Fall recaps, winter previews

By Eric Lear and Alex Conover
Sports Editor and Cardinal Staff

Volleyball
The Cardinal volleyball team dropped its final game against Gustavus Adolphus College, leaving them with a 17-12 record. The Cardinal’s finished with a sour 3-8 conference record. However, there are many sweet tastes left in the mouths of the Cardinals including freshman middle hitter Alex Nold being named to the All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Volleyball Team. The Cardinals also won the McDaniel Invite in Westminster, Md., without loosing a game. Saint Mary’s University coach Mike Lester will return all players for next season.

Men’s Golf
The SMU men’s golf team tied with Concordia for fifth place in the MIAC tournament at Bunker Hills Golf Course. Senior Jessie Polk finished fifth place overall with rounds of 76-75 and a final round of 72 for his second career All-MIAC selection.
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Women’s Golf
The women’s golf team finished last in the MIAC tournament under first-year coach Jen Trewick. Katie O’Connor led the Cardinals as she finished 24th overall. Trewick struggled with numbers in her first year as she had only three players on her roster at the beginning of the year.

Cross Country
The men’s and women’s cross country teams finished 10th and 11th respectively in the MIAC Championships held on Oct. 27. Sophomore John Vallez was the first Cardinal to cross the finish line for the men in 21st place. As for the women, Emily Dee led the Cardinals finishing 62nd. The NCAA Regional is scheduled for Nov. 11 in Northfield, Minn.

Men’s Soccer
The men’s soccer team was unable to pull out a conference victory this season and have lost 15 straight in the MIAC dating back to last year. The Cardinals finished 4-13-1 this season. Joey Manley, who started in all 18 games, finished his senior year leading the Cardinals with 6 goals, 2 assists and 14 points.

Women’s Soccer
In Coach Chris Dembiec’s first year with double duty coaching the men’s and women’s soccer teams, the women finished 10-7-1. Freshman Amy Sibik and senior Bridgette Baggio led the way for the Cardinals statistically. Sibik and Baggio combined for 23 goals and 6 assists.

MEN’S BASKETBALL
The Cardinals were on the verge of a MIAC playoff berth until they dropped five of their final six games last year. This season, coach Mike Trewick is out to complete some unfinished business. “We expect to make the playoffs this year,” said the fourth-year coach. “These guys know what it takes to compete.”

Luckily for Coach Trewick, he has many returners. Although prolific point guard Brensley Haywood has graduated, back are upperclassmen Mike Sweeney, Dan Cormier, Eric Lear and 6’9” Mike Rohr. Freshmen that are likely to contribute are guards Will Wright and Lukas Holland and forward Gary Seifert. “We’ve got a lot of returners who logged a lot of minutes and have proven they can contribute offensively,” said Trewick. The Cardinals open up the season against Division II national power Winona State on Nov. 17.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Despite finishing last in the MIAC last season (5-16, 7-18 overall), Coach Mandy Pearson has high hopes for her women’s basketball squad. “We return a great group of upperclassmen who are going to have a high impact on the success of this team,” said Pearson. That group will be led by seniors Jess Weisbrod and Kelly Tanke, who combined for 22.9 points and 11 rebounds per game last year. There are also some freshmen looking to break out. “They bring a lot of talent, hard work, and competitiveness to the basketball court,” said Pearson of her freshmen. “We are looking to make a mark in the conference this year and to reach the playoffs. We have high expectations, but all of these goals are attainable.”

MEN’S HOCKEY
The SMU men’s hockey team ended their last season much like the men’s basketball team: headed for a MIAC playoff berth until they hit a late-season slump. Veteran coach Don Olson is not interested in repeating history. “We’ve got all the pieces needed to be a very good team in the MIAC,” said Olson. “Now all we have to do is fit them all together.”

Last year’s team finished 7-17-1, but was very young and only graduated four players. “We knew we were dealing with a very talented group last year, but we were so young, we didn’t know how they would handle the rigors of the MIAC,” said Olson. Returning for the Cardinals are senior Adam Gill, who scored 13 goals last year, and sophomore Anthony Bohn, who had a team-high 19 assists. Defensively, goalie Dan Smith is back, as well as defensemen Devin Firl, Kevin Eidsmo and Jeff Miller.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY
Losing 10 seniors to graduation, the women’s hockey team will be looking for several players to step up. Coach Terry Mannor is coming off a 5th place MIAC finish at 9-7-2, and is going to be counting on his three captains (Val Rodriguez, Hadley Swaggert, and Sara Eisenhauer) to bring leadership to the squad. “As such a young program, we have to grow every day,” said Mannor, in his third year coaching for Saint Mary’s. “We have to learn from our mistakes and represent SMU in a positive manner.” Bringing in 12 freshmen, the team will be looking for several of them to step up on the ice. The Cardinals open up the regular season at UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 10.

SWIMMING AND DIVING
Who says sequels aren’t as good as the original? Certainly not John Fox and Curtis Kempton. The sophomore duo finished last season with a great effort at the MIAC Championships: Fox broke the school record in the 100 breaststoke, and Kempton acquired two all-conference honors in diving. Coach Eric Lindquist is hoping the pair can continue their success this year, along with a group of five seniors (Brian Joyce, Matt Peyton, Danielle Braun, Kasey Schultz and Sarah Hayden) looking to round out their careers.  “Our seniors have done a great job, both in the pool and out, and I honestly look for all of them to have the best years of their collegiate careers,” said Lindquist. “Add to that the fact that we have some very talented newcomers — athletes who are going to push our returners every day in practice and in every meet — and I think the future is pretty bright.”