The second 2009 sweep of UNA by the Leo Lions sends us to the second round in this year's NCAA Tournament. With the win, the Lions will face the Argos of University of West Florida. This will be the third meeting of the season between the two teams, with Saint Leo holding a 2-0 record on the year.
It isn't easy to beat a team three times in one season, so the players are getting their rest and the coaches are working on video to keep our NCAA run going!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
ROUND 1
It's finally here! Today the Lions open up play in the NCAA Tournament at 2:30pm vs. the University of North Alabama. There are lots of links to get your SLU volleyball fix!South Regional Home Page - Live Stats
NCAA DII Interactive Bracket - Streaming Video
Monday, November 16, 2009
Chris' Corner: Tricks of the Trade From Your Friendly Neighborhood Certified Athletic Trainer
Before we get started this week I have to send out a monster CONGRATULATIONS to the team after winning the Conference Championship! Another first in a season of firsts! I have no doubt this trend will continue in the Big Dance this week.
On to education. This week I want to touch on one of the "dirty little secrets" of sports: performance enhancing drugs (PED). More specifically, why you should never take PED. PED's are not limited to steroids. Caffeine, if taken in large quantities, is considered a PED. Besides the ethical issues associated with cheating, PED's wreak havoc on the body. Your body wants to maintain a steady state of all its functions, called homeostasis. When this state of affairs is disrupted the body manipulates all its functions to try and regain homeostasis. Blood pressure, hormonal functions, even brain activity, changes as a result. An easy example to illustrate this involves changes resulting from abusing anabolic steroids. As you artificially increase your blood testosterone levels your body senses this increase and tries to regain balance. It accomplishes this in two ways. First it will stop producing its own testosterone. Second, it will increase its production of estrogen to counteract the increase in testosterone. The effects of prolonged steroid use are well documented. Because of these hormonal changes men are apt to develop female traits such as breasts, as well as shrunken testicles and low sperm count. Not to mention the effects on bones and joints. As muscles are able to produce more and more force bones, ligaments and tendons can't handle the increased load. You are likely to tear bones and/or soft tissue and develop early onset arthritis. Furthermore, steroids are lipid based hormones, meaning increased fat levels, increased blood pressure, increased load on the cardiovascular system equaling heart disease. Quite a price to pay for artificial glory.
In my world this week the injury report is back to zero after a minor hiccup. A good thing heading into the NCAA tournament. I see or hear about other teams having injuries and knock on wood that our good fortune continues in this regard. Completely off the subject, knowing that we would be driving at night back and forth to Nova with the AC blasting in the vans the whole time I had the foresight to bring along the Snuggie. Let me tell you gang, after actually using it as intended I'm a believer. The Snuggie is legit!
Stay away from PED's, get rowdy at the tournament and we'll see you next time on Chris' Corner.
On to education. This week I want to touch on one of the "dirty little secrets" of sports: performance enhancing drugs (PED). More specifically, why you should never take PED. PED's are not limited to steroids. Caffeine, if taken in large quantities, is considered a PED. Besides the ethical issues associated with cheating, PED's wreak havoc on the body. Your body wants to maintain a steady state of all its functions, called homeostasis. When this state of affairs is disrupted the body manipulates all its functions to try and regain homeostasis. Blood pressure, hormonal functions, even brain activity, changes as a result. An easy example to illustrate this involves changes resulting from abusing anabolic steroids. As you artificially increase your blood testosterone levels your body senses this increase and tries to regain balance. It accomplishes this in two ways. First it will stop producing its own testosterone. Second, it will increase its production of estrogen to counteract the increase in testosterone. The effects of prolonged steroid use are well documented. Because of these hormonal changes men are apt to develop female traits such as breasts, as well as shrunken testicles and low sperm count. Not to mention the effects on bones and joints. As muscles are able to produce more and more force bones, ligaments and tendons can't handle the increased load. You are likely to tear bones and/or soft tissue and develop early onset arthritis. Furthermore, steroids are lipid based hormones, meaning increased fat levels, increased blood pressure, increased load on the cardiovascular system equaling heart disease. Quite a price to pay for artificial glory.
In my world this week the injury report is back to zero after a minor hiccup. A good thing heading into the NCAA tournament. I see or hear about other teams having injuries and knock on wood that our good fortune continues in this regard. Completely off the subject, knowing that we would be driving at night back and forth to Nova with the AC blasting in the vans the whole time I had the foresight to bring along the Snuggie. Let me tell you gang, after actually using it as intended I'm a believer. The Snuggie is legit!
Stay away from PED's, get rowdy at the tournament and we'll see you next time on Chris' Corner.
NCAA Regional Brackets Announced
After three years in a row of waiting by the computer to hear if Leo made it in to the NCAA Tournament, 2009 brought a #2 seed in the South Region and wait to see who we'll be playing... it's a nice feeling!
Saint Leo will be facing the University of North Alabama (#7) on Thursday, November 19 at 2:30pm at the University of Tampa. Keep checking back here for more information and blogs from the tourney!
The full NCAA Bracket can be found at this link.
REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
hosted by the University of Tampa
Saint Leo will be facing the University of North Alabama (#7) on Thursday, November 19 at 2:30pm at the University of Tampa. Keep checking back here for more information and blogs from the tourney!
The full NCAA Bracket can be found at this link.
REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
hosted by the University of Tampa
Thursday, November 19, 2009
#3 West Florida vs. #6 Lynn – 12:00 pm
#2 Saint Leo vs. #7 North Alabama – 2:30 pm
#4 Eckerd vs. #5 Nova Southeastern – 5:00 pm
#1 Tampa vs. #8 Albany State – 7:30 pm
Friday, November 20, 2009
Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 5:00 pm
Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 – 7:30 pm
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2 – 7:00 pm
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Sunny, Cool-ish Fort Lauderdale
Good morning from Fort Lauderdale! The Lions Volleyball team is just waking up after a late drive into town last night. The ladies went to all their classes, had a little practice, dinner, and then hit the road for our last regular season match against Nova Southeastern.The match is at 4:00pm, and the live feed can be found through Penn Atlantic.
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