Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics
APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s tennis team dropped a 7-2 nonconference decision to UW-La Crosse on Friday night at Fox Cities Racquet Club.
Lawrence (2-2) picked up one victory in both singles and doubles. Jason Dunn posted a 6-4, 6-2 win over Vic Mirasola at No. 2 singles. Cooper Smith and Jeremy Andereck teamed up for an 8-5 victory over Anthony Mirasola and Dante Pitera at No. 2 doubles.
The Vikings are back in action on Saturday morning when they host UW-Eau Claire.
MONMOUTH, Ill. — Sam Stevens was the top finisher on Friday’s opening day of the Midwest Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships at Monmouth College.
Stevens, a senior from Suamico, Wis., finsihed third in the 5,000 meters in 15:16.24. The Lawrence men are in ninth place with nine points.
On the women’s side, the top finisher was senior Rose Tepper. She grabbed fifth place in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 1 inch. The Lawrence women are in eighth place with nine points.
APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University pulled away in the third period and got some superb defensive work to post a 3-0 win over Northland College in the opener of a Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal playoff series on Friday at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
Lawrence (8-15-3) needs a win or a tie to clinch the series on Saturday afternoon and advance to the Harris Cup semifinals next weekend.
Freshman goaltender Fabian Sivnert picked up his first career shutout for the Vikings. Sivnert stopped 25 shots and made several spectacular saves to push his unbeaten streak to three games.
Lawrence got on the board midway through the first period when Renato Engler scored on a breakaway for a 1-0 lead at the 9:06 mark.
The score stayed that way until the third period, but the Vikings had to do some serious work on the penalty kill in the final period. Northland (9-16-1) was on the power play after Engler received a five-minute facemasking penalty, but Lawrence’s Erik Soderlund was later whistled for holding during that power play.
Northland had a two-man advantage for a full two minutes, but Lawrence killed off the Soderlund penalty. While Engler was still in the box, Rudi Pino got a breakaway for Lawrence and beat Northland goaltender Mason Riley for a short-handed goal at the 6:45 mark.
It was Pino’s second short-hander of the season and gave the Vikings a 2-0 edge. The Vikings then sealed the victory with Patrick Coyne’s goal at the 15:46 mark.
Riley stopped 45 shots for Northland.
The Lawrence University hockey team may have finally gotten over the proverbial hump.
After a season of dealing with close games and heart-wrenching losses, the Vikings won one close game and put together a gritty overtime tie last weekend to finish the regular season. Those three valuable points clinched home ice for this weekend’s Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.
“Although we have lost close games and given away too many third-period leads, we improved in the third period this past weekend,” said Lawrence coach Mike Szkodzinski, who has seen his team lose nine one-goal games this season. “That will build confidence within the locker room. We were a young team at the beginning of the year and have learned to pay attention to the details more consistently as of late.”
The Vikings finished with a 7-15-3 record and took second in the MCHA’s Northern Division. Lawrence hosts Northland College (9-15-1) in a quarterfinal playoff series at the Appleton Family Ice Center. Friday’s game is at 7 p.m. and Saturday’s game is at 4 p.m.
Lawrence enters the playoffs coming off a pair of good performances against Lake Forest College, which travels to No. 15 MSOE in the other quarterfinal series. The Vikings needed that strong showing just to get into the playoffs and delivered.
“We have had a number of opportunities slip away from us this year and found ourselves fighting for a playoff spot,” Szkodzinski said. “Our guys didn’t blink. They battled and did what they needed to do this past weekend. We are proud of their resilience. The trials they went through this year will only help us as we start the postseason.”
The Vikings enter the postseason with a goaltender coming off a pair of strong performances. Freshman Fabian Sivnert, a Swede who transferred at midseason from Bemidji State University, was in net for both games against Lake Forest. He posted a .961 save percentage and 1.44 goals against average and was named the MCHA Defensive Player of the Week.
“Every team needs a good goaltender to win come playoff time,” Szkodzinski said. “We feel that we have multiple good goaltenders, but Fabian is on top of his game right now. His play has given us confidence and allowed us to be more aggressive at every position. If he continues to play at the level he displayed this weekend, we have a much better chance to be successful.”
The Lawrence defense has been better over the last month, and the Vikings are allowing only 2.9 goals per game in their last eight contests. Part of that improvement comes from the penalty kill, where Lawrence is killing off power plays at an .875 clip in that same eight-game stretch.
On the flip side, Lawrence hasn’t been scoring as much recently despite averaging 40 shots per game in the last eight contests. The Vikings are averaging only 2.2 goals per game in that stretch.
“We are generating plenty of opportunities,” Szkodzinski said. “At this time of year, teams tend to stop the first shot, and it is the second opportunity that counts. We need to make sure we are shooting the puck and working to find the second chances. The only thing that needs to improve is our desire to get to the rebounds after the initial shot is taken.”
Lawrence has seniors and freshmen leading the team in scoring. Senior forward Phil Bushbacher is tops on the team with 13 goals and senior captain Brad Scurfield is next with 12. Three freshmen, Logan Lemirande (team-high 26 points), Rudi Pino (22 points) and Brandon Boelter (20 points) are in the top five on the squad in scoring.
“We are deeper up front than we have ever been, but at times, we have failed to stick to our d-first mentality,” Szkodzinski said. “We sometimes try to outscore opponents, and that has never been our strength.”
Szkodzinski commented after last Friday’s win that the game was won “in the Lawrence way.” The Vikings will need to continue that style in order to advance in the playoffs.
“This group knows what they are capable of when they are playing well,” Szkodzinski said. “They have also found out what can happen if they do not bring their best game or get distracted. Each year is a journey, and this year has been quite a ride.”
Klusendorf wins MWC honor
Senior forward Conor Klusendorf was named the MWC Player of the Week following a pair of Lawrence basketball wins last week.
For the week, Klusendorf averaged 21.0 points while shooting 65.4 percent (17-26) from the floor. He also averaged 6.5 rebounds per game and 1.0 blocks per contest.
In a 63-61 win at Lake Forest on Feb. 12, Klusendorf scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds while hitting 8-of-13 shots from the floor. In a 114-106 overtime win over Grinnell College this past Saturday, Klusendorf again scored 21 points and hit 9-of-13 shots from the floor. He also grabbed eight rebounds.
Records fall
Lawrence swimmers broke seven school records at the Midwest Conference Championships last weekend.
Emily Flack set school records in the 100-yard backstroke (1:00.23) and 200 backstroke (2:10.12), and Hayley Cardinal set new marks in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.11) and 200 breaststroke (2:30.03).
Lawrence also set records in the 200 medley relay (1:53.20), 400 medley relay (4:06.51) and 800 freestyle relay (7:57.04).
Track headed to MWC meet
The Lawrence track teams are headed to the MWC Championships this weekend at Monmouth. Both Lawrence teams finished seventh a season ago, and the Vikings have several contenders for individual titles.
On the men’s side, senior Sam Stevens is a contender in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters while freshman JP Ranumas is one of the top 60-meter hurdlers in the league.
Rose Tepper leads the women’s contingent and is looking for the title in the high jump. Freshman Clare Bruning could be a factor in the distance events and is coming off an all-conference cross country season.
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 University opens the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs this weekend when it hosts Northland College in a quarterfinal series at the Appleton Family Ice Center. Friday’s game begins at 7 p.m., and the puck drops on Saturday’s game at 4 p.m. The winner of the series advances to the Harris Cup semifinals at Adrian College.
APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University’s Fabian Sivnert has been named the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Defensive Player of the Week.
Sivnert (Hollviken, Sweden), a freshman goaltender, earned the honor after picking up a win and a tie in last weekend’s series with Lake Forest College. Sivnert posted a 1.44 goals against average and .961 save percentage in the two games.
In Lawrence’s 2-1 victory over Lake Forest last Friday, Sivnert stopped 37 shots. In a 2-2 overtime tie at Lake Forest on Saturday, Sivnert again made 37 saves. All three goals scored by the Foresters on the weekend came on the power play.
On the season, Sivnert has a .905 save percentage and 3.28 goals against average. Sivnert, a transfer from Bemidji State University, joined the team in late December. This is the first conference award for Sivnert, who is the third Lawrence player this season to be honored. Forward Logan Lemirande (Janesville, Wis.) was named Player of the Week, and defenseman Brandon Boelter (Saginaw, Mich.) earned Freshman of the Week honors.
The three points earned by the Vikings last weekend moved Lawrence into second place in the MCHA’s Northern Division. Lawrence will host the MCHA quarterfinal playoff series against Northland College on Friday and Saturday.
APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University men’s basketball standout Conor Klusendorf has been named the Midwest Conference Player of the Week.
Klusendorf (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy), a senior forward, picked up the honor after leading Lawrence to a pair of victories to complete the regular season. Klusendorf averaged 21 points per game while shooting better than 65 percent from the floor in the two contests.
In a 63-61 win at Lake Forest College last Tuesday, Klusendorf scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds while hitting 8-of-13 shots from the floor. In a 114-106 overtime win over Grinnell College on Saturday, Klusendorf again scored 21 points and hit 9-of-13 shots from the floor. He also grabbed eight rebounds.
For the week, Klusendorf averaged 21.0 points while shooting 65.4 percent (17-26) from the floor. He also averaged 6.5 rebounds per game and 1.0 blocks per contest.
On the season, Klusendorf averaged 12.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 60 percent (105-175) from the floor. He also averaged 1.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Klusendorf finished his career as Lawrence’s career blocks leader with 114.
Lawrence finished the season with a 13-10 record, including an 11-7 mark in Midwest Conference play.
APPLETON, Wis. — Tara Carr has resigned as the head women’s basketball coach at Lawrence University, Director of Athletics Mike Szkodzinski announced today.
Carr, who was hired as the ninth coach in the program’s history on April 11, 2011, coached the Vikings for two seasons.
“We want to wish Tara well in her future endeavors,” Szkodzinski said. “Our focus will be to move the women’s basketball program forward. Given the rich tradition of women’s basketball at Lawrence, we want to restore the program to a more competitive status as quickly as we can.”
A national search for a successor will be launched immediately, according to Szkodzinski.
Carr, a 1999 graduate of Bowling Green State University, was in her first stint as a head coach. Lawrence compiled a record of 3-43 during Carr’s two seasons.
Lawrence has enjoyed a history of success, including three conference championships and a NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, in its 37 seasons of women’s basketball. The Vikings have posted 23 seasons of .500 or better, but Lawrence has struggled in recent campaigns.
Lawrence finished with a 2-21 mark this season with a 1-17 record in Midwest Conference play.
GRINNELL, Iowa — The Lawrence University women’s swim team placed fourth and the men were fifth as the Midwest Conference Championships wrapped up Sunday at Grinnell College.
The Lawrence women finished with 408 points, and Grinnell won the title with 892. The Lawrence men had 291 points, and Grinnell was first with 923.
The Lawrence women claimed a pair of second-place finishes on Sunday. Taylor Winter grabbed the runner-up spot in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 17:48.69, and Emily Flack was second in the 200 backstroke in 2:10.12.
Hayley Cardinal took home a third-place finish in the 200 breaststroke in 2:30.03, and the 400 freestyle relay team of Winter, Flack, Hannah Gabriel and Chelsea Hameister wsa third in 3:42.66.
The top finisher on the men’s side was the 400 freestyle relay team of Charlie Mann, Nick Craker, Evan Flack and Grant Wilkie. They finished fourth in 3:16.07.
STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Rose Tepper grabbed third place in the high jump to pace the Lawrence University track team on Saturday at the UW-Stevens Point Eastbay Invitational.
Tepper cleared 5 feet, 1.25 inches, for a third-place finish. The top finisher on the men’s side was freshman JP Ranumas, who took seventh in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.81 seconds.
Both the men’s and women’s 4×200-meter relay teams placed fourth. The men were fourth in 1:38.53, and the women took fourth in 1:52.94.
