Men's Basketball

January 15, 2000

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout's Mike Nowak (SO, Greenfield) proved he could be a cool cucumber when the game is on the line by nailing four free throws in the final 30 seconds to help Stout snap a seven game losing streak by downing UW-Superior, 76-70, at Johnson Fieldhouse.

With Stout (7-9, 1-7) leading 70-68 and 29 seconds left on the clock, the Superior coaching greatened the pressure by informing his team across the court that Nowak was a 46 percent free throw shooter. Nowak didn't even hit the rim on either shot to pull Stout ahead, 72-68. Seconds later, the Yellowjackets' (8-6, 1-7) Jason Strilzuk brought the game to 72-70 on a jumper. Following a timeout, Nowak was fouled again with 10 seconds remaining, and calmly hit both shots again.

The Yellowjackets missed their desperation shot and Stout's Ben Kuepers (Sr, Dickeyville) was fouled, then subsequently hit both of his shots for the final score.

Superior controlled much of the first half, and even looked like they were going to run away with the contest. Superior's Vince Thomas crashed a dunk off a steal with 6:33 remaining in the first half, but was called for a technical for hanging on the rim.

Down 27-20 at that point, Jeremy Leibfried (Sr, Dickeyville) sank both charity shots and the Blue Devils went on a 10-0 run to take a 30-27 lead with 3:14 left in the half. Strilsuk hit a 3-pointer to tie the score, but Stout's Pat Von Feldt (Jr, Stevens Point) answered back and Stout never trailed the rest of the way.

But Stout could not put away the vastly improved Yellowjackets who, the last time out, defeated powerhouse UW-Platteville. Stout never had more than an eight point lead in the second half, with the lead generally between two and six points.

Leibfried led all scorers with 21 points, while Kuepers scored 17 17. Aaron Vachowiak (Jr, Wausau) pitched in 14 points. Nowak finished with a career-high nine points. Strilsuk led Superior with 19 points and Thomas had 11 points.

The Blue Devils will be at UW-La Crosse Wednesday, Jan. 19 to begin the second loop of conference play.

January 12, 2000

STEVENS POINT - UW-Stevens Point scored the first 10 points of the second half and went on to down UW-Stout, 80-66, Wednesday, Jan. 12 at Stevens Point in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) contest.

The Pointers held a 37-29 halftime lead, mostly on the strength of Brant Bailey's 17 first half points. Bailey finished with a game-high 25 points.

The Blue Devils (6-9, 0-7) did not help their own cause, hitting only 33 percent from the floor for the entire game, while the Pointers (11-3, 6-1), ranked 21st in the NCAA Division III, shot 54 percent.

Stout did cause some damage defensively, forcing 22 Stevens Point turnovers, with Jeremy Leibfried (Sr, Dickeyville) grabbing five steals. Leibfried also led Stout in scoring with 16 points, but hit only 5-of-16 from the floor, 1-for-8 from 3-point range.

Aaron Vachowiak (Jr, Wausau) added 15 points, while Scott Klimek (So, Wausau) came off the bench to added 11 points.

Gabe Frank added 24 points for the Pointers, while Joe Zuiker pulled down 11 rebounds.

January 10, 2000

PLATTEVILLE - UW-Stout's Aaron Vachowiak (Jr, Wausau) scored 15 of his game-high 20 points in the second half, but it wouldn't be enough as the Blue Devils were edged by UW-Platteville, 69-65, at Platteville, Monday, Jan. 10.

The Pioneers (12-2, 5-1) led for the entire second half - at times by as much as 13 points - but Stout slowly chipped away at the lead, coming as close as four points twice in the final two minutes.

Vachowiak worked the free throw line, hitting 8-of-10 charity shots and went 7-for-8 in the second half from the line.

Free throws would again be a key, and the Blue Devils (6-8, 0-6) did well with their opportunities, making 12-of-14, but the Pioneers simply had more chances, hitting 26-of-37.

Stout held the lead through much of the first half, building up as much as an 11-point bulge, but the Pioneers went on an 11-0 run with seven minutes left. Platteville took the lead for good with 2:41 remaining in the first half.

Scott Klimek (So, Stevens Point) and Pat Von Feldt (Jr, Stevens Point) each scored 10 points for the Blue Devils. The Pioneers were led by Merrill Brunson with 16 points and Mike Jones with 14.

Women's Basketball

January 15, 2000

SUPERIOR - UW-Stout's Andrea Bresette (Sr, Ashland) scored 38 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as the Blue Devils rolled to a 98-84 conference win over UW-Superior, Saturday, Jan. 15 at Superior.

Bresette was 11-from-18 from the floor, 2-for-4 from 3-point range and 14-for-17 from the free throw line. The 38 points was one point short of the school record set by Cindy Hovet in 1994. Bresette broke a school record for most free throws made and most free throws attempted.

Bresette scored 19 points in both halves and helped Stout (10-6, 6-2) to a 50-32 halftime lead. The lead hovered around 15 to 18 points for most of the game, and at one point got to as much as 20 points.

"We were never in danger of losing the lead," said Blue Devil coach Mark Thomas, "but we just couldn't quite put them away."

Amy Zelinger (So, Racine) finished the afternoon with 18 points, while Tina Gillen (So, Northfield, Minn) added 10.

The Yellowjackets (6-7, 2-4) were led by Terri Olsen and Sheri Domitrovich who each scored 23.

Stout returns to Johnson Fieldhouse Wednesday, Jan. 19 when they host UW-La Crosse at 7 p.m. to begin the second round of conference play.

January 12, 2000

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout put on the defensive burners to hold off UW-Stevens Point to start off the second half as the Blue Devils cruised to an 80-56 conference win over the Pointers, Wednesday, Jan. 12 at Johnson Fieldhouse.

The Blue Devils (9-6, 5-2) went on a 28-7 run over the first 12 minutes and held the Pointers (8-6, 3-4) scoreless for more than six minutes during that run.

Stout's Stacie Anderson (Jr, Clayton), who led off the run by hitting a 3-pointer, led all scorers with 18 points and Andrea Bresette (Sr, Ashland) added 17. Aslynn Johnson (Jr, Clinton) continued to play big underneath, grabbing a game-high eight rebounds, as did Tina Gillen (So, Northfield, Minn).

Stout shot 44 percent in the second half and finished shooting 41 percent. Both teams shot around 38 percent in the first half, but the Pointers were limited to 33 percent shooting in the second half.

The Blue Devils held a 51-41 edge on the boards, and pulled down 19 offensive rebounds to Stevens Point's 11.

January 10, 2000

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout's Aslynn Johnson (Jr, Clinton) scored a career-high 17 points to lead the Blue Devils to an 80-57 win over UW-Platteville, Monday, Jan. 10 at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Johnson hit 8-of-12 shots from the floor and canned her only free throw attempt. She also recorded four steals.

Stout (8-6, 4-2) took their time before putting away the Pioneers (6-7, 2-4), falling behind to start out the game, but slowly pulled away through the first half to take a nine-point, 36-27, halftime lead.

Johnson powered the Blue Devils' spurt in the second half, nailing back-to-back jumpers around the 13-minute mark, and it was off to the races for Stout, who shot 33-of-90 from the field, whereas Platteville was 19-of-50. Most of Stout's damage came underneath or inside the arc. From 3-point range, Stout was only 1-of-15.

Stout basically took care of business when they did miss, grabbing 26 offensive boards. Stout held a 54-43 lead in total rebounds.

Stout turned on the pressure defensively, nabbing 22 steals enroute to forcing 35 Platteville turnovers.

Stacie Anderson (Jr, Clayton) and Jessie Herrman (Fr, Barron) joined Johnson in double digit scoring, with Anderson scoring 14 points and Herrman, 12. The Pioneers were led by Tiff Flesch with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Men's Ice Hockey

January 13, 2000

MENOMONIE - UW-Stout goalie Justin Wiskie (Fr, Janesville/Craig HS) is among the national leaders in the latest NCAA Division III hockey statistics.

Wiskie is ranked 13th in save percentage (.912) and 18th in goals against average (2.91). Wiskie has played in nine games for a total of 474 minutes, has allowed 23 goals and has stopped 237 shots. Wiskie has started seven games and has a 3-4 record.

As a team, the Blue Devils (4-11-1) are ranked 16th in penalty kills. Stout has allowed 13 power play goals on 90 attempts for a percentage of .856.

Stout returns the ice Tuesday, Jan. 18 when they host Hamline University at 7:30 p.m.

Women's Gymnastics

January 16, 2000

Men's Track & Field

January 14, 2000

EAU CLAIRE - UW-Stout's Jeff Rotering (So, Waumandee) won the pole vault event at Blugold Indoor Invitational Friday, Jan. 14 at UW-Eau Claire.

Rotering won the event on fewest number of misses as he cleared 14-feet, 8.25-inches. Teammate Corey Knudsen (So, Elk Mound) placed fourth as he cleared 13-8.50.

Josh Johnson (So, Oregon) finished second in the 800-meter run, finishing in a time of 2-minutes, 1.86-seconds, five-hundredths of a second short of UW-La Crosse's Doug Connor.

Rotering, Knudsen and Johnson were the only Blue Devils to compete in the meet. The entire Stout team will open their season this weekend when they host a pentathlon with Eau Claire, Friday, Jan. 21 at Johnson Fieldhouse, then will go to Eau Claire, Saturday, Jan. 22 for a dual meet with the Blugolds.

Women's Track & Field

January 16, 2000