Pointers Bailey, Maxson, Gould named All-Americans A trio of University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point athletes received All-American honors this week. Brant Bailey, a senior center for the UW-SP men's basketball team, was named a first team All-American by the National Association of Basketball coaches. He also received West Region Player of the Year honors. Ryan Maxson, a junior forward for the hockey team, earned first-team West Region All-American honors by the American Hockey Coaches Association after leading the Pointers to their fifth Northern Collegiate Hockey Association regular season title. UW-SP goalie Bob Gould was a second-team All-American selection. Bailey, a Wisconsin Dells native, scored a school-record 723 points and averaged 24.1 points per game as the Pointers finished 25-5 and claimed both the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles. UW-SP advanced to the "Elite Eight" of the NCAA Division 3 tournament before falling to UW-Eau Claire in the sectional finals. "Brant Bailey had a dream season - an All-American season," UW-SP coach Jack Bennett said. "Brant's combination of strength, quickness and touch were matchless. As a senior, he became a more complete player and, consequently, a much better team player." Bailey set eight school records and moved into fifth place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,506 points, despite entering the season with 783 points in his first three years combined. Maxson, a Bloomington, Minn. native and Jefferson High School graduate, scored 23 goals and added 17 assists for 40 points as the Pointers finished 23-7-1 overall and advanced to the NCHA championship series. He earned first-team All-NCHA honors this past season but never earned any all-conference mention before his junior year. Maxson had a total of 38 points in his first two seasons and exceeded that total in his junior season. "I think a lot of teams underestimated Ryan's ability," UW-SP hockey coach Joe Baldarotta said. "He is an outstanding scorer who can put the puck in the back of the net." Gould, a sophomore from Eagle River, was the only underclassmen honored on the first or second team in either the East or West Region. He was just the fourth goalie and the fourth underclassmen to be named the NCHA Player of the Year after leading the league in goals against average (1.75) and save percentage (.929). Swimming and diving Randy Boelk finished second in the 200 backstroke to lead UW-SP to a seventh place finish with 150 points at the NCAA Division 3 championships last weekend in Atlanta. Boelk provided 48 of the Pointers' team points. It marks the fourth straight year the Pointers have finished among the top 10 teams in the country. Kenyon (Ohio) won its 21st straight national championship with 670.5 points. Boelk swam the 200-meter backstroke in 1:49.80, but Kenyon's Estevao Avila set a meet record with a time of 1:47.62. Jeremy Francioli finished seventh in the event. Boelk and Francioli both finished in the top five of the 100 backstroke, as Boelk was third in 50.37 and Francioli was fifth in 50.99 to both earn All-American honors. Boelk also was fourth in the 200 individual medley (1:53.38) and finished behind three swimmers from Kenyon. Boelk and Francioli earned another All-American honor in the 200 medley relay, teaming with Brent Newport and Nick Hansen to finish fifth with a time of 1:33.06. The Pointers, who had won the 400 medley relay the past two years, finished sixth this year as Francioli, Newport, Anthony Harris and Boelk posted a time of 3:25.78. Kenyon broke the Pointers' meet record from last year with a time of 3:20.39. Baseball Justin Duerkop and Bill Verbrick put the finishing touches on UW-SP's spring break trip to Fort Myers, Fla. Duerkop pitched a four-hit shutout in a 4-0 win over Messiah (Pa.) last Saturday while Verbrick pitched a complete game in an 8-3 victory over Alderson-Broaddus (W.V.), giving UW-SP an 8-3 record for the trip. In the opener against Messiah, the Pointers led 1-0 entering the sixth inning before run-scoring singles by Ryan Ivy, Randy Reed and Mike McCann made it 4-0. McCann and Matt Peetz both finished 2-for-4, while Bennett was 2-for-3. Duerkop struck out two in a complete game performance. McCann was 3-for-5 in the second game as the Pointers jumped on Alderson-Broaddus early with four first inning runs. Fry and Ivy were both 2-for-4, while Jon Jagler was 2-for-3 as the Pointers had 12 hits. On Friday, Reed and Jagler hit sixth inning home runs in separate games to lead the Pointers to 15-1 and 7-4 victories over Denison (Ohio) Friday in Fort Myers, Fla. Reed's sixth inning grand slam helped the Pointers to an opening-game victory and Jagler hit a two-run homer in the second game. The Pointers led the first game 6-1 entering the sixth inning before Reed's homer highlighted a six-run inning for UW-SP. Reed finished 3-for-5 with six RBI, while Peetz was 4-for-4. Ivy gave the Pointers a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the second inning and Eric Schlender earned his first collegiate win by pitching 4-1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just four hits. Jagler was 3-for-5 and McCann was 3-for-6 for the Pointers. In the second game, the Pointers led 5-4 entering the sixth inning before Jagler's blast gave UW-SP a 7-4 lead. Jared Szews picked up his first career win by closing the game with 3-1/3 scoreless innings, striking out three and allowing one hit. Sam Molski went 2-for-4. Last Thursday, Troy Bielmeier pitched his second shutout in as many outings as UW-SP defeated Rhode Island College 5-0. The Anchormen rallied for a 2-1 victory in the nightcap. Bielmeier struck out four in the Pointers' victory. Pat McCann gave the Pointers a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-run double and finished 2-for-3 at the plate. Jagler was 3-for-5. Ivy had a solo home run. The Pointers took a 1-0 lead in the second game as Pat McCann drove home Jagler with a first inning single, but UW-SP had just four hits. Pat McCann and Molski were each 2-for-3 to account for the Pointers' offense. Jeff Pieper pitched a complete game with four strikeouts to take the loss. Bielmeier, a junior from Wautoma, was named the WIAC pitcher of the week. Pat McCann received the team's position player of the week award. Softball Jamie Lowney had two strong outings as the Pointers finished their spring break trip in Fort Myers, Fla. with a 6-3-1 record. Lowney fired a one-hit shutout as UW-SP downed Dana (Neb.) 3-0 last Friday. She also had a three-hitter in the second game, but the Pointers were limited to just two hits themselves in a 1-0 loss to LeMoyne (N.Y.). In the opener, Nikki Best, Kimberly Grubba and Carrie Hermsen all drove in runs in the victory. Jill Van Wychen and Kelly Rutta each went 2-for-4. Lowney struck out five and walked two in the victory. Van Wychen and Hermsen had the lone Pointer hits in the loss to LeMoyne as UW-SP struck out 10 times. Lowney struck out three and walked two in a complete game effort. The Pointers were hampered by three errors in the loss. Michelle Gerber went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI to lead UW-SP to an 8-3 victory over Aurora (Ill.) last Thursday. Earlier in the day, the Pointers fell to Wheaton (Mass.) 5-4. Against Aurora, Nicki Bertram pitched a complete game for her first win of the season. Van Wychen was 2-for-4 and Brooke Woller was 2-for-3. In the loss to Wheaton, UW-SP led 4-0 entering the fifth inning, but the Lyons struck for five runs in the inning, which included two Pointer errors. Lowney took the loss for the Pointers, striking out eight and walking one. Gerber was 2-for-3 with two RBI for the Pointers. Best, Rutta, Cari Briley and Sarah Berg all added two hits for the Pointers. Karen Guckenberger, a freshman from South Milwaukee, was named the WIAC pitcher of the week. The freshman opened her UW-SP career with 22 scoreless innings and a 3-0 record.