CROSS COUNTRY: The Pointer men's and women's teams took second place at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Monday, Sept. 17, in a meet that was moved from Friday.
UW-Stevens Point's men's team moved up three spots to ninth in this week's NCAA Division III rankings, while the women's team is ranked eighth in the first Division III poll of the season.
The Pointer men will compete Saturday, Sept. 22, at Carthage College in Kenosha.
FOOTBALL: (1-0 overall) The 15th annual Spud Bowl between the Pointers and UW-Oshkosh was one of 29 NCAA Division III games canceled last week and will not be made up. The "Spuds and Suds" tailgate party may be held at one of the future home games, but that has not yet been determined.
The Pointers resume play on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m., with the first of two trips this season to UW-Platteville. This week's game will not count in the WIAC standings. UW-SP will also play in Platteville on Nov. 3 in a WIAC contest.
GOLF: UW-SP has its second consecutive weekend off after last week's Pointer Invitational was canceled. The tournament will not be made up. The Pointers were originally scheduled to take part in this weekend's Illinois Wesleyan Invitational, but they will not be participating.
In their lone event last week, the Pointers fell one stroke short on Tuesday, Sept. 11, at the Ripon Invitational as Carthage had 390 strokes, compared to 391 for the Pointers. Sophomore Andrea Miller (Sheboygan) won individual medalist honors at the meet with an 88, which was five strokes better than any other golfer.
SOCCER: (4-0 overall, 1-0 WIAC) UW-SP is ranked third in the Division III rankings and opened conference play Wednesday, Sept. 12, with a 3-1 victory over UW-La Crosse. The Pointers contest at UW-Platteville Wednesday, Sept. 19, was postponed because of poor field conditions. The team is scheduled to play at home against UW-River Falls on Saturday, Sept. 22.
The Pointers' match at the University of Chicago on Sunday, Sept. 16, was postponed and no makeup date has been set. UW-SP also moved its home match against UW-Superior from Saturday, Sept. 15, to Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 5 p.m.
Jenny Bruce (Menasha) scored two goals and Sarah Menzel (Stevens Point) had two assists as the Pointers beat UW-La Crosse for their 20th victory in their last 21 matches.
Molly Cady (Cottage Grove) also scored for UW-Stevens Point, which outshot the Eagles 39-4 for the match.
TENNIS: (2-0 overall) The conference schedule gets in full swing for the Pointers as they were scheduled to host UW-Whitewater on Wednesday, Sept. 19, and travel to UW-River Falls on Friday, Sept. 21, for a 3 p.m. match and UW-Stout on Saturday, Sept. 22, for a 10:30 a.m. start.
UW-SP is now 2-0 in dual matches for the season after beating St. Norbert 8-1 last week. The team's top three singles players: Kathryn Pollock (Brookfield), Aimee Strebig (Appleton) and Alison Mills (Brooklyn Center) all won in both singles and doubles for the Pointers.
UW-Stevens Point's participation in the UW-La Crosse Invitational last weekend was canceled.
VOLLEYBALL: (2-3 overall) The Pointers won their only match of last week to bring some momentum into this week's stretch of three challenging conference matches. UW-Oshkosh is 8-0 and ranked 15th in the country, while UW-River Falls is ranked eighth. The Pointers were scheduled to play UW-Oshkosh at home at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at UW-Stout at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, and at UW-River Falls on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 2 p.m.
On Thursday, Sept. 13, UW-SP beat St. Norbert 16-30, 30-28, 30-26, 32-30 in a nonconference contest. Junior Mary Schultz (Fish Creek) had a career high 24 kills and senior Amy Smolcich (Menasha) tied a career-best with 16 kills. Nikki Kennedy (Juneau) added 28 digs and Lucy Fisher (Appleton) totaled 53 assists.
The Pointers' participation in a tournament at St. Benedict over the weekend was canceled.
NIENHUIS NAMED FASTPITCH SOFTBALL COACH: Defending Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball champion UW-SP has named Karl Nienhuis its new head fastpitch coach.
Nienhuis, who is in his second year as an assistant football coach with the Pointers, will add softball to his duties and take over for Ali Brian, who resigned after one year to accept the head coaching position at her alma mater, Notre Dame College of Ohio.
The Pointers are coming off a 25-13 season in 2001 where they won the WIAC tournament and qualified for the NCAA Division III postseason for the fourth time in six seasons. UW-SP was the 1998 Division III national champion.
"I'm excited to be a part of a program with such great tradition," Nienhuis said. "I enjoy the competitive aspect of the WIAC and the level of play in this conference. This is a tremendous opportunity."