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Spartan Beat
Season highlights and outstanding student-athletes and alumni
Manny performs at Lucas
Oil Stadium
In his expanded role as an ambassador for
Manchester University, our new mascot,
Manny, performed in Indianapolis at an event
related to the NCAA Men’s Final Four. In this
interview, he talks about the experience and
his appearance on national television.
Talk about the trip you took to
Indianapolis back in April.
I was invited, along with several other
mascots, to perform at Lucas Oil Stadium
during the National Association of Basketball
Coaches Reese’s College All-Star Game. The
event was one of the festivities surrounding
the NCAA Men’s Final Four. It was great, and
I hope to be able to do it again someday.
What were your duties on this trip?
My handler and I arrived early and got settled
in with the other mascots, waiting for the
Final Four team practices to end and for
the All-Star Game to begin. Shortly after
we arrived, we were needed on the court
immediately because the crowd needed some
excitement. Our first duty was to assist in a
fan dance-off in which we danced alongside
Profile
Bridgette Rowe ’15
Jordan Nieman ’15
Seniors named MU Athletes of the Year
T
he senior student-athlete
duo of women’s soccer and
track and field star Bridgette
Rowe and baseball wonder
Jordan Nieman were named
MU Male and Female Athletes of the Year
in May.
Rowe’s season culminated with a tie for
sixth and another All-America honor in the
high jump at the national meet. She was
the conference’s indoor and outdoor track
and field Athlete of the Year after claiming
a combined five indoor and outdoor
40 |
conference titles. She earned her second
NCAA Division III indoor All-American
honor in the high jump, and was the
Indiana Division III Championships’
Field Most Valuable Athlete. She holds
school records in the indoor long jump
and 60-meter dash and outdoor high
jump, and was the top scorer on the
Spartans’ women’s soccer squad en route
to second team all-HCAC and honorable
mention all-Great Lakes Region honors.
Nieman’s numbers were just as glowing
on the diamond. He helped lead the
program to an amazing 17th appearance
in the last 19 years in the conference’s
postseason tournament Final Four. He
topped the HCAC in batting average with
.414, home runs with 11, and was third in
RBI with 42. His name also appears on
many categories in the program’s history.
He moved into second all-time for home
runs with 34, and fourth all-time for RBI
with 164. For this past season, his batting
average was 13th best, his home run total
was sixth best, and his hit total of 63 was
in the top 20.
By Mark Adkins
MU sports information director