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Vikings shut out Concordia 9-0

JACKSON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s tennis team rolled to a 9-0 nonconference victory over Concordia University of Wisconsin on Sunday at the Pleasant Valley Tennis Center.

The Vikings started the day by winning all three doubles matches without dropping more than three games in any of the matches.

Christina Schaupp (No. 1), Jenni Roesch (No. 2), Gayatri Malhotra (No. 3), Hannah Geoffrey (No. 4), Ali Heiring (No. 5) and Melissa Heeren (No. 6) all won in singles for the Vikings. Geoffrey had the most dominating win of the day as she posted a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Ashley Knoll at No. 4.

Lawrence University 9, Concordia Wisconsin 0

Singles competition
1. Christina Schaupp (LU) def. Spransy, Julie (CUW) 7-5, 6-2
2. Jennifer Roesch (LU) def. Ward, Jaclyn (CUW) 6-3, 6-3
3. Gayatri Malhotra (LU) def. Reinke, Callie (CUW) 6-7 (0-7), 6-1, 1-0 (10-6)
4. Hannah Geoffrey (LU) def. Knoll, Ashley (CUW) 6-1, 6-0
5. Ali Heiring (LU) def. McCormick, Emily (CUW) 6-4, 7-5
6. Melissa Heeren (LU) def. Schotte, Catherine (CUW) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Christina Schaupp/Jennifer Roesch (LU) def. Spransy, Julie/Ward, Jaclyn (CUW) 8-3
2. Hannah Geoffrey/Ali Heiring (LU) def. Reinke, Callie/Knoll, Ashley (CUW) 8-2
3. Gayatri Malhotra/Tess Vogel (LU) def. McCormick, Emily/Schotte, Catherine (CUW) 8-3

Match Notes:
Lawrence University 10-10
Concordia Wisconsin 9-9
T-3:00  A-25

Lawrence fires pair of shutouts at Regents

ROCKFORD, Ill. — The Lawrence University softball team fired a pair of shutouts at Rockford College on Sunday, defeating the Regents 5-0 in the opener and 3-0 in the nightcap.

Shannon Murray and Liz Barthels limited the Regents to just five hits in the opener, and Kara Vance and Murray held Rockford to six hits in the nightcap.

In the first game, Lawrence (10-6) pounded out 14 hits against Rockford starter Brittany Bura. Anna Wawiorka went 3-for-4 to pace Lawrence’s attack, and Murray, Taylor Dodson and Savanna Marsicek all had two hits.

Lawrence scored twice in the top of the first with Dodson delivering a run-scoring single and Marsicek added a run-scoring double. The Vikings made it 3-0 in the fourth when Katie Schumacher belted a run-scoring double.

Dodson added a RBI double in the fifth to put Lawrence up 4-0, and Tierney Duffy drove in a run with a single in the sixth to finish the scoring.

Murray pitched six innings, allowing four hits while striking out four and walking one. Liz Barthels pitched a scoreless seventh for the Vikings.

The Vikings scored late to win a tight contest in the second game.

Lawrence broke a scoreless tie with a run in the fifth. After Alissa Geipel’s infield single and a walk put two runners aboard, Cathy Kaye singled to score Geipel for a 1-0 lead. Kaye went 3-for-3 to pace the Lawrence offense.

Rockford (3-15) threatened to tie it in the bottom half of the inning after getting runners to second and third with one out. Lawrence starter Kara Vance was relieved by Murray, who got a pair of comebackers to get out of the jam.

Lawrence added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh. Katie Schumacher drew a one-out walk and Kaye followed with a single. After a strikeout, Wawiorka belted a two-run double to give the Vikings a 3-0 edge.

Murray then worked around a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh to complete the shutout.

Vance allowed four hits in 4.1 innings to get the win. Murray worked the final 2.2 innings to pick up her fourth save of the season.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Stevens, Tepper pace Vikings at UW-Oshkosh Open

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Sam Stevens and Rose Tepper paced the Lawrence University track teams on Saturday at the UW-Oshkosh Open at Titan Stadium.

Stevens took third place in the 1,500 meters in 4:05.94 and placed seventh in the 800 in 2:06.00. Tyler Herman grabbed third in the 400 in 52.47 seconds and ran with Ben Bard, Mike Mangian and Matt Geleske on the 1,600 relay team, which placed third in 3:38.20.

The Lawrence men were fourth in the team standings with 25 points.

On the women’s side, Tepper placed second in the high jump at 5 feet, 1 inch. Tepper also ran with Liza Girsova, Anna Bolgrien and Hayley Cardinal on the 1,600 relay team, which placed second in 4:23.53.

Bolgrien also placed third in the 400 hurdles in 1:07.22, and Girsova was seventh in the 200 in 27.82 seconds.

Results

Wellman to lead Lawrence women’s basketball program

APPLETON, Wis. — Ashley Wellman has been named the head women’s basketball coach at Lawrence University, Director of Athletics Mike Szkodzinski announced today.

Ashley Wellman

Wellman comes to Lawrence from Alma College in Michigan, where she has served as the assistant women’s basketball coach and recruiting coordinator since August 2008. Wellman, a former star player at Alma, is the 10th coach in Lawrence women’s basketball history.

“We are extremely excited to introduce Ashley Wellman as our next head women’s basketball coach,” Szkodzinski said. “Ashley’s experience in recruiting at Alma College will undoubtedly pay dividends for our program. Her experiences and personality on and off the court make her an excellent fit for our program and department. We look forward to watching the women’s basketball team progress under her leadership.”

Wellman played at Alma for Charlie Goffnett, who won more than 300 games and the 1992 NCAA Division III championship in his 22 seasons with the Scots. A 2008 graduate of Alma with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Wellman served as the interim head coach at Alma in 2009 when Goffnett retired. Wellman also served as the interim head coach from April-October 2012 due to the illness of the head coach.

“I am thrilled to be named the head women’s basketball coach at Lawrence University,” Wellman said. “I am looking forward to working with the returning team members, athletic department, faculty and community members to re-establish Lawrence as one of the top programs in the Midwest Conference.”

Wellman, who will earn her master’s degree in sport administration from Central Michigan University in May, has put Alma back on the path to success in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. In her five seasons coaching at Alma, Wellman helped bring more than 40 student-athletes to the women’s basketball program.

“I am very grateful that I have this opportunity and also the support of Mike Szkodzinski, the athletic department and the administration to move this program forward,” Wellman said. “I am confident that our program has the resources it needs to be successful in the coming years, and my goal is to make sure it does.”

During her playing career with the Scots, Wellman earned All-MIAA accolades three times. A first-team all-conference selection in 2007, Wellman was a second-team pick in 2008 and received honorable mention in 2006. Wellman was a two-year team captain and a two-time team Most Valuable Player. Wellman was named the team’s Most Improved Player as a sophomore in 2006.

Wellman finished in the top 10 in eight different statistical categories at Alma and ended her career with more than 1,100 points and more than 500 rebounds.

A native of Saginaw, Mich., Wellman was a standout player at Nouvel Catholic Central High School. Wellman led Nouvel Catholic Central to a runner-up finish at the Michigan High School Athletic Association Class B state tournament in 2004.

The team captain and MVP of the state runner-up team, Wellman received honorable mention on the Detroit Free Press all-state team in 2004. She also was named first-team all-area by the Saginaw News in 2004. Wellman also helped Nouvel Catholic Central to the state tournament quarterfinals in 2002 and 2003. Wellman also won Nouvel Catholic Central’s Senior Class Female Athletic Leadership Award.

Wellman takes over for Tara Carr, who resigned in February after two seasons and a 3-43 record. Despite struggling in recent seasons, Lawrence has enjoyed a history of success in women’s basketball. The Vikings have won three conference championships and made one NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. The Vikings have posted 23 seasons of .500 or better in 37 campaigns.

Inside LU Athletics: Vikings put some bounce back in their game

It’s not often you open a season with a loss and hope that sets the tone for the campaign.

The Lawrence University softball team opened its season in Clermont, Fla., against the College of St. Scholastica, which won more than 30 games in 2012 and played in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The talented Saints blew out to a 6-0 lead, but the Vikings rallied and St. Scholastica had to hang on for a 6-5 win.

“To fight back — that kind of set the tone for the whole week,” said Lawrence coach Kim Tatro, now in her 20th season with the Vikings. “We can battle with anyone and that should be the goal. They kind of proved it all week. The consistency of their reslience is something we were pleased with. Hopefully, that sets us up for games up here with a different level of confidence.”

Lawrence finished its spring break trip with an 8-4 record, the best nonconference mark of any team in the Midwest Conference’s North Division. The Vikings won two games after trailing, including a 5-0 deficit to Geneseo State, and won two more games after being tied late.

“We played in a  lot of really close games, and in the past we probably would not have won half of those,” Tatro said. “Very resilient, battling. I felt like every game we were in we did battle back to win.”

That is a nice change from last season when the Vikings finished 9-22 and lost eight games by one or two runs.

“The biggest change I see, other than the talent level and the resilience, it’s a lot of the same people taking the next step to believe,” Tatro said. “That factor in and of itself can go a long way.”

The core of Lawrence’s team returned from last season and that group played well in Florida.

Senior pitcher/infielder Shannon Murray went 5-3 with three saves and a 2.47 earned run average despite dealing with an illness during the week. Murray, who hit .333, struck out 31 and walked only eight while allowing opponents to hit just .244. 

“Shannon was as solid as she’s been in her career,” Tatro said. “Not only was she winning game as a starter, but she came in in critical situations to save games.” 

Junior catcher Alex Chiodo led the team with a .393 batting average and tied with Murray and Cathy Kaye for the team lead with eight runs batted in. Kaye, a senior outfielder, hit .342 and smacked a team-high seven doubles. Sophomore pitcher Kara Vance went 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA and was part of two shutouts.

Lawrence also has a very talented freshmen class, and Tatro said many of the rookies played critical roles at different times and in different situations during that week. That is a great omen for the Vikings.

“We have a lot of options. A lot of people stepping up at different times,” Tatro said.

“When you have that ability, and people are actually stepping up and doing it, it just helps the team walk around with an air of confidence.”

The Vikings now have to wait for Mother Nature to cooperate so they can get back out on the field. The team spent several days clearing the field of snow, including drifts several feet deep.

“There is a lot of positive energy. We want to be outside and get back at it,” Tatro said. “There are a lot of things we can improve upon. We’re nowhere near where we can be on offense and defense. They are itching to get back out there to play. … It would be nice to get back at it with something other than a shovel.”

Lawrence is scheduled to play doubleheaders this weekend at the University of Chicago and Rockford College.

Big Benz

The Vikings knew they would have a hole in one spot in the lineup after the graduation of All-Midwest Conference third baseman Eric Bohling, but newcomer Aaron Benz has filled in quite nicely.

Benz, who is starting in the outfield, is currently on a team-best seven-game hitting streak. The junior, who transferred from UW-Oshkosh, is hitting .378 with a team-high 12 runs batted in. 

Sights set on big brother

Senior tennis player Jason Dunn picked up career singles win No. 51 when he won at No. 2 against Knox College last Saturday. Dunn, now in second place on Lawrence’s career list,  is just nine wins shy of tying his brother, Ryan, for the top spot.

The Vikings have seven scheduled matches remaining and the Midwest Conference Championships. Lawrence could play two additional dual matches if it qualifies for the MWC Team Tournament.

Lawrence snuffs out Prairie Fire

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s tennis team won a pair of tight doubles matches and then rolled through the singles for an 8-1 nonconference victory over Knox College on Saturday at Fox Cities Racquet Club.

Craig Sherwood and Brian DeCorte rolled to an 8-0 victory at No. 3 doubles for Lawrence (8-6), and then the Vikings won tiebreakers at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles for a 3-0 heading into singles.

Lawrence then posted singles victories by Cooper Smith (No. 1), Jason Dunn (No. 2), Sherwood (No. 4), DeCorte (No. 5) and Jeremy Andereck (No. 6). Andereck pitched a shutout with a 6-0, 6-0 victory.

Lawrence University 8, Knox College 1

Singles competition
1. Cooper Smith (LU) def. Karl Ruzgas (KC) 6-3, 6-1
2. Jason Dunn (LU) def. Jonathan Ng (KC) 6-2, 6-2
3. Walter Palmer (KC) def. Max Zlevor (LU) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
4. Craig Sherwood (LU) def. David Ham (KC) 6-3, 6-1
5. Brian DeCorte (LU) def. Dustin Loch (KC) 6-1, 6-1
6. Jeremy Andereck (LU) def. Pragyaditya Mukerjee (KC) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. Jason Dunn/Max Zlevor (LU) def. Karl Ruzgas/Walter Palmer (KC) 9-8 (7-5)
2. Cooper Smith/Jeremy Andereck (LU) def. Jonathan Ng/David Ham (KC) 9-8 (7-4)
3. Craig Sherwood/Brian DeCorte (LU) def. Dustin Loch/Mike Carr (KC) 8-0

Match Notes:
Knox College 4-12
Lawrence University 8-6
T-3:00  A-45

Inside LU Athletics: Pitching paces successful spring break trip

It didn’t take long for the Lawrence University baseball team to turn its season around.

After a traffic-filled, 30-hour bus ride to Fort Myers, Fla., the Vikings struggled out of the gate but earned a doubleheader split in their opening games with Lakeland College.

From that point, Lawrence’s pitching, offense and defense turned in a fine effort that allowed the Vikings to finish with a 6-3 spring break trip (the other two losses after the first day were both by one run). Lawrence currently has the best nonconference record among all Midwest Conference teams.

“If you take off the first game off the bus, we played pretty well,” Lawrence coach Jason Anderson said. “I was pretty pleased with the overall effort. We improved in every statistical category. The results look pretty good.”

The Vikings were led by their young pitching staff. In their final seven games in Florida, Lawrence pitchers put together a 2.87 earned run average. Lawrence pitchers also struck out 40 while walking only 14 in their final 53.1 innings. The Vikings allowed 28 hits and walked 25 on the opening day of the trip.

The Vikings have a core of three sophomore starters, Drew Doares, Atley Gay and Kelton Jenkins, leading the way.

“They looked like they were very experienced coming out,” Anderson said of that trio. “I wasn’t surprised when the games were happening, but when you look at the stats, those are surprising numbers.”

Jenkins made one start and tossed six shutout innings for a 0.00 ERA, and Gay went 1-0 in two starts (both Lawrence wins) with a 0.64 ERA. Doares went 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA and struck out 14 in 13 innings.

“The most positive thing that came from the trip, pitching-wise, was Alex Brewer solidified himself as the fourth starter, which is what we were missing last year,” Anderson said.

Brewer, a senior who started in right field last year and was a reliever, finished 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in Florida.

“Our focus, in all honesty, was throwing two of the first three pitches for strikes and not walking anybody,” Anderson said. “Even with the tough first day, we walked 39 guys and struck out 52. It shows the guys have matured in the way we wanted them to.”

Anderson spreads the credit for that success to his three catchers, seniors Phil Wisniewski and Tanner DeBettencourt and junior Marc Linger.

“I have three excellent catchers who have taken over the pitch-calling duties,” Anderson said. “Not only do we work fast, but they see things that coaches can’t see from the dugout. Our pitch-calling has been top-notch since we got off the bus.”

While the pitching took a starring role on the trip, the Lawrence offense also posted some impressive numbers. The Vikings hit .354 for the nine games and also posted a rock solid .961 fielding percentage.

Senior outfielder Davide Harris led the Vikings with a .452 batting average and had an even better .575 on-base percentage after drawing a team-high nine walks. Senior shortstop Gabe Henriques wasn’t far behind with a .432 batting average with four doubles and 10 runs batted in and a team-high 12 runs scored.

Junior transfer Aaron Benz hit .382 with two doubles, a homer and a team-high 11 RBI. Wisniewski smacked a team-best eight doubles in nine games and hit .371.

“What we’ve been able to do this year is solidify our top six or seven guys immediately and put them out there and let them learn to play together,” Anderson said. “Our curve for winning games happened very fast. We had the same six or seven guys hitting in the same order.”

The Vikings will head to Iowa to face Central College this weekend since Whiting Field is still covered in snow. Lawrence is scheduled to play its home opener April 7 against Ripon College.

Home, sweet home

The Lawrence baseball, tennis and softball teams all had travel adventures returning home from their spring break trips in Florida.

The baseball team, which got caught in a massive traffic jam driving to Florida, narrowly missed a wreck with a semi-trailer in a snowstorm on the drive back. Fortunately, everyone arrived safely back in Appleton.

The men’s tennis team didn’t have any travel woes, but the Vikings had to hustle back from Orlando. Lawrence arrived back on campus just after 1 p.m. last Saturday and then went out to Fox Cities Racquet Club for a 4 p.m. match with Monmouth. Lawrence downed a talented Scots squad 6-3.

Softball was scheduled to fly out this past Sunday from Orlando but a nasty storm grounded the flight. Lawrence finally arrived back in Appleton late, late Sunday night. Just in time to get a few hours sleep and head to class on Monday morning.

Moving up

Senior tennis player Jason Dunn is closing in the No. 2 spot on Lawrence’s career wins list.

Dunn, who is 7-5 this season, won against Monmouth and now has 50 career victories. That puts him two wins shy of passing Caleb Ray for second place on the career list. Dunn could tie Ray with a win on Saturday against Knox College.

Dunn’s older brother, Ryan, is Lawrence’s career wins leader with 60.

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 shut out Marian

FOND DU LAC, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s tennis team rolled to a 9-0 shutout victory over Marian University on Sunday at Centre Court.

Lawrence (7-6) didn’t drop a set en route to the victory. The Vikings lost only two games total in the three doubles matches and then rolled through the singles matches.

The Vikings lost only 10 games in the six singles matches. Brian DeCorte was perfect as he posted a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 3. Daniel Anderson picked up his first collegiate victory at No. 5, and Ethan Perushek also got his first college victory after winning at No. 6.

Lawrence’s No. 3 doubles team of Mitch Kasprzyk and Adam Busch also picked up its first college win.  

Lawrence University vs Marian University
3/24/2013 at Fond du Lac, Wis.

Lawrence University 9, Marian University 0

Singles competition
1. Cooper Smith (LU) def. Ogden, Rob (MU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Max Zlevor (LU) def. Solvik, Elan (MU) 6-0, 6-1
3. Brian DeCorte (LU) def. Bales, Andrew (MU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Jeremy Andereck (LU) def. Keller, Mark (MU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Daniel Anderson (LU) def. Maetzold, Sam (MU), by default
6. Ethan Perushek (LU) def. Heup, Josh (MU) 6-0, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Jason Dunn/Max Zlevor (LU) def. Ogden, Rob/Bales, Andrew (MU) 8-2
2. Jeremy Andereck/Cooper Smith (LU) def. Solvik, Elan/Keller, Mark (MU) 8-0
3. Mitch Kasprzyk/Adam Busch (LU) def. Maetzold, Sam/Heup, Josh (MU) 8-0

Match Notes:
Lawrence University 7-6
Marian University 0-1
MU #5 singles Sam Maetzold was forced to withdraw due to injury
T-2:30  A-25

Vikings finish long day with victory over Monmouth

APPLETON, Wis. — It was a long day for the Lawrence University men’s tennis team, but it ended with a 6-3 nonconference victory over Monmouth College on Saturday.

Lawrence started its day by getting up at 4 a.m. in Orlando, Fla., after wrapping up nearly a week of play in the Sunshine State. The Vikings got on a plane, flew back to Milwaukee and arrived in Appleton early this afternoon.

The Vikings (6-6) then rallied for a win over the Scots (5-5) at Fox Cities Racquet Club after dropping two of the three doubles matches. Lawrence got a key victory at No. 3 doubles as Brian DeCorte and Craig Sherwood posted a 9-7 victory.

Lawrence then won five of the six singles matches to complete the victory. Cooper Smith (No. 1), Jason Dunn (No. 2), Sherwood (No. 4), DeCorte (No. 5) and Jeremy Andereck (No. 6) were all victorious.

Monmouth College vs Lawrence University
3/23/2013 at Appleton, Wis.

Lawrence University 6, Monmouth College 3

Singles competition
1. Cooper Smith (LU) def. David Johnson (MC) 6-4, 6-4
2. Jason Dunn (LU) def. David Stewart (MC) 6-4, 6-3
3. Chris Franco (MC) def. Max Zlevor (LU) 6-0, 6-2
4. Craig Sherwood (LU) def. Marco Franco (MC) 6-0, 5-7, 1-0 (10-6)
5. Brian DeCorte (LU) def. Alex King (MC) 6-1, 6-0
6. Jeremy Andereck (LU) def. Andrew Shiakallis (MC) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. David Johnson/David Stewart (MC) def. Jason Dunn/Max Zlevor (LU) 8-3
2. Chris Franco/Marco Franco (MC) def. Cooper Smith/Jeremy Andereck (LU) 8-4
3. Brian DeCorte/Craig Sherwood (LU) def. Alex King/Andrew Shiakallis (MC) 9-7

Match Notes:
Monmouth College 5-5
Lawrence University 6-6
T-3:00  A-25

Lawrence rallies late to down D’Youville

CLERMONT, Fla. — The Lawrence University softball team rallied for single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to down D’Youville College 3-2 in a nonconference game on Friday at the National Training Center.

Shannon Murray went 3-for-3, drove in a run and picked up the save for Lawrence (8-4). Kara Vance got the win and went 2-for-3 with a run batted in.

Lawrence trailed 2-1 heading into the sixth inning, but the Vikings tied it in that frame. Alex Chiodo led off the inning with a walk, and pinch-runner Mary Diduch swiped second. After a strikeout, Vance doubled to score Diduch and tie the game at 2-2.

The Vikings then mounted a two-out rally in the seventh to surge ahead. Murray started the rally with a single, and Anna Wawiorka followed with a run-scoring double to give Lawrence a 3-2 lead.

Vance gave up a lead-off single in the bottom of the seventh, and Murray came on to close out the Spartans (0-3). Murray retired the next three batters in order to earn the save. Vance allowed seven hits, struck out six and did not walk a batter.

Lawrence grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first when Kaye doubled and later scored on Murray’s double. D’Youville scored twice in the bottom of the second to take a 2-1 lead.