Huntington, Ind. - While most collegiate spring athletic teams have called it quits for the year, a handful of Huntington University teams are just getting ready to head into their “second season.” Three Forester teams and two individuals have qualified for postseason play and will be competing in their respective NAIA national tournament later this month.
For the consecutive year, the
Forester baseball team (22-23) stormed through the MCC conference tournament to capture the title and earn an automatic bid to the 2011 NAIA National Championship Opening Round. HU received one of the fifth seeds and will play at Auburn University at Montgomery (Ala.) on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. (CST) against #4 William Woods University (Mo.). The Owls (34-16) received an automatic bid to the tournament as the American Midwest Conference tournament champions. National Championship Opening Round winners will join host Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) at the Avista-NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. The 55th annual event will be played May 27 – June 3 at Harris Field. For more information about the tourney, click
here.
After going undefeated through the fall regular season portion of their schedule, the
HU men's tennis team (13-3) capped off their perfect season by winning the MCC conference tournament on October 9, 2010, to earn an automatic bid to the 2011 NAIA National Tournament, held May 17-21, at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala. As the 21st-seed, the Foresters will face No. 12 Graceland University (11-5) on Tuesday, May 17 at 9:00 a.m. For more information about the tourney, click
here.
2011 MCC Conference Medalist Jordan Dawes led the
Forester golf team (76-15) to an impressive come-from-behind win to capture the 2011 MCC conference title and earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships for the second time in three years. The tournament will be held May 24-27 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. The championship is a four-round tournament with the field being cut after 54 holes and reduced to the top 17 teams and 40 individuals. For more information about the tourney, click
here.
Representing the
Huntington men’s track team, Joseph Herber, a junior business management from Fremont, Indiana (Fremont High School) will be making his third appearance in the 10,000 meters at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships. He qualified for this event by clocking a 31:11.69 at the Indiana Little State Championships on April 9. This year's event will be held May 26-28 at Indiana Wesleyan University's Outdoor Sports Complex. For more information about the championships, click
here.
Also making the short trip to Indiana Wesleyan will be senior Molly Shirey from Mooreland, Indiana. As a member of the
Forester women’s track team, she will be making her first appearance on the national stage in the marathon. This exercise science major qualified for the event by turning in a time of 1:31.30 at the Veterans Half Marathon in Columbia City, Indiana, on November 13, 2010. For more information about the championships, click
here.