[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 73 (Thursday, May 15, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H4174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H4174]]
                              {time}  1445
     CONGRATULATING NCAA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPION LEWIS UNIVERSITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Chocola). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, Hollywood may have the script for its next 
sports movie classic. Think Hoosiers, the true story of how a small 
town high school basketball team became Indiana State Champions. Think 
David slays Goliath with little more than a wicked set, spike and 
serve. Think NCAA history. Just think about it.
  No Division II team in NCAA collegiate history has ever won a team 
championship. In a sport dominated by California and other sun-soaked 
States, no men's volleyball team from a Midwest university has ever won 
a national title in the sport. No Chicago area university has won an 
NCAA national title in 40 years. That is, until now.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Lewis University Flyers, 2003 
NCAA Men's Volleyball Champions, from Romeoville, Illinois, in my 
congressional district. Under the leadership of head coach David Deuser 
and assistant coach Ryan McNeil, Lewis University defeated second-
ranked Brigham Young University in five breathtaking sets, in front of 
a national television audience and a sellout crowd.
  Brigham Young has almost eight times the student body population of 
Lewis, not that they needed the extra motivation. Almost as impressive, 
the Flyers upset top-ranked and perennial powerhouse Pepperdine 
University in the semifinals to reach the title game.
  Who are the Flyers? They are Enrique Escalante, Jose Castellano, Alex 
Karjavine, Weyni Johnson, Jeff Soler, Matt Miller, Ryan Stuntz, Fabiano 
Barreto, Gustavo Meyer, Kevin Miller, Brandon Sisk, Marco Quintana, 
Greg Pochopien, James Elsea and Jose Martins and student manager John 
Sullivan.
  Mr. Speaker, all of Illinois, and especially the city of Romeoville, 
is proud of the team's accomplishments. In fact, alumni, educators and 
friends from across the country have called to personally congratulate 
the team and the university. These are exciting times in Romeoville.
  There are two other things about these athletes that are not making 
the headlines and should. One, the team is a diverse group of student 
athletes. Four of them have received awards this year for outstanding 
academic achievement. Mr. Speaker, no matter the age, we all know how 
important it is for our student athletes to balance the books with time 
spent on the court.
  Second, the Flyers have played the David versus Goliath role twice 
before. They reached the national semifinals twice in 1996 and 1998, 
losing both times to UCLA.
  What, my colleagues might ask, was the big difference this year? As 
my friend and president of Lewis University, Brother James Gaffney, 
said recently, ``This year, David was well-armed.'' Even Brigham Young 
coach Tom Peterson graciously said, ``Give Lewis all of the credit. 
They are a great team.''

                          ____________________