More firsts for Tommies in busy upcoming sports weekend

It will be another weekend of firsts for several Tommie athletics teams.

Seven of the eight St. Thomas teams in action from Sept. 23-27 will be making history with their competitions.

One event will be played on campus (football, on Saturday) and both cross country squad are competing nearby Friday at the University of Minnesota's golf course:

Volleyball plays the first Summit League competition in any sport on Thursday with a 7 p.m. road clash at Omaha (3-7). The Toms play again Saturday at Denver (1 p.m. Mountain time). Denver takes a 9-1 season record into a Thursday match vs. Western Illinois. These are the first of 18 Summit volleyball matches for the Tommies (1-9). St. Thomas is coming off two games in the University of Minnesota's Diet Coke Classic -- a three-set loss to the No. 11-ranked Minnesota Gophers, and a 3-0 loss to Iowa State in which the Purple played the Big 12 Conference team to 26-24 in the second set and played well overall against the 8-3 Cyclones. After having its first 12 matches on road or neutral courts, St. Thomas will open its home season Sept. 30 against North Dakota.
Women's Hockey makes its WCHA debut Friday night in Columbus, Ohio, with a 6 p.m. Eastern time match at Ohio State. The teams play again at OSU Ice Rink on Saturday at 2 p.m. St. Thomas will play 28 WCHA regular-season games. The Toms' home opener is Oct. 1 vs. Bemidji State. Joel Johnson makes his Tommie head coaching debut this weekend. His 23-player roster includes 11 returners, three veteran transfers and nine freshmen. Fans can watch all WCHA games this season by signing up for the WCHA Big Ten-Plus streaming plan at a modest annual subscription price starting at $49.95.

Both Men's and Women's Cross Country will face their first Division I competition at Friday's Roy Griak Invite at the University of Minnesota golf course in Falcon Heights. The men's race has 21 teams and starts at 10:30 a.m. The women's race also has 21 teams and some unattached athletes and starts at 11:15 a.m. Four other Summit League teams will compete in both races: South Dakota, South Dakota State, North Dakota, North Dakota State. The Tommie men and women had one competition three weeks ago against several Division II and III teams.
Men's Soccer plays its first Summit League game Saturday at Eastern Illinois, an affiliate member of the Summit for this sport. Game time in Charleston, Ill., is 1 p.m. This is the first of six conference games for the Tommies (0-7-1), who are halfway through a 16-game schedule. It's the seventh road or neutral opponent so far for St. Thomas, which plays four of its last seven contests at home. Eastern (0-5-1) is seeking its first victory after finishing 1-8-2 last spring.
Football (1-1) plays its first Pioneer Football League game Saturday when Butler (2-1) visits for a noon kickoff at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. This is the first St. Thomas home contest in 97 weeks since the 2019 season finale. Saturday will be the 150th game of the Glenn Caruso coaching era here. It also marks the first time a Minnesota team other than the Gophers will play host to a Division I footbball game in this state. Tickets can be purchased here: www.tommiesports.com The game also will have a live video stream www.tommiesports.com/watch and live radio Skor North AM-1500
Women's Tennis makes its Division I debut with its lone fall competition in the Creighton Bluejay Invite on Friday and Saturday. New head coach Lois Arterberry has 10 athletes competing, including seven returners from an NCAA Division III playoff team of last spring. The bulk of the Toms' 2021-22 schedule will be played next winter and spring
Men's Golf plays its second competition of the brief fall season Monday and Tuesday in Des Moines at Drake's Zach Johnson Invite.
Off this weekend are Women's Soccer and Women's Golf
Tommie Men's and Women's Basketball are seven weeks away from starting their season

Busy Stretch Awaits

St. Thomas teams will play host to seven contests from Sept. 28-Oct. 3 -- including two each by Men's Soccer (Sept. 28 and Oct. 2 at South Field), Women's Hockey (Oct. 2-3 at Saint Thomas Ice Arena) and Volleyball (Sept. 3- and Oct. 2 at Schoenecker Arena). There's also an Oct. 3 Men's Hockey clash set for Xcel Energy Center against St. Cloud State.

University of St. Thomas Athletics

More firsts for Tommies in busy upcoming sports weekend

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