Year: 2015

Although only in its third year at Houghton, the tennis program hosted its second annual tennis tournament the first weekend in December. While members of the Houghton tennis team could not participate because of National College Athletic Association (NCAA) rules, the tournament was “open to the general public,” Coach Charlie Ellis said. Through an advertising system of emails and communication “kind of like a pyramid” as well as “word of mouth,” participants came from towns, communities, and high schools all over the Western Tier. Ages ranged between 14 and 62.

As the tournament’s director, Ellis structured it as a round robin tournament, divided between doubles and singles. The doubles tournament was won by Brennan Campbell, a tennis team graduate of the previous year, and Ellis, who substituted for a player who failed to come. Bill Stives, the Wellsville coach, and Ben Wright, the Olean High School coach, were the runners up. Houghton Academy student Tom Kawamura won the singles tournament, with Jason Cui, also a Houghton Academy student, as runner up. Ellis noted that both the Academy students were “very excited about tennis and also interested in Houghton College.”

The turnout for this year’s tournament was about 20 people, an unexpectedly good turnout. “We were actually not going to have it until four or five days before they started advertising,” Ellis said. “We decided to go ahead and have it at the eleventh hour.” Participant Andrew Oden noted that the tournament “ran very smoothly.” As the varsity boy’s tennis team coach at Fillmore Central School, Oden said, “It was a lot of fun meeting people from the surrounding area, of various ages, that are passionate about tennis.” He appreciated the ability to play tennis in the Kerr-Pegula Field-House (KPFH). “Before the field house existed, tennis players would be in hibernation for about five months; now we can play year round.”

Beyond being a great opportunity for tennis players around the area to play together, Ellis emphasized the tournament’s ultimate intention. Last year’s tournament served as a fundraiser for the tennis team’s mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Ellis affirmed the success of the trip, describing the tennis team who went as “a powerful group of men and women” and commending their Christ-like attitude. “When we took off to go to the Dominican Republic I was fearful because hardly anything was planned, but they just stepped up and took over.” Ellis said that the intention for this year’s tournament is to “archive money for future mission trips this year,” based on last year’s successful trip. Referencing the deep impression of that trip, Ellis said, “That’s why we started the tennis tournament. That’s what its purpose is.”

The Houghton College women’s soccer team claimed their first ever National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Championship title, defeating Mississippi College, on Saturday, December 5 in Kissimmee, Florida.

In the championship game, Sarah Gabriele ‘16 scored Houghton’s lone goal with only 1.7 seconds left in the standard game, after a free kick. This brought the game to a tie sending the women into overtime.

The Highlanders fought for their title in double overtime and finally claimed it in a penalty shoot-out after a week of competing in the NCCAA National Tournament.

During the shoot-out, team members Gabriele, Meagan Barry ‘19, Torri Sperl ‘18, and Kristi Spotts ‘18 scored penalty kicks leading the team to victory.

Head coach David Lewis noted that the women have played in multiple National Tournaments reaching the Sweet 16, Elite 8, and last year the Final Four. However, this is the first time the women have appeared in the Championship Match.

“Every day we worked hard and were dedicated to achieving this goal. We played a lot of really strong competition all throughout the season that really prepared us for the NCCAA post-season,” said Gabriele.

Lewis commented, “This team has been eager to improve. They have not been content with the status quo, but have committed themselves to improve individually and corporately. Their improvement has been evident throughout the season. Their play and the subsequent results are a testament to their hard work.”

To qualify for this national tournament the women had to meet the standards set by the school to qualify for post-season. According to Harold ‘Skip’ Lord, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, this meant achieving a minimum 0.550 win/loss record and Top 10 in the national NCCAA rankings.

Additionally, they had to win the Midwest Region of the NCCAA. They achieved this by defeating Lancaster Bible College and Ohio Christian University.

“We are very proud of the great season that Coach Lewis and the women’s soccer team have put together. They have succeeded not only on the field, but in the classroom, on campus and most importantly in representing Christ in all they do,” said Lord.

Captain Jenny Zacchigna ‘17 commented, “It was easy to see how God was working within our team and blessing us continually as the week went on. The exciting finish to the final game was not only a product of hard work by the entire team and Coach Lewis, but a reminder that a team who plays to glorify Him can do amazing things.”

With their championship title, the Highlanders finished their season with a final record of 16-6-2. This is the first national title for a Houghton women’s team and the first for any Houghton team since men’s soccer claimed the NCCAA title in 1986.
“This has been my third year competing at nationals and there is really nothing like it. You just get to play soccer with your best friends every day in the warmth of Florida. It’s a great experience and blessing to get to play in the tournament, this year even more so because we accomplished what we set out to do,” said Captain Bailey Shattell ‘17.

Men’s and women’s basketball are off to a solid start this season. Men’s basketball is 3-1 overall and currently on a 3 game win streak in which they have scored above 90 points in each game they have won. Women’s basketball is 3-2 overall. Both teams brought in a strong recruiting class which has added both depth and a competitive advantage to their lineup.  Head women’s basketball coach, Alicia Mucher, said, “We are very happy with our season thus far-especially since we have eight newcomers [soon adding a transfer to our team in January].” Men’s basketball added four new players as well. “We have shown people that we are for real this year and surprised some teams,” said Brandon Camacho ‘16.

The road to success has not been easy for the Highlanders. Two weeks ago, men’s basketball was tested during their game against Oberlin College when the opposing team made a huge run late in the game in an attempt to come out of the game with a win. However, the Highlanders pulled through by making late runs in games against Wells College and Villa Maria College which were seemed to be out of reach. “The toughness and determination of this team has manifested itself each game in a different way by different players during crunch time and that is something that sets this team apart,” said head men’s basketball coach, Andrew Hannan. Before Thanksgiving break, women’s basketball returned to campus with a championship from an Oswego State tournament. This was the first tournament women’s basketball has won under Mucher. “We faced some pretty good programs while we were there, so it was awesome to see the girls hoist the trophy up after working so hard to win it,” said student assistant Taylor Button ‘16. Their first game against Hilbert College went to triple overtime and pulled out a win. “To go into OT (over time) at all and be victorious is hard, but to fight through three OT’s and win showed that we have an incredibly resilient group of players this year,” said Button.

Both men’s and women’s teams have been able to stay focused this season by creating attainable goals. Their goals for this season included making the Empire 8 conference tournament by being the top in the conference, competing in the Empire 8 conference championship game, having a certain number of rebounds more than the opposing team each game, getting to the free throw line, and limiting their turnovers. These goals drive these teams to work hard in all they do on and off the court by getting better and staying together. “Our theme this year is that we are ‘Responsible to the details…accountable to the mission’ and so far, this team has their eyes on the prize to achieve the goals we set and be successful in the mission,” said Button. “Our team is very encouraging, supportive, and uplifting whether you play the whole game or only get in for 30 seconds” said Hannah Manwaring ‘17. “We support one another on and off the court no matter what and put the team’s needs before our own.”

This year was also the first time the Houghton basketball programs did Moonlight Madness event, which was a great way for students to get to know the players on both teams and to watch them in action for the first time this season. There was a three-point contest, a scrimmage, and a contest where students and community members had the chance to compete for $20,000. “We really enjoyed the Moonlight Madness and the excitement that started on campus for the season. Also, the support at each of our home games so far has really been encouraging and we hope to see everybody keep coming out to the games,” said Camacho.

Houghton Student Enterprises (HSE) held its first annual League of Legends tournament on Saturday, November 21.  There were 20 students involved in this event, 16 of whom were present and four who played from a separate location. The event was a team tournament where students teamed up in teams of five to compete in a 5v5 double-elimination tournament.

Two of the teams that competed were communicating through earpieces to teammates that were unable to attend the tournament due to technical difficulties and distance.  Ryan Bowers ‘19, a competitor in this tournament, stated that he loved the location of Big Al’s, because of the easy access to food, refreshments, and the accessibility for spectators to watch and cheer on the gamers as they competed and strategized.  Justin Livergood ‘18, another competitor, stated that he liked the location because the teams were separated by appropriate distances so that the other teams would not be able to hear them strategizing before and during the match.
HSE is planning to continue this event next year, making it an annual activity.  HSE plans on making next year’s tournament a Riot, the company that made League of Legends. sanctioned tournament so they will provide in-game prizes.  HSE anticipates that the event will grow next year,  as they hope to include the gamers of the Houghton community, as well as more students. Bowers and Livergood both expressed they thought this tournament  “should definitely be held again.”

Houghton College partnered with local food pantries for a turkey drive, run by the Student Government Association (SGA) that ended on November 21, and raised $662.72.

While the drive fell far behind the goal of $1,750, the donations were still able to ensure many families in Allegany County enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal.

“The turkeys from this drive were distributed to food pantries in Fillmore, Rushford, and at the Houghton Wesleyan Church. A few turkeys were also donated to Wellspring Ministry,” said Ray Parlett, director of campus safety and security.

The Houghton Wesleyan Church food pantry received and distributed 49 turkeys. The church also gave out 50 bags of potatoes, and 60 desserts to go along with donated Thanksgiving meals, confirmed Patty Stalker, Administrative Assistant at the church.

“The families who came to receive turkeys were so appreciative,” commented Cindy Austin, member of the Houghton Wesleyan Church.

The turkey drive consisted of three forms of fundraising including a penny drive, a 5K Turkey Trot, and the purchasing of paper feathers from the dining hall. Of all the money raised, the dining hall fundraiser was the most successful, raising almost $300.

“The turkey drive has gone better in the past. We did not meet our goal, which is disappointing. However, we started what we hope will be a new tradition with the Turkey Trot,” commented Sarah Makosy, Executive Officer of Student Life.

“There were 25 competitors, varying from students, faculty, and community members,” commented Patrick Hager, head coach of the cross-country team. “With it being a small event, it was pretty easy for Sarah and I to coordinate registration and timing.”

He continued, “I would hope that in years to come it could be a much larger event, and we could contribute more turkeys to the community. I think the campus will rally around that.”

During the penny drive containers were labeled with four different costume options. Whichever costume raised the most money would be worn by Dean Jordan during the Turkey Trot. According to Makosy, the Baymax costume, from the movie Big Hero 6, was the winner.
“We definitely could’ve raised more money. But I’m happy that we were able to help out the Houghton community in this way,” commented Makosy.