Blue Hawk Notebook

Softball transfers boost DSU

The rich seem to get richer every season.

Three players from rival Dakota Athletic Conference schools have transferred to Dickinson State to play for the nationally ranked softball team.

Blue Hawks coach Guy Fridley opened the doors for Jamestown College transfers Nicole Marcoux and Jody Lantz and Mayville State transfer Jamie McIntyre when fall semester began last week.

"It's totally unexpected, granted they have common friendships on our team," Fridley said.

All three players are Canadian and played throughout the summer with several Blue Hawks players who are also from Canada.

Marcoux, a junior pitcher and first baseman, is a two-time all-Region III honoree and finished 8-0 with a 3.26 ERA from the belt last season. She added six home runs and 33 RBIs.

Lantz, a sophomore third baseman, was the DAC freshman of the year and led the Jimmies with nine homers and 50 RBIs while batting .408.

McIntyre, a junior third baseman, has a career batting average of .255.

Fridley said Marcoux's addition to the pitching staff adds a valuable asset the Blue Hawks believed they would be short on this season.

In addition to Marcoux and freshman recruit Sara Jane Webster, DSU returns the DAC pitcher of the year, junior Mehgan Shaw, and senior Kalie Ellis.

"I'm extremely excited for the (pitching) staff we have," Fridley said.

Yilmaz earns induction into NAIA Hall of Fame

Her play led DSU to its first national championship in any sport in 2000 and now Neslihan Yilmaz is the first Dickinson State athlete to earn induction in the NAIA Hall of Fame.

Yilmaz, who currently resides in her native country of Turkey, will be inducted, along with 10 others in the class of 2008. She will be honored at the NAIA national volleyball championships in Columbia, Mo., on Nov. 27, 2007.

Yilmaz was an All-American all four years (1996-2000) she played for the Blue Hawks and, after leading the Blue Hawks to the national title in 2000, was named NAIA Player of the Year.

She holds several DSU individual records, including career kills, digs and hitting percentage. She ranks in the top 10 nationally for several match, season and career records.

Black Hills State duo bring DAC experience

Andre Goldberg's last collegiate experience in Scott Gymnasium was not pleasant.

On Feb. 10, Goldberg, then a Black Hills State senior, took the ball coast-to-coast in the final seconds of a game against DSU and missed what would have been the game-winning shot.

Goldberg and Devin Gonzalez, also a Black Hills State graduate, are now graduate assistant coaches for the Blue Hawks' men's basketball team.

First-year coach Ty Orton brought the former high school teammates from Boulder, Colo., on board after recruiting them when he was at Otero Junior College.

"He just wanted some guys who knew the system," Goldberg said.

Goldberg is 23 years old and Gonzalez is 25. Gonzalez coached last season at his alma mater of Fairview High School in Boulder.

"Not many people get this opportunity right out of college, especially in a competitive conference like this," Goldberg said.

No surprises for golf team at first tournament

Dickinson State golf coach Tim Daniel said there were no real surprises from the team's first nonconference meet at the Bismarck State College Invitational at Prairie West Golf Course in Mandan on Thursday.

T.J. Poulsen picked up where he left off last spring, shooting a 72 and falling one stroke shy of medalist honors for the men.

Senior Megan Fisher and freshman Kelsey Boedeker tied for medalist honors on the women's side. They each shot 89.

"Some kids that returned that we had on last years team came out and played well. We were very happy," Daniel said. "We got a chance to see where some people are at."