The Highlights

Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics

Singles play leads St. Norbert past Lawrence

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The St. Norbert College women’s tennis team remained unbeaten in Midwest Conference play with a 7-2 win over Lawrence University on Saturday at Western Racquet Club.

The Green Knights (7-1, 4-0 MWC) won five of the six singles matches to earn the victory. Lawrence (5-4, 3-2) picked up one victory in doubles as the No. 3 team of Tess Vogel and Melissa Heeren won 9-8 courtesy of a 7-1 victory in the tiebreaker. The Vikings also won at No. 2 singles where Katie Frankel won 7-6, 7-6.

St. Norbert College 7, Lawrence University 2

Singles competition
1. Elizabeth Manlick (SNC) def. Hannah Geoffrey (LU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Katie Frankel (LU) def. Nancy Chybowski (SNC) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-2)
3. Katherine Ake (SNC) def. Lindsay Holsen (LU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Erika Chitko (SNC) def. Allison Juda (LU) 6-2, 6-0
5. Anna Gosz (SNC) def. Tess Vogel (LU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Ashley Randazzo (SNC) def. Melissa Heeren (LU) 6-3, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Elizabeth Manlick/Nancy Chybowski (SNC) def. Hannah Geoffrey/Katie Frankel (LU) 8-3
2. Katherine Ake/Erika Chitko (SNC) def. Lindsay Holsen/Ali Heiring (LU) 8-3
3. Tess Vogel/Melissa Heeren (LU) def. Anna Gosz/Ashley Randazzo (SNC) 9-8 (7-1)

Match Notes:
Lawrence University 5-4, 3-2 MWC
St. Norbert College 7-1, 4-0 MWC

Big first half propels Knox past Lawrence

GALESBURG, Ill. — The Knox College football team pulled out to a 35-0 lead at the half and went on to a 45-14 nonconference win over Lawrence University on Saturday at the Knosher Bowl.

Knox (2-1) got two first-half touchdowns from Terry White and two more first-half scores from Matt McCaffrey to pull away. The Prairie Fire posted 502 yards of offense, including 345 on the ground.

Quarterback Chance Byrd ran for one touchdown and threw for another to pace Lawrence (1-2), which was limited to 226 yards of offense. Byrd had 11 carries for 50 yards and completed 8-of-16 passes for 127 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Trevor Spina had the biggest receiving day of his career with six catches for 109 yards and a touchdown for Lawrence.

The Vikings, who committed four turnovers, got on the board when Byrd connected with Spina on an 80-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter. Lawrence got its other score when Bryd ran 15 yards for a touchdown to complete a seven-play, 72-yard drive early in the fourth quarter.

Dan Taylor made 14 tackles and Zach Eichhorst had 11 to lead the Lawrence defense. Freshman Alic Riedel picked off his second pass of the season for Lawrence.

Lawrence returns to action next Saturday when it hosts Grinnell College in a nonconference game.

Box score

Lake Forest scores in final minutes to edge Vikings

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s soccer team took undefeated Lake Forest College down to the wire, but the Foresters scored with just 4:02 remaining to pull out a 2-1 Midwest Conference victory at Whiting Field West.

Lake Forest (10-0-0, 3-0-0 MWC) took the early lead on Holly Lesperance’s goal in the 28th minute, but led only 1-0 despite dominating the first half.

Lawrence (2-5-1, 0-1-1) pulled to even when Keli Muchowski scored off assists from Lucy Brown and Genna Matt at 48:54.

The score stayed that way until Michelle Greeneway scored at 85:58 to put the Foresters back on top.

Lake Forest had a 22-5 edge in shots, and Dani Glass made 13 saves for the Vikings. Rachel Tenuta stopped three shots for Lake Forest.

Box score

Lawrence ties Foresters 1-1

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s soccer team battled to a 1-1 double-overtime tie with Lake Forest College in a Midwest Conference match on Saturday at Whiting Field West.

Lawrence (0-6-2, 0-1-1 MWC) jumped on top less than two minutes into the match when Joe Cullen scored off assists from Erik Soderlund and Cameron Pieper with just 1:56 gone. That lead stood up until Elyas Ingram scored for Lake Forest (2-6-1, 1-0-1) in the 69th minute.

Both teams had good scoring chances the rest of the way but neither could convert. Lake Forest had a 19-14 edge in shots. Joe Krivit stopped seven shots for Lawrence, and Ian Taylor made five saves for the Foresters.

Box score

Lawrence women race to eighth at Griak Invitational

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — The Lawrence University women’s cross country team put together a fast pack on Saturday and raced to an eighth-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational at the University of Minnesota.

Sophomore Cora Williams paced the women’s team by covering the 6,000-meter course in 24:59.0 to place 37th. Only 27 places separated Lawrence’s first runner from its fifth.

Freshman Erin Schrobilgen and sophomore Clare Bruning went back-to-back, finishing 41st and 42nd. Schrobilgen finished in 25:00.7, and Bruning checked in at 25:02.3. Freshman Hannah Kinzer was next in 55th place in 25:25.2, and sophomore Amy Hutchings rounded out the scoring by placing 64th in 26:00.0.

Lawrence finished with 239 points, and UW-La Crosse won the title with 60 points in a 20-team field.

On the men’s side, Lawrence finished 10th with 295 points, and UW-La Crosse won with 43.

The top finisher for the Vikings was sophomore Jonah Larusen, who finished 42nd. He covered the 8,000-meter course in 28:56.0. Sophomore Max Edwards was close behind as he took 50th in 29:22.2. Kyle Dockery was 63rd in 30:05.4, Cam Davies was 69th in 30:29.9 and Chris Fuelling rounded out the scoring by placing 71st in 30:24.2.

Lawrence competes on its home turf next Saturday when it hosts the Gene Davis Invitational at Reid Municipal Golf Course.

Women’s results (pdf)

Men’s results (pdf)

Inside LU Athletics: Vikings start golf season on winning note

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University golf team had high expectations for the upcoming year, but those prospects ticked up a notch after a superlative start to the season.

The Vikings kicked off the fall season this past weekend by notching a pair of individual and team victories. Lawrence won the St. Norbert Invitational at Brown County Golf Course last Saturday and followed that with a win at the Lawrence Invitational at Eagle Creek Golf Club on Sunday.

“I don’t think we could have asked for a better start,” said senior Anton Olsson, who won his first collegiate title at St. Norbert.

Junior Rudi Pino then rolled to an impressive victory at Eagle Creek, winning by four shots over Olsson. The Vikings edged Marian by a stroke for the win at St. Norbert but rolled to a five-shot victory over the Green Knights at Eagle Creek.

“I was very satisfied because I would say that’s the best team effort from top to bottom since I started coaching at Lawrence,” assistant coach Chris Burns said. “It wasn’t just the scores, but it was the attitude and the effort the players put forth.”

It was the first time Lawrence has won back-to-back tournaments since May 2005 when the Vikings capped the season with victories at the St. Norbert Invitational and Midwest Conference Championships.

“I was just happy for the boys, especially since Nigel (Schuster), Nathan (Ley) and (Ryan) Clark are young,” Olsson said. “It was real nice to get something to build on. It wasn’t really a surprise that we played well.

“I knew both me and Rudi, especially Rudi, have been playing well the last couple of years. With Nathan and Nigel coming in last year, they have really been playing at their potential. This year, they looked great in practice. There weren’t any doubts that we would play well.”

The individual titles over the weekend were Lawrence’s first since John Pechan won the Ripon Invitational on Sept. 20, 2010.

Olsson had not played at Brown County before last Saturday so he took a cautious route to a four-over 76 and the victory.

“I was not playing aggressive at all,” said Olsson, also a goaltender on Lawrence’s hockey team. “I played safe throughout the entire round. I wasn’t going to chase any birdies. I was going to rely on my approach game if any birdies presented themselves. I didn’t take any risks. The biggest motivator was I wanted to beat Rudi.”

Olsson said he and Pino, who was his hockey teammate the past two seasons, have a spirited rivalry.

“It’s very competitive between us and that really helps. We play every week together and he’s been winning more lately. It’s fun to chase him,” Olsson said. “It makes it fun, but it’s also better for both of us.”

Olsson finished fourth in the Midwest Conference Championships last spring to earn all-conference honors. Pino, who missed the spring season due to a hockey injury, earned all-conference honors as a freshman in 2013.

“I think it’s the competition between the two that really pushes them,” Burns said. “They feed off each other as great athletes will do.”

Olsson and Pino are the team’s best players, but the Vikings have a nice supporting cast in sophomores Nigel Schuster, Nathan Ley and Ryan Eardley (currently out due to an injury) and freshman Ryan Clark.

“Now that (Schuster and Ley) are getting used to competing as sophomores, that’s really going to help our team,” Olsson said. “That’s been the biggest difference from the previous year where we had one or two players who could step up, now we have three or four.”

Lawrence returns to action on Monday and Tuesday when it travels to the Midwest Region Classic at Trappers Turn in Wisconsin Dells.

I’ll huff and I’ll puff

How windy was it on Sunday at the Lawrence Invitational? Olsson said he hit a 6-iron just 110 yards into the teeth of the north wind on the front nine. On the next hole, he hit a 9-iron 220 yards with the wind at his back.

“It was really tough conditions,” Olsson said. “Before the round, I said to myself, ‘If I get out there and I make a few mistakes, I’m sure I won’t be the only one.’ ”

Olsson, who shot 79 and finished second, was one of only three players to break 80.

“We won by a pretty comfortable margin because we didn’t let the weather affect us,” Burns said. “That’s one of the things I preach. You control what you can control.”

Wisconsin Lutheran tops Vikings 2-1

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — A penalty kick early in the second half proved to be the difference as the Wisconsin Lutheran College men’s soccer team topped Lawrence University 2-1 in a nonconference match on Wednesday night.

The Warriors (6-4-0) got a penalty kick goal from Mavric Otterstatter at 58:23 to go up 2-0. Joe Cullen picked up his first goal of the season for the Vikings (0-6-1) when he scored off a pass from Mike Deremo at 63:38 to trim the margin to 2-1.

Wisconsin Lutheran had a 14-7 edge in shots, and Cedric Guichard made only one save for the Warriors. Joe Krivit stopped five shots for the Vikings.

Box score

Vikings rally from two sets down to top Carroll

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University volleyball team put together a stunning rally on Wednesday night to beat Carroll University 3-2 in a Midwest Conference match at Alexander Gymnasium.

Lawrence (5-12, 1-0 MWC) defeated Carroll (4-13, 0-1) 8-25, 21-25, 29-27, 25-23, 15-7.

Terese Swords and Kayla Storm led Lawrence with 12 kills apiece. Andrea Wilkinson added 10 kills, Betsy Sorensen added nine and Megan Conley had eight for the Vikings.

Sydney Nelson picked up 27 assists and 20 digs for Lawrence, and Lauren Ray had 25 assists. Cyra Bammer paced the Vikings with 23 digs, and Noelle Hele added 22.

After getting routed in the first set and dropping the second set, the Vikings were on the brink of a loss in the third set. Lawrence was down 24-20 in the third set before winning the next four points to tie it at 24-24. Lawrence then fought off two more match points before reeling off the final three points to win the set 29-27.

The Vikings then tied the match at 2-2 after holding off a Carroll rally in the fourth set. The Vikings led 23-18 before Carroll went on a 5-1 run to trim the lead to 24-23. Storm picked up a kill to close out the set for Lawrence.

The final set was tied 5-5 before Lawrence ripped off nine consecutive points to lead 14-5. Storm ended the match with a kill for the Vikings.

Kelly Sloyan led Carroll with 18 kills, and Taylor Kuehl piled up 50 assists. Jenna Shea had 33 digs for the Pioneers.

Lawrence doesn’t play again until it hosts Knox College on Oct. 3.

Box score

Pino wins individual title; Vikings win second straight tourney

GREENVILLE, Wis. — The Lawrence University golf team made it a clean sweep on the weekend as the Vikings won both the individual and team titles on Sunday at the Lawrence Invitational.

Lawrence’s Rudi Pino carded a 75 to take medalist honors on the par-72 layout at Eagle Creek Golf Club. The Vikings shot a team score of 325 to win by five strokes over St. Norbert College.

The Vikings’ success on Sunday came on the heels of Anton Olsson winning medalist honors and Lawrence taking the team title at the St. Norbert Invitational on Saturday.

Playing in windy and cool conditions on Sunday, Pino won by four shots over his teammate, Olsson, and Finlandia University’s Dylan Peterson, who both shot 79. Pino, who birdied one hole on each nine, shot 38 on the front nine and 37 on the back.

Nathan Ley shot 85 and Nigel Schuster carded an 86 to finish the scoring for the Vikings.

Results (pdf)