CROSS COUNTRY (Men: 6th at Nationals)
The sixth-ranked UW-Stevens Point men's cross country team stayed true to its ranking Saturday as it finished sixth out of 32 teams with 326 points at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships hosted by St. Olaf College.
Dominick Meyer (Jr.-Beloit/Memorial) paced the Pointers, finishing in a time of 25:07 to place 25th, which was good enough to earn himself All-American status. Corey Towle (Jr.-Waukesha/South) was the next Pointer runner to finish as he placed 58th in 25:30. Phil Richert (Jr.-Andover, MN) finished five seconds behind Towle to place 65th. Joel Heroux (Fr.-Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol) finished in 138th place in a time of 26:02. Travis Nechuta (Jr.-Mosinee) was right behind him in 153rd place with a time of 26:05.
Stevens Point finished one spot behind Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) rival UW-La Crosse, who was fifth with 221 points. New York University captured its first national title with 128 points.
It was the Pointers 19th appearance in the NCAA Division III Championships for the Pointers. They finished as high as second in 2003.
UW-Stevens Point women's cross country runner Hannah Dieringer (Sr.-Spencer) placed 70th at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships.
Dieringer finished in a time of 22:43. She was the eighth runner from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) to finish. Amherst took home the women's title with 120 points. UW-Eau Claire led the WIAC, placing eighth with 285 points.
MEN'S BASKETBALL (1-0 Overall, 0-0 WIAC)
Nov. 19 – vs. Northern Michigan (Quandt Fieldhouse), 7 p.m.
Nov. 24 – vs. Lakeland College (Quandt Fieldhouse), 7 p.m.
The third-ranked UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team connected on 18 three-point field goals to set a new team and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) record on its way to defeating Carroll College 105-72 in the season opener at Quandt Fieldhouse on Saturday night.
The previous record had been 17 against UW-River Falls on January 9, 2002. The Pointers have now won 24 straight games against teams from the Midwest Conference and have won 13 straight home openers.
The game was back-and-forth for the first 10 minutes, but then the Pointers went on a 10-0 run at 8:46 to take a 26-18 lead. Steve Hicklin (Sr.-Sussex/Hamilton) had eight of the 10 points, including back-to-back three point field goals. Stevens Point continued its three-point barrage and extended its lead to 48-28 with 4:11 remaining in the first half. The margin stayed 20 and at halftime it was 58-38 Stevens Point.
The Pointers finished 12-for-16 in the first half from beyond the arc and shot 72% from the field. The Pioneers shot 43% in the first half. The Pointers also had a 17-10 edge on the boards.
The Pioneers only got as close as 16 in the second half as it was too much Pointers. Stevens Point led by as much as 36 in the half and went on to win 105-72. Stevens Point shot 53% in the second half to finish at 62% for the game. The Pointers finished 69% on three-point field goals. Carroll finished at 43% shooting for the game. Stevens Point did finish with 15 turnovers, which led to 24 Pioneer points.
Pete Rortvedt (Jr.-Minocqua/Lakeland) led the Pointers with 25 points and was 6-for-11 from behind the three-point line. Steve Hicklin had 19 points, including 16 in the first half alone. Freshman Louis Hurd (Fr.-Portage) had 15 points off the bench and Khalifa El-Amin (Jr.-Milwaukee/Rufus King) added 10 points. Bryan Beamish (Jr.-Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) had a team-high five rebounds for Stevens Point.
MEN'S HOCKEY (4-2-0 overall, 1-1-0 NCHA)
Nov. 24 – vs. Concordia, (WI) (Willett Arena), 8 p.m.
The UW-Stevens Point men's hockey team fell to No. 7-ranked St. Norbert College 3-1 Friday night in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) opener, but then came back to defeat Lake Forest College 9-0 on Saturday night at Willett Arena.
The Pointers got up on the seventh-ranked Green Knights as Tom Upton (So.-Austin, TX/Westwood) scored 10 minutes into the first period to give Stevens Point a 1-0 lead. Nick Bydal (Jr.-East Grand Forks, MN) assisted the goal. St. Norbert tied the contest up with 2:25 remaining in the first period as Cory Harder put the puck in the net.
The Green Knights then took advantage of a Pointer penalty and Marc Belanger gave St. Norbert a 2-1 lead on a power play goal with 5:57 remaining in the second period. St. Norbert had a 15-7 shot advantage in the second period.
The Green Knights then added insurance in the third period as Matt Boyd scored a little less than six minutes into the third period to give St. Norbert a 3-1 advantage. That would be the final as the Green Knights defeat the Pointers for the 11th time in the last 12 meetings.
St. Norbert had a slight edge in shots 28-27. The Green Knights committed 13 penalties, while the Pointers had 11 infractions. Marcus Paulson (Jr.-Eden Prairie, MN) had 25 saves in the defeat, while Kyle Jones had 26 saves in the victory.
The Pointers got a big night from Brett Beckfeld (Jr.-Plymouth, MN/Armstrong) on Saturday night as he had four goals and two assists in the 9-0 rout of Lake Forest. The shutout was the first for the Pointers since an 8-0 defeat of the Milwaukee School of Engineering during the 2002-03 season.
SOCCER (16-5-2 overall, 7-1-0 WIAC)
The UW-Stevens Point soccer team saw its season come to an end Friday night with a 4-0 defeat by defending champion Wheaton College in the sectional semifinal of the NCAA Division III Soccer Tournament.
The Pointers will end with an overall record of 16-5-2. This is the third straight year that Wheaton has knocked out a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) opponent as it defeated UW-Eau Claire the past two years. It is the third time Wheaton has ended Stevens Point's season in the tournament.
The Thunder held the high-powered Pointers to just four total shots. Wheaton scored in the 26th minute on a Brittany Burgh goal. Then eight minutes later Libby Passiales scored on a cross to make the score 2-0. Then a minute into the second half, Sarah Richardson scored to extend the Thunder's lead to 3-0. Wheaton added one more goal in the 65th minute to make the final score 4-0.
Meredith DeCaluwe (Sr.-Naperville, IL/Central) made seven saves in her final collegiate game as a Pointer.
SWIMMING (Men: 1-1; Women 1-1)
The UW-Stevens Point men's and women's swimming and diving teams put up a strong performance Saturday at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) relays with the men winning the event and the women placing second.
The men won with 158 points. UW-La Crosse finished second with 124 points, UW-Whitewater was third with 94 points, UW-Eau Claire was fourth with 92 points, UW-Oshkosh was fifth with 66 points, and UW-River Falls was sixth with 14 points.
The Pointer men won seven of the 26 events. The Pointers were victorious in 400-yard medley relay, 300-yard individual medley relay, 1500-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard medley relay, 300-yard butterfly relay, 300-yard backstroke relay, and the 850-yard freestyle relay.
The women were second with 138 points. UW-La Crosse took first with 174 points. UW-Eau Claire was third with 102 points, UW-Whitewater was fourth with 72 points, and UW-Oshkosh was fifth with 48 points.
The Pointer women were victorious in the 300-yard butterfly relay and the 850-yard freestyle relay.
WOMEN'S HOCKEY (4-0-0 overall, 2-0-0 NCHA)
Nov. 20 – at Augsburg (MN), 7 p.m.
The UW-Stevens Point women's hockey team swept NCHA opponent Finlandia over the weekend, defeating the Lions 3-1 on Saturday and then 6-0 on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Lions struck first 5:32 into the contest as Katelyn McLean scored to give Finlandia a 1-0 advantage. The Pointers responded with 10:28 remaining in the first period as Jessica Edward (So.-Sherrard, IL/Shattuck St. Mary's) scored a power play goal to tie the game at 1-1. Jamie Lewandowski (Sr.-Rolling Meadows, IL/Fremd) and Jess Suter (Sr.-Waunakee) had the assists.
Then three minutes into the second period, Nicole Grossmann (Jr.-Lindstrom, IL/Chisago Lakes) put the Pointers up 2-1 on an evenhanded goal. Michelle Sosnowski (Jr.-Plainfield, IL/Central) and Lewandowski had the assists. Edward gave Stevens Point some cushion with 2:27 remaining in the second period as she scored a shorthanded goal, her second goal of the contest to make the score 3-1. Grossmann had the assist.
Pointer goaltender Ann Hulme (So.-Shaker Heights, OH/Philips Exeter) had 10 saves in the third period to preserve the 3-1 win for the Pointers. Hulme finished with 21 saves in the game.
On Sunday, after a scoreless first period, Stevens Point started to pour it on in the second. Nicole Grossmann scored 2:37 into the period to make the score 1-0. Jess Suter and Dana Carothers (Fr.-Burnsville, MN) had the assists. Then Suter put one in the net herself at 14:49 to give the Pointers a 2-0 advantage. Katy Lankey (Sr.-Baraboo) and Kellye Nelson (So.-Lino Lakes, MN/Centennial) assisted on the goal. Then with less than four minutes remaining Jamie Lewandowski scored a power play goal to give Stevens Point a 3-0 lead. Carothers and Sarah Phillips (So.-Kelowna, B.C./St. George's School) had the assists.
Grossmann added another goal, her fifth of the season, on the power play just 29 seconds into the third period to extend the Pointer lead to 4-0. Carothers and Phillips had the assists again. Jessica Edward then scored an unassisted goal with less than five minutes remaining to make the score 5-0. Nelson gave the Pointers their final goal with 29 seconds left in the period as Stevens Point went on to win 6-0. Jenna Daggit (Jr.-St. Paul Park, MN/Park of Cottage Grove) assisted the final goal.
d'Andra Phillips (So.-Swartz Creek, MI) picked up her first shutout of the season with 16 saves in the victory.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (2-0 Overall, 0-0 WIAC)
Nov. 20 – vs. Wisconsin Lutheran College (Berg Gym), 7 p.m.
Nov. 23 – at North Central College (IL), 5 p.m.
Nov. 24 – at Wheaton College (IL), 5 p.m.
The UW-Stevens Point women's basketball team began the 2007-08 season by capturing its seventh Pointer Tip-off title in the 11-year existence of the event.
The Pointers scored 52 second half points on their way to a convincing 85-60 victory tonight over Augsburg College on Friday. Janell Van Gomple (Jr.-DeForest) led the Pointers with 12 points, while Haley Houghton (Sr.-Wausau/East) and Christin Coles (Fr.-Hustisford) chipped in 10 points. Jessi Sporle (Jr.-Mineral Point) had eight rebounds to lead the Pointers on the glass. The Pointers had 13 different players that scored.
Then on Saturday, the Pointers took care of St. Scholastica 81-30 in the championship game. It was the most lop-sided defeat in a tip-off championship game. The Pointers showed their balance as nobody scored in double figures, but Haley Houghton, Ashley Windt (Jr.-Hurley), and Jessi Sporle all had nine points to lead the team. Jesirae Heuer (Sr.-Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) had a team-high seven rebounds. Janell Van Gomple received the tournament's most valuable player award. Sporle and Houghton were named to the five-member all-tournament team.
WRESTLING (4-1 Overall, 0-0 WIAC)
Nov. 21 – vs. Wartburg (IA) (Berg Gym), 7 p.m.
On Tuesday night, the 12th-ranked Pointers were upset by Lakeland College 31-11 in Fond du Lac, but followed that by winning all four dual matches at the Comet Duals on Saturday.
Picking up wins for the Pointers on Tuesday night were Jered Kern (Jr.-Mosinee) at 133 pounds, Jake Wozniak (Jr.-Stanley/Stanley-Boyd) at 165 pounds, and Dennis Reckelberg (So.-Luxemburg/Luxemburg-Casco) at 174 pounds.
On Saturday, the Pointers got the morning started by defeating host and ninth-ranked Olivet 24-18. Senior Jake Calhoun (Sr.-Stevens Point/SPASH) made his season debut by recording his first of three pins on the day when he pinned his opponent in 3:49 in the 125-pound bout. Fourth-ranked senior, Craig Bollig (Sr.-Verona), also scored a fall for the Pointers, pinning Olivet's Tucker Surbrook in 3:48 in the 197-pound match. Bollig scored two pins on the day.
In the second dual of the morning the Pointers defeated Mount Union 23-15. Sophomore, Dennis Reckelberg scored the lone pin for the Pointers pinning Tod Rogers in 2:39. Calhoun, senior Kyle Mueller (Sr.-Spring Green/River Valley), junior Jake Wozniak, Bollig, and senior Mitch Szwet (Sr.-Coleman) all registered wins for the Pointers.
In the third match the Pointers used five pins to help defeat Tri-State (Ind.) 35-18. Calhoun scored the fastest fall of the day pinning his opponent in 39 seconds. Also recording pins for the Pointers were Mueller, Wozniak, Bollig and sophomore heavyweight Chad Gregory (So.-Lawton, OK).
In the fourth and final match of the afternoon the Pointers cruised past 20th-ranked Baldwin-Wallace 36-13. Calhoun, Mueller and Wozniak all recorded pins for the Pointers while Bollig and Szwet both received forfeits.
Bollig, Calhoun and Wozniak all went 4-0 on the day while Mueller and Reckelberg both went 3-1. Heavyweights Gregory and Szwet both went 2-0 for the Pointers.
* For further information on UW-Stevens Point athletics be sure to check out the Pointer Web Site at http://athletics.uwsp.edu. The website includes up-to-date news, schedules, stats and more on all of UW-Stevens Point's athletic teams.
