Headed west: JC soccer, volleyball teams headed for Montana

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Andrew Gideon / Jamestown College Sports Information Director Jamestown College soccer coach Phillip Bohn talks to his team during a game at the Jimmie Soccer Field. Jamestown College opens national tournament play against Rocky Mountain College on Saturday.

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Montana is where the national tournament will begin for both the Jamestown College soccer and volleyball teams on Saturday.

The Jimmie soccer team, fresh off its championship at the Association of Independent Institutions tournament in San Marcos, Calif., on Saturday, will travel to Billings to play Rocky Mountain College for the third time this season.

The winner of Saturday’s match advances to the national tournament in Montgomery, Ala., which begins Nov. 26.

The Battlin’ Bears (13-2-2) and the Jimmies (15-4-1) have a history of close matches the past two seasons.

Rocky Mountain beat the Jimmies 3-1 in Jamestown Oct. 7, then prevailed 2-1 in overtime three weeks later. The two teams played twice in 2010 and split.

The Jimmies are making their first national tournament appearance.

A big reason for beating Houston-Victoria in a shootout and then blanking Ashford, Iowa, which received an at-large bid into the tournament, was the play of George Gauld. The sophomore from Epsom, England, had two goals and converted his try in the shootout victory and was named the A.I.I. athlete of the week.

It’s the first time in program history the Jimmies have been in the poll and a true indicator of the caliber of season they’ve had as the rankings are voted on by coaches from all over the NAIA. Teams from the Northern tier often have trouble breaking through and into the top 25, not only in soccer, but all sports.

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The 27-8 Jimmie volleyball team’s opening game will be played in Helena, Mont., against Carroll College.

The two teams did not play this season. They did meet in 2010 with the Saints winning 3-0.

It’s the second time the Jimmies have advanced to the opening round of the national tournament. They went in 2010, but fell 3-1 to Rocky Mountain College in Billings.

Complete pairings for all 16 first-round matches in volleyball and soccer can be found in the scoreboard.

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Freshman Amy Fearnside went a perfect 4-0 to place first at 109 pounds to lead the Jimmie women’s wrestling team at the Missouri Valley Open on Sunday.

Fearnside, from Morgan Hill, Calif., has been a standout in her initial season. She was the lone JC wrestler to go unbeaten in the meet.

Christine Zamora (155) went 3-1 and place second. Tiffany Sluik piled four victories en route to a third-place finish.

Alicia Hubbard had a busy seven-match day at 123 and went 5-2 to fourth. Shai Mason also racked up five wins and finished seventh at 143.

Geminette Palencia (101), Mykaela Ellis (123) and Erie Bragg (191) each had one win on the day.

The Jimmies are back in action Thanksgiving weekend when they compete Nov. 23-24 in Saskatchewan.

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The Valley City State football team finished ranked 24th in the final NAIA top 25 poll.

The 7-3 Vikings finished with 30 points in voting.

It’s further proof that the Jimmies may not be far away.

The two longtime rivals split their two meetings this season, each winning on the other’s home field.

The Jimmies finished the season 4-6, but half of their losses were by a field goal or fewer and they capped their 2012 with a 53-13 clubbing of Mayville State on Saturday.

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at dselvig@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, jimmies, soccer