Men's soccer

NCAA bypasses Cougars for tournament

EDWARDSVILLE -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville men's soccer watched its season come to an end Monday.

The Cougars, runners-up in the Missouri Valley Conference during the regular season and at the conference tournament, were not among the 48 teams announced on the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Selection Show.

The season ends with a 13-7 record, the most since the Cougars rejoined the NCAA Division I level. The 13 victories were more than 28 teams which were selected to the field. SIUE held an RPI of 32 heading into the final week of play.

Cougar names to all-district team

EDWARDSVILLE -- Ryan Bauer, a key member of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville men's soccer team, was named to the Capital One Academic All-District 5 men's soccer team.

Bauer leads the 2012 Cougars with five assists this season. He has provided assists in SIUE wins over Virginia Tech, DePaul, Omaha, and Bradley. The senior from O'Fallon, Mo., had two assists in the Bradley win.

Bauer, who holds a 3.905 grade point average majoring in physics at SIUE, will be placed on the national ballot to determine who will be named Capital One Academic All-Americans.

He has started all 17 games this season and recorded seven shots as a top midfielder for the Cougars.

Wrestling

McKendree matmen do well at meet

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The McKendree University wrestling team had six individuals finish in the top four on Sunday at the University of Central Missouri Open.

The Bearcats will travel Saturday to St. Charles, Mo., and compete at the Lindenwood University "Joe Parisi" Open. Matches will begind at 10 a.m.

Junior Isaiah Gonzalez was McKendree's top finisher with a runner-up finish at 165 pounds. Gonzalez dropped a 6-1 decision to Jake Residori of SIU Edwardsville in the championship match.

Junior Brenden Murphy and sophomore Ross Janney both brought home third place finishes from the tournament. Murphy defeated Oklahoma State University's Brian Crutchmer in an 8-6 decision in the third place match at 133 pounds, while Janney defeated Dan Mueller of Missouri Valley College by decision, 6-3, at heavyweight to finish in third place.

Junior Mark Marianovich and sophomores Nick Haferkamp and Julian Smith all finshed in fourth place in their respective weight classes. Marianovich lost a 6-2 decision to Jacob Ekster of Missori Valley at 149 pounds, while Haferkamp lost a 5-3 decision to Ty Loethen of University of Central Missouri in the third place match. Smith was defeated in a 6-0 decision by Austin Schafer of Oklahoma State at 197 pounds to finish in fourth place.

Four members of the Bearcats wrestling team that competed unattached also placed at the event. Senior Kyle Reid finished as runner-up at 197 pounds, senior DaMonte Riley placed third at 141 pounds, junior Jose Torres placed fifth at 125 pounds, and freshman Steven Bradtmueller finished in sixth at 141 pounds.

Two SIUE grapplers win divisions

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville wrestling team kicked off its 2012-13 season at the Central Missouri Open and saw a pair of wrestlers crowned as champions.

Sophomore Patrick Myers (133 pounds) and freshman Jake Residori (165 pounds) each earned first-place honors in their respective weight divisions.

Also placing for the Cougars was senior David Devine who was the runner-up at 285 pounds, and junior Josh Wood who took fifth place at 197 pounds.

"Our guys did a really good job," coach David Ray said. "This is the first time since I've been here that we've even had anyone in the finals at this tournament, not to mention two champions."

Myers won four matches to earn a spot in the championship match at 133, where he scored a 3-2 decision over Missouri freshman Matt Manley.

Residori, who was competing in his first tournament for SIUE, also picked up four victories en route to the finals where he defeated McKendree's Isaiah Gonzalez via a 6-1 decision.

"Both of those guys wrestled really tough," Ray said. "They wrestled their style and did what it took to get the job done."

Devine needed three matches to reach the final, but fell 6-3 to Missouri's Devin Mellon and took second place at 285.

"This was good for (Devine's) confidence," Ray said. "He wrestled well and he still has a lot of potential for how good he can be."

Wood earned fifth place at 197, while freshman Drew Vrbenec reached the quarterfinals and was one win away from placing at 141.

"Wood really competed and Vrbenec was one win away from a top-six finish," Ray said. "They did a good job and they're also getting better every match."

Also picking up wins for SIUE Sunday were Brandon Brindley (133), Dillon Pousson (149), Alex Davis (157), Kyle Lowman (157), Deshoun White (174), Chris Johnson (184), and Cole Rogers (197).

Next up for the Cougars are the Iowa Duals on Nov. 24.

"The team did a good job today but we're not satisfied yet," Ray said. "We have a long way to go but we're heading in the right direction."

Women's bowling

McKendree wins Brunswick Classic

LEBANON -- A late surge in Baker game competition propelled the McKendree University women's bowling team to the championship at the Brunswick Southern Collegiate Classic in Marietta, Ga. The Bearcats won the two-day event at the Brunswick Zone Austell lanes.

Through six games of team competition on the first day, McKendree sat in third place with a pinfall of 5,656. The Bearcats were just 27 pins off the overall lead, then used a strong showing on the second day to bring home the team title. McKendree bowled in 12 head-to-head Baker format matches on the final day, posting a 10-2 record against its opponents. The Bearcats sat in second place heading into their final match against Webber International University, but McKendree swept the two-game contest to move into the top spot.

The win marked McKendree's first championship since winning the Eagle Baker Challenge hosted by Robert Morris University last January.

The Bearcats fared just as well in the final individual standings as McKendree placed four bowlers in the top 21. Senior Christine Gill was the overall champion for the weekend, rolling to an average of 209.8 over her six-game block on Saturday. Gill registered games of 242 and 227 during her run to the title and was one of just two women's bowlers at the tournament to average better than 200 for the weekend.

Junior Trista Flowers finished the weekend in eighth place overall with a 183.8 average. Senior Marilyn Gawlik took 17th place by averaging 178.7, while freshman Samantha Hagerman closed out the event in 21st place with a 175.8 average.

Men's bowling

Bearcats finish 5th in tournament

LEBANON -- The McKendree University men's bowling team registered its third top-five finish of the 2012-13 season by taking fifth place at the Brunswick Southern Classic in Marietta, Ga. The two-day event was held at the Brunswick Zone Austell facility.

The Bearcats were tied for third with the University of Pikeville following the first day's six-game team block. The second day's action consisted of head-to-head action in 12 Baker games. After dropping the first three contests, the Bearcats reeled off an eight-match winning streak before falling to St. John's University in the finale. McKendree finished in fifth overall with a grand total of 10,562 pins. The Bearcats were just 477 pins behind the tournament champions from Lindenwood University.

McKendree had a strong showing in the final individual standings, where there were three Bearcat bowlers in the top 13. Junior Darren Dunning had the highest finish of the weekend, taking third place out of 150 bowlers. Dunning averaged 215.2 in a six-game block on Saturday, which included a high game of 247.

Sophomore Adam "A.J." Johnson took eighth place in the tournament as he averaged 205 over the six games. Junior Dylan Polansky came on strong over the final three games and took 13th place overall with a 199 average, posting scores of 223 and 221 during his late run.