Green Bay Packers
quarterback BRETT FAVRE
donates $10,000 to
Warhawk Wheelchair Athletics
Team Photo Gallery
|
|
"Warhawks wheel their way to the national championship"
The Royal Purple
By Kellie Spellnzan
March 15, 1999
Try being the underdog. Try playing what some consider the best player in the world. Try being a first-year coach. And try playing the former coach of the team in a championship game. That is what the UW-Whitewater
Warhawk Wheelchair Basketball Team had to overcome to call itself the national champion. And the
Warhawks did it.
UW-Whitewater beat the top-seeded University of Illinois Fighting lllini for the national championship 59-53 Saturday, Feb. 27 at Southwest State University in Marshall, Minn. This is the second time this decade the
Warhawks earned the title.
"The best part about the win is the fact no one thought we could win," said head coach Tracy Chynoweth. "We were the underdog going in and we came out on top."
Chynoweth attributed the win to the strong defense the Warhawks
played. In the first half, the Warhawks held the Illini to 22 points. At the half, UW-Whitewater was
ahead by eight points.
One member of the Illini team is Pat Anderson, who some consider the best player in the world, Chynoweth said. The
Warhawks only allowed him to score four points in the first half. Anderson had scored 29 points in the first half of Illinois' semifinal game against University of Texas-Arlington.
Working off the defense, Whitewater freshman Ford Burttram and senior Joe Johnson each scored ten points in the first half of the game.
After the half, the score was UW-Whitewater, 30; U of Illinois, 22.
The Illini came out fighting in the second half. They scored the first nine points, taking a one point lead.
Chynoweth said adjustments were made and the defense was stepped up to grab the
Warhawks' victory. With two minutes left in game, Chynoweth said the victory was sealed. Johnson connected on his free throws, and junior Ryan Hauser grabbed three defensive rebounds to end the game.
Johnson's 22 points made him the game's high scorer. Burttram finished with 18 points. Hauser scored 10 points, sophomore Jeff Dennis had six, and freshman Dave Radbel added two. Both Johnson and Burttram made the First Team-All American.
The Warhawks held Illini Anderson to 13 points. Chynoweth said the
Warhawks double-teamed Anderson and used speed and height to defend him.
The Illini coach, Mike Frogley, is a former coach and player of the UW-Whitewater team. He has coached at Illinois for the past two seasons.
Chynoweth is a first-year coach at Whitewater. He has coached as an assistant under Dan Byrnes at Ball State University. Byrnes is also a coach for the United States National Team which recently won the world championship in Sydney, Australia.
Chynoweth learned from both Byrnes and Frogley. He said they are considered the two best coaches in the world in wheelchair basketball.
"They taught me the most about the game," Chynoweth said.
Because of this, John Truesdale, director of disabled student services, considers Chynoweth among the world's best.
"The fact that Tracy is in his first year here and that he started two freshman, may get him acknowledged as one of the best coaches in the world," Truesdale stated.
Chynoweth said he knew the Warhawks had a chance for the win because they had split with the Illini earlier in the season. At the season's end, the Illini were on top in the Central Intercollegiate Conference. The Illini's only loss came from the
Warhawks.
UW-Whitewater was number two in the conference with a 12-2 record coming into the tournament In this conference, the winner of the tournament is deemed the conference champion and the national champion.
UW-Whitewater brought home both of these honors, despite the odds.
|
|
|
|
|
