Pointer football looks to bounce back; soccer hosts WIAC finals The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point football team will try to get back on the winning track Saturday at UW-Platteville. The Pointers (4-1 in the WIAC, 6-1 overall) dropped their first game of the season last Saturday at UW-La Crosse, 21-14, and are now in a tie with the Eagles at the top of the conference. UW-SP has won seven straight in its series with the Pioneers, including last year's 26-20 win at Goerke Field. The game will start at 2 p.m. at Ralph E. Davis Stadium in Platteville and can be heard live on WIZD (99.9 FM) with Scott Kreuger and Ken Kulick on the call. Platteville (3-2 in WIAC, 4-3 overall) has won three straight games after breaking a 24-game conference losing streak that spanned over three seasons. With wins over the Pointers and UW-River Falls, combined with a La Crosse loss, the Pioneers can clinch at least a share of the conference. UW-SP, which fell from 9th to 18th in the NCAA rankings after its loss to La Crosse, can still get an automatic bid in the NCAA playoffs. Point needs to beat the Pioneers and UW-Eau Claire, while La Crosse must lose one of its final two games. If the Eagles and Pointers finish with the same 6-1 conference mark, La Crosse would receive the automatic bid. In that scenario, UW-SP could receive one of four at-large berths. Last Saturday the Pointers outgained the Eagles 360 yards to 200, but a 96-yard third quarter drive gave La Crosse a 21-7 lead. Two timely interceptions and a blocked field goal also keyed the Eagles' victory. Two Pointers received player of the week honors. Lance Gast (Weston), a sophomore running back, was named offensive player of the week and senior defensive lineman Zach Juadis was selected as defensive player of the week Women's soccer It's another year and another No. 1 seed for UW-SP in the WIAC women's soccer championships. The Pointers, who rolled through their conference opponents this season, have outscored their WIAC foes, 46-1, and outshot them, 252-32. The Pointers, who host this year's tournament, can wrap up the title before the semifinals. A quarterfinal win over UW-Platteville would give UW-SP a share of the title based on the conference's new format which gives three points for every regular season and tournament win and one point for regular season tie. UW-River Falls was the only team to score against the Pointers this season and brings the No. 2 seed into the tournament. The only other WIAC team to win the title, UW-La Crosse, is the third seed. UW-SP is led by eight seniors, but offensively, its junior Marie Muhvic, who is leading the team in scoring for the second straight year. Muhvic has 16 goals and six assists for 38 points in 17 games this season. Senior Jennifer Davis also leads the league in assists for the second straight year. The Pointers were ranked 19th in the NCAA Division 3 poll and enter the tournament with a 14-3 overall record. The semifinal round is scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m. while the championship is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. Women's tennis Tammy Byrne and Aimee Strebig each placed third at their respective singles flights to lead the UW-Stevens Point women's tennis team to a fifth-place finish at Sunday's WIAC meet in Madison. It marked the second straight year the Pointers have finished fifth at the meet, though UW-SP was just two points behind fourth place UW-Oshkosh and six points short of third place UW-La Crosse. UW-Eau Claire won its seventh straight team title with 70 points. Byrne defeated UW-Oshkosh's Debbie Ashenbrenner, 7-5, 1-6, 6-1, for third place at No. 2 singles. Strebig took third at No. 6 singles with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Lisa Krist of UW-Whitewater. The Pointers had three fourth place finishes - Heather Janssen (No. 4 singles), Byrne and Jennifer Oelke (No. 2 doubles), and Jen Derse and Laura Henn (No. 3 doubles). Byrne also received one of three Judy Kruckman scholar athletes for women's tennis in the WIAC. The Oregon native holds a 3.98 grade point average with a major in German. Men's hockey UW-SP will enter the season ranked No. 11 in the NCAA Division 3 poll by U.S. College Hockey Online. The Pointers received 15 votes in the rankings and will face six of the top 10 teams in the poll, including the three top teams. Middlebury, Vt. is ranked No. 1, while NCHA foe UW-Superior is second. St. Norbert College is sixth and UW-River Falls is seventh. The Pointers open their season Friday, Oct. 29 at home against St. Norbert College, at 7:30 p.m. at the K.B. Willett Arena. Men's cross country The Pointers, ranked No. 4 in the nation, topped UW-Oshkosh in a dual meet Friday. Dan Schwamberger (North Mankato, Minn.) was named player of the week after winning the race in 25:02. UW-Oshkosh entered the dual ranked 10th in the nation. Women's cross country Sarah Ninnemann (Wausau) claimed player-of-the-week honors after she finished eighth overall and fourth on the Pointers' team in a dual with UW-Oshkosh Friday. The sophomore, who did not run with the team last year, finished the 5-kilometer race in 20:55. Women's volleyball Emily Morgan (Portage) was named player of the week after recording 22 kills in 16 games. The junior middle hitter comes off the bench and had seven kills in games against Dominican and UW-Oshkosh.