Fresno State Athletics
Bulldog Grapevine -- Issue IV
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Sept. 28, 2001
Bulldog Grapevine is a biweekly column about Bulldog athletics written by Assistant Athletics Director Steve Weakland. Its purpose is to stimulate interest in many things that may not get mainstream media coverage. It is also a forum to answer questions and correct misinformation about Fresno State athletics. If you have questions or comments, please contact Steve at sweaklan@csufresno.edu. Your comments could appear in future editions of this column.
BULLDOGS OF THE WEEK - The Fresno State men's soccer team. The 'Dogs won the UNLV/FILA tournament team by tying defending national champion and fifth-ranked Connecticut and beating Western Kentucky 6-0. Noah Delgado led the 'Dogs with two goals against the Hilltoppers. The Bulldogs will be hosting the MPSF championship tournament Nov. 8-11 at Bulldog Stadium.
TRIVIA QUESTION - Name the last Bulldog to win the Fresno Lexus Golf Classic?
TIGHTENED SECURITY - In light of the tragic events in New York and Washington D.C., stadiums all over the country are tightening security to protect their participants and fans. Fresno State and Bulldog Stadium will be effected. The most notable change for fans will be security checks at the gates entering the venues, which will include the following:
- No backpacks, duffel bags, ice chests or large containers will be allowed.
- Purses and small handbags will be subject to search at the entrances.
- Thermoses are subject to search at the entrances.
- All cars entering the parking lots adjacent to the venues are subject to search.
- All vendors will be subject to search.
- Increased number of security and venue personnel.
- No pass outs will be given to allow reentry into the stadium, including halftime.
- Metal detectors will be available at the gates.
- For convenience, all gates will open two hours prior to football games. Parking lots still open four hours before kickoff.
In addition, due to the mob scene following the Oregon State game, the athletics department has decided to eliminate fans access to the playing field after the game. This is a smart move for the safety for the fans and student-athletes. I have been on the field for some of the wildest finishes in the last couple years, including the Oregon State game, which was the most dangerous situation I've ever experienced at a sporting event. This wasn't the only instance, because fans rushed the field three times in 1999 (TCU, UTEP and San Jose State), which were also a little scary for our opponents and team. Additional security, including police officers, will direct the fans and fences have been installed to keep unauthorized people off the field.
BULLDOGS ARE No. 1 - The Atlanta Journal Constitution's computer poll, one of six used by the BCS for its selection process, has the Fresno State ranked No. 1 in the nation. That's based on strength of schedule and quality of wins. Bulldog merchandise is also the hottest thing in the nation right now. Not only is the Bulldog Shop extremely busy with its in-store sales, but a Fresno State hat is the No. 1 selling collegiate hat in the nation. Fresno State's online sales are also shattering records and leading the nation on the FANSOnly network.
GETTING STARTED - Next week, a couple Bulldog teams will be making their home debuts. The Bulldog women's swimming and diving squad will host Pacific and California on Oct. 6. That will be great opportunity to see great college swimming. Head coach Daniella Irle is excited about her young team and Cal and Pacific will provide tough competition for the Bulldogs. Mike Watney will unveil his Bulldog golf team at the 39th Fresno Lexus Classic Oct. 6-7 at the Sunnyside Country Club. This is the only event the Bulldogs will play at home all season and is the only chance to see All-American Nick Watney, who is one of the premier amateur players in the world. Former All-WAC Bulldog Josh Watney has joined the team as a student assistant coach.
VOLLEYBALL ON A ROLL - After six consecutive wins, the Fresno State volleyball team has two more home matches this weekend against Tulsa and UTEP before a three-game road trip to Louisiana and Texas. The six-match winning streak is the longest for the team since the 1998 season, when they won 12 in a row to start the season. The 'Dogs have six home matches and seven road matches before the WAC tournament in San Jose Nov. 15-18. Senior Shauna McQuaid leads the team in kills per game (3.72) and blocks (1.41) and ranks among the top 10 in the Bulldog career records for blocks, hitting percentage and kills.
THE COST OF CELEBRITY - When a recent Fresno State student-athlete graced the cover of a national sports publication, his privacy and personal life took a devastating hit. Not only is he a good student, father, husband and devoted Christian, he is a great guy who does not have the word "NO" in his vocabulary. For those of you who would love to change places with him, consider having complete strangers showing up at your doorstep at all hours of the night with armloads of magazines to autograph. Imagine not being able to take your wife and son to a fast food restaurant for dinner, because the last couple of times you took more pictures and signed more autographs than you had bites of food. To say that he has been bombarded by autograph hounds is a drastic understatement. Don't feel sorry for him, but please respect his privacy.
EQUESTRIAN TEAM RIDES HIGH IN THE CLASSROOM - The Bulldog equestrian team produced 29 Dean's List winners during the spring semester. To make the Dean's List, a student has to have a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Four riders (Andrea Crisp, Shari Heitkotter, Ashley Howard and Martina Ueltschi) had a perfect 4.0 GPA. There were 19 Bulldogs selected to the WAC Scholar-Athlete team last year. The equestrian team hosts an NCAA meet Oct. 13 at 8 a.m. at the Student Horse Center.
MORE ON SEAT OPTIONS - Due to the success of the football program and the top 10 national ranking, many fans are taking advantage of getting football seat options. Seat option plans for the red seats (chairback and best available seats in the stadium) are available and sales have been strong and steady. Those are available through the athletics ticket office or through a fantastic group of volunteers who make up the seat option task force. Seat options come in a variety of pricing packages to meet almost any budget. There is a stadium seat option open house at Bulldog Stadium every Sunday between 1:30-3:30 p.m. at Sky Suite 211 and every Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the south end of the stadium.
BLUE VS. GRAY - Fresno State's baseball program begins its Blue vs. Gray series today as it wraps up fall practice this weekend. The 'Dogs, coming off of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, will return a solid core of players from a team that reached the regional final game last year. It's a talented group that has some high expectations for head coach Bob Bennett's final year. Bennett announced last spring he is retiring from coaching after 34 years at the school. He is one win shy of tying Ron Fraser, Miami (Fla.), for seventh on the all-time coaching victories list.
DANCER COMES ABOARD - The Bulldog men's tennis team will welcome head coach Brad Dancer as its new head coach. The word around the country is that he is a relentless recruiter, very hard worker and has drummed up good community support, which will be important in Fresno. Dancer, formerly the women's coach at the University of Arizona, is a former All-Big Ten player at Michigan State, where he served as an assistant men's coach for several years. He comes highly recommended by tennis legends Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova. He assisted King in coaching a Federation Cup team and served as a coach for Navratilova.
TOUGH SCHEDULE - Fresno State's women's soccer team, off to a 2-3 start to the season, has a tough schedule remaining. That's good news and bad news. The Bulldogs have games against three top 20 teams remaining on the schedule (Santa Clara, California and SMU) but the good news is that Fresno State has played well against good teams this season, including an excellent performance against No. 4 Stanford. The Bulldogs battled Stanford to a tie for 71 of the 90 minutes before losing 2-1.
MENTORS OF THE TRACK - Head track and field coach Bob Fraley is working to maintain the legacy of Fresno State track and field. Fraley is working with the Kinesiology department on a track and field mentoring program that will enhance his program. There are many former Bulldogs coaching on the high school and collegiate level all over the nation and Fraley wants those numbers to grow and wants to attract prospective coaches to campus to continue their education. He believes the combination of the Kinesiology department and the Fresno State track and field program has the potential to become the nation's top training ground for track and field coaches.
TRIVIA ANSWER - Dana Booth won the 1977 Fresno Lexus Golf Classic.