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The excitement began building when LCC
hosted the women's NCCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament
this past weekend. It escalated when the Angels won their regional
title. But when the men returned on Monday from their regional
saying, "We won too," the campus went up for grabs.
LCC "Angels"
LCC "Preachers"
John Searby coaches the men's team and
Amanda Bowman coaches the women.
Coaches Searby and Bowman departed for
Missouri with their teams for their national championships on
Wednesday. The men are at Central Bible College in Springfield, and
the women are at Ozark Christian College in Joplin.
Today, Thursday, March 4, the campus
will be offering up their prayers for their classmates as play
begins.
What
regional titles and national competition mean
Both coaches said nearly the same
things about their regional titles and what going to nationals means
to them.
The men's coach, Searby, said that this
year's men's team is young, with no seniors who are out of
eligibility for next season. Their one senior, Eric Farwell, is
still going to be short a few hours on his degree and will return to
play.
Searby hopes that going to nationals
this year will give the team an experience to build on. "We'll be
better prepared next season, knowing what it feels like to be at the
national tournament," he said. "Any time you've been there and you
know what it takes to get back, you have an advantage over everyone
else. I'm hoping that this will build a foundation for success for
many years."
The women's coach, Bowman, was a little
unsure of what is more exciting at this time. Coach Bowman is a
soon-to-be mother expecting her baby any day now. That event is
weighing in heavy on the thrill scale right now also.
But she is full of excitement over her
team's accomplishment. "It's too good to believe right now. It
hasn't sunk in with everybody yet. I don't think it will till we get
to nationals," she said.
Bowman said that the girls are feeling
excited right now too. "I don't think they're as nervous as this
past weekend, just because they know they have three games. We've
seen all but two of the teams that are there, and they feel a little
more confident knowing how people play," she said.
The Angels have lost to the teams that
they will be going up against. However, Bowman says she thinks they
stand a pretty good chance because they played those teams early on
in the season, while they were missing key point players Katie
Geisler, Stephanie Williams and Christina Wright.
Bowman says her goal for the team going
into nationals is to get into the top four. In order to do that they
have to win their first game. "Being an underdog helps us out a
lot," she said. Just winning that first game will give her players a
lot of confidence. That will be a good, realistic start, she said.
The first team they play is Hillsdale
Freewill Baptist out of Oklahoma. LCC has not played Hillsdale
before. But measuring by this season's history, Hillsdale beat
Mid-America by two and Mid-America beat LCC by six. The eight-point
difference was early in the season, before LCC came up. "So I know
it's going to be close," Bowman said.
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this article]
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 The
future athletic program
Coach Searby said that he expects going
to nationals will help in recruiting. "It makes it a more attractive
as a place for student-athletes to play," he said. "People want to
play for championship teams. When you win a championship it also
draws the good players."
Bowman agrees with Searby that having a
regional championship under the belt will make recruiting efforts
easier. While most of the girls coming to LCC are there because they
want to be in ministry, Bowman said that the championships will
probably gain some girls' interest because they will see the winning
and say, "I want to be a part of that."
She says it will help bring current
players back for next year too.
In addition to winning a title, "It
helps to have a 6-2 player (Brittany Robbins)," Bowman said. "Then
you have guards that want to come in because they want to play with
a 6-2 player." Having Brittany has brought in some other players
too, she said.
LCC
stepping up in competitiveness
The school has been part of the
National Christian College Athletics Association, which is divided
into liberal arts schools in Division I and Bible colleges in
Division II. However, to expand its competitiveness, LCC has begun a
process that many may not yet be aware of.
LCC began transitioning to National
Collegiate Athletic Association Division III this past year. The
change will still not allow the college to offer students athletic
scholarships. It does allow them to play more colleges and up the
standards of their competitiveness.
There are only four other Bible
colleges that are also Division III: Maranatha Baptist in Wisconsin,
Baptist Bible and Philadelphia Biblical in Pennsylvania, and North
Central in Minneapolis.
This has been what is referred to as
the "exploratory year." The change to Division III is a slow five-
to six-year process with lots of paperwork, Searby said.
When the calendar turns from May 31 to
June 1, LCC will be considered a provisional member in NCAA Division
III. It will be about 2010 when the college will be eligible for a
postseason Division III play.
LCC will be in the St. Louis
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which includes Greenville,
Blackburn, McMurray and several schools in the St. Louis area.
Searby said they have already been
playing these schools, both on the road and at home, to start
feeling each other out. "We're ready for them if they're ready for
us. I think it's a good step for us, and it's one that we're ready
to take," he said.
As members of the NCAA Division III the
teams will play more colleges close to their own size.
"It
validates our programs," Searby said. "It puts us on the map in such
a way that we can say we're making this move to Division III not
only because the school is growing, but also because our teams are
doing well. Our teams are excelling at the Christian college level,
so it's time to take the next step and move up a division."
[Interview by
Bob
Frank, written by Jan
Youngquist]
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