FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[hasanova]

Hasa

18 starters returning is strong. I think HSC 7 starters returning on offense/8 on defense.  odac will be a fist fight again next year.

I agree.  There's some off-season buzz and we ended the 2013 season on a dramatic note coming back from a 0-31 deficit to beat E&H.  The 2014 season looks bright, especially if we can begin to match up with the Tigers after a very long drought.

[tigerfanalso]

Hasa

GC does not have to start matching up with HSC anytime soon !!!! We are kinda of enjoying the current trend, knowing it can't last for ever. My bet is HSC will be a very difficult out in 2014, particularly at home. I hope to be able to entertain you in Farmville next season.

[hasanova]

Six more recruits for Guilford:

http://www.guilfordquakers.com/sports/fball/2013-14/releases/20140402ysl2iu

[hasanova]

Hasa

GC does not have to start matching up with HSC anytime soon !!!! We are kinda of enjoying the current trend, knowing it can't last for ever. My bet is HSC will be a very difficult out in 2014, particularly at home. I hope to be able to entertain you in Farmville next season.

I bet you do like the status quo.  I'll do my best to make the 2014 fall trip to Farmville. 

[hasanova]

Guilford's 2014 football schedule -other than some ODAC dates getting flipped, the only real change is a game with Southern Virginia at Salem Stadium replacing Averett:

http://www.guilfordquakers.com/sports/fball/2014-15/schedule

[tigerfanalso]

Hasa

That is a tough ODAC schedule. Open with W&L and away vs. RMC & HSC later in the schedule.

[hasanova]

Hasa

That is a tough ODAC schedule. Open with W&L and away vs. RMC & HSC later in the schedule.

I agree.  This is also a year with only three ODAC games at home (W&L, BC and CUA) ... tough road trips to SU, RMC, HSC, and E&H.  I have high hopes we'll fare reasonably well this season, however.

[tigerfanalso]

I believe HSC only has three ODAC games at home as well; RMC, GC & E&H and they travel to W&L, SU, CAU & BC

[jknezek]

Figured I'd finish this post up on Shenandoah's first year in the ODAC. They definitely had a better Spring than Fall or Winter, but still a mixed bag. On the good side, baseball finished tied for second in the regular season at 13-7, women's lacrosse finished tied for second at 8-2 in the regular season and is in the championship match, and softball finished at 10-10, solidly mid conference.

The bad, unfortunately, was very bad. Men's lacrosse tied football and basketball with an 0-fer, men's tennis went 2-8, and women's tennis went 2-9, both finishing second from bottom.

______________________________________________________________________________________



Wasn't sure where to post this, but after the fall and winter seasons Shenandoah has had one painful welcome to the ODAC.

Complete failures in football and men's basketball (0 fer the conference schedule) were followed up with 7th place finishes in men's and women's cc, 11th in men's soccer with a 1-9-1 record, last place in men's indoor track, and 6th of 7 in women's indoor track.

This woeful record is somewhat balanced by the following: A 4-4 and 4th place finish in Field Hockey, a 4-7 8th place finish in volleyball, a 7-9 6th place finish in women's basketball and the only above .500 conference record, a 6-5-1 7th place finish in women's soccer.

As far as spring sports go, Shenandoah seems to have better hopes (at least in preseason polls) for high finishes in baseball and women's lacrosse. I was unable to access some of the other preseason information. Be interesting to see where Shenandoah finishes in the end of year ODAC overall athletic cups. Still, it can't have been a pleasant welcome so far to the a new conference.

I posted this last year and figured I'd do a follow up. Shenandoah deserves some props for making solid strides in a lot of sports this year.

Women's CC: 7 of 10
Men's CC: 9 of 11
Field Hockey: 6-2 (all records for conf play only!)
Football: 3-4
Men's Soccer: 0-11
Women's Soccer: 8-3-1
Volleyball: 5-6

Men's Basketball: 4-12
Women's Basketball: 6-10

Baseball 11-3 (partial season)
Men's Lax 1-4 (partial)
Women's Lax 5-2 (partial)
Softball 6-6 (partial)
Men's Tennis 1-7 (partial)
Women's Tennis 5-3 (partial)

So there you have it. Big strides. Last year Shenandoah was an 0-fer in several sports including football, men's basketball and men's lacrosse. This year there is marked improvement in all of those, including no 0-fers. Men's soccer remains pretty putrid, but overall Shenandoah is either competitive or becoming more competitive in most sports. They continue to be pretty good in some sports including baseball, women's lax, women's soccer, and field hockey. So while it looked pretty gruesome last year, I'm more than willing to give credit where it is due for improvement.

[tigerfanalso]

SU certainly gave HSC a wakeup call this past football season.

[hasanova]

Seven more new Quakers brings us to 18:

http://www.d3football.com/seasons/2013/contrib/20140414verudm

[tigerfanalso]

Hasa

Once again, GC is doing a great job getting the news out on recruiting activities/announcements.

How is GC looking with returners ? Any studs not returning that should be/could be ?

[hasanova]

Hasa

Once again, GC is doing a great job getting the news out on recruiting activities/announcements.

How is GC looking with returners ? Any studs not returning that should be/could be ?

All indications are the offense will be clicking with a lot of returnees at QB, WR, RB, OL, FG Kicker/Punter, etc.  Defense has a lot of returnees as well.  I have heard one rumor about a key player on Defense that might not return, but I'm not going to mention a name until I see how that plays out.  Coach Rusiewicz is very transparent with his recruiting ... once a deposit is made, he makes the announcements in stages over a couple of months.  I watched spring ball a couple of weeks ago and was impressed with the numbers and the enthusiasm.

[tigerfanalso]

OK, hope that player gets things turned around and is able to finish his education.
Had dinner with Tyler last week. Great guy and brings alot to our b'ball program.

[hasanova]

OK, hope that player gets things turned around and is able to finish his education.
Had dinner with Tyler last week. Great guy and brings alot to our b'ball program.

Glad you had a chance to interact with Tyler Sanborn.  Small town roots (same county as me) and a good family.   His transformation as a player and as a physical presence on the court from his first year to his junior and senior (National POY) seasons at GC were nothing short of phenomenal ... a tribute to his determination and hard work ... traits that should rub off on the HSC team.