crunch time! 2012 football preview
east carolina university
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Bryan Henney (left) Throws a front kick at Andrew San Nicolas during a club Isshinryu training session.
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football
crunch time 2012 pirate football preview by chase Kroll
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volleyball
block head because of hard work, kelly derby’s first impressions did not last. by justin boulmay
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departments
columns
letter from the editor.......... 9
no quarter
sports briefs..................................10 club sports and campus rec........................... 24 pirate spirit.................................... 30 fan cam................................................32 east carolina university
Dr. marilyn sheerer................. 8
ship’s log spaine stephens.........................32 cover: justin jones has been sent from the future to score touchdowns. photo by jay clark.
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record breakers The ECU women’s 4x100 relay team, consisting of Tiffany Harris, Tyshonda Hawkins, Erin Tucker and Tania Minkins, set a new program record at the Conference USA Championship, finishing the race in 45.05 seconds. photo by ecu media relations
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east carolina university
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smash and grab ECU’s John Wooten comes up with a ball hit deep to right field during the Pirate’s NCAA Regional game against the University of North Carolina. Despite having 10 hits to UNC’s five, the Pirates were unable to advance in the tournament held at UNC’s Boshamer stadium in July, falling to the Tarheels 5-3. photo by jay clark
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east carolina university
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no quarter Advice from the provost series: First, be prepared for class. That sounds very basic, but faculty members take stock of who’s doing the reading, who seems interested in the class and who appears to be engaged. You’re not engaged if you are sitting back in class and sleeping, or if you haven’t read the material. Pay attention and answer the questions or interact in any way. Most faculty try to engage students in lectures, through discussions and with questions. If you begin the semester by showing that you are interested in the topic and that you are going to offer something to the class, faculty will notice you in a good way. Then, you will feel more comfortable approaching faculty members after class saying something like, ‘You brought this up today and I didn’t quite understand,’ or ‘Am I getting this right?’ Now you have a few things going
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for you: You’re asking questions, it’s obvious you have read the material and you’re interested. That’s how you build relationships with faculty. Pretty soon, you’re confident and faculty are not quite as scary as you thought. Then, you might take advantage of scheduling a meeting during office hours. Faculty are typically really involved in their discipline and know their stuff. So, you have to figure out, as a student, how to show them that you are interested in the course and find the right avenues to connect. You may learn about a topic that you really get excited about in an office meeting. Time management is another huge challenge early in a college career. You have more free time and no one is making you go to class. However, getting enough sleep in your room, eating right and making time to study
forrest croce
preparing for college
dr. Marilyn sheerer or visit the Pirate Tutoring Center can really ease the struggles of first-year students. Addressing these challenges early in your college career will better prepare you to become a successful ECU student. —Dr. Marilyn Sheerer, Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
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letter from the editor do you believe? East Carolina University has welcomed the fall semester with a powerful message. In the spirit of football, Terry Holland drives home what it means to believe in Pirate Nation in a video titled “We Believe” (www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/mktg/ we_believe.cfm). Pirate fans are known for staying faithful through the wins and losses—we are not fair-weather fans. ECU student-athletes feed off our cheers and applause and when they look out to a sea of purple and gold, they see more reasons to give it their all. In the video, Holland says that pride comes from within. When it comes to East Carolina, we have pride and we are loyal. It shows in our tickets sales and by the amount of purple and gold in the stands at DowdyFicklen Stadium. Seeing fellow Pirates making their way to the stadium in droves excites and inspires me as much as watching students cross the stage at graduation feeling proud. At ECU, we achieve. All students and student-athletes put in long hours striving to achieve a great aspiration. I encourage you to let your spirit and passion for ECU spill over to all our athletes and to our students’ academic endeavors. To be successful as a university, we must believe in the greatness of Pirate Nation. Go Pirates! —Jessica Creson Nottingham, Editor
Where to find PURPLE!
forrest croce
Online: www.ecu.edu/purple On Facebook: search Purple! Magazine
PURPLE!
Volume 2, Number 1 purple! is published five times a year by East Carolina University marketing and publications 1206 Charles Blvd. Greenville, NC 27858-4353
editor jessica creson nottingham ’06, ’08 managing editor/art director jay clark copy editors Jimmy rostar ’94 spaine stephens justin Boulmay Contributing writers justin Boulmay Chase Kroll Chris Stansbury Spaine stephens Dr. Marilyn sheerer photography jay clark forrest croce rob goldberg jr. Cliff Hollis Mike Litwin ’01 Doug smith online content Laura Davenport bryan edge ’97 Gregory Hedgepeth ’08 administration michelle sloan director of university marketing clint bailey special thanks to ECU athletics media relations chris stansbury East Carolina University is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina. It is a public doctoral/ research intensive university offering baccalaureate, master’s, specialist, and doctoral degrees in the liberal arts, sciences and professional fields, including medicine. Dedicated to the achievement of excellence, responsible stewardship of the public trust, and academic freedom, ECU values the contributions of a diverse community, supports shared governance, and guarantees equality of opportunity. ©2012 by East Carolina University U.P. 12-293
We want to hear from you Letters to the editor can be emailed to purple@ecu.edu. Please include your full name, current student classification or graduation year for alumni (if applicable) and hometown. Letters may be edited for clarity and space. east carolina university
PURPLE! 9
SPORTS BRIEFS
edited By Jessica creson nottingham
softball
Awards East Carolina sophomore designated player Jill Jelnick was named to the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) University Division All-State Softball Team. The allstate award is the first of Jelnick’s career and comes three weeks after she received Capital One Academic All-America honors. The ninth-annual NCCSIA team consists of NCAA Division I student-athletes from North Carolina colleges and universities. North Carolina sports information professionals submitted the nominees and NCCSIA members voted for the squad, which consists of two pitchers, one catcher, four infielders, three outfielders, one designated player and one utility player. Jelnick served as the Pirates’ primary designated player and leadoff batter in 2012, starting 51 of the club’s 53 games. She paced East Carolina with 51 hits while standing second on the squad in batting average (.315), on-base percentage (.390) and walks (18), third in runs scored (25) and fourth in total bases 10 PURPLE!
(55) and stolen bases (10). During Conference USA action, the Aliso Viejo, Calif., native recorded a .310 batting average, good for third among ECU players. She tied for the top spot on the team with 22 hits in league games and led the group with 13 runs scored in C-USA contests. Remaining a consistent offensive threat throughout the campaign, Jelnick paced the squad with a .355 batting average during February, scored a team-high 17 runs in March and tallied an ECU-best 16 hits during April. She produced a Pirate-leading 14 multiple-hit games, including the lone four-hit contest, a career-best performance against North Dakota State. She added six multiple-RBI tilts, tied for the second most on the squad. This postseason, Jelnick has also received numerous academic awards as she was elected to the Second Team Capital One All-America squad as well as the Capital One Academic All-District 3 First Team and the Conference USA All-Academic Team.
u Jillin’ out Jill Jelnick has spent the postseason collecting awards for her athletic prowess on the field, and her academic performance in the classroom.
jay clark
C-USA Championship East Carolina ended its season with an 8-1 loss to Marshall during the first round of the Conference USA Championship. The Thundering Herd (35-20) used three combined runs to top the Pirates (25-28). The loss snapped ECU’s league tournament-winning streak at six games, the second-longest run in C-USA history.
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dance team
2012 National Dance Alliance For the fourth year in a row, ECU’s dance team competed in the National Dance Alliance Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship that is hosted in Daytona Beach, Fla. In the dance division, ECU placed 10th and fifth in the hip-hop division, which are both in the 1A category. “The team this year was more prepared than they had ever been before,” says Kristin Jefferies ’04, ’06, who is going into her ninth year as coach and was also on the dance team as a student at ECU. “They worked extremely hard leading up to the competition, and I am very proud of their accomplishments. I am very proud of how they represented themselves and the university.” Since 2005, the dance team has worked closely with the ECU March-
ing Pirates during home and occasional away football games. The new band director, William Staub, will bring a fresh collaboration for the dance team and Jefferies. “As a coach I am excited about working with the new band director,” she says. “We always look forward to a new season—an opportunity to add new talent to the team and choreograph new dances and to entertain the crowd. Pregame during football games, I would say, is the favorite part of the season for most of the dancers. The opportunity to perform on the field in front of that many people cheering and singing along during the fight song is pretty unforgettable!” The ECU dance team performs at men’s and women’s basketball games and regular-season baseball games at home. The team also participates in events like Pirate Palooza and dance clinics for high-school students.
soccer
Award Former soccer standout Kimmy Cummings was one of 12 recipients of the Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship Awards. This is the fourth year the award has been named for Castañeda, who served Rice University for 46 years as an educator, coach and Faculty Athletics Representative before he passed away in November 2008. The conference presents the $4,000 postgraduate scholarship awards annually to graduates as selected by the C-USA Faculty Athletics Representatives and approved by the Board of Directors. Cummings, who earned team MVP and Most Valuable Offensive Player honors, became the first-ever Pirate to garner First-Team NSCAA All-Central Regional honors and closed out her four-year career leading the team in goals (9) and points (22) on her way to First-Team All-Conference USA honors in 2011. During her career with the Pirates, Cummings started 38 of 78 career games scoring 15 career goals, dishing out 11 assists and recording 41 points, all ranking among the top 15 in school history. A native of Mechanicsville, Va., Cummings graduated summa cum laude in May with a bachelor’s of science in business management, marketing and management information systems. Her 3.921 GPA earned her honors on the dean’s list, the C-USA All-Academic women’s soccer team, Capital One/Co-SIDA Academic AllDistrict Team and NSCAA Academic All-America Team. east carolina university
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CRUNCH top tackler
Number 53 Jeremy Grove, who ranked 10th in the FBS last year with 11.1 tackles per game, returns following postseason shoulder surgery focused on doing his job.
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CRUNCH
time 2012 PIRATE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
east carolina university
PHOTOS BY JAY CLARK
jay clark
STORY BY CHASE KROLL
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football
The 2012-2013 East Carolina University football program is hard at work preparing for what is sure to be a memorable season for Pirate fans everywhere. Third-year head coach Ruffin McNeill has identified three characteristics the team must have in all facets of the game to be successful: trust, belief and accountability. “Everybody knows they have to perform at a high level, play at their best, do things the way we want things done, or else they can lose playing time or their spot. I like the depth that we are developing,” says McNeill. “They have a chance to achieve what they want to achieve. I’m looking forward to seeing this group work and go to war.” After finishing the 2011-2012 campaign with a 5-7 (4-4) record, McNeill and the Pirates return 48 lettermen to a team that finished third in the Conference USA East Division. The team was highlighted by the nation’s 20th best passing attack in 2011, but after the loss of star quarterback Dominique Davis and receiver Lance Lewis, the offense has a few question marks at several key positions heading into the new season. The biggest is at quarterback. ECU enters 2012 with four quarterbacks battling for the starting job. Fifth-year senior Brad Wornick, junior Rio Johnson, redshirt sophomore Shane Carden and redshirt freshman Cody Keith have all taken equal reps throughout the offseason in the summer’s most interesting position battle. It was assumed that Johnson, the only quarterback on the roster who experienced playing time last season, would be the most likely candidate to take over in 2012. But with strong play from Carden, the comfort of Wornick in position battle situations, and flashes of talent from Keith, the starting quarterback will most likely not be named until just before the Pirates open the season on Sept. 1 against Appalachian State. The team is confident that its starter will rise from this heated competition. But with no clear starter at quarterback, or any of the other skill positions for the time being, the team has used McNeill’s instructions and learned to trust that whoever takes the field will be able to get the job done effectively. “Competition always brings out the best in everybody,” says Wornick. “Whoever wins (the 14 PURPLE!
jonesing for jones!
A healthy Justin Jones returns for his junior year after an injury-plagued sophomore seaon. His size and agility make him a playmaker, especially in the red zone.
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four score
Rio Johnson, Brad Wornick, Shane Carden and Cody Keith all have a shot for the starting QB position. Of the four, only Johnson has playing time experience from last season.
battle) will be at the tip-top of his game.” Johnson added, “Everybody is even. You have to progress through camp and prove yourself. They are all great guys; we all hang out off the field, and may the best man win.” Aside from the competition at quarterback, another storyline heading into the season will be the emerging role of sophomore Justin Hardy. Hardy started his career at ECU as a walkon in 2010 and surprised everyone by leading the team in receiving yards last season. Now he starts the season as the No. 1 receiver and is sure to face off against some of the best defenses. But Hardy will not be alone, as the team has assembled a committee of talented skill players. At receiver the longtime contributor Andrew Bodenheimer looks to start alongside Hardy, with Reese Wiggins and Danny Webster looking to improve upon their productive seasons last year. The half back group, a group that was ravaged by injuries last season, comes back this season healthy and ready to prove that they can hold up. Led by Reggie Bullock, Michael Dobson, Torrance Hunt and UNC transfer Hunter Furr, east carolina university
the group expects to all contribute to the success of the running game. “We have had to learn what it takes to be good in this conference and having a plethora of running backs has been something that a lot of these championship teams have had. That was a huge point of emphasis,” says offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley. Going further, he explained how this embodies ECU’s signature high-tempo offense. “That’s who we are. That’s who we want to be. He (McNeill) wants an attacking offense that puts points on the board, and that’s who we are going to be.” While McNeill’s call to trust seems to fit with the offense and where they are heading into the season, the Pirate defense needs to carry the belief that they will be great. Anchored by preseason all-conference selections nose tackle Michael Brooks and linebacker Jeremy Grove (offensive guard Will Simmons was also selected), this defensive unit has performed admirably since switching to a 3-4 defensive alignment last season. They finished the 2011 season ranked 56th in total defense after finishing the 2010 campaign in last place, a 64-spot jump. The defense has the belief that they can make the leap to the next level in 2012. “We just want to keep pushing along and get all the specifics down now that it’s our second year in this defense,” says safety Damon Magazu. “What we are really trying to do is tighten the screws on a couple things that maybe we didn’t do so well on last year and just continue to move forward as a defense.” PURPLE! 15
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zu-ology
Damon Magazu is the only returning starter in the Pirate secondary and remains focused on the steady improvement of the Pirate defense. doug smith
This 2012 defense is built around a strong core starting with Brooks and Grove. Brooks, at 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 313 pounds, started all 12 games last season and led the defensive line with 55 tackles by using his size and clogging up the middle. While he and fellow defensive lineman Matt Milner provide the experience to the group, players like Lee Pegues, Justin Dixon and John Lattimore look to become household names by the season’s end. Lining up behind Brooks is Grove, who turned in one of the best freshman defensive performances last season to earn freshman All-American honors. Grove led the team with 122 tackles (his 11.1 tackles per game ranked 10th in the FBS) to be named the Conference USA Freshman of the Year. But because he is coming off of offseason shoulder surgery, many are looking to see how he will perform during his sophomore campaign. “I’m just focused on doing my job. I’m not worried about the numbers,” says Grove. “I’m excited to
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play here in Dowdy again.” Grove will line up with fellow linebackers like Kyle Tudor and Daniel Drake on the inside, with relative newcomers Derrell Johnson, Maurice Falls and Montese Overton fighting for spots on the outside. Lining up behind Grove is Magazu, known for his big-play ability as ECU’s last line of defense in the secondary. Magazu is also the only returning starter from the secondary group, leaving three empty spots to be filled in camp. Seniors Jacobi Jenkins and Leonard Paulk lead the cornerback group, with Hinds Community College transfer Adonis Armstrong strongly in the mix as well. But the closest competition in the secondary is for the strong safety spot beside Magazu. Sophomore Lamar Ivey and Chip Thompson, also a Hinds transfer, have both performed well in camp. The unit as a whole is looking to build upon last year’s secondary that ranked 33rd in the FBS for passing defense.
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That’s who we are. That’s who we want to be. He (McNeill) wants an attacking offense that puts points on the board, and that’s who we are going to be.
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— offensive coordinator lincoln riley
thou shalt receive
Hardy started his career at ECU as a walk-on in 2010 and surprised everyone by leading the team in receiving yards last season. Now he starts the season as the No. 1 receiver and is sure to face off against some of the best defenses.
east carolina university
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we have a lot of experience within our coaching staff. we believe in them and they believe in us, so we know we can get it done. — running back torrance hunt
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In order to be great, this defense has to believe in the man behind him, as Brooks believes in Grove, or Grove does with Magazu. “We have a lot of experience within our coaching staff,” says Hunt. “We believe in them and they believe in us, so we know we can get it done.” The 2012 schedule features games against both participants in last year’s Conference USA title game (Houston and Southern Miss) as well as No. 9 South Carolina, UNC, Navy and UCF, among others. “We know we have four out of six on the road early. We know we play in some tough environments,” says McNeill. “We have to be road warriors and that’s our mentality.” The Pirates open the season by hosting in-state rival Appalachian State in a matchup that has a lot of bragging rights on the line. “I look forward to it,” says McNeill. “I worked for Coach Moore for seven years. There will be some emotional ties. We know we have to come out prepared and ready to go. I’m looking forward to diving into the season.” And just like that, ECU football is beginning again. All that’s needed now in McNeill’s plan is accountability, but that is something that this team has been building for a long time. It comes down to knowing your job, doing that job, and leaving no stone (or page in a playbook) unturned. Being accountable is seeing your potential and shooting for it. “We are expecting to do big things,” says Hunt. “But right now, we are just trying to walk that walk and not do a lot of talking.” 18 PURPLE!
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torrance-ial reign
Running back Torrance Hunt led the Pirates in rushing the last half of the 2011 season, thanks to his breakaway speed in the backfield.
east carolina university
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vo lle y ball
b l o c k h e a d During one of her first practices on the ECU women’s volleyball team, it did not take long for Kelly Derby to understand how her hard work impacts the team. Derby missed two dives for the ball, and like most volleyball squads, ECU has a rule for when that happens: Miss a dive, and the team runs sprints. While in high school, Derby suffered from a torn ligament in her knee and was apprehensive about playing at ECU, even though she was fully recovered. Her attitude changed when her team was punished for her mistakes during practice. “I was never going to let my team run sprints because of me again,” she says. Since then, the team has won because of players like Derby, for whom 2012 will be the fifth and final year of her volleyball career at ECU. She’s a middle hitter, meaning that fans can find her in the middle of the front row, where she has the responsibility of blocking and spiking the ball (when the opportunity arises). A native of Chapel Hill, N.C., Derby says she chose ECU as her college home because of the good reputation of its education program as well as the local support for the Pirates. (Derby considered pursuing elementary education as a major before she chose sociology.) That’s important to this Pirate, who makes an effort to wear her volleyball shirt around town to demonstrate her own pride in her school. “There’s so much support in the town for the Pirates,” Derby says. “I absolutely love that.”
She graduated in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and is attending grad school to earn her master’s in counseling education. When she’s finished with her education, Derby wants to counsel children in schools and military bases. In the meantime, Derby is making a huge impact for her team. Last year, the 22-yearold Pirate had 87 total blocks and 75 block assists, with a team-best .198 hitting percentage. Derby leads her squad in kills— she has 117 of them—in Conference USA matches. She finished the last season as No. 13 among C-USA players in blocks per set. Like any athlete, Derby didn’t come to the team fully loaded with the ability to make those stats. She had to work on them and become a better, stronger player, which is something that head volleyball coach Pati Rolf says Derby has done by great strides. Rolf ’s first impression of Derby was that she was a young player who wasn’t taking herself as seriously as she should. She’d laugh when she made mistakes and would say that she wasn’t good at playing defense. Fortunately for both Derby and her team, those were mistakes she learned to quit making. “Really, her fight to play back row when she wasn’t very good was like watching Bambi try to walk,” Rolf says. “It was really kind of sweet, I have to be honest with you, because she just worked so hard but it just really wasn’t very good. But in the course of the three years here, she is just a 100-timesstronger player.”
because of hard work, kelly derby’s first impressions did not last. s t o r y b y j u s t i n b o u l m ay 20 PURPLE!
p h o t o g r a p h s b y j ay c l a r k september/october 2012
east carolina university
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vo lle y ball
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There are people I think that walk around and give off light. (Derby’s) one of them. She gives off an energy level that’s very easy to pick up. — head coach Pati Rolf
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Rolf describes Derby as sweet, hilarious and personable, as someone who is both honest about her mistakes—and correcting them—as well as being a good leader by helping to keep her teammates organized. She also says that coaches, like parents, can only do so much to motivate their teams, but players will do the right thing when they know their peers are watching them. “There are people I think that walk around and give off light,” Rolf says. “(Derby’s) one of them. She gives off an energy level that’s very easy to pick up.” When asked about how she has grown as a player, Derby doesn’t point to her own accomplishments but instead talks about how she wants to help her team get better. “No one person can do anything for the team,” she says. “The team has to work together, so I try my hardest to get everyone to come along and I want everyone to want to win. That’s my big thing.” The team practices Tuesday through Thursday and works out three times a week. Their games are held on Fridays and Sundays. They get a break on Monday, and for good reason. Sometimes, the team doesn’t get back to Greenville from an away game until 1 a.m. Monday. Derby’s performance on the court isn’t the only thing that makes her stand out. She speaks to elementary- and middle-school students on what it’s like to be both an athlete and a student. She has a 3.51 GPA and was recently honored for her academic success by Breakfast for Champions, a group that recognizes the accomplishments of student athletes. “It’s great to hear other people come back and express that they’re proud of us for keeping up with our school work and being a big part of the Pirate community,” she says of the honor given to her by the organization. That recognition is likely to be one of many good memories that Derby takes with her when she one day leaves ECU. Her favorite memory, though, will be of how close she was to her teammates. “We always joke about how, on our way home from a big weekend away, we never want to see each other again,” she says. “But then, an hour after we’ve gotten off the bus, we’re all texting each other to find out if we want to go to the movies or if we want to hang out that night. So, I think all my memories come from being a part of the team and having that special bond with people that you’ll have for the rest of your life.”
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Pirates Helping Pirates
SUCCEED The Pirate Tutoring Center is now located in the 2300 wing of the Old Cafeteria Building.
P i r at e T u t o r i n g C e n t e r The Pirate Tutoring Center is for ECU students and provides the following services: • Daytime appointment and evening walk-in peer tutoring sessions on 1000- and 2000-level courses • Individualized academic skills coaching • Tutoring referrals and resource support
Fall Schedule for tutoring services Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012 Daytime tutoring appointments begin
Monday, Sept. 10, 2012 Evening tutoring services begin
• Specialized academic success workshops • PTC small group study sessions on College Hill
All PTC services are free to ECU students.
To make a daytime appointment, call 252-737-3009 or email tutoring@ecu.edu.
Pirate Tutoring Center 2300 Wing, Old Cafeteria Bldg. 252-737-3009 tutoring@ecu.edu
www.ecu.edu/piratetutoringcenter
east carolina university
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campus rec & club sports
a glass half full ecu alumna shares lessons learned after paralyzing injury bachelorette party. It was during that party that one of Chapman’s friends playfully pushed her into a pool. ChapTwo sets of photos in Rachelle Friedman Chapman’s man hit her head on the bottom, near the part of the pool floor where it shifts from the shallow to deep end. “I seri’08 slideshow illustrate just how dramatically her life changed. The first slide shows pictures of an excited bride- ously think if I had been one foot the other way, it might have gone differently,” she said. to-be, who had spent the day trying to find a new pair of Everything about her life has changed. Chapman isn’t shoes for her bachelorette party that night. The next slide able to work out like she used to. It takes longer to get shows Chapman lying in a hospital bed after sustaining a dressed. She only orders foods that she can pick up when paralyzing spinal injury during a pool accident. she’s eating out with friends because she doesn’t want Not only has her story earned international attenone of them to have to cut her tion, but it has also given her a food for her. “It was very hard to chance to use her experiences to something tragic realize that I wasn’t going to be demonstrate that life shouldn’t independent anymore—that I was be taken for granted. During a shouldn’t happen to to have to rely on people to presentation to ECU students make you realize that going do these things for me,” she said. and staff members in June, you need to make a Chapman thinks having a Chapman noted how happy she positive attitude so soon after is that her last day of being able change or that you her injury is part of what has to walk was spent doing things need to start going attracted attention to her story. she enjoys. “I’m very lucky that I toward goals faster, She’s not only spoken at ECU, but had all these happy things about my day that I can look back on,” that you need to start also has had guest appearances on the “TODAY” show and “Insaid Chapman, who graduated appreciating life. side Edition.” She’s also received from ECU with an undergradudonations from organizations that ate degree in recreation manage— Rachelle Chapman heard her story. ment and has presented at ECU’s She has benefited from the California-based Project Adapted Recreation and Wellness Day hosted by the Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center, a program that Student Rec Center. Chapman also does what she can to maintain the active has had “a huge positive impact” on Chapman. Walking with Anthony, an organization that seeks to help people lifestyle she had before her accident. She participates in sports like wheelchair rugby, has bought an adaptive surf- diagnosed with irreversible spinal-cord injuries, sponsored Chapman’s two three-week trips to the program. board and goes cycling with her husband by using a hand “I had improved balance with my core, which helps me cycle. (She and Chris married in July 2011.) in so many ways in my everyday life,” Chapman said. “My “After I got home from rehab, I started looking for arms are so much stronger. I can transfer and make it up ways to get involved in sports while I was still in rehab ramps more easily.” and things were limited, especially for women, and that Chapman impressed upon the ECU groups certain didn’t make me happy! I found the Raleigh Sidewinders lessons that she’s learned, such as taking the time to slow Wheelchair Rugby Team and went there just a week after I got out of rehab (still wearing my neck brace),” she says down; not complaining about small things that won’t matter in a couple of days; setting goals for oneself; being on her website, www.rachellefriedman.com. grateful; and not waiting to make a change until someA native of Virginia Beach, Chapman had expected thing happens that you regret. to marry her fiancé, Chris, about four weeks after her
By justin boulmay
“
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september/october 2012
cliff hollis
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staying positive Chapman recently spoke to a crowd at ECU about living life to its fullest after a tragedy.
east carolina university
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passing the bar
jay clark
Keara Cleary applies an arm bar to Ashley Willis during a training session.
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september/october 2012
campus rec & club sports
Club isshinryu: pirate students learn the “one heart way” the progression of the lower ranked students as well.” ECU’s club sports program puts students in charge of the everyday responsibilities. The team’s officers coordinate East Carolina University has a wide range of club meetings, raise funds and plan tournaments. Together, issports for students to explore that emphasize leadership skills, fellowship and recreation. Among the sports is a hand- shinryu, tai chi and tae kwon do host an open martial arts tournament that serves as the primary fundraiser. ful of martial arts club teams: judo, tai chi, tae kwon do, “The officers have to plan the event set up the night jiu-jitsu and isshinryu. Of the five, isshinryu is a form of martial arts that is new before, work registration, compete and then clean up. to many. When translated, it means “one heart way” and is The clubs have consistently made over $5,000 for their efforts. That money then funds a powerful Okinawan style of kathe following year’s tournament rate created by Tatsuo Shimabuku isshinryu differs with the remainder being split in 1956. It is used more for profrom most american between the participating clubs,” tection or self-defense rather than says Gribble. competition. and japanese Members on the team typically “Isshinryu differs from most karate systems in compete locally in three disciplines: American and Japanese karate systems in that it concentrates close- that it concentrates kata, kumite and weapons. While members have competed in Massarange fighting consisting of low on close-range chusetts, Tennessee, South Caroline kicks, knees and elbows,” says fighting consisting lina and Virginia in the past, the T.D. Gribble, who is the certified team has not traveled much lately. instructor with 28 years of expeof low line kicks, However, an isshinryu international rience in isshinryu. “The system’s knees and elbows. invitational is in the planning phase trademark is a vertical fist.” and the team hopes to attend two As with most forms of karate, — T.D. Gribble national-level tournaments. Stuthe training focuses on discipline, self-control and leadership. “Sometimes the workout might dents in the club have had the opportunity to train with isshinryu masters from Canada, Denmark, Puerto Rico and seem physically simple but the mental acuity required can Okinawa, and the club has had members travel to Japan on be exhausting,” says Gribble. cultural exchange scholarships. Even though the intensity of isshinryu training takes The first club formed in 1993 and has maintained a team members through many ups and downs as individuteam of roughly six to 10 active members ranging in expeals, it develops lifelong bonds. “It creates very honest and open relationships among the club members,” says Gribble. rience from beginner to brown belt, which is zero to three The ranking structure requires senior students to guide the years of training in isshinryu. “If (students) are interested in a life protection skill and younger students through the training and help manage making lifelong friendships, this is a good club to join,” the team. “The senior students learn that even while they struggle to improve and advance, they are responsible with says Gribble.
By jessica creson nottingham
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east carolina university
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campus rec & club sports for whom the whistle tolls In addition, the students are working with some of the top evaluators in the country, many of whom are current In major sporting events, it is often said an official has collegiate and high school basketball officials. What these done his or her job very well when they go unnoticed. This evaluators see during the regional and national tournameans the official hasn’t impacted the flow or result of a ments determines who reaches that All-American status. game; rather, they kept control of the pace of the game Parker, a high school and college football and high and allowed the players to determine a winner. school basketball official himself, said the process of being At East Carolina University, student officials have been named an All-American is very different for basketball ofgarnering plenty of attention and for all the right reasons. ficials than an actual college basketball player, but it’s just In 2012, five student officials in the Campus Rec and as competitive and challenging. Wellness program qualified to referee a national champi“Students are selected to the regional tournaments based onship basketball tournament. Two of those five, Trent on their credentials (or quality of work) throughout the Patteson and Jordan Hedrick, year,” said Parker. “From there, called title games and then were We need to make evaluators watch the tournament selected as National All-Amerigames and determine which are good judgments the best of the best and they are cans this year. “One great thing about these on the court and named Regional All-Americans.” tournaments is the bonds you creAfter the regional events conate,” said Patteson, a senior from that judgment clude, it’s cut-down time again Greensboro who graduates in the evaluators select the elite comes from posi- and December 2012 as a health fitness students to serve as national tourspecialist. “Only a very small per- tioning, mechanics nament officials. Finally, National centage of students from all over All-Americans are selected. and knowing the country get selected to these The regional and/or national national tournaments and the fact recognition is not the end of the the rules. that ECU consistently has mulaccolades for these students. The — jordan hedrick tiple students participating speaks current All-American Pirates volumes about the program.” share a place with Pirates of the Hedrick, who has officiated in four regional and nation- past on the Wall of Fame located inside the Student Recal tourneys in four years at ECU, added that this experireation Center’s Intramural Office. ence, while rewarding, has some tremendous educational Reaching the pinnacle of success as an official comes with facets, too. its share of hard work and responsibility all of which con“We are learning something every day from the top tributes to their student development and leadership skills. professionals in the country,” said Hedrick, who graduated “We have about 150 students who enter the program at this May with a degree in criminal justice. “We are learnthe start of each year,” said Parker. “Throughout the year, ing about conflict resolution, communication and leaderthey will officiate all types of intramural sports including ship skills that will serve us very well after we leave ECU.” basketball, flag football, soccer and softball.” Mark Parker, assistant director of intramurals with Every week during the year Parker and Jon Wall, coorCampus Recreation and Wellness, said ECU students have dinator for intramural sports, conduct critique sessions enjoyed a great deal of success in the last two decades. with the students. They want the students to know being “We have had an All-American official in either flag a good official is more than just knowing when to blow football or basketball for 10 straight years and 19 of the their whistle. last 22 years.” “They talk to us about making good decisions and
By Chris stansbury
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september/october 2012
east carolina university
whistleblower Student referee Steven Schultz is one the approximately 150 participants who enter the program each year. Student refs will hone their skills officiating intramural games including basketball, flag football and soccer.
jay clark
thinking critically,” said Hedrick, who officiated the Georgia Southern Regional and National IntramuralRecreation Sports Association basketball tournaments during the spring semester. “We need to make good judgments on the court and that judgment comes from positioning, mechanics and knowing the rules.” Parker said the majority of the students enter the officials program as freshmen or sophomores. He added that it takes a solid two to three years before the students really see their hard work pay off in the form of regional or national selections. And after that much time and experience on the court or field, these students have the chance to impact the next crop of students entering the program. “Our upperclassmen are really the key to the sustainable success we have in our program because they are not just officiating games themselves, instead they are teaching the younger students and providing strong peer leadership and mentorship.” More than a dozen officials have graduated from ECU and continued their officiating career in college sports from the Division III to Division I levels. So, the next time you are watching a football, basketball or softball game at the high school or collegiate level, pay close attention to the officials. They may be wearing black and white, but underneath they could be purple and gold.
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pirate spirit marching pirates
band on the run Introducing the new director of the marching pirates, william staub are the students. I know that the student section is huge and the band sits right in the middle of that, so that’s very exciting.
The East Carolina University Marching Pirates has a new leader. William (Bill) Staub has called Greenville home P: This is your first time being a band since just July, but is ready to get started. director at the collegiate level. Tell me what For the first time ever in his career, Staub this means to you. will be the director of a collegiate marching band, and for the first time in almost a decade, he plans to stay put for a while. Before arriving in Pirate Nation, he was the assistant director of bands at Iowa State University and taught middle school for the Austin, Texas, public school system for several years. He is currently pursuing his doctorate of music from Northwestern University, and earned a master’s degree from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University. S: Yes, it is the first time for me to be the director of the PURPLE!: Tell me about your backcollege band. I was an ground and why you were drawn to ECU. assistant before and ran rehearsals, ran drills, and wind Staub: I’m just very excited to be here. and brass warm-ups. Personally, All the students have been very excited, too. it’s really exciting to put my mark on It’s obvious they love ECU. It’s obvious it’s something—to experiment, take ownera place they love to be. ship and have the opportunity to influence ECU has a great reputation for having a them. Also, I’ve moved a lot over the past strong music school and athletics departeight years for academics. It’s great to be ment, and usually when you have those two in a place that I hope to be for a while. It’s things, you have a strong marching band. nice to settle down and get my hands dirty. So, I’m excited about working with those two things. The other things that drew P: What do you like most about workme were the colleagues and faculty at the ing with band and music students? School of Music. They were very welcoming and nice when I came to interview. S: They are just so exciting and enthuPlus, I’m a big state school guy—they are siastic. All the marching bands I’ve worked deep in my blood. What makes them special with, they just love their university. They 30 PURPLE!
jay clark
By jessica creson nottingham
september/october 2012
are incredibly loyal and outspoken. They’re leaders on game day. They stay in it and they’re cheering for their team. I love that, that the students I get to work with are so enthusiastic. It’s an exciting time for them and it’s a transition time for adulthood. For a lot of people, college was the best time in their life and I get to be there and experience that with them all the time. It takes a lot of dedication, a lot of work, a lot of time to be in marching band while you’re going to class, in a sorority or fraternity, have a job. It’s always amazing to me how much dedication it takes to be in a marching band. I plan on working my tail off this year. P: What should fans expect this fall from the Marching Pirates and the other spirit teams?
jay clark (2)
S: There’s not going to be a lot of difference in the style or songs. My philosophy and from what I’ve gathered, the philosophy of those that came before me here, the style of the marching band is meant to be entertaining for the fans. It’s there to get the fans involved and root for the team on the field. That’s the band’s No. 1 priority. For what I can tell, that’s what has been going on and will continue. I might bring in my personal taste in music. I would tell the fans who want to get more involved to watch the student section. I want to tell the students to do the cheers and dances along with us. Hopefully people will watch the student section and get involved. We want people to know they are in ECU’s stadium, and that our fans are engaged; it’s loud and intimidating. I want to involve more of our fans in our cheers and chants. east carolina university
P: What about the pregame show? S: Pregame will stay fairly similar. I like a
lot of what’s happened in the past and very recently—so I’ll combine those. My goal is to get the fans really riled up. High energy and move quickly from event to event. One of the big changes that will happen with the pregame is that we’re going to make the entrance much faster paced. Instead of coming with a lot of mace work, we’re going to start out with a cadence with students running out on the field making it high energy from the start. That’s our job: to capture the fans’ attention with high energy and high impact from the beginning. The first show is going to be a Beatles show with great music and great arrangements. It’s Paul McCartney’s 70th birthday this year, so we’re going to honor him. P: What are your major goals for the
Marching Pirates over the next few years? S: Uniforms. That’s the No. 1 priority over the next few years. Also, I would like to see some growth. For a school this size, we have some room for that. We need a strong and user-friendly web presence. Another way is for me to be out in the community and in the high schools letting people know that ECU is going in the right direction and that they’d enjoy the band. Since this is a regional school, I’m going to want to be very present in eastern N.C. and across the state. Every Friday night, I plan on going to high school football games. Like I said, the band’s responsibility is to engage the crowd. One of the things I’m going to try to do is incorporate more cheers that have chanting and dancing that will get the student section involved and will bleed into the other sections. PURPLE! 31
ship’s log title ix opens doors for women’s athletics, paves way for scholarships By spaine stephens
Fall, 1976...
The success and celebration of female athletes at ECU span years of hard work, perseverance and storied seasons that legends are made of. That’s thanks in part to Title IX, which 40 years ago outlawed exclusion from federally funded programs on the basis of gender. It opened the doors for women in arenas including admissions, academics, financial aid and scholarships. Many of the most tangible results of Title IX are seen on the field and on the court. From softball to soccer and golf, women’s athletics have prospered at East Carolina over the years, in part because of the first scholarships ever awarded to female athletes. The 1976 Buccaneer touted a new and improved women’s athletics program, one that not only provided opportunities for female students to compete in seven sports, but also showed its serious intentions by providing the first seven scholarships for women student-athletes. “Although we are technically still a ‘baby program’ compared to schools with higher budgets,” Catherine Bolton, then coach
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and director of women’s athletics, told the yearbook, “we are growing and can compete against these schools now and provide competition.” Scholarships were awarded in four sports, and as ECU worked to comply with Title IX, seven female athletes were on scholarship compared to 200 male students, according to the Buccaneer. Still, the scholarships meant the university was striving to find equality and opportunity for promising women in athletics. Even with the excitement of expansion, ECU faced growing pains in reaching to comply with Title IX by the 1978 deadline. Budget woes for the women’s programs caused the journey toward compliance to slow, but coaches, administrators and athletes rallied to make adjust-
Catherine Bolton, director of women’s athletics in 1976, helped bring women’s athletics programs at ECU into compliance with Title IX and created a sense of inclusion for female athletes.
ments and meet the new standards. The accomplishments of today’s female student-athletes, including conference championships in softball and good showings in a variety of other sports, speak to the determination of the coaches and players who helped pave the way from the onset of Title IX. The sense of inclusion sparked a desire to succeed. “More important than winning is a pleasant atmosphere for participants,” Bolton said in the yearbook. “The players will give their best because they want to and not because they have to.” september/october 2012
FANS STAND UP FOR EAST CAROLINA AFTER A TOUCHDOWN, A SLAM DUNK, OR A HOME RUN.
But what about the rest of the time? Did you know that alumni and fan support plays a significant role in how East Carolina is ranked among peer institutions in the U.S. News and World Report annual ranking of the nation’s best universities? The East Carolina Alumni Association encourages you to become a member so ECU can reach new heights in these rankings. Not only does membership help with national rankings, but your tax-deductible membership contribution supports the programs and services offered by the Alumni Association, including networking events, alumni publications, student scholarships, alumni awards, faculty recognition and numerous events held across the Pirate Nation. Membership is open to all who want to see ECU succeed; you do not have to be a graduate to be a member.
BECOME A MEMBER: ONLINE PirateAlumni.com/jointoday
BY PHONE Call 800-ECU-GRAD IN PERSON Stop by the Taylor-Slaughter Alumni Center at 901 East Fifth Street in Greenville
As a member of the East Carolina Alumni Association, you make a tremendous impact on East Carolina University every day! JOIN NOW AT PIRATEALUMNI.COM/JOINTODAY
east carolina university
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fan-cam
Fans had a chance to hang out with the players at the 29th Annual Purple/Gold Pigskin Pig-Out Party, held April 11-15. Highlights of the events were Saturday’s pig cooking contest, barbecue plates, live music and entertainment, children’s games, fireworks and the Purple/Gold spring football game. photo by Jay clark
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