Saints are the brightest —
and among the best!
Not all the championships for which Siena
Heights athletic teams compete are tallied
with wins and losses. One great honor
bestowed on the Siena Heights men’s
cross country team in November was the
National Academic Award. Siena’s runners
had a team academic gradepoint average
of 3.5, tops among all the teams competing
at the NAIA National Championships in
Wisconsin. Way to go, Saints! On the sports
scoreboard, Coach Tim Bauer’s team
placed 15th overall in the field of 28
qualifying teams.
Saints make basketball history
New softball field dedicated
The Saints are enjoying the home field
advantage! The George and Wilma
Christensen Memorial Softball Field was
dedicated April 29 prior to a doubleheader with Cornerstone. Before this year,
Siena Heights played “home” softball
games at Island Park. The team’s new
home base is located just west of the
Fieldhouse. Funds for construction of the
new field were provided by longtime
supporter Wilma Christensen in memory
of her parents.
Online Athletics
For a complete run-down of 1999-2000
spor ts, check out Siena’s website
(www.sienahts.edu). Access “Athletics”
through “Prospective Students” or
“Undergraduate Students.”
By Kris Stanton ‘01
A Season to Remember
A longer version of this story appeared in
Spectra; it is excerpted by permission.
y now, the dust has settled. The baskets have been raised to the rafters.
All remnants of basketball glory
have been put away for another year, but
what a year this was for our Saints.
From start to finish, Fred Smith’s team
never lacked excitement or intensity. Every
fan knew this team was something special.
The Saints rattled off 14 victories and
had been handed only one defeat through
November and half of December. Then
came two reality checks: back-to-back
blowout road losses to Wayne State and
WHAC rival Spring Arbor College.
Watching the slaughter, I wondered, would
this team ever be able to utilize their stars
and play together?
Slowly, game by game, the Saints pulled
together and won games with a balanced
attack of unselfish play on the offensive
end and a stifling defense that was nothing
short of merciless. They dropped some midschedule games and bounced around the
national rankings like a tennis ball, but a
turning point was on the horizon.
On Feb. 14, the Saints proved to be no
sweetheart for the University of Detroit-
Mercy. In the biggest regular season game
in recent history, the Saints trailed the
NCAA Division I Titans by only 3 points
with fewer than two minutes to play in the
game. Despite not leaving with a victory,
the Saints gained confidence. They realized
their team could roll into any arena and hang
with anyone at any time.
SHU entered the WHAC tournament in a
thre