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Women’s ex-golf team continues collegiate career

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In the spring semester of 2019, the Florida Tech Athletic Department dismissed three of its sports programs: the men’s and women’s tennis team, and the women’s golf team.

“In a five-minute meeting, the athletic director told us we were being cut because we weren’t competitive enough,” said Noelle Beijer, one of the eight women on the women’s golf team.

Instead of wearing Panther apparel this season, Beijer will be sporting Tiger attire at the University of Missouri.

She is one of three from the women’s golf team to transfer to another university to continue her collegiate golf career.

A key player for the Panthers, The Dutch native has an impressive golf career, scoring an average of 76.33 during her time at Florida Tech, as well as being a medalist honors at the 2018 World Golf Invitational.

Continuing her education path and majoring in global management and finance, Beijer is excited for her future at Mizzou but is saddened that she will no longer be playing on the field with her best friends and old teammates.

“The fact that I don’t even know when I will see them all again makes me sad,” Beijer said.

According to Florida Tech’s athletic director, Bill Jurgens, there were multiple factors that led to the team being cut, including a lack of competitive edge, facilities, the size of the team and the number of athletes that would be affected by the cut.

“We knew the team had not performed well in the fall, but by no means were we poor performers,” said Lauren Watson, a senior and member of the women’s golf team.

Although the women did not start off strong at the beginning of their season, they proved to leave their mark by the end of the season.

“The day we were cut, February 7, we were ranked 21 in the nation,” Watson said. “By March 26, we were fourth.”

The Scotland native described the news of being cut as giving her a sense of “betrayal” and leaving her feeling “undervalued.”

“Why us?” Watson said. “Why now?”

Refusing to go down silently, Watson challenged what she saw as discrimination with the backing of Title IX by talking to coaches and NCAA compliance directors.

After doing so, the NCAA ruled that she, as well as another woman, on the golf team could play and compete with the men.

“I know playing on the men’s team will be far more challenging due to the length of courses they play and the lack of strength and power I have in comparison,” Watson said. “It’s going to be a big adjustment because as I much as I love the guys, I’ll really miss the girls.”

Even though the news of the cut came in the middle of their season, the women persevered in the wake of what Watson described as disappointment, confusion and anger.

By mid May, the women’s determination and competitiveness led them to bring home a gold trophy with the label NCAA Division II Champions.

“Winning nationals was simply the best thing we could do,” Beijer said.

One key player that helped the Panthers take home a massive win was Megan Dennis.

Dennis had five top 10 finishes in the 2018-19 season for the Panthers, and was also a 2018 Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar.

Additionally, she made the Sunshine State Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

After the initial shock, Dennis said she immediately began to wonder what her future would look like.

“My first thoughts were complete sadness, but also panic because I knew I was going to have to transfer,” Dennis said.

Hence, The U.K. native made the decision to transfer to Pepperdine University in California to continue her degree in sports psychology for her remaining two years of undergraduate schooling.

Like the others, Dennis said replacing her previous Florida Tech teammates is impossible and she will never forget her time with them.

“I’m mostly going to miss the great atmosphere at Florida Tech,” Dennis said. “We worked hard, we were competitive, and we all shared the same passion.”

Athletic Director says not to worry about more team cuts

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In early March, at the Student Leader Luncheon, President McKay mentioned that more athletic teams will be under evaluation for potential cuts.

However, Athletic Director Bill Jurgens has stated that student athletes should not be afraid.

“Although I can’t say if or when teams could be cut, the decision will divert all necessary attention,” Jurgens said. “Student athletes should not be afraid. Any decision about reducing a program is going to be studied thoroughly. It’s a tough decision and it will be not be taken lightly.”

There are numerous factors that must be taken into consideration when an athletic committee, which consists of members of the school’s board of trustees, suggest “healthy recommendations for the betterment of the university,” Jurgens said.

Such factors include academic performance, athletic performance, retention and graduation rates, academic success rates, senior exit interviews, program requirements and facility needs and maintenance, according to Jurgens.

One of the recent athletic teams to be cut was women’s golf.

This past fall semester, women’s golf had the second highest overall team GPA with an average of 3.598.

Furthermore, two girls on the team will be transferring to Division I schools to continue their golf careers at the collegiate level.

As their last season comes to a close, all members of the team that are on athletic scholarships were informed their financial aid would continue until their graduation date and that tehy can choose to play on the men’s team.

On the men’s side of golf, sophomore Evan Thompson, a student in entrepreneurship and a member of the men’s golf team, said he thinks they chose not to cut men’s golf because they were Sunshine State Conference champions last year.

“However, I think in the next five years, the school might cut the program because they will choose to focus more on academics rather than the continuation of athletic teams,” Thompson said.

Golf is not the only program that has been cut.

Florida Tech has discontinued three athletic programs since last summer.

Track and field as well as tennis are no longer athletic programs that Florida Tech will continue.

As more and more programs are reduced, students athletes have become concerned about their future at Florida Tech.

Pauline Cosson is a junior majoring in sports management.

Cosson is currently a member of the cross country team and was previously a member of the track and field team before the program was cut.

“I worry that cross country could be cut due to the fact that our roster size is so small with only seven girls,” she said. “However, I’m hopeful they will let the program continue in the upcoming years, as the cut to another running-related program was made so recently.”

Another student concerned about cuts due to a small roster size is Tania Kottke, a senior majoring in business administration and management as well as a member of the volleyball team.

“On one head, I’m worried because as of now with next year’s incoming freshman, we will be ten girls in total,” Kottke said. “However, in order for us to practice against each other and scrimmage, you need 12 on the court, so this makes training for games a bit harder. On the other hand, though, volleyball is a major collegiate sport. I view it as the female equivalent to a football program, and I don’t see Florida Tech’s football team being cut anytime soon. Therefore, I’d like to think volleyball won’t be cut in the near future either.”

As numerous student athletes have expressed their concerns, the president’s office has stated that there are no additional details to share concerning this issue.

While there is still no answer as to if or when teams will be cut, Jurgens leaves the student body with this note:

“Cutting teams at the university is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he said. “I love Florida Tech, I love the students, but sometimes I have to do things that are hard because it’s simply my job to do so.”

Local Business and Non-Profit Raising Heart Awareness

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MediComp is looking to partner with Who We Play For in hopes of raising heart awareness, especially among young athletes.

MediComp is Melbourne-based cardiac monitoring company.

Who We Play For, a Cocoa-Beach based non-profit organization, with a mission to eliminate preventable sudden cardiac death in the youth through affordable heart screenings.

“Heart disease is the leading cause of death, and by promoting heart awareness and providing affordable screenings to hundreds of communities, we’re able to prevent the loss of another young person to cardiac arrest,” Evan Ernst, co-founder of Who We Play For, said.

The story of Who We Play For started in 2007 after Ernst and his fellow co-founders lost a friend in high school who suddenly went into cardiac arrest on the Coach Beach High School soccer field and died the next day.

The co-founders of Who We Play For realized in their collegiate school years that their friend’s condition could have been detected through an electrocardiogram (EKG) screening, which would’ve caught an irregularity or major heart problem through measuring electrical activity within the heart.

“The U.S. is one nation that is behind in recognizing sudden cardiac arrest as an immense public health issue, and Who We Play For wants to change that,” Ernst said.

The Cocoa Beach NGO provides EKG screenings for the price of $20 versus the standard $150 the hospital would charge, according to Ernst.

To date, Who We Play For has screen over 100,00 athletes in over 500 communities and detected heart conditions in over 100 kids.

As Who We Play For creates more heart awareness within the community, their efforts have caught the attention of MediComp, a Melbourne-based cardiac monitoring company.

Maria Fernanda is a Florida Tech graduate student working towards her MBA in healthcare management and is also a MediComp employee.

“MediComp is looking to partner with Who We Play For to work towards providing our cardiac monitoring devices for individuals after screenings have caught particular heart abnormalities,” she said.

Fernanda stated that when she first heard about her company’s interest in this local organization, she immediate questioned why Florida tech student athletes weren’t doing this.

Who We Play For has partnered with various Division I, II, III and evan NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) schools. Ernst also stated the organization has worked towards partnering with Florida Tech before.

Jillian Collins is a senior majoring in chemical engineering and also a member of the swim team.

Collins has a rare heart condition called mitral valve regurgitation where her blood flows backwards.

Although her heart condition was not detected by an EKG, she still thinks heart prevention in young student athletes is a very important issue.

“You can never be too safe, and an EKG takes like five minutes,” Collins said. “After all, you never think something is wrong with you until something is wrong with you.”

A question that begins to arise in this topic is if EKG screenings are provided to Florida Tech student athletes, should they be mandatory or optional?

“I think it’s a good idea,” Theresa Gadilbe, a junior in accounting and a member of the women’s rowing team, said. “However, I think it should be optional because health is something personal and everyone has to be able to decide for themselves.”

Fernanda also raised a concern that if concussion testing is so prevalent and testing is mandatory for student athletes, why are EKG screenings not mandated?

Assistant athletic trainer and head athletic trainer for football, Joe Fiorina, agrees with Fernanda that there is immense value in EKG screenings for young student athletes. Yet, there are other factors involved in a decision like this.

“I would love for every athlete to have an EKG screening before their seasons begin,” Fiorina said. “However, at a school like Florida Tech, this is not exactly a feasible financial option and there could be difficulties with the university’s athletic insurance policies. I still would highly recommend to all athletes to get EKG screenings though.”

Companies like MediComp and organizations like Who We Play For are making waves and creating discussion within the community by aiming to promote healthy heart awareness throughout Brevard County.

Men’s Lacrosse Sets Sights on SSC Title

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Currently sitting at a 6-3 record this season, the Florida Tech Men’s Lacrosse team has their eyes set on EmbryRiddle this Wednesday in hopes of keeping their dream alive of winning the Sunshine State Conference.

After losing two straight games, the Panthers were able to defeat Palm Beach Atlantic by five goals this past Saturday.

This was the first of five straight inter-conference games to finish out the season.

Goalie Jake Hahn said the team is locked into focus and ready to secure the SSC.

“The remaining five games are all sunshine state conference games and we know that these are games that we must win to keep the dream alive,” said Hahn. “Our conference is very competitive within itself to the point where anybody can beat anybody on any given day.”

The Panthers have a 2-2 SSC record and need to win the remainder of their games and the University of Tampa to lose a game in order to win the conference’s regular season title.

However, the goal doesn’t stop there; Ryan Lepp, a defensive player on the team, said that the team has aspirations of ultimately making it into the NCAA tournament.

After the team fell short of their goal last season of winning the SSC, the team felt that there needed to be a change in mentality, according to Hahn.

However, with just two conference loss this season, the Panthers have taken a different mental approach that has led to their success this season.

“The mentality that we brought to those games was that we thought we could easily beat those teams that we ended up losing to, which is not the case this year,” said Hahn.

Hahn mentioned that his captains and coaches have placed an emphasis on discipline and not underestimating the opponent, regardless of their record.

With the recent success, the team has also noticed a steady increase in fan attendance at home games.

Lepp said the recent success and their style of play this season is the reason for the increased turnout.

“I believe that we had such a great turnout against Rollins, which was our most recent home game because students were excited to see us go up against a good team in our conference,” Lepp said. “I believe that our next home game will bring an even bigger crowd because of the exciting comeback-style victory that the students got to experience on that day.”

The teams next home game, as well as their senior night, is April 20 against Florida Southern.

The lacrosse team encourages fan support as they close out the season and make a push for the SSC title.

Women’s golf team drops Title IX complaint

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Florida Tech’s women’s golf team will not be filing a Title IX report after speaking with athletic administration.

With the discontinuation of the women’s golf team but not the men’s team, the women’s team considered filing a Title IX complaint, as Title IX has certain standards that require universities to provide men and women with equal athletic opportunities.

However, they found out the number of men’s and women’s teams met Title IX’s standards and decided to drop the case, according to Alexis

Dizinno, a freshman in environmental science and a member of the women’s golf team. Dizinno said the team wasn’t given a reason as to why they were being discontinued and not the men’s team, even after their discussion with athletic administration.

“When we found out that the women’s team was being cut and not the men’s team, we questioned how that was allowed, and we asked around,” Dizinno said. “I think in the end, one of the athletic administration people had told us that that was the case and that it was legal, so we haven’t done anything to file a complaint so far. I don’t think it is possible.”

Chris Saltmarsh, the women’s golf team coach, was emailed and called for comment but did not respond to the request.

According to Daniel Supraner, the director of athletic communications, the discontinuation of tennis and women’s golf has left athletics with nine men’s teams and nine women’s teams.

“With Title IX, they want what you’re giving to men’s and women’s teams to reflect the number of the student body,” Supraner said. “Title IX requires that we match that proportionality.”

Bill Jurgens, Florida Tech’s athletic director, said the decision to cancel women’s golf was based on the current and future success of the program.

When making the decision to cut the women’s golf team, Jurgens said they considered who was currently on the team and who would be on it in the future.

“A number of [the current] athletes will be graduating,” Jurgens said. “It will be very difficult to replace them with the ones we have right now.”

Facilities, the present size of the teams and the number of athletes that would be affected were some of the main components considered when deciding what sports to cut, according to Jurgens.

Jurgens said Athletics decided to cut programs because Florida Tech has a larger athletic program than similar sized universities.

“It was an operational decision to try to downsize our athletic programs to be more compatible with the size of the university that we have,” Jurgens said. “That was pretty much something that the university set in place that they felt was important for us to continue to be competitive in our sports program.”

Before the discontinuation of tennis and women’s golf, Florida Tech had 23 varsity teams including the dance team.

In the Sunshine State Conference, seven out of the ten universities have fewer teams.

According to Dizinno, the discontinuation of the women’s golf team came as a surprise to them.

Dizinno said the women’s golf team was called into a meeting with the athletic department a couple of hours before the announcement of their discontinuation was sent out to all of campus.

Prior to the meeting, there had been no warning of discontinuing the team.

“It was super upsetting, especially for me as a freshman,” Dizinno said. “We just recently found out that they’ve been thinking about cutting the team for two years. There are two freshmen and two sophomores on the team who had not been warned about this and had no idea that this was happening, and we just felt neglected and overlooked.”

Dizinno said the athletes on the golf team with scholarships will get to keep their scholarships.

“They stopped giving scholarships two years ago, so this freshman class is the first one without scholarships even though they cancelled them a couple years back,” Dizinno said.

While some team members such as Dizinno are planning to transfer universities due to the team’s discontinuation, the women’s golf team has been told they can play with the men’s golf team.

Scabies Outbreak – Third outbreak “second nature” to athletics

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A quiet moment in the diseased-infested Varsity Training Center. Photo by Florida Tech Athletics.

The Panther’s Varsity Training Center is filled with more than just sweaty athletes.

It is now home to an extremely irritating and flesh-eating disease: scabies.

Scabies is a highly contagious skin condition that causes severe itching from sarcoptes scabiei mites, also referred to as itch mites.

The itch mites burrow into and lay eggs in the outer layer of the skin, resulting in nonstop itching and an angry rash.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, scabies is mainly caused by poor hygiene and is spread through skin-to-skin contact.

What is even more worrisome about the recent outbreak is the fact that this it is not the first time, nor the second time, but the third time the skin rash has wreaked havoc on campus.

There have been numerous outbreaks in the past three months, all of which have been due to a lack of proper hygiene practices.

“It’s almost second nature,” one athlete in a Facebook post. “I think the team has had a scabies problem longer than it hasn’t since I’ve started.”

While the athlete declined to speculate where the outbreak started, a Florida Tech coach has been investigating on his own.

“It’s a lot of he-said-shesaid, but I think I’m closing in on the culprit team.” The coach requested to remain anonymous. “Wouldn’t want it to be from my own court, you know?”

Showering , washing clothes and equipment and other basic cleaning practices that you would think to be essential to people’s everyday routines have proved not to be so essential.

The VTC will close down for a day so the athletic trainers can wipe down a few racks with a Clorox wipe and declare it “all good.”

“Hopefully certain players on the field will invest in some soap and a nice hot shower,” said the investigative coach.

Athletes might then be able to rid themselves of disgust and infestation, as well as put the rest of the student body out of misery and fear.

Prospective player: the cat’s meow

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After not making the playoffs this past season, the Florida Tech basketball is looking for potentially the most radical and ferocious change in program history.

Percy the Panther has been tearing through the blacktops of Florida, dominating the court with his physical style of play and lightning-quick reflexes.

Streetballer and former opponent of Percy, Bobby Smitty, said he’s never seen anything quite like him.

Percy stands on a hardwood court for the first time, taking in the beauty. Photo by Pete the Panther.

“That cat is the quickest thing I have ever seen,” Smitty said. “And he can even make jump shots, it’s incredible to watch.”

Percy has no known owner or caretaker and got his name from the book “Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief” because of his uncanny ability to strike like lightning, according to Smitty.

Florida Tech first heard about him from our resident mascot, Pete the Panther.

In an exclusive interview being published on April 31, Pete disclosed that Percy has always dreamed of playing on a hardwood court, having his own jersey and hearing the crowd cheer his name.

Pete recently used his connections with the basketball program to set up a formal meeting and workout.

“They really need to see him in person to find out if he’s a legitimate baller or not,” Pete said.

Percy will be greeted like any other recruit when he comes to display his fourlegged dexterity on May 32.

Smitty said he thinks Florida Tech would be foolish not to offer Percy a scholarship.

“He may be just a large cat, but he’s got more skills than any human player I have ever seen,” Smitty said.

Florida Tech Endgame – Thanos targets athletics

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After Thanos acquired the Infinity Gauntlet and snapped away half the population, he decided to endeavor on a new quest: getting rid of Florida Tech’s athletic teams.

The Mad Titan arrived on campus in Februrary.

Thanos walking about on the tennis courts. Photo captured by Bill Jurgens.

The men’s and women’s tennis teams and the women’s golf team have already fallen victim to his scheme.

While Thanos’ exact plans remain unclear, he has revealed that he is working closely with the athletic department to take out certain teams.

He said with help from the inside, soon the department will have just the right number of programs.

“When I’m done, half of athletics will still exist,” Thanos said. “Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.”

The discontinuation of the tennis and women’s golf teams has taken away the fun for many student athletes, as they worry they’ll be turned into dust next.

For Thanos, this wasn’t a concern when he made the decision to snap them out of existence.

“Fun isn’t something one considers when balancing the universe,” he said. “But this does put a smile on my face.”

A group of athletes who wish to remain anonymous said they tried fending off Thanos.

However, their efforts proved futile.

When athletes began hurling various types of balls and other equipment at him, Thanos reportedly dodged them easily.

One athlete threw a football at his chest, but Thanos simply brushed it off and said, “You should have gone for the head.”

Before leaving the scene of the battle, Thanos told the athletes they were strong but warned them that he could snap his fingers and they’d all cease to exist.

The athletes said they won’t give up fighting, although they plan to begin working with engineering students to create a new weapon. They are calling themselves “The Revengers.”

Bill Jurgens, the athletic director, declined an interview, stating he had “greater goals to accomplish.”

Suspicious jars full of dust have begun to collect in his office.

The last moment of the Florida Tech men’s and track’s teams posing before disappearing from existence. Photo by The Revengers.

Thanos said in his quest to balance the athletic programs, he has received quite a bit of backlash.

However, he said this will not deter him from his quest.

“I know what it’s like to lose,” he said. “To feel so desperately that you’re right, yet to fail nonetheless. Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives. Or should I say, I have.”

While he doesn’t regret his decision to begin removing certain teams in his pursuit of balancing the athletic programs (and the universe), he said of the teams he has sacrificed, “I hope they remember you.”

Two Florida Tech athletes break major career records

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Junior forward Derek Murphy (left), Senior pitcher Melanie Murphy (right). Pictures by Florida Tech Athletics.

Derek Murphy and Melanie Murphy are not related but they do share a commonality: setting first time career college goals in their athletic experiences.

On Feb. 23, women’s softball senior pitcher Melanie Murphy pitched her first career perfect game against No. 3 North Georgia.

On Feb. 27, men’s basketball junior forward Derek Murphy scored a career high 40 points against Lynn University on senior night.

“[Getting 40 points] is definitely something that I wanted to say I’ve done,” Derek Murphy said. “There’s not too many people that have done that in college basketball period.”

“After seeing him score 36 points two times the way he did within like two weeks, I knew he was bound to score 40 sooner or later,” said Trey Schaneville, freshman guard for Florida Tech men’s basketball.

Derek Murphy’s previous career high was 36 points, which he made twice this year, first against Barry University on Feb. 2 and then Saint Leo University on Feb. 13.

Due to his success on the court, Derek Murphy is the Sunshine State Conference scoring champion, averaging 23.1 points per game.

He was third in the conference in rebounds per game (8.2), second in total defensive rebounds (160), selected as a two-time Sunshine State Player of the Week and three-time Erdman Automotive Male Athlete of the Week.

Derek Murphy was selected to the All-SSC second team on March 7. Players that are selected are voted on by the league’s coaches.

Melanie Murphy has made accomplishments this semester as well.

“Pitching a perfect game feels amazing and to know I did it against a ranked three team makes this that much sweeter,” Melanie Murphy said.

Melanie Murphy said that she only made five of the outs on her own.

The other 16 outs were executed by the help of her teammates.

Her perfect pitched game is the first time for Florida Tech women’s softball since Feb. 1, 2014.

Due to her perfect pitched game and her performances throughout the DII Florida Tech Invitational, Melanie Murphy was announced as the SSC Pitcher of the Week.

This is her first honor of this award this year.

However, it is the second time in her career.

“Being recognized as SSC Pitcher of the Week is great and I hope there’s more to come, but I’m more focused on just winning games we play because that’s ultimately the number one goal,” Melanie Murphy said. “The rest that follows those wins is just icing on the cake.”

Melanie Murphy’s teammates are also feeling the rush of her accomplishments.

“As a catcher, it was an amazing experience to be behind the plate to catch Melanie’s perfect game,” said Vanessa Rubio, junior catcher/in fielder for Florida Tech women’s softball. “The entire game it was on my mind, and as the game started to wind down, I just kept thinking it was going to happen and it did.”

Rubio explained how the connection she and Melanie share as a pitcher/catcher duo is very key.

They have to always be on the same page with everything that goes on and she said that they’ve done a pretty good job of that this far into the season and that they’ll only get better.

Although Derek Murphy and the men’s basketball season is over, Melanie Murphy and the women’s softball season is still going.

Softball has their next game against Embry-Riddle on March 15 at 4 p.m. in Daytona.

Women’s lacrosse cruises past Fighting Scots

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Florida Tech’s Women Lacrosse team easily defeated Edinboro University, 19-6 on March 8.

The Panthers outscored the Fighting Scots 11-2 in the second half, vaulting them to the victory.

Senior attacker, Leah Dunn, led Florida Tech’s offense with three goals and four assists.

Junior midfielder, Mollie Kaplan, tallied a team-high five goals.

She contributed an assist for the game.

Senior defender, Brittney Embree, finished the game with a new program single game record.

Embree caused seven caused turnovers against Edinboro, the previous record held at six.

Senior Sam Schiano tacked on four of her own goals, along with two goals each from freshman Kailee O’Brien and freshman Lexi Woviotis.

At the start of the game Edinboro scored the first goal, just 42 seconds into the match.

Florida Tech rallied back with two straight goals, taking a 2-1 lead with 25:34 left in the first half.

The Fighting Scots tied the game at two a piece just a little over a minute later.

The Panthers had a strong retaliation though, scoring four consecutive goals, making the score 6-2.

Edinboro did added two more goals before halftime, but Dunn and Woviotis also found the back of the net, making the score 8-4 after the first half.

O’Brien got the second half going for the Panthers with her first goal of the match. 28 seconds later the Fighting Scots answered with a goal to make it 9-5.

Quickly, O’Brien scored her second goal less than a minute later.

Kaplan shortly after made her third goal to make it a six point game, 11-5 with less then 22 minutes remaining.

This offensive momentum continued from there for the Panthers, outscoring Edinboro 8-1 for the remainder of the game.

This explosive second have solidified Florida Tech’s second straight win and makes their season record 4-3.

They played Slippery Rock University March 11 and will visit Florida Southern University to take on the Mocs on Saturday, March 16.