Women's Basketball

November 18, 2001

CHICAGO, Ill - Amy Zelinger (Sr, Racine) was named the tournament most valuable player and Bonnie Thoe (So, Hayfield, Minn) was named to the all-tournament team as UW-Stout claimed the championship of the Midway Classic, Sunday, Nov. 18 by downing host University of Chicago, 62-57.

The Blue Devils (2-0) jumped out to a 35-31 halftime lead, and held off Chicago in the second half.

Lindsay Erichson (Fr, Spring Valley, Minn) led Stout with 11 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Zelinger scored nine points as did Tanya Halbach (Jr, Janesville) coming off the bench. Halbach claimed seven rebounds. Thoe, who was held to two points, pulled down six rebounds and had four steals. Stout held a comfortable lead on the boards, collecting 56 rebounds to Chicago's 43.

Chicago (1-1) was led by Katie Miller with 19 points and Laura Hebel with 17.

For the tournament, Zelinger finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Thoe collected 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Blue Devils will be at Northwestern College, Tuesday, Nov. 20 and will be at the Washington University Tournament, Nov. 24-25, in St. Louis, Mo. Stout will be at home, Tuesday, Nov. 27 when they host Northland College at 5:30 p.m.

November 17, 2001

CHICAGO, Ill - The UW-Stout women's basketball team opened their season with a win at the Midway Classic at the University of Chicago using a balanced scoring attack and a commanding presence on the boards in a 79-62 win over Nazareth College, Saturday, Nov. 17.

Stout had three players in double digit scoring and held a 53-38 bulge off the glass. Tanya Halbach (Jr, Janesville) had 12 points and Stacie Anderson (Sr, Clayton) and Bonnie Thoe (So, Hayfield, Minn) each scored 10 points.

The Blue Devils (1-0) held a six-point, 38-32 halftime lead, but went on a run about six minutes into the second half to take command.

Laura Verdegan (So, Tony) collected seven rebounds, while Amy Zelinger (Sr, Racine) had six.

Stout did have some first game jitters, turning the ball over 29 times, but the Blue Devils' transition game started to create turnovers and Nazareth also had 29 turnovers.

Nazareth was led by Erin Michaels, who had a game-high 19 points, but was the only Nazareth player in double figures.

Stout will face the University of Chicago in the championship game at 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 18. Chicago took care of Colorado College, 72-58.

Men's Basketball

November 17, 2001

MENOMONIE - Casey Chapman (So, Hartland) and Jeff Vandenberge (So, Coon Rapids, Minn) combined for 23 points in the first half and Andy Roeder (So, Mercer) scored nine of his 14 points in the second half as UW-Stout held off West Con Industries, 80-68, in an exhibition contest, Saturday, Nov. 17 at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Chapman scored 13 points in the first half and Vandenberghe chipped in 10 points as Stout pulled out to a 47-37 halftime lead. Roeder scored his points in bunches as he finished up with 14 points. Stout's second half lead ballooned to as much as 26 points before West Con chipped away to the final 12 point spread. Chapman finished the night with a team high 15 points and Vandenberghe finished with 12 points.

The Blue Devils forced 36 West Con turnovers, and Vandenberghe had four steals, with several players getting three steals.

West Con, a team made up of former players from the Dakota-10 Conference and is based in Fargo, N.D., was led by Lance Roysum with 21 points. Team captain Jody Schommer and Greg Voss, a last minute addition to the squad, each scored 14 points.

Stout will be at St. John's University, Tuesday, Nov. 20, Southwest State, Wednesday, Nov. 21 and will participate in the Huron, S.D., University Tournament, Nov. 23-24.

November 17, 2001

MENOMONIE - With the score tied at 72-72, the University of Mary's Doug Wick hit a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left and the trey would be enough to stand up and hand UW-Stout a 75-74 loss, Friday, Nov. 16 in the Blue Devils' opener.

After Wick hit his shot, the Blue Devils' Steve Krueger (Sr, Three Lakes) hit a curling basket underneath to move the score to 75-74 with 18 seconds left. Stout (0-1) fouled James Battle, but Battle missed the front end of the 1-and-1 and Nate Templer (So, Beaver Dam) cleared the ball.

Stout had an opportunity, working the ball around the wheel, but an off balanced shot by Jeff Vandenberghe (So, Coon Rapids, Minn) missed the mark at the buzzer.

The game was a nip-and-tuck affair with the biggest lead coming in the first half when Stout jumped out to an eight point lead a couple of times around the six minute mark. The Marauders (4-0) cut the deficit to as little as two points with second remaining until Templer scored three points to give Stout a 48-43 halftime lead.

Mary took their first lead of game with about 15 minutes left in the second half but Stout regained a seven point lead when Templer and Dave Loewe (Sr, Hiles) combined for seven points, four by Templer.

The Marauders took the lead with 4:27 left in the game, a 72-20 margin when the scoring stopped for more than three minutes. Krueger knotted the score with two free throws with 52 seconds remaining. Sixteen seconds later, Wick hit the game winner.

The Marauders' James Battle led all scorers with 25 points. He was supported by 14 points from Troy Blount and 10 points from George Mihov.

Templer led the Blue Devils with a collegiate career-high 21 points and collected seven rebounds. Krueger tossed in 15 points.

Men's Ice Hockey

November 17, 2001

ST. PAUL, Minn - Charlie O'Hearn (So, Traverse City, Mich) scored the game winning goal with 37 left in the second period to lift UW-Stout to a 2-1 win over Hamline, Saturday, Nov. 17 in St. Paul, Minn.

The Pipers (1-4) scored first and scored early, only two-minutes, 55-seconds into the contest when Brice Parks scored. Stout (4-4) came back with five minutes left in the period when Nate Legler (So, Lakeville, Minn) scored on an assist by Joe Berry (Sr, Apple Valley, Minn).

The second period was scoreless and the scored was tied at one apiece until O'Hearn took a pass from Mitch Kellin (So, Cohasset, Minn) and Tony Ross (So, Buffalo, Minn) for the eventual game winner.

The game was virtually penalty free with only five penalties between the two teams, but a five minute major late in the game almost cost the Blue Devils, but Ben Plester (Sr, Chemainus, BC) turned away all of the shots and finished the game with 27 saves. The Pipers' John Harstad had 22 saves.

Stout is off for the Thanksgiving week, but returns to action Friday, Nov. 30 when they travel to St. Norbert for a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) contest.

November 16, 2001

MENOMONIE - The goals were coming in about as fast as the drips of water were coming off the ceiling as UW-Stout got back on the winning track, taking an 8-6 decision over Bethel College, Friday, Nov. 16 at the Dunn County Ice Arena on an exceptionally warm November evening.

The teams combined for six goals in the first period with Bethel (2-4) opening up the scoring five minutes into the contest. Stout answered back with three consecutive goals as Nate Legler (So, Lakeville, Minn), Lewie Kellin (So, Cohasset, Minn), and Derek Nichols (So, Victoria, Minn) each scored.

Bethel's Brenton Balvin scored late in the period and Stout's Tony Ross (So, Buffalo, Minn) wrapped up the scoring in the stanza.

The Blue Devils (3-4) came out hot in the second period as Legler scored his second goal of the night only 18 seconds into the period, setting a school record for fastest goal scored in a second period, eclipsing the old mark of 19 seconds.

Bethel retaliated only 40 seconds later, then scored two more goals to knot the score at 5 apiece. Drew Nichols (Jr, Victoria, Minn) broke the deadlock, and Stout never trailed again.

Cale Finseth (So, Austin, Minn) scored twice in the third period for Stout's final goals and the Royals' sandwhiched one goal between Finseth's.

Stout outshot Bethel, 35-30, as Stout's Ben Plester (Sr, Chemainus, BC) turned away 24 shots. The Royals' Trapper Bursworth and Dale Sager combined for 27 saves. The win snapped a four-game skid for the Blue Devils.

Football

November 15, 2001

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout had 12 players named to the 2001 All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) football team. Three were named first team, seven second team and two honorable mention.

Fullback Eric Baker (Sr, Sarona/Spooner), linebacker Jamie Spielman (Jr, Menomonie) and cornerback Tony Beckham (Sr, Ocala, Fla/Forest) were first team picks.

Baker, a second team choice last year, bulled his way for 230 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Baker also hauled in 16 passes for 197 yards and a score.

"Eric is a devastating fullback," Head coach Ed Meierkort said. "He is a fullback with a tailback's burst and great hands. We will see how much we miss him next year. He easily could have been the MVP of our offense last year."

Spielman, who moves up to the first team after two years as a second team selection, was the Blue Devils' leading tackler, and ferocious one at that. Spielman finished the season with 25 solo tackles and 28 assists. Spielman missed three games early in the season with a broken leg. He recorded seven tackles for loss and three sacks.

Beckham repeats as a first team selection and may go down as one of the top cover defensive backs in Stout history. Beckham tended to draw the top receivers and in man-to-man coverage was rarely beaten, Meierkort said.

Beckham finished with 29 solo tackles and 14 assists. He had one interception for 35 yards and this year diversified his game. A speedy runner, Beckham excelled at kickoff returns where he led the league with 22.4 yards per return and returned one 89 yards for a score. Beckham was utilized as a wide receiver and hauled in seven passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns. In the first game of the season, Beckham caught two passes - both for touchdowns - and returned a kickoff for a score.

Named to the second team were cornerback Eric Moe (Jr, Hixton/Whitehall), linebacker Mark Ralph (Jr, Colfax), running back Luke Bundgaard (So, Weyerhauser/Bruce), tight end Brian Johnson (Sr, Hudson), defensive linemen Matt Mueller (So, Chaska, Minn) and Joe Kersten (So, Menasha) and offensive lineman Clint Greenebaum (So, Hartland/Arrowhead).

Moe, a repeat second team choice, led the league in interceptions, hauling in eight. Moe returned one interception for a touchdown and gathered 151 yards in returns. Moe has 15 career interceptions, matching the school record.

With Beckham putting a cover on receivers on the other side, opponent quarterbacks went after Moe and the junior responded by breaking up 16 passes in addition to his eight interceptions. Moe was also the team's place kicking holder and scored once out of formation.

Ralph, who played fullback last season, returned to the defensive side of the ball where he found a starting spot. Ralph collected 23 solo tackles and 28 assisted tackles. He was in on 9.5 tackles for losses of 19 yards and had one sack. Ralph had one interception, returning it 62 yards to seal a Stout win against UW-Platteville.

Bundgaard was again the Blue Devils' leading rusher, collecting 721 yards on 174 carries for a 4.1 per carry average. Bundgaard rushed for five touchdowns. Bundgaard is currently fourth on the Stout all-time rushing list with 2087 yards.

Johnson moved up to second team after being named honorable mention last season. Johnson was the team's leading receiver, grabbing 19 passes for 322 yards, for a 16.9 per reception average and two touchdowns.

Mueller and Kersten were critical in establishing Stout as the league's top defensive team against the rush. The Blue Devils allowed 94.1 yards per game on the ground.

Mueller had 20 solo tackles and 15 assisted tackles, getting 7.5 tackles for losses of 34 yards and three sacks.

Kersten finished up 23 solo tackles and 13 assisted tackles. He was in on 8.5 tackles for losses of 41 yards and three sacks. Kersten broke up three passes, recovered two fumbles and forced one.

Greenebaum bounced back after a training camp injury and played at both center and guard as Stout averaged 161.6 yards on the ground.

Defensive back Kevin Dewey (So, Burnsville, Minn) and offensive lineman Josh Towner (So, La Crosse/Onalaska) were honorable mention picks. Dewey had three interceptions and defensed seven passes. Towner played up and down the offensive line.

The Blue Devils finished the season at 6-3 overall, 4-3 in the WIAC, good for a tie for third.

Volleyball

November 15, 2001

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout's Laura Bogenschutz (So, Baxter) was named to the 2001 Verizon Academic All-District Volleyball College Division District V second team.

Bogenschutz, the Blue Devils' setter, is currently posting a 4.0 grade point average while majoring in Early Childhood Education.

Bogenschutz completed the season with 1305 assists - ranking fourth in the conference - and giving her 2711 assists in her two year career. The 5-foot, 9-inch setter could also perform at the net, knocking down 150 kills with a team high hitting percentage of .311. She finished with 27 service aces, 223 digs, 14 solo blocks and 19 block assists.

Stout finished the season at 24-9, their best overall record since 1994, and advanced to the semi-finals of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) tournament.

Updated: November 19, 2001