The Indians came into today’s game with a 5-12 record overall and a 2-7 conference mark, a disappointment in every sense of the word. The men’s team fought through a cold winter with no wins in the month of December, while the women’s squad rode a 7-game winning streak into January before slipping 63-42 at Tusculum.

Hot shooting and strong rebounding have anchored the Lady Indians in the thick of the SAC race, led by leading scorer Nisha Long and leading rebounder Dana Hicks. The same cannot be said though for the men’s team, where inconsistent shooting really has hampered them down the stretch.

Today’s game marks a critical juncture in the season for each team. The Lady Indians look to improve upon a stellar conference record while the Indians look to pull together another win and salvage the season. The same trend continued for the Lady Indians as they pulled out an impressive victory, forcing the Lady Eagles of Carson Newman to cause 25 turnovers. Senior Nisha Long had another dominant night, scoring 20 points.

The men’s team came up short 73-69 in a hard-fought contest against the Eagles. Catawba could not capitalize on 17 Carson-Newman turnovers and relied too heavily at times on leading scorer Keon Moore, who finished with a game-high 25 points and 9 rebounds.

Come out and support Catawba Basketball Wednesday, February 1st as they take on Wingate. The women’s game starts at 6:oo p.m., with the men following at 8:00 p.m.

Thomas has been the starting kicker for Catawba since his freshman year back in 2008, but before Thomas came to Catawba, he was a well known athlete back in his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina. Thomas played several sports in high school including lacrosse, football, swimming, and soccer so Thomas was never a stranger to working hard. When Thomas came to Catawba he decided to focus all his attention on football, beating out numerous kickers to earn a starting spot.

Throughout his collegiate career, Thomas has been pushing himself to his limits, trying to become the best kicker ever to suit up for Catawba. Now that his college career is over, Thomas is practicing everyday trying to improve his game even more so that he can make it to the NFL. While Thomas is not perfecting his craft, he is busy in school finishing up his degree in Business Administration with a focus in Accounting.

From my time with Thomas, I learned that family is one of the most important things to him because of the constant support they’ve given him throughout his life. I know that no matter what Thomas does with his life, he will make everyone he knows proud because of his will and determination to succeed.

During halftime, head football coach Chip Hester and the entire football staff honored the seniors on Catawba’s football team with a special reward for all their hard work over the years. Top seniors, like Josh Wright, Brandon Weedon, and Bryant Vennable have persevered through their years at CAT-U, putting their bodies on the line day in and day out. Coach Hester also gave out awards for most outstanding players, including freshmen CJ Barksdale for most outstanding defensive lineman.

These seniors will go on to do great things, whether it is in sports or something else life. I know that everyone at Catawba will remember the mark that they left on the school and their coach will appreciate what they did for the team and the legacy that they left.

Bully, a native of Hannut, Belgium, decided to attend Catawba College because of its many opportunities. By coming to Catawba, Bully not only received the chance to play basketball and gain a college education, but also the chance to experience America. She mentioned that her biggest surprise about living in the United States was how spacious the landscapes appeared. “It’s a big change,” she explained, “but I like it here!”

Bully’s interest in basketball originated from her family. Because her whole family enjoyed playing, she also developed a love for the game. She also recalled starting to play when she was only four years old. “It’s my favorite sport and I love to practice and play all the time,” said Bully. Her favorite part of Catawba is the basketball program. She expressed her passion for her team, her coaches, and her time spent playing.

Currently, Bully is undecided on her plans after Catawba. She is considering majoring in Spanish so she can play basketball in Spain and expand her education there.

“This season I hope to at least better myself in my tennis playing. I know that’s always a goal for me. I know the competition is quite high here and I am just striving towards becoming a better tennis player and [being] a good teammate to everybody else on the team,” she said.

Besides attending classes and spending time on the courts this spring, Kessler hopes to expand her involvement outside of her studies and tennis with other aspects that Catawba has to offer.

“I’d love to continue to volunteer as much as I can through Volunteer Catawba and hopefully get involved more with The Center For The Environment and all the programs that they run and the events that they put on,” Kessler tells The Pioneer.

The Harry Potter fanatic has a strong interest in business and the environment and is considering a sustainable business major. She credits her interest in preserving the Earth to her father’s influence while growing up.

“I have always been kinda interested [in the environment] the way I grew up. My dad was always encouraging us to go the extra mile…He was quite involved with solar energy for a while. He made a solar powered golf cart when he was young. It was just really something I have always been exposed to that has really interested me.”

When she has free time, Sloan likes to hang out with her friends, read, and travel as much as she can. However, when she was asked about her first semester experience, it didn’t seem as though she had much time for any of these three activities. She described her schedule as “busy, busy, busy, but super fun,” and included that she was never bored as there were many Wigwam and other campus events to attend. She mentioned that it was great to get to know all of her peers and teammates during her first few months as a college student and has really enjoyed living on her own.

The bubbly freshman also commented on the southern hospitality she has noticed while living in Salisbury. “There is a sense of compassion. People seem to be a little bit more kind here,” she said.

Keep an eye out for a blonde-headed girl around 5’3″ while walking around campus. You could be lucky enough to run into Ms. Kessler herself. If you can’t figure out who she is based on the description above, just listen for a strong Midwestern accent when she is conversing with others.

Alabama’s #1 ranked defense crippled LSU’s high speed attack with a physical presence not seen in recent history. The unit kept senior LSU QB Jordan Jefferson in the backfield throughout the game, sacking him four times and forcing him to tuck and run numerous times. LSU didn’t make it into Alabama territory until halfway through the fourth quarter.

Many pundits and fans deemed the match-up unfair to more explosive teams, such as Oklahoma State and Stanford, who clashed back on January 2nd with OSU claiming a 41-38 victory in overtime. Regardless of the physical, old-school nature of the championship game, Alabama put together an impressive performance, motivated by the regular season loss at the hands of the Tigers in overtime in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama’s offense systematically moved the ball against LSU behind a physical 96 yards and one TD from NFL-bound Trent Richardson who sealed the Crimson Tide’s win with a 34-yard TD run with five minutes left in the 4th. The true star of the game and eventual MVP, AJ McCarron, went 22 of 34 for 234 yards, peppering the vaunted LSU defense with precise passes and a calm demeanor. McCarron help set up kicker Jeremy Shelley who made a BCS bowl game record five fields goals before Richardson’s clinching TD in the closing minutes.

Just a heads up for all the students who do not know, the intramural basketball season is fast approaching and the deadline for signups is approaching.

The deadline to sign up your team and have the money for t-shirts, which are five dollars apiece, is on January 20, so if any student wants to play, please sign-up soon! If any students have any questions about signups talk to Emily Schneider or Ben Smith. The intramural basketball season begins at the end of January and ends right before spring break, so come out and cheer on your fellow students during the long season because I know everyone who participates will come ready to play.

When the season begins there are always a few students who forget the sign up deadline and still want to play, but this year there might be a little problem with that this year. There are strict rules in place this year that prevent any student from joining a team after the season has started so anyone who really wants to play better hurry, because if you wait too long you might miss your chance.

The Lady Indians started off on a positive note, winning their first three matches against Alabama-Huntsville, Limestone, and USC Aiken. When conference play rolled around, they came up short against Lincoln Memorial in their first SAC match, but won their next four contests against Carson Newman, Lenoir Rhyne, Mars Hill, and Tusculum. The only South Atlantic Conference teams that were able to defeat the Tribe in 2011 were Wingate, Newberry, and Lincoln Memorial.

Catawba was able to beat Newberry the next two times the teams faced off, as well as the Railsplitters of LMU during the regular season and the Southeast Regional of the NCAA tournament. However, the Wingate Bulldogs proved to be the best team in the conference, as they defeated the Lady Indians all four times the teams played. They were the winners of the SAC regular season, the conference tournament, and made it to the finals of the NCAA Southeast Regional.

Even though Catawba could not beat a stacked Wingate squad this past season, they still finished second in the South Atlantic Conference, which is a huge accomplishment. They also made it to the semi-finals of the NCAA Southeast Regional. The team will be returning 13 of 15 players, so a lot of talent will be back for next year.

The seniors on this year’s team are Shay Meeks, an outside hitter from Kings Mountain, North Carolina and Taylor Doss, a middle from Boonville, North Carolina. Both had stellar careers at Catawba and will be greatly missed.
Be sure to keep up with the winter sports that are currently underway at Catawba, such as the swim team. The next home swim meet is December 3rd against Highway 52 rival Pfeiffer.

Four Lady Indians were placed on the South Atlantic All-Conference Teams in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments this season.