Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics
APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University softball doubleheader at Ripon College, which was scheduled for Thursday, has been moved to Sunday.
The games will now start at 1 p.m. at Tracy Field, which is located just south of the Storzer Center on the Ripon campus.
OSHKOSH, Wis. — The beat goes on for the Lawrence University men’s tennis team against Ripon College.
In a Midwest Conference North Division match late Wednesday night, the Vikings rolled to an 8-1 victory over the Red Hawks at the YMCA Tennis Center. It marks the sixth consecutive year that Lawrence (11-6, 2-0 MWC) has defeated Ripon (2-14, 0-4), and Lawrence head coach Kevin Girard improved to 6-0 against the Red Hawks.
Despite missing two starters to an academic commitment, the Vikings dropped only one match. Lawrence got the evening started with wins at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles. Craig Sherwood and Brian DeCorte were 8-0 winners at No. 2 and freshmen Daniel Anderson and Mitch Kasprzyk won 8-5 at No. 3.
The Vikings swept the singles with the two subs in the lineup, Anderson and Kasprzyk, both picking up wins. Anderson won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 5 and Kasprzyk was a 6-0, 6-1 winner at No. 6.
The 8-1 win for Lawrence snapped a four-match streak of 9-0 victories against the Red Hawks. It marked the first time Ripon had scored a point against Vikings since a 5-4 Lawrence win back in 2008.
Lawrence University 8, Ripon College 1
Singles competition
1. Cooper Smith (LU) def. Eric Seiler (RC) 6-1, 6-3
2. Craig Sherwood (LU) def. Connor Greenwald (RC) 6-2, 6-0
3. Brian DeCorte (LU) def. Ryan Slowinski (RC) 6-0, 6-1
4. Jeremy Andereck (LU) def. Brian Schumacher (RC) 6-3, 6-2
5. Daniel Anderson (LU) def. Anders Goodwin (RC) 6-0, 6-1
6. Mitch Kasprzyk (LU) def. Tyler Hopewell (RC) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Eric Seiler/Connor Greenwald (RC) def. Cooper Smith/Jeremy Andereck (LU) 8-2
2. Craig Sherwood/Brian DeCorte (LU) def. Ryan Slowinski/Brian Schumacher (RC) 8-0
3. Daniel Anderson/Mitch Kasprzyk (LU) def. Anders Goodwin/Tyler Hopewell (RC) 8-5
Match Notes:
Ripon College 2-14, 0-4 MWC North
Lawrence University 11-6, 2-0 MWC North
T-3:30 A-20
The season, started so long ago last fall, boils down to the next five days for the Lawrence University men’s tennis team.
The Vikings have three Midwest Conference North Division matches in the next five days and that will determine if Lawrence gets to play for the league championship.
“We’ve got a lot of experience, and we are playing really well,” Lawrence coach Kevin Girard said. “We have to take it day-by-day, step-by-step. We want to win the North and win the whole thing. That’s the idea.”
Lawrence is currently 1-0 in the North Division (10-6 overall), and the top two teams from each division advance to the MWC Tournament. Those four teams then face off for the conference title. Lawrence is itching to get back into the tournament after just missing it the past two seasons.
“The team mantra or attitude is intensity and confidence,” Girard said. “Those are the key words we’ve been using. We instill that attitude for every single practice and every single match.”
Lawrence faces long-time rival Ripon College on Wednesday evening before traveling to Lake Forest College for another evening match on Friday. The Vikings then wrap up division play on Sunday against St. Norbert College, which is currently unbeaten in league play at 2-0, and the Green Knights have won four consecutive matches.
“St. Norbert, they always bring it against us,” Girard said. “They are a tough team. They have been playing really well.”
The Vikings bring a veteran presence to this quest to reach the conference tournament with seniors Cooper Smith, Jason Dunn and Max Zlevor playing Nos. 1-3 singles, respectively.
“It’s all about senior leadership, in my opinon,” Girard said. “They do a great job of keeping everyone in check but also letting the younger guys know when it’s time to get down to business. It’s what competition is all about.”
The rest of the lineup features sophomore Craig Sherwood, who was the MWC Player of the Week, at No. 4 singles, freshman Brian DeCorte at No. 5 and sophomore Jeremy Andereck at No. 6.
Lawrence’s leadership and talent was tested when the Vikings played five matches during spring break in Orlando, Fla., against some great competition. Girard believes the experience of those matches will now pay off.
“It was basically to get us battle-tested for conference (play),” Girard said of the matches in Florida. “(The conference matches) are the matches that are the most important. We took some lumps down there, but it was getting us ready and knowing what you have to do to win a very important tennis match.”
Pro debut
Senior Phil Bushbacher made his professional hockey debut for the Louisana Ice Gators of the Southern Professional Hockey League earlier this month.
Bushbacher, a forward, played for the Ice Gators in their semifinal playoff series against the Huntsville Havoc.
Bushbacher is the ninth Lawrence player to play in the pro ranks in recent seasons. Matt Hughes, Jameson Raymond and Ben DiMarco all signed pro contracts after the 2011-12 season.
Schacht gets USTA honor
Former Lawrence tennis player Eric Schacht was recently honored by the United States Tennis Association. Schacht, who graduated in 1990 and played in the NCAA Division III Championships for Lawrence, won the Stanley Malless Award.
Now living in Champaign, Ill., Schacht won the award given to a volunteer for distinguished service in his or her district. Schacht led the formation of the Mahomet Community Tennis Association in 2009, and it has been a magnet for junior high and high school girls looking to play the game.
Schacht also has coached two girls’ high school teams and has been a volunteer women’s coach at the University of Illinois.
Pino wins golf award
Lawrence golf standout Rudi Pino was named the MWC Player of the Week after grabbed fourth place at the Marian Invitational. A freshman from Vancouver, Wash., Pino carded his collegiate-low round, a 4-under par 68, in the tournament’s first round at Morningstar Golfers Club in Waukesha, Wis. Pino followed that with a 75 for a 36-hole total of 143 to lead Lawrence to sixth place in the team standings.
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.
APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University men’s tennis standout Craig Sherwood has been named the Midwest Conference Player of the Week.
Sherwood (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper), a sophomore, had a perfect week for the Vikings that included a key singles victory in Lawrence’s 5-4 win over Carroll University this past Saturday. Sherwood also posted a 2-0 record in doubles.
In Lawrence’s victory over Carroll, Sherwood defeated Isaac Jordan 6-0, 2-6, 6-3 at No. 4 singles to help clinch a critical North Division win over the Pioneers. He also teamed with Brian DeCorte (Southampton, Pa./William Tennent) for an 8-5 victory at No. 3 doubles. Sherwood and DeCorte also posted an 8-0 victory at No. 2 doubles in Lawrence’s 9-0 win over Dominican (Ill.) the following day.
Sherwood, who was honored by the conference for the first time, improved his singles record on the season to 8-7. Sherwood and DeCorte have a 9-6 mark in doubles.
Lawrence returns to action on Wednesday night when it hosts Ripon College in a Midwest Conference North Division match.
APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University golf standout Rudi Pino has been named the Midwest Conference Player of the Week.
Pino (Vancouver, Wash./Camas), a freshman, won the honor after taking fourth place at the Marian University Invitational. Playing at Morningstar Golfers Club in Waukesha, Wis., Pino carded a collegiate-low round of 4-under par 68 in the opening round on Sunday. Pino followed that with a 75 on Monday for a 36-hole total of 143.
Led by Pino, Lawrence placed sixth in the team standings with a score of 623. Pino was the highest finisher among the Midwest Conference players in the field.
Lawrence returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to the Carthage College Invitational.
APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s tennis match at Lake Forest College is now scheduled to be played on Friday night.
The match, originally scheduled for Saturday, will now be Friday at 8:30 p.m. at the Racquet Club of Lake Bluff in Lake Bluff, Ill.
Lawrence returns to action tonight when it hosts Ripon College at 8:30 p.m. at the YMCA Tennis Center in Oshkosh, Wis.
APPLETON, Wis. — The Ripon College baseball team got a pair of great pitching performances and went on to a Midwest Conference doubleheader sweep of Lawrence University on Tuesday at Whiting Field.
Tom Fish went the distance in the opener as Ripon won 7-3, and Marshall Zahn tossed one-hit ball for eight innings as the Red Hawks took the nightcap 6-0.
In the first game, Fish allowed six hits, struck out three and walked one. Phil Clark went five innings for Lawrence (6-12, 0-8 MWC) and took the loss.
Ripon (10-8, 6-0) led 2-0 before the Vikings rallied to take the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Gabe Henriques started the inning with a double, and Aaron Benz followed with a run-scoring single to cut the lead to 2-1. After Davis Ogilvie’s bunt single, Sam Kossow singled to left field to score Benz and tie the game. Phil Wisniewski’s sacrifice fly then scored Ogilvie and the Vikings led 3-2.
Nick Schmitt picked up a run-scoring double and Nate Siudak added a RBI single in the top of the fifth as Ripon grabbed the lead back at 4-3.
The Red Hawks then added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth on Schmitt’s two-run homer. Schmitt went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs. Benz led the Lawrence attack by going 2-for-4.
In the nightcap, Zahn allowed just one hit, struck out 10 and didn’t walk a batter in eight innings. Henriques broke up the no-hit bid with a line drive single to center in the seventh. Dan Taylor allowed three runs over six innings and took the loss for Lawrence.
Siudak led the Ripon offense by going 4-for-5 and driving in four runs. He drove in the first run of the game in the top of the fourth as Ripon took a 1-0 lead. He added another RBI in Ripon’s two-run sixth inning, and Siudak picked up a two-run single as the Red Hawks scored three times in the seventh.
Lawrence is scheduled to return to action on Saturday when it hosts St. Norbert College.
WAUKESHA, Wis. — Rudi Pino finished at 1-under par to grab fourth place for Lawrence University at the Marian University Invitational on Monday.
Pino carded an opening-round 68, which was 4-under on the par-72 layout at Morningstar Golfers Club on Sunday. He followed that with a 75 on Monday to finish with a 36-hole total of 143.
Lawrence finished sixth in the team standings with a score of 623. Carthage College won the team title at 566.
Anton Olsson tied for 16th for the Vikings after rounds of 79 and 74 for a total of 153. Rounding out the scoring for the Vikings were Michael Vaubel (T37, 85-77 162), William Thoren (44th, 82-83 165) and Tyler Clark (61st, 95-86 181).
APPLETON, Wis. — The poor weather forecast for later this week has forced a pair of changes to the Lawrence University tennis schedules.
The Lawrence men’s match vs. Ripon will be played on Wednesday but the site and time has changed. The match will now be played at the Oshkosh YMCA Tennis Center at 8:30 p.m.
The Lawrence women’s match, which was scheduled for Thursday at the Lawrence Courts, has been moved to April 25 at 3:30 p.m. at the same site.
WAUKESHA, Wis. — The Lawrence University golf team opened its spring season with a team score of 314 on Sunday at the Marian University Invitational.
The Vikings are in fourth place in the 12-team event at Morningstar Golfers Club. The tournament wraps up with the final round on Monday.
Carthage College leads the tournament with a score of 279.
