Joseph Vanden Acker

Author: Joseph Vanden Acker

DePouw tops 1,000 points as Vikings rout Illinois College

Ryan DePouw
Ryan DePouw

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University men’s basketball star Ryan DePouw topped 1,000 points on Saturday as the Vikings routed Illinois College 100-67 in a Midwest Conference game at Alexander Gymnasium.

DePouw, a senior guard from Oconto, Wis., scored 26 points and now has 1,001 points for his career. DePouw is the 22nd player in Lawrence history to score 1,000 points. DePouw hit 8-of-13 shots from the floor, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line.

Jamie Nikitas added 16 points and a game-high six rebounds for the Vikings (8-12, 6-9 MWC). Connor Weas scored 15 points in just 16 minutes for Lawrence, and Trace Sonnleitner and Mitch Willer added 12 points apiece.

Cody Hildebrand and Max Stutsman scored 12 points apiece to pace the Blueboys (4-16, 3-12).

Lawrence actually trailed 18-8 after the Blueboys hit four of their first five attempts from beyond the arc. Lawrence then took command by going on a 13-2 run over the next 2:48 to grab a 21-20 lead. DePouw, Nikitas and Weas all hit 3-pointers during that run for the Vikings.

Lawrence led 29-24, but the Vikings really caught fire over the final 10 minutes of the first half. The Vikings outscored Illinois College 31-9 in the final 9:42 of the half to grab a 60-33 advantage at the half. DePouw had 14 points in the first half, and the Vikings had four players in double figures by the break.

Lawrence quickly pushed the lead to 34 at 72-38 just 3:42 into the second half and the rout was on. The Vikings would lead by as many as 37 points in the second half.

Box score

Lady Blues hold off second-half Lawrence surge

APPLETON, Wis. — The Illinois College women’s basketball team built a big lead Saturday and then held off a determined effort by Lawrence University in a 65-52 Midwest Conference victory by the Lady Blues at Alexander Gymnasium.

Reigning MWC Player of the Year Hannah McGinnis posted an impressive double-double with 30 points and 18 rebounds for the Lady Blues (13-7, 10-5 MWC). Maddy Keith added a double-double for Illinois College with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Kassidy Rinehart posted her own double-double for the Vikings (0-19, 0-15) with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Danelle Buck led Lawrence with 14 points, and Olivia Hoesley came off the bench to add 10 points.

Illinois College jumped out to a 15-5 lead just 6:16 into the first half, but the Vikings battled back. Lawrence went on a 10-2 run late in the half as Buck hit a pair of 3-pointers to help trim the lead to 28-23 with 3:27 left in the opening half. Illinois College then scored the final five points of the half to stretch the margin back to 33-23 at the break.

The Lady Blues opened the second half on a 16-2 run to stretch the lead to 49-25 with 14:41 left. Over the next 9:41, Lawrence slashed the lead to 11 points and 54-43 with 5:00 left. Rinehart scored six of Lawrence’s 18 points during that run.

McGinnis finally stemmed the tide with a layup, and the Lady Blues hit 7-of-10 free throws in the final 1:58 to seal the win.

Box score

Sixth-ranked Adrian starts fast, races past Vikings

APPLETON, Wis. — Sixth-ranked Adrian College scored four goals in the first 11 minutes and rolled to a 7-1 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University on Saturday at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Kyle Brothers scored a pair of goals, and Josh Ranalli had three assists for the Bulldogs (17-3-3, 14-1-1 NCHA). Steve Hughes scored the lone goal for the Vikings (6-16-1, 5-11-0).

The Bulldogs scored just 1:48 into the game on Micki Mihailovich’s shot from the wing for a 1-0 edge. Duston Hebebrand made it 2-0 at the 6:49 mark, and Mat Thompson scored just 39 seconds later for a 3-0 lead. Daniel Lisi goal at the 10:43 mark gave Adrian a 4-0 advantage.

Ryan Lowe then scored with just 31 seconds left in the first period, and the Bulldogs led 5-0 after one.

The Vikings cut the advantage to 5-1 when Hughes scored off a feed from Ryan Robertson at the 8:07 mark of the second period.

The Bulldogs added a pair of power-play goals in the third period to complete the scoring. The Bulldogs were 2-for-8 on the power play, and Lawrence went 0-for-6.

Scott Shackell made eight saves in the first period to pick up the win. James Hamby stopped 24 shots over the final two periods for Adrian. Peter Emery made the start for the Vikings, but allowed the first three goals and was relieved by Mattias Soderqvist. Soderqvist made 33 saves for the Vikings.

Box score

UW-La Crosse blanks Vikings

APPLETON, Wis. — The UW-La Crosse men’s tennis team topped Lawrence University 9-0 in a nonconference match on Friday night at Fox Cities Racquet Club. The Eagles didn’t drop a set en route to the victory. It was the season opener for the Vikings.

UW-La Crosse 9, Lawrence University 0

Singles competition
1. Peter Stadum (UWL) def. David Jumes (LU) 6-4, 6-3
2. Tony Mirasola (UWL) def. Sotaro Kurahashi (LU) 6-1, 6-0
3. Kyle McGrane (UWL) def. Brian DeCorte (LU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Nick Skanavis (UWL) def. Adam Busch (LU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Dante Pitera (UWL) def. Ethan Perushek (LU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Matt Bulger (UWL) def. Izaya Turenne (LU) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Peter Stadum/Tony Mirasola (UWL) def. David Jumes/Sotaro Kurahashi (LU) 8-3
2. Kyle McGrane/Matt Lindsay (UWL) def. Adam Busch/Brian DeCorte (LU) 8-5
3. Nick Skanavis/Dante Pitera (UWL) def. Ethan Perushek/Ben Tomhave (LU) 8-0

Match Notes:
UW-La Crosse 1-1
Lawrence University 0-1
T-2:00 A-25

Sixth-ranked Bulldogs top Lawrence

APPLETON, Wis. — A pair of goals late in the second period allowed No. 6 Adrian College to pull away, and the Bulldogs went on to a 6-1 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association win over Lawrence University Friday at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Matt Thompson recorded a hat trick for the first-place Bulldogs, and Ryan Gieseler picked up four assists.

Adrian (16-3-3, 13-1-1 NCHA) led 2-0 after a pair of power-play goals, one early in the first period and the second early in the second.

Lawrence (6-15-1, 5-10-0) was on the power play late in the second period, but Jeremy Olinyk picked up a loose puck in the Vikings’ end and got a short-handed goal for a 3-0 lead with 2:30 left. Josh Ranalli then scored with 1:20 remaining after fighting off Brad Mueller in front of the net to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 edge.

Olinyk added another goal midway through the third period, and Thompson got the hat trick when he scored on the power play with just three seconds left. The Bulldogs went 3-for-6 on the power play, and Lawrence was 0-for-4.

Sean Reynolds scored Lawrence’s lone goal off assists from Brandon Boelter and Renato Engler at the 12:18 mark of the third.

Scott Shackell stopped 21 shots to get the win for Adrian. Mattias Soderqvist made 32 saves for the Vikings.

The teams wrap up the series Saturday afternoon.

Box score

Hockey series preview: Lawrence vs. No. 6 Adrian

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University faces another tough, ranked opponent this weekend when the Vikings take on No. 6 Adrian College at the Appleton Family Ice Center. Friday’s game is set for 7 p.m., and the puck drops at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Adrian is fresh off a sweep of St. Norbert College that moved the Bulldogs into sole possession of first place in the NCHA. The Vikings are hoping to bounce back after being swept by No. 12 Lake Forest College last weekend.

Preview

Young Vikings looking to take step forward on the courts

Appleton native David Jumes will play No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for the Vikings this season.
Appleton native David Jumes will play No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for the Vikings this season.

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University men’s tennis coach Steve Francour knows his Vikings will be better this spring, but he isn’t sure is his team will take a small step or a great leap forward.

“After the fall preparations and what I see now, the confidence level and the understandings of their game is much better,” said Francour, who is starting his second season with the Lawrence men’s team. “We have a couple of new guys that are going to make a difference for us as well. It’s all good so far.”

The Vikings open the season Friday night at Fox Cities Racquet Club when they host UW-La Crosse. Lawrence finished with a 4-13 record a season ago as Francour took the reins of the program after coaching for more than two decades at UW-Oshkosh. With only one player lost to graduation from last season, the Vikings return a young (no seniors) but experienced team.

“I like the returning players that we have,” Francour said. “For a lot of them last year was their first go-round playing competitive matches. They had been on the team, but they didn’t play a lot of matches.”

Leading the returning players is Appleton native David Jumes, who posted the best singles record on the team at 14-7. The sophomore reached the semifinals of the Midwest Conference Championships at No. 2 and will move up to No. 1 this season.

“David had an outstanding year last year,” Francour said. “I can just tell that he gets stuff a little bit more this year. He knows what he need to.”

Francour added that Jumes has a quality all-court game. He can hit with players from the baseline or he can attack the net.

“He is good playing defensively. He’s good playing offense, and he can transition between the two. He’s just an instinctual player,” Francour said. “Some kids have to think their way through some things. David doesn’t. He just plays. It’s impressive what he does.”

The Vikings also return starters Brian DeCorte, Mitch Kasprzyk, Adam Busch and Ethan Perushek from a season ago. The Vikings also will get hockey standout Blake Roubos back after his season is complete next month. DeCorte was the starter at No. 1 last year but will likely play No. 3 this season. Kasprzyk, Busch and Perushek were all starters in the final three singles positions last season, and Roubos was a regular in doubles.

Lawrence also has four freshmen players, led by Japanese student Sotaro Kurahashi. Kurahashi is a student at Waseda University and is attending Lawrence for one year. Francour already has Kurahashi penciled in as the starter at No. 2 singles.

Fellow rookie player Ben Tomhave is Kurahashi’s roommate, and that bond has made Kurahashi’s transition to the team much easier.

“They have a super great connection,” Francour said of Kurahashi and Tomhave. “If there’s anything that is said that Sotaro doesn’t get, he goes to Ben. Ben knows how to say it where Sotaro understands. Having Ben as the roommate and interpreter has been great.”

Kurahashi, who will team with Jumes at No. 1 doubles, is the third Waseda student to play tennis for the Vikings, joining Yasushi Kobayashi in 2010 and Shota Nakada in 2012. Joining Kurahashi and Tomhave as rookies are Izaya Turenne and Bill Schuman.

This season is the first campaign without divisional play in the Midwest Conference. For many years, the teams had been split into North and South divisions with the top two teams in each division playing for the league championship. Lawrence will now play the other nine teams in the league and the top four will make the team tournament. Singles and doubles championships will be contested as in the past.

Grinnell, Carroll, Lake Forest and Monmouth look to be the favorites this year, but Francour hopes the Vikings can battle for one of those coveted four spots.

“We will be improved, but I don’t know if we will be improved enough to get in the top four,” Francour said. “We will see, but we will be much better than we were last year.”

Second-half outburst pushes No. 9 Green Knights past Lawrence

DE PERE, Wis. — The ninth-ranked St. Norbert College men’s basketball team used a big scoring run in  the second half Wednesday to pull away for an 81-63 Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University at Schuldes Sports Center.

The Green Knights (18-1, 14-0 MWC) led 55-47 with 11:34 left in the contest after Mitch Willer’s layup for the Vikings. St. Norbert then went on a 20-4 run over the next eight minutes to seal the victory.

Austin Elliott scored 20 points and handed out six assists and Steven Hofacker had 11 points and eight rebounds to pace the Green Knights.

Ryan DePouw poured in a season-high 20 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for the Vikings (7-12, 5-9). Mitch Willer came off the bench to add 12 points, and Jamie Nikitas had 12 points and four assists for Lawrence.

St. Norbert, which never trailed in the game, led by as many as nine points late in the first half, but back-to-back layups from Willer and Troy Miller trimmed the Green Knights’ lead to 35-30 at the half.

The Green Knights stretched the lead to 43-33 early in the second half, but a mini-run that featured a Jeremy Stephani 3-pointer and five points from DePouw trimmed the margin to 47-41. That was as close as the Vikings would get before St. Norbert put together its decisive scoring run.

St. Norbert enjoyed a huge advantage at the foul line where the Green Knights shot 12-for-19. Lawrence did not attempt a free throw as the Green Knights were whistled for only nine fouls.

Box score

St. Norbert rolls past Vikings

DE PERE, Wis. — The St. Norbert College women’s basketball team roared out to a 22-point halftime lead and went on to a 73-27 Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University on Wednesday at Schuldes Sports Center.

Brianna Byrne led four St. Norbert players in double figures with 16 points. Heidi Van Sistine picked up a double-double for the Green Knights (16-3, 13-1 MWC) with 11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

Elizabeth Arco led Lawrence (0-18, 0-14) with seven points and eight rebounds. Katie Schumacher came off the bench to add five points for the Vikings.

St. Norbert’s defense limited Lawrence to just 21.7 shooting from the floor, and the Green Knights dominated the game at the foul line. St. Norbert was 21-for-29 at the stripe. Lawrence converted 6-of-9 from the line.

St. Norbert pulled away early and led by double digits just over nine minutes into the contest. The Green Knights pulled away for a 34-12 lead at the half. St. Norbert would lead by as many as 50 points in the second half.

Box score

Women’s basketball preview: Lawrence at St. Norbert, vs. Illinois College

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team faces a pair of stern tests this week against Midwest Conference competition. Lawrence travels to league leader St. Norbert College on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. game. The Vikings then return home to take on Illinois College, which is battling for a spot in the league tournament, in a 1 p.m. game on Saturday.

Preview