How's that for protecting this house?

Everyone knows that playing at home gives you a great advantage. There are so many factors that make it easier to play at home. You get to sleep in your own bed, you are rested from not having to travel, the visiting team does not have these luxuries. This year Loyola has really experiences a home field advantage.

Men's Soccer 10-0
Women's Soccer 4-1-3
Volleyball 10-3
Women's Swimming 8-5
Men's Swimming 7-3
Women's Tennis 1-0
Men's Tennis 2-0

Overall for the Fall 42-12-3

So far for Basketball the men have not dropped a game at home (4-0) and the women are perfect at home as well at 5-0.

There is no place like home. Hopefully we can keep up the dominance the rest of the winter and continue it into the spring.

Peace.

How soon we forget....

I know from personal experience that it is so easy to get caught up in the hype.

The high expectations for the men's basketball team this year have everyone scratching there heads with the slow start. But is it that slow?

The Hounds are 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the MAAC. The small crowds in Reitz are a disgrace. The atmosphere for the games should be that of excitement but instead you could hear a pin drop at times (no music at halftime?) Remember where you were Loyola not that long ago - Scott Hicks 6 wins, 5 wins, 4 wins and then 1. You have a great group of players that are learning how to win.

Patsos has come in and in the past few years brought a fresh attitude to the entire program. He can only do so much to create excitement (and he works his ass off getting the level to a fever pitch.) But here is where you come in - The fans need to show up. The students are so pandered to at Loyola that they can't get out of bed to root on their schoolmates.

Just to prove it to you that the team is doing pretty well, here are the starts for the past few seasons -

2006-07 Started 5-3 - Finished with a record of 18-13 (MAAC: 12-6)
N10 Navy L 61-73
N11 North Florida W 65-50
N14 at UMBC W 69-56
N20 at American L 74-81
N29 Delaware W 75-63
D02 Mount St. Mary’s W 83-66
D08 Saint Peter’s L 55-66
D10 at Manhattan W 77-58

2005-2006 Started 5-2 Finished with a record of 15-13 (MAAC: 8-10)
Coach: Jimmy Patsos
N19 at Towson W 80-67
N27 UMBC W 71-64
N29 American W 68-60
D03 at Mount St. Mary’s W 76-71
D09 at Fairfi eld W (ot) 90-85
D11 Manhattan L 73-85
D23 at Virginia L 59-98

2004-2005 Started 1-6 Finished with a record of 6-22 (MAAC: 5-13)
Coach: Jimmy Patsos
N19 at Virginia Tech L 58-81
N21 Navy L 86-89
N27 at Pittsburgh L 57-93
N29 Delaware L 60-63
D02 at Saint Peter’s L 83-99
D05 Niagara W 97-89
D11 Mount St. Mary’s L 55-69
D21 at UMBC L 53-58

2003-2004 Started 0-8 Finished with a record of 1-27 (MAAC: 1-17)
Coach: Scott Hicks
N21 UMBC L 50-72
N22 Coppin State L 65-82
N29 Towson L 62-66
D02 at Iona L 60-77
D06 at Duquesne L 61-70
D08 Saint Peter’s L 66-80
D10 at Delaware L 71-76
D13 at Mount St. Mary’s L 71-75

So get to the games and root for your team. They work hard for you. We ran into two teams desperate for wins (Mount was 0-fer and Iona had only 1 win) We obviously took a beating in the Iona game but we look like we learned our lesson.

Now it is time for the fans to learn their lesson. If you did not come to the Men's Basketball game on Sunday, you missed one of the most dominating performances in years (maybe decades) by the team. You missed a home game or two, it is time to make a resolution to be at every home game in the Spring semester.

If you are a fan - prove it. Peace.

Great Moments in Loyola Greyhound Athletics

Help me compile a list of the great moments in the history of Loyola College Athletics.

Add your comment.

I will add them to the list.

If we need to vote on something let me know...

Phil Scholz Sets American Record At U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships

Here is a story that is going to take off. Phil Scholz, a freshman swimmer at Loyola College in Maryland, has burst onto the international scene. He is a swimmer and he is fast. The thing that makes the story amazing is he lost sight completely. Phil has integrated seamlessly into the Loyola community and has made an impact on his teammates and many members of the college community.

Here is an update from his first meet as he tries to qualify for the 2008 Bejing Olympics.

Loyola freshman Phil Scholz opened competition at the 2007 U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships at College Park with an impressive victory and new American record in the 800-meter freestyle event. Scholz, who competes as a blind swimmer in the S11 category, broke the old record by an amazing two minutes.
Scholz' time of 10:39.85 in the 800 Free broke the old record set in 1999. He followed his 800-meter performance with a solid time in the 100 Fly, bettering his personal best by three seconds. His prelim time ranks him seventh in the world in the category and tonight he will swim against the world's sixth-ranked swimmer from China.
The U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships run today through Sunday at the Eppley Recreation Center in College Park, Md. Approximately 260 physically disabled athletes from 16 countries will compete at the event, including all members of the U.S. Paralympics Swimming Elite and National Teams.
Scholz's classification of S11 means that he is completely blind. He will compete in seven events overall at this weekend's championships.

Thanks to LoyolaGreyhounds.com for the information.

Long serving Loyola College Coach Brian Loeffler has high hopes for the next few months for Scholz. Stay tuned for more updates on this and other stories from the world of Greyhound Athletics.

Adventures in Greyhound-land

So much to do. It is that time of year.

As the fall season came to a close it is time to reflect on the season that was. The Loyola College Athletic Program is off to a tremendous start. Two teams have advanced to the NCAA tournament already.

The Women's Soccer team, struggled at times during the regular season to score goals, advanced the NCAA Women's Soccer College Cup. They faced Virginia in the first round and after competing for most of the match faltered at the end and lost by a final of 4-1. This was their first appearance in the past three years. With a young squad, Coach John Byford will continue to improve and should be favored to return to the NCAA tournament in the 2008.

The Men's Soccer team finally got back into the College Cup. After a drought of five seasons the team dominated the MAAC winning 11 games versus conference opponnents. The team hosted an NCAA game for the first time since 1993 (Loyola defeated James Madison 1-0 in that game.) The Liberty Flames came to Diane Geppi-Aikens Field and the Greyhounds methodically defeated them by a final of 2-0. The team had a level of play this year that reminded me of the strong defensive squads that Evergreen has seen in the past. The team set the bar high with 19 victories, 10-0 at home and a fan following that leans toward cult. What a season. The second round of the college cup was hosted by the ACC power, University of Maryland. The Terps once again had a roster full of high quality players and the Greyhounds were not expected to compete. Remember this is a team that only a couple years ago defeated Loyola 9-0 in a regular season game. The teams battled for 90 minutes plus two overtimes and had to go to penalties to decide which team would advance to the third round. Maryland was able to come away with a 4-2 advantage in the end and the season was over for Loyola. A dissapointment, yes. But the future is bright. A fond farewell to seniors Janson Blake, Julian Cantillo and Camillo Correa. The youthful leadership (see picture) on this team was tremendous.

The volleyball team, which has in the past few years struggled mightly, was able to post 20+ wins for the first time in over ten years. The squad also advanced to the MAAC Semifinals and faced Fairfield. Although they lost in the semis, this team has a core of players returning that should help elevate the team to better things in the (near) future!

Now it is time to focus on the winter sports. Basketball is underway. Both teams are in the area of 500. MAAC play starts this Friday and we all know that these are the games that matter! The new rules regarding the regular season champion getting at least an NIT bid makes the regular MAAC season even more exciting.

Swimming and Diving are chugging away. The men's team had one of its best wins in program history this past weekend, knocking off the Red Foxes of Marist, a team that Loyola was 0-24 against. With the addition of a new scoreboard at the Mangione Natatorium and a fired up squad, both the men's and women's teams should challenge for the MAAC title in February. (Hosted by Loyola at the FAC!)

The cross country team finished up in the Fall with an ok showing at the MAAC Championships. Now the focus is on Indoor Track. The team is excited and we hope that that translates into good times on the track!

Golf and Tennis both compete in the Fall but they really focus on the Spring season with the goal of capturing the MAAC and an automatic berth to the NCAA post-season. Golf has a very good shot at getting back and Coach Tom Beidleman has a squad that can compete at the highest level, expectations are high. In tennis, both men's and women's the introduction of international players to MAAC schools has made it difficult for Coach McClure's all-American squad. The team really loves to play and they push and compete. It should be an enjoyable spring for them.

The snow is falling outside and there is much to do. Make sure you keep in touch. We broadcast our men's and women's basketball games on the internet (audio) and are looking to add video to them soon.

Hope to see you on campus.