The college sports season has arrived, and Fort Lewis College has a full day of action planned Saturday to connect its fall programs with its fans.
Saturday is Fall Alumni Day on the FLC campus with five programs offering events free and open to the public. The men’s and women’s soccer programs and the volleyball team will host their annual alumni scrimmages, and the football team will hold an open scrimmage as it prepares for its season opener against the University of California-Davis.
Also on the docket is the Skyhawks Cross Country 5-kilometer Fun Run.
Some of the biggest stars on campus Saturday will be be the alumni returning to the pitch for the men’s soccer scrimmage, scheduled for 3 p.m. at Dirks Field.
“We love to welcome back players and student-athletes that had an impact on the program,” FLC men’s soccer head coach Oige Kennedy said. “A lot of the guys we play Saturday have been All-Americans and national champions, and some won two.”
Players in attendance will include Fabian Kling, the captain of the 2011 national championship team and a member of the 2009 title team. Kling was drafted by Chivas USA of Major League Soccer.
Jeff Jennings, the 2009 captain, also will play for the alumni squad. Also coming back from the 2009 team will be Jamie Cunningham, who played in Puerto Rico professionally, and Durango native and All-American goalkeeper Zane Wells.
“I could go on all day about the talent the alumni team will have. They had illustrious careers, and it is great to welcome them back,” Kennedy said. “It is a good group with the mix of (the national championship) ’99 guys, too.”
The women’s soccer game will precede the men’s game with a 1 p.m. start. It is a chance for fans to get a glimpse of new interim head coach Jimmy Hall’s coaching style, as well as another chance to watch 2013 All-American defender Lauren Riley.
“The (alumnae) team is pretty good. Usually, the current players have fitness in our favor, but this year that could be a bit different,” Hall said. “The girls that graduated last year that are playing are really quality athletes.”
The football team is a week away from its season opener on the road at UC-Davis. Second-year head coach John L. Smith had his team complete a full intrasquad scrimmage Wednesday, and they will treat the scrimmage at 9:15 a.m. Saturday morning as a day of preparation to practice against the style of play the Skyhawks expect the Aggies to run.
The Skyhawks will run a minimum of 30 defensive and offensive plays while also practicing everything from extra points to taking a safety.
“We would love to have the fans there to see our operation and get interest going with what we have going this year,” Smith said. “With us having a TV game and everything this year, we want fans to get excited and behind us.”
FLC will host Colorado Mines on Oct. 16 in its homecoming game, and CBS Sports will televise it to a national audience
FLC volleyball head coach Kelley Rifilato said her team has anticipated the alumnae scrimmage the last two weeks during preseason workouts, and she is excited to see her team put everything together and execute on the court.
The alumnae team will be coached by FLC Hall of Famer Cory Coyle Jameson, a 1980 graduate, as well as Kelly Nanna Moore, another FLC Hall of Fame inductee who helped FLC capture RMAC titles in 1988 and 1990.
“Those two women were super successful on Marcy Jung’s teams back in the day, and we are excited to have them as honorary coaches,” Rifilato said.
Rifilato hopes the later start for the alumnae game will help put more fans inside Whalen Gymnasium after the soccer games.
“It’s going to be a great day,” she said.
The 5K fun run will make its Alumni Day debut this year at 8 a.m. at the North Rim Drive field. In the past, the Skyhawks typically hosted a meet in mid-September in which they could fundraise and promote the team, but this year the race will be part of alumni weekend and not count as an official event for the FLC runners. FLC does not have an official home meet on its schedule for the second consecutive season.
“It is a chance to have a community fundraiser and a chance for the athletes to get a race off at the beginning of the season,” FLC cross country head coach Mark Dutro said. “We are enticing community members to run with us, and it is a time trial for our athletes.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
