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The Week in Review…
MIAC Men’s Golf Championship - No. 6 Saint John’s won its fifth MIAC Men’s Golf Championship in the last six years with a three-day total of 880 (+16) on Monday, Oct. 5 at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids. The title clinches the Johnnies’ 11th consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III Championship May 11-14 in Hershey, Pa. Sophomore Tony Krogen (Marshall, Minn.) became the eighth Johnnie in school history to earn medalist honors with a three-day total of 213 (-3). Krogen’s round is the best 54-hole total in MIAC Championship history, besting Saint John’s Joe Schoolmeesters’ 2006 total of 214. Gustavus tied with St. Thomas for second place after each team finished with a 901 total. Concordia was fourth with 919 and St. Olaf College was fifth with a 923 total. St. Thomas’ Sean Barrett shot 73 each day to finish in second with a 219 (+4). Saint John’s Mark Giorgi and Gustavus’ Alex Kolquist and A.J. Olson tied for third place with a total of 223 (+7).
MIAC Women’s Golf Championship – Gustavus won the 2009 MIAC Women’s Golf Championship with a three-day total of 968 (+104) at Bunker Hills Golf Course in Coon Rapids, Minn. With the victory, the Gusties earn the MIAC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championships this spring. Saint Benedict held on to second place finishing with 1,014. St. Thomas was third with 1,025, St. Olaf College placed fourth with 1,035 by passing Carleton on Monday who finished fifth with a 1038. Katie Schenfeld, a junior from Gustavus, earned medalist honors by finishing with a 54-hole total of 236 (+20). St. Thomas’ Amy Anderson, Saint Benedict’s Kathryn Hauff, and Gustavus’ Taylor Drenttel finished tied for second after three days with identical totals of 240 (+24). Gustavus senior Kali Griggs placed fifth with a total of 245 after she shot the low round of the weekend on Monday with a 74.
MIAC/IIAC Border Battle – At last weekend’s MIAC/IIAC Border Battle, Saint Benedict, Concordia, Gustavus, and St. Thomas traveled to Dubuque, Iowa, to match up against Wartburg, Simpson, Loras and Central. The MIAC teams came away with an advantage of 9-7 after Saint Benedict went 4-0, followed by Concordia (3-1), St. Thomas (2-2) and Gustavus (0-4). St. Olaf hosted the Minnesota portion of the battle in Northfield with Luther, Buena Vista, Cornell, and Dubuque participating from Iowa. St. Olaf (4-0) and Saint Mary’s (4-0) came away unscathed followed by Carleton (3-1) and Augsburg (2-2), combining for a 13-3 record. The MIAC is now 123-53 (.699) overall in the border battle, dating back to 2004 when the event started. Concordia has gone 22-2 in the six years the MIAC and IIAC have been holding the tournament. It is the best record of any school in either conference at the tournament. Saint Benedict has now won 12 matches in a row and 15 out of the last 16.
The Successful Six - The Concordia-Moorhead women’s soccer team is one of only six unbeaten and untied teams in the 414 schools that make up NCAA Division III women’s soccer. Of those six teams only three other teams have won at least 10 games on the year. The Cobbers, who are 10-0-0 on the season, are also ranked 14th in last week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll which is the highest the team has ever been ranked in the national poll.
AVCA National Honors – St. Olaf volleyball junior outside hitter Kim Smisek was named the AVCA Division III Player of the Week on Tuesday after she averaged 5.79 kills/set and hit .366 in the Oles' 5-0 week. Smisek had at least 20 kills in each of the team's first three matches of the week, including a career-high 31 in a five-set win over Luther on Friday in the second round of the IIAC-MIAC Border Battle. She leads the league in kills (4.93/set) by over a kill/set (3.90 is second-best) and has helped the Oles (19-2, 3-1 MIAC) to their best start since the 2001 team started 19-2 as well.
Knights keep the Goat - The Carleton football team maintained possession of the famed Goat Trophy after a 17-13 victory over cross-town rival St. Olaf in the Cereal Bowl on Saturday. After a scoreless first half, the Knights built a 17-0 lead, including the eventual game-winning touchdown on a 5-yard lateral to offensive tackle Brad Eckelmann (Jr./Portland, Ore./Lincoln) in the fourth quarter. This was the 91st overall meeting (88th as varsity programs, the first coming in 1919) and the 75th time the Goat Trophy was up for grabs. Carleton has won consecutive Goat games for the first time since 1995-96. The Goat Trophy was first handed out in 1931 and is the oldest of the three keepsakes that were up for grabs in the state of Minnesota last weekend. By comparison, the Minnesota-Wisconsin tussle for Paul Bunyon's axe started in 1948, and the Hamline-Augsburg battle for "The Hammer" didn't begin until 2005.
Leaney to retire - Longtime Macalester College current women’s soccer coach John Leaney has announced his retirement from coaching at the conclusion of the 2009 season. Coach Leaney came to Macalester as head men’s soccer coach in 1986 and two years later also took control of the women’s program, which went on to win the NCAA Division III national championship in 1998. He guided his teams to 17 MIAC championships and 22 national playoff berths, while coaching 19 All-Americans and an MIAC Player of the Year 14 times.
Big Ben – Carleton sophomore men’s tennis player Ben Guzick (Rochester, N.Y./The Harley School) turned in the best overall performance of any MIAC player at the ITA Midwest Regional last weekend. The fifth seed in the 126-player singles draw, he advanced to the finals where he lost in three sets to the top seed and 2008 NCAA singles champion, Mike Greenberg of Kenyon College. Guzick then teamed up with Winston Park (Sr./Encino, Calif./Harvard-Westlake), making it into the quarterfinals of the doubles before falling to the eventual champions.
Tough Tommies - St. Thomas starts this week with a combined 14-1 record in MIAC play in soccer, football and volleyball. UST is either nationally-ranked or in the top three in the conference in all eight fall sports. On the men's side, UST is ranked 15th in football and 35th in men's cross country. On the women's side, the Tommies are sixth in volleyball, 19th in women's cross country and 22nd in golf. The Tommies have won six in a row in football; seven in a row in women's soccer; 34 consecutive MIAC volleyball matches; and are unbeaten in their last 17 conference regular-season games in women's soccer.
Touchdown Tommies - St. Thomas football is on pace to break its season scoring record of 33.5 ppg. The Tommies have 27 touchdowns in four games -- the second most in Division III. Junior running back Ben Wartman has scored 26 touchdowns in 14 career games at running back, including 13 this season. Wartman went over 2,000 career rushing/receiving yards last Saturday, including 1,866 rushing yards in 14 games. Since Coach Glenn Caruso debuted as head coach in 2008, St. Thomas leads all MIAC teams in ppg (32.4), first downs a game (21) and total offense per game (404).
MIAC in the Polls – Several MIAC teams are sitting on national polls this fall starting with an impressive four teams on this week’s AVCA Division III Volleyball Coaches Top 25 Poll. St. Thomas is ranked tenth followed by Saint Benedict at 16th, Concordia at 19th, and St. Olaf at 25th. Saint John’s football team is currently ranked 6th in the latest AFCA Division III Coaches Poll and d3football.com poll with St. Thomas coming in at 15th. Bethel is also receiving votes in both polls. In men’s cross country, the USTFCCCA poll ranks Saint John’s at #23 with St. Thomas coming in at #35. The USTFCCCA women’s cross country poll includes Bethel (#12), Carleton (#16), and St. Thomas (#19). Concordia women’s soccer is the top MIAC team, sitting at #14 in the NSCAA/Adidas National Rankings followed by St. Thomas at #24. On the men’s side, the lone MIAC institution is St. Olaf, coming in at #16. In men’s golf, Saint John’s is currently ranked #6 and Gustavus is ranked #22 in the latest Golf World poll. The Gustavus women’s golf team is peaking at #2. Also on the women’s side are Carleton (#19), Saint Benedict (#18), and St. Thomas (#22).
Men’s CC at Blugold Invitational – Several MIAC men’s cross country teams competed at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational this past weekend in Colfax, Wis. which featured a total of 18 teams at all divisions. St. Thomas led the MIAC in second place followed by Bethel in sixth, Macalester in ninth, St. Olaf in 11th place, Saint John’s in 12th place, and Saint Mary’s in 13th. Wade Ekstrom (Sr., La Crescent, Minn.) ran his best race as a collegian, winning the 18-team, 270-runner event. Ekstrom pulled away from Ben Sathre of St. Thomas late to win by two seconds, finishing the 8000-meter course at Whitetail Golf Course in a personal-best 25:26.56. Cory Hayden and Mike Connell of St. Thomas came in third and fourth, respectively, and Brian Sames finished in 7th to round off MIAC runners in the top ten.
Women’s CC at Blugold Invitational – Five MIAC women’s cross country teams also competed at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational this past weekend. Bethel led the way for the MIAC, coming in at fifth place followed by Macalester in seventh, Saint Benedict in eighth, St. Olaf in 12th and Saint Mary’s in 13th. A total of 19 teams raced in the event as Alex Potter was the lone MIAC runner placing in the top ten, coming in at ninth in 22:50.49.
Hot Start - With Saturday's 3-1 win over Gustavus, the St. Olaf women's soccer team is off to its best start (4-1-0) in MIAC play since 1981. Sophomore Lindsay Howard had two goals in the win over the Gusties to give her 24 points, which ranks fourth best at St. Olaf since 1996. Fellow sophomore Catie Christoffel has 22.
Record Breakers - Augsburg volleyball middle hitter Barbara Simmons (SR, Minneapolis, Minn./South HS) is closing in on the school's career records for blocks. Simmons currently stands in fourth place in school history with 228 career blocks; the school record is 245, set by Billie Painschab (2002-05). Her 0.84 career blocks-per-set average is tied with Painschab for the best average in school history, and her 44 solo blocks and 184 block assists stand in ninth and second place, respectively, in school history. Setter Shanna Reed (SR, Eagan, Minn./Holy Angels HS) could become the second Auggie to ever surpass the 3,000 mark in career assists. She has 2,911; the school record of 3,926 is held by Tasha Hamann (1995-98). Libero Dani Tanaka (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) could become the third Auggie in school history to reach the 1,500 mark in career digs; she has 1,465 now. The school record of 1,718 is held by Cassi Van Ausdall (1997-2000).
Overtime Thrillers – Saint Mary’s men’s soccer 1-1 OT tie vs. Gustavus on September 29th was the Cardinals’ second straight overtime game and the third time in the last four games SMU went extra time. SMU has played three overtime games in each of the last two seasons and are now 4-0-3 in their last seven overtime games and have not lost an OT game since a 3-2 setback vs. Macalester on Sept. 22, 2006.
Campbell Trophy Semifinalists - The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) has named Saint John’s University senior defensive back Dominic Haik and Gustavus Adolphus College senior defensive back T.J. Ridley as two of the 154 semifinalists for the 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy (formerly known as the Draddy Trophy), endowed by HealthSouth. Saint John’s Dominic Haik (Minneapolis, Minn./Totino-Grace) is a political science major (pre-law emphasis) with a 3.75 grade-point average, a three-year starter at cornerback for the Johnnies, three-time Academic All-MIAC selection and a member of SJU’s Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society. Gustavus’ T.J. Ridley (Edina, Minn.) is a 2008 CoSIDA Academic All-American and biology, pre-medicine major with a 3.95 grade point average. He is also a forward on the Golden Gustie men's hockey team that was the NCAA Division III runner-up last season.
What 2 Watch 4…
Challenger vs. Champion - The Carleton men’s soccer team has won back-to-back MIAC regular-season titles. Following a five-game win streak, the Knights (7-3, 5-1 MIAC) are once again atop the conference standings and are slotted No. 7 in the North Region poll released today. They will take on a good Bethel team this Wednesday, October 7th at 7 p.m. in Blaine, Minn. Bethel has one conference loss and one tie on the season, with its loss to Concordia who is directly below them in the conference rankings. Bethel comes off a 2-1 overtime win to Macalester and will take that momentum into tomorrow’s game. Carleton has outscored the opposition 15-1 during their current five-game hot streak. Following 3-0 home victories over Macalester and Saint John’s last week, the Knights are now 23-4-2 (.828) at home since the start of the 2007 campaign and 25-2-3 (.883) overall in MIAC play since Oct. 14, 2006.
Putting it on the line – The St. Thomas women’s soccer team’s perfect conference record will be at stake this weekend as they take on St. Olaf on Saturday, October 10th, at 11 a.m. in St. Paul. St. Olaf has a 4-1 record with its only conference loss coming to #14 ranked Concordia-Moorhead 2-1 in double overtime in Moorhead.
St. Paul Shootout – The Concordia football team will travel to St. Paul this Saturday, October 10th to take on St. Thomas at 1 p.m. With a clean 4-0 conference mark, St. Thomas will battle to keep their record perfect as Concordia’s only losses are to Bethel and Saint John’s – both top teams in the conference. Watch for the Cobber special teams and St. Thomas offense to be keys unit in the game. Concordia leads the MIAC in punt return average and is second in kickoff coverage. St. Thomas leads the conference in total offense, first downs, and 3rd down conversions.
Tough road trip – The Concordia women’s volleyball team (10-5, 3-1 MIAC) has a rough weekend ahead as they hit the road and travel to Carleton Friday, October 9 and Saint Mary’s Saturday, October 10. Both teams are just below Concordia in the conference standings with records of 2-2 and will look to bump up in the rankings.
A Royal on Rosen Sports Sunday - A feature story on Bethel football wide receiver Reid Velo is scheduled to air on Rosen Sports Sunday this Sunday, immediately following the 10 p.m. news. Velo was named to the AFCA Good Works Team for his acts of benevolence off the football field, which includes volunteer service on campus, at the Marie Sandvik Center, as well as Nairobi, Kenya.
Kate’s Quad – The St. Catherine women’s cross country team will host the St. Kate’s Quad this Saturday, October 10th at 11 a.m. on its campus. Macalester (W), Hamline (M&W), Luther (M&W), and St. Thomas (M&W) are the other teams participating in this event on a 1.5 mile loop that extends through the St. Kate’s campus in the woods and on dirt paths. The women’s 4K begins at 11 a.m. followed by the men at 11:30 a.m.
Piper Run - Hamline's Piper Athletic Association will be hosting their first annual 5K Run/Walk & Kids' Run on Sunday, October 11, as part of homecoming weekend festivities. The race will take place at Lake Como at 7:30am. To register or for more information, go to: www.hamline.edu/piper5k.
NACWAA Honor - Macalester Athletic Director Kim Chandler will be honored Tuesday night (Oct. 13th) in Denver, Colo. by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA). Chandler will be presented as one of eight national recipients of its Administrator of the Year Award. She is the honoree representing all Division III colleges. Kim Chandler began her duties as Director of Athletics of Macalester College on July 14, 2008. Prior to arriving at Macalester, Chandler headed the Beloit Athletic Department for four years, overseeing 18 varsity programs, academic course offerings and intramurals.
Inside the Numbers…
12 - The number of wins this season so far for the St. Kate's volleyball team (12-7 overall, 2-2 MIAC). It is their best start since the 1990-91 season. Their 12 wins so far this season have already matched last season’s win total. Maria Hoffman (Sr., Lanesboro, Minn.) leads the MIAC with a .382 hitting percentage in conference play.
15 – The number of years it has been since the Bethel men’s soccer team defeated the Macalester Scots. Thanks to Brian Holm's (Fr., Champlin, Minn.) overtime goal last Friday, the Royals pulled ahead 1-0. Similarly, Bethel defeated St. Thomas the previous weekend for the first time in 10 years.
49 - The number of yards that eclipsed the Saint John’s school record field goal distance made by Russell Gliadon last Saturday. Gliadon (Fridley, Minn.) made the field goal with three seconds remaining to lift No. 6 Saint John’s over Bethel 16-14. Gliadon missed the potential game-tying extra point with 1:47 remaining and had an earlier field-goal attempt, from 38 yards out, blocked in the first quarter. The 49-yard field goal surpassed the old school record of 47 yards recorded by Mike Schmidt at St. Thomas on Nov. 7, 1981. Gliadon, who was named the MIAC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance, had made 17 consecutive extra points this season, and 26 straight since he had an attempt blocked at St. Thomas on Oct. 18 of last year. His previous career-high was 35 yards (vs. Marietta, Ohio; Sept. 1, 2007).
375 – The number of passing yards reached by sophomore QB Adam Meyer (Cold Spring, Minn.) of Hamline. Meyer was named the MIAC Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Hamline football team to a 38-28 victory over Augsburg, capturing "The Hammer" for the first time and tying a school record along the way by throwing for 375 yards. Meyer threw for three touchdowns in the game - a 75-yard toss to Alex House (Jr., Champlin, Minn.), an 80-yard pass to Tim Queck (So., Annandale, Minn.) and an 11-yard pass to Ben Chandler (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.). He had no interceptions and no sacks. The 184 receiving yards Queck pulled in - 175 of which came on passes from Meyer - is also the best single-game performance in the conference this fall by a wide receiver.
4,621 – The number of assists Saint Benedict senior volleyball player Beth Hanson currently has, which puts her in sole possession of CSB’s all-time assists leader. Senior setter Beth Hanson (Faribault, MN, Bethlehem Academy) surpassed Niki Denne ('89) who originally held the record at 4,615 assists. Hanson has been a four-year starter for the Blazers, holding the single season assist record with 1,439 assists in the 2008 season. A two-time captain, Hanson was named to the All-MIAC team in the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
Did You Know?
Augsburg midfielder Matt Bowman (SO, Maple Grove, Minn.) has made a remarkable recovery after nearly dying on the field due to a heart condition a year ago. After collapsing during a preseason scrimmage last August, Bowman was diagnosed with a rare heart condition that forced him to have open-heart surgery and miss the entire 2008 campaign. He has made a full recovery, and has started nine of Augsburg's 10 games this season. Bowman's comeback is the subject of a story by Rachel Blount in Tuesday's Minneapolis Star-Tribune.