Nuggets from NIC coaches and athletes
In between meatballs and fresh fruit, there was plenty else to digest from North Idaho College coaches who spoke at a “showcase” booster function last Tuesday on the deck of Le Peep restaurant in Riverstone.
A sampling (at least, what we have room for this week):
- NIC’s softball team returns 10 players from last year, including pitchers Kayla Moore and Audrey Seipert.
“They bring back a lot of experience, and a lot of innings,” said Don Don Williams, entering her 21st season as head coach.
NIC is playing its fall ball games at Finucane Park in Hayden, while Memorial Field is being redone.
For the second straight year, NIC and Community Colleges of Spokane will team up to host the Northwest Athletic Conference tournament, this one scheduled for next May at the Merkel Sports Complex in Spokane.
“We’re looking to be top-3 again (in the East Region), sophomore infielder Megan Carver said. “We want to be the first NIC team to win the NWAC.”
- After failing to qualify for the NWAC tournament last year, the NIC women’s basketball team has much higher expectations this season.
“When you’ve got a returner at the junior college level, it’s like gold — and we’ve got six of them,” Cardinal coach Chris Carlson said.
Among the returnees are guard Cierra Dvorak, the former Lake City High standout who was a second-team all-NWAC East Region selection last year, and Gia Sorn, a 6-2 post from Richland who was recently compared to Tim Duncan.
“Last year we had a rough year, but this year, having six returnees, it’s going to make a huge difference,” Dvorak said.
“We have a team that’s going to be so much better than last year,” Carlson added.
- NIC women’s soccer coach Dan Hogan, who has been with the Cardinal men’s and/or women’s soccer program since their inception in 1997, introduced so many assistant coaches that most in attendance lost track.
“I am very lucky to have them, because I need help,” Hogan said.
As for the team, “we have no returners at forward, so we’re figuring out how to score with a bunch of freshmen,” he said.
The Cardinals were 3-2 heading into Saturday’s game at Wenatchee Valley.
“I expect us to be an attacking team,” said sophomore Marisol Guererro, who scored a hat trick in a recent game. “Last year we were a defending team.”
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.