Women's Basketball

December 12, 2001

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout's Stacie Anderson (Sr, Clayton) has saved some of her best games for UW-Eau Claire and the latest installment in the series was another outstanding effort for the senior guard as she helped to lead the Blue Devils to an 87-79 win over the previously undefeated Blugolds, Wednesday, Dec. 12 at Johnson Fieldhouse. The win lifts Stout into first place, a half game ahead of idle UW-Oshkosh.

Anderson has been a thorn in Eau Claire's (8-1, 3-1) side since her freshman year when she hit a 12-foot jumper as time ran down to lift Stout to a win and a share of the conference title.

Wednesday night, Anderson scored a game-high 20 points and got Stout (8-2, 4-0) going with a 3-point shot with just under two minutes left in the game. Tanya Halbach (Jr, Janesville) answered Anderson with a 3-pointer of her own to give Stout an 80-74 cushion with 1-minute, 6-seconds remaining.

Following two free throws by Eau Claire's Sarah Hughes, Anderson went to work again, nailing 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch and getting a timely steal. In the final two minutes, Anderson tallied eight points.

Initially, it looked like Stout was going to blow Eau Claire right out of the gym, jumping out to a 20-6 lead with only six minutes off the clock. But Eau Claire roared back to build up a 57-45 lead at 14:38 in the second half. Stout regained the lead - albeit only a one point lead - midway through the half and the score was tied six times until Anderson hit her timely trey.

Defensively, the Blue Devils were scurrying all night, forcing 32 Eau Claire turnovers and collecting 19 steals. Amy Zelinger (Sr, Racine) had seven steals. Zelinger popped in 10 points before fouling out.

Freshman Lindsey Erichsen (Spring Valley, Minn), the Blue Devils' leading scorer, added 16 points and Laura Verdegan (So, Tony) tossed in 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

Kristi Channing, second in the conference in scoring, led Eau Claire with 18 points. Emilee Planert contributed 13, Lindsey Williams 12 and Katie Murphy and Janel Soppeland, 10 apiece.

Stout will be off until Dec. 28-29 when they host the Snowflake Jamboree. Stout will play Tri-State University at 8:30 p.m., Dec. 28. Colorado College and the University of Dubuque will meet at 6:30 p.m.

Men's Basketball

December 15, 2001

MENOMONIE - Steve Krueger (Sr, Three Lakes) racked up his fifth double-double of the season as the 6-foot, 9-inch post player led UW-Stout to a 71-53 non-conference win over Viterbo University, Saturday, Dec. 15 at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Krueger finished the night with 21 points and 14 rebounds as he hit 8-for-10 from the floor, nailed his first 3-pointer of his Stout career and was 4-for-4 from the line.

It took the Blue Devils (7-4) a long time to put the V-Hawks (3-9) away, as the visitors stayed within seven points for most of the game. Stout started to widen the gap with about four minutes left to play when they took a 10-point lead and were never seriously threatened.

Nate Templer (So, Beaver Dam) added 11 points for Stout. Dave Larson (Sr, La Crescent, Minn) had seven rebounds and two steals to go with his eight points.

Viterbo got 16 points from Mike Brudos and 14 points from Mike Glass.

Neither team missed a free throw in the game. Viterbo was 13-for-13 from the line, while Stout was 9-for-9 from the stripe. Collectively, both teams were 22-for-22 and the mark would have broken an NCAA Division III mark, but the NCAA will not recognize it because Viterbo is an NAIA affiliated school.

The NCAA record was set Dec. 29, 1977, when Baldwin-Wallace made 13-for-13, while Muskingum was 8-for-9 for 95.5 percent.

The marks also set new standards in the Stout record book. Stout eclipsed their previous best in free throw percentage, taking out a 3-for-3 game against UW-Stevens Point, Feb. 1, 1986. The opponent mark is even older. In an NAIA national playoff game on March 12, 1969, Maryland State was 19-for-21 from the line (90.4 percent).

Stout will be idle until Wednesday, Jan. 2 when they resume conference play by traveling to UW-River Falls.

December 12, 2001

EAU CLAIRE - The curse is over. The monkey is off the back. UW-Stout, after losing nine consecutive road Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) regular season games, got a road win. The Blue Devils did it in style, knocking off arch-rival UW-Eau Claire, a team Stout had lost five straight to, 80-74, Wednesday, Dec. 12 at Zorn Arena.

Steve Krueger (Sr, Three Lakes) led four Blue Devils in double digits, knocking down 25 points against the league's second ranked defensive team. Krueger picked up his second double-double of the season, yanking down 12 rebounds, nearly half of Stout's 26 rebounds.

Stout (6-4. 3-1) got 13 points from both Dave Larson (Sr, La Crescent, Minn) and Nate Templer (So, Beaver Dam). Jeff Vandenberghe (So, Coon Rapids, Minn) chipped in 10 points.

Stout trailed for the first 17 minutes of the game, then trailed only twice after Tyrone Rhone's (Jr, Milwaukee) bucket put Stout up by one point.

Eau Claire (5-4, 1-3) also had four players in double figures. Dan Archambault scored 20 points, Jason Larson 14 points, Andy Witte 11 points to go along with his 10 rebounds, and Will Jefferson 10 points.

Stout's full court defense forced 21 Blugold turnovers, and Stout took care of the ball, turning the ball over eight times.

Men's Ice Hockey

December 15, 2001

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead, but Augsburg College came back to forge a tie in a non-conference hockey contest, Saturday, Dec. 15 at the Dunn County Ice Arena.

Stout scored first when Nate Legler (So, Lakeville, Minn) hit paydirt midway through the first period, taking assists from Aaron Decker (Sr, Mound, Minn) and Joe Berry (Sr, Apple Valley, Minn).

The Auggies got the tying goal only a minute into the third period on a goal by Nick Murray.

The Blue Devils attacked the Augsburg net hard in the overtime period, getting off two shots on goal, but couldn't get past Auggies goalie Peter Samargia. Samargia stopped 31 shots on the night. Stout goalies Ben Plester (Sr, Chemanius, BC) and Jeff Dotson (So, Chanhassen, Minn) teamed for 25 saves. Plester stopped eight shots and Dotson 17. Both allowed a goal.

The tie snapped a four game losing skid for the Blue Devils and was the fourth overtime game of the season for Stout.

Stout will be idle until Friday, Jan. 4 when they travel to Gustavus Adolphus. Stout returns home Saturday, Jan. 5 to host St. Olaf at 7:30 p.m.

Women's Gymnastics

December 14, 2001

RIVER FALLS - UW-Stout's Tasha Pasch (Jr, Northfield, Minn) placed second on the floor exercise and third on the uneven bars as the Blue Devils placed fourth at a quadrangular gymnastics meet at UW-River Falls, Friday, Dec. 14.

Pasch recorded a 9.225 in taking second on the floor and an 8.60 for her third place finish on the uneven bars. Pasch was fifth in the all-around competition with a 34.175.

Lacey Schroedl (Fr, Minneapolis, Minn) was fourth on the vault with an 8.90. Scarlett Ramey (Sr, Seattle, Wash), who is competing in the all-around this season for the first time, added nearly two points in the event from her last time out, scoring a 29.35.

The Blue Devils are off until Jan. 11 when they compete at Hamline University.

Uneven bars: 1. Melissa Stanton (Hamline) 8.85; 3. Tasha Pasch 8.60; 12. Lacey Schroedl 7.80; 17. Erika Opoien 7.60; 22. Mandi Neuman 7.05; 23. Scarlett Ramey 6.70.

Balance beam: 1. Kim Furan (RF) 8.80; 9. Tasha Pasch 8.35; 12. Erika Opoien, Mandi Neuman 8.05; 17. Lacey Schroedl 7.95; 23. Scarlett Ramey 7.30; 24. Jill Birschbach 7.25.

Floor exercise: 1. April Hubman (WW) 9.325; 2. Tasha Pasch 9.225; 7. Lacey Schroedl 8.80; 15. Erika Opoien 8.575; 21. Mandi Neuman 8.30; 23. Scarlett Ramey 7.55.

All-around: 1. Melissa Stanton (Hamline) 35.00; 5. Tasha Pasch 34.175; 8. Lacey Schroedl 33.45; 12. Erika Opoien 31.975; 13. Mandi Neuman 31.30; 14. Scarlett Ramey 29.35.

Football

December 15, 2001

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout's all-time leading thief has been named All-America.

Defensive back Eric Moe (Jr, Hixton/Whitehall HS), who is tied with Jack Voigt (1972-75) for the school career record for interceptions, was named to the d3football.com All-America second team.

Moe has 15 interceptions in his career and had a conference leading eight thefts this season. Moe averaged 18.9 yards per interception return and returned one 88 yards for a score in the season opener. Moe had an interception in all but one game.

Moe, a second team all-conference selection, led the team in passes defensed, breaking up 16. Moe was the team's second leading tackler with 34 solo tackles and 12 assisted tackles. As the team's holder on field goals, Moe scored from two-yards out an a field goal fake to give Stout the eventual game-winner against UW-Whitewater. He also forced one fumble.

Moe joins fellow defensive back Tony Beckham (Sr, Ocala, Fla) and fullback Eric Baker (Sr, Sarona) as 2001 All-Americans. Beckham is a first team American Football Coaches' Association first team pick and a Don Hanson Football Gazette third team choice. Baker was a Hewlett-Packard third team selection.

December 12, 2001

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout fullback Eric Baker (Sr, Sarona/Spooner) was a third team selection to the 2001 Hewlett-Packard Division III All-America team.

Baker was a first team all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) selection and collected 230 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns. Baker also hauled in 16 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown. Baker had Stout's only receiving two-point conversion and finished the season with 20 points.

"Eric was a devastating fullback," Blue Devil 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."

For his career, Baker finished his three year career at Stout (he transferred from UW-La Crosse before the 1999 season) with 120 rushes for 582 yards, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. He scored two rushing touchdowns and four receiving touchdowns. The 6-foot, 2-inch, 220-lb back was a good target for quarterbacks, and Baker hauled in 30 passes for 278 yards, averaging 9.3 yards per reception. Baker tallied 38 total career points.

Baker was a second team all-conference player in 2000 and was an all-west region selection.

UW-Stout completed the 2001 season with a 6-3 overall record, 4-3 in the WIAC, good for a tie for third place.

Men's Cross Country

December 17, 2001

MENOMONIE - Dave Huber (Jr, Mendota Heights, Minn) was named the most valuable runner by the UW-Stout men's cross country team, Blue Devil coach Keith Ellingson announced recently.

Huber was the team's No. 1 runner all season, placing 15th at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championships and just missing a berth to the NCAA Division III championships. Huber clocked his best time at the conference meet with a finish of 25-minutes, 25.4-seconds.

Huber and Tim King (Jr, Waukesha), the team's most improved runner, were named 2002 team captains. King shaved time off throughout most of the season, then set a career-best at the NCAA regionals when he placed 124th in a time of 27:58.

Justin Graham (Fr, Apple Valley, Minn) was given the outstanding freshman award and was the team's No. 2 runner, clocking a best 26:20 at the NCAA regionals, good for 64th.

2001 team captain Ethan Webinger (Sr, La Crescent, Minn) earned the Lou Klitzke Award. The award honors outstanding leadership, both on the course and within the program.

Stout placed seventh at the WIAC meet and 13th at the NCAA regionals.

Updated: December 17, 2001