The Highlights

Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics

Beloit topples Lawrence

APPLETON, Wis. — The Beloit College women’s basketball team pulled away midway through the first half and went on to an 84-59 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Wednesday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Lana Wieseman led Beloit (4-16, 3-12 MWC) with 23 points and six rebounds. Wieseman went 9-for-10 from the floor and was 5-for-5 from the foul line. Lauren McNanna added 18 points and she was 8-for-8 from the foul line. Kandace Fox added 17 points and six rebounds for the Buccaneers.

Patsy Kealey came off the bench to lead Lawrence (2-18, 1-14) with 16 points. Alex Deshler added 14 points, and Katie Schumacher had a game-high nine rebounds for the Vikings.

The game was tied 11-11 after Deshler’s jumper with 11:47 left in the first half, but the Bucs went on a 20-2 run over the seven minutes to pull away. Wieseman scored seven points during the outburst and Jenna Larsen added five points.

Larsen’s layup with 4:31 left gave Beloit a 31-13 lead, and the Bucs would lead 41-22 at the half.

Lawrence, which had 18 turnovers in the first half and finished the game with 31, closed the margin to 17 points at 56-39 midway through the second half. Beloit then went on an 11-4 run to build the lead to 70-43 and would go on to lead by as many as 32 points.

Lawrence returns to action on Saturday when it travels to league leader Cornell College.

Box score 

Inside LU Athletics: Talented trio of seniors lead strong tennis squad

The Lawrence University men’s tennis team finds itself in an enviable position as it prepares to open its season on Saturday.

While most teams would be happy to have one player capable of holding down the top spot in the singles lineup, Lawrence coach Kevin Girard has three that could get the job done.

The trio of seniors Jason Dunn, a Fond du Lac, Wis., native, Cooper Smith and Max Zlevor give the Vikings experience and talent at the top of the lineup. Lawrence opens its season with nonconference matches against UW-Oshkosh and Edgewood College this weekend.

“Jay, Max and Cooper are all very strong players, and depending on the day, any one of them could play (No. 1 singles),” said Girard, who enters his sixth season as the Vikings’ head coach.

“They’ve all got three seasons under their belts. They know what to expect. They all are very strong players, great leaders, and we’ve got a lot of depth with our younger guys.”

Dunn was the team’s No. 1 player a season ago and posted a 12-12 record. Zlevor played No. 2 and finished 10-16, and Smith played No. 4 and was 11-7.

Smith returned to campus playing some of the best tennis of his life and advanced to the third round of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest Regional in the fall. Girard said challenge matches on the team will determine who plays where when the season begins, but there is a difference in this group of seniors.

“Max and Jay are more power players, and Cooper is more gritty, a great competitor,” Girard said. “We’ve got strength all through our lineup.”

In addition to the seniors at the top, the Vikings also return starters in junior Jeremy Andereck and sophomore Craig Sherwood. Andereck saw action at both Nos. 5 and 6 singles and posted an overall record of 7-12 last year. Sherwood went 9-15 during his rookie campaign and finished 9-15 playing mostly at No. 5.

“Jeremy and Cooper have shown the most improvement,” Girard said. “Jeremy is really playing well right now. He’s in late-season form a week in. He’s really confident and playing well. You can see it in his strokes and his body language.

“Craig is playing very well also. He has tons of talent. He needs to harness that and pick his spots of when to use his weapons because he has ton of them.”

The Vikings also have six newcomers to the roster, and at least one of them will step into a starter’s role.

“Brian DeCorte has stepped up as the freshman that is most likely to be in the lineup,” Girard said. “Very consistent, great ground strokes. He has to get some college tennis under his belt to see what it’s like.”

The Vikings return their top doubles team of Dunn and Zlevor, and Girard said Smith and Andereck will likely play No. 2 doubles and Sherwood and DeCorte should be the starters at No. 3.

With the strong lineup, the Vikings look like contenders in the revamped Midwest Conference North Division. With Cornell College joining the league, Lake Forest College is moving from the South Division to the North.

“I feel like we should definitely finish near the top of the conference,” Girard said. “The goal, as always, is to win the North, get in the (four-team conference) tournament and take it from there.”

Vikings picked for fourth

The Lawrence softball team has been picked to finish fourth in the North Division in a poll of Midwest Conference coaches.

Lawrence finished with a 9-22 record a season ago and brings back seven position starters and top pitcher Shannon Murray. The Vikings don’t begin play until March 15 with a series of 12 games in Clermont, Fla.

Carroll and St. Norbert were tied for first in the poll in the North Division, and newcomer Cornell was chosen to win the south.

Ranumas record

Freshman hurdler JP Ranumas broke the Lawrence record in the 60-meter hurdles this past Saturday at the UW-Stevens Point Invitational.

Ranumas, who hails from Winnetka, Ill., raced to a time of 8.76 seconds, breaking the mark of 8.78 that had stood since 1990.

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 at Finlandia series preview

The Lawrence University hockey team travels to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this weekend for a two-game series at Finlandia University. The Vikings play at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Friday night and 4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. Both teams are fighting for a berth in the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs with just four games left in the regular season.

Preview

Last-second goal gives Marian 3-2 win over Lawrence

FOND DU LAC, Wis. — Tyler Klein scored a power-play goal with eight seconds left to lift Marian University to a 3-2 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University on Saturday night at the Blue Line Ice Center.

Lawrence’s Rudi Pino had been sent off for hooking with 19 seconds remaining in regulation, and Klein scored 11 seconds later off an assist from Dakota Dubetz.

The win gave Marian a sweep of the weekend Battle of Highway 41 series, and the Sabres took back possession of the traveling trophy that goes to the series winner.

Lawrence (6-13-2, 5-9-2 MCHA) had built a 2-0 lead after two periods. Freshman forward Logan Lemirande scored just 1:18 into the first period to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Freshman forward Ryan Rumble then scored at the 9:29 mark of the second period off assists from Lemirande and Huck Saunders for a 2-0 lead.

Marian (10-10-1, 9-7-0) started its comeback with a power-play goal from Brian Berger at the 6:14 mark of the third period. The Sabres tied the game at 2-2 just 1:38 later when Klein scored off an assist from Tom Glomski.

Josh Baker made 36 saves to pick up the win for Marian. Fabian Sivnert stopped 39 shots and took the loss for the Vikings.

Box score

Ranumas breaks school record in 60 hurdles

STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Freshman JP Ranumas broke the Lawrence University record in the 60-meter hurdles on Saturday at the Pointer Invitational at UW-Stevens Point.

Ranumas (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) finished second in the event in a time of 8.76 seconds. That broke the record of 8.78 set back in 1990.

Ranumas also was part of the 4×200-meter relay team that finished second in 1:39.22. He teamed with Ben Bard, Matt Geleske and Bjorn Gowdy-Jaehnig.

On the women’s side, freshman Clare Bruning was the top individual finisher after a fifth-place run in the 5,000 in 19:44.36.

The Vikings also had two third-place relay teams. The 4×200 team placed third in 1:55.23, and the distance medley relay team was third in 14:08.69.

Results

Klusendorf posts double-double as Vikings top Illinois College

APPLETON, Wis. — Conor Klusendorf poured in a season-high 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Lawrence University men’s basketball team to an 80-57 Midwest Conference victory over Illinois College on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Klusendorf went 7-for-13 from the floor and was 11-for-13 from the foul line for the Vikings (9-10, 7-7 MWC). The 26 points is the second-highest total of Klusendorf’s career. His career high is 35 points vs. Grinnell College back on Jan. 22, 2011.

Chris Siebert added 19 points and a game-high four assists for Lawrence. Ryan DePouw chipped in with 13 points and six rebounds, and Brian Gryszkiewicz added 10 points.

Kathan Kohler paced Illinois College (8-11, 5-9) with 17 points.

Lawrence took control of the game early by scoring the game’s first 10 points. The Vikings pushed the lead to 26-7 with 10:19 left in the first half on Trace Sonnleitner’s layup.

The Blueboys cut the lead back to 15 points, but Lawrence went on a 16-5 run to move the lead to 42-16 with 2:39 left in the first half. Illinois College managed to score the last six points of the first half, and the Vikings led 42-22 at the half.

Lawrence wasn’t able to put the Blueboys away early as Illinois College opened the second half on a 14-4 run. Kohler’s layup with 14:14 left cut the lead to 46-36.

Lawrence pushed the lead back to 18 points, but Illinois College was within 13 points after a pair of Kohler free throws with 4:28 left.

Klusendorf countered with a thunderous dunk for the Vikings, and Lawrence then hit three free throws to push the lead back to 69-51 with 3:37 left to seal the win.

Lawrence returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Beloit College.

Box score

Vikings take control in second half to down Illinois College

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team took control in the second half on Saturday and went on to a 56-53 Midwest Conference victory over Illinois College at Alexander Gymnasium.

Amber Lisowe paced Lawrence (2-17, 1-13 MWC) and all scorers with 19 points, and she also pulled down seven rebounds and had a critical steal in the final seconds. Cathy Kaye scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half for the Vikings.

Jill Friedrich led the Lady Blues (6-13, 4-10) with 12 points, and Hannah McGinnis added 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

The Vikings shot 46.2 percent from the floor in the second half and limited Illinois College to just 29.5 percent shooting after the break.

Illinois College led 30-25 early in the second half, but Lawrence rallied to grab a nine-point edge. The Vikings went on a 16-2 run from that point to grab a 42-31 advantage with 10:27 left in the game. Kaye scored nine points for Lawrence during that stretch.

Illinois College came right back and scored the game’s next eight points to trim the lead to 42-40. Lawrence then bounced back and scored six consecutive points to push the lead back to 48-40 with 5:35 remaining.

The Lady Blues chipped away at the lead and cut the advantage to 52-50 with 50 seconds left. Illinois College was then forced into a situation where it had to foul and sent Lisowe to the line with 17 seconds left. She hit both free throws for a 54-50 Lawrence lead.

Holly Wohltman hit a 3-pointer for Illinois College to cut the lead back to 54-53 with 13 seconds left. The Lady Blues then fouled Kaye, who hit one free throw with nine seconds left.

After Kaye missed the second free throw, Friedrich’s outlet pass was picked off by Lisowe, and the Lady Blues fouled Patsy Kealey with 1.7 seconds left. She made the first free throw and missed the second, but Katie Schumacher grabbed the rebound for Lawrence to end the game.

Lawrence returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Beloit College.

Box score

Marian takes opener in Battle of Highway 41 series

APPLETON, Wis. — Marian University scored twice in the final 10 minutes of the second period and went on to a 3-1 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University on Friday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

The game was part of the Battle of Highway 41 series, and Lawrence currently has possession of the traveling trophy after sweeping the series a season ago. All Marian needs is a tie on Saturday night at the Blue Line Ice Center to take back the trophy.

Lawrence’s Phil Bushbacher tied the game at 1-1 when he scored a power-play goal off a pass from Brad Scurfield just 3:03 into the second period.

Mitch Kriz gave Marian (9-10-1, 8-70 MCHA) a 2-1 edge when he scored at the 10:51 mark of the second. The Sabres quickly made it 3-1 when Brett Campbell scored at the 16:07 mark.

Neither team was able to score in the final period, as goaltender Josh Baker stopped all 10 of Lawrence’s shots in the final 20 minutes. Baker finished with 41 saves as Lawrence (6-12-2, 5-8-2) enjoyed a 42-33 edge in shots on goal.

Fabian Sivnert made 30 saves for Lawrence. 

The win also puts Marian four points ahead of the Vikings in the MCHA standings with five games left to play in the regular season.

Box score