Points & Prattle XVIII

It’s officially baseball season, folks, which puts yours truly in a good mood. Spring sports are in full stride, while winter sports are just starting to wind down, which means we have a stuffed file for Points & Prattle this week, which means I should pipe down and get to the stories…

• As previously stated, baseball season is in full swing as the Saints opened their season Tuesday late night into Wednesday morning, taking on the Hamline Pipers. The Saints swept the doubleheader, with senior Steve Gerten leading the way. He was 2-for-6 at the plate with three RBIs while also throwing 5.0 innings while allowing just two runs. Sophomore Tom Juberian also shined on the night, going 5-for-7 with three RBIs of his own. (Full Story)
• The ’Dome opener was mere prologue to what will undoubtedly be the biggest two-game set of the Saints early season as they take on No. 1 St. Thomas on Sunday night. The Tommies are the defending D-III National champs and took three of four games from the Saints last season, but CSS has played them tough in the past and is looking for revenge. (Full Story)
• In a follow-up to their program-best six Saints voted into All-NCHA honors, CSS has put 11 Saints on the All-NCHA Academic Team. Eleven is a bit much to be listing all the names (which is good, I’d say), so you can follow the link to find out who. (Full Story)
• Speaking of men’s hockey, did you miss the debut of Saints Behind the Scenes? It’s not too late, because it’s here:

• Those were happier times for the Saints, who fell this past weekend to Wis.-River Falls in the NCHA Semifinals. The season may not yet be over, as we’ll be forced to wait until Sunday when the NCAA brackets are released, but as was stated earlier, the Saints may need some help in conference championships, including their own, to earn the bid. You can follow the St. Norbert vs. Wis.-River Falls NCHA Championship game on Saturday here (hopefully that works), and view the bracket when it’s announced on USCHO. I know the Saints played well enough to make the tournament, but sadly, they slipped at the wrong time and have left it up to a committee to decide their fate. Only time will tell.
• On to more optimistic news, the Saints swept the UMAC Indoor Track & Field championships last weekend, so congrats to the men and women, and also took home 23 All-UMAC awards. Not a bad week, here’s the full list for men and women.
• No rest for the weary or the honored, because track sends players to the Pointer Qualifier in Stevens Point this weekend.
• The Saints women’s tennis team defeated St. Kate’s on the weekend, 7-2, improving to 4-3 going into their Spring trip next week. Junior Callee Conda, senior Kelly Ross, and freshman Milly Che Leon each had wins in singles and in doubles on the day. (Full Story)
• Their male counterparts did not fair as well, falling to St. Cloud State to drop to 0-4, but looking forward, they, too, have the sunshine state ahead of them, where hopefully, they can turn the season around. (Full Story)

The next week will be quite quiet around these parts, but we’ll have some blog content coming your way, as teams prepare for Spring trips and I prepare to hang out in tropical Duluth for the week. Best of luck to those teams that are in action this weekend, and I hope everyone can get out and enjoy the weekend, as I plan to! Hopefully this half decent Duluth weather holds up! Take it easy, all!

-jh

Points and Prattle, Vol. 2 - Sept. 18, 2009

Voice of: Joe Hansen

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Another week has come and gone. Time flies when you’re having fun, as well as when you're busy beyond comprehension. Nonetheless, it’s Friday, and Friday means another rousing edition of Points and Prattle here at VOTS, so without further ado:

• My new “show,” 5 Questions has received some excellent reviews, so that should continue here at VOTS next week, provided I get over this awful cold before early next week.
• My thoughts and prayers, this week, are with the family of the late-NCAA president Myles Brand. He was president for just six years, but did a lot in pushing the “student” part of the term “student athlete,” and that’s a good thing.
• In today’s digression of the day, The Office season premiere last night was excellent, as always. Now, if only I had realized It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was on as well…
• Congrats to four Saints on earning UMAC Player of the Week honors this week. In men’s soccer, freshman forward Joshua Odukomaya’s banner day did not go unnoticed as his seven points earned him the Offensive POTW, while sophomore goalkeeper Sam Reed earned himself a shutout and Defensive POTW. Football had senior RB Chris Henagin and his three touchdowns recognized, as sophomore FS Scott Greening’s two interceptions earned him the honor as well.
• On the subject of football, they earned their first road victory in program history, a 33-8 slashing of Maranatha Baptist (Wis.) College, last week, and are now, for the first time ever, .500 on the season. They will look for another first – an above .500 record – on Saturday against Wisconsin Lutheran. The game is a home contest for CSS, but it will be played on Superior’s Ole Haugsrud Field.
• As with last week, the Saints men’s soccer team is off to its best start in years. Now at 3-0-0, they’ve matched their start from 2004. One more victory will give them their best start on record, and it could come today against Northwestern. The Saints were 1-1-1 against the Eagles last season with just two goals scored by each team, so anything could happen in this rivalry.
• Women’s soccer, currently on a two-game skid, takes to the field for UMAC play – where they are undefeated the past six regular seasons – as well this weekend, taking on Northwestern today and Crown tomorrow. The same two teams were on the receiving end of the Saints’ frustration from two straight losses last season, an unenviable position.
• Cross Country was “home” last week… sort of. They ran the Campus Quest VI at Minn.-Duluth, where the women earned third and the men fourth. Senior Katelyn Meger once again impressed, finishing third, while junior Nick Mangan finished fourth on the men’s side, posting a personal best at 27:46.
• Last, but certainly not least, our volleyball team split the weekend with two wins and two losses at Wis.-Superior, including their first three-game sweep of the season over the YellowJackets. Freshman Paige Hardy was again the star of the weekend, with 50 kills in their four games. This young team seems very exciting, and I can’t wait to see them Homecoming weekend. Before that though, they will travel some 500-plus miles to Bloomington, Ill. to take on Illinois Wesleyan and Webster universities.
• On the web front, ShoutOuts!!! wasn’t a one-person show this week, with all five Fall coaches giving us a preview of the weekend. The CSS YouTube channel is filling up with great content already.
• If you don’t have plans Saturday night (after the CSS football game, of course), then camp out with St. Scholastica and the United Way at Night Without a Home. There’s live music, it’s for a good cause, and it’s probably your last nice night to camp out this year, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Well, that’s all I have for you this week. VOTS returns Tuesday with our next 5 Questions segment, featuring Head Men’s and Women’s Cross Country coach, Steve Pfingsten! We’ll talk about longevity in coaching, the difference between men and women student athletes, and maybe what makes a cross country runner tick. Should be fun.

Enjoy your weekends,
-jh