U of M Alumni Association  |  U of M Twin Cities

Alumni Association Home Search

Alumni Association Home > Past Issues > 2004 > January-February 2004   Print View Sports Notebook 1/14/2004 Damion Hahn, photo courtesy of University Athletics Minnesota opened the 2003-04 campaign in an unaccustomed spot: somewhere other than number one. Third-ranked Minnesota, winner of the last three Big Ten titles and two of the last three NCAA titles, has eight of its 10 wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in the nation. Three returning All-Americans are in the top five: Defending national champ Damion Hahn, a senior from Lakewood, New Jersey, is first at 197 pounds; senior Jacob Volkmann of Henning, Minnesota, is ranked second at 165; and junior Bobbe Lowe of Oak Grove, Missouri, is fifth at 125. While there is experience at almost every other weight class for a team that has finished in the NCAA's top three for each of the last seven years, a pair of transfers and some of the 14 freshmen (a group ranked as the best recruiting class in the nation) are expected to compete for the other seven spots in the starting lineup. Gopher coaches used three early invitational meets as a chance to see how their wrestlers fared in Angela Buergis, photo courtesy of University Athletics competition. While the lineup may remain unsettled for a time, the Gophers kick off a stretch of eight Big Ten dual meets in late January. Included among those is a home match against Iowa on February 15. They then wrestle at top-ranked Oklahoma State on February 22 before moving on to the conference and NCAA tournaments in March. Women's Tennis Coming off the first Big Ten title in team history, coach Tyler Thomson's team will sport a largely new cast of players. Last year's number-one player, Angela Buergis, a junior from Frauenfeld, Switzerland, was 9-1 in Big Ten matches last year and leads the team. The other returning player, sophomore Nischella Reddy from Hyderabad, India, is joined by first-year player Lindsay Risebrough of Edina, Minnesota. Because of graduation and a handful of defections, Minnesota will defend its conference title with a group of walk-on athletes filling the final three singles and doubles spots. The Gophers open the spring season Chris Wettengel, photo courtesy of University Athletics by hosting the Minnesota Court Classic at the U's Baseline Tennis Center January 31 and February 1. Men's Tennis A strong lineup returns for a team that ended last year ranked among the NCAA's top 10. That squad ended up 21-6 and earned a spot in the NCAA tournament for the 10th consecutive year. Two seniors lead the squad: Chris Wettengel of Bettonville, Arkansas, who won the 2003 Big Ten individual singles title in November, and Aleksey Zharinov of Novosibirsk, Russia, ranked among the best college players in the United States. Junior Avery Ticer of Amarillo, Texas, was 8-1 in Big Ten matches last year and was named outstanding player on the collegiate summer circuit. Senior Clay Estes, also of Amarillo, and freshman Brian Lipinski of Winona, Minnesota, also played well in fall tournaments. The spring team season gets under way in late January with a meet against Northwestern and Virginia at the U's Baseline Tennis Center. The Gophers will take on the Terry Silkatis, photo courtesy of University Athletics Big Ten's top team, defending national champ Illinois, on March 13 at Baseline. Men's Swimming and Diving Losing six All-Americans might lead some coaches to fret, but not Dennis Dale, coach of the men's swimming and diving program, which has finished in the top 10 in the NCAA meet for four consecutive years and just missed a third-straight Big Ten title in 2003. "This gives our youngsters and other swimmers a chance to rise to the limelight," he says. "So far, they show every indication of rising to the challenge." Junior Terry Silkatis of Skokie, Illinois, was the 2003 Big Ten Swimmer of the Year and picked up right where he left off in early meets this season. One of those rising to the occasion in the fall was sophomore Adam Mitchell of Des Moines, Iowa, who posted fast times in winning backstroke races. "We think that we have a good team, but whether it is a great team and can win Big Tens remains to be seen," Dale says. "We're not quite as strong as Rebecca Cornthwaite, photo courtesy of University Athletics last year, but neither is Michigan, our main competition." Although he thinks his team can again make the top 10 in the NCAA, Dale is certainly looking forward to next season. Not only will the Gophers return most of their top swimmers, but two who are taking a break to train for the Olympic Games also plan to return and a U.S. national junior champion has signed for 2004. Also, the Gophers recently learned that they have earned the right to host the 2005 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. Women's Swimming and Diving Rebecca Cornthwaite, a junior from Adelaide, Australia, is a returning top-10 national finisher in platform diving. She joins senior Juleen Rodakowski of Rochester, Minnesota, an NCAA qualifier in the butterfly and individual medley, as the top returning performers for the women's swimming and diving team. The women's team hosts the Big Ten meet in mid-February at the University Aquatic Center. Women's Gymnastics The Mary Skokut, photo courtesy of University Athletics Gopher women gymnasts return three all-Big Ten team members to a squad that finished fourth in the conference last year. Senior Mary Skokut of Carmel, Indiana, is an all-around competitor who specializes in the bars and balance beam. Skokut was first-team all-Big Ten last year. Second-team all-Big Ten performers were sophomore Laura Johnson of Albuquerque, also an all-arounder, and junior Carolyn Yernberg of Blaine, Minnesota, who scored four of the team's five best scores in the vault and also consistently placed in the floor exercise. Minnesota hosts the Big Ten championship meet at the Sports Pavilion March 20. Men's Gymnastics Guillermo Alvarez, a junior from Denver, Colorado, highlights the Gopher men's Gymnastics team. A two-time all-Big Ten performer in the all-around, he also qualified for the NCAA finals in the all-around. Quotebook "I don't think there's anything more significant that affects the morale of a team, or a department, Guillermo Alvarez, photo courtesy of University Athletics than a paycheck. And it's not just reflected in the head coaches' salaries. I think when you look at the assistant coaches, across the board there's even more inequity." —University of Minnesota baseball coach John Anderson, quoted in the Star Tribune. Anderson makes $87,550 while his top assistant makes $41,582. Head football coach Glen Mason makes $1.137 million (25th highest in the nation among college football coaches) and his full-time assistants average $106,000 each. The average salary for a University of Minnesota faculty member is $84,000. "You can't fix it by yourself, or you lose. You can't be principled and say, 'I'm going to pay my football coach $250,000—that's enough, that's a good salary.' I'm not going to have a football coach very long before he goes somewhere else. You can't do it on an island. That's the challenge." —University of Minnesota Athletics Director Joel Maturi quoted in the Star Tribune.

Last modified on 11/16/2004 12:49:11 PM ©2009 by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. The University of Minnesota Alumni Association is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

Trouble seeing the text? | Contact Alumni Association | Privacy