Pointer men's hoops, hockey team continues postseason play By DON FRIDAY Special to The Gazette Only two of the four top seeds, all of whom were playing at home, survived opening round action in the second annual Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night. Heading the list of teams who advanced was regular season champion and No. 1 seed University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point which turned back UW-La Crosse, 94-82, before 1,275 fans at Quandt Fieldhouse. The win advances coach Jack Bennett's outfit, ranked No. 9 in NCAA Division 3 and No. 2 in the West Region this week, to the tourney semifinals at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Quandt. UW-SP, which has won seven straight and 13 of its last 14 games, will take on No. 5 seed UW-Superior which ambushed No. 4 seed UW-River Falls, 66-48. The Pointers split two regular season games with the Yellowjackets (15-10) who earned a 61-60 win here earlier this season. In other WIAC openers Tuesday, No. 2 seed UW-Eau Claire had to go into overtime before outlasting No. 7 seed UW-Stout, 92-85, and No. 6 seed UW-Oshkosh stunned defending NCAA Division 3 champion and No. 3 seed UW-Platteville, 67-66, on the Pioneers' home court. In the other semifinal game Thursday, Oshkosh will try to continue its giant-killing role at Eau Claire. The UW-Stevens Point hockey team, which moved up one spot to No. 5 in this week's national poll, had no problem advancing to the semifinal round of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs by sweeping a quarterfinal series from College of St. Scholastica at Willett Arena, 5-1 on Friday and 4-1 on Saturday. The Pointers of coach Joe Baldarotta (21-6-0), the regular season NCHA champion, will host UW-River Falls in a best-of-two semifinal series at Willett on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Falcons advanced by sweeping a series from Lake Forest. A mini-game will be held Saturday if the teams split the first two games. The UW-SP men's and women's swimming teams added their names to the school's list of winter sports champions by dominating the pool action in the WIAC Championships at the Multi-Activities Center last weekend. The Pointer men, winning their third title in four years, routed former perennial league kingpin UW-Eau Claire, 941.5 to 800.5. UW-La Crosse was a distant third in the six-team field with 569.5, followed by UW-Oshkosh 368, UW-Whitewater 348.5 and UW-River Falls 38. The Pointer women captured their first championship in school history by outlasting longtime winner Eau Claire, 863 to 800.5. La Crosse was third with 650, followed by Oshkosh 410, Whitewater 278 and River Falls 214. Al Boelk, who coaches both teams, was voted WIAC Coach of the Year. "This was the most unbelievable swim meet I've ever been a part of," Boelk said. "To have our women win is something that has never happened before and for both to win is really something. "Our teams just swam out of their minds. I'm so proud of both teams and especially the women for how hard they worked for this first-ever title." The UW-Stevens Point women's basketball team saw its season come to an end at Oshkosh Monday night when the No. 2 seeded Titans handed the Pointers a 67-52 defeat in an opening round game in the WIAC Tournament. The Titans advanced to the semifinals with a 20-5 record while the Pointers concluded an 11-14 season. Men's Basketball Pointers 94, La Crosse 82 The Pointers led all the way but could not put the pesky Eagles away until the closing minutes. UW-SP held a 51-43 halftime advantage and opened a 71-56 lead with 12:03 remaining, only to see UW-L go on a 19-6 run which pulled the Eagles to within 77-75 with 5:29 to play. Uncanny shooting by guards Paul Manchester and Matt Schultz fueled the La Crosse charge. The Pointers met the challenge, however, with a 10-2 run of their own to open an 87-77 lead with 2:44 showing. Deadly free throw shooting by Gabe Frank, Brent Larson and Joe Zuiker then put the game away. Pointer senior All-America candidate Brant Bailey led a balanced attack, which featured a season-high six players in double figures. Not only did the 6-7 Bailey pour in 26 points (16 the second half), he also eclipsed the school's single season scoring record of 600 points set during the 1983-84 season held by former Pointer great and 15-year NBA standout Terry Porter. Porter posted his total in 32 games while Bailey, who now has 605 points, accomplished the feat in 25 games. The Pointers survived the Eagles' upset bid with balance and superb shooting. UW-SP shot .571 from the field (32 of 56), sank 10 of 18 attempts from 3-point range and converted 20 of 29 free throws, led by Frank's nine in a row. La Crosse, a perimeter-oriented team which had drained 15 of 30 3-point attempts in a 108-84 rout of Whitewater in a play-in game last Saturday, made just 10 of 32 from beyond the arc for 31 percent. Overall, the Eagles shot .486 (35 of 72) but got to the free throw line for just two attempts. Joining Bailey in double figures for UW-SP were Frank with 21 points, Jay Bennett with 13, Travis Kornowski with 12 and Zuiker and Larson with 10 apiece. Zuiker had a monster game on the boards, sweeping the glass 14 times while Larson also handed out eight assists. Schultz, who nailed 10 of 19 shots, had 23 points and Manchester, 9 of 18 in his final collegiate game, added 22. Hockey Strong defensive play and excellent work in the nets by Bob Gould keyed the Pointers' sweep of the Saints. Gould, an Eagle River sophomore, stopped 45 of 47 shots in the two games. The Pointers out-shot the team from Duluth, Minn. in the series, 82-47. Mikhail Salienko tallied two of the Pointers' five goals in the Friday night win. Others went to D.J. Drayna, Zenon Kochan and Troy Michalski. David Boehm was credited with three assists and Josh Strassman and Derek Toninato two each. The Pointers opened a 2-0 first period lead, increased the margin to 4-0 after two periods and matched goals with St. Scholastica in the final period. The Saints' only goal was scored by Sean Andrews at the 7:56 mark of the third period. UW-SP peppered St. Scholastica goalie Kaleb Christenson with 44 shots. In the second game Saturday night, the Pointers decided the issue early by taking a 3-0 first period lead on goals by Salienko at 10:42, Justin Zimmerman at 11:00 and Toninato at 19:54. The Pointers increased the margin to 4-0 on a second period goal by Kenny Bowers at 6:47. The Saints' only goal came at 7:33 of the second period by Keith Radtke. The Pointers out-shot St. Scholastica, 38-25. Swimming The Pointer teams established 12 WIAC records and combined to win 23 of a possible 40 events in the three-day competition which concluded last Saturday. The Eau Claire men had won 20 of the last 22 titles while the Blugold women had won 19 of the last 20 crowns. Junior standout Randy Boelk led UW-SP by winning three individual events and swimming legs on three winning relay teams. Boelk set WIAC and pool records in the 200-yard butterfly (1:51.88), 200 medley (1:52.67) and 400 medley (4:03.13). Double individual winners for UW-SP were Jeremy Francioli in the 100 backstroke (:51.54) and 200 back (1:51.52) and Brent Newport in the 100 breaststroke (:58.33) and 200 breast (2:09.67). Francioli, who also swam legs on four winning relay teams, set league records in both his events and a pool mark in the 200 back. The Pointers also won four of a possible five relay events. Included were the 200 medley in a WIAC and pool record 1:32.92 (Francioli, Newport, Anthony Harris, Nick Hansen); 400 medley in a league and pool record 3:25.14 (Francioli, Newport, Boelk, Hansen); 400 freestyle in 3:07.37 (Boelk, Harris, Francioli, Hansen); and 800 free in a pool record 6:59.54 (Boelk, Tim Benjamin, Harris, Francioli). On the women's side, Pointer sensation Becca Uphoff matched Boelk's performance with three individual firsts as well as turning in legs on three winning relay teams. Also winning three events for UW-SP was Christine Sammons who was also a member of a first place relay team. Uphoff won the 200 free for the fourth straight year in 1:55.39, the 500 free for the third straight year in a pool record 5:07.24 and the 200 back for the fourth year in a row in 2:07.68. Sammons captured the 100 breast in a pool record 1:08.15, the 200 breast in a WIAC and pool record 2:26.52 and the 200 medley in 2:13.65. A double winner for UW-SP was Mary Agazzi in the 50 free (WIAC, pool record :23.96) and 100 free (league record :53.10). The Pointers' Mary Thone won the 200 butterfly in a pool record 2:13.04. Relay wins for UW-SP came in the 400 medley in a WIAC and pool record 3:57.38 (Uphoff, Sammons, Thone, Agazzi); 400 free in a league and pool record 3:34.67 (Agazzi, Thone, Uphoff, Laura Latt); and 800 free in a conference and pool record 7:51.36 (Agazzi, Jen Randall, Thone, Uphoff). Not only did the Pointers dominate in the pool but UW-SP also swept the WIAC Scholar Athlete Awards. Newport, a senior from Berlin who has a 3.98 grade point average in biology and business administration, won the men's award. Uphoff, a senior from Madison who has a 3.83 GPA in communicative disorders and psychology, earned the women's award. The Pointer women will compete in the NCAA Division 3 Championships at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. March 9-11. The men will follow at the same site March 16-18. Women's Basketball UW-Oshkosh 67, Pointers 52 The Pointers gave the heavily favored Titans a strong argument for 20 minutes at Albee Hall on Monday, trailing only 30-26 at the intermission. The Titans, however, went on a 10-0 run to start the second half and UW-SP, which didn't get its first basket until 7:06 had elapsed, never recovered. Oshkosh's biggest lead was 19 points at 62-43 with 3:51 remaining. Long range shooting was a key to the outcome. UW-O drained 8 of 16 shots from 3-point range while UW-SP was just 1 of 7. The Pointers also struggled at the line, hitting 13 of 21 compared to 11 of 15 by the Titans. Sophomore Carry Boehning was the only player to reach double figures for UW-SP with 22 points. She hit 8 of 16 shots, 6 of 8 free throws and grabbed six rebounds. Jessica Ott, playing her final collegiate game for the Pointers, scored all eight of her points in the first half. She finished her four-year career as the second leading scorer in school history with 1,592 points, trailing only Sonja Sorenson who tallied 1,635. Amanda Dickerson led UW-O with 12 points while former Pacelli High standout Kelly McNiff added 11 points and four assists. She also turned in a stellar defensive effort against Ott in the second half. Freshman Melissa Schweitzer of Amherst connected on two 3-pointers while adding six points for the Titans. The win was the 20th in a row against the Pointers for Oshkosh. Wrestling The Pointers, who had struggled during much of the dual meet season, saved their best for last, turning in a strong second place showing in the annual WIAC Championships at Oshkosh last Saturday. As expected, La Crosse won the title by scoring 164.5 points compared to 127.5 for the runner-up Pointers. Platteville was third with 89.5, followed by Whitewater 89, Eau Claire 87, Oshkosh 45.5 and River Falls 44.5. Seven Pointers fought their way into the finals and three came away with championships - Brady Holtz at 133 pounds, Chet Zdanczewicz at 149 and Wes Kapping at 174. Earning second place finishes were Darren Dummer at 125, Nathan Preslaski at 157, Bob Weix at 165 and Mitch Gehring at heavyweight. Holtz, Zdanczewicz and Kapping advance to the NCAA Division 3 Championships at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, March 3-4. Men's Track & Field The Pointers placed second in a nine-team field at the UW-Oshkosh Invitational last Saturday. The host Titans outscored the Pointers, 212-169.5 while Carroll College edged Marquette University for third place honors, 93-91. UW-SP had six first place finishers - Chris Horvat in the 600-meter run (1:23.09), Mike Mead in the high jump (6-9.75), Brian Buege in the triple jump (44-3.5), Joel Schult in the shot put (50-10), Josh Keim in the 35-pound weight throw (52-2.75) and the 300-meter relay team (1:30.51). Ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Division 3 power ratings, the Pointers will host their final invitational of the indoor season on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the MAC.