Sports Notebook
5/5/2005 3:30 AM | | Courtesy of University Athletics |
Women's Hockey
Certainly one of the most dominant teams in the brief history of women's college hockey fulfilled its destiny by winning the NCAA title in March. Minnesota ended the year 36-2-2 and held the top spot in the national poll all year. “We were never the underdog in any of our games,” says head coach Laura Halldorson. “Our team got used to that pressure, used to the target on our backs. It didn't seem to phase us all year.”
Although there were a few stretches in which the team did not play as well as it could, Halldorson says, “they were rare, and they responded right away to us getting on them about it.”
At the same time, she adds, there was never a danger that confidence would grow into cockiness. “We had some superstars on this team, but they were always humble and team-oriented. I never worried about how they would carry themselves.”
Those superstars included junior Krissy Wendell of Plymouth, Minnesota, winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top college women's hockey player. Her line mate Natalie Darwitz, a junior from Eagan, Minnesota, was named the outstanding player of the NCAA's eight-team tournament. Although Wendell and Darwitz are juniors, they will likely sit out next year to play on the U.S. Olympic team. Minnesota also graduates four-year starting goalie Jody Horak of Blaine, Minnesota, and standout forward Kelly Stephens of Shoreline, Washington. Top defender Lyndsay Wall of Churchville, New York, was a 2002 Olympian and is also likely to sit out next year for the Olympics.
But in the days after Minnesota's 3-2 win over Harvard to earn the NCAA title, Halldorson wanted to savor the victory rather than look ahead. “This was really a special group who really cared about each other,” she says. “There was a lot of emotion in the locker room after that game.”
Men's Hockey
A return trip to the NCAA Frozen Four ended a roller-coaster year on a high note for the Gopher men's hockey team. Ranked number one in the nation early in the season, when they ran off to a 17-4-0 start, Minnesota went 4-8--1 over the next several weeks and fell out of the top 10. A strong finish propelled them into the 12-team NCAA tournament and a pair of overtime wins earned them a return trip to the Frozen Four. Minnesota finished the year 29-15-1.
Some of this year's ups and downs can be attributed to a team that lost much of its offensive power last year, and had 10 freshmen on its 26-man roster. The seven leading scorers going into the Frozen Four, as well as the starting goalie, were all underclassmen.
Women's Basketball
A third consecutive trip to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen cemented Minnesota's place as one of the top programs in the country. Minnesota had an NCAA-era (post-1982) record 26 wins, making head coach Pam Borton's three-year record 76-23. It was also Minnesota's fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament, after reaching it only once in the previous 19 years.
Although Minnesota will graduate all-American center Janel McCarville of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, every other member of the squad is expected to return for 2005-06. The Gophers' success is convincing more of Minnesota's top high school players to stay in the state; the 2005-06 starting lineup is likely to be all Minnesotans.
Men's Basketball
One of the year's biggest surprises was the Gopher men's basketball team. Despite an almost all-new lineup, the team defied predictions and finished tied for fourth in the Big Ten, made it to the Big Ten tournament's final four, and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in Dan Monson's six years as head coach.
Although the team lost to Iowa State in the NCAA first round, its new star, first-team all-Big Ten guard Vincent Grier of Charlotte, North Carolina, will return for another season, as will several of the team's top players.
Wrestling
The men's wrestling team took a step back toward the nation's elite programs in 2005 by finishing fifth in the NCAA tournament. It was Minnesota's eighth top-five finish in the last nine years. Minnesota qualified a wrestler in each of the 10 weight classes for the NCAA meet, and ended up with four all-Americans, including heavyweight runner-up Cole Konrad, a sophomore from Freedom, Wisconsin. With just one senior and five freshmen in its lineup, Minnesota's immediate future looks bright.
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