Grace Doepker is a senior on the University of Dayton women’s rowing team. She was a part of the team’s Varsity 8 and Varsity 4-A boat during the team’s last event at the Head of the Great Miami Regatta on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010.

Doepker is a graduate of Chaminade-Julienne High School in Dayton, Ohio. She participated with UD’s Varsity 8+ team during her freshman and sophomore seasons, and hopes to compete professionally after graduation in May.

The rowing team begins its spring schedule this week after two previous events were cancelled due to poor river weather conditions. UD will race in Washington, D.C., on Friday, April 4, and then in Norfolk, Va., on Saturday, April 5. The Atlantic 10 Championships take place on Saturday, April 16, in Cherry Hill, N.J.

Flyer News: How has the team been doing lately with the recent lull in the schedule?

Grace Doepker: “It was actually probably in our benefit because we had river problems. Here on our river we had flooding so we weren’t able to get on our river for a while. So it gave us a little more time to get out of the water and figure out a few kinks before we started racing.”

FN: How do you think the team will fare after being away from racing for so long?

GD: “I think it will be interesting to see how we do, I don’t really know. I think we’re looking pretty good, but since we haven’t had a race yet it will be hard to say. We are going to see a lot of the same, a lot of the teams from the A-10 that we will see later.”

FN: Is it weird that your senior year is just a few weeks away from being over?

GD: “Oh don’t remind me. Yeah, it’s really weird. I plan on continuing to row after college, but this is my home. I’m not ready, it’s weird.”

FN: Are you excited to see the future of UD’s program continue to grow after your graduation?

GD: “Oh yeah, obviously. There are some really good freshmen right now and sophomores too. I think everything’s starting to come together, and it’s just gone up. Every year I’ve been here it’s gotten a little better, and I see it continuing.”

FN: What do you think is one thing people should know about rowing the most?

GD: “That we exist? I don’t know, I feel like all the other sports, not all the other sports, but the big sports get a lot of recognition and I really feel like we do some pretty good things too. And I mean I realize no one really knows and it’s not really that big, especially if it’s not from people’s hometowns. But we’re just trying to make ourselves known.”

C.J. Gillman is a redshirt junior third baseman on the University of Dayton baseball team. He transferred to UD this season from Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kan.

Gillman was a two-time all-conference performance for Garden City, compiling a .376 batting average with 43 runs batted in and 60 runs scored last season. He was batting .303 with nine RBI and a team-high 10 walks through the team’s 19 games as of Saturday, March 20.

Flyer News: We’ve heard a lot about you, so tell us where you are from.

C.J. Gillman: “I’m from Littleton, Colorado, and I went to Columbine High School.”

FN: How has your transition been into the culture and identity of the Dayton Flyers baseball team?

CG: “It’s a lot different than junior college, you know, we emphasize a lot of team stuff here and just togetherness. It’s just a little bit different than junior college.”

FN: Head coach Tony Vittorio said earlier that this is not a traditional power-hitting team. How do you kind of describe yourself as a hitter then?

CG: “Ah you know, I put the balls in the gap, hit doubles, every once in a while they’ll fly out. It’s just especially, the team we have right now you can’t try to hit home runs. You can’t make yourself be something you’re not so I mean, on days like today we didn’t hit a single home run but we still had 13 runs. So you got to take your identity of what it is and run with it.”

FN: What do you think are some of the keys to explain the recent success of late?

CG: “Playing better defense. The first weekend, you know, every game we lost, we lost it and then didn’t beat us. We just played bad defense, and we’ve just been playing a lot more solid defense. You know, just making it, we’re not even making great plays we’re just making the routine plays. And then pitching’s been good all year and they’ve stayed good the past two weeks. And it would have been easy for them to let up with us scoring some runs, but just like you said Cam today, [he pitched] seven strong and didn’t give up a run.”

FN: Coach Vittorio mentioned that you are a mental leader for the team. Was there anything you were worried about from the beginning of the year in transitioning to this role?

CG: “Yeah well, not, I don’t worry about being a leader, but it’s hard to come into a school where guys have been here for three or four years and you’ve really got to work to have them believe in you and want to follow you. And just because it’s my first year, I think it’s easier for people to just think of somebody as a leader when they’ve just been there four years. So when you’re coming in your first year, I think you got to really lead by example and just, you know, show guys the way you’re going works and hopefully that will be enough for them to follow.”

Brian Blasik is a junior outfielder on the University of Dayton baseball team. He missed the first 15 games of the 2011 season before returning to action for the Flyers against Wittenberg University on Wednesday, March 16.

Blasik was the team’s most valuable player and an Atlantic 10 Conference First Team representative during the 2010 season. He had a .346 batting average with 75 hits, eight home runs, 18 doubles and 37 runs batted in.

Flyer News: What were the specifics of your injury earlier and how nice is it to be back and playing again?

Brian Blasik: “Well I had a lot of problems with my back earlier in the year, pulling a back muscle and like tight legs, so like a chain reaction of bad things and just no one knew what it was so that’s why it took pretty long. … And it was just frustrating that it took that long and watching everyone play. This being like my junior year, and almost my senior year, if I had to sit out this year it would have been a lot more frustrating. So it’s great to be back and healthy again.”

FN: Last year you were the team MVP and an Atlantic 10 Conference First-Team member. What does it mean to you to be able to help the team get back on track?

BB: “It’s just the same thing I think, one thing I think this year is stealing more bases. Last year I think I only stole six bases, and this year I think I almost have that many in two games. So I mean I need to be more confident this year on the bases, and you know I’m actually fast [so] I can steal the bases, but just actually then the confidence to steal the base instead of being conservative. And when you are conservative, that’s when you are getting in trouble and relying on everyone else to get hits, because hits are a lot harder to come by.”

FN: Describe the change in offensive identity for the team this season and how it relates to your skill set.

BB: “I think more about this year we kind of worry more about base running, like, do I try stealing that base or not? Like we tried doing new ways of stealing a base, like [getting] a jump lead and those kinds of thing, and we are trying to be more aggressive and make the other team make mistakes. And that’s probably what I’m best at because I’m more of a person that gets on base, tries to steal and gets things going. …”

FN: What is the key for the team to keep this momentum going with A-10 play coming up soon?

BB: “Really just focusing in on having good at-bats and just doing the same with being aggressive on the bases. I know I watched a couple games when we were really conservative and didn’t have any stolen bases at all, and the last couple games we’ve had more stolen bases than I think many of the games combined. So I think being aggressive and causing the other team to make more mistakes will serve a purpose in bettering the team.”

FN: How do you think the team has evolved as a whole from last season to this season?

BB: “I think we’ve become more together, I think as a group we’ve become more together lately. It’s not a lot different, it’s a lot of the same, but I’m not really sure. … It’s a lot more fun, we have a lot of fun in the dugout. I think when we have fun, and that’s success, we play relaxed and we’re not tensed up and we’re relaxed and we don’t mess up.”

Chris Moorman, Assistant Sports Editor

Elle Queen is a redshirt junior forward on the University of Dayton women’s basketball team. Queen averaged 5.3 points per game this season for the Flyers and is a communications major with concentration in journalism as well as a minor in leadership.

The UD season concluded with a 75-66 loss to Penn State University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 19, in University Park, Pa. Queen scored two points with five rebounds in 19 minutes of action during the game.

Flyer News: What made you decide to come to UD?

Elle Queen: I actually transferred here from Colorado State University [in 2008]. I was looking from a school that even though it was far away from home, I wanted it to feel like a family and a community. I think the campus and the team really has. I really felt that from Coach [Jim] Jabir and the Ghetto. I really like the idea of a strong community.

FN: How basketball crazy is your home state Minnesota?

EQ: It has really good basketball, but it’s always a state of hockey. I always grew up playing basketball, me and my brother [Kylar] did. It was always really important and a big part of my life growing up.

FN: What was the best game of basketball you’ve ever played?

EQ: I would say … probably in high school, we played our archrival and we had never beaten them, but my senior year we beat them on their home court. That was probably my best game.

FN: Do you or your family have any special March Madness rituals?

EQ: Not really. I mean we always watch the games. My parents are both from the East, around the Boston-area, so we all kind of cheer for those teams, but nothing special in particular.

FN: Favorite UD memory?

EQ: Probably beating TCU [Texas Christian University] in the NCAA tournament [on March 20, 2010]. Just because we were down by so much and we had never been in the NCAA tournament before. To get that win was huge.

FN: With one year left at UD, what are your future goals?

EQ: I’m going to double minor, probably get another minor in leadership, so that’ll be good. I’m also looking forward to improving this summer and coming back to UD and there [are] seven of us seniors, including our walk-ons, so we’re really excited to make the most of senior year. We’ve got a lot of good things left with our senior year. It’ll be fun to have a big group of us to take us places where we’ve never been before.

Kristin Daugherty is a senior guard on the University of Dayton women’s basketball team. She was the focus of a Flyer News player profile on Friday, March 11, about her noted achievements on the court for the team.

Her sister Kari Daugherty is a sophomore guard on the team, and the two were featured in an article with the women’s basketball preview earlier this season.

Flyer News: Certainly, you were a highly touted recruit. What drove you to UD in the first place?

Kristin Daugherty: “[I noticed] just really, the like, feeling that the team had with the like the basketball aspect, and just the school in general. I love the campus, and I knew it had a great educational program.”

FN: What’s your most memorable moment from your Flyer career?

KD: “There [is] a couple just up there. One is being able to see our name on the NCAA Selection Show, and then beating TCU [Texas Christian University in the NCAA Tournament first round on March 20, 2010] were definitely two big [moments], and I don’t think I could choose between those two.”

FN: What did you learn from this year with the team? There were lots of expectations, but how do you think the team performed?

KD: “I think we showed our resiliency this year, we definitely had our highs and our lows, and I think being able to work through those and really have a solid showing at the A-10 Tournament showed how much this team works together. We know how good we are, we just had to put it together at the end, and hopefully it isn’t the end, but we’ll see.”

FN: Describe some of your roles behind the scenes for the program.

KD: “I think just the way I am as a captain and like a big sister on the team, I try and do all I can to help out the girls and they really are like little sisters to me, even though Kari is my only biological sister. I just really care about all of them, and just making sure we get along as well as 16 girls really can. So that’s basically my biggest role outside of on the floor things.”

Ebony Gainey is a senior guard on the University of Dayton women’s basketball team, and appeared in her first and only Flyers game on Saturday, Feb. 26. She received word of a crippling heart condition called cardiomyopathy just before her freshman season in 2007, ending her collegiate basketball career before it even began.

Gainey had been a story at Meadowdale High School in Dayton, Ohio, and was a prized recruit according to UD head coach Jim Jabir that season. She was then able to participate in Saturday’s Senior Day contest against Fordham University at UD Arena, starting the game along with fellow senior guards Kristin Daugherty and Aundrea Lindsay.

Gainey missed her first shot attempt, but then scored the first points of the game for the Flyers at the 19:14 mark of the first half. She exited the game after playing her only 118 seconds as a collegiate basketball player, and shared her thoughts afterwards.

Flyer News: What was the feeling of stepping onto that court with your jersey for the first time?

Ebony Gainey: “To get to play out there, I was definitely nervous, [a] nervous excited, because first time out there you never know what to expect. I got a couple of air balls up but, you know, I got over that and then we finally got the game started.”

FN: How did you react at first with all of those emtions?

EG: “I tried to stay calm [because] I knew it was going to be emotional for me and a lot of people. And I tried to stay calm, but as soon as we started running out my dad grabbed me and, you know, he always gets to me.”

FN: Describe the overall experience of today for you after your long journey to this point.

EG: “I tried to do what I could but I feel like I did it for me as much as my teammates. They were just as excited as I was – maybe even more – so I just wanted to make them proud as well as my family.”

Jimmy Roesinger is a redshirt senior infielder on the University of Dayton baseball team, primarily playing at third base and second base during the 2010 season. He batted .289 with 11 doubles, 24 runs batted in, and a team-leading 12 stolen bases in 55 games last year.

In 2011, Roesinger is expected to be one of the veteran leaders for a rebuilt Flyers squad under head coach Tony Vittorio. After winning the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season title in 2009, UD struggled throughout all of last season.

The UD baseball team began its schedule with a set of four games against Lipscomb University and Bradley University from Friday, Feb. 18, through Sunday, Feb. 20, in Nashville, Tenn. The squad returns to Time Warner Cable Stadium for its home opener against Shawnee State University on Tuesday, March 8.

Flyer News: What is the state of the team right now heading into your final season?

Jimmy Roesinger: “I think there’s a lot of excitement in the air, especially this being my last year you know, [and] not knowing if there’s an opportunity of playing beyond this. I think it’s really, my outlook on the season is come and play every day like it’s my last, play every pitch like it’s my last, because you never know when it’s going to be over. When I look back and I’m sure when Dan [Welch, senior catcher] or any of the other seniors look back, they want to say that they gave it their all.”

FN: What do you think will be the difference this year after the 2010 letdown?

JR: “I think after going through last year’s season, I mean it was just, we had the talent in place, but it just seemed that everything was getting in the way. And this year, we came back ready and prepared, and I think from the get-go coach [Tony Vittorio] was on top of us and not letting anything, you know, just go by the wayside. … I think everybody kind of bought into it. Like two years ago, we had the seniors and great senior leadership, and guys bought into that. And I think this year we have that same thing – we have some senior leadership and we are trying to teach the young guys. The newcomers, they have followed Dan well, [senior infielder] Jon Castine, and myself, and just they’ve kind of come under our wings and tried to follow us as best as they [can].”

FN: A lot of the key pitchers return for the Flyers in 2011, so how will the offense rebuild on the fly without Cole Tyrell and others?

JR: “I think we had an All-Conference player in [junior infielder/outfielder] Brian Blasik last year, so we’ll definitely be counting on him. And I think if you look back at times last year, you could point to one game where at least every person had a big hit. And I think that’s a great experience point for everyone, if they can have that just in the back of their mind just as a mental feeling, ‘Hey, I’ve been in big games last year, and even though there [weren’t] very many wins or pride points, we still had it in us.’ And I think the new guys, you know, definitely showed what they can do in the fall and stepped up. Now it’s just time to put that chemistry together into a nine person lineup and get some runs across.”

Dan Welch is a senior catcher on the University of Dayton baseball team. A native of British Columbia, he began his college career with Treasure Valley Community College, and then Central Arizona Community College before transferring to UD last season.

Welch had a .292 batting average in 43 games for the Flyers last season, collecting eight doubles and 23 runs batted in. The 2010 team, however, failed to live up to its lofty expectations with an overall 23-32 record and a 12-15 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The UD baseball team began its season with a set of four games against Lipscomb University and Bradley University from Friday, Feb. 18, through Sunday, Feb. 20, in Nashville, Tenn. The squad returns to Time Warner Cable Stadium for its home opener against Shawnee State University on Tuesday, March 8.

Flyer News: How do you feel your team will respond to the struggles you had in 2010?

Dan Welch: “I think we’ve improved a lot this year. I think we’ve been working really, really hard all offseason, we filled some spots in the lineup that we may not have had last year, and I think we’re going to do a lot better. Coach [Tony Vittorio] actually just finished practice up with a pretty confident talk – he also thinks we are going to do quite well, so I’m pretty confident.”

FN: How does the experience of that 2009 A-10 regular season title help to fuel the squad?

DW: “Personally, I actually transferred in and my first year was last year. So this is my second year with Dayton, however, I have heard a lot about that year. I think we are very comparable to that year and if not, even better. So I’m really excited for this season.”

FN: What do you think the offense can do this season to make up for the loss of Cole Tyrell and others?

DW: “We brought in big third baseman C.J. Gilman, he is definitely going to fill in some big shoes there, and like I said, everyone is improving every day. So I think we are definitely not going to have any troubles with the bats.”

FN: How does the team respond to playing the first three weeks of the regular season on the road?

DW: “Well, I’m excited just to get outdoors. We just finished up a practice, we’ve had two days now which we’ve been outside and we’ve been practicing indoor because of the weather and everything, so in going down to Nashville, I’m pretty excited to be outside and like you said, we are on the road right off the bat, so I’m pretty excited.”

FN: Any final thoughts on what you think the difference is for the team this season right now as opposed to last year?

DW: “I would say the difference in our preparation is pretty much the same, we are a very structured program. However, for each position, I’d say we are a lot more mature, the type of character every guy brings to the table each day is like I said, more mature, and just more prepared.”

Luke Fabrizius is a junior forward on the University of Dayton men’s basketball team. A popular player with the fans at UD Arena because of his three-point shooting ability, he has struggled at times throughout his third season as a Flyer.

Fabrizius currently averages 2.9 points and 1.1 rebounds per game, while participating in 20 of Dayton’s 26 contests this season. He recorded a season-high 10 points on 4-for-8 field goal shooting in UD’s 75-63 loss to No. 24 Temple University on Saturday, Feb. 12.

With the defeat, the Flyers now hold a 17-9 record this season and are just 5-6 in Atlantic 10 Conference play.

Flyer News: Can you talk about what you think the difference was for your team offensively in the second half against Temple?

Luke Fabrizius: We started moving the ball, sharing the ball, and got the defense on different sides of the court, and I think that really helps us out because we have such good athletes. And then we shoot the ball better, so when we share that ball and keep it moving, I think that’s a key to our success on offense.

FN: Do you think it was a credit to Temple’s defense or your team’s fault for only scoring 21 points in the first half?

LF: Definitely on us. Coach made a point at halftime that we had only one assist, and obviously we didn’t score very well; we just scored from the free throw line. And obviously a lot of us needed to score more points.

FN: What’s next for this team heading on the road to play the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on Wednesday, Feb. 17?

LF: [We] just need to keep taking steps forward. It’s got to be little steps a day at a time, can’t make a huge jump, and can’t change obviously what’s happened in the past, just got to get focused on what we have ahead.

FN: Obviously after losing on the road on Wednesday, Feb. 10, to the University of Rhode Island, you didn’t want to have that happen again. Was this a tough fall for you guys again and a disappointment?

LF: It’s definitely tough; no one likes losing. It’s something that stings; I know everyone in here [thinks that], a loss stings, but you can take some things from a loss. We did some things better. We didn’t play very well over a 40 minutes game, but we did some good things that we can take from this game and try to focus on getting better in practice on Monday [Feb. 15].

FN: Do you think your second half offense is something you will be able to learn from a lot moving forward?

LF: Yeah definitely. I mean in the second half our offense opened up a lot better, shared the ball, had more assists, and the main problem was defensively, we couldn’t get key stops down the stretch. So obviously that’s something we got to take and keep getting better defensively as well.

Justine Raterman is a junior forward on the University of Dayton women’s basketball team. Currently leading the Flyers with 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, the preseason Atlantic 10 Conference First Team selection is making her mark as one of the all-time greats in the program’s history.

Honored as the A-10 Co-Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday, Feb. 7, Raterman recently joined the top 11 all-time rankings in career points (1,271) and rebounds (657) at UD. She scored a game-high 25 points with seven rebounds and two assists in the team’s narrow 70-66 loss in overtime against rival Xavier University on Saturday, Feb. 5, at UD Arena.

UD hosts the University of Massachusetts on Wednesday, Feb. 9, with a special 11 a.m. start time at UD Arena. The Flyers then continue their A-10 schedule with a road game at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 12.

Flyer News: It’s got to be frustrating to get that close to Xavier but fall short each and every time, right?

Justine Raterman: “Very [frustrating], I mean we always say we are going to be in there and after the game we were really proud of our effort in just, you know, going out there and playing against the number seven team in the nation and coming up four points short in overtime, but that still hurts a lot. I mean, those close ones are the ones that really, really get you.”

FN: Saturday’s game seemed like a tale of two entirely different halves, with the first half resembling last year’s style of play and the second half featuring a more up-tempo offense. How do you think that highlighted the potential of the Flyers right now?

JR: “Yeah in the first half after we looked up at the score and noticed it was in the twenties, we hadn’t seen that in a while. So we got back to our style of play in the second half and I think it was just a battle of defense in the first half. We both came out really sharp and really executed on defense, but in the second half there was a little bit more flow and I think they were tired so we ran, and they countered a couple of times, but the second half was more what we were used to.”

FN: What did you see against Xavier that could help the team should you meet a third time this season?

JR: “I think that just shows how important each of us [is] on our team. We have weapons at every single position, and in the first half, they, you know, they were around me tight and I wasn’t getting many shots off and other people stepped up before they sagged off me a little bit and I got some open looks. Everyone was really setting good screens and making good passes, and I think that we are such a matchup problem for Xavier just because we have threats at every single position. So they can’t scout and say, ‘We are going to leave this person open,’ because we are going to hurt them.”

FN: What were you thinking with that shot at the end of regulation? And that’s kind of the shot you would want anyway?

JR: “It definitely felt good. And definitely, you couldn’t ask for a better play, with the entire team down on her and we had a really, really great pass out, and I was wide open and lucky to get it off, but it just didn’t fall.”