APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team is in the Golden State for a pair of games this weekend. Lawrence is at the UC Santa Cruz Classic and faces Whittier College on Saturday before taking on the host Banana Slugs on Sunday.
Author: Joseph Vanden Acker
Lawrence football stars Taylor, Zablocki to play in Bowl of the Stars
APPLETON, Wis. — Two more Lawrence University football players have been selected to play in the Bowl of the Stars on Dec. 20.
Senior offensive lineman Luke Zablocki (Pulaski, Wis./Pulaski) and senior linebacker Brandon Taylor (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) are part of the Team Stars and Stripes, a group of NCAA Division III all-stars. Team Stars and Stripes will play the CONADEIP All-Stars in Puebla, Mexico.
Zablocki and Taylor join senior wide receiver Taylor Mandich (Green Bay, Wis./Southwest), who had been selected for the team last month.
This is the second consecutive season Lawrence has sent players to the Bowl of the Stars. Quarterback Luke Barthelmess and defensive back/wide receiver played in the game in 2013. Barthelmess led Team Stars and Stripes to a 29-7 victory and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
Zablocki was a four-year starter on Lawrence’s offensive line, including the last three seasons at right tackle. Zablocki also did double duty by playing a limited number of snaps on the defensive line. He finished with 15 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
“The thing that attracted me the most was the opportunity to represent Lawrence University and its football program,” said Zablocki. “It is an honor to have been selected for this and follow in the footsteps of Sam Wagner and Luke Barthlemess.”
Taylor also cited Barthelmess and Wagner in his motivation to play for Team Stars and Stripes.
“When they (Barthelmess and Wagner) came back, they talked about what an amazing experience it was, and I was hooked,” Taylor said. “Coming into this season it was one of my goals to play well enough to be selected for the Tazon de Estrellas, and it is exciting to see that the hard work has paid off.”
Taylor piled up a team-high 98 tackles in 2014 and finished with 281 stops for his career. Taylor had 6.0 TFLs and 1.5 sacks to go along with one interception and three pass breakups.
“The thing that I am most looking forward to about this game is that it is one last time to strap up against a good opponent and compete at a high level,” Taylor said. “I get the opportunity to represent the Lawrence University community, LU football and the United States on foreign soil, and that is already something I know I will never forget. It also helps that I have two of my best friends and teammates that will be experiencing this all with me.”
The Bowl of the Stars features 40 players from 18 NCAA Division III teams, and Team Stars and Stripes will be coached by Central College defensive coordinator Don DeWaard. Team Stars and Stripes will travel to Mexico on Dec. 14 and participate in practice and community service projects before it plays on Dec. 20.
Hockey preview: Lawrence at No. 13 UW-Eau Claire
APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University hockey team heads to northern Wisconsin to take on No. 13 UW-Eau Claire in a nonconference game on Saturday at Hobbs Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m.
Lake Forest tops Vikings
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Lake Forest College men’s basketball team led the entire game and posted a 79-70 Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University on Tuesday night.
Torrey Davis led four Lake Forest players in double figures with 20 points. Jim Schick posted a double-double for Lake Forest (3-4, 3-3 MWC) with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Jamie Nikitas paced Lawrence (4-2, 2-2) with 21 points and seven rebounds. Ryan DePouw added 18 points, six rebounds and a game-high five assists for the Vikings.
Lawrence trailed from the opening minute and was down by as many as 11 points in the first half before the Vikings rallied. Lawrence scored nine consecutive points, including six on a pair of 3-pointers from Troy Miller and capped by a DePouw layup, to cut the lead to 26-24.
Lake Forest responded by finishing the half on a 9-2 run and led 35-26 at the half.
Lawrence trimmed the margin to four points twice early in the second half, but the Foresters pushed the lead to 48-36 with 15:12 left.
The Vikings trailed by as many as 15 points after that and got no closer than 77-70 with 36 seconds left. Lawrence had the ball at that point but missed its next three shots from the floor to seal its fate.
Foresters pull away late to down Lawrence
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Lake Forest College women’s basketball team pulled away late and posted a 52-37 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Tuesday.
Brie Majkowski scored 14 points and K.C. Stralka added 10 to pace the Foresters (3-5, 3-3 MWC).
Danelle Buck scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds for Lawrence (0-6, 0-4). Andrea Wilkinson and Kassidy Rinehart added six points apiece for the Vikings, and Wilkinson had a game-high nine rebounds.
Lawrence, which led by as many as five points in the first half, trailed 25-22 at the break. The Vikings got a three-point play from Rinehart to tie the score at 25-25 before the Foresters pulled out to a 35-27 edge.
Nicole Cummins then scored on a layup and Buck made a free throw to cut the margin back to 35-30 with 12:45 remaining. Lawrence was then hit by a scoring drought that lasted 7:40 as Lake Forest scored the game’s next eight points for a 43-30 advantage.
Buck hit a pair of free throws with 5:05 left to cut the lead to 43-32, but Lawrence would get no closer the rest of the way.
Women’s basketball preview: Lawrence at Lake Forest
APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team hits the road on Tuesday for a Midwest Conference game at Lake Forest College. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
Nikitas nails down MWC Player of the Week honor
APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University men’s basketball standout Jamie Nikitas has been named the Midwest Conference Player of the Week.
A junior guard, Nikitas (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) led Lawrence to a pair of victories during the past week and kept alive his streak of double-doubles to start the season.
Nikitas averaged 15.0 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in Lawrence’s two Midwest Conference wins. Nikitas scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Lawrence’s 64-53 overtime win over Beloit College on Dec. 3. He hit a game-tying shot with 0.7 seconds left to force the OT and then scored the first four points of the extra period to put the Vikings in command.
Nikitas followed that with 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in Lawrence’s 87-59 win at Illinois College on Dec. 6. Nikitas had 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the first half as Lawrence blew out to a 24-point halftime advantage.
For the season, Nikitas leads the team in scoring at 19.4 points per game and is averaging a conference-best 12.8 rebounds per game.
Lawrence returns to action on Tuesday when it plays at Lake Forest College.
Men’s basketball preview: Lawrence vs. Lake Forest/No. 23 UW-Stevens Point
APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team has a tough week ahead as the Vikings hit the road for a Midwest Conference game and then return home for a nonconference contest. Lawrence travels to play at Midwest Conference rival Lake Forest College on Tuesday before facing WIAC power UW-Stevens Point on Saturday afternoon.
Top-ranked St. Norbert downs Vikings
APPLETON, Wis. — Top-ranked St. Norbert College put on an impressive display Saturday night in a 9-0 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
The Green Knights (10-0-1, 7-0-1 NCHA) scored four times in the opening 8:38 and had a 52-16 advantage in shots.
Michael Hill had a hat trick for St. Norbert and Erik Cooper scored two of the Green Knights’ first three goals.
David Jacobson improved to 8-0-0 for the season while making 16 saves for the shutout.
Lawrence goaltender Mattias Soderqvist gave up the first three goals of the contest and took the loss. Anton Olsson came on in relief in the first period and finished with 41 saves for the Vikings (5-6-1, 4-4-0).
Lawrence missed a great scoring chance in the first 20 seconds of the game, and St. Norbert’s Ross Pavek scored at 1:09 to put the Green Knights up 1-0.
Cooper then scored at 6:35 and 8:25, and Hill got his first goal of the night at 8:38 for a 4-0 lead. St. Norbert added three more goals in the second and a pair of goals in the third period.
Vikings roll past Illinois College
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team hit 14 3-pointers en route to an 87-59 Midwest Conference rout of Illinois College on Saturday at Sherman Gymnasium.
The Vikings (4-1, 2-1 MWC) hit 14-of-33 shots from beyond the arc and constructed a 24-point halftime lead. Illinois College (1-4, 0-2) never got closer than the halftime margin and trailed by as many as 42 points in the second half.
Guard Jamie Nikitas posted his fifth consecutive double-double to start the season with 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Vikings. Senior swingman Ryan DePouw led Lawrence and all scorers with 19 points and he handed out a game-high seven assists to go with eight rebounds.
Trace Sonnleitner added 18 points, hitting 4-of-7 shots from 3-point range, to go with six rebounds for the Vikings. Troy Miller also was in double figures for the Vikings with 13 points.
Mitchell Patterson led Illinois College with 13 points.
Lawrence led by double digits just 4:14 into the game on Sonnleitner’s layup that provided a 13-2 advantage. Illinois College managed to trim the lead to 20-14 with 11:50 left before halftime, but the Vikings answered back.
The Vikings hit six 3-pointers over the next 6:21 to break the game wide open. A 20-4 run was capped by Miller’s 3-pointer and put the Vikings up 40-18 with 5:29 left in the opening half.
Lawrence led by as many as 26 points in the first half before settling for a 53-29 at the break.