The worst part of the summer is over. Like stagnant pond water, nothing seems to make waves from April to August, but tonight marks the beginning of the fall sports season for the UD athletic department when Mike Tucker’s Flyers take on Bowling Green in the first exhibition match of the year. Sunday adds a twin bill when the men and women perform back-to-back at Baujan Field. The ladies go up against the felines from Northwestern who spun a whole new meaning to Wildcat over the offseason after getting busted for a bizarre, kinky hazing fiasco that made rounds on the Internet. Coach Dennis Currier’s men take on BGSU in their second appearance of the preseason and first at home. The Flyers rallied to tie Ohio State last week up in Columbus.

Not to be outdone, the highly-anticipated 2006 Flyer volleyball team kicks things off at the UD RecPlex on Saturday morning with a 2pm alumni match pitting the current crop of stars against the Easy Spirit-wearing old-timers. Actually, that’s not quite the case as several recent Flyer grads take part and give Coach Tim Horsmon’s team an honest go of things.

For the basketball fan – and let’s face it, hoops pays the freight around most parts – we’re just days away from the UD men’s basketball squad heading to Toronto for a summer exhibition tour to give coaches, players, and fans a rare early look at what’s in store for the 2006-07 season. Even better, the newcomers have an opportunity to get their feet wet and show their stuff. After last year, Coach Gregory needs them to fill a lot of holes and help boost the team’s prowess. That said, things will ultimately go where the upperclassmen take it. Toronto should be a golden opportunity to see if the veterans can consistently dominate or not.

Now back to the other Tier-1 sports. The women’s soccer team has a number of question marks. Gone are many seniors including most of the scoring punch (whatever scoring punch existed) in 2005. Don’t be surprised if a couple freshmen step in and help lead the team in scoring. Friday night is a perfect opening act to see who’s ready and who –- as ND football coach Charlie Weis likes to say — needs a year in Joplin. The Flyers struggled mightily last season to find the back of the nets. Set pieces were very frustrating and yielded few ringers. As the season wore on, the hunger seemed to dry up; the same hunger responsible for seven A10 titles in a row. Perhaps more than any other UD sport this year, the women’s soccer team is one to study rather closely early on. The program has carried the torch in the athletic department for so long that nobody inside it is accustomed to playing the role of underdog.

On the men’s side, fans will see a team nearly unrecognizable from a year ago. In just two seasons, most of the roster has turned over as Coach Currier replaced a pair of consecutive large senior classes with newcomers and transfers. You might want to grab an eye chart while you’re at it. With hometowns consisting of Kellyville NSW (Australia), Nottingham (England), Sofia (Bulgaria), Tallinn (Estonia), Caracas (Venezuela), Cannes (France), and Newtownards (Northern Ireland), it may sound like a UN convention at the beginning. Inside our own border, players from New Mexico, Maryland, Texas, Florida, Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio appear. Sounds like the coaches are spreading the word. Let’s just hope everyone understands the words “grab a mark.”

The fellas had a good albeit not great season in 2005 and like the women, must search for scoring answers because most of the goals left with college degrees. If it comes down to numbers however, UD should be in great shape. The roster is huge and talented, if also largely inexperienced. You’d think on any given night, 11-12 players should be on their game. The names of those players may ebb and flow throughout the year.

What hasn’t already been said about the volleyball team. They are fully expected to make the NCAA tournament this year, perhaps as an at-large bid if things go as well as everyone hopes. That would be a program first, but there’s no question UD remains the favorite to do the most damage in the A10 should an automatic bid be required. Faye Barhorst gets all the pub, but she has a terrific supporting cast largely overlooked. Quality defenders, setters, liberos, and impact freshmen create a team without major weaknesses.

Mike Kelly has strapped it on again, marking the 26th year as top dog of the Flyer football program. San Diego is the favorite to win the PFL, something Dayton is not accustomed to. We know Kevin Hoyng is going to be a major cog and we know UD is expected to grind out another 9-1 or 10-2 season (or better). With the Gridiron Classic at year-end pitting the PFL champ against the champ from the NEC, teams now have something tangible to play for outside the conference. Can the Flyers return to the top of the I-AA non-scholarship heap and knock off all comers including the fast-rising Toreros under Jim Harbargh?

That’s what the season is all about: finding answers while enjoying the ride. The first bus stop is tonight. Fans are tired of standing on the street corner twiddling thumbs.