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Spring Break Trips Fueling Season Success for Royals

| By: Laura Osterlund - Sports Information Intern

Although the season looks a bit different this year for varsity sports, one tradition remained the same: Spring Break trips. The baseball and men’s and women’s tennis and golf teams all traveled down to different locations in Arizona and Florida last month for their spring break.

“We felt very fortunate that our coaches vouched for our team making it down to Florida,” said Matthew Bohlke, a pitcher on the baseball team. “Being that this is my senior year, it was great to be able to keep up our tradition of traveling over Spring Break.”

This year, Bethel was the only school in the MIAC to send teams on spring break trips. In order to ensure and maintain safety for athletes and coaches throughout the trip, teams took several measures. Athletes had to test negative for Covid three times before departing. When the athletes returned to Minnesota, they were tested again. All tests, both before and after the trips, came with negative results.

Matthew Bohlke delivers a pitch

Director of Athletic Training, Justin Byers worked closely with the coaches and administrators to create a plan that kept athletes safe during travel. He also worked with the Minnesota Department of Health to make sure that all athletes followed the most recent COVID-19 guidelines. 

Byers worked with the coaches to intricately planned housing and transportation for athletes based on past positive cases, roommates, and close contacts. Teams kept to a heavily regimented schedule, avoided public dining areas, and had no outside activities other than competition. 

We wanted to do everything that we could to get these student-athletes a spring trip. Their seasons were interrupted last year and their spring trips are a large part of their experience as an athlete at Bethel. The ability to do that for them is what makes doing what I do so rewarding.
Justin Byers, Director of Athletic Training
Maggie Riermann & Mackenzie Novak 100 career wins

While they were in Florida, athletes had opportunities to bond with their teammates. The trips helped foster a sense of community on the teams and helped boost chemistry.

“We also were able to spend a lot of time together as a team which is always one of my favorite parts,” said senior women’s tennis standout Mackenzie Novak. “We did team devotionals where each teammate shared a little bit about their faith walk and their lives. It is always such a cool experience to get to know everyone on a new level.” 

For the baseball team, another highlight was their performance. They played against Wayne State University, a top Division II team from Michigan, winning two out of the three games.

“We realized how good of a team we are and could be by beating a D2 opponent,” Bohlke said.

The baseball team is currently in fourth place in the MIAC, with a 15-9 overall record. The men’s tennis team is also in fourth place in the MIAC, with a 4-1 record in the conference. The men’s and women’s golf teams are also doing well. Shortly after returning from Spring Break, the women’s team won the WashU Spring Invite tournament, while the men’s team won the Bethel Preview tournament weeks later. The women are currently nationally ranked at No. 6 in NCAA DIII. 

The women’s tennis team currently has an overall record of 8-4 and 5-1 in the MIAC. They are currently in third place. 

We were able to play some really good teams in Florida, which gave us a lot of good preparation for our MIAC matches.
Mackenzie Novak, Bethel women's tennis student-athlete

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