Drury University

This Week In Drury Athletics (November 16-22):

Hats off to the Drury men's soccer and volleyball programs, who saw their successful seasons come to an end with setbacks over the weekend. Coach Ashleigh Shear's volleyball Panthers lost 3-0 to eventual league champion Indianapolis in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament in Romeoville, Ill., on Friday to finish with a 16-14 record, Drury's first winning season as a D-II member and first since 1993.

Coach Ryan Swan's soccer Panthers, who delivered the best season in school history, fell 1-0 to Lewis in the rain on Sunday in the NCAA-II Tournament's Sweet 16 to cap a 21-2-0 season that netted not only a first NCAA trip, but the first GLVC championship in the program's history. The soccer team will be honored at noon on Thursday at the Findlay Student Center Commons and again that night during a halftime ceremony during the DU men's basketball game with Central Christian.

Elsewhere ...

MEN'S BASKETBALL

It's a busy week for coach Steve Hesser's Panthers, who open the season tonight by playing host to rival Southwest Baptist in a 7 p.m. tipoff at Weiser Gym. The Panthers then will be home again on Thursday, when Central Christian visits Weiser for another 7 p.m. start.

The Panthers feature 11 new faces, who'll blend with returning sophomores Dominique Long, Dennon Mitchell, Kyle Vaughan and Josh Pope to help DU bounce back from last season's 13-14 finish.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Coach Steve Harold's Lady Panthers are somewhere just north of Canada tonight, taking on No. 25 Grand Valley State in a 6 p.m. (CST) tipoff in the season opener for both traditional powerhouses. 

The Lady Panthers have all five starters back from last season's 19-10 finisher that made its seventh straight appearance in the NCAA-II Tournament. They, too, have a full slate of games this week - Drury will host the annual Sleep Inn Classic on Friday and Saturday, with the Lady Panthers taking on Texas A & M-Commerce at 6:15 p.m. on Friday and then Missouri Western at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday.

Also Saturday is the annual Drury Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and luncheon, set for 11 a.m. at the Findlay Student Center. Inductees in the 2009 class are former Lady Panthers' basketball star Amanda Newton, former DU soccer standouts Richard Birdwell and Mike Montana, former swimming great Kathleen Hayes-Owen and former multi-sport standout Dave Shannahan.Tickets are $25 each for the ceremony and luncheon. For more information on the Drury Sports Hall of Fame or to make reservations, please contact Dan Cashel at (417) 873-7222 or by e-mail at dcashel@drury.edu.

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

Drury junior Jaime Villa Zapatero and coach Jon Van Arkel will be travelling to Evansville, Ind., late this week for Villa Zapatero's second straight appearance in the NCAA-II Cross Country Championships on Saturday.

Villa Zapatero, the two-time defending GLVC individual champion and a second-place finisher in the NCAA-II Midwest Regional two weeks ago in Kenosha, Wis., finished 20th at last year's NCAA meet to earn All-America honors, and is gunning to work his way up the list this time.

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING

A late add to Drury's schedule this winter is a Thursday (2 p.m.) dual meet with NCAA Division I member Southern Illinois in Carbondale, Ill.

The Salukis are perennially one of the Missouri Valley Conference's top teams, and will return the dual with a home meet at the Breech Pool during the 2010-11 season. Coach Brian Reynolds' men are coming off a victory over Missouri S & T on Nov. 7, while the DU women will be looking to bounce back from a loss to D-I Kansas that same day.