A Look Into Sports 2/22 – 2/26
Ethan Strong goes down to block a shot. Photo courtesy of Dalen Dahl.

A Look Into Sports 2/22 – 2/26

Men’s Hockey Advances to Conference Championship

The men’s hockey team dominated UW-Superior in a pair of blowout wins over the weekend to advance to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship.

Friday, the Pointers defeated the Yellow Jackets 5-1 at KB Willett Ice Arena.

Stevens Point got on the board first, as Willem Nong-Lambert scored at 4:28 minutes into the opening period during a Pointer power play. The Pointers increased their lead in the second with a Jono Davis goal, but UWS cut the Pointer lead in half at 2-1 with a goal of their own late in the second period.

In the third, the defending national champions put the game on ice. Jono scored his second goal of the evening with 11:04 to go in regulation putting Point up 3-1, before Logan Fredericks and Kelly O’Brien each scored to punctuate the rout.

Saturday, the teams played again. This time the Pointers destroyed the Yellow Jackets 8-1.

UWSP blitzed UW-Superior goalie Kyle Miller early and often, as Jacob Barber got the offense rolling with a power play goal 6:31 into the opening frame. Tanner Karty scored for Stevens Point with 8:07 to go in the first to increase the lead to 2-0. Superior scored late in the period narrowing the gap to 2-1.

Then, the game turned into the Lawrence Cornellier show.

Cornellier put together one of the greatest individual periods in Pointer history, recording a hat trick in a 12-minute span.

Cornellier lit the lamp first with a power play goal just under four minutes into the second quarter, before Tanner Karty scored his second goal of the evening just 34 seconds later. Then, Cornellier scored a short-handed goal with 4:08 left in the period increasing the UWSP lead to 5-1.

Less than 90 seconds later, Cornellier secured his hat trick, converting on another Stevens Point power play.

The onslaught continued in the final period of play, as Cornellier scored his fourth goal of the evening with 17:42 to play. Austin Kelly scored the eighth, and final, Pointer goal midway into the third period to cap the 8-1 decimation.

Stevens Point will be back at KB Willett Ice Arena to host the WIAC Championship game on Saturday when they take on UW-Eau Claire.

 

Women’s Hockey Season Ends at Eau Claire

The women’s hockey team fell to UW-Eau Claire in the first round of the conference tournament, losing both road games over the weekend.

Friday’s game saw Stevens Point get on the board first, as Meredith Ingbretson scored on a Lauren Smith assist with 3:57 to go in the first period. Unfortunately, Point wouldn’t score again, as the Blugolds scored four unanswered goals to finish the game, including two power-play goals in the second.

The Pointers looked to rebound from the 4-1 defeat the following afternoon. After falling behind Eau Claire in the opening period, Stevens Point got on the board with a Cara Lemirande goal to even the score at one apiece.

The Pointers took the lead midway through the second period, as Lauren Smith scored on a power play, as did Lemirande earlier, to put Point up 2-1.

However, the Pointers were outscored 2-0 in the third period, which decided the fate of the game as well as the Pointers’ season. Eau Claire’s Lauren Norgren scored just over a minute into the final frame, and Holly Turnbull’s score with 2:41 to go in regulation proved to be the game-winner for the Blugolds.

The women’s hockey season ends with the team going 13-12-2 on the year.

 

Pointer Track Teams Earn Second Place at Conference Championships

The men’s and women’s track and field teams both earned second-place finishes at the WIAC Championships over the weekend.

The women’s team, who took home second by a half-point over UW-Oshkosh, was headlined by Sylviann Momont’s win in the pentathlon. Momont finished with a score of 3394, just 70 points short of the school record.

Kathy Derks also came close to setting a new school record during her 800-meter run victory. Derks finished one second shy of a school record time in the event, as she posted a time of 2:13.94.

Abby Clement broke a school record when she competed in the 60-meter dash. Clement finished second in the event, posting a record time of 7.78.

Also, the Stevens Point quartet of Derks, Sarah Vils, Hannah Mertens and Leah Trempe finished third in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:55.42, while Jacklyn Butler finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdle event with a time of 9.19 seconds.

Jerry Williams leads his race. Photo courtesy of Kylie Bridenhagen.

Jerry Williams leads his race. Photo courtesy of Kylie Bridenhagen.

The men’s team was headlined by Jerry Williams’ win in the triple jump event, posting a distance of 14.34. Williams also competed in the 60-meter dash, finishing with a fifth-place time of 6.97 seconds.

The heptathlon featured two Pointers registering top-three finishes, as Jeremy Lee and Abrahm Schroedl finished second and third, respectively. Lee posted a score of 4795, while Schroedl scored 4579 in the event.

Logan Heil finished second in the weight throw event, recording a distance of 18.05 meters. Darin Ward also posted a second-place finish, posting an 8.19-second performance in the 60-meter hurdles. Caden Wojt finished third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.24 seconds.

The Pointers return to action March 4 for the Pointer Final Qualifier, which will be held in the Multi-Activity Center. The meet is slated for a 10:30 a.m. start.

 

Women’s Basketball Squanders Lead versus River Falls

The women’s basketball team took an unexpected tumble out of the WIAC Tournament, losing at home in the first round of the event to UW-River Falls, 47-43.

Neither team was sharp offensively, with the Pointers shooting 27.5 percent from the field and Falcons shooting 34 percent.

Autumn Hennes blocks a UW River Falls player. Photo courtesy of Dalen Dahl.

Autumn Hennes blocks a UW-River Falls player. Photo courtesy of Dalen Dahl.

Still, the Pointers led 21-13 at halftime despite going 0-8 from three-points range.

Point led by as many as 11 points on the evening, as they held a 26-15 advantage with 6:06 to go in the third quarter.

A Carly Cerrato layup with just one second to go in the third helped stop the bleeding during an 11-4 River Falls run, giving the Pointers a 30-26 lead heading into the final quarter.

However, the visitors had generated too much momentum by then to be defeated. The Falcons used a 12-6 fourth-quarter run to take a 38-36 lead with 4:44 to go in the game.

The Pointers fought tooth and nail, tying the game at 43 apiece on a Lauren Anklam three with just nine seconds to go.

The Falcons, however, scored on a Taylor Paulsurd layup with four seconds to play to take the lead for good. A Payton Mix turnover in the waning seconds ended the last gasp for Stevens Point, who fell to 17-9 on the season.

The Pointers now await word on whether they will be a part of this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Pointers Softball Begins Season with Mixed Results

 The softball team began its season Friday by participating in the Finlandia Dome Classic in Marquette, MI.

The Pointers lost their first two games to Calvin College and UW-Superior, before defeating Marian University and Northland College with a combined score of 29-14.

Jen Jacobson waits for the pitch. Photo courtesy of UWSP Athletics.

Jen Jacobson waits for the pitch. Photo courtesy of UWSP Athletics.

The Stevens Point-Marian game was a 13-12 barnburner that started with Point falling behind 3-0. The Pointers used a four-run third inning, sparked by Justine Ertl’s two-run double, to take a 5-4 lead.

After Marian responded with a six-run fifth inning, Point ended the game on a 6-1 tear, scoring three runs in each of the last two innings. Jen Jacobsen’s ground-rule double in the sixth inning lifted the Pointers to bring the score to 11-9.

A Marian error allowed Stevens Point to tally another run before they responded with one run in the final inning.

Down 12-10, Point closed the game in style.

Paige Allen got the rally started with an RBI double to right field before Jacobson added an RBI double of her own. Finally, Ertl’s walk-off RBI single completed the Pointer comeback bid.

Stevens Point rode the offensive momentum into its second game of the day, this time versus Northland College. The Pointers scored four runs in each of the first two innings, as they raced out to an 8-1 lead. Ertl’s triple in the first inning drove in two runs, helping Point set the tone in a 16-2 romp.

The Pointers used a seven-run fourth inning to put the game out of reach.

Katie Uhlenbrach, Paige Kitzing and Alyssa Cooper each contributed RBI singles. Payton Mix got in on the act as well with a two-run single. Mix ended the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.

Saturday’s 2-0 outing was the highlight of the weekend for the Pointers, who fell to Lakeland College and Concordia University, respectively, on Sunday.

The Pointers return to action on March 16, when they begin their set of PFX Spring Games against Macalester College. The PFX Spring Games are from March 16-22 in Clermont, Fla.

 

Braun, Gluck Compete in Diving Zone Regionals

As the swimming and diving team prepares for the NCAA Championships, two of its best members took the stage in the NCAA Diving Zone Regionals in Grand Rapids, Minn.

Sophomore Owen Gluck participated in the men’s one-meter diving event, placing ninth with a total score of 449.95. Junior Jackie Braun scored 390 points in the three-meter diving event, finishing fourteenth.

The NCAA Championships will be held in Shenandoah, Texas, on March 15-18. The Stevens Point qualifiers are still to be determined.

 

Trio of Pointer Wrestlers Earn NCAA Tourney Berths

 The wrestling team will have three representatives in the NCAA Championships in two weeks.

Donny Ralston competes in the 285 class. Photo courtesy of Kylie Bridenhagen.

Donny Ralston competes in the 285 class. Photo courtesy of Kylie Bridenhagen.

Senior Logan Hermsen, junior Dylan Diebitz and sophomore Donny Ralston all earned spots in the event with strong outings over the weekend.

Hermsen, 165 lbs., and Ralston, 285 lbs., won their respective weight classes in a relatively dominant fashion. Diebitz finished with a strong third-place outing in the 197-pound division.

The trio helped the Pointers finish seventh as a team over the weekend, with a total of 56 points.

The NCAA Championships will be held in La Crosse on March 10-11.

 

Chris Watkins

Sports Editor

cwatk917@uwsp.edu

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