Women's basketball
LU-Belleville ranked No. 1 in first USCAA poll
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. --The Lindenwood-Belleville women's basketball teams jumped out to a No. 1 ranking in the first USCAA Coaches Poll of the 2012-13 season.
It is the first time in program history the Lady Lynx are ranked in the top spot.
The No. 1 Lady Lynx have gone 2-3 in their last five games, but picked up two key victories over Ave Maria University on Nov. 11 by a score of 56-54. The team then followed that up by defeating previously unbeaten St. Ambrose 80-78 on Nov. 14.
Leading the way for the Lady Lynx is Bernie Brown averaging 14.2 points per game, with 68 assists, 26 steals, and a total of 41 free throws. Taylor James has caught fire over the past three games, averaging 18.3 points in that stretch.
With 194 total points, LU-Belleville is seven points ahead of Carlow University with a second-place 187 points. Daeman College sits in third place with 186 points, while Main-Fort Kent (178) and Rochester College (178) are tied for fourth.
The women's team will break this week before returning to the court on Monday with a game against Benedictine-Springfield at Lynx Arena. The women will take on the Bulldogs at 6 p.m.
McKendree returns to action Friday
LEBNAON-- The McKendree University women's basketball team will travel to Fort Smith, Ark., to compete at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Lady Lions Classic.
McKendree will play Rogers State University (Okla.) on Friday, at 5:30 p.m., before playing Huston-Tillotson University (Texas) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
In its last game, McKendree couldn't overcome a hot shooting night by Truman State University and fell 94-64 on Saturday afternoon in Kirksville, Mo.
The Bearcats fell to 1-2 overall.
Wrestling
Bearcat grapplers do well at Open
St. CHARLES, Mo. -- The McKendree University wrestling team had three individuals finish in the top six at the second annual Lindenwood University "Joe Parisi" Open.
The Bearcats are off this week, but will return to the mat Nov. 30 in Great Falls, Mont., to compete at the Battle of the Rockies Duals hosted by University of Great Falls.
Sophomore Nick Haferkamp posted a 5-2 overall record and had McKendree's highest finish of the day in fifth place at 157 pounds. Haferkamp earned a forfeit win over Walt Gilmor of the University of Iowa in the fifth place match.
At 133 pounds, junior Brenden Murphy finished the day with a sixth place finish at 133 pounds. Murphy lost a 6-3 decision to Matt Manley of University of Missouri. Murphy ended the day with a 6-3 record.
Sophomore Ross Janney also ended his day with a sixth place finish. Janney was edged by Chris Lopez of University of Illinois, 2-1, in the heavyweight fifth place match. He ended the day with a record of 4-3.
Senior Kyle Reid (Belleville East) finished as runner-up at 197 pounds while competing unattached. Reid lost a 3-1 decision to Brent Haynes of University of Missouri in the championship match and completed his day with a 3-1 record.
Hockey
McKendree ices Bradley at Scottrade
LEBANON -- McKendree University hockey seniors Nic Rolla and J. David Coleman made themselves at home Saturday on the ice at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Rolla (O'Fallon) netted five goals along with an assist, while Coleman added two goals and four assists to spark the Bearcats to a 10-6 victory Saturday over Bradley University. McKendree was able to gain a split of its weekend series with the Braves after being edged on Friday night, 4-3.
With the win, McKendree improves to 3-6 on the season. The Bearcats will return to action Nov. 30 when they resume their six-game home stand against Robert Morris University-Springfield. Game site and start time are to be determined.
Freshman wing Andrew Falls, freshman center Nick Faulknerand senior defenseman Matt Seelbach also added goals in the victory for McKendree, while senior Nathan Campo stopped 33 Bradley shots to pick up the win in goal for the Bearcats.
Bradley grabbed an early 1-0 lead before Falls scored on the power play with 7:50 remaining in the first period to tie the contest at 1-1. The Braves regained a 2-1 advantage before Faulkner's tally with just 30 seconds left in the opening frame knotted the score at 2-2.
The Bearcats opened the second period by netting three goals in a span of just over four minutes to command a 5-2 lead. Rolla picked up his first two goals of the evening - the first coming just over a minute into the period - before Coleman tallied at the 14:11 mark to give McKendree its three-goal lead. Bradley pumped in a pair of goals later in the period to cut the margin to 5-4, but Coleman registered a short-handed goal with just 2:13 left in the period to extend the Bearcats' lead back to 6-4.
Early in the third period, the Braves tied the game thanks to a pair of goals. Seelbach broke the tie for McKendree with 13:52 to play before Rolla closed out the contest with the final three goals of the night, including the final tally with 1:14 on the clock.
Men's basketball
Lynx ranked No. 3 in first coaches poll
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Lindenwood-Belleville men's basketball team is ranked in the No. 3 spot in the first USCAA Coaches Poll of the 2012-13 season.
The No. 3 Lynx began the season at 5-0, being handed their first two losses of the season last week by Culver-Stockton and Park University.
Currently 6-2 overall, the Lynx still hold the best record in the program's three-year history.
Todd Starks is leading the team in scoring, averaging 23.6 points per game, including a single-game record 33 points against Morthland College on Nov. 3. Stark's 31 points at Culver-Stockton last week ties Matt Sturdivant for second all-time. In addition, Starks has recorded a team-high 36 assists and 29 rebounds on the season.
Alcorn State transfer, Deon Miner, has stepped up offensively in his first year as a Lynx, putting up double figures in seven of LU-Belleville's eight games this season.
Ave Maria earned the No. 1 spot this week with 271 points, while Rochester came in second with 268. LU-Belleville's 259 points puts the Lynx in third place, with Paul Quinn College (252) and Apprentice School (250) rounding out the top-five.
The men will return to the court on Monday going against Benedictine-Springfield at Lynx Arena. Tipoff is at 8 p.m.
Softball
SIUE staff to hold winter clinics
EDWARDSVILLE -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville softball coaching staff announced that the team will hold winter clinics for youth players.
There are two separate clinics for different age groups. The clinic for grades 4-8 will be held Jan. 19. The clinic for grades 9-12 will be held Jan. 20. Each day the hitting clinic is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon, and a pitching clinic is set for 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. All clinics have limited capacity and will be held at SIUE's Indoor Practice Facility just west of Cougar Field.
The cost for any of the clinics is $55 or $100 to attend both a hitting and pitching clinic.
Players and coaches will provide participants with instruction and drills during the clinic. Tennis shoes are required, and no cleats are allowed.
For more information, email SIUE assistant coach Lauren Zembruski at lzembru@siue.edu or register online at siuesoftball.com.
Men's soccer
Four Cougars named to Valley Scholar-Athlete team
EDWARDSVILLE -- Four Southern Illinois University Edwardsvillemen's soccer players were named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team Monday.
Ryan Bauer and John Berner were named to the first team. Matt Polster and Brian Groark were selected to the honorable mention team.
Sixteen student-athletes have earned a spot on the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer scholar-athlete and honorable mention teams, announced by the league office today. The 11-member first team is highlighted by three unanimous choices, including Bauer, Missouri State's Cole Alexander, and Drake's Nick Marshall.
Creighton has three members on the first team while Missouri State, SIUE, and Drake each have two selections.
Of the 16 players named to this year's team, five recently earned CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District honors. The Valley's scholar-athlete team is voted on by the league's soccer sports information directors.
The criteria for the all-MVC honor parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.00 scale). Also, students must have participated in at least 75 percent of the regular-season matches or played in the league tournament. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution.
