Becoming Audrey Jensen
by Joel Carlson, UM Sports Information |
Audrey Jensen kills.
Then, without even a hint of self-consciousness, she unleashes a ritualistic victory dance that is mostly spontaneous but partly the resurfacing of skills learned during a decade-long dance career.
Then she joins her five teammates on the court for a group hug and butt slaps. And in that moment, life is perfect.
It is one point in a game in which the winner must score 30. And then do it three times to be considered victorious. The moment flashes by in a heartbeat, all focus quickly turning to the next serve.
Yet within this tiny microcosm of the overall match, fans of the University of Montana volleyball team see all they need to see to understand Jensen. It’s all there. They just need to look deeper.
Within this single moment, which took mere seconds, the door to the past, and all the answers, is opened just a crack.
To understand how Audrey Jensen got where she is, to open the door all the way, you need to know where she started.
Open a U.S. atlas, stick your finger in the heart of the nation, and you are getting warm. Your finger lands on the state of Nebraska, a state deeply saturated in red, not only because of the state’s fanaticism for its beloved Cornhuskers, but also in political leanings.
And while it may be geographically at the heart of the nation, it also helps provide the backbone. While the progressive coasts may twist in the winds of the latest fads and trends, the Midwest and places like south-central Nebraska continue to hold fast to the principles of its founders from generations ago.
Getting off Interstate 80 at Exit 279 and heading south, the stereotypical image of Nebraska comes to life. After crossing the Platte River, you look right and you see flat and spacious cornfields. Turn your head to the left and the same things fill your field of vision, to the horizon and beyond.
Nebraska is the Cornhusker state, and in no place in the state is this more evident than on the 12-mile drive from the interstate to Minden, a town of 3,000 people and two stoplights. It is the type of place that can be missed with just a couple of blinks of the eye.
There, in America’s heartland, is the key to understanding Audrey Jensen, where the door that you peak through at a Griz volleyball match is inched open just a little further.
Minden is the type of place where heads of livestock outnumber people, and it’s not even a close race; where a hand-shake deal is just as binding as a signed contract; where you can be sure that nine out of 10 cars passed on a Sunday morning are either heading to church or heading out for post-church brunch (assuming the church did not host a potluck dinner); and where hard work is not only virtuous, but a means of survival, both for families and the animals that depend on their keepers.
Know this, too, about Minden. Its tourist draw is Pioneer Village, where 20 acres and over 50,000 pieces of Americana are displayed in 26 buildings, an ode to the way things used to be, from a time when man survived on “open hearths, grease lamps and oxcarts,” not “television, super-sonic speed and atomic power.”
Not that the residents of Minden are stuck in the past. They are just not quite willing to concede that the ways of the breakneck-speed millennium are necessarily an improvement.
And know this as well: Like so many Midwestern farming communities, the fairgrounds are used as the directional basis for everything else in town and, like Garrison Keilor’s Lake Woebegon, all the kids seem to be above average.
That’s where Audrey Jensen was born. And what she was born into. And it’s a good place to start in understanding how she became what she is.
South of town, you come across the Jensen farmstead. Audrey Jensen is the product of her parents, of her upbringing, of her community.
In the balancing act of a collegiate student-athlete, you see her father, Jim, who works 5,000 acres of wheat, corn and soybeans and has a flourishing livestock business. Hard work, seven days a week, from sunup to sundown is the only option, procrastination a deathtrap.
It’s most certainly why Audrey has been on three Academic All-Big Sky Conference teams in three years as an elementary education major and continues to drive herself to improve as a volleyball player through a dedicated pursuit of her passion.
The life of a Division I student-athlete is one of prioritization and dedication, two things handed down to Audrey from her father.
But that being said, she is not 100 percent her father’s daughter.
The stoic, reserved and quiet genes that Jim tried to pass on to his two children
were overwhelmed by mother Tammy’s more gregarious DNA, perhaps beaten into submission
by a pair of dancing clogs.
Jim and Tammy’s belief in the strength of family, of putting oneself behind, in the background, and the greater good of the group at the forefront, is why Audrey makes such an excellent teammate and why Tammy’s son and Audrey’s brother recently finished an Iraqi tour of duty with the Marines, with whom he voluntarily enlisted out of high school.
The good of others before self, the mother constantly stressed.
Prior to the birth of Audrey’s older brother, Andrew, the Jensens decided upon one thing. Like so many in Minden and the Midwest, Jim would become the sole breadwinner and Tammy would take an extended break from her job as a teacher to stay at home and raise a family.
She would do the most selfless thing possible: Put her children’s lives – and their development, and thus their entire futures – ahead of her own individualist pursuits. Any other option was not even part of the debate. It’s just what’s considered normal in a place like Minden.
First came Andrew. Then one year, one month and one day later, AJ showed up. And she came out swinging, the hitter in the family that perhaps presaged a future career as a volleyball player.
Andrew and Audrey were thus raised by a stay-at-home mother, whose strongly held belief that life-long behaviors are developed by age three would not be compromised even one day a week by a babysitter or day care. The rules of the home, the consistent principles that the Jensen kids lived by – that a rule used in the morning is the rule used all day, not changed to meet the situation – are the most important things in a child’s development.
Tammy Jensen was at once Dr. Benjamin Spock and June Cleaver of the Nebraska prairie.
Priorities were quickly established. Homework was always first and foremost. Chores always followed. Then, if daylight and the clock allowed, a little bit of play.
A big part of the Jensen experience were the pets that needed daily attention and that turned the Jensen farmyard into a menagerie that could have challenged Noah’s ark: at least two of every species known to man always seemed to be walking around.
In addition to the livestock, there were birds, cats by the gross ton, dogs, rabbits and a pony for each child, one of which would become the love of Audrey’s young life, a pony she named Prince Charming.
Before sports could ever become part of this story, a precocious talent in dance was discovered. All it took was a pair of tap shoes and a Panda Bear song at the age of four.
AJ’s interest in dance lasted for 12 years – longer than her current volleyball career – and spanned tap dancing, jazz dancing, ballet and clogging. Though it is no longer an active hobby, it still shows up in each match that she plays in today. Watch for a big point that turns in favor of the Grizzlies, then keep your focus on Jensen. It’s often as entertaining as the preceding point.
The first opportunity to delve into sports came on the soccer field. Basketball, T-ball and softball all had subsequent shots at winning Jensen’s interest, but it wasn’t until she tried volleyball in grade seven that she finally found a sport that took hold of her heart and would not let up on its grip.
Like every young girl in the state – athlete or not – Jensen’s eyes were focused every fall to the east on the Husker volleyball program.
If you played the sport of volleyball in the state, Nebraska was the ultimate destination. If you could play beyond high school, you wanted to do it at the Nebraska Coliseum in front of the Husker faithful.
Boys had their dreams of Husker football and playing in front of huge crowds at Memorial Stadium, but Terry Pettit had somehow managed to build a volleyball dynasty right alongside the very shadow of football.
To the girls in Nebraska, the stars of the program shined just as brightly as the football players who played every Saturday. Names like Lori Endicott, Janet Druse, Stephanie Thater, Nikki Stricker and Lisa Reitsma were all familiar to Jensen during her early years, but one Husker star was in her own orbit in Jensen’s world: Allison Weston. Weston was a three-time all-American and had led Nebraska to the 1995 national championship, and Jensen clung tightly to this state-grown hero, even if she had never seen her play in person, much less met her.
With her own growing infatuation with the sport of volleyball, mixed with the idolization of Husker players, Jensen laid her head down at night with dreams of one thing: playing for Nebraska. Or at least playing Division I volleyball.
It’s one thing to dream and keep it to yourself. That way you don’t open yourself to questioning. But Jensen, never one to keep anything hidden inside, told her junior high coach that she was going to be a Division I volleyball player.
Never mind that she was a beanpole, or that she lacked any semblance of coordination, or that she was the only player on the junior high ‘A’ team that could not serve the ball overhand over the net. Never mind that she couldn’t step one foot in front of the other without tripping, despite an extensive dance background, whose very success was driven by impeccable footwork.
Her dancing experience may have taught her proper footwork, but even that was not enough to overcome a bad case of flailing limbs that never seemed to be in concert with her feet.
The junior high coach didn’t want to squash any dreams, but was also realistic.
“You’d better start working at it now.”
For the daughter of a rancher and farmer, who showed his daughter what work ethic was all about on a daily basis without saying a word, making the commitment was an easy adjustment.
While her freshmen teammates would follow a more traditional path to Minden High’s varsity team – starting on the freshman team, then moving up to the sophomore team, junior varsity, then finally varsity – Jensen earned a spot on the varsity team her first year, backing up two upperclassmen who played her middle hitter position.
As a sophomore she was the youngest player among the starting six, the other five being seniors. Success quickly followed and Minden found itself playing at the state tournament for the first time in 30 years.
Jensen was still as gangly as ever, but late that fall all the disparate parts that never seemed to want to work together started blending and the transition to potential Division I athlete was underway.
A 20-kill match under the bright lights of the state tournament showed that she was on her way.
Jensen started lifting hard in the off-season and began a workout program developed by her coach, Ed Rowse, who saw a budding talent and took Jensen under his wing.
As a junior, Jensen, who had finally grown into the height she had been blessed with since junior high, was the only returning starter on Minden’s team.
But playing for a small school that had never produced a Division I player, she needed to expose herself to recruiting opportunities if she hoped to realize her goal of playing Division I volleyball.
So she tried out and made a club team in Lincoln, a two-hour drive east of Minden.
At the first big club volleyball tournament in the spring of her junior year, Jensen and her talent were finally put on display. The recruiters were everywhere, and Jensen had her A-game going.
As would be expected, huge packets of recruiting materials started arriving at the Jensen home from potential suitors shortly thereafter. Schools that weren’t Division I were thrown out and disregarded. Even though Jensen was coming to terms with the fact that Nebraska was probably not going to come calling, she was still holding out for a Division I opportunity.
A number of good volleyball schools were interested. Colorado State, Kansas State and Wichita State were all on Jensen’s trail. Montana was as well, but with Missoula so far from Minden, Jensen didn’t give the Grizzlies much thought or attention.
Until the back injury. And until the Nebraska connection came to light.
The pain first developed in June 2001, prior to Jensen’s senior year at MHS. At a camp, her back started to spasm, the pain shooting down her legs. An old-school coach, a guy who had never met someone else’s pain he didn’t think they shouldn’t be able to ignore, told Jensen only a wuss would sit out because of a little back pain.
Common sense told Jensen her body was trying to insinuate something, hinting that something was breaking down.
A different side was telling her that the only way she’d be seen and ultimately get a Division I scholarship would be to go to more and more camps and be seen by more and more people.
The dream she’d been holding onto since seventh grade overwhelmed all, and Jensen played through the pain the rest of the summer.
Volleyball two-a-days started in August at Minden, but by the first day of school, the pain was so great X-rays needed to be taken. They revealed a bilateral stress fracture that had come from overuse.
Jensen missed the first half of her senior season. The back injury also caused Kansas State and Colorado State, among others, to cool in their pursuit of Jensen.
But Nikki Best and Montana were still interested. A Nebraska native, Best knew the kind of player, the kind of person, she was after. The Nebraska player. The type of player she could relate to, that she’d grown up playing with and against. The kind of player who understood the hard work it would take to turn the Grizzly volleyball program in a positive direction and was not afraid of the work and dedication it would take.
All it took was a short, hand-written note to Jensen, telling her about Nebraska and playing for the Huskers, and Jensen was finally able to put the connection together. This was the former Nikki Stricker, the Nebraska setter she’d grown up watching, cheering for and dreaming about.
Best’s foot was in the door.
From a huge box of recruiting envelopes, Jensen narrowed her schools down to 10. Then to five. Finally Jensen had to decide between Wichita State, Tulsa and Montana.
She just wanted one thing. After missing most of her senior season, she was anxious get back on the court and wanted to find a program that was on the rise, where she would be able to fight for playing time right from the start.
On her Montana recruiting trip – in which she was joined by Diana Thompson, Whitney Pavlik and EvaLyn Whitehead, two of whom are current teammates – Jensen arrived in Missoula alone, without either parent, because the wise-beyond-her-years Jensen wanted a place where she could feel comfortable without Jim and Tammy at her side.
She wanted to experience new things, with completely different scenery and a different environment, where she would not be so close to Minden that she would be tempted to spend occasional weekends at home.
After prayerful consideration, Montana won out. Jensen committed after her senior season. Her goal was really going to be realized. Division I volleyball was no longer just a dream, but was soon to be a reality.
But before she could ever report to Missoula, another twist to the story had developed.
How would you react when you heard you were going to meet your childhood idol? And that she was going to be one of your college coaches?
For Jensen, that spring day of her senior year when she got an email from Best telling the Grizzly team that Allison Weston would be joining the coaching staff at Montana could only be reacted to in one way: by running up and down the halls of Minden High School, screaming with volleyball teammates who knew the magnitude of the message.
What a dream opportunity it was that was coming together so neatly! Playing Division I volleyball and being coached by Best and Weston.
The first time Jensen met Weston was in the spring of 2002. Spring break at Minden High meant an opportunity to travel with her parents, who had yet to visit Montana, to Missoula to meet with the coaching staff, which now included Weston.
Nerves were tight as piano wire. Hands were shaking. And that was just the parents, who would finally be meeting the staff that would have the continued development of their only daughter in its hands.
All three Jensens were on edge on the drive over for lunch. A forgotten turn signal resulted in a near firestorm. The car could hardly hold the emotions of those riding in it.
The group – the three Jensens, Dave and Nikki Best and Weston – met at Food for
Thought, a small restaurant near the UM campus. And for once in her life, Jensen
was rendered speechless. What do you say to the person you feel like you know
intimately, but don’t know at all?
From day one, Jensen was shocked. Where was Weston’s cocky bravado? Hadn’t she been the best player the University of Nebraska program had ever produced? Hadn’t she gone on to Olympic glory? Then played professionally in Europe before starting her coaching career?
Where was the bragging, the chest-puffing accounts of all she’d done on volleyball courts across America and the world? Where was the attitude that dripped with “I’m Allison Weston, and you’re not”?
Jensen knew about Allison Weston, the player. She quickly learned about Allison Weston, the person, who she came to believe is the most humble, gifted athlete she’s ever met.
And at some point this month, Jensen’s volleyball journey will have come full circle.
She learned about the sport while worshipping players like Weston and Best and their Husker teammates from afar.
A career started in the seventh grade on the dusty floor of a gymnasium in Minden and was fueled by dreams that were larger than the expanse of sky in the flattest section of Nebraska.
How fitting that it will be Best and Weston on the Grizzly bench, speechless with emotion, when the day comes to bid Jensen goodbye. Former Husker players who were unaware of their impact on a middle schooler back in the early and mid-90s, now counting as blessings the impact Jensen has made on their own lives.
And now all friends for life.
That Jensen is going to be successful in her post-collegiate career is a sure bet. Her Midwestern upbringing almost guarantees that the accolades will not stop once a volleyball career ends in November. Her passions and focus will simply be redirected elsewhere, but the deeply rooted values that have been instilled in her since birth will continue on.
She will be successful because she is a carbon copy of the little girl who was raised the right way in Minden, Neb.
Audrey Jensen kills.
And in that moment, you see the seventh grader who told everyone who would listen that she would become a Division I volleyball player. Look closer and you see the traits of the father.
Then, without even a hint of self-consciousness, she unleashes a ritualistic victory dance that is mostly spontaneous and almost all joy at having realized a childhood dream.
Then she joins her five teammates on the court for a group hug and butt slaps. And you see the mother, who gave of herself so long ago that Audrey Jensen could become the player you see on the court today.
And now you realize: This is how Audrey Jensen has become.
[Back to the Grizzly Times] |
As seen from the stands
by Joel Carlson, UM Sports Information |
Montana’s coaches have all been on the sidelines or played in dozens of memorable games. But like Griz Nation, UM’s coaches are also regular fans at heart and have long histories of attending games or watching them on television as spectators. Ecstasy or heartbreak, these are some of their favorite memories.
Wayne Tinkle |
Wayne Tinkle (Men's Basketball) – I’d have to say the most memorable event I’ve seen as a fan on TV was the 1980 Winter Olympics when the U.S. hockey team beat the Russians and went on to win the gold. I was probably 12 or 13 years old, but I still remember it clearly. It was amazing because you knew the Russians were so dominant, especially in that sport, and to see a group of college guys go and put it to them was pretty awesome. Even watching things like the recent movie “Miracle” get to me.
In person, I remember as a kid – I was probably eight years old – I saw the Chicago Cubs play the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field. It was like a 21-inning game and the final score was something like 25-23. It was just awesome. I was with my dad and a couple of my sisters, and we were there all afternoon. It was before Wrigley had lights, and they almost had to suspend it. That was a pretty neat experience. I think that game still holds some regular-season records.
Dave Best |
Dave Best (Volleyball) – The event I would choose would be the 1996 regional final in the NCAA volleyball tournament held at Nebraska. It was Nebraska against Penn State. Nikki (Best) was coaching with the Huskers at the time, and it was a really strong back-and-forth match. Penn State had lost, I think, in three regional finals before that, so it was pretty emotional for them.
When it came down to the wire in game five, Nebraska was down but came back and beat them, 20-18. It was by far the loudest event I’ve ever been at, just deafening. It hurt my ears. The (Nebraska) Coliseum is just a great place to view volleyball. It has a great atmosphere. It probably holds about 5,300 fans or so. That was one of my all-time favorite events to be in the stands at.
(Note: Nebraska’s thrilling come-from-behind victory over Penn State in the East Regional final propelled the Huskers to their second consecutive NCAA Final Four berth and fifth in program history. The Huskers claimed the first and third games, while the Nittany Lions won the second and fourth games. In game five, PSU quickly took the lead, moving out to an 11-5 advantage, but Nebraska had a furious rally. Each team fought off four match points before the Huskers prevailed 20-18, as Nebraska slammed three straight kills to secure the win.)
Tom Raunig |
Tom Raunig (Track and Field, Cross Country) – My senior year in college (1982) the University of Idaho came here for basketball and they were ranked fourth in the country, and we beat them (53-51), so that was probably the one that’s the most memorable. The Grizzlies were a good team, but it was a big upset since the Vandals were undefeated and ranked fourth in the country. I don’t know if any Big Sky school has ever been ranked that high, before or since. The fieldhouse was the old classic zoo-type atmosphere, and it was the University of Idaho, which was a big rival.
Robin Selvig (Women's Basketball) – It was on television, the 1992 NLCS where my Braves won and went to the World Series when Sid Bream scored from second base on a play at the plate after a base hit by Francisco Cabrera. It put the Braves in the World Series.
It was exciting because I’d been a life-long Braves fan and they’d had a pretty dry run up to that point, but I’d been hanging with them. It was just all the excitement and pressure of a sporting event coming down to one play. And I remember my boys were there watching it with me, which made it special as well.
Neil Sedgwick |
Neil Sedgwick (Soccer) – The most memorable, most exciting sporting event I’ve attended was Leeds United versus Ipswich back in the 80s when I was over in England. The reason it was exciting was that I went in with the expectation that it would be just a good game, but the crowd, the energy of 20-plus thousand people, it was contagious. It brought everyone up. There were songs the whole game. There were no noisemakers and there was even limited applause, but what there was a crowd of 20,000 people singing songs, like they’d been there every single day for their entire lives, rehearsing these songs to sing for the players and to keep the energy high within the stadium.
It was exciting. I think by the end I’d even learned a few of them and had been courageous enough to sing a few of Leeds United’s songs while they played at home at Elland Road.
Kris Nord (Tennis) – Doug Selvig’s tip-in against Idaho (1982) when they were nationally ranked and we beat them at the buzzer. Dahlberg was packed, the Griz were playing against a nationally ranked rival and we knocked them off. We were sitting at the very top of the arena, and the way it used to be configured, you’d have very limited height available above you and my friend and I jumped up and broke our knuckles we were so excited. That one stands out more than anything else.
Kraig Paulson |
Kraig Paulson (Football) – Two summers ago I went to a Chicago Cubs game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. It was memorable because I was sitting out in the right-field bleachers behind Sammy Sosa. I'm not really a baseball fan, and that was one of the first major league games I've been to. Good stuff.
Larry Krystkowiak (Men's Basketball) – That’s an easy one. Going to Augusta and seeing the Masters. I went in 2000 and I went again in 2002. The trip in 2000 was a Christmas present from my wife. She got me a badge and lodging for all four days. I was like a kid in a candy store. I had told my wife a number of times that if I could go to one thing, the Masters would be it. I was one of the first people there every day and one of the last to leave.
Bobby Hauck (Football) – Two things come to mind. I saw Michael Jordan score 46 against the Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals. And watching John Elway win the Super Bowl (Jan. 31, 1999) in Miami was pretty awesome.
Tim Hauck |
Tim Hauck (Football) – Because I grew up a huge Oakland Raiders fan, one moment stands out in particular because it just crushed me: The Immaculate Reception by Franco Harris. I was a little kid and this was the year the Raiders were going to win. I remember the ball getting knocked down and celebrating, and then it was like “Holy cow, he didn’t just catch that.” And it just crushed me.
(Note: The AFC playoff game took place Dec. 23, 1972, at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium. The Raiders’ Kenny Stabler had scrambled for a touchdown with 1:13 to play to give Oakland a short-lived 7-6 lead. Facing a fourth-and-10 from their own 40 yard line, Pittsburgh’s Terry Bradshaw threw a 25-yard pass down field to John Fuqua, but it was broken up by Jack Tatum, at which point the Raiders – and Tim – started to celebrate. But Pittsburgh rookie Franco Harris caught the deflected pass off his shoe tops at the Oakland 42 and raced down the left sideline for the touchdown and a 13-7 Steelers victory. NFL Films still considers it “The Greatest Play in NFL History.”
Shannon Schweyen |
Shannon Schweyen (Women's Basketball) – One of my favorites was an exciting high school game I saw when Daren Engellant was playing for Geraldine and they were playing Hinsdale at the Metra for the Class C state championship. It was a total David-versus-Goliath story because Daren was the star of his team at 6-10, and they were playing a small school with this great little player and it ended up going four overtimes or something like that. It was a really neat thing to watch play out, the battle of the big man and a really talented little guy. That was one of the more exciting high school games I’ve ever seen.
Joanne Steele (Golf) – The most memorable sporting event I’ve ever been to would have to be the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach when Tiger Woods won. It was my first experience going to a U.S. Open. It was an incredible venue, known as one of the most prestigious golf courses in the country, and it was the first time we’d taken our two daughters to something like that. Just having the opportunity to see the U.S. Open and spend some time in that area with my family was pretty memorable.
Annette Rocheleau |
Annette Rocheleau (Women's Basketball) – It was about three years ago when my stepson Brian was playing football for Azusa Pacific and they were playing at Pacific Lutheran (in Seattle). We went over and watched it, and it ended up going four overtimes. It was so exciting. It was regular season, but it was just an awesome game. Brian was an All-American defensive end and Azusa ended up winning the game.
Brad Huse (Men's Basketball) – One thing that sticks out in my mind is when Cal Ripken set the record for consecutive games played. Just the build-up to that fifth inning when the game finally became official and watching it inning by inning. I remember him running a lap around the field, high-fiving the fans after it was official. To know that it was kind of an old-school guy who did it the right way really sticks out in my mind. And I think Chris Berman was on the broadcast, so that made it pretty special.
Tina Morse (Soccer) – The best sporting event I’ve been to is the Algarve Cup in Portugal. It was exciting because there were the top teams in the nation playing and it was abroad in Portugal.
Ron Kowalski |
Ron Kowalski (Football) – If the Cardinals would have won (the NLCS), it might have been Albert (Pujol’s) home run against the Astros the other night (in game five, Oct. 17). I’m a big Cardinals fan.
I’d have to say Don Larsen’s perfect game against the Dodgers in the 1956 World Series. I was at school listening on the radio. Just the fact that it had never been done in a World Series and I was a baseball fan made it an amazing deal.
(Note: Larsen’s perfect game took place in game five of the 1956 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Don Larsen became the first and only pitcher in major league history to throw a perfect game in the World Series by retiring all 27 Dodgers he faced. Larsen got a called third strike on pinch-hitter Dale Mitchell to end the game and set off a wild celebration that began with Yankees catcher Yogi Berra leaping into Larsen's arms. Larsen only went to a three-ball count on one batter -- Pee Wee Reese in the first inning -- and needed just 97 pitches to complete his masterpiece.
Angela Morrison |
Angela Morrison (Soccer) – Probably my senior year of high school. My club soccer coach took us to England. While we were there we played some games, did some sight-seeing and got to watch a couple of professional games. The two games I got to see were Chelsea and Norwich City and Tottenham and Man U.
It was kind of any eye-opener for me, in terms of the passion for the sport in the rest of the world. That trip kind of changed my perspective on everything and made me realize how much I loved the sport. It was so exciting to see so many people going absolutely mad for a sport that in North America you don’t always get that kind of enthusiasm for.
Allison Weston (Volleyball) – The Griz football playoff game against Sam Houston State last year in the national semifinals. I think that game was so exciting for me because it had the whole college atmosphere, amateur sports played at the best that they could play. I just think the whole college sports atmosphere was there. It was a great venue to watch a college football game. There was so much excitement, it was just boiling.
Brian Schweyen |
Brian Schweyen (Track and Field) – Lady Griz versus Louisiana Tech two years ago in the NCAA tournament. It was a great game, other than the fact we lost. There was a capacity crowd, it was a nationally televised game, it was just a great sports atmosphere. It was louder than any Griz football game I’ve been to. It was just a great game to watch, other than the final outcome.
Ty Gregorak (Football) – In 1996 I was on my recruiting visit to Ohio State and I was there the weekend the Buckeyes played Michigan, which is one of the top rivalries in college football. Michigan won the game. It was the first time I’d ever been in that type of sporting event. There were over 100,000 fans and they all stood the entire game. It was incredible.
(Note: Michigan won the game 13-9, handing the Buckeyes their only loss of the season and costing OSU a chance at a national title.)
For a guy, I don’t watch a lot of baseball, but for some reason I was watching the Dodgers (play the As in the World Series in 1988) that night when Kirk Gibson hit his game-winning home run (off Dennis Eckersley in the bottom of the ninth to win game one). I remember that like it was yesterday. That was one of the more exciting things I’ve seen on TV without having been there.
[Back to the Grizzly Times]
|
Senior trio leads Griz O-line
by Tim San Pedro, MontanaGrizzlies.com |
When headlines are written for Grizzly football games they usually read something like, Hilliard Runs for 237, Trounces Foe. Yet behind the headline and in front of the running back lies the key to every football game -- the offensive line.
Chris Orwig |
“When the offensive line plays well we have a great chance to win and when they don’t, we don’t,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said.
“It’s one of the only position groups who has the ability to take the game over,” senior guard Chris Orwig said.
“If the O-line succeeds, the offense succeeds,” senior guard Jason Frink said. “I don’t think you can be successful without a good O-line.”
The O-line is a crucial part of winning football games, but not much is said about them. Not many reporters run up after the game and ask what it was like to lay a great block on a defensive lineman to set up a touchdown run. The glory falls elsewhere, and by talking to the three senior offensive linemen -- Frink, Orwig and tackle Brad Rhoades -- it becomes apparent that they wouldn’t want it any other way.
“As an O-line, we could care less if we got any recognition,” Rhoades said. “It’s more important for us to get the guys in the backfield all the recognition. As long as they’re getting what they need that’s fine with us. I’d actually prefer it for them to answer the questions than us.”
“Yeah, I mean as long as Hilliard is getting pulled to the side and asked for quotes, that means we’re doing something right up front,” Orwig said. “Really just getting a win on Saturday is all we care about.”
Junior running back Lex Hilliard will be the first to tell you that he attributes all his success to his offensive line, like running for 237 yards against Cal Poly on Oct. 22.
“These are my boys,” Hilliard said of the three seniors standing tall in front of him. “It’s all these guys. I couldn’t do it without them at all. They open up the lanes and all the credit goes to them.”
Jason Frink |
The offensive line cares about two things, according to Orwig. One is getting the win and the other is getting the opportunity to battle their opponents.
“The way I see it, we get to hit somebody every play,” Orwig said. “If you’re afraid to do it, it’s not the place for you to be.”
“It’s real physical upfront,” Brad said. “(There’s) a lot of hand fighting, pushing, hitting and all sorts of stuff.”
One important aspect to the success of the offensive line is their ability to communicate and come together as a group instead of five individuals.
“It’s getting all five of us up front going together, meshing together, going to the right places at the right time and it just sets a tone for getting the whole team doing the right thing,” Rhoades said.
Orwig has a word that defines how the offensive lines can communicate under such heavy pressure. “We call it telekinesis,” he said, sending Rhoades and Frink into laughter. “I mean, a lot of things can happen after that ball is snapped, and understanding what the person is doing next to you with a sense of feel as opposed to actually watching the guy to my right and left is very important.”
“It’s basically communicating without any calls,” Rhoades added.
“You’re only as good as the guy next to you,” Frink said.
It took some time for Orwig to learn what this term meant because he has played defensive line most of his football career. In 2003, Hauck and his staff asked him to switch to the other side of the ball.
“We had good depth at defensive tackle and Chris is a good football player and we wanted to give him the chance to get him on the football field,” Hauck said. “We saw that opportunity coming on the offensive line.”
Brad Rhoades |
It wasn’t an easy transition, Orwig said. “When I moved over, I had to relearn the entire game of football. When you’re playing defense you’re constantly moving forward. You’re attacking. When you’re playing offense you’re being attacked and you’re moving backwards, so that change was extremely difficult for me.”
But he had a lot of help from his friends Rhoades and Frink to help him develop into a solid O-line force.
“Watching Chris progress over time ... has been unbelievable from where he started at to where he is now,” Rhoades said.
Orwig has been honored to make the switch to the O-line where, as he summed it
up nicely, “Fat people push fat people around."
The bottom line is that, although
the O-line gets very little credit, they are the ones in control of the game
on Saturdays.
“If the guys up front don’t get it done, nobody does,” Hauck said.
[Back to the Grizzly Times]
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Tale of the tape: Griz kickers
by Joel Carlson, UM Sports Information |
The Montana football team features one of the Big Sky Conference’s best kicking duos in junior punter Tyson Johnson and sophomore kicker Dan Carpenter. Johnson, from Stevensville, Mont., ranked 15th in NCAA I-AA as both a freshman and sophomore, averaging 42.4 yards per punt in his first year and 41.4 yards per punt in 2004. He is averaging 39.7 yards per kick in 2005 (as of Nov. 1, 2005).
Carpenter, from Helena, Mont., stepped in as a freshman in 2004 and did an admirable job of replacing Chris Snyder, Montana’s all-time leader scorer. Carpenter hit 18 of his 29 field goal attempts and all 63 of his extra point attempts to score 123 points, the second highest single-season point total in UM history. He was named second team All-Big Sky Conference for his performance. Carpenter has hit 25 of 27 extra point attempts in 2005 and is 10 for 14 on field goal attempts (as of Nov. 1, 2005).
Here is how the kickers match up in Grizzly Times’ Tale of the Tape.
|
| Most memorable kick: |
My first kickoff as a Montana Grizzly. Although it went out of bounds, it was one of the greatest moments in my football career … until that yellow flag. |
My first collegiate kick in Maine. I was backed up deep in our own end zone and I booted a 53-yard punt to begin my career. |
| Best piece of advise you ever received: |
Just kick it through the uprights. |
Don’t think about it, just kick it. |
| Favorite kicking surface: |
That would have to be a dome with Astroturf, so there are no elemental factors, like wind. |
The field at Washington-Grizzly is my favorite surface, but I like kicking in a dome the best because it removes the elements of kicking outside. |
| Kicking rituals or superstitions: |
I don’t know if it’s a ritual or a superstition, but I always treat every kick as if it were the same, no matter the distance. |
Nothing too much. I just like hitting a few balls into the net before every punt. |
| Ingredients for a successful kick: |
It starts with a good snap, good protection and a good hold. These are all done by ten others on the field, so I can make a field goal or extra point. |
Good snap, find the laces on the ball, low drop, flat drop, push the ball away from your body, point your toe and keep your head down. |
| Favorite play to make: |
Scoring a touchdown on a fake field goal, like I did against Northern Arizona last year. |
Any fake. It’s nice to feel like you are actually playing real football now and then. |
Little known secret about your position: |
That it’s not as easy as “just kick it through the uprights.” |
It's harder than it looks, and it’s just like golf: It can’t be perfected, only practiced. |
Dream kicking opportunity: |
Kicking a game-winning field goal with no time left on the clock. |
Not having to kick because that means we are winning. |
Favorite kicking shoe: |
Nike Vapor |
Nike Vapor |
What it took to get here: |
Hard work and lots of practice. |
Lots of practice and good high school coaching. |
Biggest kick ever made: |
The late field goal at Eastern Washington last year, which ended up to be the game winner after our defense blocked their field goal attempt with no time left in the game. |
Oct. 22 against Cal Poly, when we were up three and we had to punt with two minutes left. We needed a big punt for field position, and I booted a 53-yarder. |
Kicking nightmare: |
Knowing that you had a chance to win the game and failing to do so. Knowing you let the entire team down that worked so hard. |
Portland State last year. |
[Back to the Grizzly Times] |
| A letter from Athletic Director Jim O'Day |
Montana A.D. Jim O'Day |
The first two months of the fall season have been very favorable to the athletic teams at The University of Montana.
Heading into the stretch run, the UM football team has already assured itself of a winning record for the 20th consecutive year. Under head coach Bobby Hauck, the Griz are also in the thick of the Division I-AA playoff hunt for a record 13th straight season. At the same time, coach Hauck and his staff continue to stress the importance of balance between classroom work and practice – and the results are evident in both areas.
While soccer and volleyball had tough fall seasons, they continued to show steady improvements and work hard. The cross country women placed third at the Big Sky Conference meet, with the men being sixth. Golf and tennis had promising fall schedules in preparation for their spring competitions. The participants in track and field, meanwhile, have daily workouts and are training at a vigorous pace in anticipation of the winter and spring meets.
As we move forward into the 2005-06 basketball season, the future couldn’t be brighter. Robin Selvig and the Lady Griz are in the midst of a youth movement with only two seniors on the roster. Still, the media and coaches’ polls pick the Lady Griz to claim another Big Sky Conference title and advance into the NCAA tournament for a third consecutive year. The men under Larry Krystkowiak are also expected to contend for league honors again and have the makings of an entertaining and bright program on the rise.
As you can see, things are going very well at Grizzly Athletics. In retrospect, there couldn’t be a better time to be a Griz – from so many angles. I join others at Intercollegiate Athletics in saying “thank you” for your past, present and future support. We wouldn’t be where we are without you. Stay the course.
GO GRIZ!
Jim O'Day - Athletic Director
[Back to the Grizzly Times] |
| UM Athletic Department and GSA announcements |
Tickets on sale for annual "Driving the Griz" car raffle
Attention Griz fans, tickets are on sale for the third annual “Driving the Griz@ car raffle, sponsored by the Grizzly Scholarship Association. This 1998 Ford Mustang Cobra SVT will be raffled at halftime of the Griz-Sac State basketball game on Monday, February 27, 2006. Tickets are available at the GSA tailgate, GSA offices and Blue Ribbon Auto Body. All proceeds from the raffle benefit the Grizzly Athletic Scholarship Association. This is 1 of 542 Mustang Cobra SVT’s made in 1998 and was painted and detailed in Griz spirit by Blue Ribbon Auto Body. For more information, contact the Grizzly Scholarship Association at 243-6481.
Thanks again to Blue Ribbon Auto Body for their support of the G.S.A.
12th man jerseys on sale, funds to support Grizzly
Athletes
The Bookstore at The University of Montana, the Grizzly Scholarship
Association and UM Athletics have teamed up to create the 12th Man Program.
White Nike replica jerseys with the No. 12 are being sold with proceeds
going to the GSA for purchase of lettermen's jackets for all Griz letterwinners.
Be part of the team and get in the game buy picking up your 12th man jersey
only at The Bookstore or online (link below) at the Griz Shop.
ORDER
ONLINE AT THE GRIZ SHOP
Griz Nation wristbands on sale
Purchase the Griz Nation wristband and help support Grizzly Athletics.
ORDER
ONLINE AT
THE GRIZ SHOP
GSA apparel available
Grizzly Scholarship Association apparel is available at the GSA
offices in the Adams Event Center. There is an open invitation to all Griz
fans to check out the selection and help support the Montana
Grizzly Scholarship Association.
[Back to the Grizzly Times] |
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