WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The Blue Devils (7-5, 2-2) will jump back into conference action this week, and it won't be an easy leap. The Blue Devils will host an undefeated UW-La Crosse team (13-0, 4-0), Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 5 p.m., who are the talk of the league so far. The Eagles are ranked 19th in the latest D3hoops.com poll and are certain to jump further. Stout has won the last 20 meetings with the Eagles. The last time La Crosse beat Stout was Jan. 27, 1996, an 86-67 decision at La Crosse. Stout will be at UW-Stevens Point (9-4, 2-2), Saturday, Jan. 3 at 3 p.m. Stout is receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com poll. The La Crosse game will be internet broadcast by Blue Devil Radio (http://www.uwstout.edu/athletics/radio/bdradio.htm), while the Stevens Point game will be available at www.wmeq.com Last week: After knocking off a Top 10 team in the first round, Stout dropped the last two games at the Surf 'n Slam in San Diego, Calif., last week, knocking off previously undefeated and ninth ranked Messiah College, 62-55, Dec. 28, then fell to host Point Loma Nazarene, 77-65, Dec. 29. Stout closed out the tournament with a 69-58 loss to St. Norbert, Dec. 30. Player of the week: Kelsey Duoss, Jr, Janesville, Wis. (Clinton)

MEN'S BASKETBALL
The Blue Devils (11-1, 4-0) are off to their best start since the 1986-87 season when the Dwain Mintz-led Blue Devils started off at 12-0. Stout will be put to the test this week when they resume conference play by hosting upstart UW-La Crosse (10-2, 2-2), Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. and then travel to defending national champion UW-Stevens Point (7-4, 2-2), Saturday, Jan. 7 at 5 p.m. The Blue Devils are currently ranked 11th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, and the Pointers are receiving votes. The La Crosse game will be internet broadcast by Blue Devil Radio (http://www.uwstout.edu/athletics/radio/bdradio.htm), while the Stevens Point game will be available at www.wmeq.com La Crosse has a game Tuesday, Jan. 3 at Northland College. Last week: The Blue Devils won their own tournament, defeating St. Scholastica, 85-63, in the first round game, then downing 13th ranked and previously unbeaten Augustana College, 70-66, in the championship game, Dec. 29. Player of the week: Ryan Stangl, So, Spring Valley, Wis.

HOCKEY
The Blue Devils (8-6-0, 4-2-0 NCHA, 3-0-0 WIAC) have relished a Christmas break they have never experienced before - sitting in first place. After six NCHA games, Stout is in a tie for first place with conference favorite, St. Norbert. Stout is the only NCHA team to have four conference wins. Stout is also in first place in the WIAC. Stout is off until Tuesday, Jan. 10 when they travel to Concordia-Moorhead. Last week: The Blue Devils have been idle since mid-December.

GYMNASTICS
The Blue Devils will get their season underway Friday, Jan. 6 when they host UW-Eau Claire at 7 p.m. First-year coach Becky Beaulieu will have a relatively young squad to work with this season, with only two seniors - Rhian Paulson and Shanna Kissinger. Ashley Timm, who along with Paulson qualified to the national meet last season, returns after nursing a back injury during much of the first semester.

Women's Basketball

BLUE DEVILS HAVE TROUBLE CONNECTING, FALL TO ST. NORBERT

SAN DIEGO, Calif (December 30, 2005) - UW-Stout's shooting woes continued as the Blue Devils could connect on only 30 percent of their shots from the field in a 69-58 loss to St. Norbert College Friday at the Surf 'n Slam.

Stout shot 31 percent in the first half from the floor and all seven of their first half 3-point attempts failed to tickle the net. It only got worse in the second - even though Stout did hit 3-of-12 3-pointers - as the Blue Devils connected on only 11-of-37 second half shots. The Blue Devils (7-5) did not help themselves at the free throw line, draining only 11-of-25 attempts.

And to compound the problems, Stout's leading scorer in every game this year, Kelsey Duoss (Jr, Janesville), was held to a season-low 11 points and fouled out for the first time all season.

Stout had trouble with St. Norbert (5-4) from the get-go and trailed by as much as 14 points seven minutes into the game. The Knights built up as much as a 17 point first half lead before Stout cut the margin to six points, 36-30 at halftime. It was just more of the same in the second half for the Blue Devils.

St. Norbert's Bianca White led all scorers with 20 points, getting eight at the free throw line. She also had 13 rebounds. Kelly Dugan came off the bench to score 11 points. Meggan Hau pulled down 11 rebounds.

St. Norbert didn't do a lot better than Stout from the floor (19-of-46, 41 percent), but lived at the free throw line, canning 27-of-37 freebies.

Stout's Duoss did have 10 rebounds to go with her 11 points. Courtney Oelkers (So, Arcadia) matched Duoss with 11 points, but also fouled out. Oelkers recorded eight rebounds and recorded the most minutes for Stout in a starting role.

Stout returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 4 when they host undefeated UW-La Crosse at 7 p.m.

SAN DIEGO, Calif (December 29, 2005) - UW-Stout committed 26 turnovers and could not regain the lead they held for the first few minutes of the game as they fell, 77-65, to host Point Loma Nazarene during the second day of the Surf 'n Slam Thursday at Point Loma.

Stout (7-4) jumped out to a quick five to six point lead and held that over the first seven minutes. But poor shooting and turnovers would turn the tide for the Blue Devils who would commit 26 turnovers and finish the game shooting at 37 percent.

Point Loma (6-3) took the lead on a 3-pointer by Angela Manjarrez with 12 minutes left in the first half and never trailed, although Stout did tie the game a number of times over the next several minutes. Point Loma took the lead for good on a 9-2 run and carried a 39-32 lead into the locker room. Stout did not get closer than three points the rest of the way.

Kelsey Duoss (Jr, Janesville) led Stout with 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Steffanie Nemitz (Sr, Bloomington) tossed in 10 points for Stout's only other double-digit scorer.

Stout connected on 26-of-70 shots from the floor, and 2-of-15 from 3-point range. The Sea Lions hit 26-of-60 (42 percent) from the floor and 4-of-13 from beyond the arc. They also feasted at the line, nailing 23-of-33 charity shots.

Point Loma got 22 points from Mica DeHoog, 15 points from Kerra Wodarski and 12 points each from Manjarrez and Jaclyn Wesolowski.

SAN DIEGO, Calif (December 28, 2005) - Behind 24 points and 16 rebounds by post player Kelsey Duoss (Jr, Janesville), UW-Stout handed undefeated and nationally ranked Messiah (Pa) College their first loss of the season, a 62-55 decision in the first day of the Surf 'n Slam Wednesday.

Messiah (7-1) was ranked ninth in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll and carried a lead through much of the first half. A jump shot by Savanah Oeltjen (Jr, Spring Valley, Minn) with six minutes left in the first half gave Stout a 19-18 lead, and the Blue Devils (7-3) would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way.

But the Falcons did make it quite interesting. Stout held a 27-25 halftime lead, and built that up to an 11 point lead midway through the second half. Messiah cut the lead to one point, 56-55, with 90 seconds remaining before back-to-back jumpers by Duoss and Dani Boese (Fr, Alma) gave the Blue Devils a five point, 61-55 lead. Stout forced two Messiah turnovers and Lindsey Geissler (So, Thorp) made good on her two free throw attempts with 24 seconds left to complete the scoring.

There would be no miracle finish for Messiah as they missed three shots in the final 20 seconds, with Duoss blocking two, her only blocked shots on the night.

Duoss was 11-of-15 from the floor and made two free throws. She cleared four offensive rebounds and 12 defensive rebounds. Geissler finished with 10 points and Joanna Bird (So, Boyceville) added nine.

Messiah got 18 points and 11 rebounds from Eli Cook. Sarah Ringer also scored 18 points.

Men's Basketball

BLUE DEVILS OVERCOME 3-POINT BARRAGE, DOWN AUGUSTANA

MENOMONIE (December 29, 2005) - Augustana College dropped in 10 3-point shots in the second half, but UW-Stout was able to hold off the undefeated Vikings and the Blue Devils went on to a thrilling 70-66 win Thursday in the championship game of the UW-Stout/Wendy's Holiday Tournament at Johnson Fieldhouse.

The game proved to be a battle of runs and Stout (11-1) went on the biggest one to close out the first half on a 19-2 run for a 37-27 halftime lead. Augustana (10-1) answered back to open the second half on a 9-0 run to pull to within one, 37-36.

Stout, ranked 11th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, answered big with a 13-0 run as Jacob Nonemacher (Jr, Kalispell, Mont) scored nine of his career-high 24 points during the run.

But 13th ranked Augustana would answer back, and they did it with a barrage of 3-pointers - five, by five different players, to be exact in a 17-3 run to tie the game at 53 all with 9:19 left. Stout's Ryan Stangl (So, Spring Valley) put an end to the run with a 3-pointer of his own and the game settled down to fluctuate within just a few points from there-on out.

The Vikings took the lead only once after that, on another 3-point assault, with a trey by the game's high scorer, Rick Harrigan, and another Drew Wessels at 7:46 to give the Vikings a 59-58 lead.

Stout's Nonemacher gave the Blue Devils the lead, 60-59, for good 30 seconds later with a jumper. Stout then worked the free throw line, getting eight of their final 10 points from the line. Nate Severson (Jr, Eau Claire) chalked up five free throws, while Nonemacher accounted for three. Stout drained 22-of-30 free throws on the night, while Augustana was 10-of-15 from the line.

Augustana got five points from Jay McAdams-Thornton and two from Harrigan down the stretch. Harrigan would lead all scorers with 25 points. McAdams-Thornton finished with 19 points.

The Blue Devils, which held a 35-27 rebounding lead, got 12 points from Severson - who was 7-of-9 from the line - and 10 points each from Stangl and Adam Chandler (So, Burnsville, Minn).

Marian College trailed by as much as 24 points late in the first half, but put on a furious comeback, only to fall, 90-81, to St. Scholastica in the consolation game of the tournament.

Stout will return to conference action Wednesday, Jan. 4 when they host UW-La Crosse at 7 p.m.

MENOMONIE (December 28, 2005) - Ryan Stangl (So, Spring Valley) scored a career-high 24 points as UW-Stout handily defeated St. Scholastica, 85-63, in the second game of the Wendy's Holiday Tournament, Wednesday at Johnson Fieldhouse.

With the win, Stout, which is ranked 11th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, will face 13th ranked Augustana College, an 88-52 winner over Marian College, in the championship game, Thursday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m.

Stangl scored 14 points in the first half as Stout (10-1) took a 46-19 lead into the locker room. The Blue Devils' defense kept the Saints in check in the first half, allowing Scholastica to shoot at a 21 percent clip.

St. Scholastica (2-7) came out firing in the second half, outscoring Stout 44-39, but the margin was too great.

The Blue Devils had a good night from beyond the 3-point circle, popping in 10-of-19 long range bombs. Stangl connected on 4-of-6 as he led all scorers.

Jacob Nonemacher (Jr, Kalispell, Mont) had a solid defensive effort, recording seven of Stout's 11 blocked shots. His brother John Nonemacher (Jr, Kalispell, Minn) had three blocked shots.

Adam Chandler (So, Burnsville, Minn) finished with 10 points, as did Jason Clopton (Jr, Minneapolis, Minn). John Nonemacher matched a career-high with nine points.

The Saints, who shot 34 percent for the game, were led by Andrew Schmitz with 15 points. Josh Gosar finished with 10 points.

Augustana College ran out to a 12 point halftime lead and only made the lead bigger in the second half as the 13th ranked Vikings ran away from Marian College, 88-52, in the opening game of the tournament.

Men's Ice Hockey

STOUT'S STONE NAMED NCHA & WIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

MENOMONIE (December 13, 2005) - UW-Stout goalie Mike Stone (So, West St. Paul, Minn/Henry Sibley) lived up to his name and played as a "stonewall," turning away 57 shots and picking up his first collegiate shutout with a 4-0 road win over No. 9 UW-Superior, Saturday, Dec. 10. Stone was named player of the week by the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).

Stone was a vital part of Stout’s penalty kill, as the Blue Devils stopped all nine of Superior’s power play opportunities, including two 5-on-3 Yellowjacket opportunities.

The win moves Stout (8-6-0 overall) to 4-2-0 in the NCHA and into a tie with St. Norbert College for first place.

For the season, Stone has a goals against average (GAA) of 3.10, with a team high 221 saves with a 90.9 saves percentage. He is posting a 4-3-0 record.

Women's Gymnastics

GYMNASTS TO ENTER SEASON WITH CHANGE IN MIND

MENOMONIE (December 19, 2005) - Change. It can be a good thing. For UW-Stout's first year gymnastics coach, Becky Beaulieu, the change was a move from Hawaii back to the upper Midwest. For the Blue Devil junior and senior gymnasts, the change is their third head coach over their Stout career.

Beaulieu, who is a native of the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn, area and a former seven time All-American gymnast at UW-La Crosse, said the transition has been going well.

Beaulieu said some of the changes include changes in the practice schedule, the addition of weight training to the routine and just time for her to get to know and understand the athletes on a more personal basis.

While the 2006 Blue Devils are small in numbers - Stout has 11 on their preseason roster - Beaulieu sees a gifted group of performers.

"We have a lot of talented gymnasts," Beaulieu said.

After she was hired, but before she arrived in town, Beaulieu was talking to her seniors - Rhian Paulson (Sr, Stillwater, Minn) and Shanna Kissinger (Sr, Sioux City, Iowa).

Paulson, a four-time all-WIAC recipient, has advanced to the NCGA national championships all three years, but has yet to earn All-America honors.

"We had a big talk," Beaulieu said. "I told her she only has a few months left of her gymnastics career. She wants achieve and will do everything she can in the few months left."

Paulson advanced to the national meet last year as an all-arounder. In 2004, Paulson qualified to nationals on the floor and as a freshman in 2003, advanced on the uneven bars. She holds the school record in the all-around (36.80), the uneven bars (9.225) and the floor exercise (9.80) and is among the top 10 scores in both the balance beam and the vault.

"The vault is her favorite," Beaulieu said. "She has a great block and explosion off the horse. On the floor and beam, she has good difficulty in her tumbling. (On the floor), we are working on cleaning up her dance.

"Rhian is able to compete with the top gymnasts. Now, it's just geting to the top."

Kissinger, as well as Paulson, bring a quiet leadership to the team. Both lead more by example, than by words, Beaulieu said. And both have the talent to lead quietly and the other gymnasts will take notice.

"Shanna has a lot of raw ability as a gymnast," Beaulieu said. "She has tons of talent and will compete in the all-around. Shanna has great tumbling on the floor and is working on new skills on the beam."
Caitlin Burch (Jr, Waukesha), along with Paulson and Kissinger, is a team captain.

Burch will add depth to the floor exercise, balance beam and vault. "She is a beautiful dancer," Beaulieu said.

Ashley Timm (So, Eden Prairie, Minn) and Amber Bianchi (So, Gibbon, Minn) are the team's only sophomores.

Timm, who advanced to the NCGA nationals last year on the beam where she set a new school record (9.65), almost did not compete this year due to a back injury, but has since been cleared to compete.

"She will just need to fight through the pain," Beaulieu said. "She will have to take it one day at a time and focus on one skill at a time."

Timm is a true all-arounder, Beaulieu pointed out, saying her scores tend to be even across the board.

Timm placed 12th at the national meet last year on the beam, and also competed in the all-around event. She earned all-region and All-WIAC honors on both the beam and in the all-around.

Beaulieu said Timm will need to stay positive because of the injuries, but finds her "fun, spontaneous personality in the gym" a necessity.

Bianchi will give needed depth on the floor exercise and the vault. Beaulieu has found Bianchi very coachable and very upbeat in the gym, despite a heavy class load.

Six freshmen dot the line-up - Kori Zieminski (Cottage Grove, Minn), Katie Kronebusch (Owatonna, Minn), Caitlin McCormick (Manitowoc), Cassie Glover (DePere), Kelly Claussen (Watertown) and Ellen Washatka (St. Michael, Minn).

Zieminski was a Level 9 gymnast and a Minnesota state qualifier in the all-arounder. Beaulieu expects Zieminski to compete on all four events.

Kronebusch is a freshman athletically, but has already put one season of collegiate track behind her at Stout. With "beautiful lines," Beaulieu expects Kronebusch to compete as an all-arounder.

McCormick has been very solid on the bars - an event Stout has been traditionally weak in over the years. McCormick has been working a new dismount. An ankle injury has kept her from performing on the floor exercise.

Glover was a high school club gymnast whose strength is on the vault. "We expect her to make the line-up," Beaulieu said.

Claussen has shown perhaps the most improvement of any gymnast since the beginning of the season.

"Kelly has really taken off," Beaulieu said. Claussen is expected to work the vault and the beam.

Washatka will bring a positive attitude and depth to the vault and the bars.

Beaulieu believes the vault and floor exercise are currently the Blue Devils' strongest events.

"We will compete with the other teams," Beaulieu said. "We are training bigger skills and starting to hit the bonuses."

But it will be the bars and the beam that will determine the overall success of the squad.

Beaulieu will be assisted by Eli Block, who competed both nationally and regionally with the Madtown Twisters Gymastics club in Madison. He has coached all levels and ages of gymnastics for several years.

The Blue Devils will open the 2006 season, Friday, Jan. 6, when they host UW-Eau Claire at 7 p.m. in Johnson Fieldhouse. Stout's other home meets are Friday, Jan. 20 and Monday, Jan. 23.

Updated: January 2, 2006