And then there were five …

After losing men’s soccer, men’s wrestling and women’s volleyball, due to the lowering of the college’s operating budget, STLCC-Meramec athletics will be limited to five sports.  Coming out of the 2009-2010 athletic year, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, women’s softball and men’s baseball look to come together to bring the magic back to Meramec.

By: Alex Ferrario
-Staff Writer-

By: Joe Ray
-Multimedia Editor-

Women’s Soccer

Meramec’s women’s soccer team is led by coach Jeff Karl.  This was coach Karl’s 27 season as head coach of the Meramec women’s soccer team.  The team finished the 2009 season with a record of 7-6 and a conference record of 2-0.  The season starts in the fall.

Women’s Basketball

Meramec has a women’s basketball team led by coach Michelle Ethridge. The 2009-2010 season was Ethridge’s first with the Meramec team.

“Although this was my first year at Meramec, I have 16 years of coaching under my belt.  I’ve coached at SWIC, UMSL, and now currently at Meramec,” said Ethridge.
Ethridge said that although they ended with a season they had not intended, they are more prepared for the next season.

“Our record last season was 11-15, certainly not our goal, however, we did play a lot of D1 schools to gain the necessary experience that should prove to be beneficial for our upcoming season,” said Ethridge.
The upcoming season starts in November.

“Anyone can try out all you have to do is attend on August 24 through the 26 at 2 p.m., in the gym,” said Ethridge.

Men’s Basketball

The men’s basketball team, headed by coach Randall Albrecht. This will be Albrecht’s 34 season coaching men’s basketball, and prior to coaching at Meramec, Albrecht coached 11 years for St. Louis University.  After the 2009-2010 season, the team finished 21-11 season along with being 11-3 at home. The 2010-2011 season starts in October, and according to Albrecht, anyone interested in joining the team should enroll in Advanced Basketball class this fall, a five-week class that Albrecht teaches.

Women’s Softball

The women’s softball team is led by coach Kimberly McCall.  This was McCall’s second season as head coach. The team finished the 2010 spring season with a 17-42 record.
McCall  said that most players don’t need to try out, but those that are new to the sport are more-than-welcome to tryout.

“Most of the time, I do not need to do tryouts because I have recruited the players I want already.  My tryouts would consist of seeing all of the player’s skills and conditioning levels,” McCall said.

Men’s Baseball

The Meramec Men’s Baseball team is led by Coach Anthony Dattoli, who has been coaching men’s baseball for 17 years at the collegiate level with eight of them at Meramec. Coach Dattoli had defined a record of 30-29 and a 10-14 record in their conference last season.

“Last baseball season, was a year that we underachieved drastically. We were definitely capable of qualifying for a national championship,” said Coach Dattoli. “Baseball tryouts will begin in July and any student, with specific questions can send me an e-mail” said Coach Dattoli.