The Highlights

Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics

Lawrence netters edge Concordia 5-4

MEQUON, Wis. – The Lawrence University men’s tennis team topped Concordia (Wis.) University 5-4 in a nonconference match on Saturday.

The Vikings were led by No. 1 singles player Jason Dunn, who routed Brian Tresedder 6-2, 6-1. Dunn teamed with Max Zlevor at No. 1 doubles for an 8-2 victory over Pat Schramka and Skip Turner.

Caleb Ray and Jeremy Andereck also won in both singles and doubles. Ray won at No. 2 singles and Andereck was a winner at No. 4. They teamed for an 8-6 victory at No. 2 doubles.

Box score

Gabriel takes title, sets record at MWC Championships

GRINNELL, Iowa – Lawrence University freshman Hannah Gabriel won the 200-yard freestyle on Saturday and set a meet record at the Midwest Conference Championships at Grinnell College.

Gabriel won the event in 1:56.89 to claim her first conference championship. She broke the record of former Lawrence star Hayley Vatch, who set the mark of 1:57.03 in 2009.

Gabriel also led the 800 freestyle relay team to second place in 8:05.12. She teamed with Sarah Bostrom, Chelsea Hameister and Julia Heller.

On the men’s side, Peter Brengel wasn’t able to defend his title in the 100 backstroke and finished third in 52.73 seconds. Brengel also teamed with Evan Flack, Tom Smith and Charlie Mann to finish third in the 200 medley relay in 1:36.18.

The Lawrence men and women are both in third place. The men have 340 points, and Grinnell leads with 570. The women have 309 points, and Grinnell is pacing the field with 658.

Saturday’s results

Green Knights pull away in second half to down Lawrence

DE PERE, Wis. – The St. Norbert College men’s basketball team used a surge late in the second half to pull away from Lawrence University and post a 66-55 Midwest Conference victory on Saturday at Schuldes Sports Center.

The 24th-ranked Green Knights went on an 11-0 run to push their lead to double digits and secure the victory.

John Taylor scored 18 points to lead St. Norbert (18-5, 14-4 MWC). David Wipperfurth added 13 points and Chris Peterson had 11 for the Green Knights.

Jon Mays paced Lawrence (11-12, 10-8) with 17 points. Tyler Crisman and Max Burgess added 11 points apiece for the Vikings.

Crisman hit a 3-pointer with 9:05 left in the game to trim St. Norbert’s lead to 44-39, but the Vikings missed their next five shots from the floor.

That gave St. Norbert an opening, and the Green Knights took advantage. St. Norbert make its next five shots from the floor and scored 11 consecutive points to take a 55-39 lead with 4:15 remaining.

Lawrence didn’t get closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Box score

St. Norbert runs away from Vikings in season finale

DE PERE, Wis. – The St. Norbert College women’s basketball team jumped out to a huge early lead and went on to a 94-43 Midwest Conference win Saturday over Lawrence University at Schuldes Sports Center in the regular-season finale.

St. Norbert scored the game’s first 24 points and led 46-16 at the half.

Jamie Kuhl paced St. Norbert (21-2, 17-1 MWC) with 19 points and was one of four Green Knights to score in double figures. Krista Pelky added 15 points and Rachel Hermus and Erin Baganz had 10 points apiece.

Cathy Kaye paced Lawrence (0-23, 0-18) with 11 points. Katie Van Es added 10 points for the Vikings.

Box score

Big second period leads Finlandia past Lawrence

Finlandia University scored four times in the second period and went on to a 6-3 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association win over Lawrence University on Saturday at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

The game was the regular-season finale for both teams. Lawrence (12-12-1, 10-10-0 MCHA) returns to action next weekend when it hosts Northland College in a MCHA quarterfinal playoff series.

Lawrence led 3-2 in the second period after Huck Saunders scored at the 9:02 mark.

Griffen Hodges then tied it for Finlandia (3-21-0, 3-17-0) when he scored on the power play at 14:15. Finlandia quickly grabbed a 4-3 lead when Cole Workman scored at 16:56. The Lions completed the scoring in the second period when Nemanja Jankovic scored with just 55 seconds left to go up 5-3.

Lawrence then dominated the third period, outshooting the Lions 21-4, but the Vikings were unable to score. The Vikings outshot Finlandia 47-26 for the game. Atte Haataja stopped 44 shots to get the win for Finlandia.

Matt Wylie added to the Finlandia lead when he scored midway through the third period.

Lawrence got goals in both the first and second periods from Matt Hughes.

The Vikings played all three goaltenders, with Michael Baldino taking the loss.

Box score

Lawrence men second, women third after opening day of MWC Championships

GRINNELL, Iowa – The Lawrence University swimming and diving team were among the top teams after the opening day of competition Friday at Grinnell College.

The Lawrence men are in second place with 181 points, and the women are third with 152. Grinnell leads the men’s standings with 209 points, and Lake Forest is tops among the women with 290 points.

The top finishers for the Vikings on Friday were Peter Brengel and Hannah Gabriel.

Brengel grabbed second in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.60 seconds. Gabriel took second in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:11.84. The men’s 200 freestyle relay team of Brengel, Patrick Vincent, Charlie Mann and Evan Flack also placed second.

Results

Lawrence rallies in final period to top Finlandia

Lawrence University rallied for three goals in the third period to top Finlandia University 7-5 in a Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association game Friday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

The win clinched home ice for Lawrence (12-11-1, 10-9-0 MCHA) for the quarterfinal series of the MCHA playoffs on Feb. 25-26.

The Vikings trailed 5-4 midway through the third period but put together a rally to win it. Defenseman Corey Garrett scored his first goal of the season after a scramble in front of the net to tie the game at 5-5 at the 10:11 mark.

Lawrence then took the lead for good when defenseman Jon Sheridan beat Finlandia goaltender Mike Wuthrich on the short side at the 16:29 mark for a 6-5 lead.

Sam Johnson sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with just 36 seconds left.

Evan Johnson made 28 saves to pick up the victory. Wuthrich, who came on in relief of Ryan Donovan in the first period, made 30 saves and took the loss.

Lawrence, which was 3-for-4 on the power play, lost a pair of two-goal leads. Jon Bellotti, who had three points on the night, and Jameson Raymond both scored power-play goals in the opening period to give Lawrence a 2-0 edge.

Finlandia got a pair of goals from Cameron Goude to tie the score at 2-2 heading into the first intermission.

Josh DeSmit and Nate Scurfield scored just 47 seconds apart early in the second period to give the Vikings a 4-2 edge. Collin Saint-Onge then scored two power-play goals just 1:02 apart midway through the second period to tie the score at 4-4.

Kevin Smith then scored on the power play at the 5:53 mark of the third to put Finlandia up 5-4.

The teams wrap up the two-game series and the regular season on Saturday afternoon.

Box score

Lawrence to conduct national search for women’s basketball coach

Lawrence University is set to conduct a national search for a women’s basketball head coach, Director of Athletics Mike Szkodzinski announced today.

The Vikings have been directed during the 2010-11 season by interim head coach Dennis Nagan, who had served as an assistant with the Vikings for one season prior to this campaign.

“It is our goal to keep the women’s basketball program moving forward, and we believe that is best achieved by exploring all of our options when it comes to the person leading the program,” Szkodzinski said. “This next step is a natural progression in the efforts to sustain enduring success for Lawrence women’s basketball.”

The search will commence immediately with the goal of having a head coach in place as soon as possible, Szkodzinski said. Szkodzinski added Nagan will remain as the interim coach until a full-time head coach is selected.

“Coach Nagan has been nothing but professional in his responsibilities, and we’re thankful for the work he has done to this point,” Szkodzinski said.

“Lawrence University has the strong belief that intercollegiate athletics in an integral part of the education process,” Provost David Burrows said. “I believe the learning process is the most important part of any varsity athletic activity, but part of that experience is a sense of being competitive.”

Women’s basketball at Lawrence has enjoyed a history of success since its inception in 1975. Women’s basketball has won three conference championships, two in the Midwest Conference and another in the Lake Michigan Conference, and earned a NCAA Division III Tournament berth in 1999. The Vikings compiled 23 seasons with a record of .500 or better in their first 31 seasons of competition.

Lawrence has struggled to return to its winning ways in recent seasons. Since the retirement of head coach Amy Proctor following the 2006-07 season, Lawrence has endured four campaigns without a winning record.

Michelle Walsh coached the Vikings in the 2007-08 season, and she resigned in August 2008. Marc Heidorf then coached the Vikings for the next two seasons. Heidorf was dismissed in March 2010, and Nagan was named the interim head coach for the 2010-11 season.

Men’s cross country earns All-Academic Team award

The Lawrence University men’s cross country team has won the All-Academic Team award for the second consecutive year.

The award was presented by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Lawrence, which finished second at the 2010 Midwest Conference Championships, posted a team grade point average of 3.28. To be eligible for the award, a team had to have a minimum 3.10 team GPA and have compiled a score (finished at least five runners) at their NCAA regional championship.

Team members are: Jamie Brisbois, Curran Carlile, Tom Coben, Matt Eddy, Sam Estem, Kevin Fitzgerald, Ken Henry, Dave Kjeldahl, Phil Kronenberg, Mike Mangian, Mike McCain, Dan Moeller, Sam Stevens, Dan Thoresen, Alex York and David Zane.

Lawrence was one of four Midwest Conference schools to be honored.