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Alumni Association Home > Past Issues > 2003 > November-December 2003   Print View Sports Notebook 11/10/2003 Janelle McCarville gives the Gophers a powerful inside presence on both ends of the court. The all-conference junior center led Minnesota in shooting percentage, rebounds, and blocked shots last season. Shannon Schonrock also returns at point guard. Photograph courtesy of University Athletics. Women's Basketball The best team in school history returns with four starters, including two first-team all-conference players in guard Lindsay Whalen, a senior from Hutchinson, Minnesota, and center Janelle McCarville, a junior from Stevens Point, Wisconsin. On paper, it should be another big year for a team that has compiled a two-year record of 47-14 (10 more victories than they totaled in the preceding six years combined). But second-year head coach Pam Borton does have one worry about a squad that will certainly be ranked among the nation's top 20 in preseason polls: Due to two unexpected departures, she has only 10 players. Three of those 10 are freshman, but all were highly ranked recruits and, she believes, will be ready to play at the Big Ten level. The three returning reserves are key role players, each who saw time in at least 18 of the team's 31 games last year. "We have 10 great players," Borton says. "We don't have anyone who isn't going to play." The Big Ten has several teams with all five starters returning, including defending champion Penn State. Borton believes the Big Ten could be the toughest conference in the nation this year and could send as many as seven teams to the NCAA Tournament. (The Gopher host an NCAA regional playoff in March and will play at home if they qualify for the tournament.) The Gophers will get a key test early when they are expected to meet Colorado, a fellow NCAA Sweet Sixteen team, on November 23 in the finals of the Subway Classic at Williams Arena. Men's Basketball A very different team takes the floor this year. But for all the new faces, it could be at least as good as recent teams that just missed trips to the NCAA tournament. Forward Michael Bauer, a senior from Hastings, Minnesota, and guard Moe Hargrow, a junior from St. Paul, are the only returning starters and should carry the brunt of the scoring load. But the Gophers Adam Boone. Photograph courtesy of Gopher Athletics do have a pair of other starters—transfers from other schools—at guard, and two freshmen are in contention for starting spots at center and power forward. Three more players with significant experience return and will give the Gophers a potentially strong and deep team. They'll test their strength and depth soon, as they are expected to play Utah, a perennial NCAA tournament team, in the second round of the preseason National Invitation Tournament on November 19. Since Dan Monson became Gopher men's basketball head coach in 1999, no fewer than seven players have either transferred to Minnesota or backed out of commitments to other programs to play for the Gophers. The latest are new freshmen Kris Humphries of Chaska, Minnesota, who initially committed to Duke, and Dan Coleman of Hopkins, Minnesota, who took summer classes at Boston College and must sit out this season. Two other transfers are competing for starting guard spots. Junior Adam Boone of Minnetonka, Minnesota, sat out last year after transferring from the University of North Carolina. Senior Ben Johnson of Minneapolis was hampered by mononucleosis much of last season, his first in maroon-and-gold after transferring from Northwestern. In September, as workouts got under way, Minnesota asked Boone and Johnson about coming home. Q: Was it a difficult decision to leave the program you were in, since under NCAA rules you couldn't talk to coaches at other schools until after you had already left? Ben Johnson: Every kid who grows up here dreams of playing for the Gophers. We had a coaching change at Northwestern, and although I had a lot of personal success, we didn't have the team success I wanted to have. Once I realized that under the rules I could transfer to Minnesota, it was the ideal situation. I knew I wanted to come here, even though they couldn't give me a scholarship [under NCAA rules]. Adam Ben Johnson. Photograph courtesy of University Athletics Boone: I didn't get to play for the coach who recruited me [at North Carolina], and the situation was difficult there. Once I made the decision to transfer, I was very comfortable and knew I would find a better fit. Q: But neither of you chose Minnesota out of high school, even though the Gophers recruited you. B.J.: I didn't come here because of the situation at the time with coach [Clem] Haskins leaving. Things were really in limbo. A.B.: The situation here was still up in the air when they recruited me [a year later]. No one knew what the future of the program was going to be. Q: It sounds like Ben was sure he'd attend Minnesota after leaving Northwestern. How about you, Adam? A.B.: I wasn't sure. I knew I would give them the first look, and I just felt comfortable with the coaches and the players. It helped that I probably knew 50 percent of the team already. It also didn't hurt that I grew up coming to games here. Women's Hockey A year that will see a lot of turnover in college women's hockey rosters should see Minnesota just getting stronger. A perennial national Final Four team, Minnesota fills its few holes with a U.S. Olympic team defender and one of Canada's top young defenders. A pair of Minnesota-native sophomore forwards from the 2002 U.S. Olympic team return to lead a high-powered offense. Natalie Darwitz of Eagan was a first-team All-American while Krissy Wendell of Brooklyn Park was named to the second team, despite missing several weeks with a broken collarbone. The Gophers also return top forwards in senior LaToya Clarke of Pickering, Ontario, who has notched 47 goals in her first three seasons, and junior Kelly Stephens of Shoreline, Washington, who joined Wendell and Darwitz as a member of the U.S. team for the 2003 Four Nations Cup tournament in early November. On defense Natalie Darwitz. Photograph courtesy of University Athletics the Gophers lose their two top defenders but return a large and talented class of sophomores that coach Laura Halldorson expects will continue to improve. To that group they add recruits Lyndsay Wall of Churchville, New York, who was the youngest member of the 2002 U.S. Olympic team, and Danielle Ashley of Burlington, Ontario, a key member of the championship team in Canada's top women's hockey league. Backing them up is junior goalie Jody Horak of Blaine, Minnesota, a two-time all-conference selection. "Some of the top teams in our league are in their fifth year, which means they will have a lot of turnover this season," Halldorson says. "Duluth will lose a lot of players, but they also have a lot coming back." Minnesota hosts the University of Minnesota-Duluth, the three-time defending NCAA champs, near the end of the regular season, February 28-29. The U's Ridder Arena then hosts the WCHA tournament March 12-14 as the Gophers try to build momentum for a sixth national Final Four appearance in seven years. All-American Natalie Darwitz returns to lead a powerful offense for the Gopher women's hockey team. A young and talented team will find a college hockey season marked by lots of turnover in the rosters of their top rivals. Wrestling Is on Top Add another prize to the Minnesota wrestling team's record: number-one recruiting class of 2003-04. Led by national number-one recruit Roger Kish of LaPeer, Michigan, the Gopher wrestlers have their fifth top-ranked class (according to every major amateur wrestling publication and Web site). Their last top rankings were back-to-back classes in 1996 and 1997, which helped elevate them to the top of college wrestling. Minnesota has won three consecutive Big Ten titles and the 2001 and 2002 NCAA titles. See the January-February 2004 issue of Minnesota for more on the wrestling team's season outlook.

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