The South Dakota State University athletic teams should all be congratulated on a job well done this past year. While not every team or athlete met all of their aspirations, this year was one of the overall best in Jackrabbit athletic history. Here is a recap of all of the varsity sports teams:

Volleyball 28-6 The Jackrabbit volleyball team finished the season second in the nation. That was the best finish ever for a Jackrabbit team this year and the best ever for the volleyball program. This was accomplished under the guidance of first-year head coach Andrew Palileo. The NCAA Division II Player of the Year, senior Shauna Sturm, led the Jacks. Next season, SDSU looks to continue the winning tradition. The team will return starters Kelly Hoemann, Angie Rime, Liz Archer, Annie Ebnet and Wendy O’Neill. There are also four recruits coming to the program. The Jacks will begin their run for a second national tournament appearance Aug. 30 at the Mankato Tournament. The first home match for SDSU is scheduled for Sept. 5 against Pittsburg State.

Football 5-6 While it wasn’t the most successful year for Jackrabbit football, the now experienced group of players can take what they learned into the 2002 season. SDSU finished 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the North Central Conference. Next season, Dan Fjeldheim, Justin Landis, Frank Blalark, Phil Oksness, Brandon Theisse and Jason Langland will return for the Jacks. There are also 21 signed recruits for next season. The home opener is scheduled for Sep. 14 against Chadron State. The Jacks hope to have some Hobo Day luck on their side as they face the 2001 NCAA Division II national champion University of North Dakota. Despite not having a winning record, SDSU running back Josh Ranek was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy. The Harlon Hill goes to the best player in Division II football. Ranek was also invited to play for the Dallas Cowboys next season.

Soccer 13-6-1 In only its second season, the SDSU women’s soccer team qualified for the North Central Conference post-season tournament. The Jacks finished fourth in the conference with a 5-4 NCC record. Lang Wedemeyer was named the conference coach of the year. There were no seniors on the team, and the Jacks have signed eight recruits, some coming from as far as Hawaii and Vermont.

Men’s Cross Country The Jackrabbit men continued their dominance in the NCC by repeating as conference champs this year. The team went on to qualify for the NCAA Division II national meet, where they finished seventh. SDSU graduates none of their top runners and will be led by Andy Blau, Kevin Doe, Matthew Pearson and Brad Lowery next season. Paul Danger was named the NCC men’s cross-country coach of the year for the second time in a row.

Women’s Cross Country Despite only having seven members on the team, the Jackrabbit women’s cross-country team finished fifth in the NCC and tenth in the North Central Region. The Jacks lost their top two All-American runners from the 2000 NCAA Division II national meet qualifying team. Sheena Dauer was the top competitor for SDSU, claiming victory at the NCC meet and qualified individually for the national meet. Out of the seven members of the team last season, none were seniors.

Women’s Golf The golf season is split into fall and spring seasons. SDSU is hosting the NCAA Northern Regional Tournament next weekend, May 3-4, at the Brookings Country Club. While no Jackrabbits will be playing in it, the team had a successful season under first-year coach Bob Brotsky. SDSU was led by junior Annie Spaulding. There were no seniors on the team last year, and five juniors will provide experience for the Jacks. Men’s Golf Men’s golf is also split into two separate seasons. In the fall portion, SDSU finished fifth in the NCC. The only senior on the team, Dustin Kriech was named to the all-NCC team after tying for second at the conference championship meet. The men’s team finished their season last weekend.

Women’s Basketball 28-9 The women’s basketball team began the year on a high note by winning the Disney Tournament, and never looked back. The team went on to have the best season in school history. The Jacks finished third in Division II, setting a school record with 28 victories. This was the first time SDSU has won the North Central Region, and made their first appearance at the Elite Eight. On a team composed mainly of freshmen, SDSU will return all but two players from last season. Melissa Pater, who entered the 1,000-point club, and was named MVP of the regional tournament, will be a key returner for the Jacks.

Men’s Basketball 25-6 The SDSU men’s basketball team won both the NCC regular season and postseason titles. The team again returned to the NCAA tournament and came up one point short from making it to the Elite Eight. The eventual NCAA champions, Metropolitan State, upset SDSU in the regional final. Andy Cone was the lone senior on the squad. The returners will be joined by a junior college transfer from Illinois and Andy Kleinjan from Volga. Austin Hansen moved up to 13th on the SDSU all-time leading scoring list.

Women’s Indoor Track The Jackrabbits were led by All-American Jennifer Stovall, who earned that honor last season at the national indoor meet. Three additional athletes, Cori Vining, Erin Woolley and Jamie Keck, also represented SDSU at the national meet. The team finished fourth at the NCC meet and graduates four field athletes.

Men’s Indoor Track The men’s indoor track team had one athlete, Matt Pearson, qualify for the national meet. The men finished third at the NCC meet. Next season, the Jacks return Kevin Doe and Brad Lowery, who both won individual NCC meet titles.

Women’s Swimming The Jackrabbit women’s swim team suffered from low numbers this season, but still managed a successful season. Camren Hillewaert set three school records at the NCC meet. Next season, the team is looking to add seven more women to the roster.

Men’s Swimming The Jackrabbit men finished fifth at the conference meet last February and are looking to improve on that next season. SDSU was led by Benji Erickson, who earned honorable mention All-American honors at the national meet. Three seniors who were key members of the team will be missed by the Jacks.

Wrestling The Jackrabbit wrestling team had their ninth consecutive top-five national finish this year. The Jacks finished third at the NCAA meet and five wrestlers earned All-American honors. Tyler Bryant and Tyler Jones were national runner-up wrestlers. Aaron Veskrna and Todd Paszek were third in the nation and Jon Madsen placed seventh. The Jacks went into the tournament ranked sixth, but preformed well at the meet to take home third. Veskrna, the only senior on the team, was invited to participate in the Dan Gable Classic, which was a tournament for the best collegiate senior wrestlers in the north central United States. Veskrna finished his career 20th on the all-time list of Jackrabbits, with a record of 81-39.

Softball 20-26 The Jackrabbit softball team is fighting the harsh spring weather as of late to complete their season. Currently, the Jacks have a 20-26 record under first-year coach Shane Bouman. The last scheduled games for this season are May 3-4 in Grand Forks, N.D. at the NCC tourney. The Jacks will lose two seniors from the current team.

Baseball 19-15 The Jacks are looking to qualify for postseason play with a 19-15 record. SDSU has been on a hot streak lately, smashing Northern State University 25-8 and 24-0 in a doubleheader last week. During those games, SDSU set a school record with 16 runs in one inning. The team has a balanced roster, and will be losing ten seniors this season.

M/W Outdoor TrackWith several provisional qualifying standards met, the Jacks hope to turn some of those to automatic qualifying marks. Last weekend, the teams competed at the Drake Relays and the Dakota State Invite. Next weekend, the Jacks will compete at Howard Wood in Sioux Falls.

Women’s Tennis The SDSU women’s tennis team has seen marked improvement over the past two seasons since Don Hanson became coach. This season, Laura Klinkhammer was the lone Jackrabbit to compete in the semi-finals at the NCC meet. The Jacks have a 4-8 record. The Jacks hope to continue to build on their foundation and do not graduate anyone from this years team.

Men’s Tennis The men’s tennis team is having a great season and there were several players who were in line to finish in the top three in the conference. Going into the championship tournament, the Jacks had a 8-8 record. Thomas Chiu, Ben Barnes, Aaron Rothenberger and Jeff Everson were going for third-place finishes last weekend at the NCC meet in Omaha, Neb.

It all starts with love.

South Dakota State University senior Thomas Chiu began playing tennis at the age of seven and still plays for the Jackrabbits today.

Chiu was active in several sports as a youngster in Sioux Falls but found his nitch and a passion for tennis.

“I always liked it because it is an individual sport,” Chiu said. “I have always enjoyed playing it and the competition that comes from playing.”

Over the years, Chiu has played, the Jackrabbits have seen marked improvement. This has been shown by the win/loss record and the finish at the North Central Conference championships. Chiu attributes that to coach Don Hanson.

Hanson, an SDSU graduate who also lives out of the country running a Christian orphanage for part of the year, has helped bring the team to a new level.

Prior to Hanson coaching the team, there was an assistant football coach who doubled as the Jackrabbit tennis coach. Chiu said that it was nice of him to do that because there probably would not have been a team otherwise.

“Coach Hanson knows more about tennis than anyone on the team. He’s been like a grandfather for us. He’s a really great guy and coach,” Chiu said.

Chiu has also impressed Coach Hanson over the past two years. Thomas has been a leader for the team both on and off the courts.

“I have expected leadership from Thomas and that is what I have gotten,” Hanson said. “He is a very quite leader, but he has a strong personality.”

On the court, Chiu plays in the number two singles position and is on the number one doubles team.

“Chiu’s game is about as good as its going to get,” Hanson said. “I am going to look for big things from him at conference.”

Chiu most enjoys playing tennis because of his teammates at SDSU.

“The camaraderie on the team is great,” Chiu said. “The team makes it really enjoyable for me to continue playing.”

Hanson sees Chiu as a leader off of the courts in the sense that he keeps the team close.

“The tennis team is a rather close mob, and he’s a reason why,” Hanson said.

Along with playing on the tennis team, Chiu is a leader on the SDSU campus.

“He is a very well-rounded person,” Hanson said. “He’s dependable and most of all, has a good sense of humor.”

Chiu is active in Kappa Si, the Pharmacy fraternity, ASP (an association of Pharmacy students) and is a Students’ Association senator.

Chiu plans to graduate in May 2003 and then go to Pharmacy school for two years.

While it all began with love, Chiu will conclude his athletic eligibility at the end of this season.

Last weekend, the South Dakota State University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams finished their season at the North Central Conference championship meet in Grand Forks, N.D.

The South Dakota State University men’s and women’s swimming and diving team split weekend duals versus Minnesota State, Mankato.

The Jackrabbit men defeated the Mavericks while the women were defeated. The final score in the men’s competition was 131-99 and the women fell in a 105-76 decision.

This meet was pivotal in determining training regimes for the remainder of the season.

“We are coming down the last stretch of a long season, and the team is preparing to put all of the year’s hard work into one final weekend,” junior swimmer Morgan Haas said.

The Jackrabbit men were led by victories from Benji Erickson in the 200 medley relay, 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke. Joining Erickson on the the 200 medley relay team was Scott Hadorn, Tyler Sonstegard and Jake Berg. Hadorn also won the 100 breaststroke and Berg was victorious in the 50 freestyle.

Mike Adelman also captured three first-place finishes for the Jackrabbits. Adelman won the 1000 and 500 freestyle events and was part of the 200 freestyle relay. Joining Adelman on the the relay was Berg, Jesse Peterson and Zach Olson.

Also leading the men was Sam Kezar, who won both diving events.

Camren Hillewaert had three individual victories for the Jacks, winning the 200 free, 100 fly and 100 breaststroke.

Last weekend’s meet marked the last home meet for four Jackrabbit seniors. Part of the team will be traveling to the University of Minnesota Challenge this Friday and Saturday. The meet will feature teams from all collegiate levels of competition. Nine Jackrabbits will be representing SDSU.

The rest of the team is busy preparing for the North Central Conference championship meet, which will be Feb. 20-23 in Grand Forks, N.D.

“You will find us doing whatever we can to prepare for conference, including wearing tights, watching our diet and conserving energy whenever possible,” Haas said.

The South Dakota State University Hockey Club improved their record to 7-3-2 this weekend as they won two games against Inver Hills Community College.

On Friday, the Jacks defeated Inver Hills with an 8-1 final score. In the first period, SDSU took advantage of their shooting and led 4-0. The Jacks outshot Inver 27-4 in the first period.

The second period started a little different compared to any other game that SDSU has had. The lights at the Larson Ice Rink in Brookings went off. There was a problem in a service panel and the building had to be evacuated. The teams decided to resume the game Saturday at 3 p.m.

The overnight rest was good for Inver Hills, as they came out with more fire and outshot the Jackrabbits 15-14 in the second period. SDSU recovered in the third and finished the period with three more goals. The Jacks outshot Inver Hills 21-2 in the third.

The Jacks were led by Scott Taylor, Justin Moe and Billy Schneider, who all scored two goals. Colin Bryant and Brent Benning also added a goal Friday night.

Saturday, SDSU defeated Inver Hills by a 7-2 margin. The Jacks were again led by Taylor, who had a hat trick (three goals) on Saturday. Benning and Schneider scored one goal each on Saturday. Also adding to the SDSU scoring barrage were Bill DeBlonk and Andy Schuster.

The Jackrabbits outshot Inver Hills 51-41 Saturday.

The team will be at intrastate rival, Northern State University this Friday and Saturday. The games begin at 10 p.m.

When coming back from winter break, SDSU will again take on Inver Hills on Jan. 12 and 13. Their first home games in 2002 will be Jan. 18 and 19 versus Grand Forks Storm. The game begins at 9 p.m. on Friday and 11 p.m. on Saturday.

“If you build it, they will come.”

That must have been what Ralph Engelstad, a University of North Dakota alumni, was thinking when shelling out millions of dollars for the new Ralph Engelstad Hockey Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.

The University of North Dakota sponsors a hockey team. Since there is no NCAA Division II hockey, they compete at the Division I level. UND has won several national championships and has quite a legacy when it comes to collegiate hockey. There new facility is also making a legacy. Engelstad was a goalie for the team in the late 1940s and is now an entrepreneur in Las Vegas who credits a lot to his hockey experience at the university. To show his gratitude, he built the best collegiate hockey facility in the country.

The arena is not the greatest in size, although it is large, but in all of the “extras” the facility has.

You may be wondering what this arena in the middle of nowhere has that is so great.

First, when walking into the arena, the lobby looks more like that of an opera house versus a college hockey rink. There are chandeliers and an Italian marble floor. I thought the floor was nice, but didn’t realize how nice. Each square foot of tile was $15, and there was a lot of tile. Just in case anyone else in the world was interested in installing a similar floor, they would not be able to. Engelstad bought the mountain that the marble came from.

Also, all of the seats in the arena are vinyl leather. Even in the nose bleed section and in the student section. That’s right, no bleacher bottoms for UND fans.

In the training room, there is a 20-person hot tub. They also have a smaller hot tub and yet another one with a treadmill underwater that can record athletes doing rehab. The training room also has their own x-ray machine.

What impressed me the most was the weight room. It was about the size as the weight room at SDSU’s HPER. But a lot nicer. The weights and machines were all state-of-the-art equipment. There were at least ten bench press machines. The equipment was only for the hockey team, approximately 35 players, to use.

In comparison, at SDSU, there are six bench press machines, depending on whether there are bars in use at other lifting areas, that are available for all of the student body to use.

When it comes down to it, this place was beyond anything else I had ever seen when it comes to collegiate athletic facilities. With all of the extras, there is only one this missing this season, a winning team.

The UND hockey team currently has a 5-9-1 record. Although the players are young, is it beyond belief that they may be spending too much time in their hot tubs or sitting on nice leather couches in their players lounge watching their big screen TV and not enough time on the ice?

Whether that be the case or not, every game is sold out and there is a waiting list to get season tickets that is about two years long. There is also the largest free standing bar in North Dakota at the arena, so the school is making killer profits.

When it comes down to it, bigger does not mean better. How nice a facility is does not mean that the athletes who train there will be better than others who train with simply adequate equipment.

There is no doubt that the South Dakota State University volleyball team achieved their goals this season.

When arriving on campus in early August, the team defined their goals for the 2001 season. One of those goals was to make it to the national tournament. Something that a team from SDSU had not done before.

This team not only made the tournament, they came oh-so-close to winning it all, finishing the season as the national runner-up.

The Jacks began the season ranked tenth in the nation and went into the tournament with the same ranking.

To get to the national tournament, the Jacks faced five ranked teams. In the North Central Region, SDSU defeated Augustana, who won the tournament last year, 3-2. They then took on North Dakota State, who was ranked fourth, to qualify for the elite eight.

Once they got to the national tournament, the Jackrabbits first draw was against Truman State (Mo.), a team that SDSU lost to earlier this season. As several of their matches have gone this season, it was decided in five games.

The Jacks then advanced to the semi-finals and took on tournament host Grand Valley State (Mich.). SDSU convincingly defeated Grand Valley in three games to place them in the national championship game versus Barry University of Florida.

While the outcome was not in the Jackrabbits favor, first-year Coach Andrew Palileo is proud of his team.

“When everything is all said and done, it was great. We’re disappointed with the loss, but in hindsight, getting second was great for the team and the institution,” Palileo said.

In order to get to where they wanted to be, the team had to keep their eyes on the prize throughout the entire season. Palileo said that the team made sure that what they were doing at a practice or in a game was worth it.

The team noticed a change in momentum after they played at Morningside on Oct. 6.

“The first time we played Morningside, that turned our season around,” Palileo said. “I saw that we could really do something.”

The team hopes to carry on the momentum into next season. However, they get until after Christmas to recover from this season. After break, the team will begin winter workouts.

While working towards next season is vital, the experience gained by playing at a national tournament was also an important tool in developing the team.

“The girls gained a lot of experience, especially the younger players, said Palileo.

Next year, the team will be without seniors Shauna Sturm and Grethe Bornhoft.

Sturm was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Division II Player of the Year. She will receive the award at a banquet in San Diego later this month. Sturm is the first SDSU player to receive this award. Sturm led the Jackrabbit offense all season and is among the top in school history in several career categories. She is second in kills with 1,528, second in hitting percentage with .322 and tied for third in block assists with 275. She also tallied 126 set assists this season, which is the highest ever for an SDSU player in a single season.

The Jacks will be returning a talented junior class.

Angie Rime, who was named All-American this season, has 4,130 assists, which is second on the SDSU all-time list.

Liz Archer is seventh all-time in career digs with 1,020.

Junior Kelly Hoemann stands at sixth place all-time in block assists with 201.

Now that the team has adjusted to first-year coach Andrew Palileo and his style, they are looking forward to what next season will bring, but are cherishing what they just accomplished.

“It was a good year and we’re looking to extend beyond what we did this year,” Palileo said. “Which is only the final game.”

The South Dakota State University volleyball team made history last week.

The 2001 Jackrabbits are the first team in SDSU history to make the NCAA Division II Volleyball Tournament. The tourney is set to begin on Thursday, with the Jacks slated to take on Truman State (Mo.) University in Allendale, Mich. Grand Valley State University was awarded hosting the 21st annual tournament.

If SDSU wins on Thursday, they will advance to the semi-finals on Friday. The finals are set for Saturday.

While the Jacks are excited to make it to the elite eight, they are still somewhat amazed that they made it this far.

“They were pretty shocked,” coach Andrew Palileo said. “It hasn’t hit them yet, but once we get on the plane and start practicing there, it will sink in. But they’re very excited.”

Along with SDSU (26-5) and Truman (37-1), Barry (29-2), Western State (29-3), Lock Haven (28-12), California-San Diego (24-6), Mercy (34-1) and Grand Valley State (28-4) are in the tournament.

SDSU qualified for national tournament by winning the North Central Regional Tournament. The Jacks defeated North Dakota State in Fargo in five games to win the region.

“All of our emotions came out,” junior Annie Ebnet said. “Knowing that they beat us 3-0 two times and to go and beat them in their gym, it was unbelievable.”

Truman currently is ranked second in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. They qualified for nationals by winning the South Central Region. Truman has dominated nearly all of their opponents this season. They have one loss to Columbia College and 26 of their matches were over in three games, seven went four games and four were decided in the fifth game.

On the other hand, the Jackrabbits have had seven matches go to five games and 10 stretch to four games. Palileo attributes this to being in the North Central Conference. While the Jacks have had several matches go longer, they are 7-0 in five game matches and 7-3 in four game matches.

“Top to bottom, we have a better conference,” Palileo said.

The NCC is traditionally one of the toughest conferences for volleyball with several teams in the ranked in the top 25 in the nation.

However, the numbers that Truman has put up this season are stronger than simply playing easy teams.

The Bulldogs have lost only 18 games this season and SDSU has played 82 games and has lost 35.

They have the highest winning percentage in the nation and finished 11th nationally in hitting percentage with .278 (2066 kills).

SDSU will have to watch for Truman’s Cassy Felkerson and Monica Marlowe. Felkerson has 451 kills, 136 blocks, .325 hitting percentage and 80 digs on the season. Marlowe has 397 digs and 1331 assists.

As a team, the Jackrabbits have tallied 1798 kills, 1497 assists, 2077 digs and 264 blocks on the season. They will be led by All-Americans Shauna Sturm and Angie Rime.

In order to prepare for the Bulldogs, Palileo said that the Jacks are going back to the basics.

“It’s almost like pre-season again,” said Palileo.

Along with going back to the basics, they are looking specifically at Truman.

“We’re looking at certain things they do on offense and looking at their defense and where we can attack their weaknesses,” Ebnet said.

Ultimately, the Jacks want to accomplish the goal that they set out for at the beginning of the season: to be national champions.

While there have been some ups and downs this season, the Jacks came up with the wins when it counted.

“We started off struggling a little bit,” Ebnet said. “We had a lot of new players come in this year, but we have come a long way defensively.”

“We want to go in there and win,” Palileo said. “We need to take care of what we need to do. Just like at regionals.”

Ebnet said the Jacks learned an important lesson at regionals, “we can do a lot if we put our minds to it and work together.”