The 2006-07 SDSU Varsity sporting year was a memorable and exciting one. Individual and team efforts this year have brought much success, pride and excitement in Jackrabbit country for fans and the athletes alike.

“I think the fan excitement was pretty positive this year,” said SDSU Athletic Director Fred Oien. “This year has a different meaning because of the fact that parts of the programs are starting to validate the move to Division I.,”.

This year closes the book on SDSU as a Division II school with the last of the D-II student athletes graduating. Oien talked about the struggles of student athletes during the transitional stage to Division I. “This senior class did it on pure faith,” he said, “and I think at the end of the day they are going to look back and say, ‘I wouldn’t trade it for anything.’”

As we jump in the time machine and look at the fall of 2006 there were many moments for SDSU to stand up and cheer. The football team rebounded from a slow start to rattle off seven straight wins en route to a 7-4 season. On Hobo Day, the Jacks overcame a 21-7 halftime deficit to down UC-Davis 22-21. (F.Y.I., Hobo Day 2007 is 150 days away from May first. We are in the home stretch now.)

The Jackrabbit volleyball team was spiking their way to a 22-12 record. The team boasted numerous independent players-of-the-week honorees, and as a part of the Mid-Continent Conference in 2007, the hopes of a conference crown and post-season berth will keep the volleyball team training hard this summer.

In October, the women’s cross country team, led by Brookings native senior Becka Mansheim, captured the Div. I Independent Championship. In the championships the men’s cross country team also clocked in with an impressive third place finish.

The women’s soccer team closed out their season in style beating NDSU 1-0 and winning the United Soccer Conference Tournament their first year in the conference. Led by Tournament MVP sophomore Kellyn Farrell, the Jacks won four of their last five matches to net a soccer conference championship.

When the Jackrabbits headed indoors, both the SDSU men’s and women’s swim teams had solid years. Several swimmers posted personal- or season-best swims and broke school records over several competitions. The young teams were very competitive against other Div. I schools and are looking for big things next year as a part of the Mid-Continent Conference.

In 2007 the men’s wrestling team joined the Western Wrestling Conference. The team overcame injuries and put together a seven match win streak to close out the year 8-8-1. Freshman Ryan Meyer from Parkston, South Dakota, became the first Jackrabbit athlete to qualify for any Div. I NCAA Championships.

The women’s basketball team posted one of the finest seasons in SDSU history. The team went 25-5 and won their last 12 games to catapult themselves into the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. In the WNIT, the Jackrabbits (with cowbells held hostage) hosted and won games against Illinois State and Indiana before falling on the road to eventual WNIT champion University of Wyoming. Senior Megan Vogel led the team with an average of 17.5 points a game and set a number of SDSU records before being drafted by the Washington Mystics of the WNBA.

When the Jacks had decent enough weather to be outdoors, the women’s equestrian team went 3-3 this season, and took eight riders to the National Championships in Waco, Texas. Junior Kaylee DeVries will close out the Jackrabbits Equestrian season this week competing in the IHSA National Finals.

Last week the men’s golf team defeated NDSU 8.5-5.5 to win the Dakota Cup. On Monday sophomore Geoff Mead clubbed a new SDSU Div. I record, finishing the final round of the Independent Championship with a 65.

The women’s softball team inaugurated the new softball stadium on campus this spring. Not to be outdone, the SDSU men’s baseball team made headlines by playing their season opener in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the Metrodome. The men’s baseball team currently is 24-15, with 30 wins still reachable. This year’s squad has posted the baseball team’s best record since moving to Div. I.

With finals just around the corner, the men’s and women’s track and field teams will not be going home as they will compete in the D-1 Impendent Championships in Davis, Calif. The women’s track and field team set nine indoor records. “The girls broke basically every school running record there is,” Head Coach Rod DeHaven said. The women’s team has continued gaining steam and competing well. Freshman thrower Michelle Schuch will compete in the discus at the 2007 Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis, Ind.

Even after most of the year is over, the news just keeps on coming. After announcing his resignation last week, women’s basketball coach Aaron Johnston began his new coaching job at the University of Wisconsin in Green Bay by announcing that he would be returning to SDSU to coach.

As 2007 closes, let us have a last: “Go Big, Go Blue, Go Jacks.”

In their final meet of the year, the men’s tennis team secured their first victory of the season, defeating the University of Sioux Falls, 4-3.

Corey Paluch, Steve Grantz, Jeff Hughes and Matt Gill all won their singles matches against the Cougars. Paluch and Grantz teamed up in doubles to secure their second win of the match.

“(The) men beat a team that was a little better than them,” Head Coach Josh Lunak said.

Lunak said that ending the season with a victory was important for the team. He said it will help with recruiting and defeating USF showed that SDSU is probably still the best team around.

#1.883463:1944079244.jpg:menstennisvsUSF.jn.jpg:SDSU sophomore Dusty Antoine returns a serve in the doubles competition against USF on April 20 at Hill Crest Park. :

The SDSU track and field teams had strong running and throwing performances at the Jim Duncan Invitational April 14, Kansas Relays April 19-21 and the Sioux City Relays April 20-21. A number of Jackrabbits secured high finishes, and a few had first-place finishes.

The Jacks’ women’s track and field team have put up some impressive performances. At the Kansas Relays, senior Becka Mansheim posted a first-place finish in the 1500-meter run. Mansheim finished with a time of 4:33.06.

At the Sioux City Relays, Cameryn Christion placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.25. Savanna Linderman placed ninth in the same event with a time of 13.13.

In the pole vault, Kristi Mortenson placed third with a vault of 11 feet.

Rounding out the weekend’s top-five finishers, Tamiko Kopfmann placed third in the long jump with a jump of 17 feet.

On the men’s side, Chris Gruenhagen set a new meet record at the Jim Duncan Invitational by finishing the 3000-meter run with a time of 8:26.59. In the same event, SDSU freshman Marshall Kambestad placed fourth with a time of 8:36.79.

Cameron Johnson and Matt Olsen swept the long jumps. Johnson finished first in the long jump with a jump of 22-3 1/2. Olsen also captured first place in the triple jump with a jump of 47-10 1/2.

Sam McInerney had a solid, constant day in his throwing events. McInerney earned a fifth-place finish in the discus (131-07), javelin (144-3) and shot put (45-7 3/4). McInerney continued his fifth-place finishes at the Sioux City Relays, where he finished fifth in the shot put with a toss of 48-6 1/2.

Coach Rod DeHaven is expecting big things from his team for the remainder of the season.

“We hope to capitalize on some of the energy from last week. We keep building momentum, as we head toward the Independent Championships in Davis, Calif.,” DeHaven said.

The SDSU track team travels to Des Moines, Iowa, on April 26-28 to compete in the Drake Relays.

All year we’ve done stories about SDSU varsity sports and the student athletes who compete in the name of the Yellow and Blue. Intramural sports have found their way into a couple of issues, but as the days grow longer and our focus moves outdoors, it is again time to recognize the athlete inside us all. What do SDSU students actually do for sports and activities? Where do our interests lie, and what do we do outside when old man winter subsides and produces the finest days of the year?

We’d like to hear your summer sports stories. What do you do for exercise or fun? Vote in our online poll at www.sdsucollegian.com, and send your best summer sports stories to collegian.sports@gmail.com. I’m sure someone on this campus has hooked a buddy while fishing. We’ll print the best, and laugh at the rest.

To get the ball rolling:

A few years back, a bunch of my friends agreed to join me in a small-town softball tournament. Being a long-time fantasy baseball player, I figured out a whole game plan. We even had a practice, if that’s what you call hitting the batting cages in Sioux Falls for about an hour. Now, maybe making our best athlete (who I later learned had never played softball) the shortstop was a mistake. Perhaps it was a bad idea going into the game with a right fielder admittedly afraid of the ball. Maybe we shouldn’t have had a team meeting downtown the night before, but either way … it all ended in catastrophe.

Our team, complete with our own personalized entrance themes, amassed six whole hits and one run in two games. Being run-ruled, being behind by more than 20 runs after the second inning in both games wasn’t actually the depressing part. When the other team’s third base coach hit a stand-up triple barefoot, I exploded. And, if your going to lose a softball game, 24-0, you may as well be ejected for making obscene remarks about the umpire’s mother. Ahhh … good times, good times.

In another story, two years ago, a group of my friends formed a weekly kickball game. Now if stories about chubby guys trying to handle a dripping wet kickball don’t amuse you … stop reading. It was raining heavily on a Sunday afternoon, but we had all shown up and really had no other plans. So, play commenced. Catching a lopsided kickball can be tricky, but when the ground is like a slip and slide, and the kickball itself is slipperier than a baby seal, hilarity ensues.

Now I don’t know how it’s possible that a rather, let’s say curvaceous, fellow can slip and fall four times en route to a homerun – except that the overall ineptitude of seven other individuals to catch up to such a beefy figure probably had something to do with it. The moral of the story: If you play kickball in the rain, you will end up with a drenched derri

April 17 was a superb day in Brookings. It was 65 degrees and sunny, with a slight easterly breeze. At Hillcrest Park the SDSU women’s tennis team hosted the Blue Jays from Creighton University. Creighton swept SDSU 8-0, winning both the doubles and singles matches.

The women’s tennis team has shown much improvement during the season and has already doubled their win total from last season. This season, the Jacks have posted victories over Colorado College and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, a future Mid-Con rival. They have also downed Chicago State twice, including a 4-2 win last weekend in Macomb, Ill.

“Last weekend went really well for the ladies.” said Coach Josh Lunak. “We almost knocked down Western Illinois two weeks ago, and I thought that was a real confidence booster for us.”

The tennis team has seen a significant rise in the level of competition that it faces since SDSU moved to Division I.

“It’s been hard for me this year.I’ve been playing top two, and we’ve played against a lot of good people. But I think it’s good, it’s improved my game,” commented junior Kate Wylie, ranked No. 2. “The top three of us have been together since our freshman year, so we’ve improved and worked together each year. We’ve continued to grow and become better together.”

South Dakota winters are not exactly agreeable to tennis play, so the team has been practicing at the indoor tennis court at Larson Manufacturing.

“We use the Larson facility between 6 and 8 in the morning, and we practice in shifts. We have four play at once, to get more people in on the court time.” said freshman Rachel Schmieding, on the third ranked doubles team.

The team has been able to practice outdoors during the last few weeks. With ten courts, Hillcrest Park has made it easier for everyone to get in court time.

The women’s tennis team sports five freshmen this year, and with No. 1 Kristine Hagedorn as the only senior on the squad, the future is bright for this young team.

“We’re missing a top player or two on our girls team, but our top six is a lot more solid than last year,” said Lunak.

“I think we’ve been doing better as the year has progressed. At first it wasn’t going so hot, but we’ve switched it around now,” Schmieding added.

The women’s tennis team wraps up their season Friday, April 20 against the University of Sioux Falls. Play starts at 3 p.m. at Hillcrest Park. Come on out and support the Jacks and enjoy an afternoon in the park. The forecast is 67 degrees and sunny.

The SDSU men’s tennis team has had some setbacks this season.

“We’re missing three players now,” said Coach Josh Lunak, “so we’re moving everybody from the JV up to the lineup. It’s been a struggle.”

Nevertheless, the team strapped on their tennis shoes and took on Creighton University in their first home match of the year April 17. The Jacks fell to the Blue Jays 7-0 at the Hillcrest courts, but had strong showings by a number of players.

“Creighton usually beats us, but we could have played a lot better,” said Lunak. “This season has definitely been a rebuilding process. If we had our players healthy, we’d be very competitive, but at the Division-I level, you can’t lose three of your top six. We don’t have the depth for that.”

Freshman Jeff Hughes, ranked No. 2, was a walk-on to this year’s tennis team. Hughes has been playing as the Jacks’ number two the last several weeks, and has had to step up his game.

“It’s been a difficult season,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries. We lost three players this year which makes it tough. Most of the players I’m playing against are on full scholarships from other schools.”

Even with the stiff competition and misfortune of the season, Hughes still talks positively about this year.

“We’re still fighting. It’s been good … fun, the guys on the team are real good guys,” said Hughes.

This rebuilding year has seen much improvement and growth in the young team. The team looks to return all of its top six players next year. This season has seen wins posted by freshman Corey Paluch, sophomore Matt Gill and junior Steve Grantz. The team is also looking to bolster their squad before next year.

“There are no seniors on the guys team, so that should help bring in some good recruits,” said Lunak. “We should be pretty solid next year.”

As the spring season winds down, the tennis team has been gaining some momentum. They will also be reinforced by the return of freshman Corey Paluch for Friday’s match against the University of Sioux Falls. The tennis team has one more thing in their favor: vengeance.

“We’re looking for revenge on USF for last year,” said Lunak. “They kind of left a bad taste in our mouth, and we’re looking to get our first win for the guys.”

Come out and support the Jacks as they host the University of Sioux Falls at the Hillcrest courts. Play starts at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 20.

#1.883497:3468159377.jpg:tennisvcrieghton2.jn.jpg:Steve Grantz returns a serve against Creighton in SDSU’s first ever Division-I tennis match April 17.:
#1.883496:1103735739.jpg:tennisvscreighton1.jn.jpg:Matt Gill, a sophomore from Pierre, makes a return swing against a Creighton opponent April 17.:

The re-emergence of winter has not stopped the Jackrabbit baseball team from adding tick marks to its win column.

The team has gone 4-1 the last two weeks, taking two of three on the road against Utah Valley State and sweeping North Dakota State last weekend in Omaha, Neb. The team played a pair against NDSU in Omaha because of cold temperatures in Brookings. They outscored the Bison 16-6 to improve their season record to 14-12.

In the series opener, the Jackrabbits beat NDSU, 6-3, on April 6 at the Creighton Sports Complex. Senior Matt Bowman pitched a complete game, adding a career high 10 strikeouts for SDSU and picking up his third win of the season.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, SDSU put up three runs on RBIs by senior Jake Rogers, junior Korby Mintken and junior Tyson Fisher. The Jacks padded their lead in the sixth inning when sophomore Tony Martin scored on a swinging bunt single by junior Tim Hanigan.

NDSU came to within striking distance in the seventh inning, scoring three runs to bring the score to 4-3. In the home half of the seventh, with the bases loaded, junior Craig Parry plated one with a sacrifice fly. Junior Nick Adams singled home the game’s final run in his next at bat.

On April 7, the Jacks came out swinging and brought out the brooms as they swept NDSU with a 10-3 win. Down 1-0, SDSU scored four runs in the second inning to take the lead for good. Martin tripled to lead off the inning, and registered the only Jackrabbit hit of the inning. With the bases loaded, Hanigan hit a line drive to right field, which bought in two runs on an NDSU error. A RBI ground out by Mintken made the score 3-1. Mintken then stole both second and third bases, and scored on a throwing error to third for the last run of a wild inning.

The Jackrabbits added another four runs in the eighth inning. Up 6-3, Parry started the scoring with a bases loaded walk. Adams’ sacrifice fly brought in another run, and Fisher scored on an NDSU error. Martin tallied his third hit of the game with a RBI single to bring in the game’s final run.

In the game, Hanigan recorded his 100th career hit.

SDSU sophomore pitcher Caleb Thielbar won his fourth straight start, and improved to 4-2 on the year. Thielbar recorded six strikeouts with no walks in six innings of work. Sophomore Isaac Johnson earned his third save of the year, striking out two Bison in two innings of relief.

The Jackrabbits continue their season this weekend with a three-game series against Utah Valley State at Sioux Falls Stadium. The first pitch of the series opener is slated for 3 p.m. April 13.

Winter truly is the longest eight months of the year in the upper Midwest. Even with the far-below-normal temperatures and yesterday’s fresh snowfall, there is light at the end of the frozen tunnel. Baseball is back, and the Minnesota Twins are off to a roaring good start.

Fresh off their historic 2006 season, the team regrouped and is ready to defend the American League Central Division trophy they hoisted over their heads in October.

A trio of talented players who swept the American League’s awards in 2006 lead the 2007 Twins into action. Two-time Cy Young award winner Johan Santana heads a talented, young pitching staff. The offensive fire is fueled by the American League MVP, first baseman Justin Morneau. St. Paul, Minn., native Joe Mauer made history last season. He was the first catcher ever to lead the American League in batting, with his .347 average. Add a strong defense and playoff experience, and the Twins are solid candidates to win the World Series. Seriously, THEY ARE!

The Twins kicked off the season with a 7-4 opening day victory against the Baltimore Orioles. The sell-out crowd of 48,711 provided an entertaining atmostphere for the fans. John Hay, a junior history major from SDSU, was there.

“The atmosphere was awesome. I’ve been to a couple other sold out games, but it was the most exciting I’ve ever seen the dome,” Hay said.

Morneau started the offense with his first at-bat of the season. He hit a lead-off home run in the second inning. Center fielder Torii Hunter followed up Morneau’s blast with a first-pitch home run of his own, giving the Twins their first ever back-to-back home runs on opening day.

“When Hunter and Morneau went back-to-back, that was pretty ridiculous,” Hay said. “When Hunter hit the second one, you couldn’t even hear the crack of the bat. It was so loud, the ball was just gone before you even heard anything.”

One of the highlights for Hay was seeing Santana pitch for the first time.

“Santana works really fast. Every time he has two strikes up, everyone’s aware of it, ready for the strikeout. It was definitely worth skipping class for,” he said.

It may not feel like spring yet, but Twins baseball makes even the coldest of April days feel just a bit warmer. So as long as the weather sucks, stay inside and catch a Twins game. After all, there are only 155 games left this season.

The SDSU track and field team is shifting gears and hoping for sunny days as they open their outdoor season this weekend at the Missouri Relays in Columbia, Mo. With 36 men and 44 women, the teams combine to form one of the biggest varsity teams on campus.

The women’s team is looking to build on the success of their indoor season, and the excitement echoes in the words of Head Coach Rod DeHaven.

“On the women’s side, we were very successful, we set nine school records on four different occasions, and basically broke every school running record there is. This is probably the best women’s track team we’ve had at SDSU since the early ’90s.” DeHaven said.

One of the standout performers from the indoor season is junior Cameryn Christion from Parker. Christion had an outstanding indoor track season, setting SDSU school records in the 60-, 200-, 300- and 400- meter running events. To open the season, Christion broke the school record in the 60-meter run with a time of 7.75 seconds. She proceeded to break her own record in that event two more times, posting runs of 7.74 and 7.68 seconds.

Senior Becka Mansheim, Brookings, helped set three new SDSU indoor records, with individual school records in the 1,000- and 3,000- meter runs. Mansheim joined Danielle Burke, Brittany Garner and Stacy Huss as part of the distance medley team that set a new school record, finishing in 11:45.84.

Huss, a sophomore from Fort Pierre, also set an individual school record in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:40.69.

“We’re blessed with a lot of good athletes. On the women’s side, it’s one of the better teams we’ve had at SDSU in a long time, and on the men’s side, we’re pretty young and getting better and better,” DeHaven said.

DeHaven is looking for strong showings from the men in a number of events. Senior Zach Wirth and junior Nick Schanaman bring experience to the team in the hurdling events, and sophomore pole-vaulter Tyler Schiferl is looking to build on a good indoor season. Camden Helder, a sophomore from Volga, also has tall goals.

“Cam’s a high jumper (who) could potentially go 6-8 or 6-9 feet outdoors this year. He’s 6-foot-9 anyway, so he’s gotta jump over himself. That’s a huge deal for him,” DeHaven said.

As the men and women move their practice outdoors, one group who really benefits is the throwers.

“It’s nice to get outside. I like it a lot better than throwing into a net right in front of you. Practicing outside, you get a better feel for every event that you’re doing.” freshman Sam McInerney, a landscape architecture major from Elk Point, said.

McInerney will compete for the first time in the hammer throw and javelin this spring, both new events for him since high school. His advice on throwing the javelin: “Keep the javelin straight.”

Throwing coach Jessica Sommerfeld described throwing the hammer, “It’s a shot-put that’s on a four-foot long cable, and you whip it around your head and turn four times in a shot-put ring,” she said.

“All of our freshmen and sophomores have never thrown the hammer, so that’s a new event that we’re doing.” said Sommerfeld. “We’re a young team and practicing outside has made it a lot easier. They’ve improved a lot because we’ve got a lot more time to put in for the events.”

SDSU will take about 60 athletes to the outdoor season opener this weekend.

“The Missouri Relays open our outdoor season this weekend and we’re hoping for some nice weather, and we’ll see what the prize in the box is, like Cracker Jacks,” said DeHaven.

The track and field teams will follow up the Missouri Relays when they compete in the Vance Butler Invitational on April 6 in Sioux Falls.

The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, SDSU baseball is back. The team is off and swinging, coming into the week with a 10-11 record. The Jackrabbits have been playing competitive ball this season, winning at least one game with every opponent this season.

The team had their home opener set for this week, but pushed it back due to unfit field conditions. The home opener is now scheduled for Friday, April 6, when they host the North Dakota State Bison at Bob Sheldon Field.

Head Coach Reggie Christiansen talked about the season so far.

“We’re feeling pretty good at .500 with all our games on the road thus far. The good thing is that we have yet to play our best baseball,” he said.

Last Sunday, the Jackrabbits pulled out a 6-3 come-from-behind victory over Missouri State. Down 3-1, the Jacks scored three runs in the seventh inning to go ahead for good. With the bases loaded, junior Korby Mintken reached on an error, and senior Jake Rogers walked to tie the game. Junior Nick Adams’ ground out brought in the go ahead run, and from there on, it was all SDSU. Senior Cal Lewis’s lead-off triple in the eighth inning paid off when he was hit home by senior Chris Iverson. Nick Adams cemented the victory, scoring on an error in the ninth inning.

Sophomore Isaac Johnson earned his second save of the year, giving up one hit and striking out three in three innings of relief. Starting pitcher, sophomore Caleb Thielbar, earned his second win of the year, striking out three players in six innings of work.

“Missouri State may be the best team on our schedule up to this point. Looking back, the first two games we didn’t play too well, but we bounced back on Sunday and that was probably our biggest win of the year,” Christiansen said.

The 2007 Jackrabbits season started with a bit of a twist this season. Due to uncooperative weather, the team played their season opener against the University of Kansas at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn. The surprising location was made available because of a small college tournament taking place at the dome. The SDSU-Kansas games were worked in around the tournament, with red-eye-flight start times of 1:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. The early games invigorated the Jackrabbits, as they came out swinging their way to a 6-5 season-opening win. SDSU trailed the second game, 3-2, when it was called in the eighth inning due to the time limit of 7 a.m.

The second night of graveyard shift baseball didn’t pan out for the Jacks offensively. The team was held scoreless as they finished the second game and fell to Kansas, 1-4, in the series finale.

“The fact that we got those games in is a reflection of where we are right now. Those games have helped us in the last four or five weekends,” Christiansen said.

The baseball team is ready for spring. This week the team practiced outside in Brookings for the first time. With home games only a few weeks away, the team is ready for a break from the road.

“We’re looking forward to playing at Bob Sheldon again and spending some time at home, ’cause I think that what our players go through in terms of travel is absolutely brutal,” Christiansen said.

This weekend the Jackrabbits travel to Valparaiso, Ind., to battle Chicago State and Valparaiso University. The team then travels to Orem, Utah, for a three-game set with Utah Valley State before settling in for a seven-game home stand against NDSU and Utah Valley State.

#1.883626:2086937896.jpg:sdsuvsndsu01.jpg::File Photo