Hockey
The Vikings reached the semifinals of the Harris Cup for the third consecutive season and posted the third winning season in Lawrence history. The Vikings finished 14-13-1, the second-highest season win total in school history.
Lawrence earned victories over multiple ranked opponents, including a 6-5 win to open the season at UW–Stevens Point, one of the toughest places to play in the nation.
Defenseman William Thoren ’14 was the lone freshman named to the All-Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association team. Thoren, who also was chosen for the All-Freshmen team, was second on the team with 20 points. He had a team-high 16 assists and scored four goals.
Defenseman and team captain Jonathon Sheridan ’11 was chosen for the MCHA All-Tournament team.
Swimming and Diving
Both the men’s and women’s teams moved up the ladder in the Midwest Conference at the league championships. The Lawrence women finished in
Collin McCanna '11
third place, up four spots in the team standings from a season ago. The men also finished third, up one place from their finish in 2010.
Hannah Gabriel ’14 was the top finisher for the women as she won the 200-yard freestyle in a Midwest Conference Championships record time of 1:56.89. Gabriel also grabbed second place in the 500 freestyle and second in the 1,650 freestyle.
On the men’s side, Peter Brengel ’12 paced the Vikings with a trio of top-three finishes. Brengel swam to second place in the 50 freestyle and also took second in the 200 backstroke. His time of 1:53.54 in the 200 backstroke actually broke the existing meet record. Brengel also grabbed third in the 100 backstroke.
The women’s swim team also led the way for the winter-season student-athletes with 12 selections to the Academic All-Midwest Conference team. Six men’s swimmers also were honored.
Women’s Basketball
The Vikings played a number of close games but weren’t able to pull out a victory and finished with a 0-23 record. Lawrence lost seven games by nine or fewer points.
Nakita Chadwick ’13 led the team in scoring and rebounding at 8.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. She also had a team-high 25 blocks.
Lawrence University forward Conor Klusendorf '13 goes up for a dunk over Grinnel College's Garret Nitz at Alexander Gymnasium on Jan. 22. Klusendorf scored a career-high 35 points, but Grinnell hung on for a 112-103 overtime victory.
Men’s Basketball
Lawrence finished fifth in the Midwest Conference with a 10-8 mark and went 11-12 overall after playing a rigorous nonconference schedule.
The Vikings had a league-high three players selected to the All-Midwest Conference squad. Center Erik Borresen ’11 was named to the second team, and guards Jon Mays ’11 and Tyler Crisman ’12 both received honorable mention.
Borresen was the only player in the conference to average a double-double at 15.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Borresen, who had a league-best 13 double-doubles, also averaged 2.0 blocks per game and broke the season (46) and career (76) blocks records.
Mays led the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game, and Crisman was at 15.4 points per contest. Crisman finished 12th in the nation in 3-point shooting at 45.0 percent.
Indoor track and field
A case of food poisoning capped a good and bad indoor season for standout Rose Tepper ’13. Tepper qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in the high jump but got food poisoning while at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and was unable to compete.
Tepper qualified for the NCAA meet by jumping 5 feet, 5.75 inches, which broke the school record. She was the first Lawrence athlete to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Madeline Steininger ’10 went to the outdoor meet in 2009. Tepper also was injured during practice and unable to compete for the Vikings at the Midwest Conference Championships.
The Lawrence men finished seventh in the team standings, and the women were ninth at the league meet. The top finisher for the Vikings was Sam Stevens ’13, who placed in two events. Stevens ran to fifth place in the 800 meters and took sixth in the mile.
Fencing
The Lawrence men grabbed sixth place at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships, and the women placed 12th. Sabre led the way for the men, posting the fifth-highest point total among the 20 teams.
The Vikings competed in the NCAA Midwest Regional, and the top finishers were Frederick Breslow ’11 and Alex Biehl ’13. Breslow took 12th place in sabre, and Biehl was 12th in foil. Matthew DeStasio ’13 was the top finisher in epee in 14th place.
On the women’s side, Madeline Cooper ’13 was the top finisher with a 14th place in sabre. Mariah Wilkerson ’14 grabbed 15th place in epee and Caitlyn Hoglund ’13 was 17th in foil.
Softball
Lawrence University infielder Mary Diduch '14 tags out St. Norbert College's Kayla Krueger for the final out in Lawrence's 4-3 vicotry over the Green Knights at Whiting Field on April 2.
A pair of one-run losses to eventual conference champion Ripon College kept a very young Lawrence team out of the Midwest Conference Tournament. Lawrence finished with a 13-16 record and took third in the MWC’s North Division with a 6-7 mark.
Lawrence coach Kim Tatro was named the North Division Coach of the Year for the sixth time, and shortstop Carli Gurholt ’11 and outfielder Cathy Kaye ’13 were both chosen for the team. Gurholt played through a painful arm injury but still managed to hit .409 in conference play. On the season, she hit .421 with 11 doubles, one triple, three homers and 24 runs batted in. Despite missing parts of the last two seasons due to injury, Gurholt hit .386 for her career. She belted a school-record 22 home runs and finished second with 107 RBI.
Kaye was selected for the all-conference team for the second consecutive season after hitting .367 in league play. Kaye hit .356 on the season with 29 runs scored, nine doubles, one triple, a team-high five homers and 18 RBI.
Tatro, who also was named North Division Coach of the Year in 2006, 2002, 1999, 1998 and 1997, has a career record of 291-259-1.
Pitcher/infielder Emily Perish ’12 was chosen for the Capital One Academic All-District 5 team. A third-team selection, Perish has a 3.79 grade point average and is majoring in religious studies and government. She hit .354 on the season and posted a 6-6 record on the mound.
Baseball
The Vikings endured a rough season and finished with a 3-32 record. Lawrence picked up wins over Carroll University, D’Youville College and North Central (Minn.) University. The Vikings were paced by infielder Davide Harris ’13, who hit .324 and drove in a team-high 17 runs.
Track and Field
Sam Stevens ’13 had a hand in every point the men’s team scored at the Midwest Conference Championships. Stevens grabbed second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a season-best time of 9:35.06 and took third in the 1,500 in a season-best time of 4:04.55. Stevens also took seventh in the 800 meters in 1:57.87 and ran a leg on the eighth-place 1,600 relay team.
The Lawrence men finished ninth in the team standings with 17 points. The Lawrence women were eighth with 10 points, and Erica Schmidt ’14 had the best day of her young career in the discus. Schmidt finished third in the event with a career-best throw of 123 feet, 1 inch. That beat her previous-best throw of 117-4 by nearly six feet.
Men’s Tennis
Jason Dunn ’13 and Caleb Ray ’12 turned in the best seasons for the Vikings, who finished sixth at the Midwest Conference Championships. Playing No. 1 singles, Dunn posted an 11-10 record and reached the semifinals of the conference tournament. Ray had a team-best 13-9 singles record and also reached the semifinals of the conference championships at No. 2.
Lawrence finished with a 7-13 record, including a 2-2 mark in MWC North Division play. One of the highlights of the regular season was Lawrence’s 9-0 victory over Ripon College. Lawrence has now beaten the Red Hawks 9-0 three straight times and won four in a row against Ripon.
Golf
John Pechan ’14 finished second at the Midwest Conference Championships to finish a stellar rookie campaign with the Vikings. Pechan carded rounds of 82, 75 and 78 to finish three shots off the winning score at the league meet. Pechan, who had a 76.2 stroke average, won two events and posted two other top-three finishes on the year. The Vikings finished eighth at the MWC Championships.
Carr to Coach Women’s Basketball
Coach Carr
Tara Carr is the new head women’s basketball coach at Lawrence University. Carr’s hiring was announced April 11 by Director of Athletics Mike Szkodzinski.
“We are excited to announce the appointment of Tara Carr as the head women’s basketball coach at Lawrence University,” Szkodzinski said. “We believe Tara will be able to draw upon her past collegiate playing and coaching experience to lead our ladies. Her professionalism and attention to detail will certainly allow her to take our program to the next level.”
“I’m truly excited to be named the new head women’s basketball coach at Lawrence
University,” said Carr, a native of Hoosick Falls, N.Y. “I feel honored to be a part of the Lawrence athletic department. I look forward to working with the department’s administration, Mike Szkodzinski and Kim Tatro, along with support from Provost David Burrows.”
Carr brings a history of playing and coaching experience to the job at Lawrence.
A three-sport standout in basketball, softball and field hockey at Hoosick Falls Central High School, Carr earned all-conference honors in both basketball and field hockey and her softball squad won a New York state championship. Carr starred at the State University of New York College at Oneonta in both field hockey and basketball and was a basketball standout at the University at Albany.
Carr, who holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bowling Green State University, started her basketball-coaching career at Ohio Northern University. She then served as the assistant basketball coach at Saginaw Valley State University. She coached with the Cardinals from 2001 to 2004 and helped turn that program around.
Carr, who has a master of business administration from Saginaw Valley State, comes to Lawrence after working outside of coaching in recent years. She has served as the campus director and adjunct instructor in business management and human resource management at the Beloit campus of Concordia University of Wisconsin since April 2007.
“My goal is to be a part of the Lawrence family for a long time,” said Carr, who relishes the opportunity to guide Lawrence’s student-athletes. “I look forward to working with the returning players. Lawrence provides student-athletes with an excellent education in a competitive environment. The impressive academic reputation, globally diverse student body and Appleton community complete the Lawrence experience.”
Lawrence has enjoyed a history of success, including three conference championships and an NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, in its 35 seasons of women’s basketball. The Vikings have posted 23 seasons of .500 or better, but Lawrence has struggled in recent campaigns.
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