Knight caps: there’s a lot going on at Rutgers and the fall season just started

In the words of Hank Williams when he sang for Monday Night Football....are you ready for some football?

How about some field hockey or volleyball or, well, other stuff related to Rutgers? If you haven’t been thinking about anything but football, a) you really do need to get out more, and b) we’ve got it covered for you!

O, Canada

I happen to think that the Canadian National Anthem is a stirring piece of music. That being said, RU has not one but two players from up north. One of whom played in the 29th World Universiad in Taiwan.

The 6’1” Gilles (pronounced: my-el j-eye-els) will be a freshman playing for C. Vivian Stringer this season. She was a member of the 2016 Canadian Development National Team and Canadian Junior Women’s National Team that placed eighth at the U19 World Championships in Russia, as well as the 2014 Canadian Women’s National Team that competed at the FIBA U17 Championship.

The sun, the moon, the sky above

Did you see the eclipse? Were you wearing protective glasses? I hope so!

The Rutgers marketing folks have been on overdrive - lots of Red Bull and lots of coffee - to promote everything, and especially the football opener against Washington. OTB will be back to talk more about that. A lot over the next week.

Taking the sticks on tour

All of our student athletes are involved in various service activities. Some are right in New Brunswick, such as working with Embrace Kids. Others take the players to far off lands.

Current player Jenna Martinelli joined her older sister and former RU player Kristina on a trip to the Central American nation as chaperones with Student Cultural Exchange. The program saw Jenna and Katrina chaperone 21 student-athletes from Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose and Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, California on a volunteer trip to Playa Samara, Costa Rica, from Aug. 1-9. "What an amazing and fulfilling experience for Katrina and Jenna to have had," said head coach Laura Brand Sias. "Lacrosse provides so much opportunity to bond people of different backgrounds and we are all really proud of what they represent."

Preseason Big Ten recognition for Field Hockey

It’s always a good sign when your underclassmen are recognized on preseason honor rolls. Such is the case with RU Field Hockey.

Rutgers field hockey had three players named as Big Ten Preseason Honorees Monday in a conference announcement. Sophomores Katie Larmour and Alanna Gollotto, alongside junior Linde van Schaik, earned the recognition.

The Knights begin their 2017 campaign today at 1 p.m., hosting Kent State. RU also welcomes Towson on Saturday at 1 p.m.

From the “Where are they now?” file

Remember Mike Dare?

The former RU recruit stepped away from Rutgers and is looking for a new place to land after some juco field time in Scranton.

Not everything is about sports

Sometimes, as with the Martinelli sisters, it’s about giving to others. Serving your community. Such is the case with Ryan Houser.

The Morristown resident is a member of the town’s Minute Men First Aid Squad. Nice going, Ryan.

Wait a minute....my season tickets just arrived

Seriously. As I’m writing this on Wednesday, UPS pulled up and the guy says, “Didn’t you just get Jets tickets?” My shoulders drooped, my head fell, and I sadly confessed, “Yes.”

But, hey, my Rutgers football tickets are here!!

No, there is not a blue line across the tickets. I added that - as well as not including the barcode - for security. As a nice gesture, Rutgers threw in free tickets for other events: one each for men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s hoops, gymnastics, wrestling, and men’s and women’s lacrosse. There are some restrictions: for example, the men’s basketball is only good for the non-conference schedule and excludes the Seton Hall contest. Still, pretty cool.

Now, about that wrestling match in the Bronx....

The season tickets included the separate tickets for the Yankee Stadium game plus a diagram for the field and the wrestling match. It was my understanding that the mat was originally going to be in the home plate area. Scratch that. We are now wrestling in the left field corner, interestingly enough below where the Rutgers sign is on the mezzanine facade.

I will be getting my exercise walking from the match to my football seats. And, yes, I’m bringing binoculars.

From the House that “the Captain” Built to to RU captains

Rutgers volleyball will be led by a pair of captains in 2017 in senior setter Talia Holze and sophomore libero Karysa Swackenberg, it was announced by head coach CJ Wernke.

Holze is a two-time captain following her first time as a junior in 2016. She has played in 70 matches through her first three seasons. With 382 assists last fall, she brings a career total of 712 into her final year "On the Banks."

Swackenberg had an outstanding first season in 2016, serving as the team's primary libero and defensive specialist on the backline. She finished her rookie season with a team-high 309 digs and burst onto the scene in the opening tournament of the season with a spot on the Bryant Hampton Inn-vitational All-Tournament Team.

Players Weekend and a classy Patrick Kivlehan

We wrap up this edition of Knight Caps with baseball. This weekend, MLB is doing a tribute of sorts to the players, allowing them to use nicknames on their uniforms, which are themselves a tip o’ the hat to youth league unis. Rutgers’ own Patrick Kivlehan is wearing BELIEVE on his back, a tribute to teammate Eric Legrand.

“I still remember the hit and the aftermath. We struggled afterwards, but Eric was always with us and still is," Kivlehan said of his decision to wear the word "Believe." #Rutgers

Eric also spent time in Princeton recently speaking to the Tigers’ football team. The man is legendary in my mind.