The Lady Jacks women’s soccer team maintained their early season momentum with a victory over the College of Saint Mary Monday in their first home game.

Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer was pleased with how many girls played well in the 7-0 victory. The team now has a 3-1 record.

The Lady Jacks opened the year with a road trip to Northern Iowa Aug. 25, and then faced Northern Illinois. The squad scored three unanswered goals against Northern Iowa, and beat Northern Illinois 3-2, Aug. 27. This marks the first time the women’s soccer team has recorded a double road win in a number of years, according to Wedemeyer.

“We started really well. This is the best since I’ve been here,” said goalie Jenn Davis, one of the team’s four seniors. “It’s great because we have such a positive attitude, and are going to be competitive.”

The team’s lone loss was to Creighton University, 0-2, on Aug. 30. The girls played games in three different states in five days, which Wedemeyer thinks may have affected the girls.

“We had a chance, but just couldn’t capitalize on them. We had two shots go off the crossbar, which would have given us the lead,” he said.

The Jacks have 17 returning letter winners, but are still a young team, with four seniors, six juniors, eight sophomores and five freshmen.

“We are a lot better friends this year. I think we have more respect for one another, because we are sharing a common goal. Bringing back all our starters has made that possible,” said senior defender Maggie Eilers.

The Lady Jacks are in action this weekend in Fargo, N.D., where they will face Weber State and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

“We will be playing two solid D-I teams, and we will need to play mistake free, especially on defense. I think this will be a great tournament for us to find out just how good we are this year,” said Wedemeyer.

IUPUI, the Jacks’ opponent on Sept. 10, is currently a member of the Mid-Continent Conference. The game should provide the ladies a good look at the conference they will join.

“I think it (joining the Mid-Con) is great for the university and our program,” Wedemeyer said. “There are a lot of solid soccer teams in the Mid-Continent, but I believe we will be able to step in and be competitive right away.”

The girls have started strong and hope to maintain the level of play, he said.

“We are still young and are starting a lot of sophomores, but they are doing well,” Wedemeyer said. “Confidence is growing, and this weekend will be a great way to determine how the rest of the season is going.”

#1.884375:3561263663.jpg:womensSoccer03.jpg:Women’s soccer players practice for the upcoming season.:Erin Lester

Slow pitch co-ed intramural softball is one of the most popular intramural sports offered here at SDSU. This year, a record 1008 students signed up to play co-rec softball, and just under 100 more waiting to be involved. Softball is one of the most popular sports offered by the school, and that is evident by the number of students involved.

There are currently 17 leagues competing. Teams play two games one night a week in their league. Two leagues play each night Monday through Friday, and three leagues compete on Sundays. The games start at 3 o’clock each day. Due to the amount of interest this year in co-rec softball, an additional league was added on Fridays. Teams play in-league and the top two teams from each league move on to the co-rec softball tournament. This is a single-elimination tournament and usually takes three days to complete. This year, the tournament starts on April 27.

The intramurals provide students a chance to show their competitive side. Kyle Heer of the Spitting Llamas said, “We need to win every game to make it to the playoffs and that’s what it’s all about. A lot of students played most of these sports in high school and events like this give them a chance to continue participating in the activities they love.”

Mandy Brendemuehl, a sophomore from Medford, Minn., said, “It was weird moving from high school, where I played everything, to college where I wasn’t a student athlete.” Mandy went on to say that she enjoys playing everything the intramural office offers.

Another important aspect of intramurals is the chance to meet new people. Mandy said she met most of her team here in Brookings.

She said, “A lot of the people I played against in high school, or they’re just friends that we meet on campus.”

Mandy plays for the Smackers, who are currently undefeated and hoping to make it into the tournament.

On the competitive side of things, Mandy said, “We’re playing pretty good, we have never played together, and we are undefeated, and I would not be anywhere without my teammates.”

Mark Ekeland, Intramural/Special Projects coordinator, said, “It’s exiting to be able to provide a recreational and fun activity that so many students enjoy.”

The Intramural office is seeing an increase in student participation in all areas. One hundred and twenty-six more students are participating in co-rec softball this year than last year. Overall, the Intramural department saw an increase this year by almost 800.

Heer, a sophomore from Doland, said, “I play intramurals because it’s a good reason to get outside, have fun and to meet new people.”

Intramurals are an important aspect of life here at SDSU. They provide a perfect reason to take a break from studying and get some exercise. There is one more event still available for students to participate in. Track registration started on Monday and is still open. There are a number of individual events that students can compete in. The meet will take place on April 26, at 4 o’clock, and will be located on the outdoor track on campus. For more information about the track meet or intramurals, stop by the Intramural office which is located in the HPER building.

The men’s and women’s golf teams started their spring season with a trip to Florida over spring break.

The men competed in the Fort Lauderdale Classic, which took place in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The women attended the NIU Spring Lake Intercollegiate, in Sebring, Fla.

The Jackrabbit men shot a total of 605 (305-300), which gave them an eighth-place finish. The men shot a 300 in the final round of the tournament, their second-lowest score this year.

Head Coach Jared Baszler said, “The tournament went really well, although it did not look like it on paper. I thought we played a lot better than eighth. We actually only finished five strokes out of fourth place, so we were right there.”

Three golfers stood out for the men. Trent Peterson from Eagan, Minn., tied for ninth with a score of a 147 (72-75). Tim Kalil, a freshman from Rapid City, shot a 150 (77-73) which was good enough to finish 20th. Right behind Kalil was junior Steven Klock from Sioux Falls. He shot a 151, which tied him for 22nd place.

The women finished 11th out of 18 in Sebring. They posted a score of 625 (316-309). The 309 the Lady Jacks shot on the second day was their season-low. The score is exciting because it was the first tournament of the spring season.

Baszler said, “I feel really good after the tournament. We had a really great time and played well. The season-low did a good job of showing how well practice has been going.”

Leaders for the Lady Jacks were senior Kelly Evans from Brookings, Holly Opatz from Bloomington, Minn., and senior Lindsey Brown from Fort Pierre. Evans shot a two-day total of 152 (77-75) which gave her a 21st place finish. Opatz shot a 153 (77-76), and Brown finished with a 160 (78-82).

Both teams will play in the Payne Stewart Memorial in Springfield, Mo., on April 3 and 4.

After starting the spring season well, the expectations for the upcoming tournaments are high.

In regard to the men’s team, Baszler said, “I feel pretty good. There is going to be a strong field, and we are going to have to play better than we did last year. It is a challenging course, but it should be playing a little easier than last year. If we play like we did in Florida, we should be right where we want to be.”

Baszler said wind was an obstacle last year for the Jacks.

The outlook this year for the Lady Jacks is optimistic. Baszler said, “We have five strong golfers, with three seniors who should lead the way. We hope to continue where we left off in Florida, and continue to improve as the season continues.”

The SDSU Baseball Team started off their season on Feb. 28 with a trip to Kansas State University. The Jacks lost the two games they played against the Wildcats by a total of three runs. The Jacks put up five runs in their first competitive game of the season.

The road trip to begin the season then moved on to St. Louis, Mo., where the Jacks took on the University of Saint Louis. The Jacks had a hard time with St. Louis and ended up dropping three in the Gateway City.

The Jackrabbits had a three-day break before finding their way to Carbondale, Ill., for a two-game challenge. The Jacks lost the first game, but on March 4, picked up their first win of the season against Southern Illinois and put their total record at 1-6.

The Jackrabbits ended their spring break road trip by taking on Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Although the Jacks started off slow, they got a win in the final of three games. This put the Jackrabbits at a total of two wins and eight losses during the opening season road trip.

Head Coach Reggie Christiansen said, “I felt we pitched and fielded well, but we just couldn’t get the bats going.”

Only a few runs decided all the games and Coach Christiansen felt that the Jacks were hurt by not being able to get outside and practice. Christiansen added that he felt like this road trip was a good way to start the season.

“This road trip was a real step in the right direction,” he said.

Junior shortstop Jake Rogers from Lewiston, Idaho, led the Jacks

with 13 hits and two homeruns during the ten-game trip. Rogers tied Tyson Fisher, sophomore first basemen from Fortuna, Calif., with 14 runs batted in. Fisher also led the team by scoring eight runs.

Robby Apo, a junior from Eureka, Calif., led the Jacks with 13.2 innings pitched during the ten-game trip. Apo also led in strikeouts with eight, while Christian Larson, Danny Klous and Matt Bowman all tied for second with seven. Gary Olechoski, senior pitcher from Omaha, Neb., put up saves in both of the Jacks’ wins to start the season.

This weekend, the Jackrabbit baseball team will head to Lincoln, Neb., to take on the Cornhuskers.

Coach Christiansen said, “This is a big weekend for us. The University of Nebraska should be a real challenge, and I feel that we are up for it. We are just taking it day by day, and I think we just need to build on what we learned in the first ten games.”

The Minnesota Vikings may be moving their annual training camp. Sioux Falls was a favorite for the training camp two years ago until the Vikings decided to stay at their current home in Mankato, Minn.

The reason Sioux Falls was turned down dealt with issues related to the acquisition of a new Vikings’ stadium. The Vikings need around $675 million for the Anoka County Stadium and felt moving the training camp out of Minnesota would hurt their chances of raising that money.

Mankato is the current home of the training camp. The Vikings are happy with the current situation, but the Greater Mankato Training Camp L.L.C., which is the group responsible for hosting the training camp, will no longer be together.

Sioux Falls has tried to bring the Vikings to town before, so when the Vikings found out the group responsible for running the training camp in Mankato would no longer be available, they started looking at other ways of running the camp.

Sioux Falls is not the only region looking to take advantage of the training camp. Duluth and Fargo are hoping to get a chance to host as well.

Lifelong Vikings fan and Sioux Falls native Max Jensen said “I think it would be great if the Vikings had their training camp in Sioux Falls.”

Vice President of Public Affairs for the Vikings, Lester Bagley said, “Sioux Falls has made an attractive offer and has an incredible fan base.”

The Vikings won’t make a decision until June.

The South Dakota State University Jacks Hockey Club took two easily at home last weekend. The men’s hockey club took on Dordt College on Friday and Saturday nights, and beat their rival easily in both meetings.

On Friday night, the Jacks won, 8-3. The feel for both nights was dislike, and it started early. Both teams lost a player due to fighting in the first period. The fight also meant those players would be unable to play on Saturday night.

The Jacks were in control of this game from the beginning, ending the first period with a 3-0 lead. The Jacks out-shot Dordt 29-6 in the first period alone and 48-23 on the game. The Jacks gave up two goals in the second period, but managed to get four of their own. The Jacks lead 7-2 going to the final period. Both Dordt and the Jacks managed to get one goal apiece in the final period, leaving the game with its 8-3 final.

Saturday night started just like Friday, with the Jacks jumping on Dordt in the first period. The Jacks put up four unanswered goals in the first period. In fact, the Jacks put up more goals than Dordt had shots on goal.

The second period was all SDSU as well. The Jacks added to their lead with four more goals, giving SDSU an 8-0 lead going into the final period. In the second period, SDSU and Dordt each lost two players due to a fight. SDSU lost junior Jake Gustafson, a wing from Wahpeton, N.D., and sophomore, wing Roy Sando from Huron.

The incident posed a problem for both teams. They lost the guys for the rest of the game, but they also had to have other players serve their time in the penalty box. This left both teams a little short-handed. While the penalties were being served, Dordt was left with one player and one goalie on their bench.

Gustafson said, “We expected to win, but the DQs are going to hurt us.” The third period got started with a goal from freshman forward Brian Hermanson. The Jacks gave up one goal in the third, and came out on the top with a 9-1 victory.

Coach Marty Schipull said, “Dordt is having a down year, so we expected to win. There was quite a bit of fighting, and you’re going to see that between these two teams, especially when the score gets so out of hand.”

Schipull went on to say that he was pleased with his defense. They were missing a lot of guys due to fighting and injury, so they had some guys step up from the defensive side of the puck and play some offense.

Sando said, “We came out skating hard, and we really had some guys step up.”

The Jacks head south this weekend to take on Creighton. Gustafson said, “We hope to get a couple of wins.”

If the Jacks can get a win this weekend, they will lock up the top seed for the league championship, which will take place in Brookings on Feb. 25-26.

Coach Schipull wanted to thank all the fans that have been supporting the hockey team, and hopes to see the support for the guys during the championship games. The tournament will be played in two days with games at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday, and 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday. The top team will play the fourth seed, and then 2 vs. 3. The winners will move on and play in the championship game on Saturday night.

Sando said, “Creighton is a big game for us. They’re really the only team in the league that can play with us this year, and this weekend’s games will give us a great chance to get a look at them before the tournament.”

Schipull is confident going into the weekend’s games, but knows his guys will need to step up to overcome personal losses, and make sure that they have the top seed going into the Great Plains Hockey Association’s final weekend. “We would really like to win it at home in front of our fans,” Gustafson said.

#1.884704:3912139490.jpg:hockeyfight_tc.jpg:Jake Gustafson of the Jacks gets into a fight in Saturday night’s SDSU victory over Dordt College.:Ty Carlson

The SDSU women’s basketball team won a pair of games played at home this past week. The Lady Jacks beat the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs on Wednesday, and then went on to crush the North Dakota State Bison on Saturday.

The Lady Jacks dominated the defensive side of the ball to beat the Mustangs. On Feb. 1, the Lady Jacks shot 29 percent from the field and were out-rebounded by seven, but still managed to beat SMSU 56-31. The Mustangs were forced into 33 turnovers by the Jacks. The Lady Jacks held the Mustangs to just 25 percent shooting from the field, and SDSU gave up only eight points in the first half.

Senior Heather Sieler led the Jacks with 15 points and four assists. The Lady Jacks had nine different girls score en route to the 95-66 win.

The Lady Jacks then put their six-game home winning streak on the line against NDSU on Saturday night in front of 4,596 fans at Frost Arena. The Lady Jacks dominated, winning by 29. The ladies controlled the boards, grabbing 18 more than the Bison. The Jacks had 21 offensive boards. The Lady Jacks set a season high for three-pointers made, 15, which is one away from tying the team record. The 95 points put up by the Jacks were a season high.

Junior Megan Vogel led the Lady Jacks with a career high of 31 points. Vogel shot five-for-five from the three-point line. Seiler also set a career high in scoring with 20 points. Senior Christina Gilbert led SDSU with 10 rebounds. Gilbert had five rebounds on the offensive side of the ball. The Jacks hit 21 of 27 free throws in the second half.

The Jacks play five out of their last six games on the road. The Lady Jacks play on Feb. 11, at Texas-Pan American. They will be ending the season at home with a game against Central State (Ohio), on March 3.

The Lady Jacks are still eligible for the Women’s National Invational Tournament, and the remaining six games will be crucial in deciding whether or not they get in. Vogel said, “I think the season is going well. We have started to play some of our best basketball, and its important to do that at the end of the year. We have had some tough losses, but we have also had some great wins, and all we can do is continue to play well, and hope to reach our goal of making it to the WNIT.”

#1.884738:1610955514.jpg:sdsuvsndsu01_tc.jpg:Megan Vogel of SDSU gets fouled by Brandee Gibbs of NDSU in the Jackrabbits 29-point victory on Thursday night.:Ty Carlson

The SDSU Women’s Basketball Team won two games in a row to end the month of January.

The Lady Jacks beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at home and then traveled to Miami to knock off Florida International University. With the two victories, the Lady Jacks moved to 12-8 on the season, with eight games left to play. Three of the remaining games for the Lady Jacks will be at home.

On Jan. 26, the Lady Jacks hosted the Corpus Christi Islanders, with a record of 10-7 heading into the contest with Jacks. SDSU won the game, 68-45. The Lady Jacks started out the game strong and built a 20-point lead with seven minutes left to play in the first half. The Jacks controlled the ball and the style of play of the game from the start. The Lady Jacks forced 19 turnovers in front of the 1,788 home fans.

SDSU was led by junior Megan Vogel, who had 23 points and 7 rebounds. The Lady Jacks had 10 different women score, four of whom reached double figures. The Islanders’ Terra Andrews was the only player from Corpus Christi to score in double figures with 17 points. The Islanders and Jacks will meet again this season on Feb. 13 in Corpus Christi, Texas.

After winning on Thursday night, the Jacks traveled to Miami, Fla. to take on the Florida International University Golden Panthers. The Lady Jacks came out strong on defense, not allowing a Golden Panthers’ basket until Iva Ciglar hit a layup with 14 minutes, 39 seconds left in the first half. The Jacks controlled the first half and went into halftime with a 13-point lead.

The second half was a different story for the Lady Jacks. SDSU gave up 37 points in the second half after only giving up 19 in the first. In a game that went down to the wire, the Jacks pulled out a 60 – 56 win against the Golden Panthers. The Golden Panthers went on a 13-point run with 15 minutes, 34 seconds left in the second half to bring the game back into reach. With 53 seconds left in the game and the Jacks up by one, Vogel, the Jacks leading scorer, hit a three pointer to give the Lady Jacks a four-point lead and secure the victory.

The Jacks hit 11 three pointers in the game and had six different players make a three. The Jacks were led by Vogel, who had 25 points, including the final three pointer of the game. Senior Christina Gilbert had a team-high six rebounds and senior Heather Sieler led the Jacks with seven assists in the road win.

The 2006 fall football schedule is released. SDSU will have five home games in their upcoming season, and play six on the road.

The Jacks have one of the toughest schedules they have ever had. The Central Arkansas Bears finished sixth in the ACFA Division II College Football Poll. In Division I-AA action, the Jacks will face a Northern Iowa team that is coming off a run to the championship game and a second-place finish. Montana and Cal Poly also made it to the postseason last year. All three of those schools finished in the top 12 power rankings for Division I-AA last year.

The Athletic Department finally got the negotiating done for the fall 2006 season and was able to release the schedule during break. The Jacks play in some of the same places they played last year, such as Montana and North Dakota State University. The travel to the same places due to the number of conference teams that the Great West has, as well as the amount of non-conference games they are allowed to play.

“Putting together the right combination of conference and non-conference games can be hard. Having the right mix of home and away games can also be difficult, but I was really pleased. We have four playoff teams on the schedule, and they should provide a basis to find out exactly were the program is,” said Head Coach John Stiegelmeier.

Athletic Director Dr. Fred Oien said, “The kind of teams that we are playing are some of the best in the country. If we want to one of the best, we need to play the best, so I am really pleased with how the schedule came together. I think it is a great step in terms of where the program is headed.”

“We want to build on 2005. The goal here at SDSU is to be great program. We might want to get there faster than most programs, but I know my team just isn’t happy with a 6-5 season. We plan to come out and compete and we can’t wait for next year to prove just how far we have come,” said Steigelmeier.

2006 Football Schedule

September

2 vs. Wisconsin-LaCrosse 9 at Montana 16 at Northern Iowa 23 at Nicholls State 30 vs. Idaho State

October 7 vs. Central Arkansas 14 Open 21 at Cal Poly 28 vs. UC Davis

November 4 vs. William Penn 11 at Southern Utah 18 at North Dakota State

As most students are probably aware by now, the athletic department has had a major upgrade this fall to the scoreboard systems at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium and Frost Arena. What most students might not know is that an addition to the communication studies and theater department took place alongside those changes.

Students are able earn credits by running the scoreboards on game day. In most cases, students are paid as much as $10 per hour. Students are responsible for things like directing, running cameras and basic computer production. These students are working hand in hand with employees of Keyframe, a service division of Daktronics.

Athletic Director Fred Oien explained that the athletic department had been working with Daktronics for a few years and was aware of the opportunity for students to participate in the process. He said student participation is one of the reasons the athletic department chose this system through Daktronics.

“We anticipated good things to come from Keyframe, and we have not been disappointed. We are very happy with the out come so far,” Oien said.

Even more delighted with the outcome of the current project that allows students to gain experience for future careers is Jeff Heinle, head of the media production program at SDSU.

“As a part of MEPR (media production), it gives us a great opportunity in a number of different environments,” Heinle said.

A limited number of areas for MEPR students to gain hands-on experience on campus exists. Students can participate in the production of television shows filmed on campus in Pugsley Hall, such as “Today’s Ag” and “On Call,” not to mention radio shows on KSDJ 90.7, such as the “Timmy K. and Scuba Steve Show.” With the additions of the new scoreboards, MEPR students have another place on campus to gain much needed experience that will help them find jobs when they graduate.

MEPR student Emelia Gulck said, “I learned different programs on animations. It’s pretty easy and fun, but I love that I get paid and credit.”

This student staffing program is currently being used at the University of Wisconsin and University of Georgia, but is not something that has a blueprint for how it is going to work at each university. Daktronics and SDSU both knew they wanted to have students involved, but are still ironing out some of the different ways it will work. One of the problems that both Daktronics and Heinle are dealing with is student participation. The opportunities exist, but it is becoming hard to find students to participate.

The athletic department is not the only one benefiting from the addition of the scoreboards. The new scoreboards provide an opportunity for MEPR students to gain valuable experience and provide an entertaining experience for SDSU fans that attend games at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium and Frost Arena.