Gene's Blog: Two Wrights make for UST spring success

July 13, 2009

Everyone knows about the flying Wright brothers of Kitty Hawk fame.

Did you know that St. Thomas boasts the impressive Wright sisters, who soar in the classroom and in spring sports?

Twin sisters Alison and Lauren Wright, who will be seniors in 2010, hail from Pewaukee, Wis. They each have an impressive 3.92 grade-point average. In sports, they’ve helped their respective Tommie softball and track and field teams win 11-of-12 MIAC regular season/playoff team titles so far in their era.

Lauren Wright, a thrower in track and field, has been on St. Thomas teams that are 6-for-6 in conference team titles so far in her era.

Alison Wright has helped the Tommies win 5-of-6 MIAC championships in the softball regular-season and playoffs with a 73-2 record in her era vs. conference teams. She has 197 career hits (139 games) and needs 43 to pass UST’s Michelle Wong to become the MIAC all-time leader.

A two-time All-American and two-time Academic All-American, Alison represented softball as the College Division nominee on the 2008-09 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America of the Year competition. Wright was the only non-senior among the 12 College Division nominees. (In 2007-08, St. Thomas’ Maria Bye was the softball nominee in the College Division.)

Oregon distance runner Galen Rupp (University Division) and Mount Union QB Greg Micheli (College Division) were selected as the Academic All-Americas of the Year. The award, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), had 12 nominees from the University Division and 12 from the College Division (D-II, D-III and NAIA).

Click here for complete story:

http://www.cosida.com/documents/2009/7/7/2008-09AcademicAAoftheYear.pdf

MIAC title hauls

The Wright sisters’ link to 11 MIAC team titles thus far still falls short of some other St. Thomas athletic families, including:

--P.J., Katie and Becky Theisen have been a part of 19 of a possible 26 MIAC championship teams in track and field, CC and women’s basketball and football.

--Lonnie Robinson (pictured at right) was a part of 15 of a possible 16 MIAC title teams (regular season and postseason) in baseball and basketball.

--Led by Steve Dolan’s 8-for-8 MIAC title run in his track and field career from 1989-1992, the multi-generational Dolan family contributed to more than 15 conference team titles in baseball, football and track and field.

--The four Paullino sisters ran on nearly one dozen different MIAC title teams in track and field, including Anita’s 8-for-8 run in indoor and outdoor track.

--Hall of Famers Jenny and Sarah Hintz also were a part of nearly a dozen MIAC champion teams in CC and outdoor track.

--Steve Aronson played on 10 conference title teams in baseball and hockey (Thanksgiving, regular season and playoffs).

--Neal Guggemos was 6-for-6 in MIAC championships in his four-year era in track and field (1983-86) and also played on a conference champ football team.

--Although he was a two-time All-American in football and a NCAA champ in the shot put, Mark Dienhart was only part of one MIAC champion team as an undergrad. But in his six-year coaching career, he guided Tommie teams to one MIAC football crown, and in track and field coached eight conference title teams and four top-three NCAA teams.

--In men’s basketball, Steve Fritz (shown at right) was a part of two MIAC champion teams as a player, three as an assistant coach, and has guided 14 regular-season and nine MIAC playoff titles thus far in 29 years as a head coach.

--Former track and field coach Joe Thompson guided the Tommies to a 16-for-16 run in MIAC team titles (8-of-8 indoors, 8-of-8 outdoors) in his eight years at UST. In four seasons as head coach at UW-LaCrosse, Thompson’s Eagles went 8-for-8 in Wisconsin conference meets (4-for-4 indoors and 4-for-4 outdoors).

--Joe Sweeney was a part of just one MIAC title in his cross country and track undergrad days but has guided St. Thomas women’s CC and track teams to 63 of a possible 81 conference crowns.

Trick or treat?

In 2009, for just the seventh time in the last 50 years, Halloween will fall on a Saturday. And this Oct. 31 will be one of the busiest days of the St. Thomas fall-winter season, with nine Tommie teams in action.

Halloween Saturday 2009 will include the MIAC cross country championships at St. Paul’s Como Golf Course; Augsburg at St. Thomas in football; St. Thomas at Augsburg in volleyball; St. Mary’s at St. Thomas in men’s soccer; UST at St. Mary’s in women’s soccer; a men’s and women’s swimming meet; and a UST home women’s hockey game against UW-Stevens Point.

The last time Oct. 31 fell on a Saturday was 1998, and it produced one of the best Tommie home football games in memory. Playing their first overtime game in school history, UST won a wild game that had many momentum swings with a 29-28, two-overtime decision over Augsburg.

The Auggies rallied from a 21-3 deficit and were on the verge of winning on the O'Shaughnessy field for the first time since 1970. But their All-American kicker missed a game-winning field goal to end the first overtime and keep the Toms alive.

Trailing 28-21 in the second overtime, St. Thomas completed a third-down pass for a touchdown to pull within 28-27. UST decided against a tying PAT kick. Greg Kaiser, celebrating his 21st birthday, completed a two-point pass to Chris Chappuis to pull out the thrilling victory. Ironically, Chappuis' brother, Matt, was a freshman defensive tackle for the Auggies and had four tackles on the day.

The game also featured an 80-yard TD run by Brad Grossman on the first play from scrimmage; an NCAA record-tying 99-yard TD pass from Kaiser to Mark Warder; and a 15-catch, 252-yard receiving effort by NCAA record-breaker Scott Hvistendahl of the Auggies.

On Halloween Saturday 1987, UST made conference history as it clinched four MIAC team championships in one day.

The women's soccer team, in a 1 p.m. home game, edged Macalester 1-0 and claimed its first MIAC title with a 9-0-1 finish. At St. Olaf that afternoon, the Tommie women won their seventh consecutive conference CC title with 40 points, 12 better than the host Oles. Shari Sullivan led a parade of four UST runners in the top five and six in the top 13. Also in Northfield, the Tommie men won their fourth consecutive MIAC championship with 38 points, 15 better than runner-up St. John's. John Bielinski was second, and the Tommies put six runners in the top 14. Later that night under the lights at O'Shaughnessy Stadium, the men's soccer team hosted St. John's in battle of 8-0-1 teams each looking to win the MIAC title. After a scoreless first half, Paul Wild scored two goals and Tom McCarr added a clincher as the Tommies completed a 3-0 shutout and claimed their second conference title in three seasons.

2009 football talk

There was talk about moving back the Sept. 5 season-opening St. Thomas at Macalester football game to a 7 p.m. start. UPDATE: The game will now start at 2 p.m. on the Scots’ -- a new-student orientation session scheduled at Macalester for that night nixed the evening kickoff.

All 10 Tommie regular-season games for 2009 will start at 1 p.m. St. Thomas’ last night football game was at UW-Stout in Sept. 2003.

The Sept. 2009 debut of TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota is expected to create a buzz around Gopher football. Coincidentally, all five 2009 Tommie football home games occur on the same day as a Gopher home game, and the schools share the same Homecoming weekend.

The U of M kickoff times have only been set for seven of its 12 games due to potential TV assignments, but here’s a look at both teams’ 2009 schedule:

--Sept. 5: Toms at Mac (1 p.m.); Gophers at Syracuse (11 a.m.)

--Sept. 12: Toms have bye; Gophers open TCF Stadium vs. Air Force (6 p.m.)

--Sept. 19: Toms host St. Olaf (1 p.m.); Gophers host California (11 a.m.)

--Sept. 26: Toms at Hamline (1 p.m.); Gophers at Northwestern (1 p.m.);

--Oct. 3: Toms host Gustavus (1 p.m.); Gophers host Wisconsin (TBA)

--Oct. 10: Toms host Concordia (Homecoming, 1 p.m.); Gophers host Purdue (Homecoming, 11 a.m.)

--Oct. 17: Toms at St. John’s (1 p.m.); Gophers at Penn State (2:30 p.m.);

--Oct. 24: Toms at Carleton (1 p.m.); Gophers at Ohio State (11 a.m.)

--Oct. 31: Toms host Augsburg (1 p.m.); Gophers host Michigan State (7 p.m.)

--Nov. 7: Toms at Bethel (1 p.m.); Gophers host Illinois (TBA)

--Nov. 14: Toms host Northwestern (1 p.m.); Gophers host South Dakota State (TBA)

Minnesota closes its regular season Nov. 21 in Iowa City against the Hawkeyes (kickoff time TBA).

The Gophers playing a night football game, on campus, on Halloween? That could be one scary tailgate party, indeed.

With Michigan State as the opponent, I pity the guy at the TCF Bank Stadium pass gate. Imagine how many clowns will show up in a Will Farrell costume and claim they’re “Spartan cheerleaders” ready for the perfect cheer?