WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The Blue Devils (12-7, 7-4) came up short in a bid to move into first place by splitting a pair of games last week. Front runner UW-Oshkosh, Stout's competition this Saturday, Feb. 4, lost last Saturday to UW-River Falls, Stout's competition this Wednesday, Feb. 1. Stout will host the Falcons (10-10, 6-5) at 7 p.m. Wednesday and the Titans (14-6, 8-3) at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Blue Devils defeated River Falls, 71-59, Jan. 11, but lost to the Titans, 80-68, Dec. 10. The River Falls game can be heard on Blue Devil radio at: www.uwstout.edu/athletics/radio/bdradio.htm The Oshkosh game can be heard on WMEQ-AM 880 radio at www.wmeq.com Last week: The Blue Devils dropped UW-Eau Claire, 67-54, Jan. 25 and lost at UW-Whitewater, 63-57, Jan. 28. Player of the week: Kelsey Duoss, Jr, Janesville, Wis. (Clinton)

MEN'S BASKETBALL
The Blue Devils (15-4, 8-3) Blue Devils moved into a tie with UW-Oshkosh in the WIAC for first place with two wins last week. Stout will seek to avenge an earlier loss to UW-River Falls (5-14, 4-7) when they travel to the Falcons' lair, Wednesday, Feb. 1, then return home to host Oshkosh (15-5, 8-3), Saturday, Feb. 4 at 5 p.m. Stout lost to River Falls, 66-57, Jan. 11, and defeated Oshkosh, 58-55, Dec. 10. Both games are available on WMEQ-AM 880 radio at www.wmeq.com Last week: The Blue Devils defeated UW-Eau Claire, 59-47, Jan. 25 and UW-Whitewater, 80-71, Jan. 28. Player of the week: Jacob Nonemacher, Jr, Kalispell, Mont. (Flathead)

HOCKEY
The Blue Devils (12-9-0, 5-5-0 NCHA, 4-1-0 WIAC) are now fighting to earn a home NCHA playoff spot after dropping two games last weekend. Stout will host UW-Superior, Friday, Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. and will be at St. Scholastica, Saturday, Feb. 4. Stout defeated the Yellowjackets, 4-0, Dec. 10 in Superior, but lost, 1-0, to St. Scholastica the night before at home. The Superior game can be heard at www.kuws.fm Last week: The Blue Devils lost, 5-3, to Lake Forest College, Jan. 27, and 5-1 to St. Norbert College, Jan. 28.

GYMNASTICS
The Blue Devils become road warriors for the rest of the season, having just completed their home portion of the schedule. Stout will be at Hamline University, Friday, Feb. 3. Last week: The Blue Devils lost, 171.60-166.975, to Gustavus Adolphus, Jan. 23. Player of the week: Rhian Paulson, Sr, Stillwater, Minn.

WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
The Blue Devils will host the Warren Bowlus Open, Saturday, Feb. 4 at noon in the multi-purpose room. Last week: Stout hosted the unscored UW-Stout Open. Track athlete of the week: Jasmine Patzner, So, Taylor, Wis. (Blair-Taylor); Field athlete of the week: Kelly Schachtner, Fr, Deer Park, Wis. (Clear Lake)

MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
The Blue Devils will host the Warren Bowlus Open, Saturday, Feb. 4 at noon in the multi-purpose room. Last week: Stout hosted the unscored UW-Stout Open. Track athlete of the week: Steven Leech, Fr, Lake Geneva, Wis. (Badger); Field athlete of the week: Ryan Kawski, Jr, Stevens Point, Wis. (SPASH)

Women's Basketball

BLUE DEVILS CAN'T GET BACK FAR ENOUGH AGAINST WHITEWATER

WHITEWATER (January 28, 2006) - UW-Stout fell behind by as much as 15 points in the second, put together a comeback of sorts, but could never get all the way back as the Blue Devils fell, 63-57, at UW-Whitewater Saturday.

Stout (12-7, 7-4) held the lead over the first six minutes of the game, but costly turnovers began to add up. Once Whitewater (10-9, 4-6) took the lead, 15-13, seven minutes into the game, the Warhawks did not give up the rest of the way and took a 28-22 lead into halftime.

Whitewater wasted no time in the second half jumping out to a 15 points, 37-22, lead three minutes into the stanza.

The Blue Devils slowly began to chip away. A 3-pointer by Amanda Geissler (Jr, Thorp) at 13:59 brought the lead to 10 points. The Warhawks went back up by 11, but a 3-pointer by Sarah Miles (Sr, Luck) cut the lead to eight points, 46-38.

A 3-pointer by Molly Hendricks (Sr, Blaine, Minn) at 6:12 made it 50-45 Whitewater. Another 3-pointer by Hendricks at 1:22 and a bucket by Kelsey Duoss (Jr, Janesville) made it 58-55 with a minute remaining.

The Warhawks responded in the final minute by making 5-of-8 free throws and allowing Stout only a bucket to take the win.

Duoss led all scorers with 17 points and was the only Blue Devil in double digits. Stout shot 33 percent from the floor, 29 percent in the first half.

The Warhawks shot 32 percent for the game, but pulled away by hitting 42 percent of their second half shots.

Stout will host UW-River Falls, Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. and UW-Oshkosh, Saturday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m.

EAU CLAIRE (January 25, 2006) - Molly Hendricks (Sr, Blaine, Minn) scored 13 points in the first half and Kelsey Duoss (Jr, Janesville) scored 16 points in the second half as UW-Stout ran out to a 67-54 win at UW-Eau Claire, Wednesday.

Eau Claire (9-10, 5-5) scored the first three points of the game, but Stout (12-6, 7-3) went on a 17-0 run to take command of the game and went up by as much as 23 points twice in the first half. The Blugolds got as close as seven points with 1:16 in the game, but Stout made 6-of-8 free throws to close out the game.

Duoss finished the game with another double-double, 25 points and 14 rebounds, her 11th double-double of the season, to give Stout their fifth win in six outings.

Hendricks was dead-eye in the first half, hitting 5-of-5 from the floor, 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. She added two free throws in the closing seconds of the game to finish with 15 points.

Eau Claire was led by Rachel Becker with 12 points.

Men's Basketball

BLUE DEVILS HOLD ON AND DOWN WHITEWATER, 80-71

WHITEWATER (January 28, 2006) - Despite losing three players to fouls in the waning minutes, UW-Stout push forward and went on to defeat UW-Whitewater, 80-71, Saturday. With the win, combined with a UW-Oshkosh loss, the Blue Devils move into a tie for first in the WIAC with the Titans.

The Blue Devils (15-4, 8-3) lost both John and Jacob Nonemacher (Jr, Kalispell, Mont) within seconds of each other with about 1-minute, 50-seconds to play and a 73-67 lead. They had lost starting guard Greg Chaisson (Sr, Minneapolis, Minn) two minutes earlier.

But it was the Blue Devils who would benefit from the line in the last 90 seconds as Stout dropped in 7-of-11 free throws during the final stretch and the Warhawks (13-5, 7-3) converted on only 1-of-4 freebies.

The Warhawks led nearly the entire first half, but Stout took the lead for good in the second on a 3-pointer by Adam Chandler (So, Burnsville, Minn) to give Stout a 47-45 lead at 14:53. Stout went on an 11-4 run for a nine-point, 58-49 lead, with Ryan Stangl (So, Spring Valley) scoring five points in the run.

Jacob Nonemacher led all scorers with 20 points and tacked on 11 rebounds. Chaisson finished with 18 points and Terry Farmer (Sr, Kenosha) had 16 points and nine rebounds.

Anthony Mlachnik led Whitewater with 15 points. Andy Freund added 14 points and Jeremy Manchester had 12 points.

Stout will be at UW-River Falls Wednesday, Feb. 1 and will host UW-Oshkosh, Saturday, Feb. 4.

MENOMONIE (January 25, 2006) - UW-Stout played methodical offense and defense and went on to sweep UW-Eau Claire, 59-47, Wednesday at Johnson Fieldhouse.

The Blugolds (9-9, 2-8) chose to work the shot clock and were continually forced to shoot as the clock went off, shooting 31 percent from the floor on the night. The Blue Devils (14-4, 7-3) forced seven steals and had eight blocked shots, three by Terry Farmer (Sr, Kenosha) and three by Jacob Nonemacher (Jr, Kalispell, Mont).

Stout took and early 4-0 lead, but Eau Claire used the 3-point ball to stay in the game early, making three long shots to pull ahead 9-8. The long ball would betray Eau Claire before long, and Eau Claire finished the game making 9-of-32 treys.

Nonemacher put Stout ahead, 10-9, six minutes into the game and the Blue Devils only trailed once again with three minutes left in the first half. A dunk by Farmer tied the score at 23 all and Ryan Stangl (So, Spring Valley) put Stout up for good.

Jacob Nonemacher scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds coming off the bench. Stangl also finished with 13 points. John Nonemacher (Jr, Kalispell, Mont) had 12 points, scoring six points on three dunks.

Eau Claire's Dan Beyer led all scorers with 18 points and Jared Bardon added 10 points.

Men's Ice Hockey

BLUE DEVILS FALL TO NATIONALLY RANKED GREEN KNIGHTS

MENOMONIE (January 28, 2006) - In a game that saw 28 total penalties, St. Norbert College held the upper hand and gave UW-Stout a 5-1 loss at the Dunn County Ice Arena Saturday.

The Green Knights (17-2-2, 7-1-2 NCHA) opened the game with a goal by Andy Cote at the 7:02 mark in the first period. St. Norbert, ranked No. 2 in the USCHO.com poll, added three goals in the second period - one each by Troy Boisjoli, Marc Belanger and a power play goal by Andrew Derton.

Stout (12-9-0, 5-5-0) broke up St. Norbert's goalie Ryan Jones shutout - Jones came into tonight's game with four consecutive shutouts - with a power play goal by Andrew Stearns (Jr, Wadena, Minn) with three minutes remaining. Mike Kautz (Sr, Des Plaines, Ill) assisted on the goal. The Knights returned the favor a minute later with Derton's second goal of the evening.

St. Norbert dominated the shooting, holding a 40-22 lead in shots on goal. Matt Koenig (Fr, Lakeville, Minn) had 35 saves, while Jones, who had more than 300 consecutive scoreless minutes, finished with 21 saves.

St. Norbert was 2-of-7 on the power play, while Stout was 1-of-2.

Stout will host UW-Superior, Friday, Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. and will be at St. Scholastica, Saturday, Feb. 4.

MENOMONIE (January 27, 2006) - UW-Stout had the upper hand in much of the first two periods, but Lake Forest slapped the Blue Devils in the third period to hand Stout a 5-3 loss Friday at the Dunn County Ice Arena.

Mike Kautz (Sr, Des Plaines, Ill) scored only two minutes into the game and Luke Schroeder (So, Minneapolis, Minn) followed up three minutes later to give Stout (12-8-0, 5-4-0) a 2-0 lead.

The Foresters (10-10-0, 4-5-0) cut the lead in half on a Cory Wilson goal with eight minutes remaining in the first period, then tied the score in the second on a goal by Mike Kneeland eight minutes into the period.

The Blue Devils' Jake Erickson (So, Rochester, Minn) gave Stout a 3-2 lead three minutes later heading into the second period break.

But it was all Foresters in the third period as Tyler Canal scored two goals in the third and Wilson added a power play goal. Canal scored only 33 seconds into the third period to tie the score and Wilson, on his second goal of the night, got the eventual game-winner at the nine minute mark. Canal came back with his second goal of the night about 50 seconds later for the final score.

Mike Stone (So, West St. Paul, Minn) absorbed the loss and stopped 34 shots, while his counterpart, Brandon Kohuch, had 38 saves.

Women's Gymnastics

PAULSON, TIMM TAKE TOP ALL-AROUND SPOTS AGAINST GUSTAVUS

MENOMONIE (January 23, 2006) - Rhian Paulson (Sr, Stillwater, Minn) and Ashley Timm (So, Eden Prairie, Minn) finished first and second in the all-around, but it wasn't quite enough as Gustavus Adolphus topped UW-Stout, 171.60-166.975, Monday at Johnson Fieldhouse in the final home gymnastics meet of the season.

Paulson barely edged past Timm in the all-around, with Paulson scoring a 35.55 to Timm's 35.45. Timm and Paulson both scored personal bests on the vault, tying for the top spot with a 9.35, along with Gustavus' Danielle Abel.

Paulson took top honors on the floor exercise with a 9.40, while Timm was third with an 8.975. Paulson was fourth on the uneven bars (8.30) and balance beam (8.50), while Timm was third on the bars (8.425) and beam 8.70.

Cassie Glover (Fr, DePere) hit a personal best on the beam (7.65).

The Blue Devils are off until Friday, Feb. 3 when they will be at Hamline University.

Uneven bars: 1. Christine Askham (Gustavus) 8.90; 3. Ashley timm 8.425; 4. Rhian Paulson 8.30; 6.Shanna Kissinger 8.075; 8. Kori Zieminski 7.60; 10. Katie Kronebusch 7.00; 12. Caitlin McCormick 5.90.

Balance beam: 1. Nicole Gergen (Gustavus) 8.90; 3. Ashley Timm 8.70; 4. Rhian Paulson 8.50; 8. Kelly Claussen 8.00; 10. Kori Zieminski 7.80; 11. Cassie Glover 7.65; 12.Shanna Kissinger 7.00.

Floor exercise: 1. Rhian Paulson (Stout) 9.40; 3. Ashley Timm 8.975; 6. Shanna Kissinger 8.50; 9. Amber Bianchi 8.5; 11.Kori Zieminski 8.05; 12. Katie Kronebusch 7.75.

All-around: 1. Rhian Paulson 35.55; 2. Ashley Timm 35.45; 3. Kori Zieminski 32.10; 4.Shanna Kissinger 31.875.

Women's Track & Field

SIMS TAKES FIRST AT SEASON OPENING MEET

MENOMONIE (January 28, 2006) - Nikki Sims (Jr, Becker, Minn) took a first place in the triple jump as UW-Stout got the track and field season underway by hosting the UW-Stout Open, Saturday.

Sims paced the field with a jump of 35-feet, 1.50-inch.

Jasmine Patzner (So, Taylor) placed third in the 55-hurdles (8.87 seconds), as did Bridgette Crozier (So, Winona, Minn) in the 5000-meter run (19-minutes, 4.68-seconds). Kelly Schachtner (Fr, Deer Park) was fourth in the shot put (35-4).

Stout will host the Warren Bowlus Open, Saturday, Feb. 4 at noon.

High jump: 1. Beth Skaer (La Crosse) 5-2.50; 7. Carrie Peterson, Camelle Meyer 4-10.50; 11. Taylor Mayo, Becky Monyhan 4-8.75; 17. Tabitha Blanchard 4-6.75; Pole vault: 1. Lindsey Doedens (La Crosse) 10-1.25; 10. Pam Sellberg 8-7.50; 11. Tabitha Blanchard 8-7.50; 12. Ellen Frisch 8-1.50; Long jump: 1. Caitlin Schetter (La Crosse) 17-6.25; 5. Nikki Sims 16-6; 11. Jackie Bruchez 15-2; 18. Erin Berg 13-4.25; Triple jump: 1. Nikki Sims (Stout) 35-1.50; 6. Sam Strunk 32-9; 8. Tessa Rohl 32-5.50; 10. Erin Berg 31-5.25; 11. Jackie Bruchez 31-4.75; 14. Lindsay Jaskowiak 29-6.75; Shot put: 1. Krista Hasselquist (River Falls) 43-0.25; 4. Kelly Schachtner 35-4; 10. Christa Leesman 31-6.50; 11. Alyssa Klinkenberg 29-8.25; 20-lb wt throw: 1. April Phillips (unattached) 61-2.25; 8. Alyssa Klinkenberg 40-0.50; 9. Kelly Schachtner 39-7; 17. Christa Leesman 22-2.25.

Men's Track & Field

LEECH OPENS COLLEGIATE CAREER WITH TWO FIRSTS

MENOMONIE (January 28, 2006) - UW-Stout's Steven Leech (Fr, Lake Geneva) opened his collegiate career by winning two events as the Blue Devils opened the 2006 track and field season by hosting the UW-Stout Open Saturday.

Leech captured the 55-meter hurdle event in a tie of 7.97 seconds and took the long jump with a leap of 21-feet, 6.75-inches.

The Blue Devils, as a team, captured nine first place awards. Derek Gonzenbach (Jr, Milbank, SD) won the 400-meter dash (50.66 seconds). Mark Kempen (Sr, Kaukauna) took the 800-meter (2:00.11), Kendall Wade (Fr, Milwaukee) the high jump (6-feet, 3.25-inches), Patrick Doty (Sr, Richfield, Minn) the pole vault (14-9), Ryan Carpenter (Jr, Sauk City) the triple jump (45-7), Ryan Kawski (Jr, Stevens Point) the shot put (46-3.50) and the 4x200-relay team (1:32.62).

No team scores were kept. Stout will host the Warren Bowlus Open, Saturday, Feb. 4 at noon.

High jump: 1. Kendall Wade (Stout) 6-03.25; 3. Brad Hoerth 6-1.25; 4. Matt Delaney 5-11.25; Pole vault: 1. Pat Doty (Stout) 14-9; 3. Nick Neuman 14-3.25; Long jump: 1. Steven Leech (Stout) 21-6.75; 5. Sean Gallagher 19-4; 6. Garret Fletch 18-9; 7. Bakari Williams 17-9; Triple jump: 1. Ryan Carpenter 45-7; 2. Zak Germo 42-0.50; 4. Bakari Williams 37-6; Shot put: 1. Ryan Kawski 46-3.50; 3. Ben Corcoran 45-1.50; 5. Jon Wolf 43-7; 7. Ryan Ament 41-2.25; 8. Eric Peplinski 41-1; 9. Zach Schaefer 40-6.25; 12. Andrew Berlin 37-10.75; 13. Sean Larson 37-8.50; 22. Darren Izdepski 33-0.50; 35-lb wt throw: 1. Lynden Reder (unattached) 65-6; 2. Ryan Kawski 50-9.50; 3. Sean Larson 47-4.25; 9. Ben Corcoran 40-10.50; 11. Derren Izdepski 40-4; 12. Ryan Ament 37-6; 16. Jon Wolf 36-0.75.

Updated: January 30, 2006