University of Minnesota Alumni Association : Sports Notebook


Search

University of Minnesota Alumni Association


Alumni Association Home > Minnesota Magazine > Past Issues > 2003 > May-June 2003	Print View

Sports Notebook
5/12/2003

He shoots, he scores! Thomas Vanek, photo by Eric Miller

Repeat: NCAA Hockey Champs
The two-fingered "V for victory" salute replaced the "we’re number one" symbol this year for the two-time NCAA champion Gopher men’s hockey team. Despite having to replace three stars on offense and a veteran goaltender, the Gophers earned a second consecutive NCAA title.
With only two seniors and a handful of early injuries, the team took a few months to start clicking. Ranked first to start the season, they slid to 10th in early December. "We did it a different way [this year]. We didn’t do it with superstars," said coach Don Lucia after the title game. "We had a team that grew, a young team. That was key, how this team grew."
The Gophers not only won, they dominated the tournament, winning their four NCAA games by a combined 24–9, including a 5–1 win over New Hampshire in the final. They also won their first conference tournament title under fourth-year coach Lucia and were undefeated in their final 12 contests.
Thomas Vanek of Graz, Austria, was named conference Freshman of the Year and NCAA Tournament MVP, scoring the game-winning goal in each of the final two games. He scored 31 goals, one short of the legendary John Mayasich’s freshman record. Junior defender Paul Martin

All American Lindsey Whalen, photo by Eric Miller

of Elk River, Minnesota, was second team all-American.

Women’s Basketball
<<< Coming off a surprising turnaround season and with a new coach and a new philosophy, the Gophers had their best year ever. They reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time, had their best winning percentage (.806), and notched 25 wins for the first time since NCAA play began in 1983. Junior Lindsay Whalen of Hutchinson, Minnesota, was runner up for Big Ten Player of the Year, a second-team all-American, and an academic all-American, the first Gopher to earn that honor in women’s basketball.

Wrestling
It’s hard to imagine a third consecutive Big Ten title, a national champion, and a runner-up team finish being considered a disappointing season. But such are the expectations when you have become the dominant college wrestling program of the young millennium. The Gophers have finished among the top three at the NCAA Wrestling Championships for the last seven years, winning it in 2001 and 2002. This year, senior Damion Hahn of Lakewood, New Jersey, earned a national title at 197 pounds. In all, six Gophers finished in the top eight in the 10 weight classes to earn all-American honors.

Women’s Hockey
The

National champion Damion Hahn, photo by Jerry Lee

Gophers earned their fifth trip to the women’s hockey "Frozen Four" in their six years of existence. The Gophers had first team all-Americans in senior defender Ronda Curtin of Roseville, Minnesota, who was also the conference defensive player of the year for the second time, and freshman Natalie Darwitz of Eagan, Minnesota, the conference rookie of the year.

Other sports
The men’s swimming and diving team finished seventh in the nation, their fourth consecutive year in the top 10. Twelve Minnesota swimmers earned a total of 31 all-American or honorable mention honors, led by sophomore Terry Silkatis of Skokie, Illinois with six. Silkatis was also the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, earning three individual and two relay conference titles. The women’s team earned one all-American honor as well.
The men’s track and field team earned eight all-American honors in finishing eighth at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The women’s team had one all-American.
Senior Clay Strother of Jasper, Texas, earned three all-America citations at the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships, giving him 11 for his career, including four national titles.

Trouble seeing the text? | Contact UMAA | Privacy