The Lawrence University men’s basketball team faces a must-win situation when it travels to No. 24 St. Norbert College on Saturday. The Vikings need a win and an Illinois College loss to gain a berth in the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament. The game tips off at 4 p.m at Schuldes Sports Center.
Inside LU Athletics: Swimmers dive into MWC Championships this weekend
Peter Brengel may be the champ, but he enters this weekend’s Midwest Conference Championships as the underdog.
The junior from Milwaukee is the defending champion in both the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke, but he enters this weekend’s league championships at Grinnell College with only the third-best time in the league.
“Pete is going to have his work cut out for him, but I feel like he can pull through,” Lawrence coach Drew Fleek said.
Brengel broke the school, meet and Boldt Natatorium records on his way to winning the title in the 200 backstroke at the 2010 MWC Championships at Lawrence. Brengel, the 2009 MWC Swimmer of the Year, also holds the Lawrence record in the 100 backstroke.
Grinnell freshman Michael Brus holds the league’s best times in both the 100 and 200 backstroke, but Fleek believes Brengel has a shot at both titles.
“He’s a tremendous competitor,” Fleek said of Brengel. “When he’s racing, he’s at his best.”
The Vikings are looking to move up from a fourth-place finish at the 2010 MWC Championships. With a deeper team this season, Fleek believes a better finish is a strong possibility.
“I think we have a real strong shot at getting third and if all goes really well, even second,” Fleek said.
The Vikings have several newcomers who could make a big impact at the conference meet. Evan Flack is one of the top sprinters in the conference, and Ted Chritton is one of the league’s best in the 500 freestyle. The Vikings should get contributions from freshmen Cameron Gmehlin, Charlie Mann and Walker Brengel.
Fleek added that both David Dulak and Tom Smith, who were studying abroad the first term, are back and could score points in events from the individual medley to the backstroke and breaststroke.
“We’re going to get good points from a lot of different areas of the roster,” Fleek said.
On the women’s side, freshman Hannah Gabriel leads a women’s team that looks to improve from a seventh-place finish in 2010. That broke a streak of three consecutive second-place finishes for the Vikings.
“I think we can get back up to third, back to where we need to be,” Fleek said of his women’s team.
While Grinnell and Lake Forest College figure to be the top two teams, the Vikings could fight it out for third with like Carroll University and Beloit College.
Leading that charge will be Gabriel, who earned Swimmer of the Week honors during the season, and has top-seven times in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle.
“Hannah is an incredibly hard trainer,” Fleek said. “She’s always pushing herself in the pool and she’s very coachable. That is really what’s allowing her to go so fast. We’re looking for her to drop a ton of time.”
Fleek believes Gabriel, who hails from Elmhurst, Ill., could break the school records in both the 200 freestyle (1:59.89) and 500 freestyle (5:14.50) this weekend.
Very smart Vikings
Lawrence women’s cross country is one of the top academic teams in the nation.
The Vikings were named a NCAA Division III All-Academic Team for the second consecutive year by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Vikings had a 3.62 team grade point average, which ranks as the 10th-best team GPA in the nation. It is believed this is the highest a Lawrence team has ever placed nationally in terms of GPA. The 2001-02 Lawrence wrestling squad had the 11th-best team GPA in the nation.
To qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, the team must have a cumulative team GPA of 3.10 or better and have compiled a score (finished at least five runners) at its NCAA regional championship.
Knapinski wins Wurdinger Award
Dick Knapinski was presented with the Bob Wurdinger Athletic Service Award as part of the Lawrence basketball senior night celebration on Wednesday.
Knapinski, a Neenah resident, was presented the award by Bob Wurdinger. The award is given each year to someone who has shown great support for Lawrence athletics.
Knapinski has been involved with Lawrence athletics for two decades. He started working with the Vikings in 1990 as part of the football broadcast team for WLFM Radio. As a sportswriter for the Appleton Post-Crescent for nearly 20 years, Knapinski covered hundred of Lawrence events.
Knapinski returned to Lawrence broadcasts in 2009 as serves as the voice of the Vikings for football and men’s and women’s basketball video webcasts.
Knapinski also involved his two sons, Dan and Patrick, in Lawrence football. Both have served as ballboys for the Vikings in recent seasons.
The award was established to honor Wurdinger, a Kaukauna native, and long-time Lawrence assistant football coach. Wurdinger, who has been a tireless advocate for Lawrence athletics for more than four decades, received the first award in 2006.
Crisman honored
Men’s basketball standout Tyler Crisman has been named the Midwest Conference Player of the Week.
Crisman earned the honor after pouring in a career-high 30 points in Lawrence’s 72-64 victory at Beloit College this past Saturday.
A junior guard, Crisman was 10-for-17 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the foul line against the Bucs. The 30 points topped his previous career high of 29, which he set against Ripon College earlier this month. Crisman also picked up three rebounds and three against Beloit.
Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a weekly 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.
Lawrence cross country one of top academic teams in country
The Lawrence University women’s cross country team is one of the top academic teams in the nation.
The Vikings were named a NCAA Division III All-Academic Team for the second consecutive year by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Vikings had a 3.62 team grade point average, which ranks as the 10th-best team GPA in the nation. It is believed this is the highest a Lawrence team has ever placed nationally in terms of GPA. The 2001-02 Lawrence wrestling squad had the 11th-best team GPA in the nation.
“This is just another example of our student-athletes getting it done on the course and in the classroom,” Lawrence head coach Jason Fast said. “This is something that we preach every day, and they take that to heart.”
Lawrence team members are: senior Anne Sullivan (Whitefish Bay, Wis.), juniors Emily Muhs (Janesville, Wis.) and Amelia Sancilio (Roseville, Minn.), sophomores Marty Allen (Weston, Mass.), Amanda Dwyer (Ralston, Neb.) and Mary Kate Smith (Charlottesville, Va.) and freshmen Alyssa Herman (Wadsworth, Ill.) and Anna Ratliff (Elmhurst, Ill.).
Lawrence was one of 167 teams, including four from the Midwest Conference, to be honored.
To qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, the team must have a cumulative team GPA of 3.10 or better and have compiled a score (finished at least five runners) at its NCAA regional championship.
Lawrence skaters host Finlandia in regular-season finale
The Lawrence University hockey team takes on Finlandia University this weekend in the final series of the regular season. Friday’s game begins at 7 p.m. at the Appleton Family Ice Center, and Saturday’s game is set for 4 p.m. One victory this weekend would clinch home ice for the Vikings in the quarterfinals of the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.
Broadcaster, sportswriter Knapinski receives Wurdinger Award
Dick Knapinski was presented with the Bob Wurdinger Athletic Service Award as part of the Lawrence University basketball senior night celebration on Wednesday.
Knapinski, a Neenah resident, was presented the award by Bob Wurdinger. The award is given each year to someone who has shown great support for Lawrence athletics.
Knapinski has been involved with Lawrence athletics for two decades. He started working with the Vikings in 1990 as part of the football broadcast team for WLFM Radio. As a sportswriter for the Appleton Post-Crescent for nearly 20 years, Knapinski covered hundred of Lawrence events.
Knapinski returned to Lawrence broadcasts in 2009 as serves as the voice of the Vikings for football and men’s and women’s basketball video webcasts.
Knapinski also involved his two sons, Dan and Patrick, in Lawrence football. Both have served as ballboys for the Vikings in recent seasons.
The award was established to honor Wurdinger, a Kaukauna native, and long-time Lawrence assistant football coach. Wurdinger, who has been a tireless advocate for Lawrence athletics for more than four decades, received the first award in 2006.
Other winners of the Wurdinger Award are: Chuck and Cinny Reff, Ken and Carole Ebert, Joe, Clyde and Jeanne Kieffer and Don Strutz.
Ripon rallies in final minutes to edge Lawrence
The Ripon College men’s basketball team rallied in the final two minutes and pulled out a 63-60 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Wednesday night at Alexander Gymnasium.
Scott Gillespie paced Ripon (13-9, 11-6 MWC) with 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Aris Wurtz added 16 points for the Red Hawks.
Erik Borresen led Lawrence (11-11, 10-7) with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Siebert added 12 points and Tyler Crisman had 11 for the Vikings.
Lawrence led 58-54 after Jon Mays’ layup with 2:26 left, but Ripon got a big 3-pointer from Brad Brooks to trim the lead to 58-57 with 2:11 remaining.
After a miss by the Vikings, Gillespie was fouled and converted both free throws with 1:35 left to give Ripon a 59-58 lead.
Siebert countered for Lawrence and hit a jumper with 1:21 left to put the Vikings up 60-59. Wurtz answered for Ripon by hitting a short jumper with 1:05 remaining to give Ripon a 61-60 edge.
The Vikings then turned the ball over, and Lawrence was forced to foul Gillespie with 14 seconds left. He made both free throws to give Ripon a 63-60 lead.
Mays attempted a 3-pointer with five seconds left, but it was off the mark. Ripon grabbed the rebound and were able to dribble out the remaining few seconds.
Ripon pulls away late to down Lawrence women
Emily Meyer posted a double-double and the Ripon College women’s basketball team pulled away in the final 10 minutes to post a 64-42 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University at Alexander Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
Meyer scored 15 points and pulled down 18 rebounds to lead the Red Hawks (8-14, 7-10 MWC). Brittany Johnson also had 15 points for Ripon.
Cathy Kaye paced Lawrence (0-22, 0-17) with 12 points, and Kanesha Walker and Katie Van Es added 10 points apiece. Alex Deshler grabbed 11 rebounds for the Vikings.
Ripon led by six early in the second half, but the Vikings battled back. Kaye buried a 3-pointer, and Walker followed with a layup to cut Ripon’s lead to 27-26 with 16:45 remaining.
Ripon built the lead back to eight at 36-28, but Lawrence sliced the lead back to 37-32 on Deshler’s layup with 10:53 left. Ripon then went on a 10-0 run, capped by Meyer’s 3-pointer, to pull away.
Lawrence didn’t get closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Lawrence men face Ripon in final home game of season
The Lawrence University men’s basketball team takes on Ripon College on Wednesday at Alexander Gymnasium in a key Midwest Conference game. The final home game of the season has implications for both the Vikings and Red Hawks in terms of who will make the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament later this month. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Crisman picks up MWC Player of the Week award
Lawrence University men’s basketball standout Tyler Crisman has been named the Midwest Conference Player of the Week.
Crisman (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East) earned the honor after pouring in a career-high 30 points in Lawrence’s 72-64 victory at Beloit College this past Saturday.
A junior guard, Crisman was 10-for-17 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the foul line against the Bucs. The 30 points topped his previous career high of 29, which he set against Ripon College earlier this month. Crisman also picked up three rebounds and three against Beloit.
The victory was critical for the Vikings and moved Lawrence into a four-way tie for second place in the Midwest Conference at 10-6.
Crisman, who was honored as the Player of the Week for the first time in his career, improved his scoring average to 15.9 points per game. He is shooting 47.3 percent from the floor, including 44.4 percent from 3-point range.
Lawrence returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Ripon at Alexander Gymnasium.
Lawrence women wrap up season with Ripon, St. Norbert
The Lawrence University women’s basketball team wraps up its season this week with games against Ripon College and St. Norbert College. The Vikings host Ripon on Wednesday night and then travel to St. Norbert on Saturday. The Vikings will honor seniors Katie Van Es and Kanesha Walker before Wednesday’s final home game.