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The Week in Review…
Academic All-Conference - The MIAC announced its Fall 2009 Academic All-Conference honorees last Friday, January 29. The MIAC recognized 302 student-athletes who represented the conference’s thirteen institutions. Student-athletes must be a sophomore, junior, or senior with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale to qualify for MIAC Academic All-Conference recognition as well as meet minimum athletic qualifications. See to see all of the award winners, CLICK HERE.
Hamline Hires - Hamline announced the hiring of two new full-time coaches this week. Audrey Ludwig, a former standout setter at St. Olaf, has been named the new head volleyball coach. She previously served as an assistant at Augsburg and St. Olaf. Chris Prange, former defensive coordinator at Willamette University, has been named the new defensive coordinator with the Piper football program. He also spent time coaching in Europe with the Vienna Vikings (Austria).
New Mac Volleyball Coach - Macalester has selected Annie Glieber as its new head volleyball coach. Glieber comes to Macalester from Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where she served as head coach for the past five years. Glieber takes over the program from Stephanie Schleuder, who has retired from coaching following 12 years in charge of the Macalester program and 34 years as a collegiate head coach.
Gusties Go National - Six Gustavus athletic teams are currently ranked in the top 25 nationally and three others are just outside the top 25 in the receiving votes category. Leading the way is the women's golf team, which is ranked #3 in the most recent National Golf Coaches Association Poll. The men's hockey team is #8 and the women's hockey team is #10 in the most recent USCHO.com polls, while the women's tennis team is #13 in the Campbell's/ITA poll, the men's swimming team is #22 in the College Swim Coaches Association of America poll, and the men's tennis team is #25 in the Campbell's/ITA poll. The women's swimming team, the women's basketball team and the men's golf team are all receiving votes in their respective polls.
Throwing His Weight Around – Saint Mary’s Andrew Brueggen (Holmen, Wis.) turned his provisional qualifying mark in the weight throw into an NCAA automatic qualifying mark last Saturday at the UW-Stout Warren Bowlus Invitational. The Cardinal junior won the event with a school-record toss of 18.34 meters.
Knights Keep the Goat - Four days shy of the 100th anniversary of the first Carleton-St. Olaf men’s basketball game, the Knights pulled away late in the first half and cruised to a 76-50 victory over their cross town rivals. The victory—the fifth straight for Carleton to begin the second half of the conference schedule—means the Knights retained possession of the famed Goat Trophy for the 20th time over the last 21 seasons. While the series began in 1910, the Goat has been up for grabs since 1914. Because the Oles won the first meeting this season, 80-77 in overtime, the keepsake was in play as the team not in possession of the Goat Trophy must sweep the season series in order to wrest control away from the other team. Carleton improved to 100-85 all-time versus St. Olaf.
Dynamic Divers - Concordia senior diver Lauren Trudeau (Stillwater, Minn./Chisago Lakes) posted her second national qualifying score of the season in the 1-meter diving event at the Macalester Invite on Saturday. Trudeau scored a total of 417.40 in the 1-meter event at Macalester and won the competition by 10. Her score was 22 points more than the qualifying score of 395 and also set a new pool record at Macalester. Trudeau scored a 400.5 at the last home meet of the season on Dec. 5 and now has the two qualifying scores necessary to be considered for the national meet. St. Catherine sophomore diver Sarah Moody, who placed second to Trudeau, set a St. Kate's school record and posted an NCAA qualifying mark in the 1-meter diving competition. Moody's 11 dive score of 407.10 betters the old Wildcat record set way back in 1987.
First Alone in First - The Gustavus women's basketball team has been knocking at the door of the MIAC women's basketball elite almost weekly for the past 10 seasons, and the 2002-03 squad rallied on the final day of the regular season to move into a tie for the league title, but this past Saturday the Gusties reached a milestone as they stood alone atop the MIAC standings for the first time in the program's history. Coach Mickey Haller's squad, which has won nine of its last 10 games, is currently 16-3 overall and 14-2 in league play. Gustavus is currently one game ahead of second place Saint Benedict at 13-3. The Gusties clinched a playoff spot with their 87-68 win at Augsburg on Monday night.
Just Win Baby! - The No. 5-ranked St. Thomas men's basketball team (18-2 overall) is closing in on its fifth consecutive 20-win season. UST has won seven games in a 17-day stretch to open up a 3 1/2-game lead atop the MIAC standings. UST also clinched a playoff berth with 19 days left in the regular-season. The Tommies have the second best winning percentage among 1,006 NCAA men's basketball teams over the last two seasons at .941 (48-3 record), behind only Division II Findlay (Ohio)'s .945 (52-3).
Jumpin’ Jay – In just his first meet back from studying abroad, high jumper Jay Quick (Jr., Johnston, Iowa) set a new personal record with a leap of 2.07 meters (6 ft., 9.5 in.), helping him earn an NCAA provisional mark. The jump is an inch short of matching a 20-year old school record and was .22 meters (8.7 inches) better than his nearest competitor at the St. Olaf Invitational.
Tommies on Top - The first-place St. Thomas women's hockey team (9-5-2) claimed a pair of one-goal wins over Saint Mary's last weekend to climb to 8-1-1 in the MIAC. St. Thomas ranks second nationally in penalty kill at 91%. The Toms have allowed just 31 goals in their last 28 MIAC games over the last two seasons. Senior Lauren Bradel won her MIAC-record 45th career win in goal last Saturday and moved into 11th on the Division III list.
A Long Time Coming - The Saint Mary’s men’s basketball team snapped a 17-year losing streak against second-ranked Gustavus with last Wednesday’s 75-72 victory. The Cardinals built leads as big as seven points in the opening 20 minutes, but could not shake the Gusties, who battled back to take a three-point, 29-26, lead with 5:45 remaining in the half. SMU would answer, using a half-ending 13-6 run to take a four-point, 39-35, advantage into the locker room at the break. It was SMU’s first win vs. GAC since a 72-70 victory during the 1992-93 season.
Going Out in Style - Carleton senior swimmer Kate Alexander (Tigard, Ore./Tualatin) made the most of her final home meet by winning three individual events and contributing to a relay victory in the 200-yard medley in the Knights' dual meet victory over St. Olaf on Saturday, earning her recognition as the MIAC’s swimmer of the week. She won the 100-yard breaststroke (1:09.16), 200-yard breaststroke (2:30.75), and the 200-yard individual medley (2:15.28) on Saturday and currently holds the fastest times in the MIAC in those three events as well. Alexander has gone to the NCAA Championships in each of her first three seasons in the water for Carleton, earning All-America distinction in 2007 by placing eighth in the 200-yard breaststroke to go along with eight All-American Honorable Mentions.
Charity Work - The St. Thomas women's basketball team (14-5) has won eight of its last 10 games. The Tommies will finish at .500 or better for the 22nd time in 24 seasons. They made 17-of-19 free throws in Monday's win over Saint Mary's and are on school-record pace at the charity stripe on the season at 75.3%. The MIAC started the week with five teams ranked in the top 25 nationally in free-throw shooting at over 74%. Three Tommies are shooting at 88% or better led by sophomore Ali Johnson at 96% (22-of-23).
Split for Second - The St. Kate's hockey team split their series with #8 Gustavus over the weekend. It was the first time the Wildcats have picked up points against the Gusties since the 2002-03 season. With the win the Wildcats maintained sole possession of second place in the MIAC standings.
Not guilty – Bethel’s women’s basketball team did not commit a single foul during the entire second half of their game against Concordia on Saturday. As a team, the Royals committed just six fouls during in the 50-48 upset of the Cobbers. The Royals previously upset Macalester earlier in the week, making it two wins over two of the top teams in the conference standings.
Indoor Auggies off to Hot Start - Augsburg's men's track and field team had a strong start to its season at the UW-Stout Warren Bowlus Invitational in Menomonie, Wis., on Saturday. On the men's side, Nick Ward (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Shane Pantila (JR, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) both set school records and NCAA Division III national championship provisional qualifying marks with event wins; Ward in the 55-meter dash (6.46 seconds) and Pantila in the triple jump (14.23 meters/46-feet, 8.25-inches). Both Ward's and Pantila's performances are currently tops in their events among MIAC athletes. Ward earned MIAC Men's Track Athlete of the Week for his performance, which also included a third-place finish in the long jump and eighth-place finish in the 200-meter dash.
Keeping the Hopes Alive - Saint John’s senior goaltender Stu Van Ess (Kewaskum, Wis.) was named the MIAC Men’s Hockey Co-Player of the week on Monday, Feb. 1. Van Ess had a .954 save percentage and a 1.44 GAA in the Johnnies’ three-point weekend against Concordia. He made 37 saves, including 15 on the power play, in the 7-2 win Saturday. He followed that performance with 25 saves in the 1-1 overtime tie Sunday afternoon. Van Ess currently leads the MIAC (conference games only) in both save percentage (.929) and GAA (1.94). He has a 4-5-3 career record with a .910 save percentage and a 2.55 GAA in 11 career starts in net.
Sprinting to a Strong Start - Augsburg's women's track team had a strong start to its season at the UW-Stout Warren Bowlus Invitational in Menomonie, Wis., on Saturday. Competing in her first collegiate meet, Shanek Telphia (FY, Chicago, Ill./Gage Park) recorded an event win in the 200-meter dash (26.27 seconds) while also placing second in the long jump to earn MIAC Women's Track Co-Athlete of the Week honors. Meanwhile, sprinter Whitney Holman (SR, New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) also had a strong start, capturing the 55-meter dash title (7.44 seconds) and placing third in the 200.
A ‘Full-Court’ Player - Carleton men’s basketball junior guard Jeremy Sutherland (Apple Valley, Minn./St. Bernard's) was selected as the MIAC’s men’s basketball athlete of the week for Jan. 25-31 due to his contributions at both ends of the floor. In two games last week, Sutherland totaled 33 points with six steals, five rebounds, four assists, and three blocked shots. He has been the team’s second-leading scorer in each of the last four contests, but it has been his defense that has powered the Knights’ current five-game win streak. In the last five games, Sutherland’s primary defensive assignments have gone a combined 5-of-27 (18.5 percent) from the field, scoring 16 total points as he has limited those four players to an average of 8.26 points below their conference scoring average. Sutherland is the only MIAC player to rank among league overall leaders this season in points (12.7), assists (2.9), steals (1.3), and blocks (0.9).
On and Off the Field - All three of St. Kate's fall team MVPs earned MIAC Academic All-Conference Honors. Seniors Greta Sieve (cross country), Maria Hoffman (volleyball) and junior Kelsey Nistler (soccer) were part of nine St. Kate's student-athletes to be honored for their academic and athletic excellence this fall.
Weekly Honors for Wes - Saint John's sophomore diver Wes Schlichting (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) was named the MIAC Men's Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Week on Monday, Feb. 1. Schlichting won both diving events posting a 454.55 in the 1-meter and a 439.90 in the 3-meter during the Johnnies' 853-461 victory over Macalester in a two-day dual held Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29-30, in St. Paul. Sophomore teammate Josh Seaburg (Moorhead, Minn.) also won three events at the invite, including the 200-yard butterfly (2:00.72), 400-yard individual medley (4:21.10) and 1,650-yard freestyle (18:22.72).
Be Like Brett - The Concordia men’s hockey team tied St. John’s 1-1 on Sunday and now has four conference ties on the season. Even more impressive is the fact that the Cobbers’ MIAC record looks like Brett Favre's combined roster numbers for the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings the last three season. The Cobbers are now 4-4-4 in the MIAC and tied for 4th place. The four conference ties are the most in program history and tied for the most by any conference team in league history.
Macalester Invitational Recap – Several MIAC women’s swimming and diving teams took part in the two-day Macalester Invitational this past weekend. Saint Benedict came out on top and set four pool records. The pool records were set by the 800 freestyle relay team of Samantha Kessler (Plymouth, Minn.), Abbey Brau (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Chelsea Jenson (Plymouth, Minn.), and Carolyn Triggs (Edina, Minn.), Kessler also set the 200 freestyle record while Triggs and Brau broke the 200 IM and 500 freestyle records respectively. The Blazers placed first in eight events on day two to win the event with 787.5 points. St. Catherine finished in second overall, followed by Macalester in third, Augsburg in fourth and Concordia in fifth. Macalester’s Karoline Hart (So., Rexford, N.Y.) won the three breaststroke races to lead the Scots. She won at 50 yards (31.55), 100 yards (1:10.74) and 200 yards (2:33.64).
Sophomore Sensation - Concordia sophomore Tatijana Muller Dahlberg (Fargo, N.D./Oak Grove) started the 2010 indoor track and field season with a bang. Muller Dahlberg won the triple jump and provisionally qualified for nationals at the Cobber Open. She recorded a distance of 36-11.00 and beat competitors from NCAA Division I, II and NAIA schools. Muller Dahlberg's mark provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Meet. It is also the best jump of the year in the MIAC and 10th best in the nation. She also placed seventh in the 55 meters in a time of 7.61 and ninth in the high jump with a height of 4-10.50. Her marks in the triple jump and 55 meters were in the top 10 all time for Concordia.
Small Ball - Augsburg's men's basketball team claimed two big wins during the past week -- a 72-65 home win over St. Olaf on Saturday and a 75-70 win at Gustavus on Monday -- to move into a tie for third place in the MIAC standings with six league games remaining. Augsburg's three-guard offense has paid dividends in recent weeks, as the Auggies are averaging 73.8 points per-game, the second-highest scoring average in the MIAC in overall statistics, while shooting at a .470 clip -- fourth-best in the MIAC. Augsburg's .402 efficiency from beyond the three-point arc is tops among MIAC teams, and its 139 three-pointers are second-most in the MIAC. Guards David Olson (SR, Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS, 13.8 ppg), Jon Cassens (SR, Prior Lake, Minn., 12.3 ppg) and Ben Flavin (SO, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North HS, 10.6 ppg) all rank in the top 25 in scoring in the conference.
Second Half Shooters - The Saint John’s basketball team (12-7, 9-5 MIAC) defeated Macalester 81-63 for its second consecutive win on Monday, Feb. 1. SJU started the second half with a 20-8 run and shot 58.3 percent (14-24) to the Scots 31.0 percent (9-29). The Johnnies defeated Saint Mary’s Saturday, Jan. 30 66-55 in similar fashion. Again, Saint John’s came alive in the second half shooting 63.6 percent (14-22) and holding SMU to 27.8 percent (5-18) from the field in the final 20 minutes.
Blazers Bump Up - The Saint Benedict basketball team (15-4 overall, 13-3 MIAC) defeated Macalester (11-8 overall, 11-5 MIAC) 67-53 in St. Joseph, Minn. on Monday, and moved into second place in the MIAC race with six games to go. Leading the Blazers was junior post Heather Gillund (Ham Lake, MN, Blaine), who had 25 points off of 11-for-14 shooting and 3-for-3 from the free throw line. She also grabbed eight rebounds and had four blocks.
Top Ten - The Piper men's hockey program remained in the USCHO.com top ten this week with the #10 ranking. The team split with Augsburg over the weekend. Brian Arrigoni (So., Saint Paul, Minn.) was named the MIAC co-athlete of the week in men's hockey for his three-goal weekend. His tallies include two of the three goals in Saturday's 3-2 victory.
What 2 Watch 4…
Minnesota National Girls and Women in Sports Day – Some of Minnesota’s most inspiring and influential student-athletes, coaches and athletic leaders will be recognized at an award ceremony on Wednesday, February 3, at 12 p.m. at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. The award ceremony will be conducted in conjunction with the 24th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a nation-wide celebration recognizing the accomplishments of individuals in the promotion and advancement of girls’ and women’s sports. The 2010 ceremony will be honoring 25 individuals who will be receiving awards in five separate categories. All are invited to attend this special event. Recently-retired Macalester women’s soccer coach John Leaney will be among those recognized at the ceremony. Coach Leaney will be one of four recipients of the Special Merit Award.
Two Hipp Honors - Hamline junior men’s basketball center Carl Hipp (Little Canada, Minn.) is just 54 points away from the 1,000 career point milestone. Hipp is averaging 16.3 ppg this year. That's not the only upcoming celebration in the Hipp household, however. His mom, Hamline head women's track & field coach Shawn Johnson-Hipp, will receive a Breaking Barriers Award this Wednesday, February 3, at the state capital in conjunction with National Girls and Women in Sport Day.
Looking for Revenge - During their first meeting this season on January 4, the Macalester (11-5 MIAC, 11-8 Overall) women’s basketball team handed Gustavus (14-2 MIAC, 16-3 Overall) its first conference loss of the season. This time around, Gustavus will be looking for revenge as they travel to St. Paul tomorrow for a re-match. Gustavus just climbed into sole possession of first place in the conference standings, but the Scots look to sweep the first-place Gusties and position themselves for a home playoff game. Also looking for revenge is the St. Thomas women’s basketball team who will travel to St. Catherine tomorrow night to avenge a January 4 loss, 64-62. Game time is 7:30 p.m. for both of these contests featuring playoff contenders.
Oles vs. Tommies - With conference playoffs right around the corner, the fourth-place St. Olaf women’s hockey team travels to first-place St. Thomas on Friday for a 7 p.m. puck drop. The Tommies then make the trip down to St. Olaf on Saturday for a 7 p.m. start. On the men’s side, the teams will play Friday in Northfield and Saturday in Mendota Heights. St. Thomas is currently fourth in the conference standings while St. Olaf is sixth. This series will be important as both teams look to finish in the top five for the MIAC Playoffs.
Key Men’s Hoops Games Saturday – As the Hamline men’s basketball team looks to stay in the playoff run, they face a roadblock in number second-place Gustavus Saturday at home. Hamline currently sits in fifth in the conference standings, but just out of third. St. Thomas and Carleton will also meet Saturday in St. Paul for a tough match-up. St. Thomas is riding a seven game winning streak while Carleton has won five straight.
Minnesota Challenge - This weekend several MIAC swimming and diving teams will travel to the University of Minnesota for the Minnesota Challenge on Friday and Saturday. MIAC men’s & women’s teams participating include Saint Mary’s, Gustavus, St. Olaf, Carleton, and St. Thomas. Competition is set to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday and resume at 12 p.m. on Saturday. This will be most teams’ final tune-up before the MIAC Championships.
Bethel Invitational – Bethel will host several MIAC track and field teams this weekend including Macalester, Augsburg and St. Olaf on the men’s side and Macalester and Augsburg on the women’s side at their Bethel Invitational. The meet will begin on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Sports and Recreation Center.
A Minnesotan in the Super Bowl - Jeff Seeman, a current MIAC basketball referee and past conference football official, found out last Wednesday that he has been assigned to work the Super Bowl. Seeman is one of the top line judges in the NFL and will be wearing #45 during the game on Sunday, Feb. 7. Seeman was a member of Dave Lindquist’s crew when he worked in the MIAC.
Inside the Numbers…
2,000 - In just a little over two hours, the Bethel men’s hockey team helped prepare enough food to feed nearly 2,000 people. The team volunteered at Emergency Food Shelf Network in New Hope last Monday. They put together 182 produce packs, which feeds more than 700 people, 240 meat-only packages to feed almost 1000 people, and sorted 3780 pounds of food, which is enough to feed 250 people.
26 - With his first basket — on his first shot – against St. Thomas Monday, Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) became the 26th member of SMU’s 1,000 career point club. Holland, who now has 1,007 points, is the second SMU player this season to reach 1,000 career points. Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) eclipsed that same milestone earlier this year.
9 - Hamline women’s basketball center Mary Wilkowski (Jr., Savannah, Ga.) became just the ninth woman in Piper history to reach the 1,000 career point milestone. She reached the mark in the opening minutes of the game at Carleton last Saturday. Wilkowski is averaging 17.3 ppg this season in all games and her 16.4 ppg in MIAC play is third in the conference.
Did You Know?
Gustavus senior forward David Martinson (St. Louis, Park, Minn.) and St. Thomas senior goalie Lauren Bradel (Bemidji, Minn.) have been selected as finalists from the West Region to take part in the NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge, which will be held April 9 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan and will highlight the “Friday Night at the Frozen Four”. Six position players and two goaltenders in both genders from both the East and West Regions will be selected based on fan voting through the following website: http://www.ncaa.com/frozenfourskillschallenge/index.html. Voting began yesterday and runs through noon on Monday, February 15. Martinson, a 2009 First Team American Hockey Coaches Association All-America selection, currently leads Division III in goals scored with 20. Bradel is a three-time All-MIAC selection and is 4-0-1 in MIAC play this season.