Football (6-2 overall, 4-2 WIAC): The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs are at stake Saturday, Nov. 10, when the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point hosts UW-Eau Claire at 1 p.m. in the regular season finale.
The Pointers are alone in second place in the WIAC at 4-2 after beating UW-Platteville 28-14 last week. UW-Eau Claire enters the week in first place at 5-1 in the WIAC and 8-1 overall. Former Pointer assistant coach Todd Hoffner coaches the Blugolds.
UW-SP held UW-Platteville's passing attack, which entered the week leading the country at 375 yards per game, to just 210 yards while intercepting four passes on Saturday. Freshman Matt Stoehr (De Pere) had two of the Pointers' interceptions, while seniors Jonah Roth (Boscobel) and David Rogers (Stevens Point) also picked off passes.
Senior Lance Gast (Weston) rushed for two touchdowns and 57 yards for the Pointers. Jason VanderVelden (Winneconne) rushed for 68 yards and Kurt Kielblock (Scandinavia) had 57 yards rushing. Freshman Ross Adamczak (Stevens Point) caught a 90-yard touchdown pass, marking the second-longest pass play in UW-SP history.
Cross Country: The Pointer men's and women's teams will both look for berths in the NCAA Division III championships at the Midwest Regional in Rock Island, Ill., Saturday, Nov. 10. The Pointers need to finish among the top four women's teams and top five men's teams to earn berths to the national meet.
The UW-SP's women's team has made two straight appearances at nationals, which will also be held in Rock Island on Saturday, Nov. 17. The men's team didn't qualify for the national meet last year, but has qualified nine of the past 11 seasons.
The Pointer men's team is ranked 15th in the latest national poll and the women's team is ranked 17th.
Men's hockey (2-2 overall, 1-1 NCHA): The Pointers opened their NCHA season last weekend by splitting games at UW-Stout and UW-River Falls to bring their record to 2-2 overall.
Nick Glander (Brookfield) scored with 16 seconds left in overtime as UW-SP beat UW-Stout 2-1 on Friday. Bob Gould (Eagle River) made 32 saves and Bryan Fricke (Edina, Minn.) scored a first period goal for the Pointers in the victory.
On Saturday, UW-SP held a 27-25 advantage in shots over UW-River Falls, but couldn't find the back of the net in a 4-0 loss. Ryan Scott (Plover) made 21 saves in the loss for the Pointers.
UW-SP has two more NCHA games this weekend when it hosts St. Norbert Friday, Nov. 9, and Lake Forest on Saturday, Nov. 10. Both games are 7:30 p.m. faceoffs at Willett Arena.
Women's hockey (2-0 overall): A group of young freshmen played like experienced veterans last weekend for the Pointers in a sweep of St. Thomas by 5-0 and 4-1 scores.
All nine of UW-SP's goals and 17 of its 18 points were scored by freshmen, while newcomer Shannon Kasparek (South Lyon, Mich.) posted a shutout in the team's opener on Friday, Nov. 9.
Kim Chenery (Forest Lake, Minn.) posted the third hat trick in Pointer history on Saturday, Nov. 3, for the Pointers. Emily Teachout (Edina, Minn.) also scored in the victory as sophomore Diane Sawyer (Stillwater, Minn.) made 14 saves for the Pointers.
Liz Goergen (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Jackie Schmitt (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) each scored two goals in Friday's win over the Tommies. Gwen Fenrich (Fairmont, Minn.) also had a goal and Kasparek stopped 17 shots.
UW-SP has a busy week against three Minnesota opponents that all posted winning records last year. The Pointers were scheduled to host St. Catherine on Wednesday, Nov. 7, and then hit the road for the weekend, playing Friday, Nov. 9, at Augsburg and Saturday, Nov. 10, at Gustavus Adolphus.
Soccer (18-2 overall, 8-0 WIAC): UW-SP's season came to an end Saturday, Nov. 3, in the NCAA Division III Central Region championship match with its second loss of the season at Wheaton (Ill.). The Pointers completed the year 18-2 overall after beating Webster (Mo.), 2-0, and losing to Wheaton, 2-1, in the NCAA regional.
Wheaton scored both of its goals on corner kicks to take a 2-0 lead with 30 minutes left. However, the Pointers mounted a furious rally in the final 20 minutes of the match and scored their goal on a corner kick by Andrea Oswald (Cary, Ill.) that Mickey Jacob (Neenah) headed in with 12 minutes left.
UW-SP also had plenty of opportunities in the final minutes, but was unable to tie the match, snapping their nine-match winning streak. Wheaton handed the Pointers their only other loss with a 2-0 decision on Oct. 5.
Against Webster, Jacob scored a first half goal on a diving header for a 1-0 Pointer lead. Molly Cady (Cottage Grove) added a goal with four minutes left on a header and the Pointers held a 24-4 advantage in shots.
It was the second-best record in UW-SP history behind a 19-2 finish during the 1992 season. The Pointers outscored their opponents 82-10 for the season.
Swimming and diving (both men's and women's teams 2-0 in WIAC duals): UW-SP swept a pair of WIAC dual matches in both the men's and women's competitions over UW-Eau Claire and UW-Whitewater last weekend.
The Pointer women beat UW-Eau Claire, 154-80, and topped UW-Whitewater, 163-62. The men's team defeated UW-Eau Claire, 130-104, and beat UW-Whitewater, 124-112.
Jean Hughes (Brooklyn Center, Minn.) won the 100 and 200 freestyle events for the women's team against UW-Eau Claire, while Berit Fahrner (Minneapolis, Minn.) captured the 500 and 1,000 freestyle events.
The Pointer women won 11 of 13 events against UW-Whitewater as Alissa Bartz (Beloit) won the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke events, while also swimming on the winning 200 medley relay. Hughes won both the 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley.
Erik Johnson (Albert Lea, Minn.) won both the 100 and 200 freestyle in both meets for the men's team. Peter Nowak (New Berlin) won the 500 and 1,000 freestyle events against UW-Eau Claire.
The Pointers next compete on Saturday, Nov. 17, at La Crosse.
Volleyball (8-19 overall): The Pointers hung tough in all three games, but had its season end in the quarterfinals of the WIAC tournament Tuesday night in Oshkosh with a 30-26, 30-17, 30-18 loss to top-seeded UW-Oshkosh.
The Pointers and Titans were tied 20-20 in the first game when UW-Oshkosh went on a 10-6 run to close out the game. UW-Oshkosh then had an 18-14 second game and closed the game with a 12-3 run.
UW-Oshkosh led the entire third game, taking a 9-2 lead. However, the Pointers closed to within 15-14 before the Titans scored six straight points and nine of the next 10 for a 24-15 lead.
Amy Smolcich (Menasha) led the Pointers with 11 kills, while Jessica Parker (Milwaukee) had eight kills. Nikki Kennedy (Juneau) had 11 digs and Lucy Fisher (Appleton) added 25 assists.
UW-Whitewater went on to defeat UW-Oshkosh in the WIAC championship match Saturday and earn the WIAC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament.
Wrestling: UW-SP opens its season by hosting the Golden Eagle Open in the UW-SP Multi-Activity Center at 9 a.m., Friday, Nov. 9. The team is ranked 25th in the Division III preseason rankings.
The meet features several of the top squads from all NCAA divisions in the Midwest.
The Pointers finished second at last year's WIAC championships and boast three wrestlers ranked in the Division III individual preseason rankings. Yan White (Antigo) is ranked fourth at 197 pounds, Nathan Preslaski (Pulaski) is ranked seventh at 157 pounds and Brady Holtz (Oconto Falls) is ranked eighth at 131 pounds.