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With the school year coming to a close, the Daily Egyptian sports staff reflected on some of the best Saluki moments this year.
Biggest improvement
Jeff Engelhardt: Sophomore tennis player Martina Vianna Ce showed the biggest improvement this year. Ce went 8-13 a year ago but this season she turned it around and went 14-4. The 39 percent increase in winning percentage could mean conference championships in the coming years.
Matt Hartwig: In 2007, Saluki outfielder Bret Maugeri was batting .179 with eight RBIs in minimal playing time. As a junior this season, Maugeri has grabbed 30 starts in 46 games while hitting .311, third best on the team. More importantly, he was always willing to lay down a bunt and do the little things right while giving SIU a rock-solid .414 on-base percentage.
Megan Kramper: SIU volleyball red shirt freshman outside hitter Jennifer Berwanger. As a true freshman in 2006, she made appearances in the starting lineup but was red shirted due to a torn ACL and made a comeback this season. Berwanger wasted little time getting back in the flow as she appeared in 100 games and was fifth on the team in kills, second in digs and fifth in blocks. She looks to be a key component for the Salukis to make another run in the MVC in 2008.
Luis C. Medina: Bryan Mullins stepped up his offensive game this season. When the team needed a basket, No. 10 was the one to hit it. Mullins improved his three-point shooting, leading the team by hitting 41 percent of his shots behind the arc.
Best quote
JE: "They are not yelling at me personally, they are yelling at the striped shirt. They are attacking the job. Once you get that realization, then things are a lot easier and you don't even hear it." - Referee Don Daily on how he handles verbal abuse from the crowd. Anyone who willingly travels from city to city to be criticized on a nightly basis should be commended for putting up with the verbal abuse.
MH: "We got swept by a team that was struggling and they absolutely whipped our butts. It was disgusting." - Dan Callahan after a series sweep against Bradley at Abe Martin Field. The quote was pretty spot-on about the series.
MK: When the SIU men's basketball team defeated then No. 14 Drake at the SIU Arena, coach Chris Lowery couldn't hold back his words.
"We've come out on the short end of the stick several times this season, but our guys really nutted up in the end and got it done"
LM: Swimming and diving head coach Rick Walker is always good for a quality quote. As the Saluki women prepared to defend their Missouri Valley Conference championship, coach Walker dropped this bit of knowledge.
"We are what we are and that's all we can be, except we want to strive to be better."
Best game
JE: The women's basketball 72-69 victory over Illinois State March 6. The Salukis were near the cellar of the conference at the time and snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the eventual conference champions on the road. It was one of the few shining moments for a team that struggled to find the magic of the 2006-07 season.
MH: SIU football's 34-31 win against Northern Illinois was incredible. The comeback was great especially given the circumstances of being down 10 points with just more than one minute to play in the game. Senior defensive tackle Larry Luster's interception return for a touchdown was funny to watch as well.
MK: Creighton on ESPN College Game Day. Not only was Saluki nation seen live on ESPN's top college basketball show, the Salukis gave us an awesome 48-44 victory over our biggest rival. Even analysts Hubert Davis and Digger Phelps were impressed with the Dawg Pound and called it one of the best in the nation.
LM: The SIU football team's 34-27 victory in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division 1 Football Championship was one of the team's many highlights. Future Chicago Bears quarterback Nick Hill threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns, sending the Salukis to their first semi-final game since 1983.
Best play
JE: Senior guard Tyrone Green stealing and dunking on Arizona State. Less than a minute into the game, Green took his ball back from the Sun Devils and threw down a ferocious dunk. Unfortunately, the Salukis lost, but Green provided plenty of tenacious "D" and passion for the game throughout the season.
MH: Craig Turner's punt return for a touchdown against Delaware in the Football Championship Subdivision semifinal game. I remember the stupid ESPN announcer thinking that he was out of bounds and then he took it to the barn.
MK: When SIU men's basketball met up with Northern Iowa at home on Feb. 20, the Salukis might have found their newest recruit. Saluki fan Jordan, who wasn't an inch above four feet tall, sank a bank shot, free throw, and three-pointer in three shots in Giant City Lodge's "Let's Make a Deal" contest. Fans erupted as Jordan sank his shots with nine seconds left on the clock, a feat that most college students can't even do in 30 seconds. It was pretty neat to see one of SIU's smallest fans walk away with the biggest grin on his face and $100 in cash.
LM: Oft-injured sophomore swingman Christian Cornelius showed what he was capable of doing if healthy in his 17 minutes against Oklahoma State. Cornelius followed a Wesley Clemmons missed jump shot with a thunderous tip-dunk to extend the Salukis' lead to 14-10. SIU defeated the Cowboys 69-53.
Biggest achievement
JE: Chris Lowery and his staff signing the "Fab Four." The class of Kevin Dillard, Anthony Booker, Torres Roundtree and Ryan Hare is one of the most decorated in SIU history and could take the Salukis dancing all the way to a championship. There is no limit to how good these four can be in the coming seasons.
MH: Quarterback Nick Hill jumping from SIU starting quarterback to third on the Chicago Bears depth chart in a matter of months is by far the biggest achievement. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy and given the circumstances of the beleaguered Bears quarterbacks, Nick Hill could be in line for a handful of starts this season.
MK: SIU softball senior Krystal Stein being named Top 25 Most Distinguished Seniors and the women's enhancements post graduate scholarship for careers in athletics by the NCAA. Stein was also named the 2007-2008 Valedictorian for the College of Liberal Arts where she will receive a degree in public relations and graduate with a 4.0 GPA.
LM: The men's tennis team's victory against Illinois State in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament was its first since 2003. Freshman Mariano Restrepo defeated the Valley's top newcomer, Drake's Mauricio Ballivian.
