UMC Men's Basketball to Host Clinic

CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball program will hold a Crookston Youth Basketball Association (CYBA)/UMC Clinic Sat., Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium. The clinic is for boys and girls in grades 2-6.

Registration for the clinic will begin at 8:30 a.m. and includes a shirt. The event is free and allows children to get instruction from Golden Eagle coaches and players. Participants will do skill sessions and drills with the staff and players and will get player autographs and a tour of the UMC Sports Center.

The Golden Eagles will play College of St. Scholastica in an exhibition later that day, Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium. Participants of the clinic can wear their t-shirt and get into the game for free. They will also be recognized at half time.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

UND's High Performance Center grand opening set for Nov. 9

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota Director of Athletics Brian Faison announced today that the athletics department will celebrate the opening of its new High Performance Center on Monday, Nov. 9.

The grand opening event is open to the general public. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with the program beginning at 6 p.m. Hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be served.

“This is a very special moment for UND Athletics as we officially open the UND Athletics High Performance Center on Nov. 9,” said Faison. “I don’t think I can overstate how important the High Performance Center will be for the continuing development of our athletics teams. It has taken a tremendous partnership with alumni and friends to get this project completed. And now our fans will have the chance to see it up close and personal.”

For additional information regarding the grand opening, please contact UND Athletics Director of Special Projects Amy Stroup at amy.stroup.2@athletics.und.edu.

Workers are currently completing installation of the eight-lane, 300-meter Mondo track surface, which is the final component of Phase One of the High Performance Center. Installation of a full-length football field, video and scoreboard, tradition displays, and other Phase One amenities were completed earlier this year.

Future additions to the UND Athletics High Performance Center will include spectator seating, coaches offices and locker rooms for UND football and track & field, a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning area, a student-athlete academic center, and sports medicine space for all UND Athletics teams. The facility will also serve the greater Grand Forks community by offering a host site for youth athletics camps and college and youth track and field meets.

Timberwolves to Wear Commemorative Patch in Honor of Flip Saunders

Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that the team will wear a commemorative patch on their jersey during the 2015-16 season in honor of recently passed President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Flip Saunders.

The patch will be worn for the first time on Monday, November 2, as the Timberwolves open the home portion of the 2015-16 season against the Portland Trail Blazers at Target Center. The team will wear the patch for all home and road games for the balance of the season beginning on November 2.

In addition, the team announced it plans to wear a specially designed shooting shirt (warm-up shirt) during all games through the month of November. The shirt, which says “WE”, symbolizes the togetherness of the team and its commitment to unity over individualism. The shirt is gray with black lettering, with the name “Flip” across the heart side of the shirt. The shirt will be unveiled tomorrow night when the team takes the court for warm-ups.

On Monday, the NBA Coaches Association announced that all the league’s coaches will wear a “Flip” lapel pin during all games this season as a way to honor Saunders.

There will also be a pregame tribute to Saunders prior to the Timberwolves’ home opener on Monday, November 2. Details of the pregame tribute are being developed at this time.

NDSU Ranked 25th in Wrestling Poll

North Dakota State University wrestling ranked No. 25 in the first regular season USA Today/ National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Coaches Top 25 released Oct. 27. The Bison were ranked No. 20 in the last year's final regular season top 25 poll.

North Dakota State, directed by fifth year head coach Roger Kish, won its second straight NCAA West Region championship and second Western Wrestling Conference regular-season dual title over the past three years in 2015. The Bison were 5-0 in the WWC and 9-4 overall including a 22-21 win by criteria over No. 18-ranked Wyoming. NDSU finished 23rd at the 2015 NCAA Championships.

NDSU returns NCAA Division I All-American 184-pound senior Hayden Zillmer (Crosby, Minn.), and three NCAA qualifiers in 125-pound junior Josh Rodriguez (Guadalupe, Calif.), 141-pound sophomore Mitch Bengtson (St. Cloud, Minn.) and 149-pound sophomore Clay Ream (Wentzville, Mo.).

North Dakota State is scheduled to open the season Sunday, Nov. 1, at the Warren Williamson Daktronics Open in Brookings. NDSU opens the home portion of its schedule at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, against Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse University of Virginia in the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. The 45th annual Bison Open follows on Saturday, Nov. 14, in the Fargodome.

UND Hockey Still No. 1 & 2 in polls

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota will open National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) play next weekend as the nation’s top-ranked team in one poll and the No. 2 team in another.

Following a non-conference sweep at Vermont last weekend, North Dakota maintained its grip on the No. 1 spot in this week’s USCHO poll and the No. 2 spot in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. Conference rival Omaha topped the latter poll for the second straight week.

Providence, Boston College and Denver rounded out the top five in both. UND, Omaha and Denver were three of six NCHC schools to crack both polls, along with Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State and Miami.

UND (4-0-2) will travel to Colorado College (0-6-0) to open conference play on Friday and Saturday against the Tigers, who were unranked.

USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll

Rk.      School (First place votes)       Record           Pts.         PR

1.         North Dakota (23)                       4-0-2           959            1

2.         Omaha (12)                                        6-0-0            941            2

3.         Providence (10)                                 4-0-1            903            3

4.         Boston College (4)                           4-1-0            858            4

5.         Denver                                               3-1-0            734            6

6.         Minnesota Duluth                              2-1-2            690            5

7.         Massachusetts-Lowell                      3-0-2            661            7

8.         Boston University                             2-1-0            638            8

9.         Quinnipiac (1)                                    6-0-0            611          14

10.       Michigan                                            3-0-1            552          11

11.       Harvard                                              0-0-0            524            9

12.       Bowling Green                                   3-1-1            442          12

13.       Yale                                                    0-0-0            378          13

14.       St. Cloud State                                  4-2-0            362            9

15.       Miami                                                 3-2-1            287          15

16.       St. Lawrence                                      4-2-0            231          17

17.       Merrimack                                          2-0-2            182          19

18.       Michigan Tech                                    2-2-0            135          16

19.       Clarkson                                            5-1-0            114         NR

20.       Minnesota                                          2-3-0              78          19

Others receiving votes: Union 67, Massachusetts 38, Penn State 35, Robert Morris 22, Minnesota State 21, Notre Dame 20, Vermont 6, Colgate 3, Mercyhurst 3, Bentley 2, Northern Michigan 2, Alaska Anchorage 1.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

Rk.      School (1^st place votes)           Record           Pts.         PR

1.         Omaha (16)                                        6-0-0            483            1

2.         North Dakota (12)                       4-0-2           478            2

3.         Providence (5)                                   4-0-1            434            3

4.         Boston College                                 4-1-0            387            4

5.         Denver                                               3-1-0            298            6

6.         Minnesota Duluth                              2-1-2            289            5

7.         Boston University                             2-1-0            288            7

8.         Massachusetts-Lowell                      3-0-2            274            8

9.         Quinnipiac (1)                                    6-0-0            252          13

10.       Michigan                                            3-0-1            239          11

11.       Harvard                                              0-0-0            215            9

12.       Bowling Green                                   3-1-1            102          12

13.       St. Cloud State                                  4-2-0              88          10

14.       Miami                                                 3-2-1              57          14

15.       Yale                                                    0-0-0              56          15

Others receiving votes: Merrimack 39, St. Lawrence 32, Clarkson 21, Massachusetts 16, Notre Dame 10, Union 9, Penn State 6, Michigan Tech 5, Minnesota 1, Robert Morris 1.