & 15, respectively.
Women’s Cross Country The Blue and Gold competed in six meets this fall, finishing as high as third on two occasions. Alex Orr has been the topfinishing Eagle in all six meets, earning a season-high fifth-place finish at the EmbryRiddle Asics Classic. ERAU will be competing in The Sun Conference Championships on Nov. 8 in West Palm Beach, where the Eagles will be looking to regain the conference crown.
Men’s Soccer
Veit Couturier
Embry-Riddle concluded the regular season with a 5-5-3 overall record, including a 5-4-1 mark in conference play. ERAU will head into the conference tournament as the No. 5 seed and will travel to West Palm Beach to take on fourth-seeded Northwood on Nov. 8. The Eagles will be looking to avenge a 1-0 loss to the Seahawks in the regular season finale for both teams. The conference semifinals and finals will be hosted by the highest remaining seed following the quarterfinal round, with the semifinals taking place on Nov. 14 and the final on Nov. 15.
Men’s Cross Country
Alex Orr
ERAU won four of the six meets it ran in this fall, helping the team rise as high as fourth in the national poll. Four different Eagles have been the team’s top finisher, including Alec Hernandez, who was the individual winner at the ERAU Asics Classic, as well as Paul McKenna, who took home the individual title at the South Florida Invitational. The Blue and Gold will look to win its 10th consecutive Sun Conference Championship on Nov. 8 in West Palm Beach.
Page 2--Birdwatching--Volume 4--Issue 2
Introducing the 2014-15 Embry-Riddle Women’s Basketball Team The 2014-15 season marks the inaugural campaign for the EmbryRiddle women’s basketball team and Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson is focused on developing the foundation of a successful program this season. This will be ERAU’s one and only season of competition in The Sun Conference before spending two years transitioning into NCAA Division II and the Sunshine State Conference, which presents a very unique situation for Nuxol-Wilson and the Eagles. “We are more focused on the process this year than we are on the results,” Nuxol-Wilson said. “It’s not often that you have an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a program, and that’s something that we’re very excited about. I think if we can commit to the process we can be very competitive. Our big-picture focus is on getting this program prepared for the future, but at the same time, we want to make the most of our one shot at competing in The Sun Conference.”
Nuxol-Wilson has brought in 12 players to make up the 2014-15 roster, including five guards, three swing players, two forwards and a center. With all 12 players list at 5-7 and taller, Nuxol-Wilson is excited about the height that the Eagles have and how that size can translate to transition offense and solid team defense. The Eagles have five guards on the roster with one primary point guard, two combo guards and two shooting guards. Ashley McWilliams, a 5-8 freshman, is expected to be the team’s point guard. McWilliams averaged 13.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game as a senior at Academy of the Holy Names in Tampa.
Sabrina Whiting and Kalah Martin are both combo guards who can play either point or shooting guard for the Eagles. Whiting, a 5-7 freshman, averaged 16.0 points, 3.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 4.6 steals per contest last year at Seffner Christian Academy. Martin, a 5-8 junior transfer from St. Louis Community College, averaged 14.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game last year for the Archers. The two shooting guards on the roster are Ashlé Muse and Helga Fridriksdottir. Muse, a 5-9 freshman, averaged 18.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.9 steals per game last year at University Christian School in Jacksonville. Fridriksdottir, a 5-11 freshman, averaged 9.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game at Commercial College in Iceland in 2013. Hannah Carine and Mercedes Jorge are both swing players who can play guard or in the post, giving Nuxol-Wilson some versatility in the lineup. A 5-10 freshman, Carine averaged 18.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game as a senior at International Community School in Windermere. Jorge, a 5-9 sophomore, averaged 7.0 points and 8.0 boards in 15 minutes per game at Indian River State College last year. Another option as both a guard and a forward is Alicia Jackson. Jackson is the team’s lone senior who recently finished her Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautics. She has elected to use her one season of eligibility to play basketball this year while she works towards a Master’s degree in Business Administration. Allison Abbott and Tara Fields will be the primary forwards for ERAU this season. Abbott, a 6-0 freshman, played at St. Augustine High School where she averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, three blocks and two assists per game a year ago. Also a 6-0 freshman, Fields was a three-year letter winner at Lake Howell High School where she averaged 10 points, 12.5 rebounds and three blocks per game as a senior. Taylor Cyphers, a 6-3 junior transfer from Texas-Pan American, will be the Eagles’ center. At UTPA, Cyphers appeared in 15 games, averaging 6.4 minutes per contest. In high school, Cyphers led Wichita Heights to back-to-back state championships and a 50-0 record in her final two seasons.
National Championship Spotlight
Deni Zmak
Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios
Men’s Tennis - Junior - Pula, Croatia
Men’s Tennis - Senior - Albacete, Spain
For the second straight year, Deni Zmak had a great showing at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships. Zmak captured the NAIA national singles crown and teamed up with Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios to take home the NAIA national doubles title and the Super Bowl doubles championship. For Zmak, this is the second consecutive year winning all three titles. In the singles tournament, Zmak was the top seed and met the No. 2 seed, Jordan Cox of Georgia Gwinnett in the title match. Zmak had no trouble with Cox, cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 victory. As ITA Super Bowl champions, Zmak and SanchezCanamares will have the opportunity to compete at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. The Eagle tandem will face Wichita State’s Tomislav Gregurovic and Tin Ostojic in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 6.
Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios made the most of his first trip to the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships, teaming up with Deni Zmak to win the NAIA national doubles title as well as the Super Bowl doubles championship. The Eagle tandem rallied for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 win over Westmont’s Joshua Barnard and Carl-Phillip Lindquist in the NAIA championship match. Sanchez-Canamares and Zmak advanced to the Super Bowl title match where they faced NCAA II Lynn’s Daniel Riggs and Paolo Volpicelli. The Eagles didn’t have much trouble, winning the Super Bowl crown in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. As ITA Super Bowl champions, Zmak and SanchezCanamares will have the opportunity to compete at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. The Eagle tandem will face Wichita State’s Tomislav Gregurovic and Tin Ostojic in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 6.
Page 3--Birdwatching--Volume 4--Issue 2
Introducing the 2014-15 Embry-Riddle Men’s Basketball Team The 2014-15 campaign will mark the 27th season of men’s basketball at Embry-Riddle, and it will be the team’s final year of competition in the NAIA. The Eagles will be seeking their ninth Sun Conference regular season championship and 11th TSC Tournament title, as well as their 15th NAIA National Championship appearance after qualifying for the tournament in seven of the last 10 years. But for Head Coach Steve Ridder, who will be embarking on his 26th season at the helm of the program after surpassing the 600-win plateau last year, the goals for this season go beyond wins and losses. “When we talk about what we want to accomplish as a team, which I consider to be more like a family, it’s about seeing all 15 of our guys reach their maximum potential in each of the three areas that are important to us,” Ridder said. “The student-person-player mentality is what this program has stood for over the last 26 years, and that hasn’t changed. We want to make sure that our student-athletes are given every opportunity to be successful in the classroom and we especially want all of them to be great representatives for the university and this program out in our community.”
The Eagles’ frontcourt includes a mix of new and old faces, with four returners and three newcomers. Leading the group of returners is center Cesar Pastrana, who was a second team All-Conference selection last year after averaging 9.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Daniel Kiesling was a key contributor for the Blue and Gold last season, averaging 6.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, primarily off the bench. Kiesling was also selected as The Sun Conference Cazzie Russell Champions of Character Award winner a year ago. Also returning at the forward position is senior Brandon Serle, who appeared in 25 games last year, averaging 2.5 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per contest. Another senior in the frontcourt is senior Hudson Cadet, who returns for his second season at ERAU. Cadet played in all 32 games last year, averaging 4.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest.
A newcomer who has high expectations placed on him is Brian Johnson, who redshirted last year. Ridder describes Johnson as a “gifted athlete” and a “three-point specialist” with a lot of talent. In high school, Johnson averaged 16.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game as a senior at Creekside High School in Jacksonville two years ago. Brand new to the program is junior transfer Joseph Gonzalez, who comes to Embry-Riddle after playing two years at Collin College, where he averaged 9.0 points and shot 50 percent from the field last year for the Cougars. Greg Zuppas, a freshman from Orlando, will redshirt this season. Zuppas, who Ridder says “has a lot of physical tools” and is a “hardnosed, aggressive, tough kid,” averaged 24 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and three assists per game at Faith Christian Academy last season. Embry-Riddle has a lot of veteran talent in the backcourt, which includes six returners, three of whom are seniors, and two newcomers. One of the three seniors is DeForest Carter, who last year was named an Honorable Mention NAIA All-American and was a first team All-Conference selection after averaging 14.3 points, 5.9 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Jason Powell is another senior who will be playing his fourth year under Ridder. Powell averaged 8.5 points, 3.7 boards and 2.4 assists per contest in 31 games last year. Also returning for his senior season is Andy Schleitwiler, who was a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete as well as a member of the NABC Honors Court a year ago. On the court, Schleitwiler saw action in 16 games, scoring 21 points and pulling down eight rebounds in 69 minutes of work. Dalton Barnes won Freshman of the Year honors in The Sun Conference after averaging 13.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per contest last season. Junior Reed Ridder is back for his second season playing for his father, Steve, after transferring from NCAA II Lynn prior to last year. Ridder averaged 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists while leading the Eagles in three-point field goal percentage at .352. Drew Sciano appeared in 14 games last year, scoring a total of 16 points primarily from behind the arc, where he was 4-of-5. Bradley Mapes will be a redshirt freshman this season after sitting out last year. Mapes, who averaged 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game as a senior in high school, is described by Ridder as a “good athlete who can score,” and has “explosive jumping ability.” Junior college transfer Eddie Gray comes to ERAU after playing two season at Elgin Community College. Ridder says that Gray will compete for some playing time and he “really helps us in practice with his tough defense.”
November 2014 Home Events Thursday, Nov. 6 Volleyball vs. Northwood
7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 11 Men’s Basketball vs. Florida College
7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 7 Women’s Basketball vs. Clearwater Christian
7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 21 Men’s Basketball vs. Cincinnati Christian
8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 8 Volleyball Alumni Match Volleyball vs. Ave Maria Men’s Basketball Alumni Game Men’s Basketball vs. Sterling
11 a.m. 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 22 Men’s Basketball vs. TBD (Daytona Mitsubishi Shootout) Tuesday, Nov. 25 Women’s Basketball vs. Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
TBD 7 p.m.
Eagles Ready for Fall Championship Season Volleyball
As the fall sports season comes to an end, Embry-Riddle has five teams ready to make runs at conference titles. Both soccer teams as well as the volleyball team are in the upper half of their respective league standings, while the men’s cross country team is currently ranked sixth in the NAIA and is the only Sun Conference team ranked among the top 25. Women’s Soccer The Eagles wrapped up the regular season on Oct. 26 with a 5-0 victory over Warner to conclude a perfect 9-0 Sun Conference season. ERAU won the North Division and traveled to West Palm Beach to face Northwood, the South Division champs, in The Sun Conference Regular Season Championship on Wednesday, Nov. 5. Backed by goals from Emmie Johannson and Nina Joergensen as well as a shutout from Olivia Lynch, the Blue and Gold took down the Seahawks by a score of 2-0. With the win, the Eagles have secured a berth in the NAIA National Championship and will take part in the Opening Round on Nov. 22. The Opening Round matchups as well as host sites will be announced on Nov. 16.
Hannah Gray
Embry-Riddle is 17-9 overall and currently tied for first place in The Sun Conference with an 11-1 record with two regular season contests remaining. The Eagles are tied with St. Thomas, but the Bobcats own the tiebreaker over ERAU by virtue of having won more points in the schools’ two headto-head meetings. If the Bobcats and Eagles both finish 13-1 in league play, STU will host the conference semifinals and finals. The Eagles will receive a bye through the quarterfinal round, which will take place on Nov. 11. The semifinals and finals will be held Nov. 14 & 15, respectively.
Women’s Cross Country The Blue and Gold competed in six meets this fall, finishing as high as third on two occasions. Alex Orr has been the topfinishing Eagle in all six meets, earning a season-high fifth-place finish at the EmbryRiddle Asics Classic. ERAU will be competing in The Sun Conference Championships on Nov. 8 in West Palm Beach, where the Eagles will be looking to regain the conference crown.
Men’s Soccer
Veit Couturier
Embry-Riddle concluded the regular season with a 5-5-3 overall record, including a 5-4-1 mark in conference play. ERAU will head into the conference tournament as the No. 5 seed and will travel to West Palm Beach to take on fourth-seeded Northwood on Nov. 8. The Eagles will be looking to avenge a 1-0 loss to the Seahawks in the regular season finale for both teams. The conference semifinals and finals will be hosted by the highest remaining seed following the quarterfinal round, with the semifinals taking place on Nov. 14 and the final on Nov. 15.
Men’s Cross Country
Alex Orr
ERAU won four of the six meets it ran in this fall, helping the team rise as high as fourth in the national poll. Four different Eagles have been the team’s top finisher, including Alec Hernandez, who was the individual winner at the ERAU Asics Classic, as well as Paul McKenna, who took home the individual title at the South Florida Invitational. The Blue and Gold will look to win its 10th consecutive Sun Conference Championship on Nov. 8 in West Palm Beach.
Page 2--Birdwatching--Volume 4--Issue 2
Introducing the 2014-15 Embry-Riddle Women’s Basketball Team The 2014-15 season marks the inaugural campaign for the EmbryRiddle women’s basketball team and Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson is focused on developing the foundation of a successful program this season. This will be ERAU’s one and only season of competition in The Sun Conference before spending two years transitioning into NCAA Division II and the Sunshine State Conference, which presents a very unique situation for Nuxol-Wilson and the Eagles. “We are more focused on the process this year than we are on the results,” Nuxol-Wilson said. “It’s not often that you have an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a program, and that’s something that we’re very excited about. I think if we can commit to the process we can be very competitive. Our big-picture focus is on getting this program prepared for the future, but at the same time, we want to make the most of our one shot at competing in The Sun Conference.”
Nuxol-Wilson has brought in 12 players to make up the 2014-15 roster, including five guards, three swing players, two forwards and a center. With all 12 players list at 5-7 and taller, Nuxol-Wilson is excited about the height that the Eagles have and how that size can translate to transition offense and solid team defense. The Eagles have five guards on the roster with one primary point guard, two combo guards and two shooting guards. Ashley McWilliams, a 5-8 freshman, is expected to be the team’s point guard. McWilliams averaged 13.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game as a senior at Academy of the Holy Names in Tampa.
Sabrina Whiting and Kalah Martin are both combo guards who can play either point or shooting guard for the Eagles. Whiting, a 5-7 freshman, averaged 16.0 points, 3.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 4.6 steals per contest last year at Seffner Christian Academy. Martin, a 5-8 junior transfer from St. Louis Community College, averaged 14.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game last year for the Archers. The two shooting guards on the roster are Ashlé Muse and Helga Fridriksdottir. Muse, a 5-9 freshman, averaged 18.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.9 steals per game last year at University Christian School in Jacksonville. Fridriksdottir, a 5-11 freshman, averaged 9.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game at Commercial College in Iceland in 2013. Hannah Carine and Mercedes Jorge are both swing players who can play guard or in the post, giving Nuxol-Wilson some versatility in the lineup. A 5-10 freshman, Carine averaged 18.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game as a senior at International Community School in Windermere. Jorge, a 5-9 sophomore, averaged 7.0 points and 8.0 boards in 15 minutes per game at Indian River State College last year. Another option as both a guard and a forward is Alicia Jackson. Jackson is the team’s lone senior who recently finished her Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautics. She has elected to use her one season of eligibility to play basketball this year while she works towards a Master’s degree in Business Administration. Allison Abbott and Tara Fields will be the primary forwards for ERAU this season. Abbott, a 6-0 freshman, played at St. Augustine High School where she averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, three blocks and two assists per game a year ago. Also a 6-0 freshman, Fields was a three-year letter winner at Lake Howell High School where she averaged 10 points, 12.5 rebounds and three blocks per game as a senior. Taylor Cyphers, a 6-3 junior transfer from Texas-Pan American, will be the Eagles’ center. At UTPA, Cyphers appeared in 15 games, averaging 6.4 minutes per contest. In high school, Cyphers led Wichita Heights to back-to-back state championships and a 50-0 record in her final two seasons.
National Championship Spotlight
Deni Zmak
Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios
Men’s Tennis - Junior - Pula, Croatia
Men’s Tennis - Senior - Albacete, Spain
For the second straight year, Deni Zmak had a great showing at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships. Zmak captured the NAIA national singles crown and teamed up with Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios to take home the NAIA national doubles title and the Super Bowl doubles championship. For Zmak, this is the second consecutive year winning all three titles. In the singles tournament, Zmak was the top seed and met the No. 2 seed, Jordan Cox of Georgia Gwinnett in the title match. Zmak had no trouble with Cox, cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 victory. As ITA Super Bowl champions, Zmak and SanchezCanamares will have the opportunity to compete at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. The Eagle tandem will face Wichita State’s Tomislav Gregurovic and Tin Ostojic in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 6.
Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios made the most of his first trip to the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships, teaming up with Deni Zmak to win the NAIA national doubles title as well as the Super Bowl doubles championship. The Eagle tandem rallied for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 win over Westmont’s Joshua Barnard and Carl-Phillip Lindquist in the NAIA championship match. Sanchez-Canamares and Zmak advanced to the Super Bowl title match where they faced NCAA II Lynn’s Daniel Riggs and Paolo Volpicelli. The Eagles didn’t have much trouble, winning the Super Bowl crown in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. As ITA Super Bowl champions, Zmak and SanchezCanamares will have the opportunity to compete at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. The Eagle tandem will face Wichita State’s Tomislav Gregurovic and Tin Ostojic in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 6.
Page 3--Birdwatching--Volume 4--Issue 2
Introducing the 2014-15 Embry-Riddle Men’s Basketball Team The 2014-15 campaign will mark the 27th season of men’s basketball at Embry-Riddle, and it will be the team’s final year of competition in the NAIA. The Eagles will be seeking their ninth Sun Conference regular season championship and 11th TSC Tournament title, as well as their 15th NAIA National Championship appearance after qualifying for the tournament in seven of the last 10 years. But for Head Coach Steve Ridder, who will be embarking on his 26th season at the helm of the program after surpassing the 600-win plateau last year, the goals for this season go beyond wins and losses. “When we talk about what we want to accomplish as a team, which I consider to be more like a family, it’s about seeing all 15 of our guys reach their maximum potential in each of the three areas that are important to us,” Ridder said. “The student-person-player mentality is what this program has stood for over the last 26 years, and that hasn’t changed. We want to make sure that our student-athletes are given every opportunity to be successful in the classroom and we especially want all of them to be great representatives for the university and this program out in our community.”
The Eagles’ frontcourt includes a mix of new and old faces, with four returners and three newcomers. Leading the group of returners is center Cesar Pastrana, who was a second team All-Conference selection last year after averaging 9.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Daniel Kiesling was a key contributor for the Blue and Gold last season, averaging 6.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, primarily off the bench. Kiesling was also selected as The Sun Conference Cazzie Russell Champions of Character Award winner a year ago. Also returning at the forward position is senior Brandon Serle, who appeared in 25 games last year, averaging 2.5 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per contest. Another senior in the frontcourt is senior Hudson Cadet, who returns for his second season at ERAU. Cadet played in all 32 games last year, averaging 4.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest.
A newcomer who has high expectations placed on him is Brian Johnson, who redshirted last year. Ridder describes Johnson as a “gifted athlete” and a “three-point specialist” with a lot of talent. In high school, Johnson averaged 16.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game as a senior at Creekside High School in Jacksonville two years ago. Brand new to the program is junior transfer Joseph Gonzalez, who comes to Embry-Riddle after playing two years at Collin College, where he averaged 9.0 points and shot 50 percent from the field last year for the Cougars. Greg Zuppas, a freshman from Orlando, will redshirt this season. Zuppas, who Ridder says “has a lot of physical tools” and is a “hardnosed, aggressive, tough kid,” averaged 24 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and three assists per game at Faith Christian Academy last season. Embry-Riddle has a lot of veteran talent in the backcourt, which includes six returners, three of whom are seniors, and two newcomers. One of the three seniors is DeForest Carter, who last year was named an Honorable Mention NAIA All-American and was a first team All-Conference selection after averaging 14.3 points, 5.9 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Jason Powell is another senior who will be playing his fourth year under Ridder. Powell averaged 8.5 points, 3.7 boards and 2.4 assists per contest in 31 games last year. Also returning for his senior season is Andy Schleitwiler, who was a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete as well as a member of the NABC Honors Court a year ago. On the court, Schleitwiler saw action in 16 games, scoring 21 points and pulling down eight rebounds in 69 minutes of work. Dalton Barnes won Freshman of the Year honors in The Sun Conference after averaging 13.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per contest last season. Junior Reed Ridder is back for his second season playing for his father, Steve, after transferring from NCAA II Lynn prior to last year. Ridder averaged 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists while leading the Eagles in three-point field goal percentage at .352. Drew Sciano appeared in 14 games last year, scoring a total of 16 points primarily from behind the arc, where he was 4-of-5. Bradley Mapes will be a redshirt freshman this season after sitting out last year. Mapes, who averaged 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game as a senior in high school, is described by Ridder as a “good athlete who can score,” and has “explosive jumping ability.” Junior college transfer Eddie Gray comes to ERAU after playing two season at Elgin Community College. Ridder says that Gray will compete for some playing time and he “really helps us in practice with his tough defense.”
November 2014 Home Events Thursday, Nov. 6 Volleyball vs. Northwood
7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 11 Men’s Basketball vs. Florida College
7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 7 Women’s Basketball vs. Clearwater Christian
7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 21 Men’s Basketball vs. Cincinnati Christian
8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 8 Volleyball Alumni Match Volleyball vs. Ave Maria Men’s Basketball Alumni Game Men’s Basketball vs. Sterling
11 a.m. 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 22 Men’s Basketball vs. TBD (Daytona Mitsubishi Shootout) Tuesday, Nov. 25 Women’s Basketball vs. Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
TBD 7 p.m.
