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Vikings continue mastery of Ripon

RIPON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s tennis team rolled to an 8-1 Midwest Conference North Division over Ripon College on Wednesday at the Larson Courts.

Lawrence (4-4, 1-0 MWC) dropped only two games en route to sweeping the three doubles matches and then took five of the six singles matches.

Lawrence was especially impressive in the final four singles matches. Polly Dalton (No. 3), Melissa Heeren (No. 4) and Brenna Decker (No. 6) all posted 6-0, 6-0 victories, and Allison Juda was a 6-0, 6-1 winner at No. 5. Hannah Geoffrey also won at No. 2 singles for the Vikings.

Lawrence pushed its win streak against Ripon (1-6, 0-2) to 10 consecutive matches.

Lawrence University 8, Ripon College 1

Singles competition
1. Elizabeth Ake (RC) def. Gayatri Malhotra (LU) 6-3, 7-5
2. Hannah Geoffrey (LU) def. Maddie VandenHouten (RC) 6-0, 6-3
3. Polly Dalton (LU) def. Monica Schilling (RC) 6-0, 6-0
4. Melissa Heeren (LU) def. Maddie Salzer (RC) 6-0, 6-0
5. Allison Juda (LU) def. Lucero Pena (RC) 6-0, 6-1
6. Brenna Decker (LU) def. Maura Slattery (RC) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. Hannah Geoffrey/Ali Heiring (LU) def. Elizabeth Ake/Maddie VandenHouten (RC) 8-1
2. Polly Dalton/Elena Watson (LU) def. Monica Schilling/Maddie Salzer (RC) 8-0
3. Cathryn Wood/Elana Lambert (LU) def. Lucero Pena/Maura Slattery (RC) 8-1

Match Notes:
Lawrence University 4-4 (1-0 MWC North)
Ripon College 1-6 (0-2 MWC North)
T-2:31  A-31

Inside LU Athletics: More efficient Vikings off to good start

Count Matt Schoultz as a believer in the old adage that less is more.

The Lawrence University volleyball coach saw his roster trimmed to 12 players this season through four graduation losses and three others who chose not to return.

“Keeping everyone more involved is a lot easier,” said Schoultz, who is in his eighth season at Lawrence. “We were at 18 the last couple of years. Trying to keep all 18 on the same page and involved was challenging at times.

“Everyone is getting a lot more touches and practicing a lot more. Our practices are a lot more efficient.”

In addition to a better practice regimen, team chemistry has also improved with fewer players on the squad. Schoultz credits his five seniors, setters Diane McLeod and Kate Rosenbalm, libero Kathleen Rowland and hitters Taylor Tomaszewski and Lily Heun.

“Our seniors are doing a really good job of being leaders,” Schoultz said. “It helps having a setter (McLeod) who’s a leader. She’s been through it and is running our offense really well.”

The Vikings are off to a 3-3 start and that includes three matches against top-25 caliber teams in UW-Whitewater, UW-Oshkosh and Carthage.

“The first weekend was very challenging. We played some very good teams,” Schoultz said. “To be .500 at this point with some of the teams we’ve played puts us right where we expected to be.”

The Vikings are having success due to the mix of outstanding play from the seniors and the group of young players on the squad.

“Most of our offense is back from last year and our setter (McLeod) and libero (Rowland) are back. We had some holes to fill, and we’ve had some others step up, especially the sophomore group,” Schoultz said. “A lot of them got a lot of playing time last year. They’re definitely picking up where they left off last year and building on that.”

That was evident in this week’s Midwest Conference player of the week awards. Sophomore outside hitter Terese Swords was named the offensive player of the week after hitting .380 in Lawrence’s two matches, both wins, last week. Rowland was named the defensive player of the week after picking up 51 digs and recording season highs in both digs (29) and service aces (5) in the Vikings’ wins over Wisconsin Lutheran and MSOE.

Sophomore Megan Conley is currently leading the team at 2.33 kills per set and is second at 0.52 blocks per set. Swords is second on the squad at 2.29 kills per set, and junior Betsy Sorensen is third at 1.65. Sorensen also leads the team at 0.60 blocks per set. Sophomore Andrea Wilkinson and junior Kayla Storm are also averaging nearly a kill per set.

“If we stay healthy, this group is really hard-working, and they have the right attitudes. I think this group could really surprise some people in the conference,” said Schoultz, whose team was picked to finish ninth in the MWC. “I could see our team finishing a lot higher if we continue the work ethic we have.”

Closing in

Rowland is closing in on Lawrence’s career digs record, which Jenny Burris set at 1,908 from 2000-03. Rowland has 1,732 digs and is just 177 shy of breaking Burris’ mark.

Moving up

Lawrence quarterback Luke Barthelmess tossed a touchdown pass in the season opener at Cornell last Saturday and now has 49 for his career. He needs one more touchdown pass to tie Eric Aspenson (2003-05, 2007) for second place on the career list. Lawrence Hall of Famer and All-American Jim Petran is the career leader with 59.

Youth movement

The Lawrence men’s soccer team lost six senior starters to graduation and another starter to injury so the Vikings have been forced into a bit of a youth movement this fall.

Lawrence is starting five freshmen and junior Erik Soderlund, who is in his first season with the soccer team. The last time Lawrence started five freshmen was 2003, and that team finished 9-6-2 and took fourth place in the conference. The 2003 team started a run of three consecutive appearances by the Vikings in the MWC Tournament.

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.

Lawrence sweeps MWC weekly volleyball honors

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University volleyball team swept the Midwest Conference Player of the Week honors.

Sophomore Terese Swords (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) was the Offensive Player of the Week, and senior Kathleen Rowland (Champaign, Ill./Central) was the Defensive Player of the Week.

Swords, a sophomore outside hitter, hit .380 and piled up 30 kills in two matches. In a 3-1 victory at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, Swords had 20 kills and only one attack error in 38 attempts for an impressive .500 hitting percentage.

In the other other match at the MSOE Triangular, a 3-1 Lawrence victory over Wisconsin Lutheran College, Swords had 10 kills and a solid .242 hitting percentage. She also added eight digs and a pair of blocks in the two matches.

Rowland, a senior defensive specialist, piled up 51 digs in the two matches at the MSOE Triangular. In the win over Wisconsin Lutheran, Rowland had a season-high 29 digs and added a season-high five service aces. Rowland then picked up 22 digs and had a pair of service aces in Lawrence’s win over MSOE.

Lawrence is 3-3 on the season and returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to the UW-Oshkosh Quadrangular.

Lawrence rolls past Sabres

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s tennis team rolled to an 8-1 nonconference victory on Sunday over Marian University at the Lawrence Courts.

Lawrence (3-4) swept the doubles matches and took five of the six singles contests.

The Vikings had a pair of shutouts in doubles, with Ali Heiring and Hannah Geoffrey winning 8-0 at No. 1 and Allison Juda and Cathryn Wood doing the same at No. 3.

Elana Lambert highlighted the singles victories with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 6. Gayatri Malhotra (No. 1), Dalton (No. 2), Juda (No. 4) and Brenna Decker (No. 5) were also winners in singles for the Vikings.

Lawrence University 8, Marian University 1

 Singles competition
1. Gayatri Malhotra (LU) def. Goyke, Ann (MU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Polly Dalton (LU) def. Hartzell, Brynn (MU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Cords, Robyn (MU) def. Melissa Heeren (LU) 6-4, 7-6 (11-9)
4. Allison Juda (LU) def. Stoffell, Rachel (MU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Brenna Decker (LU) def. Spannbauer, Melissa (MU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Elana Lambert (LU) def. Lyons, Ahtyanna (MU) 6-0, 6-0

 Doubles competition
1. Hannah Geoffrey/Ali Heiring (LU) def. Goyke, Ann/Hartzell, Brynn (MU) 8-0
2. Gayatri Malhotra/Polly Dalton (LU) def. Stoffell, Rachel/Spannbauer, Melissa (MU) 8-4
3. Allison Juda/Cathryn Wood (LU) def. Cords, Robyn/Lyons, Ahtyanna (MU) 8-0

Match Notes:
Marian University 2-4
Lawrence University 3-4
T-3:00  A-35

Muchowski’s late goal lifts Vikings past Nebraska Wesleyan

APPLETON, Wis. — Keli Muchowski converted a penalty kick with less than five minutes remaining to lift the Lawrence University women’s soccer team to a 3-2 nonconference victory over Nebraska Wesleyan University on Sunday at Whiting Field West.

Muchowski scored a pair of goals on penalty kicks for Lawrence (1-1-0), and Amber Johnson scored twice for Nebraska Wesleyan (2-1-1).

The game-winning goal came as a result of a great run by freshman Casey Merkle. Merkle was streaking toward the goal when she was taken down in the penalty box. Muchowski then beat goalkeeper Madi Francis with the penalty kick with just 4:39 remaining to give the Vikings a 3-2 lead.

Nebraska Wesleyan grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Johnson scored in the fourth minute. Lawrence bounced right back when Merkle scored off an assist from Anne Leung at the 6:21 mark to tie the game at 1-1.

Muchowski gave Lawrence a 2-1 lead at the 36:35 mark. Muchowski got off a shot that hit the post, and as she was leaping over Francis, she was upended by the Nebraska Wesleyan goalkeeper. Muchowski was awarded a penalty kick and converted for her first goal of the contest.

The Prairie Wolves came out strong in the second half and finally evened the score at 2-2 on Johnson’s goal at the 68:35 mark.

Dani Glass made seven saves in goal for Lawrence to get the win. Francis stopped four shots for Nebraska Wesleyan.

Box score

Vikings double up Cornell

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — The Lawrence University women’s tennis team topped Cornell College 6-3 on Friday in a nonconference match.

The Vikings started the match by winning at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles and then took four of the six singles matches.

Allison Juda led the way with an impressive 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 6 singles and she teamed with Katie Frankel for an 8-4 win at No. 3 doubles. Polly Dalton also picked up a pair of wins as she won 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4 singles and teamed with Gayatri Malhotra for an 8-2 win at No.  2 doubles.

Lawrence University 6, Cornell College 3

 Singles competition
1. Ariana Hudson (CC) def. Gayatri Malhotra (LU) 6-4, 6-4
2. Hannah Geoffrey (LU) def. Shashanna Moll (CC) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Anne Seng (CC) def. Ali Heiring (LU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
4. Polly Dalton (LU) def. Dana Dowell (CC) 6-3, 6-1
5. Melissa Heeren (LU) def. Heather Schrauth (CC) 7-5, 6-4
6. Allison Juda (LU) def. Natalie Nish (CC) 6-0, 6-0

 Doubles competition
1. Ariana Hudson/Shashanna Moll (CC) def. Hannah Geoffrey/Ali Heiring (LU) 8-6
2. Polly Dalton/Gayatri Malhotra (LU) def. Dana Dowell/Veronika Reidel (CC) 8-2
3. Allison Juda/Kathleen Frankel (LU) def. Heather Schrauth/Anne Seng (CC) 8-4

Match Notes:
Lawrence University 2-2
Cornell College 1-1

Inside LU Athletics: Vikings enter new football season with fresh approach

This is Mike Barthelmess’ second season as the Lawrence University football coach, but it probably feels a lot like starting over again.

The Vikings lost nearly 20 seniors, almost all of which were major contributors, and the coaching staff is almost entirely new as only secondary coach Jeff Jansen returns. The turnover in the coaching staff also hurt recruiting, and the Vikings have only 14 new faces for 2013.

Despite what might seem like long odds for success, Barthelmess has confidence in his players and the coaching staff.

“I know there are people who think we won’t win a game. My expectations are higher than that,” Barthelmess said with a grin.

The Vikings went 2-8 a season ago, but included in that record was a one-point loss, a two-point loss and a four-point loss to conference champion Lake Forest College. With key players back all over the field, the Vikings are being cautiously optimistic.

The offense begins with senior quarterback Luke Barthelmess, the eldest son of the head coach. Luke Barthelmess owns nearly every Lawrence passing record and completed 162 of 304 passes for 2,292 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season.

While Luke Barthelmess is an accomplished passer with a Lawrence record 6,057 passing yards to his credit, it’s his feet that may make just as big a difference this season.

“It falls on his shoulders,” Mike Barthelmess said of Luke. “We’re going to probably depend more on his legs this year than we have in the past. We’re going to try to make use of his speed.”

Luke Barthelmess ran 125 times for 423 yards, an average of 3.4 yards per carry last season. With running back Ben Hartman lost to graduation, the Vikings are going to lean on new faces in the backfield, including Isaac Barthelmess, the former Appleton North High School standout and Luke’s younger brother.

“We have three strong running backs (Isaac Barthelmess, Dalton Sendelbach and Corey Fischer),” Mike Barthelmess said. “If we can continue to run the football, if we can split the running between Luke and the backfield, that’s going to help our passing game.”

The passing game also took a hit with the graduation of record-setting receiver Tyler Mazur. Lawrence does have experienced receivers in seniors Taylor Mandich and Dan Dubnicka to soften the blow, and the offensive line has three starters returning in tackles Spencer Swick of Kimberly and Luke Zablocki of Pulaski and center Nic Bouressa of Denmark.

While the offense was solid in 2012, the defense struggled and allowed 45.4 points per game. Mike Barthelmess believes the Vikings will improve on defense this season with a new coaching approach and an influx of talented newcomers.

“Everyone is really trying to work together on the defensive staff. I’m certain that we are going to be better on defense this season. That was a main focus going into this season,” Mike Barthelmess said. “The staff is great. I love my staff. It’s really, really fun going to work every day.”

The defense has All-Midwest Conference defensive back Sam Wagner in the secondary and talented linebackers Andy Paider of Denmark and Brandon Taylor. The defensive line will rotate returners Gabor Bukszar and Brady Busha with newcomers Jackson Straughn and Terrence Huff.

“We have a lot of experience coming back on defense,” Mike Barthlemess said. “We’re hoping that is going to be enough to beef up our defense.”

The key for the Vikings may come down to health. With just 39 players on the roster, Lawrence needs to keep its starters and key reserves on the field all season.

“Our whole philosophy from the beginning is we are going to be grateful for who we have,” said Mike Barthelmess, who said he has told the players to be fearless. “We have to make the best of what we have.”

Bushbacher inks deal with Chill

Former Lawrence University hockey standout Phil Bushbacher has signed a contract to play with the St. Charles (Mo.) Chill.

Bushbacher, a forward who graduated in June with a degree in government, becomes the ninth Lawrence player in the last five years to sign a pro contract.

In two seasons at Lawrence, Bushbacher played in 55 games and piled up 26 goals and 20 assists for 46 points. For his career, he played in 106 games with 42 goals and 33 assists for 75 points.

“He pretty much came into camp, and just dominated the camp,” Chill coach Jamie Rivers said. “He was physical, he put a lot of shots on goal, and he scored a lot of goals. He came in as an unknown, and he earned his spot in training camp.”

The Chill, which plays in the Central Hockey League, is one of 10 teams in that conference.

Laursen earns honor

Lawrence cross country standout Jonah Laursen has been named the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week.

Laursen (Traverse City, Mich./West), a sophomore, took second place at this past Saturday’s Tom Barry Invitational at St. Norbert College. Laursen covered the four-mile course at Colburn Park in Green Bay in 20:52.6. He ran nearly a minute faster than he did at the same meet as a freshman in 2012.

Led by Laursen, Lawrence finished fourth in the team standings with 111 points. This marks the first time in his career that Laursen has earned the conference’s weekly honor.

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.

Balanced attack leads Vikings past Wisconsin Lutheran

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Lawrence University volleyball team used a balanced attack to post a 3-1 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran College on Wednesday night at the Kern Center.

Lawrence won the match 25-19, 27-25, 19-25, 25-19 at the Milwaukee School of Engineering Triangular.

Megan Conley paced the Vikings (2-3) with 13 kills, and Betsy Sorensen added 12 kills and a match-high four blocks. Terese Swords also finished in double digits with 10 kills.

Setter Diane McLeod piled up 37 assists and also picked up 13 digs. Kathleen Rowland paced the Vikings with a match-high 29 digs and five aces.

Box score