Pointers jump to 13th in football poll
With its second consecutive victory over a non-Division III opponent, the UW-Stevens Point football team climbed to 13th in the latest American Football Coaches Association Division III national rankings.
The Pointers defeated NCAA Division I-AA member Drake 28-17 last weekend after topping Division II Northern State the previous week. There was little movement in the poll this week as the top 12 teams remained the same as last week and UW-Stevens Point moved past two teams which both won last week (John Carroll, Ohio and Pacific Lutheran, Wash.).
The Pointers, who have won seven straight games dating to last season, are the lone Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team in the rankings. This weekend's opponent, UW-Stout, received 12 votes, just missing being ranked. The Pointers and Blue Devils play Saturday night at 7 p.m. in UW-Stevens Point's annual home-opening "Spud Bowl" game at Goerke Field.
Defending national champion Mount Union (Ohio) is again on top of the poll with first place votes from 44 of the 45 coaches voting in the poll.
Men's Cross Country Ranked Second After Cruising to Another Title
Another dominating weekend moved the Pointers' men's cross country team to second in the latest National Cross Country Coaches' Association Division III national poll.
UW-Stevens Point was ranked fourth in last week's poll, but had seven of the top 10 finishes at last weekend's St. Olaf Invitational to climb two spots in the rankings. Calvin (Mich.), which was previously ranked No. 2, was defeated by UW-Whitewater last weekend at the Midwest Collegiate Championships in Kenosha and dropped to sixth in this week's rankings.
The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is well represented in the poll with three of the top four teams. North Central (III.) is the top-ranked team, but UW-La Crosse is tied for second with the Pointers and UW-Whitewater is fourth. All four of the top-ranked teams are in the Midwest Region. The Pointers will have a tough test this weekend at the UW-Whitewater Invitational Saturday at 11 a.m.
The UW-Stevens Point women's team received votes in this week's poll.
Women's Soccer Falls to 22nd in National Rankings
The UW-Stevens Point women's soccer team slid to 22nd in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of American Division III national poll.
The Pointers were ranked eighth in last week's rankings, but fell after a 4-1 loss at St. Mary's (Minn.) Saturday. St. Mary's is 5-0 overall, but remained unranked in the poll.
UW-Stevens Point is 5-1 overall and looks to get back on track Wednesday at UW-Whitewater and Saturday at UW-Stout.
The Pointers also dropped from second to fourth in the Central Region rankings. Wheaton (III.), which is UW-Stevens Point's opponent on Oct. 23, is the top-ranked team in the region.
Pointers Land Five WIAC Athletes of the Week
A big week in UW-Stevens Point athletics resulted in five athletes earning Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week honors. Two of the selections came in football, two in cross country and one in women's golf.
In football, senior quarterback Ryan Aulenbacher (Hartford, WI/Hartford) was selected as the league's Offensive Player of the Week, while senior defensive lineman Mark Fetzer (Neenah, WI/Neenah) garnered defensive honors.
In cross country, junior Jesse Drake (Rhinelander, WI/Rhinelander) was the men's selection, while junior Leah Juno (Brillion, WI/Brillion) was the top women's performer. Also, freshman Rachel Sime (Tomah, WI/Tomah) was the top women's golfer in WIAC this week.
Aulenbacher was 21-for-38 passing for 248 yards in the Pointers' 28-17 victory over Division I-AA Drake Saturday. The senior was especially tough on third downs, completing seven of 11 pass attempts for 106 yards. He also ran for two first downs as the Pointers converted 13 of 18 third-down attempts.
Fetzer was the leader of UW-Stevens Point's defense in the victory last weekend. The senior recorded seven tackles, including four solo stops. He also had a sack and one pass broken up.
Drake was the individual champion Saturday at the St. Olaf Invitational as the Pointers cruised to the team title. Drake finished with a time of 26:02 to lead seven Pointer runners under 27 minutes as UW-Stevens Point totaled 21 team points, which was 63 points better than the second place team.
Juno led the Pointers' women's team to a third place team finish at St. Olaf with a second place finish individually. The junior had a time of 18:53 in the meet, which included 16 teams and 224 runners.
Sime was the medalist with an 89 in the Pointers' conference victory over UW-Oshkosh Tuesday. She also finished with a two-day total of 185 at the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational over the weekend, carding a 97 Saturday and an 88 on Sunday as the Pointers finished 11th in the 16-team invitational.