WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The Blue Devils (5-1, 1-1 WIAC) take on their second top 10 team in as many games as they host UW-Stevens Point (6-0, 1-0), Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. Stevens Point was ranked fifth in the latest D3hoops.com poll. The Pointers have not won at Johnson Fieldhouse since a 66-62 decision, Dec. 9, 1989. Stout defeated the Pointers in overtime last year in Menomonie, 88-85, but lost at Stevens Point, 82-76. The game will be broadcast on WMEQ-880 AM radio, as well as broadcast over the internet at: www.wmeq.com Stout will then take on non-conference competition until January. Stout will be at NCAA Division II St. Cloud State, Saturday, Dec. 13 and then will travel to New Ulm, Minn., to do battle with Martin Luther College (2-4), Monday, Dec. 15. There is no record that Stout and St. Cloud have ever met. Stout defeated Martin Luther, 83-64, last season in the team's only meeting. The Knights' head coach, Gene Pfeifer, is a former principal at St. Paul's Elementary School in Menomonie. Last week: The Blue Devils split two conference games last week, wiping out UW-Superior, 94-58, Dec. 2, but falling in overtime to UW-Eau Claire, 70-69, Dec. 6. Player of the week: Erin Churchill, Jr, Plum City, Wis.

MEN'S BASKETBALL
The Blue Devils (6-2, 1-1 WIAC) will host No. 2 nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point, Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. The Pointers (6-0, 1-0) have won or shared the last four conference titles, but were picked second in a preseason poll. The Pointers won both contests last year, 69-64, and 80-59. The game will be broadcast on WMEQ-880 AM radio, as well as broadcast over the internet at www.wmeq.com Stout will be at Elmhurst College (3-1), Saturday, Dec. 13. The two teams have never met. Last week: Stout split two conference games last week, dropping UW-Superior, 70-60, Dec. 3, then losing to UW-Eau Claire, 62-58, in overtime, Dec. 6. Player of the week: Andy Bray, Sr, Menominee, Mich.

HOCKEY
The Blue Devils (10-3-0, 1-1-0 NCHA, 1-1-0 WIAC) will wrap up first semester play with a home-and-home series with UW-River Falls. The Blue Devils will host the Falcons, Friday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m., then will travel to River Falls, Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. The Falcons were ranked fifth in last week's USCHO.com Division III poll, while Stout was receiving votes and was ranked 17th. The Falcons (9-1-1, 1-1-0. 1-1-0) took both contests last year, winning 8-0, and 6-2. Last week: The Blue Devils split two conference home games last weekend, falling, 2-1, to UW-Eau Claire, Dec. 5, but downing UW-Stevens Point, 3-2, Dec. 6. Player of the week: Jeff Dotson, Sr, Chanhassen, Minn. (Chaska)

Women's Basketball

December 6, 2003

EAU CLAIRE - UW-Eau Claire's Becca Spaeth hit a free throw with 5.6 seconds remaining in overtime to hand UW-Stout their first loss of the season, 70-69, at Zorn Arena in Eau Claire.

Laura Verdegan (Sr, Tony) was called for a foul as she attempted to block Spaeth's charge to the basket. Spaeth missed the first charity shot, but drained the second.

Following a timeout, Stout (5-1, 1-1) could not get off a good shot as the buzzer sounded.

Stout shot out to a 12-point lead in the first half, but the Blugolds (6-1, 1-1) turned the lead around to as much as a 9-point lead with six minutes left as Joanna Leafblad came off the bench to hit four 3-pointers. Stout hacked away, coming back with an 11-3 run and Lindsey Erichsen (Jr, Spring Valley, Minn) hit a bucket with 10 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

Spaeth led all scorers with 26 points. Rachel Becker added 15 and Leafblad 12, all on 3-pointers. Brooke Wozniak-Schmidt pulled down 21 rebounds.

Stout was led by Erin Churchill (Jr, Plum City) with 19 points. Erichsen popped in 15 points and yanked down 11 caroms. Sara Kahl (Sr, Menomonie) was held to a season-low 10 points before fouling out.

Stout will host UW-Stevens Point, Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m., then will be at St. Cloud State, Saturday, Dec. 13.

December 2, 2003

MENOMONIE - UW-Superior scratched and clawed in the first half, but it was UW-Stout that had the biggest roar in the second half as the Blue Devils ran off to a 94-58 win over the Yellowjackets, Tuesday, Dec. 2 in the WIAC opener.

After falling way behind initially, the Yellowjackets (3-2, 0-1) stayed with the Blue Devils (5-0, 1-0) throughout the first half as Stout led only 43-32 at halftime.

But Stout came out of the locker room a different team, going on a 24-0 run over the first seven minutes of the second half and the game was virtually over. Lindsey Erichsen (Jr, Spring Valley, Minn) had four points in the first three minutes of the half to kick start the run.

Stout had five players in double figures. Sara Kahl (Sr, Menomonie) led all scorers with 18 points. Molly Hendricks (So, Blaine, Minn) finished with 14 points. Erichsen had 12 points as did Laura Verdegan (Sr, Tony), who also had 11 rebounds. Savanah Oeltjen (Fr, Spring Valley, Minn) popped in 10 points.

Superior got 12 points from Stephanie Janigo, 11 from Molly Ray and 10 from Shannon Johannes.

Stout held a huge advantage off the boards, pulling down 59 rebounds to 38 for Superior.

Men's Basketball

December 6, 2003

EAU CLAIRE - UW-Eau Claire outscored UW-Stout, 10-6, in the overtime period to take a 62-58 win, Saturday, Dec. 6 at Zorn Arena.

The Blugolds (4-3, 2-0) hit a 2-point field and a 3-pointer, along with 5-of-7 free throws to take the win. Stout (6-2, 1-1) got a single shot from the floor and four free throws in the extra period.

The game proved to be a game of runs. Eau Claire finished the first half on a 9-5 run to take a 30-25 lead into halftime, then used a 10-3 run midway through the second half to take an eight-point, 44-38, lead with 8:37 left.

The Blue Devils captured a 46-44 lead with 4:31 left after going on a 10-0 run, keyed by two baskets by Greg Chaisson (So, Minneapolis, Minn).

Andy Bray (Sr, Menominee, Mich) gave Stout the lead in overtime with two free throws, but Eau Claire's Dan Archambault hit a 3-pointer to put the home team ahead. Jeff Vandenberghe (Sr, Coon Rapids, Minn) gave Stout their final lead with two free throws, his only points of the game, before fouling out.

The Blugolds' Casey Drake hit a runner and a free throw to give Eau Claire a 59-56 lead, and Eau Claire never trailed.

Bray added 17 points for Stout - four in the extra period - and Chaisson finished with 12 points.

Eau Claire's Drake led all scorers with 23 points. Archambault added 11 points and Tyler Birkel chipped in 10 points.

Stout will host UW-Stevens Point, Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. and will travel to Elmhurst College, Saturday, Dec. 13.

December 3, 2003

MENOMONIE - Andy Bray (Sr, Menominee, Mich) and Jeff Vandenberghe (Sr, Coon Rapids, Minn) led UW-Stout on a second half charge as the Blue Devils downed UW-Superior, 70-60, Wednesday, Dec. 3 at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Bray scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, while Vandenberghe scored 13 points of his 19 points in the last stanza.

Stout (6-1, 1-0) held the slimmest of leads, 35-34, coming out of the locker room, and built the lead to five points before Superior (2-3, 0-1) took the lead, 50-49, with 7-minutes, 53-seconds remaining.

Bray gave Stout a one point lead seconds later on two free throws and Vandenberghe canned a 3-pointer, his only of the half, and Stout never trailed again.

The Blue Devils' Nate Templer (Sr, Beaver Dam) scored only three points, but he finished with a game-high 10 rebounds and had four blocked shots. Bray had three blocked shots and yanked down nine rebounds as Stout outrebounded the Yellowjackets, 45-38. Stout got 11 points from guard Blake Craft (Fr, Chicago, Ill).

Neither team shot well, with Superior finishing by hitting 37 percent of their shots from the floor, while Stout hit 35 percent. Stout enjoyed a big edge at the free throw line, knocking down 24-of-32 charity shots to 12-of-21 for Superior.

Men's Ice Hockey

December 6, 2003

MENOMONIE - After getting severely outshot in the first period, UW-Stout turned the tables and went on to a 3-2 win over UW-Stevens Point, Saturday, Dec. 6 at the Dunn County Ice Arena.

The Pointers pounded Stout goalie Jeff Dotson (Sr, Chanhassen, Minn) with 21 shots in the first period, getting only one shot past him when Dan Francis opened the scoring with a power play goal midway through the period. The Blue Devils only put six shots on goal in the first stanza.

But Stout (10-3-0, 1-1-0 NCHA) came out firing in the second period, outshooting the Pointers (7-4-1, 1-1-0), 16-12, and took a 2-1 lead.

Andy Wiesner (Fr, Rochester, Minn) took advantage of the power play to tie the game only four minutes into the second period, getting an assist from Bryan Cummings (Sr, Austin, Minn).

The Pointers put some drama into the last minute of the game. After Stout was called for a penalty in the final minute, the Pointers pulled their goalie and went 6-on-4, scoring with 46 seconds remaining when Adam Kostichka poked the puck in.

Dotson finished with 40 saves, while the Pointers' Ted Eastman recorded 31 saves.

Stout plays a home and home series with UW-River Falls next weekend, hosting the Falcons, Friday, Dec. 12, and traveling to River Falls, Saturday, Dec. 13.

December 5, 2003

MENOMONIE - It has been quite a while since UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire have played a hockey game with any sort of ramifications, but this conference opening match-up had all the feeling of a classic as the Blugolds edged the Blue Devils, 2-1, in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) opener, Friday, Dec. 5 at the Dunn County Ice Arena.

Both teams came into the contest as the two most improved teams in the league. Stout (9-3-0, 0-1-0 NCHA) had long ago exceeded last year's wins total and Eau Claire (10-1-0, 1-0-0) doubled last year's wins after winning their second game of the season.

The game was a traditional hard-hitting affair between the two bitter rivals, with Eau Claire collecting 11 penalties to Stout's 10. All three goals were power play goals. Both goalies made outstanding saves throughout the game. The Blugolds' Steffan Braunlich had 43 saves, while Jeff Dotson (Sr, Chanhassen, Minn) had 20.

Eau Claire opened the scoring eight minutes into the game on a shot by Dave Coleman. Stout tied the score in the second when Bryan Cummings (Sr, Austin, Minn) scored with 13 minutes remaining in the period, getting assists from Joe Schneider (Fr, Cottage Grove, Minn) and Justin Huth (So, Shakopee, Minn).

While on the power play with less than a minute left to play, it looked like Stout got the tying goal, but apparent goal was waved off after being ruled the puck was kicked in.

December 2, 2003

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout goalkeeper Jeff Dotson (Sr, Chanhassen, Minn/Chaska) recorded two wins last week, including a shutout and a win over a nationally ranked team, and was named both the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) player of the week.

Dotson started two of three games last week, recording both wins, including a 4-0 home shutout over MSOE, Sunday, Nov. 30 and a 4-3 win over No. 8 nationally ranked St. John's, (No. 2 in the West Region) Tuesday, Nov. 25 in St. Cloud, Minn.

Dotson recorded 20 saves against MSOE, 28 against St. Johns (48 total) and had a .941 saves percentage. Dotson's shutout against MSOE was his second of the season and the second of his career. Dotson allowed three goals, with one of those goals coming late in the St. John's game on a penalty shot.

December 7, 2003

MENOMONIE - Five UW-Stout players were named to the 2003 Football Gazette NCAA Division III All-West Region Football Team.

Offensive lineman Ben Knepper (Sr, Rice Lake), running back Luke Bundgaard (Sr, Weyerhaeuser/Bruce) and defensive back Kevin Dewey (Sr, Burnsville, Minn) were named to the first team. Defensive lineman Joe Kersten (Sr, Menasha/Fox Valley Lutheran) was named to the second team, while offensive lineman Josh Towner (Sr, La Crosse/Onalaska) was a third team pick.

Knepper, a preseason All-America, is a two-time unanimous all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) selection at tackle. The Blue Devils elected to run more than 65 percent of their plays to Knepper's right side of the field this year. Stout racked up an average of 440 yards this season, 236 yards per game rushing.

Knepper was chosen to play in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) sponsored Aztec Bowl all-star game. Knepper graded out the highest of all Stout linemen weekly and received the Hog of the Week award, the team's offensive lineman of the week award, three times, and once was the team's offensive player of the week.

Bundgaard is the team's and conference's all-time leading rusher. Bundgaard this year gained 1461 yards, a new school record, and established the career school and conference rushing record at 4427 rushing yards. Bundgaard six times ran for more than 100 yards, twice for 200-plus yards, and ran for 328 yards on 53 carries in the final game of the season. Bundgaard carried the ball at least 20 times in seven of 10 games.

Bundgaard, who was also picked to play in the Aztec Bowl, finished his career with 240 total points and scored 12 rushing touchdowns this season to lead the team in scoring.

Dewey started at safety as a true freshman, and did not miss a game in his four-year career. A 2003 first team all-conference pick, Dewey led the team in tackles this season, tallying 76 total tackles and 50 solo. He had five tackles for losses, four sacks, five pass break-ups, one fumble recovery and forced two fumbles. Dewey wrapped up his career with 11 interceptions.

Kersten was a jarring tackler who led the team in tackles for loss with 14 for 52 yards. Of those 14 tackles, seven were sacks for 43 yards, a team-high. Kersten finished the year with 47 tackles, 24 solo. Kersten had perhaps his finest game when he chased down UW-River Falls' elusive runners from side to side to rack up 13 tackles. Kersten, a first team all-WIAC choice was fifth in the WIAC in tackles for loss and third in sacks.

Despite a broken wrist midway through the season, Towner did not miss a start at center and was named second team all-WIAC. Towner, the teams' center, did not give up a sack all season, and was the teams' Hog of the Week three times and three times received the Hammer Award for the big hit of the week.

The Blue Devils finished the season at 6-4 overall, 4-3 in the WIAC.

A total of 99 players were placed on the West Region team. The All-West Region first and second team selections will now be placed on a national ballot used to choose the 2003 Football Gazette All-America Team.

All of the All-Region teams can be viewed at: www.capitalcrusaders.net/footballgazette

December 3, 2003

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout running back Luke Bundgaard (Sr, Weyerhaeuser/Bruce) will join teammate Ben Knepper (Sr, Rice Lake) as a member of the American Football Coaches Association's (AFCA) Division III all-star team that will represent the United States against the Mexican National Team in the 2003 Aztec Bowl on Dec. 13 in Cancun, Mexico.

On the season, Bundgaard carried the ball 294 times for 1461 yards, both single season records, and was second in the league in rushing. He scored 12 touchdowns for 72 points. Against UW-Platteville, Bundgaard carried the ball 53 times for 328 yards, only seven yards short of his own single game school record.

Bundgaard, who was named first team for the third time, also broke into the WIAC record book, snapping the all-games career rushing record by tallying 4427 total yards. Bundgaard finished his career with a school record 240 total points. Bundgaard holds school rushing records for career carries (922), career yards (4427), single season carries (294), yards (1461), single game carries (53) and single game yards (335).

The Aztec Bowl is the traditional season-ending game for Mexico’s college football season. The game has been played 29 times since 1947 with the last six contests featuring the United States-Mexico match-up. In their first six meetings, the United States defeated Mexico, 15-9 in 2002 in Torreon, 37-5 in 2001 in Saltillo, 27-26 in 2000 in Merida, 44-13 in 1999 in Mexico City, 40-13 in 1998 in Monterrey, and 42-41 in 1997 in Toluca.

Updated: December 8, 2003