Falcon Insider with Derek van der Merwe: Oct. 6
10/6/2023
Important news happening in and around Bowling Green Athletics compiled by Director of Athletics Derek van der Merwe. This Falcon Insider shares upcoming dates to remember and news to be aware of in regards to Bowling Green State University Athletics.
Falcon Family:
With September coming to a close, we are excited to reflect on an amazing month with many great moments and victories for our athletic programs.
The month of September brought with it significant non-conference victories by men’s soccer over Michigan, two volleyball victories over Michigan, a football win against Georgia Tech, and many other great moments by all our competing teams. We also had a tremendous opportunity to showcase Bowling Green during our football game at No. 2 Michigan where 1.3 million viewers tuned in to watch the Falcons have the best defensive game of any Wolverine opponent in 2023. When asked why we schedule these types of opponents, my response is always consistent and simple. Every student-athlete fights for the opportunity to compete at the highest level of competition each and every day. It is a test, and great competition defines excellence. You want to prove that through hard work, determination, and an unrelenting will that anything is possible. I admire our student-athletes who pursued these opportunities and demonstrated to all of us that Falcon spirit and determination is alive and well.
We enter October with the fall sport schedules beginning to turn more to Mid-American Conference foes and Missouri Valley Conference opponents for men’s soccer. Our women’s soccer team leads the MAC and all the rest of our teams are in the hunt for championships. Ava O’Sullivan of women’s golf won her first Division I match for the Falcons this week at the Shirley Spork EMU Invitational, breaking a program record for a 54-hole score. Both the women’s and men’s golf programs had great weeks, each finishing second in their respective tournaments to start the month. The women’s golf team not only broke a program record for lowest team score in a 54-hole tournament last time out, but it’s the third time this fall they have broken that record. I am so excited to have so many great match ups and moments ahead of us this month.
The greatest story of September has been the overwhelming response and support by our BGSU students. Our coaches and staff have done an amazing job engaging our students on campus through orientations this summer and during the start of the school year. We have broken student attendance records at volleyball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and posted one of our highest student attendance counts at football in the last five years at Homecoming. We have made engaging our students on campus a priority in all our marketing and communication efforts. The efforts by Taylor Jefferson, our assistant athletics director for marketing & brand enhancement, and his marketing team in this endeavor has been outstanding. Bowling Green State University has been recognized time and time again for being one of the top universities in the country for student engagement. The significance of this has created a campus culture and focus that differentiates us from other universities. A prioritized pillar in our developing strategic plan is supporting this pivotal mission of BGSU through sport participation and engagement. Athletics is a stage where we get to tell the world the unique story of what makes BGSU special. Through a commitment to our students and their experience, we support the growth and success of our university and our athletic programs.
Sharing this passion and mission for the student experience with me has been our Director of the Falcon Marching Band Jon Waters. We cannot mention September without talking about our 100-year band anniversary celebration at Homecoming. Jon and his team continue to elevate the overall experience at all our venues with the growth and success of the BGSU Falcon Marching Band. Around 800 former and current band members took the field at Doyt Perry Stadium to provide us with an amazing half-time performance. Their energy, enthusiasm, and performance quality before, during, and after the game have set a high bar for excellence in everything we do. It has been a great honor to be working with our band in elevating the overall game day experience for all those who attend our events.
The start of our winter sports season is just around the corner. In the coming weeks you will be getting more information from our Ticket Office and Falcon Club about changes to parking, traffic patterns, concessions, and premium service, and other updates. We continue to review all aspects of our operations to improve your overall experience. Please contact me directly with feedback or complete one of the post-event surveys sent to all attendees.
Please let us know how we can continue to improve your experience while visiting our campus.
Ay Ziggy,
Derek van der Merwe
Catch. Of. The. Year. ??@BG_Football | #SCTop10 | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/WeYcPaepYT
— #MACtion (@MACSports) September 30, 2023
6K Challenge on October 27th at 3:30PM.
— BGSU Athletics (@BGSU_Athletics) October 5, 2023
Kicks off the MAC Championship hosted by @BGSUXCTF on October 28. Students sign up: https://t.co/oTiDhVmBoZ pic.twitter.com/nFCJCKndJX
Upcoming Dates to Remember
• Oct. 6 - Volleyball vs. Toledo
• Oct. 7 - Volleyball vs. Ball State (Pregame “Happy Hour”)
• Oct. 8 - Men's Ice Hockey Home Opener vs. Robert Morris
• Oct. 21 – Football Family Weekend (FB vs. Akron)
• Oct. 28 – MAC Cross Country Championships (Mel Brodt Cross Country Course)
• Nov. 6 - Men's Basketball Home Opener vs. Chicago State
• Nov. 7 - Women's Basketball Home Opener vs. Cleveland State
• Nov. 27 – Falcon Club Winter Sports Luncheon
News and Notes
Department
The Falcon Future Kids Club: Membership for the Falcon Future Kids Club for 2023-24 is open. The Future Falcon Kids Club is the official BGSU Athletics fan club for kids. The objective of the Future Falcon Kids Club is to give kids an opportunity to enjoy BGSU athletic programs in a unique way. Sign your child or children up (ages 0-12) for a membership that lasts from August 2023 - July 2024. Membership includes free admission to all regular season home games (excludes any/all conference tournament games or other postseason games) while supplies last for General Admission tickets. For more information, click here.
BGSU Athletics App: The Bowling Green State University athletic department along with partner SIDEARM, launched the BGSU Athletics App. Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more, the new BGSU Athletics app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices. Through the app, Falcon fans will enjoy a personalized mobile experience with the ability to manage tickets, shop for official BGSU merchandise and receive breaking news and score notifications for the teams they follow. The app is designed with a user-friendly interface that integrates with BGSUFalcons.com to bring the latest BGSU digital content right to your fingertips. Additionally, it includes links to video and audio streams of live games, in-game stats, and team social media feeds. To download the app to your smartphone or tablet, visit the Apple App Store or Google Play and search for "BGSU Athletics."
Coffee in Findlay, OH this morning with our BG faithful! Next “Coffee and Conversation”stop may be in your community! Join the “Orange Wave”! @bgsu @BGSU_Athletics pic.twitter.com/m1jCjDaLUU
— Derek van der Merwe (@vandermerwe63) October 4, 2023
Students, join @vandermerwe63 for the 6K Challenge on October 27th at 3:30PM. @BGSUXCTF hosts MAC Championship on October 28.
— BGSU Athletics (@BGSU_Athletics) October 5, 2023
Sign up: https://t.co/oTiDhVmBoZ pic.twitter.com/gmdCGVYGxU
A milestone weekend of traditions, reunions, Falcon spirit and pride in our home. Here's to 101 years of #BGSUHomecoming! ?? pic.twitter.com/J4tkIxOTOL
— Bowling Green State University (@bgsu) October 3, 2023
Thank you to all Falcon Nation for your support to our Centennial!! We cannot wait to see what happens next!! Ay Ziggy Zoomba!! ???? pic.twitter.com/PqaRfbRU8a
— BGSU Falcon Marching Band (@BGSUFMB10) September 24, 2023
Mental Health: One of our top priorities continues to be our student-athletes' mental health and well-being. Based on data from student-athletes seeking mental health services, athletic struggles (confidence, performance anxiety, etc.), anxiety, depression, and disordered eating are top concerns. In the past year, we have established a new role and office in our department focused solely on providing mental health counseling and Mental Skills Training (MST) and performance services to our Falcons. Headed by Dr. Dani Pecar, SAMHS, to date, has served over 100 athletes from all 18 of our sports in individual therapeutic services, which accounts for approximately 23% of our student-athlete population. The SAMHS office also provides MST sessions for individual teams, mental health and performance workshops, trainings for staff and coaches, and group therapy and performance sessions, including their newest initiatives: Light Therapy to help manage seasonal depression and BG Warrior Wellness, a weekly program designed to improve mental well-being, enhance self-care, and learn mental skills that can be used in and out of competition. At the end of the 22-23 academic year, 100% of student-athletes who had therapeutic services in SAMHS reported that counseling had a positive impact on their mental health and performance! We continue to look forward to the expansion of our Student-Athlete Mental Health Services office and services as we evolve to the mental health needs of our student-athletes. In addition to these services, we also work with campus partners within the Office of the Dean of Students and Counseling Center to provide the mental health support needed for our student-athletes. Click here for Student-Athlete Mental Health Services.
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— BGSU Men's Basketball (@BGSUMBB) October 1, 2023
New warm up pants loading??
Nov 6?#ayziggy pic.twitter.com/qp3QNEzbx3
Isabelle Gilmore = MAC Defensive Player of the Week!#AyZiggy | ??????
— BGSU Women’s Soccer (@BGSU_WSoccer) October 3, 2023
??????https://t.co/fCDH4x0EGZ
You wear ORANGE on Falcon Friday and you get rewarded!
— BGSU Athletics (@BGSU_Athletics) September 29, 2023
Thank you for joining the parade @BGSUGymnastics pic.twitter.com/TGBfAAM46y
FOOTBALL
• Bowling Green captured its first win against an ACC opponent at Georgia Tech
• The win over Georgia Tech was BGSU’s fourth over a current member of the ACC and 13th against a “Power-5” opponent this century. It is the second “Power-5” win of the Scot Loeffler era (Minnesota, 2021).
• BGSU was named the FWAA’s Cheez-It National Team of the Week for Week No. 5 of the college football season.
• RB Terion Stewart (Offense) and CB Deshawn Jones Jr. (Defense) were named MAC East Players of the Week after the Georgia Tech game.
• Bowling Green is No. 23 in the nation in third down defense (31.9).
WOMEN’S GOLF
• Ava O’Sullivan won individual medalist honors at the Shirley Spork EMU Invitational.
• O’Sullivan broke the BGSU individual record for 54-hole, 36-hole and 18-hole scores.
• For the third fall tournament in a row the Falcons have broken the school record for team 54-hole tournament low score.
MEN’S GOLF
• BGSU placed second at Cleveland State’s Tom Tontimonia Invitational with a team score of 835 (-17).
• Darin Hudak tied for No. 4 at the tournament with a score of -6.
MEN’S SOCCER
• The Falcons picked up the first Missouri Valley Conference victory in program history with a 3-1 win over Bradley. Sophomore Trace Terry scored two goals, including the game-winning goal with just under eight minutes left to break a 1-1 tie.
• Since the start of the 2009 season, BGSU has a record of 85-9-7 when scoring two or more goals in a match. In fact, even when scoring just one goal, the Falcons are unbeaten in the last 14 matches (11-0-3) dating to late in the 2021 season.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
• The Falcons opened the MAC schedule with a 2-0 road victory over arch-rival Toledo. Ellie Pool, a transfer from UT who was injured in last season’s game vs. the Rockets, scored what proved to be the winning goal just over two minutes into this year’s game.
• After winning 3-2 at Miami (OH) on Thursday, the Falcons have a record of 43-7-5 in MAC regular season matches since the start of the 2018 season. That is by far the best record of any conference team. No other MAC school has more than 34 wins during that time.
• Following the win over Miami (OH), BGSU has a record of 62-1-3 when scoring at least two goals in a match since the start of the 2017 season.
• The Falcons are 21-2-1 in the last 24 MAC road games, dating to late in the 2018 season.
VOLLEYBALL
• Head coach Danijela Tomic has 199 wins at the helm of the Falcons (over 350 in her career).
• Jaden Walz recorded her 1,000th career assist during the opening weekend of the season.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
• Jason Spurgin is only the second 7-footer in program history, joining Mark Cartwright. Spurgin is also one of six players in the MAC listed at 7-foot or taller. He’s just one of two from the MAC East and all six are newcomers to the conference this season.
