APPLETON, Wis. — More than 100 Lawrence University student-athletes have been chosen for the Academic All-Midwest Conference team.
Lawrence had 133 student-athletes earn the academic all-conference honor, which is given after having a grade point average of 3.33 during that academic year.
The Lawrence women’s swimming and diving team had the largest numbers of honorees with 12. Women’s tennis and women’s indoor track both had 11 and volleyball and women’s outdoor track both had 10.
APPLETON, Wis. — Nine Lawrence University student-athletes were recently honored at the 2013 Honors Celebration.
The awards and winners are as follows.
The Ruth Bateman Award is given for excellence in scholarship, athletic ability and leadership by a female athlete. Senior Rose Tepper (Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon) was honored after an outstanding career in track and field. A five-time all-conference honoree in the high jump, Tepper was 2010 Midwest Conference outdoor champion. Tepper, who holds the Lawrence record indoors in the high jump, was a qualifier for the 2011 NCAA Division III Championships.
The Iden Charles Champion Cup is given for excellence in scholarship, athletic ability, college spirit and loyalty. Senior Tyler Mazur (Reedsburg, Wis./Reedsburg) completed an outstanding football career at Lawrence and remains a key contributor to the men’s basketball squad. Mazur finished his football career ranked fourth in receiving yards (2,253), fifth in catches (130), fifth in touchdown catches (25), fourth in total touchdowns (37) and fifth in points (224). Mazur also was a key member of the men’s basketball team and broke the school record by making nine 3-pointers in a game this past season.
The Outstanding Freshman Athletic Award for Men is given the freshman man who has made the most outstanding contribution to Lawrence athletics. Brandon Boelter (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage) earned the award after an outstanding rookie season with the Lawrence hockey team. Boelter was a first-team All-Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association selection and was named to the All-MCHA Freshmen Team. Boelter led all defensemen in the conference in scoring with six goals and 15 assists for 21 points.
The Outstanding Freshman Athletic Award for Women is given to the freshman woman who has made the most outstanding contribution to Lawrence athletics. Hayley Cardinal (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East) won the award after a big impact on the swimming and track and field teams. Cardinal broke the Lawrence records in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200 breaststroke and placed second and third, respectively, in those events at the Midwest Conference Championships. Cardinal also was part of two record-setting relay teams. Cardinal also won a letter in track and field.
The Ralph V. Landis Award was established by the Lettermen of Lawrence in honor of Dr. Landis, physician to Lawrence students from 1926-78, and is awarded for outstanding contributions to Lawrence athletics by a senior male athlete. Senior hockey player Brad Scurfield (Midland, Mich./Midland) was an All-Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association selection and was the team’s Most Valuable Player each of the past two seasons. Scurfield finished his career ranked in the top eight in school history in points, goals, assists and power-play goals.
The Charles E. Pond Award for Men is given for all-around athletic ability by a senior man in two or more sports and for sportsmanship, school spirit and scholarship. Sam Stevens (Suamico, Wis./Bay Port) was a four-time Midwest Conference champion in track and field was a 15-time All-Midwest Conference performer. The 2011 Midwest Conference cross country champion, Stevens led the Vikings to the team title. Stevens, who holds Lawrence track records in the mile, 3,000 meters and distance medley relay, was a four-time all-conference honoree in cross country.
The Charles E. Pond Award for Women is given for all-around athletic ability by a senior woman in two or more sports and for sportsmanship, school spirit, and scholarship. Cathy Kaye (Sturgeon Bay, Wis./Sevastopol) was a four-year starter in both softball and basketball and also earned a letter in cross country. Kaye was a three-time All-Midwest Conference softball selection and also earned All-Great Lakes Region honors. The team’s center fielder, Kaye also served as team captain.
The Marion Read Award is given for outstanding contributions to Lawrence athletics. Shannon Murray (Lawrenceville, Ga./Dacula) earned the award for the second consecutive year. A four-year starter in softball, Murray was named to the All-Midwest Conference honors for the last two seasons and was the 2013 North Division Pitcher of the Year. A team captain, Murray also was a two-time All-Great Lakes Region softball selection. Murray also served as a student athletic trainer for both women’s tennis and basketball.
The Letterwinner Award is presented by the L Club to those outstanding seniors who have earned eight or more letters. The winners are:
Amanda Dwyer (Ralston, Neb./Ralston), cross country and track and field;
Cathy Kaye (Sturgeon Bay, Wis./Sevastopol), basketball, cross country, softball;
Sam Stevens (Suamico, Wis./Bay Port), cross country and track and field;
Rose Tepper (Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon), indoor and outdoor track and field.
APPLETON, Wis. — Ryan Adamovich has joined the Lawrence University football coaching staff, head football coach Mike Barthelmess announced today.
Adamovich will serve as the special teams coordinator and coach the wide receivers, Barthelmess said.
“I am very excited about the addition of Ryan Adamovich,” Barthelmess said. “Ryan is a native of the Fox Valley area and will immediately make a positive impact on our ability to recruit the state of Wisconsin. Coach Adamovich brings a strong knowledge base and great enthusiasm that I am certain will be greatly appreciated by our scholar-athletes. His most recent experience at the University of Dubuque has developed in Ryan a work ethic that I know will benefit everyone in which he comes in contact with. I couldn’t be happier about the addition of Ryan to our staff.”
Adamovich comes to Lawrence from the University of Dubuque, where he was a graduate assistant coach in 2011 and 2012. Adamovich coached the running backs in 2011 when Dubuque won the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 7-1 record and finished with a 9-2 overall mark. The Spartans earned a berth in the 2011 NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time in 30 years.
Adamovich, who earned a Master of Arts degree in communications from Dubuque, then coached the wide receivers for the 2012 season. During his two seasons at Dubuque, the Spartans posted an overall record of 14-7.
A native of Kaukauna, Adamovich was an All-Fox Valley Association football selection at Kaukauna High School. He served as the football team captain and won a pair of letters for the Galloping Ghosts. Adamovich also won three letters in track and field and played basketball at Kaukauna.
A 2010 graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran College, Adamovich earned a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in coaching. A standout wide receiver for the Warriors, Adamovich was a three-year starter and finished his career with 71 catches for 743 yards and six touchdowns. He was a member of the first football team at Wisconsin Lutheran, which didn’t have football until the 2002 season, to finish with a record above .500 in the Northern Athletics Conference.
Lawrence opens its 2013 football season when it travels to Cornell College on Sept. 7.
RIPON, Wis. — The Midwest Conference will expand its football footprint with the addition of Macalester College as an affiliate member for the 2014 season.
The addition of Macalester for football gives the Midwest Conference 12 schools for that sport. The league will split into North and South divisions and feature a conference championship game.
Schedules will consist of two non-conference games, two cross-divisional games and five divisional games. The North and South division winners will meet in a championship game to determine who ears the automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs while all other teams will play their divisional counterpart within the standings.
Macalester has played as a Division III football independent for the past 11 years since leaving the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in 2002. Macalester will remain an MIAC conference member in all other sports that the conference sponsors.
Read the full press release from the Midwest Conference
The Lawrence University Department of Athletics is proud to announce an exciting plan, just approved by the Board of Trustees, to take Vikings athletics to the next level.
The first phase of the plan is a campaign to raise $5 million to renovate the Banta Bowl. Lawrence University Trustee David Blowers ’82, a standout football players and captain of the Vikings during his senior year, will chair the effort.
The Banta Bowl has served Lawrence University student-athletes for nearly 50 years, and the time has come for this legendary venue to receive a dramatic makeover. Currently the home of the Lawrence football team, when renovations are complete, football and men’s and women’s soccer will share the stadium.
The renovations begin with raising the level of the playing field to make it wide enough for a regulation NCAA-sized soccer field. The playing surface will be replaced with a synthetic surface, which will diversify and increase the amount of usage for the stadium. Banta Bowl fans will benefit from new seating as the original fiberglass bleachers will be replaced.
Fans entering the Banta Bowl will do so through an inviting plaza on the north end of the stadium. The current buildings on that end of the stadium will be razed and replaced with new structures. The centerpiece of the new construction will be locker room space for the Vikings. In addition, a new visitors’ locker room will be built, along with spaces for officials, concessions, ticket sales and storage. The parking lot will also be refurbished. New lighting and a new LED scoreboard will also be added.
The last major piece to the Banta Bowl renovation is expansion of the press box to give the coaching staff of both teams an indoor space from which to watch the game from the stadium rim. With all Lawrence football games (and soccer games once that sport moves into the Banta Bowl) being webcast, the new press box would allow for more effective game broadcasts.
When phase I is complete, Lawrence will turn its attention to other Vikings needs, including, perhaps, renovations to Alexander Gym – and even an ice rink.
“With its support of this fund-raising project, the Lawrence Board of Trustees is ensuring that the future of Vikings athletics – football, soccer and all varsity programs, has never been brighter,” said Mike Szkodzinski, director of athletics and head hockey coach. “This project will help us attract the best scholar-athletes and also further connect Lawrence to the Appleton community.”
APPLETON, Wis. — Chris Harris has joined the Lawrence University football coaching staff, head coach Mike Barthelmess announced today.
Harris, a 2000 graduate of the University of the Cumberlands, will serve as the offensive line coach for the Vikings.
“We are very excited to have a high-caliber coach like Chris join our football program,” Barthelmess said. “His depth of experience, both as a recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach, will dramatically impact what we are attempting to create for our scholar-athletes as we continue to move progressively forward.”
Harris comes to Lawrence from Manchester University in North Manchester, Ind., where he had coached since 2010. Harris was the offensive line coach and director of football operations at Manchester. Harris helped turn around the football program during his three seasons at Manchester. The Spartans won just two games in Harris’ first season, but Manchester won six games during the 2012 campaign.
This is Harris’ second stint as a coach in the Midwest Conference. He was the offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Beloit College for two seasons. Harris coached with the Bucs during head coach Chris Brann’s two best seasons at Beloit. The Bucs posted an 11-9 record when Harris was on the staff in 2008 and 2009.
Harris began his coaching career as the defensive intern at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., in 2000. Harris went to Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa, in 2001 and served as the offensive line coach from 2001 to 2003. Harris then worked as the offensive line coach at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, from 2003 to 2007.
Harris spent 2007 and 2008 as the graduate assistant offensive line coach at Minot State University in Minot, N.D. Harris earned his master of education degree with a physical education and human performance concentration in 2008.
A Viking is headed to play at the home of the Vikings.
Lawrence University football star Tyler Mazur is playing in the All-American Bowl on Saturday at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn. The All-American Bowl is an all-star game for NCAA Division III senior football players.
“I’m super-excited,” Mazur said Thursday from his hotel in Minneapolis. “It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It’s not every day or every year you get to partake in something of this caliber.”
The All-American Bowl has been played at the Metrodome, home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, every year since 1996. Mazur is the first Lawrence football player to take part in a NCAA Division III all-star game.
“I played at Camp Randall (home of Wisconsin Badgers) one time but nothing as big as this,” Mazur said.
The wide receiver from Reedsburg was chosen to play in the game after completing a stellar senior season for Lawrence. An all-Midwest Conference selection in 2011 and 2012, Mazur also earned D3football.com all-West Region honors this season as well.
Mazur caught 53 passes for 1,139 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. Mazur led the Midwest Conference at 113.9 receiving yards per game. He finished sixth at 5.3 catches per contest and averaged a league-best 21.5 yards per catch. Mazur was fourth in the conference in scoring at 8.0 points per game and was the top receiver in that category.
Mazur, who had two 200-yard receiving games this season, became the first Lawrence player to post 1,000 receiving yards in a season since Appleton native Zach Michael did it back in 2003. Mazur finished his career with 2,253 receiving yards despite being a wide receiver for only two seasons.
Mazur finished his career ranked fourth in receiving yards, fifth in catches (130), fifth in touchdown catches (25), fourth in total touchdowns (37) and fifth in points (224).
“I just want to have fun. My goal right now is to just get a catch. I don’t know the level of competition that I’m going up against, but I imagine these guys are pretty good,” Mazur said. “If I get a catch, everything from there will be a nice addition.”
Scouts from NFL teams will be on hand to see if they can find a diamond in the rough from the Division III ranks. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Mazur admits he has thought about playing beyond college.
“I can’t lie that it’s popped into my thoughts a little bit,” Mazur said. “I’m not going to let that alter how I play. I’m going to have fun. I think about (playing professional football), and it’s crazy to even imagine. That’s the goal when you’re a little kid running around the backyard. To consider that you’re being watched in that regard is crazy. It’s kind of neat.”
The timing of the game also worked out perfectly in terms of Mazur’s basketball career. Mazur joined the Lawrence basketball team last season and has become a key player and three-point shooting star for the Vikings.
Mazur, who is averaging 6.7 points per game, played with the Vikings on Tuesday and Wednesday in a tournament in Wisconsin Dells, but Lawrence doesn’t play again until Jan. 9.
“The 10-day break coming up will be much needed and utilized,” Mazur said.
Lawrence University football star Tyler Mazur has been named to the D3football.com All-West Region team.
Mazur (Reedsburg, Wis./Reedsburg), a senior wide receiver, was a third-team selection.
Mazur, an All-Midwest Conference selection in 2011 and 2012, caught 53 passes for 1,139 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. Mazur led the Midwest Conference at 113.9 receiving yards per game. He finished sixth at 5.3 catches per contest and averaged a league-best 21.5 yards per catch. Mazur was fourth in the conference in scoring at 8.0 points per game and was the top receiver in that category.
Mazur, who had two 200-yard receiving games this season, became the first Lawrence player to post 1,000 receiving yards in a season since Zach Michael did it back in 2003. Mazur finished his career with 2,253 receiving yards despite being a wide receiver for only two seasons.
Mazur finished his career ranked fourth in receiving yards, fifth in catches (130), fifth in touchdown catches (25), fourth in total touchdowns (37) and fifth in points (224).
Mazur is Lawrence’s first all-region selection since Ken Alvord and Tyler Krzewina back in 2006. Alvord was selected as a punter to the D3football.com and Don Hansen’s Football Gazette teams, and Krzewina made the Football Gazette squad.
Lawrence University coaching legend Ron Roberts died Sunday (Dec. 2) in Oshkosh, Wis., at age 81.
Roberts, who came to Lawrence in 1963 as an assistant football coach and retired in 1993, led the Vikings to unprecedented heights on the gridiron. Roberts’ football teams won six Midwest Conference championships, and the 1981 squad reached the semifinals of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
To read more about Roberts’ life and for information on memorial services, click here.
Tyler Mazur led the Lawrence University football team’s five selections to the All-Midwest Conference team.
Mazur (Reedsburg, Wis./Reedsburg), a senior wide receiver, was selected for the first team. Senior running back Ben Hartman (Portage, Wis./Portage) was a second-team selection on special teams, and sophomore wide receiver Dominique Dirden (Lancaster, Calif./Eastside), senior linebacker Jon Hope (Eagle River, Wis./Northland Pines) and junior defensive back Sam Wagner (Salem, Wis./Burlington Catholic Central) all received honorable mention.
Mazur, an all-conference selection in 2011, caught 53 passes for 1,139 yards and 13 touchdowns. Mazur led the Midwest Conference at 113.9 receiving yards per game. He finished sixth at 5.3 catches per contest and averaged a league-best 21.5 yards per catch. Mazur was fourth in the conference in scoring at 8.0 points per game and was the top receiver in that category.
Mazur, who had two 200-yard receiving games this season, became the first Lawrence player to post 1,000 receiving yards in a season since Zach Michael did it back in 2003. Mazur finished his career with 2,253 receiving yards despite being a wide receiver for only two seasons.
Mazur finished his career ranked fourth in receiving yards, fifth in catches (130), fifth in touchdown catches (25), fourth in total touchdowns (37) and fifth in points (224).
Hartman was honored on the all-conference team for the first time. Hartman finished fourth in the conference by averaging 19.1 yards per kickoff return and had a season-long 46-yard return against Monmouth College. Hartman finished third in the conference at 130.0 all-purpose yards per game.
Hartman ran 104 times for 597 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged a hefty 5.7 yards per carry and finished 10th in the league at 59.7 rushing yards per game. Hartman also caught 19 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown.
Dirden also was chosen for the all-conference team for the first time. He led the team with 58 catches and finished with 624 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Dirden finished third in the conference at 5.8 catches per game and was ninth at 62.4 receiving yards per contest.
Hope, who earned his first all-conference recognition, led the Vikings with 92 tackles and finished fifth in the conference at 9.2 tackles per game. Hope recorded double figures in tackles in four games, including a career-high 14 tackles against both Illinois College and Monmouth. Hope, who had 4.0 tackles for loss, also had a team-best three interceptions.
Chosen for the all-conference team for the first time, Wagner played half the season with a broken hand. Wagner led the Vikings with 12 pass breakups and 14 passes defensed. He finished second in the league at 1.40 passes defensed per game. Wagner, who finished with 39 tackles and 1.0 tackles for loss, recorded two interceptions. Wagner also recovered a fumble, forced a fumble and blocked a kick.
Lawrence finished the season with a 2-8 record.
