UMC Women's Tennis to begin season

CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota, Crookston women’s tennis team opens up the 2013 season against Upper Iowa University at Sartell, Minn. 12 p.m. The Golden Eagles are coached by Josh Lunak.

The Golden Eagles went 2-10 (1-9 NSIC) last season and return four members of last season’s team led by Katelyn Johnson (Jr., Monticello, Minn.), who played No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for UMC last season. No. 3 singles and No. 3 doubles player Holly Roepke (Sr., Osage, Minn.) returns to the fray as well as No. 4 singles and No. 2 doubles player Amanda Pihlaja (Jr., Duluth, Minn.) and No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles player Casey Paris (Jr., Fairmont, Minn.).

 

UMC adds newcomers Mary Boateng (Fr., Rosemount, Minn.), Catherine Brown (Fr., Powell Butte, Ore.), Emily Caldis (Fr., St. Paul, Minn.), Amanda Newman (Jr., Rosemount, Minn.) and Sarah Muellner to the roster for 2013.

The Golden Eagles will continue play in conference in the month of February as UMC faces Northern State University Feb. 8, University of Minnesota Duluth Feb. 22 and Augustana College Feb. 23.

2013 UMC Baseball Season Preview

CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota, Crookston baseball team will open the 2013 season Feb. 15 as the Golden Eagles travel to Minneapolis, Minn., for a doubleheader against Upper Iowa University at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome at 6 and 8 a.m. UMC has been practicing since Jan. 14.

The Golden Eagles are entering their sixth season under head coach Chris Vito. UMC is coming off of a 10-36 (4-28 NSIC) mark last season including memorable victories against University of Minnesota Duluth and Augustana College (S.D.).

UMC returns four players that started 30 or more games last season in the field led by UMC Players to Watch Josh Brehmer (Jr., IF, Roseville, Minn.) and Matt Korte (Jr., P/IF/OF, St. Cloud, Minn.). Brehmer led the Golden Eagles with a .346 batting average, 17 runs scored and 18 RBI’s. Korte hit .317 on the year and was also one of UMC’s top starting pitchers appearing nine times with 40.2 innings pitched with a 2-6 record and a 7.30 ERA. Korte leads a group of returning pitchers that is highlighted by five players, including Korte, who pitched in 25 or more innings last season. The Golden Eagles also return Joe Miller (So., P, Winona, Minn.), who led the team in ERA last season, Ryan Paasch (Jr., P, Sauk Rapids, Minn.), Brooks Miller (So., P/IF/OF, Moorhead, Minn.) and Kyle Kleven (So., P, Larimore, N.D.).

In addition to Brehmer and Korte in the field, the Golden Eagles also return a pair of seniors who started last season in Jordan Prill (Sr., 1B/OF/P, Melrose, Minn.) and J.C. Crane (Sr., C/OF, Tucson, Ariz.). Prill hit .299 last season in 44 starts and was tied with Brehmer on the team with 17 runs scored and a .388 slugging percentage. Prill had 12 RBI’s. Crane hit. 229 last season with 40 games played, 13 runs scored and seven RBI’s.

The Golden Eagles also return a pair of players who played limited roles last season but will be looked for an added impact this season in Jesse Jennings (So., IF/OF, Robbinsdale, Minn.) and Jeremiah Friday (So., C/1B/3B, Rush City, Minn.).

In addition to the returnees, the Golden Eagles also expect contributions from their 13 newcomers to the team. At catcher Colton Haight (C/1B/OF, Rogers, Minn.), Mario Del Greco (Fr., C/UT, Eveleth, Minn.) and Ryan Haggstrom (Fr., C/1B, Apple Valley, Minn.) have been added to the fray. In the infield, Nathan Linstad (Fr., P/UT, Inkster, N.D.), Tony Madsen (Jr., IF, Mounds View, Minn.), Kameron Crandall (R-Fr., P/IF/OF, Zimmerman, Minn.), Cesar Espinoza (Sr., 1B, Eveleth, Minn.), Del Greco, Haight and Haggstrom will add to the team. In the outfield, newcomers Linstad, Crandall, Haight and Del Greco will compete.

As for pitching, newcomers Thane Larson (Jr., P, Grantsburg, Wis.), Richie Navratil (So., P, Blansko, Czech Republic), Jon Mittag (Jr., P, Glenville, Minn.), Trevor Buttermore (Fr., P, North St. Paul, Minn.), Marcus Campbell (Fr., P, St. Croix Falls, Wis.), Adrian Romo (Sr., P, Douglas, Ariz.), Linstad and Crandall will add to the pitching rotation this season.

The Golden Eagles begin the season with eight games at the Metrodome beginning with the doubleheader Feb. 15 against Upper Iowa and then remain in the dome Feb. 16 with a doubleheader versus University of Mary. UMC will return to the Metrodome Feb. 19 to face Valley City State University in a doubleheader and will come back for a fourth series versus Mayville State University Feb. 27.

UMC will then board a plane for the sunshine of Florida beginning with the Winning Inning Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., March 15-16 at the former spring training home of Major League Baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies. The Golden Eagles will have games against Upper Iowa University and Mansfield University during the tournament. UMC will then wrap up their Florida trip with a game against Florida Christian College March 19 at Tinker Field, the former spring training home of the Minnesota Twins.

The Golden Eagles will open the NSIC season March 24 and 25 with a pair of doubleheaders against Minnesota State University, Mankato at the Metrodome.

UMC’s assistant coaching staff for 2013 includes Dave Williams, Aaron Motl and Mitch Allore. Williams will serve as the team’s pitching coach and comes to the Golden Eagles from Minnesota State University, Mankato where he was a volunteer assistant for two seasons. Williams played at North Dakota State University. Motl, a former player who graduated in 2006, returns for his sixth season as catcher’s coach. Allore, who finished up his playing career last season after starting 43 games, stays on staff as a volunteer assistant and infield coach.

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

Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at @UMCAthletics.

The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).

PTP Basketball Players of the Week

(January 29, 2013)
Jaysha Pemberton (Bagley High School), Lexi Nelson (Norman County West High School) and Jake Pavek (Mahnomen High School) have been selected as the Pine to Prairie Girls and Boys Basketball Players of the Week.

Jaysha averaged 19 points in two games for the Flyers last week.  In a win against Fertile-Beltrami, she went 8 for 12 from the field including 3 of 4 from the 3 point line.  In a loss to Fosston, Jaysha scored 19 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and recorded 4 steals.

Lexi averaged 24 points, 5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in two wins last week.  Norman County West defeated Ulen-Hitterdal and Norman County East.

Jake scored 24 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in a loss to Win-E-Mac and then followed that effort up with 18 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Climax-Fisher.  Pavek recently went over the 1000 career rebound mark.

UMC To Host Special Olympics Fundraiser

CROOKSTON, Minn.- The University of Minnesota, Crookston Student Advisory Committee (SAAC) is sponsoring a fundraiser for the Crookston Area Special Olympics during the Golden Eagles’ home basketball games Fri., Feb. 1 against University of Sioux Falls.

The fun-filled day will feature the Crookston Area Special Olympics Basketball team playing at half-time of the women’s basketball game, which begins at 6 p.m. Friday night. The Special Olympics team will face-off against a team made up of UMC students, coaches and community members. Before both games and during the men’s half time, SAAC will have games for all ages in the hallways and on the basketball court. All proceeds of the event will go to the Crookston Area Special Olympics. There will also be cool prizes given out throughout the night. If you have any questions about information on the event contact UMC Assistant Athletic Director Natasha Reierson at 218-281-8423.

ND State Class B Boys BB Tickets on Sale

MINOT, N.D. (Jan. 6, 2013) – Tickets to the general public for the 2013 Class B Boys State Basketball Tournament will go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 23 at noon, Minot State University Athletic Director and Class B Boys Basketball Tournament Director Rick Hedberg announced Monday.

New to this year’s ordering process is Minot State University’s Vendini online ticket agent. Patrons can order tickets, pick specific seats and have orders processed all by computer. Online ticketing is available on Jan. 23 at www.msudome.com and is the most efficient process to acquire tickets.

Tickets will also be available by calling the Minot State University Athletic Ticket Office at 701-858-3041 or in person at the MISU Athletic Ticket Office at noon Jan. 23 or Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. after the first day. The final way to purchase tickets is by mail. Ticket requests must be postmarked on or after Tuesday, Jan. 22. When ordering by mail, there is a $4 shipping and handling fee that must be added to the total price. Send checks payable to “ND State Boys BB Tournament” to:

Rick Hedberg, Athletic Director
Minot State University
500 University Ave. W
Minot, ND 58707

The cost to purchase reserved seating for the tournament are $44 for Adult Season Reserved (all three days) and $21 for Student Season Unreserved (all three days). Individual session tickets will not be available until the opening day of the tournament.

For more information and to view a seating map, please log on to (www.msudome.com) or call the MISU Athletic Office at 701-858-3041.

Handel Named Gopher Associate Athletic Director For Development

University of Minnesota director of athletics Norwood Teague announced today that Randy Handel has been promoted to associate athletic director for development. Handel had been serving as the interim associate athletic director for development since October 2012.

Handel will manage the day-to-day development operations in the Golden Gopher Fund which includes all fundraising activity with capital campaigns, the annual fund, endowments, planned giving and the department’s premium services and events.

“In my opinion, you will not find a kinder and more consummate development professional then Randy Handel,” said executive associate athletic director David Benedict, who will oversee Handel and his staff. “Randy possesses a unique skill set that is a perfect fit for this position.”

Handel joined Minnesota in June 2010 as a major gift development officer and led capital campaigns for the new Siebert Field and for the proposed new basketball development center. In addition he championed the growth of athletic endowment and served as an adjunct faculty member teaching “Sport Sales and Fundraising.”

Prior to coming to Minnesota, Handel was the vice president and chief operating officer at McGann Construction, Inc., in Madison, Wis., for 10 years. There he was charged with developing new business, marketing and supervision of office operations, corporate strategic planning and employee performance reviews for company with $28 million in annual business.

From 1996-2000, Handel was the senior director of athletic development at for the University of Wisconsin Foundation. While at Wisconsin, he was a major gift officer for athletics and focused on capital campaigns that resulted in the Kohl Center, the Robert and Irwin Goodman Softball Complex and the Porter Boathouse.

Handel, who has coached basketball at the collegiate and high school level, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 1979 with degrees in health and physical education. He also holds a master’s degree in physical education from Colorado State (1980) and a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Wisconsin (1993).

Two NDSU Wrestlers remain in Top 10

North Dakota State wrestlers Trent Sprenkle and Steven Monk are both ranked No. 6 in the country in the most recent national wrestling polls released this week. Amateur Wrestling News and Intermat each have Sprenkle and Monk rated as the sixth-best in their respective weight classes.

As a team, NDSU remained at No. 22 in the Intermat tournament-strength poll. The Bison are receiving votes in the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Division I Coaches Poll for the second straight week and are ranked No. 20 by WrestlingReport.com.

Sprenkle (21-2, 12-0 duals) is 4-1 against ranked opponents at 125 pounds this season, including wins over David Thorn of Minnesota and Christian Cullinan of Central Michigan, who were ranked No. 5 and No. 8 in the nation at the time of their meetings.

Sprenkle was ranked as high as No. 4 in December – the highest ranking ever achieved by a Bison wrestler in NDSU’s Division I era. He owns 96 career wins and is aiming to become the eighth wrestler in NDSU history with 100 or more victories.

Monk (25-3, 12-0 duals) owns five wins this season over wrestlers ranked in the top 11 at 165 pounds - No. 7 Nick Sulzer (Virginia), No. 8 Conrad Polz (Illinois), No. 10 Cody Yohn (Minnesota), No. 10 Zach Toal (Missouri) and No. 11 Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo).

Monk is 42-6 in his last 48 matches and owns a record of 87-21 in his Bison career. His .806 career winning percentage is the 10th-best in NDSU history.

The two Bison standouts have combined to go 24-0 in dual meets this season.

North Dakota State will open Western Wrestling Conference action at Air Force on Friday, Jan. 25, and take on defending WWC champion Wyoming on the road on Sunday, Jan. 27.

PTP Basketball Players of the Week

(January 22, 2013)
Shelby Kaster (Win-E-Mac) and Neil Henrickson (Ulen-Hitterdal) have been selected by the Pine to Prairie Conference as the Girls and Boys Basketball Players of the Week.

Shelby averaged 23.5 points, 19 rebounds and 3.5 assists in two conference wins for the Patriots last week.  The junior forward also shot 73% from the floor.  Shelby has helped her team run their record to 13-0 on the season.  Shelby is also one of the leading scorers and rebounders in the conference.

Neil scored 34 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and added 3 assists in a loss to Fertile-Beltrami on Monday.  In a win against Lake Park-Audubon, he had 21 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 0 turnovers.  In a non-conference matchup against Barnesville, Neil had 30 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.  Ulen-Hitterdal is currently 7-1 in the conference and 13-2 overall.

Other outstanding performances in the conference were turned in by:  Brooke Brommenschenkel (Norman County West), Madison McKeever (Win-E-Mac), Sean Benson (Bagley) and Bailee Bartunek (Lake Park-Audubon) on the girls side.  For the boys, Seth Carlin (Fosston), Joel Merkens (Ada-Borup), and Marshall McKeever (Win-E-Mac) all had strong performances.   In addition, Jake Pavek (Mahnomen) recorded his 1000^th career rebound in a win over Bagley.  Jake scored 33 points and grabbed 24 rebounds in that milestone game.

NDSU alum selected to WWE Hall of Fame

Former North Dakota State NCAA champion wrestler Bob Backlund has been selected for induction into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame, the organization announced Monday evening.

The two-time WWE champion and sports-entertainment icon was announced Jan. 21 as the second inductee for the Hall’s 2013 class, joining Mick Foley as the WWE legends for enshrinement on Apr. 6, 2013.

The Princeton, Minn., native achieved the highest honors in both amateur and professional wrestling over a storied, decades-long career, earning collegiate All-American honors at North Dakota State University as well as an NCAA Championship at 190 pounds. He was also an all-conference football player before turning professional and pursuing a career in WWE.

Backlund cemented himself firmly in sports-entertainment lore when he defeated “Superstar” Billy Graham for the WWE Title and held the prize for six years, a reign second only to Bruno Sammartino’s in WWE history.

The old-school grappler quietly left WWE in the ‘80s after losing the title to The Iron Sheik, but returned in 1992 and later defeated Bret Hart for his second WWE Championship at Survivor Series 1994. Backlund’s appearances throughout the 2000s have been sporadic but memorable, and his influence remains strewn across the sports-entertainment landscape to this day.

A two-sport athlete at NDSU, Backlund was a two-year starter at defensive tackle for Ron Erhardt’s 1970 and 1971 Bison teams that combined for a 16-2-1 record including a victory over Montana in the 1970 Camellia Bowl.

Backlund became the second NDSU wrestler ever to win a NCAA Division II national championship when he took the 190-pound crown in 1971 before the home fans in Fargo. He compiled a two-year dual meet record of 16-4-1 at NDSU and closed out his career with a fifth-place finish at heavyweight in the 1972 NCAA Championships.

NSIC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll

BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The University of Minnesota, Crookston softball team was picked to finish 16th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Coaches’ Poll released Thursday afternoon from the conference office. The Golden Eagles are in their first year under head coach Ed Deugan. They finished in a tie for 15th place with Bemidji State University last season after going 9-40 (3-23 NSIC).

Minnesota State University, Mankato, the 2012 NSIC regular-season and tournament champions, were picked to finish first in the league for the first time since joining the league during the 2008-09 academic year. The Mavericks garnered nine first-place votes and 213 overall points in the poll. Augustana College was picked to finish second with 212 points and received four first-place votes. Winona State University was picked third with 192 points while University of Minnesota Duluth was picked fourth and Concordia University-St. Paul was picked fifth. UMD picked up two first-place votes while Concordia received one first-place vote.

Paige Schaust (Jr., OF/P, Delano, Minn.) and Stacey Marcum (Sr., RHP, Merrill, Wis.) were picked as the Golden Eagles’ Players to Watch by the NSIC. Schaust led the team with a .348 batting average while appearing in 40 games last season. She scored 11 runs, hit three doubles, one home run and had 16 RBI on the season. Schaust had a .416 slugging percentage and a .414 on-base percentage. Marcum had a 5-19 record with a 7.19 earned runs average in 122.2 innings pitched. Marcum led the team with 80 strikeouts.

Lindsay Erickson, a catcher/infielder for the Mavericks was picked as the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year after earning All-America Second Team honors from the NFCA and Daktronics last season. Megan Mullen, a right-handed pitcher for the University of Minnesota Duluth was chosen as the NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Mullen was an All-NSIC Second Team pick last season. She had a 1.92 ERA in NSIC games last season.

The Golden Eagles open up the season with a spring break trip with games in Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina and Georgia. The first game on the trip will pit UMC against Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio March 15 in a doubleheader. The trip will wrap up with games versus Point University in West Point, Ga. March 22. The Golden Eagles return eight position players who started over eight games and Marcum and Schaust in the circle, who each appeared in over 85 innings a season ago.

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

Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at @UMCAthletics.

The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).

2013 NSIC Preseason Softball Coaches Poll

1.	Minnesota State (9)	213
2.	Augustana (4)	212
3.	Winona State	192
4.	Minnesota Duluth (2)	190
5.	Concordia-St. Paul (1)	174
6.	Wayne State	141
7.	University of Mary	123
8.	Northern State	119
9.	St. Cloud State	110
10.	Southwest Minnesota State	102
11.	Upper Iowa	99
12.	Minot State	73
13.	Sioux Falls	60
14.	MSU Moorhead	51
15.	Bemidji State	40
16.	Minnesota, Crookston	21
	First place votes in ( )

PTP Players of the Week

(January 15, 2013) - Tamara Porter (Senior) from Mahnomen High School and Dalton Kohler (Junior) from Lake Park-Audubon High School have been selected as the Pine to Prairie Conference Girls and Boys Basketball Players of the Week.

Tamara averaged 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 2.5 steals in two conference games last week.  The senior guard led Mahnomen to a 1-1 record last week as they lost to Clearbrook-Gonvick 44-64 but then came back to win and exciting double overtime game against Fosston 65-60. 

Dalton had two excellent games as Lake Park-Audubon went 1-1 on the week, with a 65-55 win over Waubun and a 60-71 loss to Fertile-Beltrami.  The junior forward’s stat line against Waubun included: 25 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 blocks.  Against Fertile-Beltrami, Dalton contributed 28 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 blocks.

Other outstanding performances for the week include: Madison McKeever (Win-E-Mac), Bailee Bartunek (Lake Park-Audubon),  and Jake Pavek (Mahnomen),

NDSU's Craig Bohl selected 2012 AFCA FCS Coach of the Year

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The American Football Coaches Association capped its 2013 convention by presenting its top coaching award — AFCA Coach of the Year — to five outstanding coaches on Tuesday, Jan. 8.

The winners will be honored Tuesday evening at the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, North Dakota State’s Craig Bohl, Valdosta State’s David Dean, St. Thomas’ Glenn Caruso and Morningside’s Steve Ryan are the 2012 AFCA National Coach of the Year winners. Kelly in FBS, Bohl in FCS, Dean in Division II, Caruso in Division III and Ryan in NAIA.

Bohl is the fourth NDSU to earn AFCA Coach of the Year honors. He joins Don Morton (1983), Earle Solomonson (1986) and two-time winner Rocky Hager (1988 and 1990), who each received the Division II award.

In 2012, Bohl led the Bison to a 14-1 record, a second straight Missouri Valley Football Conference title and a second straight FCS national championship. In his 10 years at North Dakota State, Bohl owns a 89-32 record, and those 89 victories place him second on the school’s all-time wins list. He earned the Eddie Robinson Award in 2012, AFCA FCS Regional Coach of the Year honors in 2011, and was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2012.

The winners are selected by a vote of the Active AFCA members (coaches at four-year schools) in the Association’s five divisions. The AFCA has named a Coach of the Year since 1935. The AFCA Coach of the Year award is the oldest and most prestigious of all the Coach of the Year awards and is the only one chosen exclusively by the coaches themselves.

Brian Kelly led Notre Dame to a 12-1 record and an appearance in the BCS National Championship game. He has a 199-68-2 overall record in his 22 seasons as head coach, with two Division II National Championships in 2002-03 at Grand Valley State, two Big East titles at Cincinnati and two AFCA Division II Coach of the Year honors in 2002-03. In his three seasons as head coach for the Fighting Irish, Kelly has led Notre Dame to 28-11 record. 

David Dean led the Blazers to a 12-2 record in 2012 and the program’s third NCAA Division II national title in nine years, earning him AFCA Division II Coach of the Year honors for the second time. With those 12 wins, Dean brought his overall record to 54-17 and drew closer to Chris Hatcher’s program leading 76-win mark. He also earned AFCA Regional Coach of the Year honors in 2010 after leading Valdosta State to eight wins, a NCAA Division II playoff berth and the school’s first conference title in six years. 

 

Glenn Caruso led St. Thomas to a 14-1 record, its third consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) championship and its first appearance in the NCAA Division III national championship game. Caruso has a five-year record of 57-8 at St. Thomas. The Tommies have recorded three straight 10-0 regular seasons, making the first time that has been accomplished in MIAC history. Caruso earned AFCA Regional honors in 2010 after leading St. Thomas to a 12-1 mark and a trip to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals. 

 

Steve Ryan led Morningside to a 13-1 record and an appearance in the NAIA national championship game this season to earn AFCA NAIA National Coach of the Year honors for the first time, to go along with a second straight AFCA Regional Coach of the Year honor. Ryan has an overall record of 98-31 in his 11 years as head coach at Morningside, ranking him second on the school’s all-time wins list behind Jason Saunderson with 118. He guided the Mustangs to a second straight Great Plains Athletic Conference title in 2012, and third under his tutelage. Morningside has made nine straight appearances in the NAIA playoffs under Ryan. 

 

UND's Knight named WCHA Offensive POTW

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – After being named national player of the month for December, North Dakota senior Corban Knight has opened the month of January by being named Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) co-Offensive Player of the Week.

Knight, who also won the award on Dec. 18, enjoyed a 6-point weekend as North Dakota earned a non-conference series sweep of No. 20 Holy Cross with 5-2 and 3-2 victories. A native of High River, Alberta, Knight scored twice (including the game-winner) and assisted on two other goals in Friday’s 5-2 win. In Saturday’s 3-2 win, Knight notched a pair of third-period assists on the power play, setting up Michael Parks’ game-tying goal and Danny Kristo’s game-winner as UND rallied from an early 2-0 deficit.

Knight also won 31 of 40 (77.5 percent) faceoffs in the series, including a 21-of-24 (87.5 percent) performance on Friday. He was named the game’s No. 1 star on Friday and the No. 2 star on Saturday.

Currently riding a 15-game point streak, UND’s longest since Brandon Bochenski’s 17-game streak in 2002-03, Knight leads the WCHA and ranks third nationally with 1.53 points per game. He has 10 goals and 19 assists in 19 games, for a team-leading 29 points.

Knight shared the award with Nebraska Omaha sophomore forward Josh Archibald. Denver goalie Juho Olkinuora was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week, while DU freshman forward Quentin Shore was named WCHA Rookie of the Week.

UND (12-5-3, 7-2-3 WCHA), which has won five straight games, resumes league play this weekend when it hosts Colorado College on Friday and Saturday.

UND’s WCHA Players of the Week

Nov. 20: Danny Kristo (Offensive)

Dec. 11: Carter Rowney (Offensive)

Dec. 11: Rocco Grimaldi (co-Rookie)

Dec. 18: Corban Knight (Offensive)

Jan. 8: Corban Knight (co-Offensive)

UND Athletics names Matt Kellogg head women’s soccer coach

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota Director of Athletics Brian Faison announced today that Matt Kellogg has been hired as head women’s soccer coach, effective immediately.

Kellogg spent the previous three seasons as head women’s soccer coach at NCAA Division II Ferris State University. Prior to that, he served as assistant women’s soccer coach and recruiting coordinator at a pair of NCAA Division I schools, Morehead (Ky.) State University and the University of Kentucky.

"Matt brings to the position a strong emphasis on player development, a commitment to academics, an understanding of the critical importance of involvement in the local soccer community, and an extensive combination of head and assistant coaching experiences at the collegiate level,” Faison said. "No one will work harder to build a winner for UND soccer.”

Kellogg inherited a Ferris State team that went 3-13-3 in the year prior to his arrival and led the Bulldogs to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) in each of his three seasons at the helm. In 2012, FSU went 9-7-3 and advanced to the GLIAC semifinals for only the second time in program history, while two of Kellogg’s student-athletes earned all-region honors. His team also recorded a 3.65 grade point average, its third straight semester with a 3.30 or higher.

In 2009, Kellogg’s lone season at Morehead State, the Eagles captured the program’s first-ever Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) regular season championship with a 5-0-3 conference record (8-7-4 overall).

At Kentucky, Kellogg served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator during the 2007 and 2008 campaigns. Prior to his stint at UK, Kellogg spent three seasons (2004-07) as an assistant coach at Western Michigan University. He also was the head women's soccer coach at Kalamazoo (Mich.) College from December 2002 to February 2004 after being an assistant at the school for the 2002 season. Kellogg has also spent several seasons working for the United States Olympic Development Program in various coaching roles.

“I want to thank Brian and (senior associate athletics director/senior woman administrator) Daniella (Irle) and the rest of the selection committee for giving me this great opportunity,” Kellogg said. “When I visited campus and talked with different people in the department, it became very apparent that the athletics department and the University are very committed to winning and doing it the right way. I was very impressed by this and wanted to be a part of it.”

Kellogg is a 2000 graduate of Butler University in Indianapolis, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and was a two-year letterwinner on the soccer team. He also participated in track and field for one season. Kellogg earned his master’s degree in sports administration from Western Michigan in 2005.

Kellogg holds an United States Soccer Federation (USSF) National B License and a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Advanced National Goalkeeping Certificate.

North Dakota went 2-13-1 last season, its fifth and final season under previous head coach Kristen Gay.

Bagley hockey player career milestone

Bagley Senior hockey player Aaron Leintz reached the 100 career points milestone on Saturday, December 29th as the Bagley-Fosston Flyers defeated Moose Lake Area in the Silver Bay Holiday Tournament. The Flyers ended the tournament with a 2-1 record and individually, Aaron had 7 goals and 7 assists for the tournament. Leintz is currently ranked among the state leaders in both goals scored and points. He is 6th for goals scored with 18 and 8th for points with 34. The Flyers record currently stands at 5-5 for the season.