University of St. Thomas Athletics
Women's Hockey is among the Toms' many improved teams this season
Gene's Blog: Ask Ferris, life is in the details
10/20/2022 2:46:00 PM | Gene's Blog
Time marches forward. The world continues to evolve.
Snap shots are out, Snap Chat is in. The 12-hour news cycle is obsolete, replaced by instant headlines and reaction. Flip phones were dinosaurs... until they became hip again and gained retro status.
Staying abreast of today's dizzying explosion of technology, data, trends and pop culture can leave you feeling a bit exhausted.
Sometimes it's OK to take a deep breath... and refocus on the simple things all around us.
Noted philosopher and 12th grader Ferris Buehler explained it this way as he signed off his epic 1986 film:
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
That is especially true on a college campus. Our 2021 debut as a NCAA Division I university created a new normal at Summit and Cretin Avenues. It's a new landscape, not only for our teams and 535 student athletes, but for all of our campus community and alumni.
As we envision our exciting future for St. Thomas Athletics, here's your periodic reminder to embrace the journey and all the unique items it brings during these initial seasons.
For today, let's savor these 20 fun facts... the kind you can discover once in a while when you "stop and look around":
Breeze off the Lake
Our campus' humble beginnings date back to 1885. The north side of campus was the site of Lake Mennith, where students could paddle canoes from shore to shore. The lake has long since been drained, but a fountain in the lower quad gives St. Thomas a unique water feature. Transportation options have come a long way. Our campus is located within seven miles of a major airport, and less than two miles from an interstate highway and a light rail station. We're both Purple and Green: Our boundary is surrounded by biking and walking paths, and we now have charging stations for electric cars.
Thirtysomething
This week's national FCA poll recognizes St. Thomas among the top 35 teams in FCS football, as the Tommies sit alone in first place in the Pioneer Football League. Three of the AFCA poll's 35 teams -- St. Thomas and the Ivy League's Penn and Princeton -- are getting this regional and national acclaim despite not offering football scholarships.
Intentional Ground-ing
In the Purple's 5-1 start, three Tommie running backs -- sophomores Hope Adebayo and Shawn Shipman and freshman Gabe Abel -- have combined for nine rushing touchdowns and 968 ground yards (5.8 ypr). Adebayo had the honor of scoring the 900th touchdown of the Glenn Caruso era when he reached the end zone three weeks back to help lock up the road victory over Marist.
Record Book
Women's Hockey set its D-I program record last weekend for most shots on goal in a game (57) and most SOG on a two-game weekend series (94). Last season in year one of D-I, while navigating the rugged WCHA, St. Thomas was outshot on average of 43-18 per game. This season through four games, the Toms have been outshot by an average of just 32-31. Last Friday, Saskia Maurer recorded the Toms' first D-I shutout, 3-0, in the win over Franklin Pierce. The Toms face tough tests tonight and Friday night vs. Minnesota State.
Big Time Atmosphere
Approximately 20 NHL scouts (and even a few Minnesota Wild players) were in attendance for last Friday's Tommie Men's Hockey's exhibition game with an elite U.S. national 18-under team. The capacity crowd of 950-plus at the STA rink in Mendota Heights marked the Toms' second home sellout of the season. The two sellouts in one season produced a program first.
That Penn State?
Tonight and Friday, fans can log into the Big Ten-Plus streaming platform or tune into AM 1500 Skor North radio and listen live to Tommie Men's Hockey as it plays at Penn State. Yes, that Penn State, a team that's ranked No. 18 in the country. They also can use the same Big Ten-Plus streaming platform to watch Tommie Women's Hockey play Thursday and Friday games this week against Minnesota State. It's the university's first trip to Penn State for any athletic contests
Northern Exposure
Speaking of upcoming broadcasts, Tommie Football's next three road games are at Presbyterian (airing on ESPN-Plus); at Valparaiso (airs on ESPN 3); and at Butler (airs on FloSports stream). By the way, Butler Football could be the correct answer of a genius-level trivia question: Which NCAA team opens the 2022 season at home and closes the 2022 season at home against two teams from two different states named the University of St. Thomas? (Spoiler alert: The Butler did it...)
The LG Brand
Tommie Volleyball snapped a losing streak last Saturday with 3-0 win at Western Illinois. Sophomore Lauren Galvin continues on a pace to reach 1,000 kills by the end of the 2024 season. She is up to 559 kills though 49 career matches (169 sets) for an average of 3.3 kps. Overall, of the 13 Tommies who have played in 13 or more matches this season, 10 are freshmen and sophomores. The Purple feature one of the younger rosters in D-I Volleyball with an average current age of 19.6 years for their 20 players.
Soccer Progress, Part 1
With a victory in its season finale next Sunday at Western Illinois, Tommie Women's Soccer (6-7-3) can close the 2022 campaign with a .500 overall record. St. Thomas' freshmen and sophomores have contributed 17 of the team's 21 goals and 15 of the 16 assists.
Soccer Progress, Part 2
Last season, Tommie Men's Soccer went 0-3 vs. conference opponents Denver, Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois. This season, the Purple have a 0-0 tie vs. Denver; a 2-0 win over Eastern; and they play Western next Saturday at home (4 p.m.), with a chance to continue the turnaround.
Mountain Men
Tommie Men's Golf team played its final fall tourney this week on a TPC course in the front range of the Rocky Mountains. They competed against the likes of Brigham Young (31,000 undergrads), Colorado State (26,000 undergrads) and Air Force (4,100 cadets). The top two team finishers, CSU and BYU, are receiving votes in the D-I Men's Golf top 25 national poll. Tommie Matthew Armstrong posted a top-25 individual finish in a field of 74 players to lead his team over 54 holes of play.
I Like It
Tommie Women's Golf had a 2021 fall stroke average of 333 in season one of D-I play. This fall, the Purple improved that to a 311 stroke average. Junior transfer Courtney Wedin has a team-best 74.4 stroke average this fall. St. Thomas has five competitions scheduled next spring, capped by the April 23-25 Summit League tournament in Lincoln, Neb.
Next Man Up
St. Thomas Men's Cross Country has done something few if any college teams nationally at any level has matched. Coach Pete Wareham's team has competed in four races and has had a different runner lead the team in each competition. On Sept. 2, Colton Halla was the overall race winner in a three-team event at the University of Minnesota. On Sept. 23 at the Minnesota Gopher Griak Invite, St. Thomas' top team showing came from Zach Haire. On Sept. 30 at Lehigh's Paul Short Run, Biel Wiel was the first Tommie finisher. Last Friday at Bradley's Pink Classic, Morey Smith was the Purple's first finisher. In all four races, Charlie Caven was the Toms' No. 2 or No. 3 finisher.
Heavy Lift
In just 19 days, on Monday Nov. 7, Tommie Men's Hoops starts its 2022-23 season at Creighton. The Bluejays were picked to win the Big East Conference and for the first time in school history are ranked in the top 10 of Associated Press' top 25 preseason poll. Creighton, which plays home games in Omaha's 17,000-seat Chi Health Arena, is ranked No. 7 and No. 9 in two preseason polls. Creighton and St. Thomas played nine times in basketball between 1950 and 1976, with the last meeting in the 1976-77 season opener in Omaha, a 79-39 Bluejay win. The Toms' lone all-time win against Creighton in the sport came in St. Paul in December 1953 by a 73-72 margin. In football, St. Thomas is 1-1-2 all-time vs. the Bluejays, tying games in 1910 and 1911; winning 9-0 in 1914; and losing on the road in 1915.
Versatile
Tommie Women's Basketball has a 15-player roster heading into its second D-I season, with nine returning players. Thirteen players are from Minnesota and Wisconsin, joining freshman Faith Feuerbach, who grew up 60 miles west of Chicago, and redshirt freshman Natalie Greenwood of the Dallas, Texas, suburbs. Greenwood, who redshirted last hoops season while attending Northern Arizona, has an interesting resume. A 4.00 student, she was a standout in cross country, was a pitcher on a state champion softball team, and led her hoops team in rebounds, blocks and assists.
No Ordinary Joe
Joe Rudd is a name you will be hearing a lot this season for Tommie Men's Swim-Dive. The sophomore from Duluth is ranked first in the 100 breaststroke on the early-season charts among Summit League swimmers. He took fourth place in the conference meet in the 200 breast as a freshman last February. Rudd is also a standout in the classroom with a 3.93 grade-point average while majoring in Biology.
Coast-to-Coast
Coach Scott Blanchard's 38-athlete roster for Women's Swim-Dive has competitors from nine states and one outside country -- Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota, North Dakota, Texas, California, Georgia and Puerto Rico. Freshman Rebecca Bishop of Houston, Texas, has a top-five ranking in the Summit League in the early going in the 200 Butterfly. Elizabeth Bonneville (50, 200 free) and Grace Urkiel (100 and 200 breaststroke) each have a pair of top-10 Summit times.
Rich Resume
St. Thomas has added many bright and experienced assistant coaches across all sports. One with an especially interesting background is Men's Hoops associate head coach Mike Maker. Two of his former players from his days at Williams College are currently in the NBA: Will Hardy joins the Utah Jazz as the youngest head coach in the league; and sharpshooter Duncan Robinson of the Miami Heat is the fastest player to reach 700 made 3-pointers in NBA history. As an assistant coach under John Beilein at West Virginia, Maker also coached current Boston Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla, as well as coached Cleveland Cavs' GM Mike Gansey.
Play the Best
Over the first three months of the school year, through Nov. 10, various Tommie teams will have competed against 19 nationally-ranked teams, including several top-10 ranked teams.
Purple PRs
Nearly every St. Thomas Women's Cross Country runner recorded a personal best-time for 6,000 meters at last Friday's Pink Classic race hosted by Bradley University. Molly Desotell led the Toms with a top-50 finish in 21:28 -- her previous 6K best was 21:58 at the same race as a freshman last October. Ava Pankratz time of 22:17 was a best by 28 seconds. Six other Tommie runners ran 23:30 or faster: Christina Bolcer (22:53), Morgan Ede (23:02), Rhynn Paulsen (23:07), Lauren Ellefson (23:09), Gabby Witschen (23:28) and Amaya Lyrek (23:30).
Congratulations... Unless you got bored and bailed out midway, you made it all the way to the end of today's blog.
Let's repeat the closing advice given by Ferris Buehler at the end of that movie's final credits:
"You're still here? It's over. Go home. Go."
Snap shots are out, Snap Chat is in. The 12-hour news cycle is obsolete, replaced by instant headlines and reaction. Flip phones were dinosaurs... until they became hip again and gained retro status.
Staying abreast of today's dizzying explosion of technology, data, trends and pop culture can leave you feeling a bit exhausted.
Sometimes it's OK to take a deep breath... and refocus on the simple things all around us.
Noted philosopher and 12th grader Ferris Buehler explained it this way as he signed off his epic 1986 film:
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
That is especially true on a college campus. Our 2021 debut as a NCAA Division I university created a new normal at Summit and Cretin Avenues. It's a new landscape, not only for our teams and 535 student athletes, but for all of our campus community and alumni.
As we envision our exciting future for St. Thomas Athletics, here's your periodic reminder to embrace the journey and all the unique items it brings during these initial seasons.
For today, let's savor these 20 fun facts... the kind you can discover once in a while when you "stop and look around":
Breeze off the Lake
Our campus' humble beginnings date back to 1885. The north side of campus was the site of Lake Mennith, where students could paddle canoes from shore to shore. The lake has long since been drained, but a fountain in the lower quad gives St. Thomas a unique water feature. Transportation options have come a long way. Our campus is located within seven miles of a major airport, and less than two miles from an interstate highway and a light rail station. We're both Purple and Green: Our boundary is surrounded by biking and walking paths, and we now have charging stations for electric cars.
Thirtysomething
This week's national FCA poll recognizes St. Thomas among the top 35 teams in FCS football, as the Tommies sit alone in first place in the Pioneer Football League. Three of the AFCA poll's 35 teams -- St. Thomas and the Ivy League's Penn and Princeton -- are getting this regional and national acclaim despite not offering football scholarships.
Intentional Ground-ing
In the Purple's 5-1 start, three Tommie running backs -- sophomores Hope Adebayo and Shawn Shipman and freshman Gabe Abel -- have combined for nine rushing touchdowns and 968 ground yards (5.8 ypr). Adebayo had the honor of scoring the 900th touchdown of the Glenn Caruso era when he reached the end zone three weeks back to help lock up the road victory over Marist.
Record Book
Women's Hockey set its D-I program record last weekend for most shots on goal in a game (57) and most SOG on a two-game weekend series (94). Last season in year one of D-I, while navigating the rugged WCHA, St. Thomas was outshot on average of 43-18 per game. This season through four games, the Toms have been outshot by an average of just 32-31. Last Friday, Saskia Maurer recorded the Toms' first D-I shutout, 3-0, in the win over Franklin Pierce. The Toms face tough tests tonight and Friday night vs. Minnesota State.
Big Time Atmosphere
Approximately 20 NHL scouts (and even a few Minnesota Wild players) were in attendance for last Friday's Tommie Men's Hockey's exhibition game with an elite U.S. national 18-under team. The capacity crowd of 950-plus at the STA rink in Mendota Heights marked the Toms' second home sellout of the season. The two sellouts in one season produced a program first.
That Penn State?
Tonight and Friday, fans can log into the Big Ten-Plus streaming platform or tune into AM 1500 Skor North radio and listen live to Tommie Men's Hockey as it plays at Penn State. Yes, that Penn State, a team that's ranked No. 18 in the country. They also can use the same Big Ten-Plus streaming platform to watch Tommie Women's Hockey play Thursday and Friday games this week against Minnesota State. It's the university's first trip to Penn State for any athletic contests
Northern Exposure
Speaking of upcoming broadcasts, Tommie Football's next three road games are at Presbyterian (airing on ESPN-Plus); at Valparaiso (airs on ESPN 3); and at Butler (airs on FloSports stream). By the way, Butler Football could be the correct answer of a genius-level trivia question: Which NCAA team opens the 2022 season at home and closes the 2022 season at home against two teams from two different states named the University of St. Thomas? (Spoiler alert: The Butler did it...)
The LG Brand
Tommie Volleyball snapped a losing streak last Saturday with 3-0 win at Western Illinois. Sophomore Lauren Galvin continues on a pace to reach 1,000 kills by the end of the 2024 season. She is up to 559 kills though 49 career matches (169 sets) for an average of 3.3 kps. Overall, of the 13 Tommies who have played in 13 or more matches this season, 10 are freshmen and sophomores. The Purple feature one of the younger rosters in D-I Volleyball with an average current age of 19.6 years for their 20 players.
Soccer Progress, Part 1
With a victory in its season finale next Sunday at Western Illinois, Tommie Women's Soccer (6-7-3) can close the 2022 campaign with a .500 overall record. St. Thomas' freshmen and sophomores have contributed 17 of the team's 21 goals and 15 of the 16 assists.
Soccer Progress, Part 2
Last season, Tommie Men's Soccer went 0-3 vs. conference opponents Denver, Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois. This season, the Purple have a 0-0 tie vs. Denver; a 2-0 win over Eastern; and they play Western next Saturday at home (4 p.m.), with a chance to continue the turnaround.
Mountain Men
Tommie Men's Golf team played its final fall tourney this week on a TPC course in the front range of the Rocky Mountains. They competed against the likes of Brigham Young (31,000 undergrads), Colorado State (26,000 undergrads) and Air Force (4,100 cadets). The top two team finishers, CSU and BYU, are receiving votes in the D-I Men's Golf top 25 national poll. Tommie Matthew Armstrong posted a top-25 individual finish in a field of 74 players to lead his team over 54 holes of play.
I Like It
Tommie Women's Golf had a 2021 fall stroke average of 333 in season one of D-I play. This fall, the Purple improved that to a 311 stroke average. Junior transfer Courtney Wedin has a team-best 74.4 stroke average this fall. St. Thomas has five competitions scheduled next spring, capped by the April 23-25 Summit League tournament in Lincoln, Neb.
Next Man Up
St. Thomas Men's Cross Country has done something few if any college teams nationally at any level has matched. Coach Pete Wareham's team has competed in four races and has had a different runner lead the team in each competition. On Sept. 2, Colton Halla was the overall race winner in a three-team event at the University of Minnesota. On Sept. 23 at the Minnesota Gopher Griak Invite, St. Thomas' top team showing came from Zach Haire. On Sept. 30 at Lehigh's Paul Short Run, Biel Wiel was the first Tommie finisher. Last Friday at Bradley's Pink Classic, Morey Smith was the Purple's first finisher. In all four races, Charlie Caven was the Toms' No. 2 or No. 3 finisher.
Heavy Lift
In just 19 days, on Monday Nov. 7, Tommie Men's Hoops starts its 2022-23 season at Creighton. The Bluejays were picked to win the Big East Conference and for the first time in school history are ranked in the top 10 of Associated Press' top 25 preseason poll. Creighton, which plays home games in Omaha's 17,000-seat Chi Health Arena, is ranked No. 7 and No. 9 in two preseason polls. Creighton and St. Thomas played nine times in basketball between 1950 and 1976, with the last meeting in the 1976-77 season opener in Omaha, a 79-39 Bluejay win. The Toms' lone all-time win against Creighton in the sport came in St. Paul in December 1953 by a 73-72 margin. In football, St. Thomas is 1-1-2 all-time vs. the Bluejays, tying games in 1910 and 1911; winning 9-0 in 1914; and losing on the road in 1915.
Versatile
Tommie Women's Basketball has a 15-player roster heading into its second D-I season, with nine returning players. Thirteen players are from Minnesota and Wisconsin, joining freshman Faith Feuerbach, who grew up 60 miles west of Chicago, and redshirt freshman Natalie Greenwood of the Dallas, Texas, suburbs. Greenwood, who redshirted last hoops season while attending Northern Arizona, has an interesting resume. A 4.00 student, she was a standout in cross country, was a pitcher on a state champion softball team, and led her hoops team in rebounds, blocks and assists.
No Ordinary Joe
Joe Rudd is a name you will be hearing a lot this season for Tommie Men's Swim-Dive. The sophomore from Duluth is ranked first in the 100 breaststroke on the early-season charts among Summit League swimmers. He took fourth place in the conference meet in the 200 breast as a freshman last February. Rudd is also a standout in the classroom with a 3.93 grade-point average while majoring in Biology.
Coast-to-Coast
Coach Scott Blanchard's 38-athlete roster for Women's Swim-Dive has competitors from nine states and one outside country -- Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota, North Dakota, Texas, California, Georgia and Puerto Rico. Freshman Rebecca Bishop of Houston, Texas, has a top-five ranking in the Summit League in the early going in the 200 Butterfly. Elizabeth Bonneville (50, 200 free) and Grace Urkiel (100 and 200 breaststroke) each have a pair of top-10 Summit times.
Rich Resume
St. Thomas has added many bright and experienced assistant coaches across all sports. One with an especially interesting background is Men's Hoops associate head coach Mike Maker. Two of his former players from his days at Williams College are currently in the NBA: Will Hardy joins the Utah Jazz as the youngest head coach in the league; and sharpshooter Duncan Robinson of the Miami Heat is the fastest player to reach 700 made 3-pointers in NBA history. As an assistant coach under John Beilein at West Virginia, Maker also coached current Boston Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla, as well as coached Cleveland Cavs' GM Mike Gansey.
Play the Best
Over the first three months of the school year, through Nov. 10, various Tommie teams will have competed against 19 nationally-ranked teams, including several top-10 ranked teams.
Purple PRs
Nearly every St. Thomas Women's Cross Country runner recorded a personal best-time for 6,000 meters at last Friday's Pink Classic race hosted by Bradley University. Molly Desotell led the Toms with a top-50 finish in 21:28 -- her previous 6K best was 21:58 at the same race as a freshman last October. Ava Pankratz time of 22:17 was a best by 28 seconds. Six other Tommie runners ran 23:30 or faster: Christina Bolcer (22:53), Morgan Ede (23:02), Rhynn Paulsen (23:07), Lauren Ellefson (23:09), Gabby Witschen (23:28) and Amaya Lyrek (23:30).
Congratulations... Unless you got bored and bailed out midway, you made it all the way to the end of today's blog.
Let's repeat the closing advice given by Ferris Buehler at the end of that movie's final credits:
"You're still here? It's over. Go home. Go."
--
Gene's Blog is a sports column penned by Tommie sports information director Gene McGivern. Gene is in his 29th season at St. Thomas and 35th overall working with college athletics teams. He blogs periodically on various topics regarding the Tommies and college sports.
If you have comments or questions, e-mail Gene at ejmcgivern@stthomas.edu
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