October 28, 2008

Hi everyone! I am Jana Lucas, #42, and I am a senior from Oakbrook Terrace, which is a nice little suburb to live in! My other senior sidekick is Brittany Marshall and I can't believe that this is our last season. We are in our second week of practice and it has been tough but a great start. I am recovering from a herniated disc and can do non-contact drills and have been getting back into the swing of things. We have experienced a few temporary setbacks with injuries but this will only make us stronger in the long run. This has been the best start we have had so far. I know our team has been waiting to finally pull out the big wins for a long time and I feel this is the time to do it. There is no next year for me so we need to do whatever it takes to start off on a good note and set the bar. This saturday we will have our first scrimmage against St. Joe's. This will give us a good insight where we are and how much better we have to become in order to pull out the big W's!

I am a sports management major and have my hardest classes so far this semester. I am in Finance, Business law, business writing, sport 339, and operations management. I am doing well so far, but have spent most of my free time studying and being the little nerd I am at the library;). I am excited to stay in the sports aspect when I graduate. This will allow me to still keep in touch with the game I love, and come back and support my fellow teammates!

I have the support of my family that comes to every home game and always cheer loud and always giving me great encouragement before the games. This has helped me stay mentally focused and has been so nice to have a family that supports me with the game all four years. I couldn't make it without my family.

I am very proud of the underclassmen and how hard they have worked. There are 5 starters that are sophmores and juniors so there is experience and older group now. This should help us eliminate a lot more turnovers and create those into points. The freshman have worked hard to conform to the work ethic and plays that we run. This has helped us move forward and not spend all practice running plays.

It has been a pleasure writing to you and I really hope that we can make you guys proud by winning a lot of games my last season. Thanks for having faith in us and we will do it! Go Ramblers!

Jana Lucas
# 42

October 26, 2008

Well Rambler fans, the season is here!
My name is Caitlin Pauley and I'm a sophomore at Loyola, school-wise. However, in basketball, I'm a freshman. I transferred from Cincinnati, and yes, Katie is right, it's a great city. It just wasn't for me. I've gone to Catholic schools all my life except for the three months I was at Cincinnati and we all see how well that worked out for me :). I'm from Chicago Heights, a south suburb and love it! I played for Coach Reidy in High School and have been given the opportunity to play for her again now at Loyola, lucky lady :) haha. I've been blessed with amazing teammates and I couldn't have asked for better ones. We all get along so well which is extremely hard to find anywhere let alone with almost twenty females! Midnight Madness was almost two weeks ago and we've been practicing and working hard. I've always been taught practice is supposed to be harder than games and so far, they have been. All the girls are battling hard for their spots and it's great to see the competitive edge that's makes up Rambler basketball. Our first exhibition game is two weeks away and the anxiety for the games to start is being seen in all of our eyes. I, however, can't play until December 18th. In just 51 days, I'll be able to compete for the first time as a Rambler...not that I'm counting or anything ;). I know the girls will start out the season strong and I can't wait to have the opportunity to join them in mid-December.

Lastly, I would like to thank my family for being the amazing support that they are; from my parents and grandma to my aunt and uncle fresh from Houston. God has given me the best family a girl could ask for. My older sister, Meredith, has always pushed me and made me strive to be better. So Mer, even though I don't say it a lot, thanks and I love you! Don't worry mama, I love you a big much too :)

Go Ramblers!

October 22, 2008

Hey Rambler fans!!

My name is Lisa Samplawski, and I'm a freshman here at Loyola. I am from Portage Indiana, which is about one hour from here (without traffic). I miss my teammates and friends back home, but couldn't be any happier with the teammates I have now. I feel so lucky to have good relationships with everyone because I know it doesn't always happen like that in college athletics. They are like family to me, and I love them all!

School is also going extremely well. I'm a psychology major, but I'm taking the required classes I need to apply to Physical Therapy school. I want to work in a nursing home, and help get the elderly back on their feet after accidents, strokes, etc. Classes are tough, but I have plenty of "parents" (a.k.a coaches) here looking over my shoulder, making sure I'm on track - even though I hate to admit it, it helps knowing I have coaches who not only care about my performance on the court, but also in the classroom.

Summer workouts were tough, but pre-season was definitely harder. I've learned from my older and (SOMETIMES) wiser teammates that if I learn to embrace workouts rather than dreading them, I will see a difference in performance, as well as results (cough...Elyse). Midnight Madness was this past weekend, and it was a blast! I loved watching Maggie kill it in the 3pt contest - I really don't think she missed a shot. Since Midnight Madness was last weekend, we all know what that means - Our season is officially here! Our first few practices have been great so far; I see a lot of potential on this team, and I'm excited to prove the doubters wrong.

Lastly, I would just like to thank my parents for supporting me, and helping me get where I'm at today. Yes Mom, I'm thanking you for always nagging at me to finish my homework and to "work ahead" even if I was completely done with everything. Thanks Dad for driving me around the country even if you didn't sleep the night before!! I would also like to thank my aunts, uncles, and cousins for coming to my games to support me; it means a lot! I also have to give a shout-out to my sister Amy, who attends Butler University. Even though she will be cheering for Butler when we play there this year, I know deep down she wants Loyola to win! And of course I have to give a BIG shout-out to my grandma!! Even though she is unable to make it to my games, I know if she physically could, she would be in the front row with a bag of popcorn asking my mom "where's Amy?".

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
Lisa Samplawski #25

October 17, 2008

Hi, my name is Taryn Randle and I am a sophomore here at Loyola University. I am from the Southside of Chicago and I graduated from Whitney Young. I have made it through two sessions of conitioning successfully with the help of my teammates;yes,today marks the last day of conditioning for this season.I am proud to say that everyone has done so well and improved so much over the summer.We look really good and I am excited to see how season will go. The freshman fit right in with our team and all bring special attributes that contribute to us achieving the goals we have.

Midnight Madness is this Friday which is sure to be alot of fun and Saturday we will have our first official practice for the 08-09 season. This year has been nice so far, I really enjoy my classes they are all interesting and challenging. I am involved with different things on campus and they have introduced me to alot of cool people. Working this summer with Residence Life also helped me get a better feel for the many things our campus and its students have to offer.

Season is here and I hope to see you out at the games this year. We have been working hard to turn things around and I'm sure this is the year you will be able to see it, so don't miss it!In case my family and friends happen to read this I'd like to tell you all thanks for the support and I love you dearly. It has been a rough time for my family and all the prayers are definitely appreciated. Once again, get out to the games!! See you there!!

P.S.
If you are 18, get out and vote!!You can make a difference...

October 15, 2008

Hellooo Rambler Fans!

Elyse VanBogaert here, number 00, hailing from the corn fields of Maple Park, Illinois. I cannot believe that it was over two years ago that I started my freshman year here and had my first preseason conditioning session with Coach Reidy. There have been many ups and downs over the last two years, but I am undoubtedly grateful and proud to be a Rambler. I love every single one of the girls on my team and I very much appreciate that they accept me and all my weird quirks, even if that means I wear running shorts, tight shirts, and running shoes for basketball practice. I'd also like to give Boeke a shout-out for being just as exceptionally weird as I am.

I'm really pleased with how the summer and preseason are going so far. Instead of dreading conditioning and lifting this year, I've learned to really embrace it. Some of my teammates seem to think I'm a little crazy (cough....Lisa), but it's amazing what a difference changing my attitude has done. I figure, I have two years left to play this amazing game with a great group of girls, and as much as I can, I am going to try to appreciate all of the small things because they will all be gone soon enough. Heck, I'm pretty sure I'll even miss running suicides.

While you can never really tell if a team is going to be successful until they start the season, I think all of the signs for success are here. I am so proud of our freshman and how hard they have worked and how quickly they have picked up the offense. I don't think they play like "freshmen" at all. I know our team is physically stronger and faster then we have been in the past--our max out numbers tell it all, and we are way ahead of the game in our offense this year. It's going to be an exciting season!

Elyse VanBogaert #00

October 12, 2008

Hey Rambler Fans!!

My name Brittney Marshall and I am from Oak Park Illinois, which is by far the best place in the world. I am currently a senior along with my partner in crime Jana Lucas and my oh my where has the time gone. These first couple weeks have been filled with plenty excitement and anticipation for the season to start. As we work through pre-season together we build our team chemistry which is going to make it hard for any team to try to beat us. Over the summer we all agreed that our chemistry was going to be the x factor for our season meaning when we are all on the same page we will be hard to stop and at this rate we are headed in the right direction. My classes are going very well and I couldn't have made a better schedule for myself having 5 night classes which are one day a week and one in the morning which takes place 3 times a week. My favorite day has to be Thursday because I don't have class until 7pm...how sweet is that. This allows me to have time to mentally prepare for practice and as you get older you will realize that the mental part is more than half the battle that takes place day to day. We are one month away from making some major noise in Chicago so get ready to enjoy the ride because the Ramblers are in town. We are really looking forward to starting practice in a few weeks, so hopefully we'll see you at one of our games this season!

-Britt #20

September 30, 2008

Hi everyone!

My name is Katie Kortekamp and I am a freshman on the Loyola women's basketball team. I am from Cincinnati, Ohio and I went to St. Ursula Academy. Cincinnati is 4 ½ -5 hours from Loyola. All I have to do is hop on the mega bus and it will take me all the way to Cincy for as cheap as $1! It's safe too! And yes, I am advertising for the mega bus company. It's tough being far from home because I am close with my family and friends but the people here have made it an easy transition.

I spent the summer in Cincinnati working as a waitress, exercising (when it wasn't 100° outside), and hanging out with my family and friends. Besides my family and friends, I'm going to have to admit that I miss Skyline terribly. For those of you who don't know what Skyline is, it is the world's best chili. It's authentic to Cincinnati so unfortunately I have been deprived for over a month now. Talk about withdrawal! My mom is also the greatest cook, so I wish she could mail me a home-cooked meal.

So far, we've had a few weeks of preseason workouts. They are tough but I'm surviving. I've only lost one toe nail so that's good news. I'm still trying to adjust to the amount of work college had in store for me, but I'm getting the hang of everything. I learned quickly that after you take a test, you can just leave. I sat back down and waited for class to end. Someone forgot to tell me that! Anyways, the team is great. Everyone is very welcoming and supportive. If I'm struggling through workouts, I can always count on my teammates to pick me up. The coaches are also great at pushing me to be the best player I can be. I've learned so much already!

Lastly, I can't forget to share the love with my family. It'll be so weird to not have all of you at every game. You guys have always been there for me (even though you all flip a coin to see who has to ride home with me after a loss). Dad, thanks for always giving the refs an ear full. Mom, thanks for your WAHOO! every time I do something right. Ali and Leah, you two are awesome. Thanks for everything. I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for you guys. LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!

Katie Kortekamp #41

September 28, 2008

Hey!

My name is Ellen Ayoub I am a freshman here at Loyola and lovin it! (I don't know why people don't like being a freshman, I love it, everything is new and exciting.). I went to Buffalo Grove High School, it was fun while I was there but I am more than happy to be starting a new adventure in my life. And It has been quite the adventure. The day before school this year I sprained my ankle playing pickup ball at the gym, which totally stunk! Campus safety had to come pick me up in a golf cart, it was embarrassing to say the least. So I have been kind of limited. But I have been lifting, and I really really enjoy it. It is really cool to see and feel the results from our workouts! I feel like a new and improved woman! Individual workouts are intense and challenging but I think these workouts are really what help bring people's game to a whole other level. I can't wait to bring all the new things I've learned to the court for when I can play five on five again(I can't yet because of my ankle)

School is fantastic. While it can be a lot of reading, the classes are definitely manageable. My teachers are great, I find myself laughing out loud in my math class, my teacher is hilarious. The campus is so beautiful, I was here six weeks in the summer, and a few weeks in the fall, and I still am in awe of everything. The views of the lake can be absolutely breathtaking (My mom almost cried when she saw my view out of my summer dorm) And I love the fact that I am only an hour from home, my little brother who's three is growing up so fast and I'm so happy that I'm going to get to see him regularly.

My coaches are so cool! They are all great teachers of the game. My teammates are all very supportive and nice. I know this may be cliché but I feel like I have a bunch of older sisters on this team, and I've always wanted an older sister!

So far in open gyms from the summer on, our team has been looking very good. Everyone plays so hard all the time, it is really fun to play with and watch. So come out and watch our games this year! I can tell already that out style is going to fast paced and exciting!

-Ellen Ayoub #23

September 24, 2008

Well, I made it through my freshman year in one piece. These first few weeks of my sophmore year went a lot more smoothly than my freshman year. However, of course, being me, there were a few glitches. This year I am taking classes downtown. I decided to take the El downtown instead of the shuttle so I would not get stuck in traffic. For my first day of class I left super early so I would know for sure that I would make it on time. I got on the El fine and was on my way. I felt good and confident. I was traveling on the El by myself for the first time and it felt like I was a true city girl now. However, I knew what stop to get off on, but I didn't think about where I would go when I got off. I don't know why but I just assumed that the building would be right there when I got off. It wasn't. I began to panic and started to sweat profusely. I wandered around for a while hoping to spot it, but no luck. I thought about calling Keisha but it was 7:30 a.m. and I didn't want to wake her, plus I knew she would make fun of me and I really wanted to do this by myself. I told myself, "Brittany, you are a big girl and you can handle this. Don't freak out!" That's when I saw her. There was a girl walking by with a Loyola t-shirt on. I followed her and she led me right to the building. I made it to class on time and everything worked out fine, no sweat, at least not completely through my shirt. lol. Even though I mess up and look like an idiot sometimes, it is really nice to have my teammates here to watch out for me. I know that any one of them would be there for me if I needed help. That's what I love the most about being on the basketball team. It is like having my own family here on campus. I am super excited about this season! I think we have grown so much as a team and I can't wait to start playing games. Hopefully we will see you there!

~Brittany Boeke, #55

September 18, 2008

Hey Rambler Fans!

My name is Jessica Hylton, I am currently a junior here at Loyola on the women's basketball team. I am from Homer Glen, Illinois and attended Lockport Township High School, which is fairly close to Loyola. I consider it an added perk being so close to home because I can always go home whenever I have free time and visit my family and pets. All of you who know me know about the Hylton `Funny Farm.' Gotta love all those pets! (We have 5 dogs, 7 rabbits and a horse!)

My summer at Loyola went great. I worked for Residence Life here on campus, met a lot of great people along the way (shout out to Res. Life Staff---Love you guys!), and got to improve on my game in the gym. So all and all things went well, but summer came and went too fast! It is such a different feeling from being here on campus the whole entire summer and not having many people at Loyola, to now having the whole entire student body here! The energy is great and as a team we are all very excited to work hard and show our fans some great games!

We recently had our first week of preseason conditioning and skill workouts. Thus far, things have been great and everyone has been working very hard! I am really excited for this season to start, we will have the opportunity to face a lot of great opponents this year, and I know come time we will be more than ready! I'm even more excited about my classes, they are all for my major---so it's getting pretty serious over here! But they all support us in and out of the classroom, so it's always great to hear them rooting us on.

Finally, I would just like to give a quick shout out to my family! Mom and dad--I am now a junior and so far you guys have missed 4 games TOTAL--That is SICK! Thank you so much for the support! I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people alive to have such great supporters like you guys. Through ups and downs, highs and lows, you guys are always there and it means so much. Being a college athlete means you have to juggle a lot sometimes and I'm glad I will always have you guys there for me. So I LOVE you guys very much!

"One Team, One DREAM!"

#32 Jessica Hylton