14 Bethany winter and spring student-athletes earn academic all-conference awards
Tuesday, June 09, 2009

ST. PAUL – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) released its winter and spring sports academic all-conference lists from the 2008-09 school year on Tuesday. The individual athletes selected must meet the following criteria to be eligible for the award:

1. Post a 3.50 or better semester grade point average based on a 4.0 scale.
2. Compete in the sport in which he or she is nominated in the season that corresponds with the selection.

Bethany Lutheran had 14 academic all-conference honorees, with three athletes from each baseball, softball, men’s tennis, and women’s basketball. Two women’s tennis players received honors.

Baseball led all winter and spring sports with 43 honorees amongst participating schools. Women’s track and field had 41 award winners, while men’s track and field came in third with 39. Softball rounded out the UMAC’s top four with 32 selections. A grand total of 254 individuals earned academic all-conference awards.

As far as team academic all-conference awards go, Martin Luther College and Northwestern College each claimed the best grade point averages (GPA) in three of the eight winter and spring sports. UMAC-sponsored sports that occur in the winter and spring and their top academic teams are listed below.

Sport, School, Team GPA
Baseball, College of St. Scholastica, 3.587
Softball, Northwestern College, 3.597
Men’s Tennis, Martin Luther College, 2.972
Women’s Tennis, Northwestern College, 3.194
Men’s Track & Field, University of Minn., Morris, 3.397
Women’s Track & Field, Martin Luther College, 2.976
Men’s Basketball, Martin Luther College, 2.646
Women’s Basketball, Northwestern College, 3.507

Bethany Lutheran College

Name, Sport, Yr
Steve Hoostal, Baseball, Jr
Michael Greibrok, Baseball, Jr
Devin Kaasa, Baseball, Sr
Abagail Popp, Softball, So
Brittany Schlomer, Softball, Jr
Susan Hegstrom, Softball, Jr
Paul Webber, Men’s Tennis, So
Mike Lukasek, Men’s Tennis, Sr
Ben Wiechmann, Men’s Tennis, Sr
Caitlyn Felthous, Women’s Tennis, Jr
Madara Matveja, Women’s Tennis, So
Eva Voss, Women’s Basketball, Sr
Molly Erdman, Women’s Basketball, Jr
Megan Lecy, Women’s Basketball, So

New faces provide a promising future for softball team
Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Joseph Baer

Mankato, Minn.—The Bethany softball team finished the 2009 season with a record of 9-27, including a 7-14 record within the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). Coach Leigh Ann LaFave put the season into perspective, “Even though we failed to reach our goal of making the UMAC postseason tournament, we came on strong toward the end of the season and played well.”

The Vikings’ early struggles may have been attributed to inexperience. The team of 16 players included 10 freshmen and just one senior in Anna Ristow (Newport News, Va./Menchville). They started to put things together after their spring break trip to Arizona and won four of five games at one point in mid-April. This string of victories included a come-from-behind upset of Northwestern College, 6-5 in eight innings. Ristow showed her leadership with a game-tying three run double in the bottom of the seventh.

Individually, Freshman Amanda Edmison (Mayer, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) received All-Conference Honorable Mention and outfielder Britney Schlomer (Glenham, S.D./Selby) was named to the UMAC All-Defensive Team. Edmison batted .348 on the season and led Bethany with four home runs and 31 RBIs. She also pitched 13.1 innings and posted a 4.20 ERA with a 3-1 record. Susan Hegstrom (Buffalo, Minn./West Lutheran) led the Vikings with a .394 batting average and 14 stolen bases. Ristow drove in 25 RBIs on the season.

Abigail Popp (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) started 13 games and made 23 appearances in the pitcher’s circle. Popp pitched 86 innings and struck out 46 hitters. Whitney Madison (Wabasha, Minn./Wabasha-Kellogg) started 12 games for the Vikings and posted a 5.94 ERA in 70.2 innings. Popp and Madison both won two games for Bethany.

Coach Lafave is optimistic of the team’s future, “Toward the end of this season, the team started to ‘mesh.’ We had several freshman starters and they will be ready for next season with hard work during the off-season. Several freshmen will be joining us next season with more depth in the pitching staff.”

Bethany predicted to finish sixth in UMAC softball race
Monday, March 02, 2009

The Bethany Lutheran College softball team received 23 points in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) preseason coaches’ poll, marking a sixth place prediction in the 2009 UMAC softball race. The Vikings, who finished fifth in last year’s UMAC standings, welcome 10 talented freshmen who will contribute immediately. Combined with four returning starters, the team has high expectations for the upcoming season.

The team is young this season, and head coach, Leigh Ann LaFave, is excited to see what they can accomplish during their spring trip to the Tucson Invitational Games. “I am confident that with hard work and exposure to the college-game during spring training, they will adjust and be ready for the conference season.”

Last year’s UMAC champion Northwestern College was tagged in the poll as the team to beat in 2009. The Eagles, who went 19-2 last year in league affairs, received 48 points and six first place votes to lead the pack of eight schools. Northwestern, who is under the leadership of a new head coach in Alicia du’Monceaux, returns eight starters from last year’s championship squad, including the 2008 UMAC Player of the Year in Kelsey Hanson.

Coming in second in the poll with 44 points and two first place votes was the College of St. Scholastica, who won 11 consecutive UMAC championships before yielding the league title to Northwestern in 2008. The Saints, who finished third last season with a 16-5 mark in UMAC contests, also return eight starters to the field, including two pitchers.

2008 UMAC runner-up Northland College was picked to finish third in the poll, receiving 37 points. Northland went 17-4 in league play last season behind the bat of Karin Harnisch, who led the UMAC in batting. Lumberjills head coach Steve Wammer will be without Harnisch this season, but will have returners Brittany Schmitt (2.30 ERA, 113 strikeouts in 2008) and Aurora Albrecht (.344 average, 23 RBI in 2008) to rely upon for team leadership in 2009.

Martin Luther College, who finished fourth in last season’s UMAC standings, earned the same spot in the preseason poll with 26 points. The Knights return catcher Jessica Henning, who posted a .394 batting average and 19 RBI in 2008. The Knights from Martin Luther, along with the University of Minnesota, Morris and Bethany Lutheran College were all within three points of each other at 26, 25 and 23 points for fourth, fifth and sixth place. Presentation College and Crown College rounded out the poll’s bottom two teams with 13 and eight points, respectively.

After each UMAC team makes its rounds through non-conference action, the UMAC schedule will begin to heat up in mid to late March. Following the conclusion of the UMAC regular season, the league’s four-team, double elimination postseason tournament will take place on May 1 and 2, 2009 in Mankato, Minn.

UMAC Preseason Softball Poll (First place votes)
48 Points - Northwestern College (6)
44 Points - College of St. Scholastica (2)
37 Points - Northland College
26 Points - Martin Luther College
25 Points - University of Minnesota, Morris
23 Points - Bethany Lutheran College
13 Points - Presentation College
8 Points - Crown College