Men's Basketball

February 6, 1999

OSHKOSH - UW-Oshkosh jumped out to a 21-5 lead early in the first half, but UW-Stout made a furious comeback, but came up short, falling to the Titans, 78-75, Saturday, Feb. 6 in Oshkosh.

The Titans (15-7, 9-5) built up as much as a 15 point lead late in the second half, before Stout cut the deficit to 75-72 with 21 seconds left.

Stout (12-9, 5-8) got 21 points from Jeremy Leibfried (Jr, Dickeyville), 13 in the first half. Jeremy Preston (Sr, Madison) finished with 17 points and Ben Kuepers (Jr, Dickeyville) had 15.

Justin Kamps led all scorers with 22 points, getting 15 in the first half for the Titans. Aaron Harding added 17.

The Blue Devils will be at UW-Stevens Point Wednesday, Feb. 10, then return to Johnson Fieldhouse Saturday, Feb. 13 for their final home game of the year.

February 3, 1999

MENOMONIE - Ben Kuepers (Jr, Dickeyville) pulled down 14 rebounds as UW-Stout shot past UW-River Falls, 69-58, Wednesday, Feb. 3 at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Kuepers not only played chairman of the boards, getting 11 defensive rebounds, but he contributed three blocks on the night in a solid defensive effort.

After both teams struggled early, the Blue Devils (12-8, 5-7) shot out to a 40-24 halftime lead, then held off the Falcons (7-13, 2-10) after building up as much as a 22 point lead.

While Kuepers was controlling the boards, Jeremy Preston (Sr, Madison) lit up the scoreboard for a game-high 20 points. Pat Von Feldt (So, Stevens Point) contributed 11 points off the bench and Aaron Vachowiak (So, Wausau) added 10. Preston added seven rebounds, as did Scott Klimek (So, Wausau). Stout held a 50-38 advantage in rebounds.

The Blue Devil defense did a number on River Falls, holding them to 26 percent shooting in the first half and 30 percent for the game, with only Sulieman Holman scoring in double digits with 19 points.

Women's Basketball

February 6, 1999

MENOMONIE - Earlier in the season when the UW-Stout women's basketball team was mired in unfamiliar territory and posting a 1-6 record, Blue Devil head coach Mark Thomas had faith in his charges and stated by the end of the season, teams would be afraid to face his Blue Devils.

When the UW-Oshkosh Titans, ranked No. 1 nationally in the latest USA Today/WBCA poll, stepped into Johnson Fieldhouse Saturday, Feb. 6, they probably did not fear the Blue Devils and their 10-10 record.

Shivers are now running down the back of upcoming Blue Devil opponents as Stout forced 27 Titan turnovers and knocked the Titans from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 74-69 nail biting win.

Freshman Amy Zelinger (Racine) provided the spark for the Blue Devils (11-10, 8-5), coming off the bench to score a team-high 16 points. But perhaps more importantly, was Zelinger's defensive play, nabbing six steals and turning several of them into coast-to-coast buckets or dishing off the assist.

Zelinger, who was named the WIAC Player of the Week for her efforts, also gave the Blue Devils some breathing room with a only 4.6 seconds left and Stout up 72-69, when she grabbed the rebound of a misfired Titan 3-pointer shot that would have tied the game. Zelinger was fouled and calmly canned the charity shots.

Stout used a solid zone defense and a half court trap to force 16 Titan turnovers in the first half, building a needed lead that never went higher than 10 points.

Stout held on as Oshkosh clawed back to five points, 38-33, at halftime.

Oshkosh (20-1, 13-1) took the lead at the 9:02 mark in the second half, then jumped out to a four-point, 61-57, lead. Stout came back to trail 61-60 on a 3-pointer by Shannon Berg (Sr, Ellsworth), then knotted the score at 62-62 on Andrea Bresette's (Jr, Ashland) free throws.

Zelinger gave the Blue Devils a 64-62 lead at 6:47 and Stout would never trail again, although Oshkosh did tie the score twice more. Heather Peterson (Jr, Altoona) would give Stout a little more cushion with a minute left, 72-69 before Oshkosh would go down to attempt a 3-pointer.

Neither team was stellar at the free throw line, but Oshkosh only made 16-of-24, while Stout was 12-of-18. The Titans held a huge advantage on the boards, pulling down 47 rebounds to Stout's 29.

Peterson added 15 points for the Blue Devils while Berg tossed in 11. The Titans' Sara Hegge led all scorers with 17 points and Rachel Lachecki had 11.

Oshkosh came into the game with a 30-game conference winning streak. The last time Oshkosh lost in league play was Feb. 22, 1997, when Stout downed them, 76-57, at Oshkosh.

Stout will host UW-Stevens Point Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m., then will travel to UW-Superior Saturday, Feb. 13.

February 3, 1999

RIVER FALLS - Shannon Berg (Sr, Ellsworth) scored 19 of her team-high 25 points in the second half to lead UW-Stout to a 96-84 win over UW-River Falls Wednesday, Feb. 3 at River Falls.

The Blue Devils had built a 43-29 halftime lead and Berg stretched that with a 3-pointer to open up the second half. Stout stretched the score to as much as a 20 point lead before River Falls began to chip away at the lead, getting as close as 92-84 with a minute remaining.

On the evening, Stout (10-10, 7-5) shot 45 percent from the floor and 49 percent in the first half, connecting on 34-of-75 shots for the game.

Stacie Anderson (So, Clayton) added 15 points, Amy Zelinger (Fr, Racine) 11 and Andrea Bresette (Jr, Ashland) 10. Bresette, Zelinger, Tina Gillen (Fr, Northfield, Minn) and Aslynn Johnson (So, Clinton) each pulled down eight rebounds as Stout held a 57-41 edge off the boards.

The win pushed Stout back to the .500 mark, but more importantly put some space between themselves and the Falcons in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The teams came into the game tied for fourth. The top four teams will host a game in the first round of the inaugural WIAC playoffs the last week of February.

February 6, 1999

MENOMONIE - With a 6-0 offensive explosion over Lake Forest, the UW-Stout ran their winning streak to four games, their longest streak in two years, but more importantly moved to higher ground in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) standings.

The Blue Devils (8-14-1, 5-8-1) opened up the game with three goals in the opening period, then added a solo shot in the second and two more in the third.

Tom Schaffner (Sr, Janesville) repeated his performance from the night before when he scored a goal and two assists. Schaffner opened the scoring on a power play only three minutes into the game, and was assisted by Kevin Aube (So, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich).

Aube finished the night with a goal and two assists and Joshua Marklevits (So, Red Wing, Minn) had two assists.

Todd Sether (Sr, International Falls, Minn) picked up his second shutout of the season, turning away all 24 shots. Stout got off 30 shots on the Lake Forest (6-14-2, 4-11-0) goalie.

In the last four games, Stout has outscored their opponents, 21-1.

The Blue Devils close out the regular season Feb. 12-13 with a weekend series at UW-Superior.

February 5, 1999

MENOMONIE - Coupled with a UW-Eau Claire loss, the UW-Stout hockey team used a 6-1 win over Lake Forest College to jump two spots in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) standings Friday, Feb. 5 at the Dunn County Ice Arena.

The Blue Devils (7-14-1, 4-8-1) got goals from six different players scattered throughout all of the periods and a strong defensive effort for the win to leap into sixth place in the standings, past Lake Forest and Eau Claire, which lost 7-4 to UW-Stevens Point.

Shane Maher (So, Forest Lake, Minn) got things going late in the first period when he scored with less than two minutes remaining in the first period. Tom Schaffner (Sr, Janesville) and Andy Anderson (So, Burnsville, Minn) got the power play assists.

The Foresters (6-13-2, 4-10-2) got their only goal five minutes into the second period, with Bruch Mutch getting assists from Seth Baker and Dan Aimauro. But that would be it as Stout goalie Ben Plester (Fr, Chemainus, BC) put a vise grip on the nets and the Blue Devils defense allowed only 11 shots in the last two periods.

Schaffner scored at the eight minute mark of the second, assisted by Anderson and Brad Weappa (So, Brooklyn Center, Minn) got assists from Maher and Josh Marklevits (So, Red Wing, Minn) to close out the period.

Blue Devil leading scorer Graham Lomen (Sr, Apple Valley, Minn) got things going early in the third stanza, scoring Stout's second power play goal of the night, taking assists from RJ Scheifer (Jr, Cottage Grove, Minn) and Mark Corbett (Sr, New Hope, Minn) 23 seconds into the period.

Five minutes later, Joe Berry (Fr, Apple Valley, Minn) scored, on assists by Kelly Selix (Sr, Elk River, Minn) and Kevin Morrissey (Sr, Burnsville, Minn). Jason Jones (Jr, Plymouth, Minn) finished up the scoring with 10 minutes remaining in the game. Schaffner got his third point of the evening and his second assist as Kevin Aube (So, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich) also assisted.

As the Stout defense was clamping down and Plester stopped 20 shots on goal, the Stout offense was blistering the Forester goalie with 54 shots.

Women's Gymnastics

February 6, 1999

LA CROSSE - Brenna Jones (So, St. Paul, Minn) scored a 9.0 on the floor exercise for her second consecutive meet, but the depleted Blue Devil gymnastics team finished sixth of six teams at the 18th Annual Gershon/McLellan Invitational at UW-La Crosse Saturday, Feb. 6.

Jones had scored a season high 9.1 on the floor exercise last week and continued to push for a spot at the national tournament as a specialist.

The Blue Devils competed with only three athletes in the event, scoring a 75.80.

Stout faltered on the vault with Jones placing 28th with an 8.25 and Andrea Hassel (So, Grand Rapids, Mich) was 31st (8.15) and Scarlett Ramey (Fr, Seattle, Wash) was 33rd (7.70).

Jones scored a 7.45 on the uneven bars to finish 22nd and Ramey a 5.30 to place 32nd. On the beam, Jones hit a 7.65 to place 25th and Hassel a 7.10 to place 30th.

Jones finished 13th on the floor, Hassel was 26th (8.45) and Ramey 33rd (6.75).

The Blue Devils will host UW-Whitewater Friday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. in their final home dual meet before hosting the WIAC Championships Friday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.

February 2, 1999

MENOMONIE - The score may not show it, but the UW-Stout gymnastics team put together their best meet of the season as they fell, 129.75-83.00, to UW-River Falls Tuesday, Feb. 2 at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Competing with only four gymnasts due to injury to the remaining two gymnasts on the team, three of the four competing Blue Devils set either personal bests or season bests throughout the evening.

Brenna Jones (So, St. Paul, Minn) led the way for the Blue Devils, winning the balance beam (8.85) and the floor exercise (9.10) and tying for the all-around crown (33.85). All three of Jones' scores were season bests. Jones finished second on the vault (8.60) and third on the uneven bars (7.30).

Andrea Hassel (So, Grand Rapids, Minn) placed third on the floor with a career high 8.60. While not placing, Scarlett Ramey (Fr, Seattle, Wash) scored a personal best on the uneven bars (5.25).

The Blue Devils return to action Saturday, Feb. 6 when they compete at the Goshen Invitational at UW-La Crosse.

UW-River Falls 129.75, UW-Stout 83.00
(First place, all Stout competitors)
Vault: 1. Carrie Janzen (RF) 8.65; 2. Brenna Jones 8.60; 8. Andrea Hassel 7.80; 9. Scarlett Ramey 7.60; Uneven Bars: 1. Annie Renelt (RF) 8.55; 3. Brenna Jones 7.30; 8. Scarlett Ramey 5.25; Balance Beam: 1. Brenna Jones (Stout) 8.85; 6. Andrea Hassel 7.10; Floor Exercise: 1. Brenna Jones (Stout) 9.10; 3. Andrea Hassel 8.60; 8. Scarlett Ramey 7.00; 9. Alissa Martin 5.80; All-Around: 1. Brenna Jones (Stout), Annie Renelt (RF) 33.85.

Men's Track & Field

February 6, 1999

The 4X 400-meter relay team edged out host Stevens Point, recording a time of 3:23.23 to the Pointers' 3:23.64.

Jamie Buchholtz (So, Bloomer) improved on his provisional qualifying height in the pole vault, placing third with a leap of 15-5.50.