The Highlights

Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics

Bruning, Brisbois pace Vikings at Brooks Invitational

WINNECONNE, Wis. — Clare Bruning raced to a 90th-place finish to lead the Lawrence University cross country teams at Saturday’s massive UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational at Lake Breeze Golf Club.

Bruning covered the 6,000-meter course in 23:28 to lead Lawrence to a 20th-place finish with 595 points in the 37-team field. Amy Hutchings led the pack of Lawrence runners that scored for the Vikings. She was 117th in 23:48 and was followed by Liz Landes (120th, 23:50), Elin Karlsson (132nd, 24:05) and Cora Williams (136th, 24:07).

On the men’s side, the Vikings finished 24th with 703 points. Jamie Brisbois led Lawrence by taking 102nd in 26:23 on the 8,000-meter course.

Kyle Dockery was next for the Vikings as he placed 123rd in 26:41. Rounding out the scoring for Lawrence were: Jonah Laursen (135th, 26:54), Cameron Davies (169th, 27:39) and Curran Carlile (174th, 27:48).

North Central (Ill.) College won the men’s title with 33 points, and Calvin College took the women’s title with 71 points.

Men’s results

Women’s results

Muchowski’s goal gives Vikings 1-0 win over Maranatha

WATERTOWN, Wis. — Keli Muchowski scored the only goal of the match as the Lawrence University women’s soccer team downed Maranatha Baptist Bible College 1-0 in a nonconference contest.

Muchowski, a junior forward, scored at the 17:43 mark for the only tally of the match. Muchowski put a shot over the head of Maranatha goalkeeper Michala Marino from about 45 yards out.

Lawrence goalkeeper Dani Glass stopped four shots to pick up the shutout. Marino made six saves for Maranatha (8-7-0).

Lawrence (4-7-1) outshot the Crusaders 17-7.

Box score

Late goal lifts UW-Oshkosh over Vikings

APPLETON, Wis. — Karl Bock scored in the 75th minute to lift the UW-Oshkosh men’s soccer team to a 3-2 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Saturday at Whiting Field West.

Bock scored off an assist from Nick Woodbury to break a 2-2 tie and keep the Titans (11-0-4) unbeaten on the season.

Lawrence (5-8-1) had trailed 2-0 early in the second half, but Santiago Alvarez changed that in a three-minute span. Alvarez scored his first goal of the season off assists from Sean Salansky and Brendan Flynn to trim the margin to 2-1 at 60:50. Alvarez struck again on an unassisted goal at 63:49 to tie the match at 2-2.

Nick Barry made three saves to pick up the win for the Titans. Joe Krivit stopped six shots for Lawrence.

Box score

McLeod paces Vikings in rout of Beloit

APPLETON, Wis. — Diane McLeod pulled off a triple-double on Saturday for the Lawrence University volleyball team in the Vikings’ 3-0 Midwest Conference victory over Beloit College.

Lawrence (9-14, 4-3 MWC) defeated the Bucs (5-13, 1-5) 25-11, 25-12, 25-14.

McLeod, a senior setter, piled up 11 kills, 27 assists and 10 digs to pace the Vikings.

Terese Swords added nine kills and Kayla Storm had six for Lawrence. Kathleen Rowland had a match-high 21 digs for the Vikings.

Molly Schulting led Beloit with eight kills, and Carolyn Stransky had 18 assists.

Box score

St. Norbert hangs on to down Lawrence 17-6

APPLETON, Wis. — The St. Norbert College football team used a solid defensive effort in the second half to hang on for a 17-6 victory over Lawrence University on Saturday at the Banta Bowl.

In a scheduling quirk, the game counted as a Midwest Conference game for the Green Knights (6-1, 6-0 MWC), but it was a nonconference game for Lawrence (0-6).

St. Norbert limited Lawrence to only 88 yards of offense in the second half, and the Green Knights got a late field goal to seal the victory.

Zach Broberg ran 19 times for 86 yards to pace the Green Knights. Quarterback James Tringali was 13 of 27 passing for 177 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Brian Fliess caught six passes for 103 yards and a touchdown for St. Norbert.

Lawrence quarterback Luke Barthelmess completed 16 of 26 passes for 190 yards for the Vikings. Dan Dubnicka had game highs with seven catches for 110 yards for Lawrence.

Sam Wagner was impressive on defense for the Vikings, who limited St. Norbert to 319 yards. Wagner had a game-high 14 tackles, including one sack and 4.0 tackles for loss. Dan Taylor picked up 10 tackles for Lawrence, and Trevor Spina recorded his first career interception.

Lawrence got on the board in the second quarter by taking advantage of a short punt. The 23-yard punt gave Lawrence the ball at the St. Norbert 41-yard line, and the Vikings got a key pass completion to Dubnicka at the St. Norbert 18. Sam Wagner then hauled in a pass at the St. Norbert one-yard line, and Dalton Sendelbach punched it in the end zone on the next play for a 6-0 lead.

St. Norbert answered two possessions later when Tringali hit Fliess with a 41-yard scoring pass, and the Green Knights led 7-6 at the half.

The Green Knights took the opening possession of the second half and moved 57 yards in eight plays for a touchdown. Broberg ran it in from three yards out, and St. Norbert led 14-6.

Lawrence only managed to get into St. Norbert territory twice in the second half, and the Green Knights added a 30-yard field goal from Randy Hill with 2:22 left to seal the victory.

Lawrence returns to action next Saturday when it travels to Monmouth College.

Box score

Foresters top Lawrence 3-1

APPLETON, Wis. — Brittany Avonts hammered down 14 kills to lead Lake Forest College to a 3-1 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Friday night at Alexander Gymnasium.

The Foresters (10-12, 4-2 MWC) defeated Lawrence (8-14, 3-3) 25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-23.

Sarah House added nine kills, and K.C. Wenson had eight for the Foresters. Lake Forest also piled up 13.0 team blocks, as Avonts had six and Victoria Drasler had six. Drasler also had 16 assists, and Torie Pasiewicz had 21.

Terese Swords paced Lawrence with 12 kills, and Betsy Sorensen added 10. Diane McLeod picked up 37 assists for the Vikings, and Kathleen Rowland had a match-high 22 digs. Kayla Storm chipped in with seven kills and five service aces.

Box score

Inside LU Athletics: Vikings face critical stretch on volleyball court

This is a big week for the Lawrence University volleyball team.

With three Midwest Conference matches in five days, the next week will have a huge influence on whether the Vikings earn a berth in the four-team MWC Tournament.

“We have three matches in five days, and those three matches are going to have a significant bearing on whether we finish in the top four or not,” Lawrence coach Matt Schoultz said. “There’s a lot on those three matches.”

Lawrence enters this critical stretch of play with an 8-13 mark and a 3-2 record in the league. The Vikings have won three of their last four conference matches, with the only loss coming to No. 22 Cornell College, which is unbeaten at 6-0.

The Vikings host Lake Forest College (3-2 MWC) on Friday and then host Beloit College (1-3 MWC) on Saturday. Lawrence then entertains St. Norbert College (2-2 MWC) next Tuesday.

“They’re all winnable matches for us, but they are not going to be easy. It seems like anyone can beat anyone on any given night this year, with the exception of Cornell,” Schoultz said.

“We’re playing pretty well right now. The girls have some good confidence built up. Our tough nonconference schedule is beginning to pay dividends right now. It definitely prepared us for conference play.”

Lawrence put itself in this position by shutting out both Ripon College and Illinois College last week, and senior setter Diane McLeod was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week. For the week, McLeod averaged 12.5 assists per set and helped the Vikings hit .281 as a team.

All that came as part of a difficult personal week for McLeod, who was grieving after the loss of her grandfather, who was an ardent Lawrence fan.

“She really surprised me. She was going through a lot with grandfather,” Schoultz said of McLeod. “I said to her after the Ripon match that her grandfather would have been proud.”

With McLeod directing the attack, Lawrence the Vikings have hit .178 as a team over the last five matches, as opposed to .128 over the first 16. Lawrence also continues to send a diverse attack at opponents with hitters Terese Swords, Megan Conley, Kayla Storm, Andrea Wilkinson and Betsy Sorensen giving the Vikings multiple options.

“We’ve had different people step up in different matches with kills,” Schoultz said. “It’s a lot harder to defend a team that can attack you in a lot of different ways. Over the past few weeks, we’ve had strong showings from different players in different matches.”

The defense has also progressively improved during the season. Opponents are hitting just .132 against Lawrence in the last five matches. The ringleader of the defensive effort is all-conference libero Kathleen Rowland.

“She’s a rock back there,” Schoultz said of Rowland. “She saves us a lot. Just the defensive mindset she brings to our team. The defense is a big part of why we are being successful.”

Couple the improving offense with the solid defense, and it gives the Vikings an opportunity to reach the league tournament.

“That’s definitely the goal,” Schoultz said of reaching the MWC Tournament. “We set that early in our season as one of the goals we want to achieve.”

Vikings at MWC meet

The Lawrence women’s tennis team heads to the MWC Championships this weekend in Madison.

Since Lawrence missed out on playing in the four-team tournament on Friday, the best the Vikings can finish is fifth place. Lawrence, which took seventh last season, is looking for its first singles or doubles title since 2011 when the Vikings won three titles.

The top records on the team belong to Hannah Geoffrey, who went 8-6 at No. 2 singles, and Melissa Heeren, who was 9-7 while playing anywhere from No. 4 to No. 6.

The top doubles mark on the squad belongs to Polly Dalton and Gayatri Malhotra, who were 8-7 at No. 2. Geoffrey and Ali Heiring were next with a 7-9 mark at No. 1.

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.

St. Norbert holds on to top Lawrence 1-0

DE PERE, Wis. — A goal in the 41st minute was the only scoring as the St. Norbert College men’s soccer team downed Lawrence University 1-0 in a Midwest Conference match Wednesday night at Schneider Stadium.

Sam Lamers scored the unassisted goal for the Green Knights (6-6-2, 5-1-0 MWC) near the end of the first half.

Sam Lisheron made four saves to pick up the shutout for St. Norbert. Joe Krivit stopped seven shots for Lawrence (5-7-1, 3-3-0).

Box score

McLeod takes MWC Offensive Player of the Week honors

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University volleyball standout Diane McLeod has been named the Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

McLeod (Hartland, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial) led Lawrence to a pair of Midwest Conference victories in the Vikings’ only action of the week. McLeod picked up 75 assists as Lawrence won in straight sets at Ripon College and again in straight sets at home against Illinois College.

In the Vikings’ 25-22, 25-13, 25-22 win at Ripon, McLeod had 39 assists, four digs, three blocks and two kills. In a 25-16, 25-14, 25-17 win over the Lady Blues, McLeod picked up 36 assists, seven digs and two blocks.

For the week, McLeod averaged 12.5 assists per set and helped the Vikings hit .281 as a team. On the season, McLeod has 608 assists and is averaging 8.4 per set. She also has chipped in with 52 kills, 34 blocks, 19 aces and 175 digs.

The Vikings return to action on Friday when they host Lake Forest College in a conference match.