Joseph Vanden Acker

Author: Joseph Vanden Acker

Sabres down Lawrence to win Battle of Highway 41

Marian University scored three goals in a span of four minutes in the first period to take control and went on to a 6-3 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University on Saturday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

The game was part of the second annual Battle of Highway 41, which was won by Marian for the second consecutive year.

Lawrence (11-11-1, 9-9-0 MCHA) scored first on Vince Vacketta’s first career goal at 7:03 of the first.

The Sabres (17-6-0, 14-4-0) tied the game on Tommy Fitzpatrick’s goal at the 9:42 mark. Marian grabbed a 2-1 lead just 19 seconds later when Tanner Burton scored his first goal of the season. The Sabres made it 3-1 when Matt Williams scored on the power play at 13:42.

The Sabres took a 4-1 lead into the first intermission when Brendan Roberts scored at 18:01. Marian quickly made it 5-1 on Brendan Hull’s goal just 42 seconds into the second period.

Lawrence trimmed the lead to 5-2 late in the second period when Nate Scurfield scored his first career goal, a power-play tally.

William Thoren gave the Vikings some life when he scored on the power play at 7:16 of the third to cut the lead to 5-3. That didn’t last long because Williams scored just 26 seconds later to stretch the lead to 6-3.

Alex Bjerk made 22 saves to pick up the win for the Sabres. Michael Baldino made the start for Lawrence and allowed four first-period goals. Kevin Aslett, seeing his first action for Lawrence, stopped 34 of 36 shots in the final two periods.

Box score

Vikings rally to topple Beloit

BELOIT, Wis. — Tyler Crisman poured in 30 points and Erik Borresen had a double-double to rally the Lawrence University men’s basketball team to a 72-64 Midwest Conference victory over Beloit College on Saturday at Flood Arena.

Lawrence (11-10, 10-6 MWC) rallied from a six-point deficit midway through the second half to sweep the season series from Beloit (9-12, 8-8). The win moved Lawrence into a four-way tie for second place in the conference and all but eliminated the Bucs from any chance of making the MWC Tournament.

Crisman’s 30-point game was a career high, eclipsing the 29-point night he had at Ripon College last week. The junior guard hit on 10-of-17 shots from the floor and was 7-for-8 from the foul line. Borresen added 17 points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for the Vikings.

David Bremner paced the Bucs with 16 points.

Lawrence trailed 51-45 with before Jon Mays buried a 3-pointer with 9:58 left in the game to kick off a 20-6 scoring run. Mays hit another 3-pointer with 7:46 left that tied the game at 53-53.

Crisman followed with a jumper and Chris Siebert had a layup that gave Lawrence the lead for good at 57-53 with 6:20 left.

The teams traded baskets before the Vikings got a hoop from Borresen and a pair of free throws from Crisman to go ahead 65-57 with 1:42 remaining.

Michael Horton trimmed the lead to 65-60 on a 3-pointer, but the Bucs were then forced to foul. Lawrence went 7-for-10 from the foul line in the final 1:29 to seal the victory.

The Vikings return to Alexander Gymnasium on Wednesday for their final home game of the season. The Vikings host Ripon in another key MWC contest.

Box score

Short-handed Vikings fall at Beloit

BELOIT, Wis. — A short-handed Lawrence University women’s basketball team dropped a 77-55 Midwest Conference decision to Beloit College on Saturday at Flood Arena.

Lawrence (0-21, 0-16 MWC), playing without starters Nakita Chadwick and Kanesha Walker due to injury and a death in the family, were led by Cathy Kaye’s 13 points. Cory Paquette added 11 points and Alex Deshler and Katie Van Es had nine points apiece.

Diana Sopkowicz posted a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds for Beloit (8-13, 6-10). Sopkowicz was 11-for-12 from the floor.

Lawrence came out of the gate strong and led 12-11 on Paquette’s layup with 13:23 left in the opening half. Beloit then scored the game’s next 13 points to take a 24-12 lead with 7:39 remaining in the half. Kandace Fox scored four points during the run for the Bucs.

Paquette helped the Vikings battle back as she scored five points over the next five minutes to help cut the lead to 28-22 with 2:06 left. The Bucs then scored the final six points of the first half to take a 34-22 lead at the break.

After Lawrence scored the first two points of the second half, Beloit went on a 12-2 run to take a 46-26 lead with 15:33 left. Lawrence didn’t get any closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

Lawrence returns faces Ripon College on Wednesday in its final home game of the season.

Box score

Marian shuts out Vikings

FOND DU LAC, Wis. — Marian University used a big third period to pull away and post a 5-0 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University on Friday night at the Blue Line Ice Center.

The game was part of the Battle of Highway 41 series, which wraps up Saturday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Marian (16-6-0, 13-4-0 MCHA) had built a 2-0 lead on a goal in the first minute of the contest by Matt Williams and Dakota Dubetz’s second-period tally.

The Sabres then sealed the win with three goals in the final period.

Lane Boswell scored just 22 seconds into the third period to put Marian up 3-0. Brendan Hull scored midway through the period and Williams added a goal late to finish the scoring.

Justin DeMaa and Alex Bjerk combined to stop 32 shots for the shutout. Evan Johnson made 54 saves for the Vikings (11-10-1, 9-8-0).

Box score

Lawrence men face critical game Saturday at Beloit

The Lawrence University men’s basketball team continues its battle for a berth in the Midwest Conference Tournament when it travels to Beloit College on Saturday. Lawrence is tied for fourth place heading into the game, and the Bucs only trail the Vikings by one game in the standings. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at Flood Arena.

Preview

Inside LU Athletics: Tepper takes her game to a higher level

The record was nice. Qualifying for nationals was a definite bonus. But Rose Tepper had something else on her mind.

“We knew it was her best jump ever, but Rose’s first question was, ‘Did I beat that girl from Northern Michigan?’ ” Lawrence University track and field coach Jason Fast said.

Tepper jumped 5 feet, 5.75 inches (1.67 meters), at last Saturday’s UW-Stevens Point Invitational and tied Northern Michigan’s Bailey Franklin for first place. The jump broke Lawrence’s school record of 5-5.25 and made Tepper a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championships in March at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

“More than just the fact that she’s succeeding, Rose brings a great attitude to every competition. She just hates to lose,” Fast said.

“She brings a great competitive aspect to our team that hasn’t been seen in a while. It’s nice to see that and be able to build around that since she’s only a sophomore.”

A native of Mount Vernon, Iowa, Tepper won the high jump at the Midwest Conference Championships during the 2010 outdoor season, but a trip to the NCAA Championships eluded Tepper during her rookie campaign.

“Qualifying for nationals was the main goal (for this season),” Tepper said. “I actually didn’t realize that I was breaking the record until after I jumped.”

Tepper nearly became an automatic qualifier for the NCAA meet but narrowly missed clearing 1.72 meters (5-7.75) last Saturday.

“She was born to jump,” Fast said of Tepper. “She has steadily been improving as we’ve been able to work with her more and get her more involved with the weight room. That’s one of the biggest changes we’ve made this year. Getting her stronger is already paying dividends.”

Tepper said working with assistant coach Lyndsey Thoma, a national qualifier herself during her days at UW-Oshkosh, has paid big dividends.

“I do feel like coach Thoma has definitely been working on some key things in my approach and that has affected how I’ve been jumping,” Tepper said.

“What I have been working on is getting my last three steps shorter to get my power up. When I shorten those last steps, I’m pounding into the ground to get my momentum up and over.”

And Fast believes Tepper has the physical ability and mental makeup to get up and over even greater heights.

“I have no doubt that she can go higher. It’s just a matter of her getting the opportunity. This is a huge barrier out of the way. She talked about how nervous she was clearing 1.67 and now that’s out of the way,” Fast said.

Tepper currently is tied for the eighth-highest jump in the nation, and Fast said that 1.67 meters has always been good enough to reach the NCAA meet. Getting Tepper to the national stage is an exciting prospect, according to Fast.

“Rose has shown the propensity, in her short career, to jump well at big meets,” Fast said.

Sheridan, Thoren honored

Lawrence standouts Jon Sheridan and William Thoren have earned Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association weekly awards.

Sheridan was named the Defensive Player of the Week and Thoren was chosen as the Freshman of the Week.

Sheridan, a senior defenseman, recorded two assists in Lawrence’s 5-0 win over Northland last Friday and then scored the game-winning goal in a 4-2 victory over the Lumberjacks on Saturday. Sheridan was a plus-four on the weekend.

Thoren, a freshman defenseman, had a pair of assists in the shutout win and another assist in Saturday’s victory. He was a plus-three on the weekend.

Battle of Highway 41 this weekend

The Lawrence and Marian hockey teams play in the Battle of Highway 41 this weekend.

Friday’s game is at Marian and Saturday’s game is at the Appleton Family Ice Center. The winner of the series receives the prodigious Battle of Highway 41 trophy.

Should the teams split the two games, a shootout to determine the winner will take place immediately following Saturday’s game.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a weekly notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.

Tepper’s record-setting performance nets MWC award

Lawrence University standout Rose Tepper has been named the Midwest Conference Field Performer of the Week.

Tepper (Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon), a sophomore, won the honor after she broke the Lawrence record in the high jump at the UW-Stevens Point Invitational this past Saturday.

Tepper jumped 5 feet, 5.75 inches, to win the event and break the record of 5-5.25, which was set in 2010 by All-American Madeline Steininger.

Tepper also earned a provisional qualifying spot in the NCAA Division III Championships. Her jump of 5-5.75 (1.67 meters) has her tied for the eighth-highest jump in the nation.

The Vikings return to action on Feb. 19 when they travel to the Eastbay Invitational at UW-Stevens Point.

Sheridan, Thoren pick up MCHA weekly honors

Lawrence University hockey standouts Jon Sheridan and William Thoren have earned Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association weekly awards.

Sheridan (Midland, Mich.) was chosen as the Defensive Player of the Week and Thoren (Gothenburg, Sweden) was named the Freshman of the Week.

Sheridan, a senior defenseman, recorded two assists in Lawrence’s 5-0 shutout of Northland College last Friday. Sheridan then broke a 2-2 tie in the third period on Saturday with a power-play goal that proved to be the game winner in Lawrence’s 4-2 victory.

Sheridan was a plus-four on the weekend and was on the ice for six of Lawrence’s nine goals. Sheridan now has three goals and six assists for nine points this season.

Thoren, a freshman defenseman, was a key performer in Lawrence’s shutout win over the Lumberjacks last Friday. He picked up a pair of assists in Friday’s victory and had another assist in Saturday’s win.

Thoren, who has three goals and is tied for the team lead with 13 assists this season, was a plus-three on the weekend.

Lawrence returns to action this weekend when it has a home-and-home series with Marian University.