Men's Basketball Beats Northwestern

Men's Basketball has posted a record of 3-3 to date. A clutch
three-pointer by Tim Merritt (SO) with 4 seconds remaining lifted the Norse to a 63-61 victory over Northwestern College (MN) on Friday,December 11th. Northwestern had taken the lead on their ownthree-pointer from the top of the key with 32 seconds left in the game.
The Norse then held for the last shot and Merritt received a pass from
Dane Larson (SO) in the corner for the winning basket. Overall, the
newcomers are improving daily and getting up to speed offensively and
defensively. Some of the returners have started slowly and have been
coming on the last week. Right now the Norse are starting 2 juniors, 2
sophomores, and a freshman. Next up is @Crown College on Saturday,December 19th.

Swim & Dive teams show their strength at the Falcon Invite

This past weekend, December 4-5, the men’s and women’s Swim Team traveled to the University of Minnesota Aquatic center to participate in the two day Falcon Invite. Headed into the meet with a small 3 day rest the Norse attacked the competition and had some great swims. Day one was a success with Taylor Nelson posting a first place finish with a time of :21.51 in the 50 Freestyle. Michael Pettingill also finished first in the 100 Breastroke with a time of :57.49, this time also gave him a B-cut for Nationals. Brad Foresman finished second in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:01.14. Other outstanding swims of the day were Spencer Robbins, earning a 3^rd place in the 500 Freestyle with a time of 4:46.31 and a 2^nd place finish in the 100 Butterfly with a time of :52.02.

The women also had a tremendous first day with an additional B-cut performed by Stephanie Drewes in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:07.56, and Rachel Bruns in the 50 Freestyle with a time of :24.47. Bruns also finished first in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 1:56.59. Kari Kolsrud finished second in the 200 IM clocking a 2:14.98.

The second day of competition was equally as successful for both the men’s and women’s teams. More first place finishes were earned by Taylor Nelson in the 100 Freestyle (:46.81), Michael Pettingill in the 200 Breaststroke (2:06.39, Nationasl B-Cut), Spencer Robbins in the 200 Butterfly (1:55.78). Robbins also had a second place finish in the 200 Backstroke in a time of 1:56.55. The men’s realys during the weekend were strong earning second place in both the 200 Freestyle (1:26.90) and 400 Medley (3:32.24). The relay team of Nelson, Cutler, Ziminski, and Robbins earned a first place finish in the 400 Freestyle relay with a time of 3:13. 59.

On the women’s side two more National B-Cuts and first place finishes were made by Stephanie Drewes in the 200 Breaststroke(2:27.68, Nationals B-Cut) and Rachel Bruns in the 100 Freestyle (52.78, Nationals B-cut). Third place finishes were earned by Sara Kessler in the 200 Backstroke (2:13.65) and Kari Kolsrud in the 400 IM (4:48.79). The relays over the weekend were strong as well the 400 Medley earned first place with Kessler, Drewes, Ladd, and Bruns (4:04.85). The 400 Freestyle Relay of Bruns, Nicoll, Kolsrud, and Kessler earned 3^rd place(3:40.17). The 200 Medley Relay of Rauchwarter, Drewes, Ladd, and Nicoll finished in 4^th (1:54.83).

The swim team will be staying in Decorah over Christmas break to continue with their training, but will return to competition January 9^th at St.Mary’s.

The men’s and women’s diving teams traveled to Macalester College this past weekend for a diving invitational. Friday afternoon was the 3 meter competition. On the men’s side Alan Thorsen finished 5^th out of 6 divers with a score of 161.25. The women’s side, Elise DesRoches finished 3^rd out of 13, with a score of 179.60 and Christina Gednalske finished 8^th with a score of 134.00. The second day of diving on the 1 meter board had Thorsen finishing 5^th with a 161.15. DesRoches finished 1^st on the women’s side with a score of 228.80, Gednalske finished 4^th with a score of 183.40.

Women's Basketball

The Luther College women's basketball team dropped its first game of the season, a 67-64 decision to Ripon College this afternoon in the UW-La Crosse Holiday Inn Classic.

Twenty-eight turnovers plus an 18-point difference at the free throw line proved to be the deciding factors in this contest. Ripon connected on 19-of-25 free throw attempts, plus tallied 20 points off of Luther's 28 turnovers. On the flip side, Luther made just three trips to the charity stripe making one, and was credited with 10 points off of Ripon's 16 turnovers.

Trailing 37-30 at halftime, the Norse battled back in the second half and held a seven point lead (61-54), with 7:45 left in the game. Ripon outscored the Norse 13-3 the rest of the way en route to the victory.

Wrestling Wins Big

The Luther College Wrestling Team traveled to UW-Eau Claire the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to take on the Blugolds. Behind the efforts of 6 freshmen, the Norse rolled to a 38-3 victory. Veteran Kevin Bokoski had a dominating performace as did freshman Peadair Flood. Peadair was coming off of a great weekend where he went 4-0 to win the Silver Division at the Augsburg Open and is now 7-3 on the year. Jack Steinberg had a gutsy performace as well at 184. He fought off his back the majority of the first period and then came back in the second and third period to break his opponent and win by a score of 11-9. It was fun to watch him! He has great intensity! Micah Ballew got his first win of the season with a score of 12-0 and looked good doing so. He has been weighing in at 184 and wrestling 197 for the team. Matt Fassbinder pinned his opponent at 174 and is getting closer to the level he wants to be at. The only loss came in a good match at 149 where we had freshman Shaun O'Neill wrestle against a solid senior from UW Eau Claire. Shaun wrestled pretty well and is going to be a good one.

We took Wed-Sunday off from practice and resumed Monday. We are looking forward to competing at UW-Parkside this weekend and then will wrestle 2 duals against Simpson College and UW-LaCrosse next week. We have a young team and have not had our best lineup on the mat at the same time yet. I like our fire and enthusiasm and think we can develop into something special by season end!

Norse Wrestling

All-American Jason Pyle posted a record of 3-1 at the Kuafman-Brand Open hosted by the University of Nebraska-Omaha and finished second in the Elite Division at 149.

Pyle, ranked third in the NCAA III, reached the championship bout against Chris Hacker from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, by defeating Mitch Mueller of Iowa State University 9-8 in the semifinal round. Hacker won the championship tilt by a score of 8-4.

Pyle also posted a 5-3 decision over Jared Picket of Indiana University and defeated NCAA II Colby Robinson from University of Central Oklahoma 5-4 in the quarterfinal round.

With his three victories, Pyle is now 7-1 for the season.

Men's Basketball

Dane Larson

The Luther College men's basketball team defeated St. Olaf College 83-80 in a tightly contested double overtime thriller tonight in the Regents Center.

The Norse held a three point lead (62-59) with seven seconds remaining in regulation, but fouled the Oles' Alfred Jaryan on a three-point attempt. Jaryan made all three free throws to send the game into overtime.

In the first overtime, St. Olaf held a 71-67 lead, before Luther went on a 5-1 run in the last 1:36, to send the game into a second overtime period. A three-point basket by Tim Merritt, followed by a bucket by Dane Larson, gave the Norse what looked to be the deciding one-point lead (72-71), but Jaryn was fouled driving to the basket for a lay-up, sending him to the charity stripe with an opportunity to win the gave with two free throws. Jaryn missed the first and made the second (72-72), sending the game into a second extra period.

Tim Merritt

Trailing 77-75 with 1:32 remaining on the clock in what proved to be the final extra frame, a three-point basket by Merritt, combined with a free throw by Rick Aleman , plus two by both Merritt and Larson, sealed the deal for Luther's first win of the season.

The Norse were led by the trio of Larson, Merritt and Nnamdi Okolue . Larson poured in a career high 26 points, including a three-for-four performance from behind the arch, Merritt added 18 points, two shy of his career high, while Okolue provided 12 points down low and also grabbed a team-leading six rebounds.

Nnamdi Okolue

Jaryan led the Oles with 31 points, that included 15 in the two overtimes. Bobby Fong chipped in 16 points, while Nick Ramsey and Tucker Sheley were both credited with nine.

Looking at the Upcoming Season of Women's Basketball

The women's basketball team is really looking forward to the new season. There was some disappointment with the beginning and the end of last season. The players and the coaches are energized and ready for a fresh start. We have several key returners in our upperclassmen. Seven returners with quality varsity experience...Seniors Marci Furlong and Gina Klennert are being asked to step their leadership roles on and off the court. Juniors Sam McCamy, Camille Stenhaug, Sam Jewell, Bethany VanSloten and Michelle Voigts are experienced varsity players that will need to step up and contribute both offensively and defensively. We learned a lot from our preseason scrimmage with Viterbo University and an exhibition game with Division II Upper Iowa University. Our nonconference schedule we begin with battles against MIAC teams, St. Olaf and Carleton. Defense is our concentration for the season...hope you will be able to catch a game or two!! Go Norse!

Football Wrap Up

With the end of the 2009, it is very exciting to look at the future of Norse Football by analyzing a number of exciting attributes of this past year. Our defense continues to earn a reputation for being hard hitting & tough nose, along with not allowing teams in the end zone. While we are thankful for the great play of seniors such as Bobby Kuennen, Cody Edwards, Will Bothe and Kyle Stoner – we are optimistic with the return of such players as Kyle McGivney, who was the second leading tackler in the NATION! On special teams, we are excited that the kicker who made the last second field goal in the final game of the year (and was 2^nd in the IIAC in field goal percentage), Seth Streeter, will return, along with a host a players who performed well all season on special teams, including Dana Schmitt, Bruce Clark and Trent Stonerook. On offense, the last two minute drive to set up the game winning field goal was perfect and it all started up front with our senior center, John Stoltenberg. In addition, seniors, Darren Oxton & Trey Scheetz; along with running backs Tyler Bass & Derek Leigh were wonderful throughout the season. Next season looks even more promising with the return of Chris Reynolds (QB) for his third campaign and a host of young, experienced offensive linemen, backs & receivers.

We would like to thank everyone for their continued support and watch out for the Norse in 2010. St. Olaf will be here on September 4.

Men's Basketball Prepare for Season Opener

The men's basketball team is ready for their opener vs. St. Mary's on Saturday, November 21st at 7:00 P.M. Serving as leaders for this year's team are Nnamdi Okolue (JR), Jacy Dillahunty (JR), and Dane Larson (SO). Depth at all positions will be a strength for the 2009-10 men's basketball team. "Our third recruiting class has added size and skill to our roster. We will have contributors from the freshman, sophomore, and junior classes." The Norse return 5 of their top 6 scorers from 2008-09 and are anxious to kick off the season. "We scrimmaged two high quality opponents in preparation for our opener. This has given our new guys a good idea of what they need to do to be successful at this level."

Cross Country Wrap Up

The Luther College cross country team wrapped up its season on Saturday at the NCAA Division III Central Region meet, hosted by Grinnell College. The men finished 6^th out of 25 teams with 149 points, two points behind Grinnell College. St. Thomas and Nebraska Wesleyan tied for first place with 116 points. Karl Larson, Kyle Buck and Jordan Lang earned All-Region honors for the first time. Larson, who ran 25:41 to finish in 16^th place, was one spot out of qualifying for nationals individually. Buck and Lang finished in 29^th and 31^st, respectively. Shane Steele and Erik Johnson finished 36^th and 37^th, just missing All-Region honors, but giving the Norse the best 5^th man in the field. Austin Tegels and Drew Burmahl completed the top seven, finishing in 45^th and 87^th.

The Luther women finished 7^th out of 26 teams at the Central Region meet with a total of 185 points, only 13 points out of a three-way tie for fourth place. Carleton won the meet with 95 points, followed by Nebraska Wesleyan with 99. Katie Dolan finished 18^th in 22:38 to earn All-Region honors for the second time. Melissa Erickson and Kim Horner earned All-Region honors for the first time, placing 25^th and 28^th. Leah Jensen and Annie McKay finished 54^th and 60^th to complete the scoring. Rounding out the top seven were Chelsea Lynch (66^th) and Sarah Lundine (161^st).

The meet concluded a great season for the Norse cross country teams. The future is bright as well for both teams. The men return four of their top five runners from the region meet, as well as an outstanding class of first-year runners. The Luther women lose only one runner from their top seven. The team will take some down time before preparing for the indoor track season.

Norse Volleyball Wrap Up

This past weekend, the Luther College volleyball team traveled to the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in school history. The team also made Luther history as they battled through a long five game match with nationally ranked #15 College of St. Benedict and came out on top, winning their first ever victory in the NCAA III National Tournament. The Norse posted set scores of 15-25, 25-12, 15-25, 25-18 and 15-13.

The next day, Luther faced St. Thomas in the regional semi-final match. After a well fought battle, St. Thomas came out on top with scores of 25-18, 27-25, and 25-20.

Felicia Bridgers earned an All-Tournament honor after an impressive weekend where she posted a .341 hitting percentage, and bruised a St. Thomas defender by smashing a ball set by Taylor Hjerleid that hit the defender in the face.

Emily Cory received honorable-mention All-Midwest Region for her successful season, leading the Norse in kills and being second in the team in blocks.

Cross Country

The Luther men's cross country team hosted UW-Eau Claire and Augustana (Ill.) in the first annual JV Cup on Friday. Both teams are ranked in the top 25 nationally and have deep squads. The Norse won with 36 points in a tight team battle. Eau Claire was 2^nd with 43 points and Augustana 3^rd with 45 points. Alex Rigdon was the top finisher for Luther, placing 3^rd in 27:06. Fellow first-years Evan Neubauer and Logan Langley finished in 5^th and 6^th for the Norse. The Luther men ran excellent races, chasing down the Blugolds and Vikings after a patient start. The Luther men travel to Grinnell, Iowa for the Central Region meet on Saturday, November 14^th. The top two teams from each of the eight regions automatically qualify for the national meet, with the next three teams being eligible for one of the 16 at-large bids. The Norse are currently ranked 4^th in the region and 35^th nationally.

The Lutherm women's cross country team hosted UW-Eau Claire and Augustana (Ill.) in the first annual JV Cup on Friday. UW-Eau Claire is currently ranked third in Division III. The Norse ran excellent races to capture the team title with 23 points. Eau Claire was 2^nd with 45 points and Augustana 3^rd with 72 points. Ellie Neubauer had a great race to lead the Norse with a first place finish in a time of 23:21. Annie McKay, Leah Jensen, Sam McAllister and Anna Murray finished 3^rd, 4^th, 7^th and 8^th to complete the scoring for Luther. The Luther women will be racing at the Central Region meet on Saturday in Grinnell, Iowa. The women have to finish in the top 5 to be eligible for a bid to the national meet. The Norse are currently ranked 6^th in the region and 32^nd in the nation.

Volleyball Headed to National Tournament

For the first time in school history, the Luther College volleyball team will be playing in the 62-Team NCAA III National Tournament.

Luther, the #7 seed of the regional, will play Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) automatic qualifier t#2 College of St. Benedict (26-5) on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. The Luther College sports information office will audio stream this match on the Luther Athletics website at http://sports.luther.edu/video/. If the Norse are victorious, Friday's semifinal round match will also be audio streamed.

Semifinal round matches in the Oshkosh Regional will be held Friday at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The championship contest of the Oshkosh Regional will be held Saturday at 7 p.m.

IIAC Coach of the Year - Jane Gibbs

The winners of the eight Regional sites will advance to the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship match that will be hosted at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center on the campus of John Carroll University, University Heights, Ohio Nov. 19-21. The NCAA III National Tournament is a single elimination tournament.

“I am very excited for our team to have this opportunity to play in the national tournament,” commented Iowa Conference Coach of the Year Jane Gibbs. “I am especially excited for our seniors who have taken the program to a new level in the last three years. They have provided the leadership that has allowed us to go from a 15-15 team, to a team that has posted 25 wins and gets its first invite to the national tournament in school history.”

Men's Soccer Wrap Up

An up and down season ended with a dull thud on Tuesday night. Sometimes heart, fight, integrity, and a sense of team aren't enough to carry a team on to victory. After 110 minutes of scoreless play, Luther came out one goal short in a penalty shootout to decide the future of the season. After starting well and fighting throughout the game, it looked like Luther had the game in hand. Mark Fernandes fought through a Simpson defender early in the game and looked to be in behind. A goal was sure to come when he put the ball just over the crossbar. As the half closed, Jimmy Laroque appeared to have beaten the keeper to the far post when the ball strayed just wide of the post. The first half closed scoreless, with great performances from sophomore Steve O'Meara, first year Micah Kust, recording his first collegiate start, and sophomore Jake Kessler.
The second half started slowly with Luther struggling to create chances going forward. They defended well and worked hard for each other, with few chances being created on either side. The half closed with a flurry of Luther free-kicks and corners and were unable to capitalize. When Quezada put a low corner into the danger area and it squeaked through to the back post, it seemed Luther would find the goal it was looking for, but they were unable to convert and let another chance slip though their fingers. But Luther were gifted a new life when Simpson was awarded a penalty kick after a hand ball in the box and missed low and wide. It seemed as if luck were on the side of the Norse this evening. But it was not to be.
Overtime was more of the same and it looked like both teams had signed a non-aggression pact and had agreed to let a shootout decide things. When the shootout came, Luther had to like its chances with IIAC defensive player of the week in goal and having converted every penalty opportunity this season. Unfortunately, Mike Olson put Luther's first shot just over the top left corner, and Simpson was able to make all five of their shots, leaving the final 5-3 in favor of the Storm. A shootout is a terrible way to lose and does not reflect the better team, but such is the game we love.
In the end, the Luther staff could have not asked more from their team this year. With a conference record that went from 3-4-1 to 5-3 and finishing fourth instead of sixth in conference, the Norse were a stronger team than their record suggests. After a few tough games early in the year in Chicago, the Norse consistently outplayed and out-shot opponents right up to the very end. Things look bright for Luther's future, and we look forward to a great off season and preparation to make our mark next season. Thanks to all the readers, fans, supporters, parents and friends who make the Luther Soccer family and experience so great.

Women's Soccer Wrap Up

The 2009 Luther College Women's Soccer team's season has come to an end. After a heartbreaking 0-1 loss to Simpson College in the IIAC semifinals, Luther is headed home to regroup and start planning for next season.

Some highlights:

Luther was only scored on four times in IIAC play

Hannah Wright, Luther junior, is credited with 10 shutouts on the season, along with Luther's defense-led by seniors Kendra Dornfeld, Jill Nerka, Ashley Meirick and sophomore Sami Sojka. These 10 shutouts place Hannah third in Luther's record books for single-season shutouts.

The Norse did not allow a goal in eight of their last nine games.

Hannah was also named defensive player of the week twice!















The Meirick sisters, Ashley and Dani (sophomore) were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Women's Soccer Team. Check out the link: http://sports.luther.edu/women/soccer/season/2009/news/academicalldistrict.htm

Dani led the Norse in scoring with 13 goals and 3 assists for 29 points
Anna Grinde (junior) was next with 5 goals and 3 assists for 13 points
Kelsey Balk (junior) was third with 5 goals and 2 assists for 12 points
Kendra Ledel (sophomore) with 4 goals and 4 assists for 12 points

Swim & Dive Teams make a Big Splash Early in the Season

The men’s swimming & diving team earned 2 victories this Saturday in the tri-dual at home against Morningside (58-35) and Simpson (56-28). The women’s swimming & diving team also earned 2 wins against Morningside (77-28) and Simpson (81-24). The teams swam tough and showed their potential for the rest of the season with some great times posted, while also showing some areas for improvement in the coming months.

Senior, Josiah Collins had a great first meet, earning two first place finishes in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 1:49.15 and the 500 Freestyle at 5:04.10. Junior diver Elise DesRoches had a great meet earning at total of 426.52 points, which qualified for the national meet. DesRoches also earned a new school and pool record for 11 dives with her point total. The Norse will be back in action at home this Friday, November 6^th at 4:00pm against St. Cloud State.