LA CROSSE, Wis. — The UW-La Crosse men’s tennis team posted a 9-0 shutout of Lawrence University on Friday. Lawrence falls to 1-2 on the season.
Big second period helps Lawrence roll past Finlandia
Lawrence University scored four times in the second period and rolled to a 5-1 victory over Finlandia University in Friday’s opening game of a Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal playoff series at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
Lawrence (13-10-3) needs a win or tie in Saturday’s series finale to advance to the Harris Cup semifinals.
The Vikings were already up 1-0 thanks for Brad Scurfield’s first-period goal when they scored four times in a stretch of 11 minutes in the second period.
Patrick Coyne got things started for the Vikings when he scored on the power play at the 6:28 mark to give Lawrence a 2-0 edge. Lawrence went 1-for-4 on the power play on the evening.
Phil Bushbacher made it 3-0 at the 9:56 mark, and the Vikings scored again on Huck Saunders’ goal just 25 seconds later to make it 4-0.
Coyne, a freshman forward, scored again at the 17:53 mark to give Lawrence a 5-0 lead. It was the first multi-goal game of Coyne’s career.
Alex Heinonen broke up the shutout for Finlandia (7-18-0) when he scored on the power play with just 17 seconds left in the second period to trim the lead to 5-1.
Peter Emery stopped 28 shots to earn the win for Lawrence. Cedrik LaFrance made the start and allowed four goals for Finlandia in taking the loss.
Lawrence vs. Finlandia series preview
Lawrence University takes on Finlandia University in a Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal playoff series this weekend. Friday’s game begins at 7 p.m. at the Appleton Family Ice Center, and Saturday’s game is at 4 p.m. The winner of the series advances to the Harris Cup semifinals at Adrian College on March 3.
Inside LU Athletics: Stevens looking to set the pace for Vikings
Sam Stevens is multi-tasking this weekend.
The Lawrence University track and field star has his sights set on a pair of individual titles at the Midwest Conference Championships at Illinois College, but he also wants to spark the rest of the Vikings.
The junior from Suamico, Wis., is one of the favorites to win both the 5,000 meters and 3,000 meters, and he hopes his performances can push the rest of the Vikings to excel in the meet on Friday and Saturday at Illinois College’s Bruner Center.
“It will be nice having the 5k early,” Stevens said. “If that goes well, we can set the tone for the rest of the meet right there.”
Stevens owns the top time in the conference in the 5,000 at 15:24.61, and freshman teammate Kyle Dockery is second at 15:29.99 so the Vikings are looking for a strong finish in only the second event of the championships.
“I think I thrive on that to some extent,” Stevens said of his leadership role. “The biggest thing when I think back to my freshmen year was that I won the mile (at the 2010 conference championships). It wasn’t beating everyone else in the race, but that I was able to set the tone for the team. I try to go out every time with that and hopefully people look up to that. I’m trying to make an impact with our team and the mindset everyone has.”
The Vikings finished seventh at the indoor championships in 2011, and with Stevens leading the way, Lawrence is poised to continue moving up in the league.
“We could be as high as fifth, but I don’t see us finishing any lower than seventh. Our goal always is to move up in conference so we want to move up when we can,” Lawrence coach Jason Fast said.
“We could double our point total from last year. That would be pretty nice.”
Stevens has been at the forefront of the improvement in both the cross country and track program during Fast’s brief tenure as head coach. Stevens won the individual title in cross country this past fall and led Lawrence to its first men’s title in cross country since 1986.
“I think the biggest thing is Sam’s maturing as a distance runner,” Fast said. “Coming out of (Bay Port) high school, he was a 400, 800 runner. … This is the first season we’ve kept his mileage up from cross country, and he’s set personal bests in the mile, the 3k and the 5k.”
Stevens said, “I can’t get us into fifth place on my own. I want to do everything I can, but I do have a couple of individual goals.”
In addition to owning the league’s fastest time in the 5,000, Stevens is second in the 3,000 with a time of 8:50.83. Stevens also will run the anchor leg of the distance medley relay. That team finished third last season and wants to move up this year.
“We were third last year (in the DMR) so we were on the podium, but it would be a lot cooler to be at the top of the podium,” Stevens said.
And Fast believes Stevens could be standing on top of the podium more than once this weekend.
“Sam has an opportunity to win all three,” Fast said. “I know he wants to be top three in all three of those.”
Stevens’ success is important to the cross country and track programs as Fast continues to push both of those teams to greater heights.
“It gives validity to your program when you have a guy like Sam, and you can say, ‘This is here he was and this is where he is now.’ It legitimizes what you’re doing as a program,” Fast said.
MCHA playoffs set
Lawrence opens the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs with a quarterfinal series on Friday and Saturday at the Appleton Family Ice Center. Lawrence takes on Finlandia Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m.
The winner advances to the Harris Cup semifinals on March3 at Adrian. The winner of the Harris Cup receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Lawrence (12-10-3) enters the playoffs having won seven of its last eight. Finlandia (7-17-0) endured a pair of close losses to conference champion Adrian last weekend.
Trio of swimmers win
Lawrence won three individual titles at the MWC Championships, which wrapped up Sunday at Boldt Natatorium.
Senior Peter Brengel won the 100-yard backstroke for the Vikings, which finished fourth in the team standings. On the women’s side, freshman Taylor Winter won the 500 freestyle, and sophomore Hannah Gabriel won the 200 freestyle. The Lawrence women also took fourth in the team standings.
Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director 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.
Pairings set for MCHA playoffs, Vikings to face Finlandia
The pairings are now set for the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs, which begin Feb. 24.
Lawrence faces Finlandia in a two-game quarterfinal series on Feb. 24-25 at the Appleton Family Ice Center. Friday’s game begins at 7 p.m., and Saturday’s game is set for 4 p.m. Both games of the series will be webcast.
The other quarterfinal series has Lake Forest traveling to MSOE on Feb. 25-26.
Divisional champions Marian and Adrian await the quarterfinal series winners in the Harris Cup semifinals on March 3 at Adrian. The championship game is set for March 4.
Vikings drop season opener to Carleton
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Lawrence University baseball team dropped the earliest season opener in school history with a 9-7 loss to Carleton College at the Metrodome on Sunday.
The second game was halted in the bottom of the fifth inning with Carleton holding a 10-1 lead.
Lawrence built a 5-3 lead after two innings, but Carleton scored three times in the fourth and three more times in the fifth to pull away. Lawrence, which out-hit the Knights 11-9, scored a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth but couldn’t get any closer.
The Vikings loaded the bases against reliever Paul Dimick in the bottom of the seventh, but he got Sam Kossow to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the game.
Gabe Henriques, Eric Bohling, Phil Wisniewski and Alex Brewer all had two hits for the Vikings. Henriques and Wisniewski both drove in a pair of runs.
Freshman Andrew Doares took the loss in relief for the Vikings. Jackson Tears pitched two innings of relief to pick up the win.
Lawrence men, women finish fourth at MWC Championships
The Lawrence University men and women both finished fourth at the Midwest Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, which wrapped up its three-day run on Sunday at Boldt Natatorium.
The Lawrence men finished fourth with 333 points, and Grinnell won the title with 921.5 points. The Lawrence women placed fourth with 352 points, and Lake Forest won the title with 878 points.
The top finisher on Sunday for the Lawrence men was senior Peter Brengel. He placed second in the 200-yard backstroke in a time of 1:56.93. Brengel also teamed with his brother, Walker, Charlie Mann and Nick Craker to grab fourth place in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:18.36.
On the women’s side, both Taylor Winter and Hannah Gabriel recorded second-place finishes on Sunday. Winter took second in the 1,650 freestyle in 17:52.52. Gabriel grabbed second in the 100 freestyle in 55.23 seconds.
The team of Winter, Gabriel, Chelsea Hameister and Julia Heller swam to second in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:43.58.
Stevens, Tepper pace Vikings at Eastbay Invitational
STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Sam Stevens and Rose Tepper were the top finishers for the Lawrence University track team at Saturday’s Eastbay Invitational at UW-Stevens Point.
Stevens paced the Lawrence men by running to third place in the mile run in a time of 4:23.21.
Tepper was the top finisher for the Lawrence women by taking fourth place in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 1.25 inches. Lawrence also got fifth-place finishes on the women’s side from the distance medley relay team and the 800-meter relay team.
Lake Forest tops Lawrence 5-4
The Lake Forest College men’s tennis team edged Lawrence University 5-4 in a nonconference match on Saturday at Fox Cities Racquet Club.
The Foresters took the top three singles matches and the top two doubles matches for the victory.
Lawrence got wins at No. 3 doubles and at Nos. 4-6 singles from Cooper Smith, Craig Sherwood and Jeremy Andereck.
Brengel, Gabriel take titles for Vikings on day two of MWC Championships
Peter Brengel and Hannah Gabriel each won individual titles for Lawrence University on Saturday at the Midwest Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at Boldt Natatorium.
Gabriel swam to victory in the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1:56.71, just .16 seconds off the conference championship record of Lake Forest’s Becky Shaak.
Gabriel also was part of the 800 freestyle relay team that included Chelsea Hameister, Julia Heller and Taylor Winter that finished second in 8:01.12.
The Lawrence women are in fourth place in the team standings with 248 points.
Brengel grabbed the crown in the 100 backstroke with a winning time of 53.25 seconds. Brengel also teamed with David Dulak, Pat Vincent and Charlie Mann to finish third in the 200 medley relay in 1:39.71.
The Lawrence men are fourth in the team standings with 244 points.
The championships wrap up their three-day run on Sunday.