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Lawrence women take fourth, men fifth at MWC Championships

GRINNELL, Iowa — The Lawrence University women’s swim team placed fourth and the men were fifth as the Midwest Conference Championships wrapped up Sunday at Grinnell College.

The Lawrence women finished with 408 points, and Grinnell won the title with 892. The Lawrence men had 291 points, and Grinnell was first with 923.

The Lawrence women claimed a pair of second-place finishes on Sunday. Taylor Winter grabbed the runner-up spot in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 17:48.69, and Emily Flack was second in the 200 backstroke in 2:10.12.

Hayley Cardinal took home a third-place finish in the 200 breaststroke in 2:30.03, and the 400 freestyle relay team of Winter, Flack, Hannah Gabriel and Chelsea Hameister wsa third in 3:42.66.

The top finisher on the men’s side was the 400 freestyle relay team of Charlie Mann, Nick Craker, Evan Flack and Grant Wilkie. They finished fourth in 3:16.07.

Results

Vikings tie Foresters; clinch MCHA playoff berth

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Lawrence University forged a 2-2 overtime tie with Lake Forest College on Saturday, and the Vikings clinched home ice for the quarterfinals of the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs as well.

Matt Moore scored both goals for Lawrence (7-15-3, 6-11-3 MCHA), and Fabian Sivnert was outstanding in net again for the Vikings.

Lawrence will host Northland College in the quarterfinals of the MCHA playoffs next weekend. Friday’s playoff opener is set for 7 p.m. at the Appleton Family Ice Center, and Saturday’s game is at 4 p.m.

Jason McAloon gave Lake Forest (9-11-5, 6-10-4) a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at the 14:34 mark of the first. Moore scored his fifth goal of the season off a pass from Brad Scurfield to tie the game with 1:00 left in the first period.

Moore put the Vikings up 2-1 when he scored off a pass from Logan Lemirande at the 16:50 mark of the second. The lead didn’t last long as Lake Forest’s Luke Swardenski scored on the power play just 1:31 later to tie the game at 2-2.

Lake Forest went 2-for-7 on the power play, and the Vikings were 0-for-6.

Neither team was able to score in the third period, but Lawrence did have a 15-8 edge in shots in the third period. Lawrence got four shots in the overtime, compared to two for Lake Forest.

Sivnert made 37 saves for the Vikings, and Brendan Sullivan stopped 36 shots for Lake Forest.

Box score

Lawrence tops Grinnell 114-106 in overtime

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team pulled away early in overtime and used clutch free-throw shooting to post a 114-106 Midwest Conference victory over Grinnell College on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Senior forward Conor Klusendorf, playing in his final game for Lawrence (13-10, 11-7 MWC), led the Vikings with 21 points and he added eight rebounds. Tyler Mazur scored 20 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for the Vikings.

Freshman guard Jamie Nikitas added 19 points for the Vikings and was clutch at the foul line in the overtime, going 7-for-8 from the line in the extra period. Ryan DePouw added 18 points and Chris Siebert, who battled foul trouble all afternoon, had 14 points. Brian Gryszkiewicz picked up nine assists and five steals for the Vikings.

Griffin Lentsch paced Grinnell (17-5, 14-4) with 27 points, and Patrick Maher added 25 for the Pioneers. The loss was costly for Grinnell, which lost a share of the Midwest Conference championship and the right to host the conference tournament. St. Norbert College defeated Illinois College on Saturday to win the league title and will host the conference tournament.

Grinnell pulled away late in the first half as the Pioneers broke a 39-39 tie with a 20-6 run for a 59-45 lead. The Vikings recovered in the final minute with baskets from Chase Nelson and Troy Miller to trim the margin to 59-50 at the half.

Grinnell shot 19-for-38 in the first half, including 8-for-17 from beyond the 3-point line. The Pioneers cooled off a bit in the second half, and Lawrence shot itself back into the game.

The Vikings went on a 15-4 run that included three 3-pointers from Siebert, to take a 71-70 lead with 11:28 left in the second half. Lawrence pushed the lead to 88-80 on Mazur’s 3-pointer with 5:10 left, but Grinnell battled back.

The Pioneers went on an 11-1 run, capped by Maher’s 3-pointer, to take a 91-89 lead with 1:54 remaining in the second half. Lawrence got a pair of free throws from DePouw and a steal and layup from Gryszkiewicz to lead 93-91 with 1:11 left.

The Vikings led 95-92 after two Gryszkiewicz free throws with 20 seconds left, but Jesse Ney hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds left to tie it and force the overtime.

Lawrence opened the overtime with a dunk from Klusendorf and a nifty bank shot from Siebert. Klusendorf followed with a layup while Grinnell missed its first three shots from the floor, and the Vikings led 101-95 with 3:21 left.

Joe Rogers hit one free throw for Grinnell, but the Vikings spent the rest of the overtime at the foul line. Lawrence went 11-for-12 from the line in the final 2:47 of overtime to seal the victory.

Grinnell hit just 3-of-12 shots from the floor in the overtime and turned the ball over three times.

Lawrence finished the game 30-of-44 (68.2 percent) from the foul line, and the Vikings shot 58.7 percent (37-63) from the floor.

Box score

Lawrence rolls to shutout of Concordia

MEQUON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s tennis team rolled to a 9-0 nonconference shutout of Concordia (Wis.) University on Friday night.

The Vikings swept the three doubles matches by dropping only four games total. Lawrence lost only one set in the six singles matches.

Highlighting the singles wins was an impressive 6-1, 6-0 victory by Lawrence’s Jason Dunn over Taylor Shaffer at No. 2. Lawrence’s Jeremy Andereck also posted a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Garrett Wells at No. 6 singles.

Box score

Winter, Mann pace Vikings on opening day of MWC Championships

GRINNELL, Iowa — Sophomore Taylor Winter was the top finisher for the Lawrence University swim team on Friday’s opening day of the Midwest Conference Championships at Grinnell College.

Winter swam to second place in the 500-yard freestyle as Lawrence swimmers took three of the top five places in the event. Winter was second in 5:08.39, Emily Flack placed fourth and Hannah Gabriel was fifth.

The women’s 400 medley relay team of Winter, Flack, Gabriel and Hayley Cardinal grabbed third place in 4:06.51.

Led by those performances, Lawrence is in fourth place in the team standings with 125 points.

On the men’s side, the Vikings are in fifth place with 85 points.

Junior Charlie Mann was the top individual finisher for the Vikings as he grabbed fourth place in the 50 freestyle in 21.79 seconds.

The 200 freestyle relay team of Mann, Nick Craker, Evan Flack and Grant Wilke took home fourth place in 1:28.54.

The competition continues through Sunday.

Results

Saunders’ third-period goal lifts Lawrence past Foresters

APPLETON, Wis. — Huck Saunders’ third-period goal was the difference as Lawrence University downed Lake Forest College 2-1 in a Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association game Friday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

The win pulls Lawrence into a tie for with Finlandia University for second place in the MCHA’s Northern Division. The top three teams in each division advance to the playoffs. A Lawrence win on Saturday in the regular-season finale at Lake Forest would assure the Vikings of a playoff berth and home ice for the MCHA quarterfinal playoff series.

Lawrence (7-15-2, 6-11-2 MCHA) went to the third period tied at 1-1 with the Foresters (9-11-4, 6-10-3), but the Vikings got their first power-play chance of the night early in the period.

Lake Forest’s Pat Charron was whistled for tripping at 5:54, and the Vikings went on the offensive. Lake Forest killed off the penalty, but Mike Violette was called for tripping as the previous penalty was expiring.

Lawrence cashed in on the second power play when Saunders scored his third goal of the season off a rebound of Rudi Pino’s shot at 8:29. 

Lake Forest got one last chance when William Thoren was called for holding at 18:24, and the Foresters went on the power play. Lake Forest also pulled goaltender Brendan Sullivan for the final 1:23, but Lawrence’s defense didn’t allow the Foresters a good scoring chance in the final 90 seconds.

Lawrence goaltender Fabian Sivnert was outstanding in net and finished with 37 saves. Sullivan stopped 27 shots for the Foresters.

Lawrence took a 1-0 lead just 6:08 into the game when Thoren scored off assists from Brad Scurfield and Patrick Coyne. The Foresters tied it at 1-1 at the 15:35 mark of the second on Jason McAloon’s power-play goal.

Box score

Inside LU Athletics: No pain, no gain for Lawrence swimmers

 It all comes down to this.

After months of training, finding the limits of your endurance and punishing your body and mind, you finally get to go fast … really fast.

Lawrence University’s swimmers and divers look to reap the benefits of more than five months of hard labor at the weekend’s Midwest Conference Championships. The three-day meet begins Friday at Grinnell College.

“I expect some really strong performances, season bests, lifetime bests from top to bottom,” said Lawrence coach Drew Fleek, who saw both of his teams finish fourth at the championships a season ago.

The fast times that Fleek envisions are the direct result of the training regimen the Vikings follow.

“The main thing for these kids to be successful at the conference championships is months and months of progressive training,” Fleek said.

The Vikings start with building aerobic capacity and then seek to train their physiological system with repeats and threshold sets.

“We are trying to maximize their physical output and how much pain they can tolerate to get through the end of the race,” Fleek said. “My goal is to push them to the absolute limit so they can manage that pain mentally and physically.”

The brutal workouts resume when the Vikings return from winter break and continue through the dog days of January.

“It’s all an effort to get to this last part of the season. The first three or four weeks of the term we continue this difficult training,” Fleek said. “The overall goal is to break them down each afternoon workout so that they have just enough time to recover for the next day’s workout.”

Once the Vikings start closing in on the conference championships, they begin the taper in their training. The workouts get easier, and Fleek said the result is “it tricks the body.” That body has become accustomed to the punishing workouts and is still working with that in mind.

“When we get to the meet this weekend, the swimmers have the excess of energy. That’s why you’re able to see dramatic time drops at this time of the season,” Fleek said.

“The other thing is the championship atmosphere. All the pain and suffering and effort and all the morning practices … for this one three-day period where they just let it all out. That contributes a lot to the fast swims as well.”

Lawrence enters the league meet with a pair of returning champions on the women’s side. Junior Hannah Gabriel won the 200-yard freestyle in 2012, and sophomore Taylor Winter looks to defend her title in the 500 freestyle. Winter also has the top time in the league in the 1,650 freestyle.

Freshmen Emily Flack and Hayley Cardinal are also among the top swimmers in the league in multiple events. Flack is one the top backstrokers in the conference, and Cardinal is among the best in the breaststroke. The Vikings also bring top sprinter Julia Heller and Chelsea Hameister, one of the league’s best in the individual medley.

“All of those guys are doing to have some standout performances,” Fleek said. “Hayley, Emily Hannah and Taylor will all be competing for conference championships in their individual events as well.”

Depth is the big concern on the men’s side, but the Vikings have some individual standouts in Charlie Mann, Evan Flack, Jake Johnson, Nick Craker, Caleb Stellmach, Charlie Malchow, Tom Vogel, Patrick Vincent and Grant Wilkie.

“All the guys have a chance to score in at least one event,” Fleek said. “I think our freestyle relays are going to be very strong on the guys’ side.”

They’re baaaaack!

Lawrence wraps up its basketball season on Saturday when Grinnell College makes the visit to Alexander Gymnasium.

Apart from the entertainment value of Grinnell’s run-and-gun style, which has been toned down a bit (gone are the days of virtually uncontested layups against Grinnell’s defense), the game means a lot to the Pioneers.

A win against Lawrence would ensure that Grinnell would host the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament. Grinnell is currently tied with St. Norbert College for first place, and the Pioneers hold the tiebreaker.

Tip-off is set for 3 p.m., and admission to the game is free.

Playing for the playoffs

Lawrence hasn’t yet clinched a berth in the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs heading into the final series of the regular season.

Lawrence faces Lake Forest College in a home-and-home series this weekend, with Friday’s game at the Appleton Family Ice Center. The Foresters are one of the league’s hottest teams (7-3-2 in their last 12 games), and the Vikings are on a season-worst five-game losing streak.

The top three teams from each of the MCHA’s two divisions make the playoffs, and the Vikings are tied with Northland College for third place in the Northern Division. Lawrence trails second-place Finlandia University by two points, but the Vikings hold the tiebreakers with both Northland and Finlandia.

While the Vikings have a tough test against Lake Forest, Finlandia has to travel to third-ranked Adrian College and Northland goes to No. 13 MSOE.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Director of Athletic Media Relations 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.

Vikings rally in second half to top Lake Forest

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit and beat Lake Forest College 63-61 in a Midwest Conference game on Tuesday night.

Conor Klusendorf had his third 20-plus point game of the season to pace Lawrence (12-10, 10-7 MWC). The senior forward finished with a game-high 21 points and added five rebounds for the Vikings, who have won four straight.

Jamie Nikitas and Chris Siebert added 13 points apiece for the Vikings, and Tyler Mazur had 10 points.

Jeff Beck paced Lake Forest (7-15, 5-12) with 20 points, and Chris Madson grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.

The Foresters led by only one early in the second half, but Lake Forest pushed that lead to 41-31 with 14:37 remaining in the game. The Foresters were up by eight at 47-39 when the Vikings rallied.

Klusendorf scored six points and Siebert and Brian Gryszkiewicz both added a basket as Lawrence went on a 10-2 run to tie the game at 49-49 with 6:59 left.

The game was still tied at 57-57 when Siebert scored on a layup to put the Vikings up by two with 2:07 left. After a free throw by Brian Madson cut the lead to 59-58, the teams traded missed shots.

Siebert was fouled with 48 seconds left and hit one free throw for a 60-58 edge. Brian Madson then missed a 3-pointer, and the Vikings grabbed the rebound. Siebert was fouled with 26 seconds left and made one free throw to put Lawrence up 61-58.

Nikitas then turned in a key defensive play when he stole Beck’s pass and was fouled with 16.6 seconds left. Nikitas made both free throws to give Lawrence a 63-58 advantage.

Beck countered with a 3-pointer to cut the margin to 63-61, but the Vikings inbounded the ball to Siebert, who ran out the final seconds for the win.

Lawrence wraps up the regular season on Saturday when it hosts Grinnell College.

Box score

Lawrence vs. Lake Forest series preview

The Lawrence University hockey team takes on Lake Forest College in a home-and-home series this weekend. The Vikings host Lake Forest on Friday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center, and Lawrence travels to Lake Forest on Saturday for the regular-season finale. The games have playoff implications for both teams, and Lawrence is currently holding down the final spot for the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.

Preview