2017 Gustavus Athletics Year In Review Posted on December 30th, 2017 by CJ Siewert

ST. PETER, Minn. – The 2017 calendar year saw Gustavus Athletics continue to garner conference championships, play in national tournaments, and have its student-athletes thrive in both the classroom and on the field of play. Here’s a look back at how all 23 Gustie teams did throughout the past year…

To listen to the 2017 Gustavus Athletics Year in Review, tune in to AM 860 KNUJ at 3:40 p.m., Jan. 2 as CJ Siewert joins the voice of the Golden Gusties, Tom Wheeler.

Women’s Basketball

• 25-3 overall (matched program record for wins in a season)
• 17-1 MIAC (second place)
• started the season on a program record 19-game win streak
• nearly 3,000 people attended the St. Thomas home game in early February
• Coach Kelly earned 300th win
• lost to the Tommies in the MIAC championship
• earned an at-large bid to NCAA tourney and lost to DePauw in the first round
• All-Conference: Hannah Howard, Mikayla Miller, and Miranda Rice
• Miller named D3hoops.com All-West Region Second Team and WBCA All-America Honorable Mention
• off to an 8-2 start this season and are ranked No. 17 in the country

Women’s Cross Country

• Competed in five meets leading up to the MIAC Championships – took fourth of 12
• All-Conference: Sadie Klug, ninth
• All-Conference Honorable Mention: Olivia Rosenow, 23rd
• Sixth of 32 at the NCAA Regionals
• All-Region: Sadie Klug, 15th
• Klug took 64th of 279 at the NCAA Championships, career best 21:52.9 (ninth best 6k time in program history)
• Head Coach Brenden Huber’s first year at the helm

Women’s Golf

• Competed in four events before the MIAC Championships
• First place at the UW-Eau Claire Invite for third-straight year
• Fifth at the MIAC meet
• McKenzie Swenson took 13th with a low round of 73 (seventh lowest in program history)

Gymnastics

• Tallied six of the program’s all-time top 10 team scores, highlighted by the second highest team scored in program history
• set the school record on bars
• Aryn DeGrood named WIAC Coach of the Year
• Sam Ardy, Lauren Kerschner, and Alex Kopp competed at NCGA Championships – all three earned All-America status
• Kopp second on vault and sixth in all-around, Ardy fifth on bars, Kershner 10th in all-around at NCGA Championships

Women’s Hockey

• 19-7-3 overall
• 13-2-3 MIAC (1st – 14th title)
• started season 6-5-1 then went on a 13-game unbeaten streak
• upset in the MIAC semifinals, but earned an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament
• upset UW-River Falls in quarterfinals, lost to Adrian in OT in the semis, and then beat Norwich 3-1 to take third place
• Mike Carroll MIAC Coach of the Year for the seventh time and USCHO.com Division III Coach of the Year
• All-Conference: Amanda DiNella, Kaitlyn Klein, and Erica Power
• DiNella First Team All-America (first Gustie goalie to earn the award)
• off to an 8-1-1 start this season and are in first place in the MIAC at 5-1

Women’s Soccer

• 10-6-4 overall
• 5-4-2 MIAC (sixth)
• third-straight MIAC playoff appearance, upset St. Olaf in the quarterfinal and St. Thomas in the semifinal, before falling to St. Catherine in the championship 1-0 in double OT
• All-Conference: Ashley Becker and Josie Mazzone
• Becker also named All-North Region and First Team All-America – the ninth in program history and third First Teamer
• Sophie Leininger named CoSIDA Academic All-Region and MIAC Elite 22

Softball

• Head Coach Britt Stewart’s first year
• 23-17 overall
• 10-12 MIAC (Sixth)
• All-Conference: Hannah Heacox, Jena Willis
• Heacox also NFCA All-Region Third Team
• Heacox ended her career as the school’s all-time record holder in strikeouts (629), innings pitched (550.2), complete games (61), and complete game shutouts (20). She also finished second in career appearances (103), starts (77), and wins (56)

Women’s Swimming & Diving

• Won three of four dual meets and competed at a high level in six other invitational meets
• Second at the MIAC Championships for second-straight year
• Kate Reilly, Maggie Webster, Kennedy Holwerda, and Nicole Lohman qualified for the NCAA Championships in Shenandoah, Texas, competing in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard medley relay, and 400-yard freestyle relay
• Gusties have won four meets to start 2017-18 season

Women’s Tennis

• 21-8 overall
• 9-1 MIAC (Second)
• upset Carleton for MIAC playoff championship, earning NCAA tournament bid
• beat St. Norbert and Kenyon, advancing to NCAA regional title for first time since 2010
• lost to Chicago
• 

  Briana Hartmann earned All-America status

  All-Conference: Katie Aney, Ally Baker, Cal Carlson, Briana Hartmann, Michaela Schulz

• Carlson earned Chris Evert Award (combination of sportsmanship, athletic, academic, humanitarian efforts)
• Heidi Carlson ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year
• Aney CoSIDA Academic All-American and MIAC Elite 22
• This fall, Hartmann won ITA Midwest Regional singles title, earning All-America
• Hartmann took fifth at the ITA Oracle Cup

Women’s Track & Field

Indoor

• Competed in six meets leading up to the MIAC Championships, where they took 11^th place
• Kayla Stowell was consistently one of the top finishers in her respective sprint events. She took fifth in the 60-meter at the conference meet. Siri Olson also had a good showing at the MIAC Championships, taking sixth place in the shot put

Outdoor

• With a large contingent of underclassmen, the Gusties took 11^th place at the MIAC Championships. Katie Keeling earned All-Conference honors after finishing runner-up in the hammer throw. Marisa Morgan had a strong showing at the conference meet, taking fourth in the javelin. Morgan finished fifth in the region in the javelin, earing USTFCCCA All-Region accolades.

Volleyball

• 26-7 overall
• 8-3 MIAC (Third)
• lost in the MIAC quarterfinals to Augsburg but earned an at-large bid to NCAA tournament
• proceeded to beat Aurora in the regional quarterfinal, Wartburg in the semifinal, and upset host Northwestern-St. Paul for the region title
• advanced to Elite 8 for second time in program history, losing to eventual national champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
• All-Conference: Nora Holtan, Brittany Luethmers, Kate Holtan, and Hanna Albers
• Nora Holtan MIAC Player of the Year for second-straight season
• Luethmers MIAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year
• Kate Holtan MIAC Rookie of the Year
• Holtan sisters AVCA All-Region Central Team, Kate Central Region Freshman of the Year
• Nora Holtan AVCA First Team All-America for second season, and CoSIDA Academic All-America

Baseball

• 21-17 overall (most wins since 2008)
• 9-11 MIAC (7th)
• ended the season with a 13-inning win over MIAC champion St. Thomas
• All-Conference: Josh Chatfield, Casey Lewandoski
• This summer the field underwent a complete renovation with artificial turf on the entire field, brand new scoreboard, and improved spectator sightlines
• Phase one complete of a two-phase, $1.5 million project

Men’s Basketball

• 5-20 overall
• 5-15 MIAC (Ninth)
• All-Conference honorable mention: Peter Kruize, Riley Sharbono
• This season off to a 6-3 record, 4-1 in the MIAC
• Mark Hanson, in his 28th season at the helm, is nine wins away from his 500th career coaching victory

Men’s Cross Country

• Competed in five meets before taking eighth at the MIAC Championships
• All-Conference: Andrew Stumbo, fifth
• Took 12th of 29 at the NCAA Regional
• Head Coach Brenden Huber’s first year at the helm
• Carston Dammann named CoSIDA Academic All-America

Football

• 5-5 overall
• 4-4 MIAC (Fifth)
• All-Conference: Casey Decker (also named CoSIDA Academic All-Region)
• Second Team: Brayton Finch, Kevin Krohn, Matt Berkner, and Brendan Boche
• Quarterback Michael Veldman went down with an injury against Concordia in Week 5 and was out for four games, changing the course of the season

Men’s Golf

• Competed in four meets before the MIAC Championships where they took fourth
• Alec Aunan garnered the program’s 25th MIAC individual championship after carding a 219
• Chris Captain earned All-Championship Team honors, taking fourth

Men’s Hockey

• 5-15-5 overall
• 4-10-2 MIAC (eighth)
• Head Coach Brett Petersen’s squad stood its ground against the best teams in Division III early in the season. The Gusties tied defending national champion and then-No. 1 ranked UW-Stevens Point and also tied then-No. 7 UW-Eau Claire
• This season off to 6-4-2 start and are 5-1 in the MIAC to sit in first place

Men’s Soccer

• Celebrated 50th season
• 13-6-0 overall
• 7-3-0 MIAC (Second)
• Upset by Macalester in the MIAC semifinals
• All-Conference: Matt Murakami, Arthur Parens – both also named All-North Region
• Murakami named United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Team

Men’s Swimming & Diving

• Won all four of their dual meets and capping the season with a second place finish at the MIAC Championships, which was two spots higher than the previous year
• 

  Tanner Sonnek earned two All-America awards.

  Tanner Sonnek earned MIAC Men’s Swimmer of the Year after setting the conference meet record in the 100-yard breaststroke, clocking a first place time of 55.10. He also won the 200 breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley.

• Diver Logan Bican made a splash in his first year, reaching the regional championships in the one- and three-meter dives
• Sonnek and Matt Allison represented the College at the NCAA Championships. Sonnek highlighted the meet for the Gusties by taking fifth place in the 200-breaststroke and seventh place in the 100-yard breaststroke, earning All-America status.
• Gusties have won four meets to start the 2017-18 season

Men’s Tennis

• 26-9 overall
• 9-0 MIAC (First – 51st all-time and 29th-straight)
• Defeated Bethel and St. Thomas for seventh-straight MIAC playoff championship
• Beat UW-Whitewater in the NCAA regional semifinal and upset No. 6-ranked Chicago to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in Head Coach Tommy Valentini’s eight seasons at the helm.
• Lost to No. 1 Middlebury
• 

  Mohanad Alhouni captured a national championship by winning the ITA Oracle Cup.

  All-Conference: Mohanad Alhouni, Chase Johnson, Zach Ekstein, Tommy Entwistle, and Patrick Whaling

• Gabe Steinwand earned the MIAC Elite 22 award
• Alhouni and Whaling reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA doubles tournament
• This fall, Alhouni won the ITA Midwest Regional singles title and became a national champion by winning the ITA Oracle Cup

Men’s Track & Field

Indoor

• The Gusties started the indoor season with a first place finish at the Macalester Kilt Classic, followed by a pair of second place finishes at the St. Olaf Quadrangular and Carleton’s Meet of the Hearts.
• Head Coach Dale Bahr’s squad ended the indoor season with a ninth place finish at the MIAC Championships.
• All-Conference: Kyle Fredrickson in the 800-meter and Trevor Maxwell in the 60-meter hurdles

Outdoor

• The Gusties posted their best finish since 2012 at the MIAC Championships, taking third place. Head Coach Dale Bahr earned his first MIAC Coach of the Year honor in his eighth season at the helm. Michael Hensch (So., North Branch, Minn.) earned MIAC Outstanding Field Athlete after winning both the javelin and hammer throws. His javelin toss of 206-8 set a school record, breaking a record that stood for 27 years (Paul Pehrson, 1990). Hensch earned a spot at the NCAA Championships in the javelin where he took 17^th place. Evan Jones (Sr., Pella, Iowa) also claimed a conference title in the 10,000-meter, while Thomas Knobbe (Sr., Decorah, Iowa) and Ed ReMine (Sr., Mantorville, Minn.) claimed All-Conference accolades. Hensch and ReMine were later named USTFCCCA All-Region, while Carston Dammann (Sr., Lake City, Minn.) earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.