CSU soccer dominates at nationals, club volleyball does the same

For the men and women of CSU’s men’s and women’s club soccer

teams, the 2003 National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association

Soccer Tournament, provided the chance to prove their worth; and

that they did.

Playing in brisk winter temperatures of Dec. 4, the CSU’s club

men’s team, the women’s gold team and the women’s green team

charged through the three-day tournament defeating opponents left

and right en route to a trio of top finishes.

The men’s team finished in the final four, the women’s gold

finished third and the women’s green team finished fourth.

“Every team there is at the highest level that you can play,”

said Kerry Greer, captain and president of the women’s team, of the

competition at the tournament. “I’m proud of the entire team, they

stepped up and took on each game.”

Playing their fifth game in two days, the gold team fell to the

University of Colorado-Boulder in a hotly contested battle that

ended in a shootout. Colorado went on to win the tournament.

Meanwhile the men played almost the duration of the tournament

without allowing a goal. Unfortunately, the first goal they did let

in, during a quarterfinal game against men’s tournament champion

the University of Illinois, was enough to end their season. The

team lost to the Fighting Illini 4-0 in a game that mid-fielder and

president of the men’s team Ryan Bennet said the team did not play

at its full potential.

“We just came out flat and they scored on us early, so we tried

to play catch-up the rest of the game,” Bennet said. “We’re used to

leading the game. We usually score first and score a lot, so we’re

not used to trying to come back.”

Greer and teammate Sara Zach represented the CSU women’s team on

the All-Tournament team, while Billy Cooksey represented the men’s

team.

“I was honored to accept it,” Cooksey said of being elected by

his peers to the team. “I was (very) excited.”

Women’s club volleyball rolls in Arizona

Playing six games in one day after a 14-hour drive to Tucson,

Ariz., and the University of Arizona, the CSU women’s club

volleyball team swept through the competition en route to a

tournament championship and boosted their league-best record to

23-1. The Rams defeated Arizona, the University of California-San

Diego and CU-Boulder to take the crown. The latter match was the

third for the Rams against the Buffaloes and the result was similar

to the previous two.

“We’ve played CU in scrimmages twice and beat them twice, so we

know how they play,” said Ursula de Tourbaix, president of the

team. “We weren’t intimidated. We wanted to beat them a third time

to prove we are for real.”

Though CU came into the game talking, CSU quickly shut them up

by scoring three unanswered points to open the match. The team

never looked back after taking that lead. “They lost their voice

after we scored the first three points,” de Tourbaix said. “We just

killed them.”