APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team opens its home season on Wednesday when the Vikings take on Wisconsin Lutheran College at Alexander Gymnasium. The game tips off at 7 p.m. The Vikings then head to Ripon College on Saturday afternoon for the Midwest Conference opener.
Author: Joseph Vanden Acker
Women’s basketball preview: Lawrence at Marian
APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team opens the 2015-16 season on Tuesday when the Vikings travel to Marian University. This marks the second consecutive season that Lawrence starts the season with the Sabres. Marian won the 2014-15 season opener at Alexander Gymnasium.
Butterfield runs down MWC Player of the Week honor
APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University football standout Ryan Butterfield was named the Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week after a huge game in the season finale.
Butterfield (McDonough, Ga./Strong Rock Christian) won the honor after running for more than 200 yards in this past Saturday’s game against Grinnell College on Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl.
The freshman quarterback turned in the top rushing performance by a Lawrence player in more than a decade. Butterfield ran 24 times for 243 yards and three touchdowns and became the first Lawrence player in 13 years to rush for 200 yards in a game.
The last Lawrence player to hit the 200-yard mark was Justin Berrens vs. Ripon College in 2002. Butterfield’s 243 yards is the fifth-highest game rushing total in Lawrence history.
Butterfield had scoring runs of 79, 22 and 31 yards. The 79-yard run was a career-long for Butterfield and the longest play from scrimmage for the Vikings this season.
Butterfield also completed 15-of-37 passes for 191 yards.
On the season, Butterfield was 85-of-164 passing (51.8 percent) for 967 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. He was the team’s leading rusher with 82 carries for 454 yards, an average of 5.5 yards per carry.
Butterfield is the second Lawrence player to win a MWC Player of the Week award this season. Colt Duncan was named Defensive Player of the Week after the Vikings’ 51-6 win over Maranatha Baptist University in week two of the season. Butterfield is the first Viking to win Offensive Player of the Week since quarterback Luke Barthelmess did it on Nov. 11, 2013. Barthelmess won the honor three times during the 2013 campaign.
Vikings top Dominican in season opener
RIVER FOREST, Ill. — Jamie Nikitas posted a double-double, and the Lawrence University men’s basketball team edged Dominican (Ill.) University 74-72 in a non-conference game Saturday.
Dominican missed a pair of shots, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won it, in the final six seconds.
Nikitas scored a game-high 23 points and pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds for the Vikings, who defeated Dominican in the season opener for the second consecutive year. Nikitas also added four assists and a pair of steals.
Jeremy Stephani added 17 points and hit five 3-pointers for the Vikings, and Mitch Willer had 15 points.
Tim Robertson scored 18 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the Stars.
Lawrence trailed 8-7 early, but the Vikings went on a 24-10 run to grab a 31-18 lead with 4:51 left in the first half. Stephani, Troy Miller, Pete Winslow and Connor Weas all hit 3-pointers during that stretch for the Vikings.
The Vikings would go on to lead 39-27 at the half, but Dominican quickly trimmed the margin to 43-40 early in the second half.
Dominican would take its biggest lead at 57-54, but the Vikings would take the lead back for good on Nikitas’ layup with 7:46 left. It was a tight margin the rest of the way, and Lawrence led 70-66 on Nikitas’ layup with 2:59 left.
Dominican scored the next four points to tie it at 70-70 with 58 seconds left, but Stephani buried a 3-pointer for a 73-70 lead with 38 ticks remaining.
The teams traded free throws, and Lawrence still led by two when Josh Mayberry missed a driving layup with six seconds left. Stephani grabbed the rebound but stepped out of bounds in the corner with 1.9 left. Quinn Pokora took the inbounds pass and fired a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and he missed as time expired.
Bruning, Janusiak top Lawrence runners at NCAA Regional
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Clare Bruning and Josh Janusiak paced the Lawrence University cross country squads at Saturday’s NCAA Division III Midwest Regional.
Senior Clare Bruning was the top finisher for Lawrence as she took 66th place. Bruning covered the 6,000-meter course at Saukie Golf Course in 22:57.2.
The Lawrence women finished 22nd with 545 points, and Washington University was the winner with 68 points.
Cora Williams took 84th for Lawrence in 23:17.7 and rounding out the scoring were Erin Schrobilgen (110th, 23:37.7), Liz Landes (141st, 24:13.1) and Sierra Polzin (144th, 24:16.3).
Janusiak led the Lawrence men by taking 75th in 25:55.1 over the 8,000-meter course. Max Edwards was next as he took 88th in 26:06.8, and the rest of the scorers for the Vikings were Ben Schaefer (103rd, 26:23.0), Ethan Gniot (145th, 27:07.3) and Cam Davies (151st, 27:17.0).
Pioneers edge Lawrence in wild one at the Banta Bowl
APPLETON, Wis. — The Grinnell College football team hung on for a 34-27 win over Lawrence University on Saturday at the Banta Bowl.
The game was part of the Midwest Conference Championship Weekend that pitted teams in intra-divisional contests.
Grinnell (2-8) made a pair of stands deep in its own territory in the final three minutes to preserve the win. The Pioneers won despite giving up more than 500 yards of offense to Lawrence (1-9).
Lawrence quarterback Ryan Butterfield became the first Viking to rush for more than 200 yards in a game since Justin Berrens did it against Ripon College in 2002. Butterfield ran 24 times for 243 yards and three touchdowns. Butterfield also completed 15-of-37 passes for 191 yards.
Lawrence piled up 319 yards on the ground and averaged 7.8 yards per carry. Donnel Haley chipped with nine carries for 65 yards for Lawrence. The Vikings finished with 510 yards of offense.
Grinnell quarterback Sam Poulos was 22-of-36 for 269 yards and five touchdowns. Henry Cummings and Emmi Sandoval each caught five passes, including two touchdowns catches apiece, for the Pioneers.
After a wild first half that saw the teams combine for 61 points, both teams went scoreless in the second half.
Lawrence had a pair of great scoring chances late in the contest. Butterfield connected with Terrence Simon on a 24-yard pass play to the Grinnell 29-yard line with seven minutes left. Simon then made a fourth-down catch for a short gain to give Lawrence a first down at the Grinnell 17. After a pair of short running plays, Butterfield was unable to connect with Simon on the next two plays and Lawrence turned it over on downs with 2:55 remaining.
The Vikings defense forced a three-and-out and Lawrence got the ball back at the Lawrence 43 with 1:47 left. Butterfield raced for 13 yards and a first down and was hit late out of bounds so 15 more yards were tacked on, giving the Vikings a first down at the Grinnell 32.
On third-and-10, Cole Erickson caught a pass from Butterfield and raced 18 yards to the Grinnell 14. After Butterfield ran to the Grinnell 10, the Vikings were hit with two penalties to move the ball back to the 20.
Out of timeouts, Butterfield went for Simon in the end zone, and despite the fact the defender appeared to hit Simon before the ball arrived, no penalty was called. This came on the heels of the officials picking up a flag for looked to be pass interference in the end zone earlier in the drive.
Facing third down, Butterfield hit Dante Reese for a gain to the Grinnell 10, but the Vikings were unable to run another play before time expired.
Defensive end Jake Gostisha recorded a game-high 12 tackles and had an interception in the end zone for the Vikings. Linebackers Jacob Lueck and Dan Rothbauer had 11 and 10 tackles, respectively, for Lawrence.
The teams traded touchdowns in the first half and combined for 47 points in the second quarter.
Butterfield had a 22-yard scoring run to tie the game at 7-7 and then ripped off a career-long 79 yard touchdown run to tie the game at 13-13. Butterfield then ran 31 yards to put the Vikings up 20-19.
Simon had a two-yard scoring run to put Lawrence up 27-19, but Grinnell scored two touchdowns in the final 3:02 of the half to grab a 34-27 lead at the break.
Vikings look to deliver big improvement this season
APPLETON, Wis. — Please forgive Lawrence University women’s basketball coach Ashley Wellman if Tuesday’s season opener isn’t the first thing on her mind these days.
As much as she’s concerned how her Vikings will fare at Marian University, her first thought next week will be delivering her first child, who is due Monday.
“We’re honestly playing things by ear,” said Wellman, who begins her third season on the Lawrence bench. “The preseason hasn’t been affected too much. The assistants have been awesome. They take over when I tell them I can’t do this or that.”
Assistant coaches Barry Harris and Alex Deshler will lead the team through games until Wellman returns.
“Our team is like a giant family so the players and parents know I want to be back, but they’re all prepared for it,” Wellman said.
The Vikings are looking for a substantial improvement after winning just one game a season ago. Lawrence returns three starters and multiple other key players from last year’s squad.
Sophomore forward Liz Arco leads the returning players after averaging 8.7 points, a team-best 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game as a rookie.
“We are going to use Liz’s athleticism in our offense so she can get to the basket and get to the foul line,” Wellman said.
The Vikings also return senior forward Andrea Wilkinson and sophomore guard Natalie Kramer to the starting lineup. Two other players who started multiple games last season, senior forward Patsy Kealey and sophomore guard Olivia Hoesley, also return. Kealey recently started practice after having a stellar season in goal for the Lawrence women’s soccer team.
“(Kealey and Wilkinson) will be out there a lot this year,” Wellman said. “Andrea’s been a returning starter for three years, and she will be expected to step up more this year in terms of scoring and rebounding.”
The Vikings also have a trio of sophomore guards, Fanita Robins, Nicole Cummins and Lauren Deveikis, ready to expand their roles.
“I feel as though we have 10 upperclassmen that all have game experience. That is going to be something that will help get us over the hump,” Wellman said. “We were missing experience, confidence and leadership. I feel as though we have all of those.”
The Vikings have four newcomers, junior transfer Aubrey Scott from UW-La Crosse, rookies Sammi Jo Nixon and Leah Reeves and sophomore Arianna Cohen, who will see action immediately. Scott is a former standout at Appleton East High School who played two seasons at La Crosse.
After winning just one game a season ago and seeing four or five freshmen on the court at once, Wellman believes the lessons learned from that difficult season should pay dividends now.
“Moral victories are a thing of the past hopefully. We are returning a lot of experience. We only have two true freshman who will be on the court for us,” Wellman said.
“That group of sophomores will be the ones who see us over the hump. Our two seniors are the leaders, and they are doing a great job of guiding us through things and having everyone on the same page.”
Deremo earns All-Midwest Conference soccer honors
APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University men’s soccer standout Mike Deremo was named to the All-Midwest Conference team in a vote by league coaches.
Deremo (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township), a junior midfielder/forward, was a second-team selection. This was the second all-conference selection for Deremo, who was a second-team pick after his freshman season in 2013.
Deremo picked up two goals and one assist this season for five points this season.
Lawrence finished with a 4-13-1 record and a 3-7-0 mark in Midwest Conference play.
Lawrence men’s basketball seeks balance to be at its best
APPLETON, Wis. — No doubt remains that Jamie Nikitas is the driving force behind the Lawrence University men’s basketball team, but for the Vikings to be great this season, it will need to be a team effort.
“Our best games and where we will be the best as a team is when Nikitas is not the guy doing it all,” Lawrence coach Joel DePagter said. “When we’re balanced, we’ll be at our best.”
Nikitas, a 6-foot senior guard, was a second-team All-Midwest Conference selection a season ago after averaging 15.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Nikitas also led the team at 3.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game last season.
“Our team will go as far as Jamie Nikitas will take the team. He’s the key. He’s the leader. The guys follow Jamie and that’s good,” DePagter said. “It’s his team, and he’s got some serious guys who can help him. We have to be a balanced team and have to do things right, but Jamie is going to have be our leader on and off the floor.”
An emerging star joining Nikitas in the backcourt is 6-0 sophomore guard Jeremy Stephani. In his rookie season, Stephani averaged 8.5 points per game while shooting 41.6 percent from beyond the arc.
“You want guys to take a step up from the first year to the second year, but Jeremy came in at a pretty high level,” DePagter said. “His confidence in how he shoots ball is high.”
The Vikings will play a three-guard lineup with senior Troy Miller rounding out the trio. Miller averaged 6.5 points per game while shooting 40.5 percent from the floor a season ago.
The Vikings also return 6-7 forward Mitch Willer and 6-3 forward Peter Winslow to the frontcourt. Willer averaged 5.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game last season while shooting 60.4 percent from the floor and throwing down some monster dunks.
“People who have seen us play know that Mitch can finish at the basket, but we expect him to keep improving,” DePagter said. “Mitch has to keep improving and confidence for him is important.”
One player conspicuously absent from the lineup is senior forward Trace Sonnleitner, who informed DePagter in early October that he would not be playing this season. Sonnleitner averaged 12.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game a season ago.
“I hope the strength of our program overall is that when something like this happens, other guys are ready to step in,” DePagter said.
“Ryan DePouw got hurt last year and didn’t play the first few games and Pete Winslow stepped in and did a great job. The scoring punch that Trace had will be missed, but the guys who are going to get more minutes because of that have different strengths. We’ll be better defensively and be a better rebounding team.”
The Vikings open the season on Saturday when they head to Dominican (Ill.) University, and the home opener at Alexander Gymnasium is Nov. 18 vs. Wisconsin Lutheran College. The Vikings open Midwest Conference play at Ripon College on Nov. 21.
“If we can rebound the basketball, I know we have the ability to score in our motion,” DePagter said. “We just have to give ourselves a chance. We don’t have a lot of margin for error. We need to execute and do things well.”
Men’s basketball preview: Lawrence at Dominican (Ill.)
APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team tips off its season on Saturday when the Vikings travel to Dominican (Ill.) University. The Vikings return two starters, including All-Midwest Conference selection Jamie Nikitas, to a team that finished 10-13 a season ago. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Igini Sports Forum.