APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team faces a tough week as it travels to No. 9 St. Norbert College on Wednesday before returning home to face a surging Illinois College team. Lawrence takes on St. Norbert at 7:30 p.m., and the tip-off against the Blueboys is 3 p.m. Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.
Author: Joseph Vanden Acker
Lawrence teams earn three wins apiece at Northwestern Duals
EVANSTON, Ill. — The Lawrence University fencing teams each picked up three victories at the Northwestern University Duals on Sunday.
The Lawrence men went 3-5, and the women were 3-6.
The Lawrence men defeated Caltech 17-10, topped Detroit Mercy 17-10 and downed Cleveland State 17-10. Against Caltech, it was the sabre contingent of Joe Davis, Drew Doares and Graham Jones that led the way with an 8-1 record. Sabre went 7-2 against Detroit, and foil posted a 6-3 mark against both Caltech and Detroit. It was the epee team of Phillip Ziller, Tanner Rasmussen and Connor Schurr that posted an 8-1 mark to lead the Vikings against Cleveland State.
The Lawrence men lost to UC-San Diego 20-7, fell to Princeton 19-8, lost to Stanford 21-6, fell to North Carolina 18-9 and lost to Air Force 17-10.
On the women’s side, the Vikings picked up wins over the same three schools as the men. The Vikings topped Cleveland State 21-6, downed Detroit 22-5 and beat Caltech 17-10.
The epee team of Channing Tucker, Nicole Mitchell and Lauren Phillips dominated in Lawrence’s three victories. Lawrence’s epee group swept Cleveland State 9-0, topped Detroit 8-1 and beat Caltech 6-3. The foil group of Kali Thibault, Rebecca Albrecht and Natalie Hagopian posted the same dominating 23-4 mark as epee. Lawrence’s foil team went 9-0 against Detroit, 8-1 vs. Caltech and 6-3 against Cleveland State.
The Lawrence women lost 23-4 to North Carolina, lost 17-10 to Farleigh Dickinson, fell 19-8 to UC-San Diego, lost 17-10 to Stanford, fell 24-3 to Temple and lost 20-7 to Air Force.
Men
Lawrence 17, Caltech 10 (Sabre 8-1, Foil 6-3, Epee 3-6)
UC-San Diego 20, Lawrence 7 (Sabre 3-6, Foil 8-1, Epee 9-0)
Stanford 21, Lawrence 6 (Sabre 3-6, Foil 9-0, Epee 9-0)
Princeton 19, Lawrence 8 (Sabre 7-2, Foil 5-4, Epee 7-2)
Lawrence 17, Detroit Mercy 10 (Sabre 7-2, Foil 6-3, Epee 4-5)
North Carolina 18, Lawrence 9 (Sabre 7-2, Foil 5-4, Epee 6-3)
Air Force 17, Lawrence 10 (Sabre 5-4, Foil 5-4, Epee 7-2)
Lawrence 17, Cleveland State 10 (Sabre 4-5, Foil 5-4, Epee 8-1)
Women
Lawrence 21, Cleveland State 6 (Sabre 6-3, Foil 6-3, Epee 9-0)
Lawrence 22, Detroit Mercy 5 (Sabre 5-4, Foil 9-0, Epee 8-1)
Air Force 20, Lawrence 7 (Sabre 6-3, Foil 9-0, Epee 5-4)
Temple 24, Lawrence 3 (Sabre 9-0, Foil 6-3, Epee 9-0)
Stanford 17, Lawrence 10 (Sabre 7-2, Foil 5-4, Epee 5-4)
Lawrence 17, Caltech 10 (Sabre 6-3, Foil 8-1, Epee 3-6)
UC-San Diego 19, Lawrence 8 (Sabre 8-1, Foil 5-4, Epee 6-3)
Farleigh Dickinson 17, Lawrence 10 (Sabre 6-3, Foil 5-4, Epee 6-3)
North Carolina 23, Lawrence 4 (Sabre 9-0, Foil 7-2, Epee 7-2)
Foresters top Lawrence 6-3
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Fifteenth-ranked Lake Forest College scored three straight goals Saturday and went on to a 6-3 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.
The game was tied 2-2 after the opening period, but Lake Forest (13-3-5, 11-2-1 NCHA) scored twice in the second period to take control and added another goal midway through the third to seal the win. Bobby Barrett and Jimmy Cusan both scored twice for the Foresters, who swept the weekend series from Lawrence (6-14-1, 5-9-0).
Lawrence got on the board first when Austin Frank scored just 50 seconds into the game. That lead didn’t last long as Barrett scored 2:10 later to tie the game at 1-1.
Cusan gave Lake Forest a 2-1 lead when he scored with 2:14 left in the opening period. Brad Mueller then picked up his first collegiate goal when he scored for the Vikings with just 37 seconds left in the first to tie the game at 2-2.
Lake Forest then struck for two goals in a 26-second span late in the second period to take control. Barrett scored an unassisted goal at 15:41 to give Lake Forest a 3-2 edge, and Jack Lewis made it 4-2 with a goal at 16:07.
Cusan stretched the lead to 5-2 with a goal at 11:25 of the third before Lawrence countered. Brendan Vetter scored an unassisted goal for the Vikings with 33 seconds left to cut the lead to 5-3.
Luke Swardenski got an empty-net goal with one second left to complete the scoring.
Leo Podolsky made 23 saves to get the win for Lake Forest. Mattias Soderqvist stopped 34 shots and took the loss for Lawrence.
Vikings take three titles at Private College Championships
KENOSHA, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s swim team grabbed three titles at the Wisconsin Private College Championships on Saturday at Carthage College.
Paige Witter led the way for the Vikings with her victory in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:22.49. Witter also grabbed second on the 100 butterfly in 1:03.73 and took third in the 200 butterfly in 2:20.31.
Witter also swam on the 400 freestyle relay team that raced to victory in 3:47.93. The winning team also featured Emily Flack, Emei Thompson and Eryn Blagg. Flack also grabbed second in the 200 backstroke, and Thompson was third in the 500 freestyle.
Foley Van Lieshout took Lawrence’s other title when she won the 200 individual medley in 2:20.05.
The Lawrence women finished third in the team standings and the men were fifth. Lawrence posted a combined team finish of third. Carthage took home all three team titles.
The top finisher on the men’s side was Travis Charlow, who took third in the 100 backstroke and fourth in the 200 backstroke.
Schrobilgen, Gniot grab wins Bowlus Invitational
MENOMONIE, Wis. — Erin Schrobilgen and Ethan Gniot both picked up wins to lead Lawrence University on Saturday at the UW-Stout Warren Bowlus Invitational.
Schrobilgen won the 5,000 in 19:14.92 to lead Lawrence to a sweep of the top seven spots in the race. Hannah Kinzer grabbed second in 20:04.11, and Margaret Huck was third in 20:27.54.
The Vikings had two top-four finishers in the 800 meters as Noelle Hele grabbed third in 2:26.11 and Kate Kilgus was fourth in 2:29.18. Sage Greenlee leaped to third in the high jump at 4 feet, 11 inches. The Vikings also got a fifth-place finish from Kendra Thomas in the 200 meters in 28.28 seconds.
Lawrence’s 800 relay team was third in 1:52.31, and the 1,600 relay was fifth in 4:25.17.
Gniot led the Lawrence men by racing to victory in the 800 meters. Gniot took first in 1:58.64, which was 0.06 seconds ahead of Ripon’s Michael Allen.
JP Ranumas grabbed fourth in the 60 hurdles in 8.99 seconds, and Cole Ericksonw as fifth in the high jump at 5-5. Lawrence’s 1,600 relay team took fourth in 3:35.81, and the 800 relay was fifth in 1:41.72.
Balanced attack leads Lawrence past Prairie Fire
APPLETON, Wis. — Four Lawrence University men’s basketball players scored in double figures on Saturday, and the Vikings used that balanced attack to post a 76-60 Midwest Conference victory over Knox College at Alexander Gymnasium.
Trace Sonnleitner led Lawrence (7-11, 5-8 MWC) with a game-high 19 points. Troy Miller added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Vikings, and Ryan DePouw and Jeremy Stephani scored 10 points apiece. DePouw also posted game highs with eight rebounds and five assists.
Mitch Murphy paced Knox (5-13, 3-10) with 14 points and five rebounds, and Deandre Weathersby added 10 points and four assists.
Lawrence grabbed the advantage early and kept the Prairie Fire at arm’s length throughout the game. DePouw scored five points in a 10-0 Lawrence run that gave the Vikings a 20-10 lead with 9:16 left in the opening half.
Knox closed to six points late in the first half before Sonnleitner’s layup gave Lawrence a 34-26 lead at the break.
Sonnleitner gave the Vikings a boost early in the second half as Lawrence went on a 12-2 scoring run. Sonnleitner scored seven points in that run and Andrew Borresen hit a 3-pointer before Jamie Nikitas capped the outburst with a layup to give Lawrence a 46-30 edge.
Knox trimmed the lead to 46-34, but Lawrence immediately stretched the lead back to 56-37. Knox closed the margin to 64-52 with 6:41 left, but Stephani answered with a 3-pointer. Knox didn’t get closer than 16 points the rest of the way.
Knox pulls away late to down Vikings
APPLETON, Wis. — The Knox College women’s basketball team pulled away in the final five minutes and posted a 94-80 Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.
Jodi Marver paced Knox (9-9, 7-6 MWC) with 20 points as she hit 14-of-18 free throws.
Elizabeth Arco led Lawrence (0-17, 0-13) with a game-high 29 points, and she picked up eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks. Patsy Kealey added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Vikings, and Andrea Wilkinson had 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Knox won the game at the foul line as the Prairie Fire hit 32-of-50 foul shots. Lawrence, which went 18-for-29 from the line, was whistled for 32 fouls. Knox, which played a full-court press for the entire game, was called for 25 fouls.
Lawrence scored the first six points of the game and built its biggest lead at 19-11 on Arco’s layup with 12:38 left in the first half. Knox then went on a 14-0 run to grab a 25-19 advantage with 11:06 left before the break.
Lawrence came back to take the lead at 36-35 on Danelle Buck’s free throw with 3:47 left in the opening half. Knox rallied to grab a 45-41 lead at the break.
Knox pushed its lead to 71-59 on a pair of Carley Bechen free throws with 9:47 left in the game, but the Vikings rallied. Arco, Buck and Kealey all picked up baskets for the Vikings as Lawrence trimmed the margin to 74-69 with 6:01 left.
Lawrence was down 81-74 when the Prairie Fire hit four consecutive baskets, including a 3-pointer, to take control for good with a 90-76 lead with 2:11 left.
Big second period lifts Foresters past Lawrence
APPLETON, Wis. — Fifteenth-ranked Lake Forest College scored three goals in the second period and went on to a 4-1 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University Friday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
Lake Forest (12-3-5, 10-2-1 NCHA) ran its unbeaten streak to 15 games with the victory. The Foresters scored two times irn a span of 1:40 early in the second period to take control.
Bobby Barrett’s goal midway through the first period gave the Foresters a 1-0 lead, but the Vikings (6-13-1, 5-8-0) struck back on the power play late in the period. Matt Moore’s goal on the man-advantage with 2:20 left in the first tied the game at 1-1.
Davis DeKorte then scored 2:21 into the second period to give Lake Forest the lead for good. Alec DeAngelo added a goal at the 4:01 mark to push the Foresters’ lead to 3-1. Jason McAloon added another goal at the 15:40 mark to give Lake Forest a 4-1 edge.
Lawrence lost despite posting a 48-26 advantage in shots. Leo Podolsky was stellar in net for the Foresters with 47 saves. Mattias Soderqvist allowed all four goals for the Vikings and finished with 14 saves in two periods. Peter Emery came on in relief and stopped all eight shots he faced in the third period.
The teams wrap up the series Saturday night at Lake Forest.
Inside LU Athletics: Young Vikings making an impact on the court
APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University men’s basketball fans are getting a look at the future of the Vikings right now.
With just three seniors, two are starters Ryan DePouw and Andrew Borresen, the Vikings have a number of younger players seeing significant action. No one is making a greater impact off the bench than sophomore forward Mitch Willer and freshman guard Jeremy Stephani.
“I think Jeremy and Mitch really play well together, and that’s something we’re excited about for the future,” Lawrence coach Joel DePagter said.
Willer, the biggest player on the squad at 6-foot-7, is at 4.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and nearly a block per game while averaging 11.9 minutes per contest. The former Sussex Hamilton High School star has seen his role grow over the past two weeks, averaging 10.8 points while shooting 82.6 percent from the floor (19-23) over the last four games.
“We have to figure out how to use Mitch now that he’s comfortable and playing better,” said DePagter, adding that Willer gives the Vikings the dimension of playing above the rim, both offensively and defensively.
“My job is to figure out how to use him best. We have to have a presence inside to be able to compete at a high level. Maybe most importantly, guys are starting to have faith in him. Once the teammates trust that you can do it, you become a real threat because they are looking for you.”
With eight seniors on the 2013-14 squad, Willer knew his role was to work hard in practice, watch and learn. He seems to have studied pretty well for this season’s breakout.
“This role has changed even more throughout the year as we have been trying out new lineups, and we’ve gotten more comfortable with these lineups,” Willer said. ” So I’ve gradually grown into an even bigger role than I had early in the year. I’m happy with how this role has changed, and I’m looking forward to the future has this role continues to expand even more.”
DePagter added that when the ball started going through the hoop for Willer, there was an immediate change.
“Once he finally made a couple of shots, the light bulb went off a little bit,” DePagter said. “He realized he didn’t have to back away, that he can go up and finish and challenge shots.”
Willer has shown quick feet, good hands and the ability to finish strong. He threw down a big dunk in Tuesday’s game with Lake Forest.
“I have become a lot more comfortable going to the basket, and I’ve been making much more of my shots recently,” Willer said. “As I’ve gotten more confident over the season, I’ve realized that there aren’t too many guys in our league that can block my shot so I have been able to finish much stronger at the rim.”
A native of Arlington Heights, Ill., Stephani is averaging 9.4 points per game in 22.9 minutes of action while shooting 42.9 percent from the floor and 43.4 percent from 3-point range.
“He doesn’t have that lack of confidence or that nervousness that most freshmen have,” DePagter said of Stephani. “When I first saw him on the AAU circuit, I was very excited about him. I saw him play against big-time players in AAU and he never backed down. He just goes out there and competes.”
Stephani has played key minutes for the Vikings since day one, and he believes his frame of mind has led to his role.
“I would definitely say it’s a confidence thing. One thing about how I’ve always played is I’ve been composed,” Stephani said. “I knew that just doing what I do and staying confident would lead to good things for me.”
Stephani scored a season-high 22 points at Grinnell in early January and is coming off back-to-back double-figure scoring games against Knox and Lake Forest. He is Lawrence’s leading scorer off the bench, and that’s where DePagter believes his role is, at least for now.
“Jeremy probably should be a starter for us, and he will be in the future, but he’s such a spark off the bench,” DePagter said. “There have been times this year where he’s been the best player on the floor for us and that is prety exciting. He’s an all-conference caliber player. If he can improve athletically and get in the weight room, he’s going to be a force for the next three seasons.”
Stephani said coming off the bench was new to him, but he has begun to revel in the role.
“I think I’ve been shooting the ball pretty well of late,” Stephani said. “There have been some times I’ve had rookie mistakes with turning the ball over, and I haven’t shot well from the line as I usually do. Overall, I would say I’ve been doing a pretty good job when I’ve gotten the opportunity.”
With Willer and Stephani comprising a formidable inside-outside combination, the Vikings also have sophomores Pete Winslow and Connor Weas adding to the youthful mix. Don’t forget that the Vikings also return starters Jamie Nikitas, Trace Sonnleitner and Troy Miller next season.
“We have played really well at times this year when we’ve had five guys on the floor who will be back next year so that is exciting,” DePagter said.
Hockey series preview: Lawrence vs. No. 15 Lake Forest
APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University faces No. 15 Lake Forest College in a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association series this weekend. The Vikings open the home-and-home series Friday night by hosting the Foresters at 7 p.m. at the Appleton Family Ice Center. Lawrence then travels to Lake Forest, Ill., for a 7 p.m. game on Saturday.