• Sport Home
• |
• Roster
• |
• Schedule
• |
• Stats 
• |
• Archives

Nov. 3, 2009

By Trevor Freeman (Special to NCAA.com) -

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- With postseason play kicking off next week, the action is only getting more intense. This week treated us to regular season championships and a number one team almost becoming a road victim. We will dive into that and more in this week's column. However, we begin with a special treat as I sat down with one of the true legends in our game. Mike Schofield has coached at Navy for twenty-five seasons and has led the Midshipmen to fourteen NCAA appearances. I sat down with Coach Schofield prior to Navy's wins over Johns Hopkins and George Washington, which clinched his Midshipmen a share of the CWPA South regular season title. Below is our interview.

Stevie Ray is having a tremendous season for your team. Can you tell us a little bit about what has led to this breakout campaign?
Stevie is one of the hardest workers on the team. He pushes himself every single day. He listens well and tries to do what coaches ask. Stevie is a big, strong kid about 6'5, 215 pounds. He has a lot of tools in the toolbox. He had a lot of adjustments to make along with the typical freshman challenges. He has worked hard to be successful and overcome those challenges.

Kyle Wertz was an All-American last year for your squad. Can you tell us what you think he will bring to the table for the rest of the season?
Kyle is a thrill you or kill you kind of guy. He is very much an asset when he is working hard and doing the right things. Right now, he is in a bit of a sophomore slump and is going through some growing pains. Last season, he came up big down the stretch and hopefully he will do the same this season.

This weekend your team can clinch a tie for the CWPA South regular season crown. What does Navy have to do to get back to that fourth straight Final Four?
At the bare minimum, we need to be top four at Southerns. Even if we win these games this weekend, Princeton wins the tiebreaker over us. That being said, we need to take care of business this weekend. To make the Final Four, this team needs to maximize its potential and be much more efficient in converting opportunities. We have been letting teams stay in games with us because we have not been consistent in cashing in on our opportunities. Luke Baldwin and Kevin Bell have been our two most consistent players this season. Hopefully everyone can follow their lead down the stretch.

# GO NAVY #