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This Wednesday (10/8), the Augsburg College volleyball team will be hosting a "Dig Pink" event to promote breast cancer awareness. Dig Pink is a National Breast Cancer awareness rally that is taking place throughout the month of October. Student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans and officials from across the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and the nation are all teaming up to fight this common battle.
The Augsburg volleyball team is asking all fans to come and support the event by wearing pink to Wednesday night's game at 7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall. All proceeds from the event will be donated to local and national Breast Cancer foundations to raise awareness, educate women and aid research that will hopefully result in a cure. We hope to see you all there!
Take a look in your closet. Dig deep. See any shoes that you no longer wear? Dig them out and bring them to Si Melby Hall tonight at the Augsburg-St. Olaf volleyball match (7 p.m. on Wednesday).
The Auggies are hosting "American Soles for Brazilian Souls" night, and if you bring a pair of used tennis shoes to the match to donate to the cause, you get into the match for free (yes, Augsburg students, faculty and staff already get in free with ID, but bring some shoes anyway!).
You can read more about the shoe collection effort here. The shoes are going to be sent to underprivileged children in Brazil, many of the same children helped by our players during a clinic that the Augsburg volleyball team held on their trip to Brazil in May.
"I love winning ... It's like, you know, better than losing!" -- Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh, "Bull Durham"
As I look out the window of my office on a beautiful fall morning, I see our students going back and forth on their busy days, going to the chapel, coming over to Melby and Kennedy to work out. And I'm seeing a lot of smiles on people's faces, especially our student-athletes. Winning can have that kind of effect on a person.
Right now, all four of our fall "team" sports at Augsburg have winning records -- football is 3-0, volleyball is 10-8, men's soccer is 5-1-3 and women's soccer is 6-1-3. (Plus, the four fall "individual" sports -- men's and women's golf and men's and women's cross country -- are all showing strong improvement as their conference meets approach).
How rare is that feat? Well, since women's soccer started in 1985, having all four fall team sports finish with .500-or-above records has NEVER happened at Augsburg. In fact, since 1985, even having three of the fall team sports finish at .500-or-above has happened just once -- last year, when football finished 5-5, men's soccer finished 9-9-0 and women's soccer finished 9-7-3. And since volleyball started varsity play in 1973, the football, men's soccer and volleyball teams all achieved the .500-or-better trifecta just three times (1973, 1974 and 1980).
In my 12 years here at Augsburg, I've seen a slow and steady change in attitudes around here regarding athletic success. Teams are starting to win, our student-athletes are succeeding in both the playing field and the classroom, and the general attitude has become much more positive. Sure, we're not curing cancer or solving the economic crisis, but having athletic teams that are showing success brings a special kind of pride to the entire campus (and not to give short shrift to our other extracurricular activities, either. Our music, theatre and fine arts programs have always been outstanding). We talk a lot about the "Augsburg Community" around here, and we are like a small town in the middle of the big city. We care about what our students do, and celebrate their victories and mourn their losses.
It's fun to walk around campus and have faculty, staff and others stop me and want to chat about sports. "Say, the football team is doing great." "The women's soccer team is really playing well," and so on and so on. Hopefully, we'll get to keep celebrating as the fall goes along.
Some observations on this past weekend in Auggie sports ...
FOOTBALL -- We had 24 voters vote in our poll here regarding how Saturday's Augsburg-St. Olaf game would turn out, and if you're the one voter who put Augsburg winning by 21-plus points, pat yourself on the back. (Other votes -- Augsburg winning by 1-10 points, 14 votes; Augsburg winning by 11-20 points, 6 votes; St. Olaf winning by 1-10 points, 1 vote, and St. Olaf winning by 11-20 points, 2 votes).
What a game! Who would have thought Augsburg would be that dominant against a very good St. Olaf team? The Auggies started out hot and never looked back, scoring on their first five possessions to build a 35-14 halftime lead, en route to the 49-21 Homecoming triumph.
Everything connected for Augsburg on Saturday. On offense, Jordan Berg threw for 397 yards and three TDs, all going to Royce Winford, and Jason Potts scored two rushing touchdowns. On defense, the Auggies held the Oles to just 252 yards of total offense, and junior Alex Glasenapp had a terrific game, with two sacks and two forced fumbles -- one of which was returned 64-yards for a TD by Andrew Bergeson. On special teams, Augsburg's David Tilton did something not accomplished by an Auggie since 1999 -- a kickoff return for a TD. All in all, a fun game in front of a packed house at Edor Nelson Field.
The Auggies are 3-0 for the first time since 1999, and have a chance to go 4-0 for the first time since 1973 (the Auggies won their first five games en route to a 7-2 finish) with a win at Hamline this coming Saturday. The Auggies have the potential to be 5-0 going into a crucial home game against Concordia on Oct. 18 ... but this team has to take everything one game at a time.
The 2008 Auggies have the chance to be a truly special team, but it's a long season and anything can happen. But I will admit something ... every game this team plays reminds me more and more of the great conference-championship team of 1997. Things fell into place perfectly for that team, and it seems like things are starting to fall into place for this team.
WOMEN'S SOCCER -- Augsburg is off to a great 6-1-3 start to the season, after Saturday's 2-0 victory at St. Catherine. The win broke a stretch of two straight ties, and coach Mike Navarre told me that breaking that stretch of ties was a great relief for the Auggies.
Lots of balance in this team. Seven different players have scored goals, and 11 different players have contributed either goals or assists. And the defense, which has been a hallmark of Navarre's teams over the years, continues to be solid. Goalkeeper Maggie DeGroot has been her usual brilliant self, with seven shutouts and a 0.48 goals-against-average. The defensive foursome in front of her -- Kristi Castelic, Felicia Faison, Whitney Holman and Gaby Hamerlinck -- has allowed just six goals in 10 games so far this season.
Augsburg has reached the MIAC playoffs the last four years in a row, and this team is primed for another playoff run. Currently, the Auggies are in third place with seven league points, with six conference games remaining. And this week will provide a good stretch of rest and preparation for the rest of the league season, which begins next Saturday with a home game against St. Mary's.
MEN'S SOCCER -- Coach Greg Holker's bunch should certainly be pleased with two ties over the weekend against some solid competition across the border in Wisconsin -- a 1-1 tie at Wisconsin-Whitewater on Friday and a 0-0 tie at Wisconsin-Oshkosh (your friendly SID's alma mater, by the way) on Sunday.
Augsburg is 5-1-3 after eight games, going into the heart of conference play this weekend with a game against St. Mary's on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field. Like the women, the Auggie men also get a week of rest and preparation before returning to MIAC action. Augsburg stands in a second-place tie in conference play with six points (3-1-0), with six conference games remaining.
Holker put it right in his summary of Sunday's game: "We are getting better -- and we are close to being pretty darn good." Like the Auggie women, the Auggie men are a study in balance, with six different goal-scorers and 11 different players claiming either goals or assists this year. And the Auggie defense has allowed just six goals this season, with goalkeepers Pascaul Venter and Donnie McCarthy both having very solid performances this past week.
VOLLEYBALL -- The Auggie volleyball team has had an up-and-down season, to say the least, which makes their 8-8 record entering tonight's nonconference match with North Central (7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall) understandable. After a three-game sweep by league contender Carleton on Wednesday, the Auggies rebounded with a great effort against a very good St. Benedict team, falling in five sets on Friday night.
Katie Christensen has had a great season so far, as the sophomore has cemented her place in the Auggie rotation. Versatile outside hitter Julie Jenkins has again been solid, and setter Shanna Reed and libero Dani Tanaka have both had outstanding seasons. Middle hitters Barbara Simmons and Amanda Rueb are showing tremendous promise.
Sitting at 0-3 in the conference with eight league games remaining, the Auggies' goal of making the top six for a berth in the conference playoffs will be a very tough goal to achieve, but it's still reachable. Another reachable goal would be to finish among the top eight teams in the league, ensuring the Auggies of a spot in the annual "crossover" weekend of matches with the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Lots of live stuff online this weekend:
Live stats tonight (Friday) for the Augsburg-St. Benedict volleyball match. Action starts at 7 p.m., at Si Melby Hall.
And for football on Saturday against St. Olaf, 1 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field, we'll have live audio, live stats and the one, the only, live blog right here! Two weeks ago, we had more than 1,300 unique visitors to the live blog, and we're happy to bring it to you again!
Some thoughts on this weekend in Augsburg sports:
FOOTBALL: What a game!!! I can safely say that in my 12 years as SID here at good ol' Augsburg, Saturday's 30-24, two-overtime win over No. 20-ranked Wartburg ranks up there with the greatest Auggie football games I've ever seen (that list might be a future AugBlog post). Great atmosphere, night football under the lights in "The Cage," and an exciting, back-and-forth battle. Augsburg jumped out to the early 10-0 lead with a dominating first-quarter performance, then held on as Wartburg rallied. But the Auggies came back with some great plays -- a Jordan Berg-to-Royce Winford TD pass, a blocked field goal by John Leibfried and Alex Glasenapp, another Berg-to-Winford TD pass in the first OT, a defensive stand to force a missed Wartburg field goal, and finally, Jason Potts' 23-yard scamper for the game-winning score.
How about the play of Royce Winford? Perhaps one of the few two-way players in all of college football this year, the veteran wide receiver added defensive cornerback duties to his repertoire this season, and played most of the 163 plays against Wartburg. Defensively, he had three tackles and a key interception in the fourth quarter.
This may be a very special Augsburg team. It's looking like the tools are coming together -- offense, defense and special teams -- for a deep run this year. Will the Auggies contend with the usual suspects (St. John's, Bethel, etc.) for the MIAC title? Time will tell, but the fun of the MIAC season starts on Sept. 27 (Augsburg is idle this coming Saturday), with Augsburg's Homecoming game against St. Olaf.
MEN'S SOCCER: The beat goes on for the Auggies, now 4-0-1 after a solid 2-1 win over Hamline in the rain on Saturday in St. Paul. Another team that's coming together in a good way, with a nice mix of veterans and solid newcomers. Eight different Auggies have figured in the scoring with goals or assists this season, showing the team's good balance. And 2006 All-American goalkeeper Pascaul Venter, who missed most of last season due to injury, is back in good form. He's started the last three games and has a 3-0-0 record with one shutout.
A big test for the Auggies will come this Wednesday at 4 p.m., when they travel to face St. Thomas in St. Paul. The Tommies are 6-0-0 on the season and, like Augsburg are considered one of the favorites to claim the MIAC crown.
WOMEN'S SOCCER: Another start, another shutout for Augsburg goalkeeper Maggie DeGroot. With the help of one of the best defenses in the MIAC, she did it again on Saturday, blanking defending NCAA tournament team St. Scholastica 1-0 in Duluth, with five saves. Consider this little nugget: in her career, DeGroot is 32-16-13, with 31 shutouts (an Auggie career record) among her 32 wins and 13 ties. She's allowed just two goals this season, playing all but 13:20 of the Auggies' 560 minutes in goal, and she already has five shutouts in six starts this year.
Augsburg has its first home game in a couple of weeks this coming Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., when Hamline visits Edor Nelson Field. If the defense continues to hold firm, the Auggies could be primed for a solid run towards an MIAC title.
VOLLEYBALL: If you understand volleyball statistics, check out this linescore from Augsburg's four-set win over Simpson (Iowa) at the Wartburg (Iowa) Invitational over the weekend: 17 kills, 0 errors, 21 assists, .810 attack percentage. Those are incredible numbers, folks, and that's what Julie Jenkins put up at the net against the Storm on Saturday. Most good hitters will hit in the .200s to .300s on average, with outstanding performances in the .400 range. But .810? That's not human!!! Julie hit .303 on the weekend, and she's hitting at a solid .248 clip on the season.
Another solid hitting performance came from Laura Harms, who netted a career-high 29 kills and hit .444 in a five-set loss to a very good Nebraska Wesleyan team on Friday night. In her first run of extended action since dealing with early-season injuries, Harms had a great performance in the Wartburg tournament, with 67 kills, a .292 attack percentage and nine blocks. She earned All-Tournament Team honors on the weekend.
The Auggies are off to a very impressive 8-5 start after the first three weeks of the season, and open conference play this Wednesday at 7 p.m., with a match at Gustavus. If this team continues to play well together, they have a legitimate shot at an MIAC postseason playoff berth.
CROSS COUNTRY: How about the effort of Augsburg junior Brent Haglund? In hot and humid conditions on an unfamiliar, wet and muddy course in Massachusetts, Haglund puts together a meet-winning 26:42.76 effort over 8,000 meters to lead the Auggies at the Tufts (Mass.) Jumbo Invitational on Saturday. And four Auggie men finish in the top 50 overall to give the team a fourth-place overall placing. In all, a very good effort for coach Dennis Barker's Auggie men. And on the women's side, sophomore Jennifer Lovering continues to impress, as she took 26th overall with a 21:25.71 effort over 5,000 meters to lead the Auggies to a sixth-place team finish.
This Saturday, the Auggies compete at the St. Olaf Invitational in Northfield. With a familiar course and a good week of training back in Minnesota, the Auggies are primed to shine.
MEN'S GOLF: Colby Anderson is having quite a year. In the past two weekends, he's had multiple top-five finishes, including a 1-over-par 73 for a third-place finish at the rain-shortened St. John's Fall Invitational on Sunday. He's averaging a 3-over-par 75.0 so far this season, seventh-best among all MIAC golfers.
At the St. John's meet, the Auggies finished sixth as a team, finishing better than five teams ranked ahead of them in the Golfstat rankings. A big test will be this weekend, when the Auggies compete at the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Invitational.
WOMEN'S GOLF: Tough conditions for Augsburg this weekend at the Carleton Division III Midwest Classic in Ham Lake, as the Auggies had to battle rain in both rounds. Sophomores Stefani Zappa and Johanna Frykmark are having good seasons, and should continue to improve. The Auggies are now idle until the MIAC championships Oct. 4-6 at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids.
-- Don Stoner
Another busy weekend in Auggie sports ... here's the preview.
Just one home event this weekend, and it's a biggie -- the Auggie football team hosting Wartburg (Iowa) in the home-opener on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field. I haven't heard so much buzz on campus regarding a home football game in a long time. It's great! Record the USC-Ohio State game on your DVR and get to Augsburg for this one -- you won't want to miss it!
It's shaping up to be a great battle. Since the nonconference series between the two ELCA schools was restarted in 2004, there have been numerous close games -- a three-point loss in 2004, another three-point loss in 2005, and last year's miracle 14-13 victory in Waverly, Iowa. Both teams opened this season with impressive wins, as Augsburg topped Crown 49-14 and Wartburg topped St. Norbert (Wis.) 44-20. For the full game notes, click here (PDF).
Just a reminder, if you can't make it to Edor Nelson Field, you can listen to Tom Witschen's call of the game online, watch live stats, and follow the action right here on the ol' AugBlog! Kelly Anderson Diercks is going to be doing a live blog during the game.
The volleyball team is in Waverly, Iowa, this weekend for the Wartburg Invitational. Action starts today with matches against Coe (Iowa) and Nebraska Wesleyan, and tomorrow starting at 11 a.m., with matches against Simpson (Iowa) and Wartburg. Augsburg has had a strong start to the season, with a 6-3 record entering this weekend's play. Updated scores will be posted on Wartburg's site (click here).
Coe is 1-5 on the season, with its lone win a five-set triumph over Transylvania (Pa.) in the Elmhurst (Ill.) tournament on Aug. 30. Nebraska Wesleyan is actually opening its season this weekend, but the Prairie Wolves have been a very successful team over the years. NWU has appeared in the last four NCAA Division III national tournaments, and are coming off a 17-12 campaign last year. Simpson is 4-1, with one of those wins a five-set triumph over regional power Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Aug. 30. Wartburg is 2-4 on the season, coming off a close five-set loss to Wisconsin-Platteville on Wednesday night.
The men's soccer team, fresh off a 3-0 triumph at Concordia-Moorhead on Wednesday, has a challenging conference test at Hamline on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Augsburg is still unbeaten (3-0-1), and has given up just two goals so far this season. Hamline has started the season 3-3, but won its conference-opening game on Wednesday, with a 1-0 triumph at Bethel.
The women's soccer team has the final game of its three-game road trek against NCAA Division III national tournament teams from last year on Saturday, with a 3 p.m. nonconference game at St. Scholastica in Duluth. The Auggies are 3-1-1 on the season, coming off a 0-0, scoreless tie in their conference-opener at Concordia-Moorhead on Wednesday. St. Scholastica is 5-0-0 for the first time in school history, with three double-overtime victories in the string.
The men's and women's cross country teams are back in action this Saturday, competing at the Tufts (Mass.) Jumbo Invitational in Grafton, Mass. Coach Dennis Barker has taken his teams to the East Coast for meets on several occasions, a great team-building exercise. The young Auggies had a very good opening meet with Bethel back on Aug. 30, and have been training hard for this weekend's adventure in the Boston area.
The men's golf team had a strong showing with a fifth-place finish at the Augsburg Invitational last weekend, and will compete against another deep field at the St. John's Fall Invitational this Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's round is at the GreyStone Golf Club in Sauk Centre, with Sunday's round at Blackberry Ridge Golf Course in Sartell.
The women's golf team competed at the Concordia-Moorhead Invitational last weekend, continuing to show improvement with a young roster under coach Laura Patrick. This weekend, the Auggies compete at the Carleton Division III Midwest Classic at the Majestic Oak Golf Club in Ham Lake.
-- Don Stoner
Some thoughts on this weekend in Augsburg sports (WARNING: SID COMMENTARY AHEAD):
-- The Auggie football team made an impressive opening statement with its 49-14 victory at Crown on Saturday. The Auggies took charge early, scoring the first 28 points of the game, and dominated in virtually every statistical category. The players people would expect to have big games -- namely, QB Jordan Berg and WR Royce Winford -- didn't disappoint. Berg reached the 50-touchdown plateau for his career with a three-touchdown, 304-yard passing effort, and Winford caught nine passes for 101 yards and two scores. Also on offense, nice performances by LeRoy Roby and David Tilton at running back -- two players who were on defense last year, and ended up combining for 64 yards on nine carries. More solid performances by receivers Muneer Al-Hameed and Dan Brown, and by the offensive line, which kept Berg safe from sacks and helped the Auggies produce 410 yards of total offense.
Equally impressive was the Augsburg defense. The Auggies allowed just 155 yards by Crown -- the fewest yards allowed in a single game since 2003 -- and even got into the scoring, as Tyler Judkins scored on a 40-yard interception return, one of three picks the Auggies had on the day. Twenty-four Auggies were listed as having tackles on the day, an impressive number that means that a lot of players got valuable experience that will help later in the season, when the MIAC competition intensifies.
I know I can't wait for this Saturday's home-opener against Wartburg (Iowa). Should be a fun game under the lights at Edor Nelson Field.
-- The Auggie volleyball team had a solid fourth-place effort at the very competitive Augsburg Invitational over the weekend. There were some up-and-down moments for this team, but that may be expected this early in the season. I was pleased with how the team played in their sweeps of Schreiner (Texas) and Macalester (a team that had beaten regional power Wisconsin-Eau Claire the night before) and in their five-set marathon third-place match loss to St. Benedict.
Setter Shanna Reed has been very impressive early this season. A setter is the "quarterback" of the team in volleyball, and Shanna has really taken over the role well so far, with two All-Tournament Team selections to her credit. Coach Jessica Rinehart has changed the team's setup from the 6-2 formation to a 5-1 (meaning that Reed is now the lone setter in the lineup, compared to previous years, when she shared setting duties with versatile Julie Jenkins), which has really opened up the Auggie attack. Five Auggie hitters had 14 or more kills this past weekend, meaning that the ball is really getting around to everyone.
The Auggies are going to be much-improved in the MIAC this year. And if this weekend is any forecast of how good the MIAC volleyball race is going to be (all four MIAC teams in the Augsburg tournament had strong showings), it should be a competitive year in the conference.
-- Didn't see the women's soccer game at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, but I'm sure coach Mike Navarre will see the 3-0 loss as a learning experience. The Blugolds are ranked No. 16 in the Division III national rankings, and are the first of three straight opponents the Auggies will see that were in the Division III national tournament last season. Augsburg could only get off one shot against the Blugolds, a number that will need to improve for the Auggies to win against tough opponents.
This Wednesday, the Auggies travel to Concordia-Moorhead, an MIAC power the last few seasons. Augsburg and Concordia have always played tough, close games over the past few years, as the two teams have established themselves as prime contenders in the conference year after year.
-- The men's golf team had a very nice effort in their own invitational out in Hutchinson over the weekend, finishing fifth as a team against a strong regional field. Senior Colby Anderson had a great performance, finishing fourth overall with a 5-over-par 148 in one of the best performances of his career. Sophomore Jason Henning also played well, finishing in a tie for 19th overall.
The Auggies are a young team, with just two seniors and seven first-years and sophomores on the roster. And they are playing in one of the top men's golf conferences in the country, the MIAC. But under head coach Ted Vickerman, Augsburg has a good chance of getting back into the top five in the league race, which would be a solid improvement for this squad after last year's eighth-place conference finish.
-- The women's golf team competed at the Concordia-Moorhead Invitational over the weekend in Detroit Lakes, and two Auggies finished in the top 40 -- sophomores Stefani Zappa (26th) and Johanna Frykmark (36th). The Auggies continue to make progress toward improvement under coach Laura Patrick. This coming weekend will be a strong test at the Carleton Division III Midwest Classic.
-- Don Stoner
Several events this weekend in Augsburg athletics. Here's a preview (our preview of the football team's season-opener will come later today).
The volleyball team hosts the 27th annual Augsburg Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Si Melby Hall. Sixteen matches in two days, starting at 2 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday. Augsburg is 4-1 after a second-place finish at the Ripon (Wis.) Early Bird Invitational last weekend and a 59-minute sweep of Crown on Wednesday night.
Augsburg's first opponent on Friday (2 p.m.), Schreiner University of Texas, is 2-0 under new head coach Phillip White, who had previously served as an assistant for both the men's and women's programs at the University of Southern California. Augsburg's second opponent on Friday (6 p.m.) is Wisconsin-Eau Claire, ranked No. 19 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III preseason national poll. The Blugolds are 2-2, after competing at the Washington (Mo.) Invitational last weekend in St. Louis. You can listen to Augsburg's match against Wisconsin-Eau Claire tonight on the Augsburg website. On Saturday at 9 a.m., the Auggies face MIAC foe Macalester -- a team the Auggies will face three times in regular-season play this year. The Scots are 2-0 after topping Martin Luther and Crown last weekend.
On the other side of the eight-team invitational are St. Benedict (3-1), Wisconsin-Superior (3-1), Northwestern-Roseville (1-1) and St. Thomas (3-1). The Tommies, coached by Augsburg alum Thanh Pham, are ranked No. 8 in the AVCA preseason national poll. Augsburg faced Wisconsin-Superior last weekend at the Ripon Invite, falling to the Yellowjackets in three games.
The women's soccer team, fresh off its third 1-0 victory in a row (Wednesday over Wisconsin-River Falls) to start the season, has its next three games on the road against teams that made the NCAA Division III national tournament, starting at No. 16-ranked Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Blugolds are 1-0-1 after a weekend of games in San Antonio, Texas, tying Hardin-Simmons 1-1 (2OT) and beating Trinity 3-2.
The men's golf team hosts the Augsburg Fall Invitational this Saturday and Sunday. Head coach Ted Vickerman has taken the Auggies all over the state for our home meets, and this year is no exception. Both days will be in Hutchinson, Minn. -- at the Oakdale Golf Club on Saturday (tee times start at 9 a.m.) and the Crow River Golf Club on Sunday (9 a.m. shotgun start). Twelve teams will be competing at the Augsburg Fall Invitational, including eight MIAC programs.
The women's golf team competes at the Concordia-Moorhead Invitational on Saturday and Sunday at the Wildflower Golf Club in Detroit Lakes, Minn. Ten teams are in competition at the Concordia Invitational, including MIAC foes Carleton, Concordia, St. Mary's and St. Benedict.
Scores from Wednesday 9/3 (click on link for story/stats):
Volleyball -- Augsburg 3, Crown 0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-16)
Women's Soccer -- Augsburg 1, Wisconsin-River Falls 0
The Auggie volleyball team has its home-opening match tonight (Wednesday), as Crown College visits Si Melby Hall. Match time is 7 p.m.
Augsburg is coming off a strong performance at the Ripon (Wis.) Early Bird Invitational, and setter Shanna Reed earned MIAC Setter/Libero of the Week honors with a solid performance. She had 131 assists (8.73 per set), seven service aces, 21 digs and six blocks.
If you can't make it to tonight's match, you can listen online, through our arrangement with Stretch Internet. Tom Witschen is back to do the call for 10 Auggie volleyball matches this season. A Twin Cities radio veteran, Tom has had a great relationship as the radio/internet voice of Auggie sports for more than a decade. He also is the radio voice of University of Minnesota Golden Gopher baseball, and does webcasts of Golden Gopher volleyball as well. If you've never heard an audio broadcast of volleyball, you'll be in for a treat with Tom, who is widely acknowledged as one of the best in his field.
-- Don Stoner
Friday's (8/29) Augsburg athletics scores (links are to game story/stats):
Women's soccer -- Augsburg 1, Wisconsin-Stout 0
Men's soccer -- Augsburg 0, Simpson (Iowa) 0 (2OT)
Volleyball -- Augsburg at Ripon (Wis.) Early Bird Invitational, Day 1:
Augsburg 3, Ripon (Wis.) 1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-14, 25-14)
Augsburg 3, Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) 2 (18-25, 25-8, 25-16, 23-25, 15-10)
Another year of Augsburg athletics starts today, with competition in several sports. For your friendly AugBlog proprietor, it's the start of my 12th year as sports information director here ... which means that our incoming first-year student-athletes (the Class of 2012) were just starting first grade in elementary school when I began my work here at the corner of 23rd and Riverside ... does that mean I'm old?
Anyway, enough of the old guy's ramblings ... onto this weekend's stuff.
The women's soccer team will host Wisconsin-Stout and Northwestern-Roseville in a two-game homestand this weekend at Edor Nelson Field. Augsburg faces UW-Stout tonight (Friday 8/29) at 7 p.m., and Northwestern on Saturday (8/30) at 7 p.m. Augsburg returns seven starters and 12 letterwinners to a team that has reached the MIAC playoffs each of the last four seasons. Meanwhile, UW-Stout has nine starters back from last year's 6-12-0 season, and Northwestern also has nine starters back from a team that went 8-9-1 overall.
The men's soccer team is on the road this weekend for two games in Iowa, facing Simpson today at 3 p.m. and Central on Saturday at 4 p.m. There are high hopes for this year's Auggies, with six seniors and 18 letterwinners returning, along with one of the most impressive recruiting and transfer classes in several years. Today's game against Simpson will be an interesting one, as the Storm are hosting Augsburg on their old grass-surface field, instead of their current artificial turf stadium. The Storm finished 3-14-1 last season. Meanwhile, Central is coming off a very impressive 14-4-3 record and third-place finish in the Iowa Conference.
The volleyball team is also on the road for the Ripon (Wis.) Early Bird Invitational. Every year has been an improvement for head coach Jessica Rinehart's squad, and her fourth season with the Auggies shapes up to be another year of improvement. Augsburg faces host Ripon (Wis.) and the Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) today, and Wisconsin-Superior and Beloit (Wis.) tomorrow. Ripon was picked to finish third in the Midwest Conference; MSOE is a young squad that finished fifth in the Northern Athletics Conference last season; UW-Superior is coming off a 21-13 record last year (the best record in school history) and have nine letterwinners back; and Beloit was tabbed to finish sixth in the Midwest Conference this season.
The Auggie men's and women's cross country squad wakes up early on Saturday for the annual home time trial with Bethel. Action starts at 9 a.m. in Riverside Park. It's a good chance to see the Auggies in action on the 5,000-meter course. Both the men's and women's squads have deep lineups this season and should contend for improvement in the MIAC and regional standings.
The women's golf team is in action this Saturday and Sunday at the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational. All four regulars return to head coach Laura Patrick's squad, including Johanna Frykmark, who became the second Auggie women's golfer ever to earn All-MIAC honors, when she finished 10th at the 2007 conference meet.
Remember to sign up for eScores, and the latest scores from Auggie athletics will be just a cell phone text message away!
-- Don Stoner
The MIAC has posted its season previews for volleyball, men's soccer and women's soccer.
In volleyball, Augsburg is picked to finish seventh in the 12-team MIAC by conference coaches. The MIAC is well-represented on the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Division III preseason national poll, with St. Thomas ranked No. 8, Concordia-Moorhead ranked No. 16 and both St. Benedict and Bethel in the "Others receiving votes" category.
In men's soccer, Augsburg is picked to finish fourth in the 11-team MIAC by conference coaches, in an effort to return to the four-team conference playoffs for the second time in a three-year span. In the major national polls, there are no MIAC teams ranked on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason national poll, though one of Augsburg's opponents this season, Wisconsin-Oshkosh (Sept. 28), is ranked No. 16. The other major national poll, by D3Kicks.com, has not been released yet.
In women's soccer, Augsburg is picked to finish fifth in the 12-team MIAC by conference coaches, despite making the four-team conference playoffs each of the last four years and returning seven starters and 12 letterwinners. As in men's soccer, the NSCAA's Division III women's soccer preseason national poll also has no MIAC teams listed.
-- Don Stoner
Well, here's what some Auggies did ...
The volleyball team traveled to Brazil in May, played some matches against some local club teams, saw some incredible scenery, and took part in a community service project for underprivileged children in Rio de Janiero (Click here for more).
Four members of the wrestling team went to central Asia (specifically, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) for a training, competition, mission and service trip. They took part in a tournament, trained with local wrestlers and enjoyed the scenery (Click here for more).
Baseball coach Keith Bateman had fun with the minor league St. Paul Saints, volunteering to throw batting practice before several games, including the American Association All-Star Game in July (Click here for a Star-Tribune story about the All-Star Game; Click here for a photo gallery -- in the eighth photo on the gallery, you can see Bateman on the left edge of the photo, just hangin' out in the dugout with former major leaguer Daryl Strawberry). And speaking of the Saints, former Augsburg Campus Ministry pastoral intern (and yes, he was a St. Olaf baseball player, too) Charlie Ruud started the American Association All-Star Game and was one of the top pitchers for the Saints this year.
The Augsburg softball team, coming off an incredible season and a trip to the MIAC playoffs in 2008, was honored in August before a Minnesota Twins game as part of Lutheran Night at the Metrodome. Pitchers Sarah Green and Melissa Larsen threw the ceremonial first pitches before a crowd of 35,256 Twins fans.
The Augsburg men's and women's soccer teams hosted a unique Soccer Mom Camp in August, and more than 30 moms took part in the event, which was a fundraiser for breast cancer research.
Speaking of men's soccer ... 12 current and former Auggies were members of the MASL Minnesota Cup champion Inferno '98 team, winning the top title for amateur soccer in Minnesota.
-- Don Stoner
Welcome to the 2007-08 school year! During the past week, 191 Auggie student-athletes reported to campus for preseason practice in our eight fall sports. The first competitions on the Auggie sports calendar will happen this weekend, when the women's soccer team hosts Wisconsin-Stout and Northwestern-Roseville on Friday and Saturday, the men's soccer team travels to Iowa for two games, the men's and women's cross country teams host Bethel in their annual dual meet on Saturday morning in Riverside Park, the volleyball team is on the road for a season-opening tournament at Ripon (Wis.), and the women's golf team competes at the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Invitational this weekend.
Auggie squads certainly have a lot to be excited about this fall. The football team is coming off a 5-5 season last year, which included a dramatic 4-2 run to end the year. Be prepared for aerial fireworks with this team; coach Frank Haege's offense is going to throw the ball a lot. The season opens on Sept. 6 with a nonconference game at Crown. Here's a link to the football season preview.
The volleyball team is coming off one of its best seasons in the past decade, and 13 letterwinners and five starters return. Coach Jessica Rinehart has this team optimistic about qualifying for the MIAC postseason tournament. Here's a link to the volleyball season preview.
Consistency has been the hallmark for the women's soccer team, with four straight appearances in the MIAC postseason tournament. Mike Navarre enters his 10th season as Augsburg's head coach, and hopes are high for a fifth straight tourney berth this year. With one of the most solid defenses in the conference back nearly intact, the "drive for five" could happen again. Here's a link to the women's soccer season preview.
And the men's soccer team also has high hopes. Coach Greg Holker's squad has his first complete recruiting class entering their senior seasons, and that group has helped change the Auggies into a consistent contender in a very tough soccer conference. Here's a link to the men's soccer season preview.
We'll have some updates and links for men's/women's cross country, men's golf and women's golf later this week.
Onto this blog ... We're going to try to update this every weekday during the school year. Along with the athletics website, this will be a prime destination for Auggie sports news. We'll link to stories on our athletic website, share some "behind-the-scenes" stuff and hopefully, have some fun along the way. Please send any suggestions, comments, or complaints to us (You can click here for the athletic department directory; most of these posts will be written by either SID Don Stoner or Assistant SID Kelly Anderson Diercks).
-- Don Stoner
Lots of live coverage of Auggie sports online this weekend ... 
